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8 fanfic reviews found matching your criteria
Karen Sanderson
Ripper's Christmas Carol
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Het
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Themes: Angst, romance, seasonal
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: In a new twist on 'A Christmas Carol', Ripper is visited by some ghosts while in the present Buffy begins a research project to find out about her Watcher...
Review: Over the years, there have been a lot of stories written to fill out Giles' past and this is one of my favourites. It flashes between Ripper and Buffy and for the first time we get a good reason for Giles returning to the fold. The story is well written, atmospheric and you can almost see the places Karen is describing. At the same time it's great fun for anyone who's read 'A Christmas Carol' as well as for those who haven't. If you're a Ripper fan, or a Giles fan, or a Buffy fan, then this is a story you'll love. Of course, if you can't stand any of those characters you'll probably hate it, but it gives some rare insights into all of them and is definitely a good one to read.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: buffygiles.com archive
Kate Bolin
Curriculum
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Jenny/female
Themes: Angst, vignette
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 18-04-2004
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: Like Willow and Tara were the first girls to experiment in college?
Review: If I actually put the pairing into the info here, it will totally ruin part of the point of this story. So I haven't. But it's femslash (like you can't tell from the plot summary) and very good.
This is a short piece, fascinating for the insights into Jenny and the other character, and one of those fics where I just knew that I had to rec it the moment I finished. Kate Bolin is an talented BtVS writer and this is just a sample of how good she is. It has an interesting format (pay attention to the course names) and an unexpected ending - it's always good to see some originality in BtVS fic.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pearl
Katharyn
Sidestep Chronicle
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, AU, dark fic, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 13-08-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: The ultimate vampire Willow story.
It starts with Willow becoming a vampire, follows with her canonical staking, then continues with her subsequent resurrection at the hands of Wolfram and Hart in the place of Darla's resurrection of the Angel season 1 finale. This story shows all of your favorite characters from a different point of view: Faith who becomes Giles's surrogate daughter as Buffy did elsewhere though without losing her edge; a harder Giles who's had to see Sunnydale fall to the vamps, though he has Jenny Calendar to balance him; and Lilah who represents Wolfram and Hart's to the Mayor (what other law firm would represent the Mayor?)
And of course, a darker Tara who's become a vampire hunter after the loss of her parents. Tara comes to Sunnydale to work for the Mayor in order to destroy the Master, whom she blames for her loss. She knows it's a diabolical bargain, in much the same way that her use of the magicks is, but she can't help liking the man who acts more like a father to her than her own father ever did. She also finds a friend and perhaps more in Lilah, who comes to check on her for a mysterious prophecy held by Wolfram and Hart. Who and what the prophecy actually talks about is a wonderful twist, subverting all the expectations developed upon first reading about it.
Meanwhile, she meets a beautiful red-haired vampire, the parody of the girl of her dreams. Tara can't resist her and what they have is more than sex, but it's a lot less than love; their relationship's sure to get someone killed, perhaps including both of them, as Tara and Vampire Willow play an uneasy game of alliances with the Mayor, the Master (who is the scary villain he could've developed into if he'd survived Prophecy Girl), Wolfram & Hart, and the Council of Watchers.
Review: Vampire Willow retains her predatory vampiric edge to a greater degree than canonical Spike does. Her revenge on Oz for staking her is scary; however, my favorite images are of her reaction to Tara being sick and how she ends up giving Tara a kitten as a 'gift.' Both are priceless. Despite their differences, neither Tara nor Vampire Willow can pull away from each other, though both know that it can't end well. I would've loved to have seen Buffy/Spike written more like this.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Kitten, The Witches and The Bad Wardrobe: Sidestep Chronicles
Kathel
Circolo
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash-het mixed
Pairing: Oz/Xander, Cordy/Xander, Cordy/Willow
Themes: Angst, AU, drama, first time, H/C, humor, romance
Reviewed by: Doodle Bug
Reviewer's home URL: http://www.doodleshirtcompany.co.uk/
Dated added: 02-07-2003
Length: 2+ chapters, most parts 25KB or under
Plot: A series in progress following an alternative plot from Lovers Walk - in which Xander and Oz get together, Cordy finds out an is able to manipulate the Scoobies.
