Confusion to the Enemy by Keswindhover

Set right after Ethan of Athos. Elli Quinn is still on Kline Station when she finds that there’s at least one more group interested in Terrence Cee.

I’m not really an Elli fan, but this story is fun.

Action // Humour // Teen

Venture Capital by Altariel

Mark makes a visit to the Residence.

There was an overpowering smell of fresh paint in the antechamber, and although Mark had been kept waiting there for nearly ten minutes, he still thought it was an improvement on his first visit to the Imperial Residence. That time round, he hadn’t requested the audience. And that time round there had been a scalp. He distinctly remembered the scalp.

Gen // General audiences

Responsible by E.E. Beck

Short story set in the same universe as the marvelous A Deeper Season (see my rec), but far in the future. This is only one of the snippets available from this universe; see E.E. Beck’s livejournal for more.

AU // Coming of Age // Gen // General audiences

Our Quiet Confines by Castiron

AU fanfiction of AU fanfiction. Set fifteen years after A Deeper Season (see my recommendation) and apparently about to be contradicted by the sequel to ADS, What Passing Bells.

Just a quiet evening at home with Miles and Gregor.

AU // Romance // Teen

A Deeper Season by E.E. Beck, Sahiya

Okay. Okay. I’m very excited right now, but I’m going to try to be coherent. I have just finished one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve read in a long time. And it’s something I never thought could be done well: Gregor/Miles slash. It’s takes a bit of suspension of disbelief, since LMB obviously didn’t write the books with this pairing in mind, but A Deeper Season is what the book after Memory might have looked like if she had. The story is only slightly AU, completely canon through Memory except that Laisa never happens.

I found this story accidentally; while googling ‘vashnoi’ I found a recommendation of A Deeper Season at The Bog of Lost Scholars. I heartily agree with everything Castiron says about it there. She(?) says it as well as I ever could, so if you need more convincing to read A Deeper Season, check out what she has to say about it.

I think I have to go re-read my favourite scenes now.

“We’re going to the symphony tonight,” Gregor said.

“We as in you and the Cetagandans?” Miles asked, having somewhat surreal mental images.

ETA: The sequel, What Passing Bells, is now finished! It’s really good, definitely up to the standard set by A Deeper Season.

ETA: The third (and final) planned co-written instalment in the series is Seeds, an Ivan/Ekaterin fic roughly equivalent to Winterfair Gifts.

Action // AU // Mature // Mystery // Romance // Sci-fi/Fantasy // Top 100 // Top Ten

Marks and Scars by E.H. Smith

Crossover between Harry Potter and Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan books. Won’t make much sense if you don’t know a little about both sources.

In which two of the most intriguing characters from the works of J.K. Rowling and Lois McMaster Bujold meet for tea and, eventually, sympathy.

Without Enchantment is the sequel to Marks and Scars. No Great Magic finishes off the trilogy. There’s another related story, Denizen of the Deep, which should be read before No Great Magic.

I didn’t enjoy the stories as much as a lot of other people seem to have, but they were pretty good.

ETA: I guess I should mention that No Great Magic and Denizen of the Deep contain tie-ins to R.J. Anderson’s Darkness and Light trilogy. And also that the series inspired A.J. Hall’s Time Shall Not Mend, which is set in the same universe.

Action // Crossover // Gen // Teen

The Councils of Despair by Parhelion

Set near the end of Shards of Honor. While Cordelia is suffering under psychiatric treatment on Beta, Aral is being watched over by Simon Illyan.

Explicit

Bujold Bibliography in Haiku Format by Nicholas Rosen

BARRAYAR

Marriage brings stresses;
So often, by tradition,
Wives shop to relax.

It’s really only funny if you’ve read the books.

General audiences // Humour // Sci-fi/Fantasy

Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold

Borders of Infinity [story] is a short story that was originally published (along with two other short stories: The Labyrinth and The Mountains of Mourning) in Borders of Infinity [novel], which is part of the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I’m not sure how much sense this will make out of sequence, but it will still be excellent. Since Borders of Infinity [novel] is now out of print, at least in North America, it’s nice that it’s becoming available online.

