Things to Read

[rsadelle]

Books
For those of you who may be interested in such things, you can see what I read this year. For the short version, here are the 5 best books/series I read this year, with first lines (I'm still skeptical about the value of first lines in determining quality, but some people like that sort of thing):

• Fitcher's Brides by Gregory Frost.

  Crack! goes the whip

• Oaths and Miracles by Nancy Kress.

  Fourteen minutes into the midnight show at Caesar's Palace, the sixth showgirl descending the left side of the Staircase from Heaven tripped.

• Archangel Protocol, Fallen Host, Messiah Node, and Apocalypse Array by Lyda Morehouse. (First lines in order of the series.)

  My hairline itched where the dead receiver lay just under the skin.

  I never sleep.

  Sometimes I wondered what God was thinking.

  When the preacher asked if there were any objections, I half expected God Himself to strike me down.

• The Drylands by Mary Rosenblum.

  The crowd was bigger this afternoon.

• Grasp the Stars by Jennifer Wingert.

  The jangle and bash of alien music echoed over the cavernous dock, mingling with the squeal of heavy machinery.

Unfinished Fic
I keep meaning to do an unfinished fic list, and I keep not doing it. So here are some details about a couple of things I've been working on.

Montana Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander. I've been totally reluctant to talk about this for fear of jinxing it, but I'm half-stuck now and I don't know what's going to happen after the next two scenes, so here I am talking about it. It may or may not eventually be slash. I have no idea.

Spike shrugged. "Been seeing Red. Professional-like."

Xander's shot went wild. Vampires in therapy. Would wonders never cease?

"She says it's an inappropriate coping mechanism. Three in the corner." Spike, of course, had no problem making his shot while carrying on a conversation. "Seven in the side."

They played in silence for a while until Spike started fidgeting again. When Xander glared at him across the table, he stopped and looked almost guilty.

"Never realized how much time I spent smoking."

Xander nodded. "Did she make you make a list?"

Spike's eyebrows almost jumped off his face. "Of all the ways it controlled me? Yeah. One in the corner." He lined up his shot. "She got you in therapy too?"

"Not really. I let her practice some things on me. She got me to go to Al-Anon." Xander considered his beer and then set it down again.

"Yeah? That help?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes I've just helped save the world, so what does it matter that my parents are alcoholics?"

Lovers Will Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spike/Xander. In which Angel harasses Spike, and Spike and Xander's boundaries wear down.

"Ta-da!" he says, and he even does the arm waving thing.

Spike eyes him suspiciously. "Joining the mobile age are you?"

"Nope," Xander says. "We are." He doesn't wait for Spike's reaction but turns immediately to flash a smile at the sales guy.

"Hi," he says. "We need two phones and some sort of plan."

"You can't afford that," Spike says, but Xander can see some of the hope and relief dawning in his eyes.

"No, I can't," Xander says cheerfully, "but we can. I know Willy pays you well enough."

Spike's positively gleeful by the time they get all the details worked out and the contract signed. He immediately learns how to program in phone numbers and puts Angel's in under "Sodding Wanker."

Love Me Like A Man Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spike/Xander. Anya gets her powers back, promises Xander someone to take care of, and turns Spike into a mortal girl. Later, Spike gets pregnant.

He tore the condom wrapper, pinched the tip, and slid it down his banana.

"Your turn," he said, pushing a condom at each of them.

Spike got it on the first try--"Seen a lot of porn, haven't I?"--but he had to make adjustments to Dawn's technique. And the less said about that the better. This was embarrassing enough as it was.

"If you want to," he said, "you can learn--" He had to stop and catch his breath. Spike's condom-filled mouth was almost all the way down over his banana. "To do that."

Spike backed off of the banana, leaving the condom in place. "Lot of porn," he explained.

900 Miles to Stockholm Bourne, Jason/Nicky. I promise I haven't forgotten about this. I actually know where it's going, I just have to get my act together and finish it.

She doesn't know what he's doing, and that makes this the most frightening conversation she's ever had. Something must show, because Jason takes her piece of pie and Bob Hance leaves the counter to amble over to their table.

"Afternoon, Nicky." He's still casually sipping his coffee, but his other hand's resting on the butt of his gun.

"Sheriff."

"This fellow bothering you?"

She can't bring herself to smile, but she shakes her head. "No," she says. "It's fine."

She can tell he doesn't believe her.

"Well now, you decide you don't want to talk to him anymore, you let me know." He nods briefly at her and goes back to the counter.

"Good to see you're making friends." Jason's almost amused by the whole thing, and she's relieved he's not going to try to kill the sheriff. Sheriff Hance is a good guy, probably thinks Jason's an abusive ex-boyfriend and just wants to make sure she stays safe. If only he knew.