Review: I don't think this author has been posting fic for very long, but he/she (he?) seems to be able to write the voices of the characters well. I wouldn't normally even read a WIP but I started this without realising and got hooked... Cordelia's characterisation is really good, and Xander's voice comes across very well. It has some hilarious moments, especially in the way Xander and Cordy act as exes, and while the fic is dealing with a sad time for the Scoobies, it is not overly angst-y. In fact, I only just realised that the only characters to appear are Oz, Xander, Cordy and Willow. Huh. I didn't even notice. This fic is perhaps not the author's best genre (which is hilarious comedy) but it's well worth a read!
Warning: No warnings
Archive: All the Fun of the Fans
Katyd
Wedding Bells
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Het
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Themes: AU, drama, humor, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: With the Council's support now withdrawn, Giles faces deportation due to the lack of his green card. It's up to the Gang and Buffy to foil those plans. There's only one snag...
Review: Katyd bravely tackles something that has been the subject of several B/G fics and manages to surpass them all. The fic is still in the process of being written but there are ten parts out there so far and each one has been worth the wait. This is set after the end of season three so there are some changes from season four canon, although I think those changes are ones most of you will approve of. All the Gang get their chance to shine and for once it's not only Xander who gets the best lines. But it's Buffy and Giles who really steal the show. Telling you where my favourite scenes are would spoil the plot, but there are some that just left me giggling so hard I didn't know what to do with myself!
There is a pairing in this fic that may surprise some of you though...
Warning: No warnings
Archive: buffygiles.com archive
Kiara Rogue
Manly Girly Giggles
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Xander/Spike
Themes: Action/adventure, first time, humor, romance
Reviewed by: Spurglie
Reviewer's home URL: Spurglie's fanfiction
Dated added: 15-11-2004
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: Without giving too much away...? Umm, something very strange happens to Xander and Spike, of all people, is there to help him through. Oh... and aliens attack the earth.
Review: The first thing I asked Kiara when I sent her some drooling feedback was if she could tell me exactly what medication she was on so I could rush out and get myself some. She writes stuff you won't even believe. Slasherific, world destroying, canon smashing, genderbending fiction that manages to remain hilarious, silly yet sensible, and very, very hot throughout. A few issues with punctuation, but nothing that's going to make you tear your hair out.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Manly Girly Giggles
Kirayoshi
Beside Myself
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Willow
Themes: Drama, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: What if the Toth demon in 'The Replacement' had hit Buffy instead of Xander?
Review: I haven't seen 'The Replacement' (I've only read the transcripts and have to wait until the TV stations in England show it) but this is a great take on a great episode. The two halves of Buffy, Slayer and Buffy, are used well here and it's a shame the show has never investigated this side of her. So it's not surprising that re-writing the episode has worked so well, and the Buffy/Willow overtones that were worked in don't jar at all. Kirayoshi kept in many of the funniest lines (a wise choice) and I barely even noticed the changes. If only all episode re-writes were this well-executed...
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium
Kirayoshi
Life Version 2.0
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara (implied)
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, AU, drama
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 26-11-2003
Length: Over 100KB
Plot: An older, wiser and sadder Willow makes a wish.
Review: Have you ever wished you could go back and change things? This is essentially what powers this fic and it's very well done. The Willow from the end of S6 is given a chance to 'do over' the past few years with all the knowledge from living through them. Kirayoshi manages to capture Willow's sadness and guilt perfectly, as well as the confusion of her friends who can see 'their' Willow, yet she has changed. Willow's relationship with Tara is mentioned in retrospect and the lessons she's learnt about herself are kept. This is a powerful, moving fic that interweaves Kirayoshi's story with well-known events. I loved it.
There's even a hint that there may be more chapters, something that I'm desperately hoping will come to pass because there is so much potential in the universe that's been created.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium