I stopped reading fan fiction sometime early in 2001 because I had discovered that it prevented me from writing fan fiction. Therefore, these recommendations do not include stories that were written after the early months of the year 2001. However, I have recently rediscovered my passion for reading fan fiction. I am planning on reading more Farscape fan fiction again now, and I will update this page as I discover new stories and authors. I'm really looking forward to getting back into reading Farscape fanfic, because I get the impression that a lot of high quality stuff has been written since I went AWOL. ;-)

But now, without further ado, my somewhat outdated recommendations.

'The Delitescent Doorway' by Analise: One of the most amazing stories I have read in any fandom. The emotional impact is intense. The story is told from an unexpected perspective, and the eventual appearance of one of our heroes comes as quite a surprise, or maybe rather a punch in the gut. Lots of bitterness and pain in this -- so much that a friend of mine to whom I recommended it wrote me an e-mail to complain about the distress the story had caused her. So, if you are looking for easy, pleasant reading, do not go there. However, if you like to be amazed and deeply moved, you definitely should check this story out. Like all of Analise's stuff it's incredibly well written, too.

'The Cutting Truth' by Analise: Another wonderful story by Analise. An Aeryn-without-Crichton story, and, as the subject matter commands, very sad. Like 'The Delitescent Doorway', this is told from an outside perspective, which I find an intriguing way to describe our heroes. Analise is also very good at inventing and bringing to life original characters and settings, and this story lives to quite a large part from its magnificent narrator, a guy who falls in love with a distant Aeryn working in a quarry. . . I especially love the introduction to this story, the first paragraph, which is suffused with a regret that, melodramatically speaking, wrenches my heart.

'One Split Second' by Analise: And yet another Analise marvel. Very clever use of different levels of consciousness/memory - another thing I like very much. Cool aliens. ;-) I don't know what to say that I haven't said already in the previous two recs, except maybe that this is less dark than the other two stories.

'24 Hour Pass' by Annigmatic (Ann Harrington): Although I love toying with the idea of John coming home and what might ensue, there are very few stories that offer 'Coming Home' scenarios that really convince me. This is one of them. It does not try to gloss over the fact that John has changed a lot since he left Earth, yet the reader is also not hit over the head with the change that has occured. Another thing I like a lot about this story is the way in which military/IASA operations on Earth and in space following John's reappearance are described. The scenes on the ISS feel very real. Very good dialogue, too.

'A Perfect Gift' by Crystal Moon: Yet another story that describes Aeryn and Crichton entirely from outside. A nice original character here, too -- a shopkeeper on some mining planet who does some deals with Aeryn and Crichton. . . This is, in a way, a Christmas story, and a remarkably non-sentimental one at that. Very nice descriptions of Aeryn and Crichton, and a sweet and ironic ending.

''The Jigsaw Man' by Maayan: Another amazing story by another amazing author. . . all the more amazing since Maayan's first language is not English but French. Very well written, poignant and touching. The story contains some of the best description and interpretation of the Aeryn-Crichton relationship that I have read so far, as well as some of the best characterization for both characters. Good atmosphere, too - something I appreciate very much in fan fiction, but which very often is neglected. Reading this story, I get an almost physical reaction to some sentences. It's a story about change, grief, regret, and hope. Oh, and love, too. :-) (There's a plot, too, but who cares about plots. *g*)

This was actually Maayan's first Farscape story. It happened to coincide with my decision to stop reading Farscape fic to concentrate on my writing more, so I haven't actually read anything by Maayan except this. She went on to become maybe the most revered author in the fandom, so I should probably start reading some of her stuff!

'Fiction in the Space Between' by Scapekid: I suppose this goes without saying -- after all, why would I recommend a story if I didn't love it? -- but here we have another story I love very, very much. This story is mainly about Crichton coming to terms with having 'gone native', and it's wonderfully done. Aeryn and Crichton have been captured by some people who have put them to work as slaves in a mine. While Aeryn is trying to keep them both alive, Crichton is having a full blown identity crisis. The story is very convincingly told from Crichton's perspective. The actual flow of the story is punctuated by short, snapshot-like 'pictures' from the past. Scapekid is very good at short, intense sentences that stay with your for quite a while. This story also makes remarkably good use of a child character, which is rare in fan fiction.

'In One of These Dreams' by Silver: This was the first Farscape fanfic that really blew me away, and I still love it. It's yet another story that employs an outside perspective, and it is another 'Coming Home' story -- sort of. Oh, and it's also another separation story, so quite a few of the themes that interest me come together here. The story is told from the point of view of a male nurse at a military mental institution, and is practically dripping with world-weariness. I suppose you can imagine who ends up in the mental ward the original character/narrator is working at. . . I notice that in many of the stories that look at Aeryn and Crichton from outside the lives of the strangers who meet our heroes are touched and maybe changed by the meeting, and at least the former is happening here, too.

'Taking It Home' by Speedbump: Another one of my earliest discoveries -- when I started reading this story, there was only the prologue. Four parts were added over the months, and an epic story of the 'Coming Home' category unfolded. This is an Alternate Universe story by now that branches off from canon shortly after Nerve/The Hidden Memory, but for large parts stays surprisingly true to the later developments in spirit if not in detail. This story is different from many 'Coming Home' stories in that it is set quite far in the future -- eleven years from Season One, approximately. In the Taking It Home universe, Aeryn and Crichton have a family by then, and have founded a colony on Aquarra for Peacekeeper fugitives. One of Speedbump's definite strengths is the invention of interesting alien characters -- the only nit I have to pick with Taking It Home, alien-wise ;-), is that these original characters are maybe a bit under-used in the last part. Part of the last installement jarrs a bit with my morals (or rather, with my idea of Zhaan's morals), but despite my nitpicking, this is a very good story. It's also one of the few stories in which I like the idea of Aeryn and Crichton having kids.

Wanna recommend stories to me? Please do! hmpf1998@gmx.net