Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for (or having one's atoms become one with the universe) here:
These are recommendations made by Tropers for His Dark Materials Fan Fics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.
Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory. Some people just don't like it, and as we all know, Shipping is Serious Business.You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.
Authors and Websites
"Ceres Wunderkind"
- Recommended by SenorP
- Overview: He's worked on HDM for years now—and it shows. Whatever loose ends or shortcomings everyone complains about in "Spyglass" have been carefully examined and rectified. His website is a real resource for anyone with tangential memory of the series. On FF his stories always get Reviews that are well worth reading themselves. No mulefa!
- Particular Stories: The Holy War is a short (and brutally-realistic) multiversal report about what happens after Lyra gets back. High-concept and blackly Orwellian (or Amis-ian?). The Reliquary's short and tight—almost "flash fiction"—about Limehouse children being sold to Lapland.
- Comments: He's a wordsmith and weighs all the moral issues: every one of his works is a gem, with not a word wasted.
The Lonely Traveler by Cory Calhoun
- Recommended by Thagomizer
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Intended to be the first of a trilogy, would follow Lyra, Will, and their children in their respective universes, and a new character as they work to establish the Republic of Heaven.
- Comments: Easily the best fanfiction in a series sorely lacking in it, this is one of the best fanfics I've ever read. Sadly, it was guillotined by the author before it really began to take flight, but what is there is still an incredible read.
From Eden by ellizablue.
- Recommended by Magicalthinker
- Status: on-going, UPDATED 12/23/2020: After a long hiatus, the Author states they want to finish to fic
- Pairing(s): Lyra/Will
- Synopsis: "Maybe it means nothing. It just is."
—-The prophecy contained more than anybody was told. As both Lyra and Will work towards reuniting, they find themselves carried willingly towards that hidden destiny.
- Comments: Hands down the best Lyra/Will reunion fic. The author succeeds particularly well at human/daemon interactions and you can tell they’ve thought through what Lyra and Will’s lives would have become post-Amber Spyglass. Fic started before release of the Secret Commonwealth and is MUCH MORE SATISFYING. Can’t recommend this one enough. Seriously if you're still recovering from the Amber Spyglass, this one is for us.
Better Days by Welcome to Maddieland
- Recommended by Aver
- Status: Complete
- Pairing(s): Lyra/Will
- Synopsis: What if Lyra had picked the option to go to Will's world instead of staying in her own? Takes place after The Amber Spyglass.
- Comments: It's only a short fic, but it's certainly worth a read. From the beginning, you know that it isn't going to end well, but you keep on reading and hoping that maybe she survives after all. It's angst you see coming and yet it's a surprise when it happens. If the writer can do that, then it proves he's very good. Certainly worth a read.
like gold to ayery thinnesse beate by laleitha.
- Recommended by Vifetoile
- Status: Complete
- Pairing(s): Lyra/Will
- Synopsis: A door missed - or left apurpose - can be found even when you aren't looking for it. Takes place after The Amber Spyglass.
- Comments: Yes, it's one of a million stories reuniting Will and Lyra again — but this one actually pulls it off incredibly well. Aside from a few logistical issues, the story really feels like a part of the original books, on every level — including a strong narrative voice, believably mature Will and Lyra, and strong characterization overall.
Sinful Eloquence by vivial
- Recommended by cozcat
- Status: Complete
- Pairing(s): Lord Asriel/Mrs Coulter
- Synopsis: Marisa had never in her life felt so denied and so faded as she did when that atrocious man took her hand. He contemptuously measured her (and everyone else) with his eyes and a know-it-all smirk that made her eye twitch, ever so slightly. It was only for a second, and she knew no one else noticed when her bright smile faded for an instant, but she also knew he saw it. A second later and she was back to her normal, glorious self, but the damage had been done already.
- Comments: A stunning piece about Marisa and Asriel's affair, from Marisa's perspective. Follows every detail from their first meeting to the end of their relationship, and is beautifully written in every moment. The first in a pair - followed by amargor.
amargor by vivial
- Recommended by cozcat
- Status: Complete
- Pairing(s): Lord Asriel/Mrs Coulter
- Synopsis: Asriel harbours no love for boundaries, he gets what he wants by either power, money or influence, or by merely asking, for who could say no to a man like him? Whatever the price, he can pay or so he thinks.
- Comments: Following on from Sinful Eloquence, with Asriel's perspective of the affair, and continuing through the series. Just as beautifully written and just as enjoyable as its predecessor.
Crossovers
The Ivory Horn by kaydeefalls
- Recommended by Selina Catz
- Status: Complete
- Fandoms: The Chronicles of Narnia, His Dark Materials
- Pairings: Will/Lyra
- Synopsis: If there's a way back out of this world, Will is determined to find it. At any cost.
- Comments: Will wants to get Lyra back, Susan wants to enter Narnia again. The two of them meet. A story that combines Will's college years with The Problem of Susan for a fantastic story with a bittersweet ending.
Existence Is the Most Exciting Thing of All by Sailor Ptah
- Recommended by Completely Different
- Status: Complete, with novel-length sequel also complete.
- Crossover/Canon Welding with Welcome to Night Vale
- Synopsis: Carlos and his Magisterium-approved team are on a mission to study Rusakov particles in the most theologically interesting community in Hispania Nova. They are in no way prepared for anything they're about to meet. (A partial list: angels, witches, hooded spectres, portals between worlds, and a man who walks around with no daemon in sight and knows things he shouldn't possibly be able to know.)
- Comment: While the simple premise of "What if the characters of Night Vale had daemons?" alone could have served as an interesting concept, the author goes even further, seamlessly melding the two universes and giving us an interesting possibility to how Carlos reacted to the weirdness that is Night Vale.
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