Fairy Tale of Regent's Park

Title: Fairy Tale of Regent's Park
Author: Basingstoke
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Lestrade, Mrs Hudson, Jim
Warning: PG, AU
Length: Short
Status: Completed


There is a swan, and he's not named Sherlock. And there is a duck, and he's not named John.



AO3

Utterly cute story of Roadblock (Sherlock) the Swan, and Johnny the Duck. And Norbury, their peachick.

Rats in the System

Title: Rats in the System
Author: GarrulousGibberish
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John(/Sherlock), Mycroft, Jim, Anderson
Warning: R, murder (Sherlock, John), illness, character death (Mrs Hudson, Lestrade), injury (John, Lestrade, Sherlock)
Length: Medium
Status: Ongoing


No one knows where the virus started. No one knows how to stop it, either. But Sherlock will find a solution. He always does. Or he'd better, because otherwise he's going to be short a flatmate.


AO3


That's one story to enjoy angst at its finest. The characterization is superb, and the setting just screams challenge. I did not have high expectations when I began to read it, but this story captivated me after the first chapter.

Red Number Day

Title: Red Number Day
Author: PipMer
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Jim, Mycroft
Warning: R, slash
Length: Medium
Status: Completed

In a world where everybody has a set deathday, Sherlock Holmes is the only person who can see them. As with most talents, it's both a blessing and a curse. Because Death is a fixed point. Indelible, unchangeable, inevitable. It can't be altered, cheated or delayed.

Or can it?

AO3

Magic realism. Very similiar to This Thing All Things Devour. I liked Sherlock's desperation to understand, to bring about change. And then frustration.

Golden Boy

Title: Golden Boy
Author: paperandfeather
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Mycroft, Jim
Warning: R, slash, magic, AU, amnesia (Sherlock)
Length: Novella
Status: Completed


"Do you know what you have done? A bond was created. You two are now irreversibly connected to each other..." At first neither Sherlock nor John is happy about it but their animosity begins to fade...



AO3

Another AU for the list.

The Vibe

Title: The Vibe
Author: ms_soma
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock/John, Jim
Warning: R, slash, AU
Length: Medium
Status: Completed

(Mostly straight) John is desperate for a change in vocation. Along comes the imposing, and slightly intriguing, Mycroft Holmes with an offer for John to join his brother's shop. Sherlock is doubtful his brother is capable of hiring anyone who is not prudish, squeamish or a complete prat, yet maybe he's on a winner with the good doctor. Not that he'll admit it. Yet.

Featuring all the regulars you know and love (and hate), a trip to Sexpo, pining of the requited and unrequited variety, and lots of talk of butt-plugs and dildos.

AO3

The setting is just too funny not to rec it. The end is somewhat rushed but well... it's funny. Check it out.

Spare Change

Title: Spare Change
Author: Ermerness
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock (switch), Mycroft, Jim, Mummy Holmes
Warning: NC-17, slash,AU, slash, marriage
Length: Novella
Status: Completed


The Holmes family is one of the richest and most powerful in England. Sherlock spends his time flying around the world on the family's private jet drinking a lot and shopping at expensive boutiques as a way of trying to alleviate his endless boredom. His mother decides it's time he settles down with someone powerful, wealthy and well connected. John Watson happens to be none of those things.


AO3


A nice AU with rich!Sherlock who is supposed to marry a dull person. Then John Watson happens. And Sherlock is no longer bored.

Fade to Black

Title: Fade to Black
Author: twistedthicket1
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John, Sherlock, Mycroft, Moriarty (John)
Warning: R, het, murder (John), illness (multiple personality disorder- John)
Length: Novella
Status: Ongoing

John Watson believes one day he'll just fade.

