Rec: So Far Exceeds Expression
Oct. 10th, 2011 03:18 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
Hope you enjoyed your break from me this past weekend. Now, what better way to help promote the historical challenge than to rec a truly awesome historical fic?
Title: So Far Exceeds Expression (Alternate Title: Covered in Blood)
Pairing: Two/AU!Master, eventually Three/Delgado!Master, also features Jamie, Zoe, the War Chief, and various historical figures
Length: approx. 32,000 words total (averaging about 5,000-6,000 words per chapter, of which there are 5)
Summary: The Doctor lands in 1671, and meets an old friend. Unfortunately that old friend has a plan, and he's never been very good at them. A classic series AU combined with historical fiction, which makes for a fic exceeding epicapacity.
Warnings/Rating: violence, PG rated slash, femslash, and het. Small children. PG-13 overall
Author on LJ (or Teaspoon, or Prydonian): neveralarch
Why this must be read:
Above all else, this fic is a labour of love: neveralarch goes above and beyond to create a truly compelling AU that somehow also fits snug with the canon. Which is very hard to do, but she pulls it off like a pro. In addition to the absolutely perfect depiction of the Two-era characters we know and love, she also includes delightfully entertaining historical figures that make the whole thing feel like an adventure right out of a proper historical Who serial of old. It is history and hilarity on a sunny afternoon picnic together. It includes such fun things as: the Master (AKA “Colonel Thomas Blood”) plotting to steal the crown jewels, the Master being jealous over Jamie, the Doctor being jealous over the Master’s wife, the Master being jealous over the War Chief, adorable Doctor/Master reunion snogging, unexpected but appealing femslash with Zoe, and Narvin being Narvin. And, as a final note, even though it is quite a lengthy series, it reads quite fast. All in all, a fun and adorable fic perfect for a weekend read; or, if you are like me, you will read it all at once and be thoroughly glad you did even though it meant putting off something important you should have been doing instead.
And as a finaler final note, I should mention that even if you have never actually seen a Two-era serial before (such as myself; I’ll correct that eventually), this is still very readable, understandable, and thoroughly enjoyable. Neveralarch just has that knack of making Two’s era accessible even to those who haven’t accessed it yet; how she does this is a grand mystery to me.
Excerpt:
"Yes, yes," said the Doctor. "Kidnapping, attempted murder, great adventure. I was just thinking that we could have been doing something much more fun in the time it took for you to explain all that."
"Perhaps later," Koschei promised. "As I said, I have something important to do tonight."
"Yes, and I asked what that was, and you still haven't explained. I know you're just dying to tell me."
Koschei turned away and opened the wardrobe, and the Doctor was immediately distracted again.
"I intend," said Koschei, drawing a long black robe from its hook, "to steal the crown jewels."
Link: This here link will actually take you to a page with links to all the chapters, because neveralarch still needs to put links to the other chapters in her entry for Chapter 1.