Multifandom fanfiction recommendations

Innovative and stylish fanfiction, showcasing the very best across multiple sf, fantasy & literature fandoms. Good writing in all its forms can be found here, including gen, het, slash, OCs, AUs, crossovers, future fics, humour & pastiche. Linked stories may not be suitable for children

LM Bujold – Vorkosigan series

Simon Illyan

Aletheia by Elvaron

'Glass, Illyan thought, and his chip helpfully pulled up a list of fifty-six ways in which a glass building could be compromised using tools that you could obtain from your nearest D.I.Y. store.' Simon encounters another person with a memory chip. A beautifully characterised story with a well-drawn OC that feels like a missing prequel to Memory

[Added 09/01/2014; Drama; 6000-20,000; LM Bujold – Vorkosigan series; Characters: Simon Illyan, Aral Vorkosigan, OC]

The Councils of Despair by Parhelion

'Real leaders don't stop being leaders just because they've resigned, just because they're now drunks.' Despite the extracanonical pairing, this piece feels like a missing chapter from Shards of Honor, with believable characterisations and a strong portrayal of the darker, seamier side of Barrayar

[Added 06/08/2008; Character Piece; 6000-20,000; LM Bujold – Vorkosigan series; Characters: Simon Illyan, Aral Vorkosigan]

Do You Remember The Last Time? by Gair

'Forty years of pure data, processed by a man with forty years' experience. Gone. Eaten by a little bug. And he was what was left on the edge of its plate, a man who couldn't beat Alys Vorpatril in six rounds of Star-tarot One-up.' Stylish writing with a spot-on voice for Illyan, but Gair's insights into the differences between eidetic & somatic memory are what really make this piece

[Added 21/05/2009; Character Piece; 1000-2500; LM Bujold – Vorkosigan series; Characters: Simon Illyan, Miles Vorkosigan]

Guerrilla by Glishara

'Galeni started to speak, then caught himself. He took a long moment, examining Ivan. "No," he said at last, his voice even. "I want an Emperor. I will accept a figurehead, if that's all you will offer."' This slow-building novel follows the resistance movement in an AU to Diplomatic Immunity where Miles fails & Cetaganda invades Barrayar. It's a wonderful premise, and Glishara successfully juggles a large cast including believable OCs

[Added 14/02/2011; Drama; >50,000; LM Bujold – Vorkosigan series; Characters: Ivan Vorpatril, Duv Galeni, Simon Illyan, Delia Koudelka, Martya Koudelka, Enrique Borgos, Byerly Vorrutyer, Alys Vorpatril, Aral Vorkosigan, Cordelia Vorkosigan, Original characters]

Lilies of the Field by Raven

'"What sort of scale of problem did you have in mind? The problem of why three of the Residence wait staff have taken their annual holiday at the same time, causing, I am informed, no end of trouble for the kitchens? Or the problem of why the Komarran soletta array has possibly, we're not sure, been sabotaged?"' A quiet piece in which Cordelia does women's work, with a little help from Alys. Reads like a missing fragment from the lighter parts of canon, with believable OCs. Delightful

[Added 04/08/2016; Drama; 6000-20,000; LM Bujold – Vorkosigan series; Characters: Cordelia Vorkosigan, Alys Vorpatril, Gregor Vorbarra, Simon Illyan, Aral Vorkosigan, original characters]

Compiled by the Espresso Addict