That he'll drown in the black spaces of his mind, and that one day he will no longer exist. It's always been like this, the dark spots marking out moments in his life he can't remember. Where for just a moment he's someone else. Having a Dissociative identity disorder, he can't even be entirely sure he's really who he says he is.
Then he meets Sherlock Holmes. A brilliant detective who when he looks at you can read your entire life story. John is immediately fascinated and afraid, half-wondering if maybe Sherlock can see the other personalities in him and half terrified of the thought of him finding out. Becoming his flatmate seems at once to be a wonderful and horrible idea. Yet as John's Blackouts become more and more severe and his other personalities begin to truly awaken and show themselves with Sherlock's help, the two soon discover that sometimes even the kindest person can harbour a demon best left untouched inside of them.
Because not all of John's other personalities play nicely. and some may be hiding secrets best left undisturbed.....

AO3

A very introspective work. The multiple personalities are John's weakness just as much as they are his strength. I abhor stories that either romanticize or dramaticize disorders. This one is a very good attempt at showing "what if."

Into the Living Sea of Waking Dreams

Title: Into the Living Sea of Waking Dreams
Author: Hekate1308
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Mycroft, Sherlock, Jim, John, Lestrade
Warning: PG-13, murder (Mycroft - Jim), Parallel Universe
Length: Novella
Status: Completed


Choices could alter the course of our lives; Mycroft Holmes was about to learn this in a way no one ever had before. 


FF


Main focus on Mycroft and Sherlock, as well as their relationship over the years. I already liked Hekate's other Parallel Universe AU, and this one's just as nice.



Same author as:
Made Weak by Time and Fate, but Strong in Will

Returning to Tomorrow

Title: Returning to Tomorrow
Author: Setep Ka Tawy
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John, Sherlock, Jim
Warning: PG-13
Length: Novel
Status: Completed


Six months probably isn't long enough for John to begin picking up the pieces. Fortunately, Sherlock is trying to ensure that he doesn't have to. But in the meantime, a good old-fashioned friend is already setting up the board for the next round - and this time there's an ominous twist in the story that's more focused on John than Sherlock cares to admit.


FF

Your typical post-TRF story. Mostly case-fic, and it's nicely written. Plot is a bit thin, though, for novel-length.

The Circle of Fifths

Title: The Circle of Fifths
Author: Nikoshinigami
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, John/Mary, OFC (Billie), Mycroft, OMC (Church), Jim, Moran
Warning: NC-17, slash, injury (John, Sherlock), character death (Mary)
Length: Novel
Status: Completed

John writes a blog entry.

E-mails between John and Mr. Sigerson.

John's life is not only in danger but caught in a delicate balance between love, friendship, and his own desires. A supporting character in his own life's story, it may already be too late to affect his life's course.

Nothing is ever simple for John Watson when it involves Sherlock Holmes. With the world doing its best to outdo even its only consulting detective, can the things left unsaid ever finally be spoken?

John has enough to deal with in his normal life as it is, but when a stranger arrives with a new case that cannot be turned down, can he juggle his choices with their repercussions well enough for them all to survive?



AO3



Oh God. Oh God.
I just have to quote.

I don't come first anymore, John," he admitted, not as blind to the fact as some of his actions seemed to indicate. "Things come up, girlfriends or wives make requests. Schedules aren't as flexible. I'm asking you to save a date for me. I want, when this is over, one more day where I am the most important thing you have planned for that evening."

Then there's the brilliant ""hurt my brother.." talk with awkward Mycroft, more awkward John, and uncomfortable Sherlock.

John would wait. John would always wait. Because Sherlock couldn’t come to him if he didn’t.

Just have to love that line. Especially when you remember it from the second instalment, the one when Sherlock tells John that he will be waiting because if he won't, John can't come to him.

You have to love this story. Everybody does.

Same author as:
Naked, Stripped, and Raw
Two of Every Kind
The Ichor of Talos

Off on the Wrong Foot

Title: Off on the Wrong Foot
Author: Unloyal_Olio
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, John/Jim, Mycroft, Irene
Warning: NC-17, slash
Length: Medium
Status: Completed

John and Sherlock aren't flatmates. Instead, John gets a job in Bart's morgue, and Sherlock attempts to abscond with body parts.

Which is just not on.

AO3

Quite nice.
It's something new, a new approach to how Sherlock and John meet. So it goes here.
The slash has a nice dom/sub touch.