“Thanks,” croaked Miles. A week ago, or in a previous lifetime, depending on how you counted time, Miles had dawdled over a selection of wines, dissatisfied with this or that nuance of flavor. His lips cracked as he grinned in memory. He drank. It was perfectly ordinary water, lukewarm, faintly redolent of chlorine and sulfur. A refined body, but the bouquet is a bit presumptuous….

Action // Character Death // Extreme Violence // Gen // Mature // Sci-fi/Fantasy

The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Mountains of Mourning is a short story that was originally published (along with two other short stories) in Borders of Infinity, which is part of the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. It’s a really fantastic series; I recommend every book in the series highly. This story makes most sense if you read it as part of the series, but I think it stands very well on its own, too.

Miles grinned wolfishly. “Oh, Karal, I’m a one-man band, I am. I’m a parade.”

“As you say, just so. Ordinary people need extraordinary examples. So they can say to themselves, well, if he can do that, I can surely do this. No excuses.”

“No quarter, yes, I know that game. Been playing it all my life.”

“I think,” said Karal, “Barrayar needs you. To go on being just what you are.”

“Barrayar will eat me, if it can.”

“Yes,” said Karal, his eyes on the horizon, “so it will.” His gaze fell to the graves at his feet. “But it swallows us all in the end, doesn’t it?”

Coming of Age // Darkfic // Gen // Mystery // Sci-fi/Fantasy // Teen

Lust over Pendle by A.J. Hall

The best thing about this novel-length story, “a comedy of manners set in the Golden Age detective thriller genre,” is that it’s only the first a whole universe of stories by A.J. Hall.

What can I say about A.J. Hall’s writing? It’s fabulous. Everyone and their dog has already recommended this story, but I figured there might be someone out there who hasn’t heard about it yet. I get something new out of this series every time I read it. I am beginning to believe that I love Lust over Pendle better than J.K. Rowling’s own works. Heresy, I know – but A.J. Hall has taken Rowling’s universe and remade it for adults.

I would suggest the following reading order, which is a bit different from the one at the Lust over Pendle site:

1. Lust over Pendle (novel): after the war, Draco and Neville are outed to the wizarding world and caught up in a complex plot against them.
2. Ships That Pass (short story): chronologically, this takes place before Lust over Pendle, but I think it’s better if you already know LoP Draco before you read it.
3. Not a Whisper (short story): Draco/Neville backstory: the first night.
4. Time Shall Not Mend (novella): crossover with Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. It’s perfectly enjoyable even if you haven’t read the books, but you’ll get more out of the story if you have, and it’s a great series. The first chapter actually takes place before Not A Whisper, but the last three take place a few weeks after.
5. Dissipation and Despair (novel): Draco and Neville are back, and trouble is once again stirring in Malfoy Intrinsica: foot-and-mouth disease is rampant, necromantic rites are being performed, Black Masses are being held, and a group of creative writers is gathering for a conference. Most of the supporting cast from Lust over Pendle are back to help Draco and Neville combat vampires, plague, and a New-Age empowerment movement.
6. The Perilous Point (novella): Guests, both wizard and Muggle, are gathering for a wedding in Malfoy Intrinsica on Midsummer’s Eve. Meanwhile, a theatre group is putting on a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for their corporate sponsor, Nelcorp.
7. Queer As Scent (novelette): a side-story focussing on Narcissa while she was pregnant with Draco.
8. The Mark of the Beast (novelette): a side-story set in 1982, focussing on Remus Lupin.
9. The Kindly Ones (novella): chronologically, the last in the series. Draco and Neville take a private cruise around the Greek islands, and meet up with someone they would never have expected. Remus Lupin makes an appearance, as well.

Check out Geoviki’s guide for extra LoP tidbits from A.J. Hall’s LiveJournal that you might not otherwise have seen (deleted scenes, short stories, etc.)

Action // Crossover // Historical // Humour // Mature // Mystery // Non-con // Romance // Sci-fi/Fantasy // Top 100 // Top Ten // Torture