chomiji | Yuletide 2009 Recs

Last-minute recs for: The Homeward Bounders - Jones, The Jungle Book - Kipling, Juuni Kokki (Twelve Kingdoms), Riddle-Master Trilogy - McKillip (3), Secret Garden - Burnett (2), Swordspoint - Kushner, Chronicles of the Kencyrath - Hodgell, Discworld - Pratchett (2), and Samurai Champloo.

The Longest Roads Lead Nowhere (The Homeward Bounders - Jones)
This is, oddly, a story I once thought I'd write - so I'm glad to find it here, all ready to go. Afterwards, Jamie visits his friends in their home worlds many times over the years ... and of course, time isn't the same for the remaining Homeward Bounder. Sad and yet funny too: Helen is Helen her whole life long.
Jungle Favor Go With Thee (The Jungle Book - Kipling)
When Mowgli leaves the Jungle, he finds himself betwixt two worlds. The whole story is a long, beautiful farewell.
Ebb and Flow (Juuni Kokki (Twelve Kingdoms))
Youko needs some advice and wisely seeks it from Shouryuu. I love Shouryuu, and he does himself proud here. Also, some of the weirder aspects of life in the Twelve Kingdoms get a thorough sorting out, which is always good.
Spear, Knife, Hand, Arrow (Riddle-Master Trilogy - McKillip)
This made me remember how much I liked Lyra as a character, showing her in a series of vignettes that starts with the first crisis of her life as a guard and ending with the Siege of Lungold.
Mountain Time (Riddle-Master Trilogy - McKillip)
An aging Lyra faces the end of her life as the Morgul of Herun. Sad but not tragic, and ends in a Damar crossover that works.
The Scars on His Hands (Riddle-Master Trilogy - McKillip)
And this one made me remember how much I love Har of Osterland and Danan Isig! Scenes from a life, as Har becomes the imposing figure we first meet in Riddle-Master.
Nest Building (Secret Garden - Burnett)
Mary is growing up and is worried about it; Dickon shows her that she still has a place where she belongs. Sweet like a good apple.
Wick (Secret Garden - Burnett) Like many young men in Europe during these years, Dickon goes off to war and comes back changed. The garden is still there for him - in every way.
What's Past Is Prologue (Swordspoint - Kushner)
The day after Richard's first encounter with a certain eccentric University student, the swordsman comes looking for a missing pair of gloves - and a man. Beautifully evocative of Kushner's City and of the relationship between Richard and Alec. And because of the latter, it's funny.
Coming Down the Chain (Chronicles of the Kencyrath - Hodgell)
Jame is a singer in a rock 'n' roll band. No, really! And it works: strange, beautiful, atmospheric AU that reads like one of Jame's or Tori's visions in the canon.
Whose Child Is This? (Discworld - Pratchett)
It's Young Sam's first birthday, and the Guard is invited to the celebration. Cute, sweet, and very, very funny.
A Day In The (Discworld - Pratchett)
Just an ordinary day for Discworld's Grim Personification, including a round of cards with a special person, visits here and there (not all of which end in Death's performing his function), and cats.
A Week Spent with Basho (Samurai Champloo)
The quest is over, and everyone's a bloody mess. Basho's haiku give structure to a week of healing and comfort, snark and irony - and love and family.