Possessions

Title: Possessions
Author: lostwithoutmydoctor
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Mycroft, Jim, Mrs. Hudson
Warning: NC-17, AU, vampire, animal ( bat, cat), character death (John, John Watson)
Length: Novel
Status: Completed

Sherlock Holmes was a bored, socially isolated vampire living in London, and John Watson was just a bloke looking for a flatshare after returning home from a war that left him a wounded, broken man. Lets all take a moment to thank Mike Stamford for bringing them together. Maybe, just maybe, they'll survive together instead of fading away apart.

AO3


I loved the first part, the second part was a bit mushy. Still, one of the best vampire fics out there. Deserves to be rec'ed.

Above, Below (Through the Cracks)

Title: Above, Below (Through the Cracks)
Author: doodle
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Mycroft, Jim/Moran
Warning: NC-17, slash, character death (Mycroft, Jim, Moran), murder (Sherlock), AU, crossover (Neverwhere - book)
Length: Medium
Status: Completed

London is a city with two faces. There is Above and there is Below. And Below is the city of people who have fallen through the cracks, the lost, the forgotten and the broken.

John Watson returns to London from the war, broken and lost until fate leads him to a man who calls himself the consulting detective and the mercenaries who are hunting him. As the result of a single act of kindness John finds himself pulled in the strange, and wonderful, world of Below as the consulting detective attempts to get to safety and solve the string of violent deaths plaguing Below before he is next.

AO3
also on LJ

Brilliant AU. Truly. The universe is fascinating, and the plot is a bit thin for the great setting, but the characterizaton was on the spot.
Mycroft as a baddie, well, okay. I prefer him to be besotted with Sherlock but he is a terrifying power. I buy that because it's an AU.

The Holiday

Title: Th Holiday
Author: Scriblit
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock, John(/Mary + baby), Mrs. Hudson, Jim, OC (Gruner - criminal), Lestrade, Molly
Warning: R, non-con (Sherlock)
Length: Medium
Status: Completed


A month following an horrific, sadistic attack during a case, Sherlock is still physically incapacitated and emotionally damaged. A holiday is suggested, but even stuck out in the middle of nowhere, he and John happen upon a case that could make Sherlock begin to feel like his old self again - or could kill him.


AO3

The only thing I find distasteful in this fic is Mary plus baby.
Still, it's too good not to rec it. I actually would quite like a sequel. Without murderous wife and unnecessary baggage, to be honest. Just makes me scream "decide John, either solve murders, or be a father. Don't be an ass of a father who risks his life for fun without thinking of his child".
Okay, ranting contained...
This fic has got the entire set go on holiday without it being crammed. There's still enough screen time for every character, and no character is being neglected. Liked that.

The Long Game

Title: The Long Game
Author: Black_Crystal_Dragon
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Jim
Warning: PG, injury (John)
Length: Medium
Status: Completed


When Moriarty's plan to take out Sherlock and John in the swimming pool fails, John finds himself drawn into an even more complicated - and potentially deadly - game. 


AO3


Yay! Somebody sends John on a tresure hunt with Sherlock at stake. Great :) Usually it's the other way around. The pacing is at times a bit slow because we don't get to see much interaction. It's more about John's inner perspective. I still liked it but some might find it a bit boring at times.

Safe as Houses

Title: Safe as Houses
Author: vulgarshudder
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Jim
Warning: R, slash, drug abuse (Sherlock)
Length: Medium
Status: Ongoing


John is back from Afghanistan, and Sherlock is living under a very different set of circumstances. Just arrived back in the city, it was just John`s luck to be pick-pocketed. Things get complicated when he meets the thief again.


AO3


Not much to add. The progress of their relationship is slow; at first, it's more friendship-ish but you see where it's going. So one of the more "serious" johnlock stories.

