#bluereviews

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Stannis Baratheon/Sansa Stark, Davos Seaworth/Marya Seaworth, Asha Greyjoy/Justin Massey Characters: Sansa Stark, Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, Brynden Tully, Marya Seaworth, Sarella Sand, Rickon Stark, Asha Greyjoy Additional Tags: Adultery, Romance, King Stannis Summary:

Sansa Stark has given birth to a bastard boy. Davos Seaworth is worried about what King Stannis Baratheon might do.

*Now Complete*.

Let me just quote @bluecichlid on the matter of this story:

Bluereview: 

The Lady of Storm’s End by @sarahtheblack

This is a novel length story inspired by EmynIthilien’s Squire of Dragonstone and its sequel.  I beta read this story, which is finished: the author is just posting the last few chapters.  Stannis is Lord of Storm’s End, Robert is still on the throne, and after Selyse dies in childbirth, he asks the Starks to marry Sansa to his brother.  

Sarah is a fantastic writer on so many levels, but let me not be coy.  IMO, this story is hands down one of the greatest examples of the use of sex in a fanfiction that the asoiaf fandom has produced.  And we all know that is a VERY high bar.  At the same time, the characterizations are incredible, and this unlikely couple feel utterly realistic in the execution.  There is so much here about how difficult arranged marriages could be, and how the power imbalance could play out to the woman’s detriment even with a husband who was not an evil man.  It is a very thought provoking story.  The twists and turns of the plot are less dramatic than canon, but no less disturbing in their quiet way.  I won’t give anything away as it is not posted yet, but I found the ending is very satisfying.  

by Second Star on the Left (@fullofstoryshapes) http://archiveofourown.org/works/430761/chapters/728201

This story is a novel-length canon-universe au in which Sansa escapes the Red Keep and is married to Willas Tyrell.  It is completed, with a sequel in the works.  Lots of smut and some fairly graphic Westeros medical procedures that are not for the faint of heart.  Sansa is underage.

This story was the first asoiaf fic I really loved when I started reading in the fandom.  There are so many things about it, but for me the real standout was how the author handles the two leads.  Willas means well, but he is not the perfect prince who is going to make all of Sansa’s problems go away.  He is a complicated and flawed man.  Most of the story is told from his POV, and many of his assumptions at the beginning of the story are questioned as it progresses.  Despite her youth, this Sansa is intelligent, perceptive, and possesses a quiet strong will that is slowly revealed.  Their relationship is one of the most complicated and realistic-feeling arranged marriages I’ve read in fanfiction.

The minor characters are also fantastic.  Houses Tyrell and Hightower get some much needed development, and their members range from an utterly loveable Garlan, to a gross uncle Garth, to some wildly eccentric Hightowers.  Mace Tyrell and Margaery show surprising depths.  This fic makes the Tyrells feel like a real family, with all the complexity and history that implies.  After reading this story, I find it difficult to see them any other way. 

by zmeischa http://archiveofourown.org/works/871802/chapters/1674628

This short story is written as a historical essay on the period a few years after the books.  The major pairing is Sansan, but Daenerys and Tyrion also feature.

I loved the way this story conveyed a sense of the characters’ world.  It felt reminiscent of Barbara Tuchman’s book A Distant Mirror.  There is so much detail.  The romance is told mostly though hints and inferences, which to me made it much more powerful.  The reader has to fill in the gaps.  The author has drawn a portrait of Sansa’s later life which is not without grief and loss, but is generally happy.  Sansan isn’t my favorite pairing, but I found the way their story plays out very satisfying and believable.  The minor characters were all excellent: I think Tyrion and Dany are two difficult characters to capture, but the author does so perfectly.  This is a great read.

Linger, by Helholden http://archiveofourown.org/works/1049631

This short story is classic horror.  Varamyr Six-skins is the POV character, and Sansa and Sandor appear.  Not for the faint of heart.

I understand from the author’s comments that this story is him experimenting with a different genre; it is a great success.  It is short, tightly plotted, and utterly chilling.  Varamyr’s amorality is perfectly conveyed through the POV.  He’s a fascinating character and unfortunately underutilized in fanfiction.  The horror works on multiple levels.  The reader is left to imagine the reactions of the other characters to the unfolding events.  The ending is not happy, but it is satisfying.

Squire of Dragonstone by EmynIthilien http://archiveofourown.org/works/3921901/chapters/8781790

This is a novella-length AU in which Jon doesn’t go to the Wall, but instead squires for Stannis on Dragonstone.  It is completed, and the author is just finishing a sequel. 

If you didn’t know that you wanted Stannis and teenage Jon to team up like Adam West’s Batman and his Robin sidekick to solve the problem of Cersei’s bastards, then this story will convince you that you do.  The characterization of the two leads is spot on; the author’s Stannis is among the best in the fandom, IMO, and he takes no nonsense from GOT-era Jon.  At the same time, their relationship quickly turns into affection and mutual understanding.  The minor character have depth: Selyse was the stand-out for me, but Davos and Shireen were also excellent.  It was very refreshing to find a story that wasn’t focused on a romantic relationship, and brought two of my all time-favorite characters together. 

The Haunting of Stannis Baratheon, by Shipmaester http://archiveofourown.org/works/4752674/chapters/10865444

This is a WIP 1940s AU Stannis/Sansa based on the movie Laura.  I haven’t seen it, but it seems to be a noir murder myster version of Something About Mary.  Basically, Stannis is a fedora-wearing detective called to the scene of Sansa’s murder.  It isn’t finished, and this is the find of plot one wouldn’t want to see abandoned, but the author has a great track-record and is updating regularly.

Stannis/Sansa is turning out some great fic at the moment, and this is one of the best.   There is atmosphere.  There is a selection of worthy villains.  There are clothes.  OMG are there clothes. And despite the premise, is there ever sexual tension.  Honourable mention goes to the unusual casting of Robert Baratheon as one of the good guys: so refreshing!  I knew Ned saw something in him!  But this fic belongs to Stannis.  Once you read it, you will always see him as a stylish cynical gumshoe born in the wrong era.

This House No Longer Feels Like Home, by SomeEnchantedEve http://archiveofourown.org/works/444941

This is a one-shot Ned lives AU, in which he is allowed to take the Black.  He leaves the Wall on Night’s Watch business and visits Winterfell ... for one day.  Ned/Cat is the main pairing.