Mise en Place

Title: Mise en Place
Author: azriona
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Molly, Lestrade, Jim, Harry
Warning: NC-17, slash, AU
Length: Novel
Status: Completed


John Watson had no intentions of taking over the family business, but when he returns from Afghanistan, battered and bruised, and discovers that his sister Harry has run their restaurant into the ground, he doesn't have much choice. There's only one thing that can save the Empire from closing for good – the celebrity star of the BBC series Restaurant Reconstructed, Chef Sherlock Holmes.


AO3

Mind-blowing, and how come I have almost no warnings to tag? I don't believe it. Shame on me.
I love Mise en Place. I had no real expectations, even though I know azriona and I liked some of her previous works. Mise en Place has got many elements that "could" work, but also some that made me frown. I mean, seriously, Sherlock as a TV chef? I can see him tearing into people, yes. But I can't see him motivating the staff.
Azriona combines the series and the story by putting in quotes - which make you smile every time, just because you recognize them! I never felt like the AU world was overbearing or too vast to explore. A good AU, definitely.

Same author as:
The British Government Only Asks Twice
The Adventures of the Resurrected Lover
A Matter of Convenience

Composing Hallelujah

Title: Composing Hallelujah
Author: Ricechex
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Mycroft, Irene, Jim, Victor/Sherlock
Warning: NC-17, slash, non-con/(Sherlock), drug abuse (Sherlock), suicidal (John)
Length: Novel
Status: Ongoing


Sherlock Holmes is hailed as the world's greatest concert violinist who can't leave off the cocaine and is willing to trade sex and abuse to get it. John Watson is a failed surgeon who, after losing a high profile patient, drinks himself into a stupor and tries to kill himself - but only ends up shooting himself in the shoulder. What happens when they become roommates at Clouds House, a rehab center in beautiful Wiltshire? And what happens after they leave Clouds?


AO3

Consisting of three parts;
The Secret Chord
The Minor Fall
The Major Lift

In terms of an AU, a must-read. There aren't that many well-written Sherlock!musician stories out there. I especially liked the tentative approach Sherlock and John decide on. They are aware of the circumstances and value each other too much to risk their relationship. Similiar to The Baker Street Nativity, Composing Hallelujah is about tackling the obstacles between you, and having the foresight to see the ones coming.


Same author as:
I Don't Speak French

Pull the Stars from the Sky

Title: Pull the Stars from the Sky
Author: roane
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Jim, Lestrade, Harry, Irene
Warning: NC-17, slash, injury (Irene, Sherlock)
Length: Novella
Status: Ongoing


It’s the fall of 2000, and to help him out after his military career has ended due to injury, John Watson’s sister Harriet gets him a job as US tour manager for rising star of the industrial scene and enfant terrible, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock’s not long out of rehab and there are plenty of doubts as to whether he’s serious about recovery. Plus, the music industry is shaking in its boots over the Napster mess. All John has to do is keep the money coming in and make sure his star doesn't screw things up. After the army, that should be easy, right?


AO3


A music AU; there aren't that many well-done AUs, so a rec for this work. Its pacing is good. Otherwise, well, enjoyable. Not deep, or very artistic. Not the author's intention. I think it's more of a "light reading". Good for relaxing.

Le Scandale Bohème

Title: Le Scandale Bohème
Author: mycake
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock/Lestrade (switch once), Mycroft, Mrs Hudson, Jim
Warning: NC-17, slash, chan, drug abuse, non-con (Sherlock/other), child abuse (Lestrade)
Length: Novella
Status: Ongoing


A desperate police officer puts all of his faith into an eighteen year old junkie who is only interested in getting his hands on the only thing that can ease his unstable mind. Both men become far more involved with one another than either had intended and must keep their home life a secret or risk losing everything.


AO3

Yes, I read that monster, and I read it twice.
In here, we got a lot of the typical "Lestrade picks up Sherlock when he's at his worst and makes him better" elements but it also is about Lestrade himself, for once. He has problems; financial, social, family. In a way, that makes him less jaded than the Lestrade we see in other fiction, strangely enough. Lestrade is young, his age nonwithstanding. He's actively dealing with his life and influencing it. I think this is as much about Lestrade as it is about Sherlock. I like that.