And not to mention that The Denarian Lord and Browncoat require knowledge of two completely different fandoms.

 

Fucking damn, I totally forgot about PotDK. Probably because of the update rate. This and CR are two WIPs I want to see finished most. Should be on the Top list as well.

Also, another one I just remembered: Intoxication by vincet IIRC (or was it nos tres reges?). I think it was pulled from all places where it had been published years ago. Next to Unatoned, it was the best "dark" romance I've read in the fandom. The ending was so good.

Would we include crossovers in the list? I saw Browncoat, Green Eyes mentioned in the thread. I can't speak for it, or Shezza's Denerian Trilogy as I haven't read either, but I have read Evil Be Thou My Good. Super gory, that one.

Something by Voice of the Nephilim too.

Maybe we should just each of us make a list, count which fics show up the most and create the Ultimate DLP Rec List. Could be a fun exercise.

 

Different people come to fanfiction looking for different stuff - some might want to see a continuation of DH or the epilogue, some might want to read a H/Hr romance. As such, it is quite impossible for any fic to be truly called a 'good introduction' to fanfiction since people seek out fanfiction for varied reasons.

Huh, I always thought that story to be a poor man's On the Way to Greatness since while neither story has a complicated plot, a major selling point of both stories is answers to questions about stuff hinted at, but not really explored in canon. I always preferred the discussions about dark magic and the Ministry in OTWTG to much of the same in Forging the Sword, but evidently many people feel otherwise.

 

I read and enjoyed both without any knowledge of the universes beforehand.(I know, shame on me) It's really not necessary, especially in the case of the Denarian Trilogy. Sure, you might miss a thing or two here or there, but it really wasn't that big of a deal and didn't do anything to impair my understanding(at least to my knowledge) or enjoyment. I might even go as far as to say that it was exciting because I didn't really know about a lot of the characters and they weren't predictable like pure canon HP often is to me.

 

I think it's common to read both of those fics with no prior knowledge. I know I did, and now I love both Dresden and Firefly massively, and it's made me like those fics even more.

 

Totally agreed on the first paragraph. This is why I (sarcastically) call the Top 20 in my profile "Lane's Totally Subjective But Ultimately Correct Top 20 Harry Potter Fanfics"

On the second paragraph: I've always found that fics that get heavily 'political', explore Slytherin stuff / Dark magic / foreign intervention / pureblood culture (like OTWTG or PotDK) always seem to have an element of, "Fuck you, JKR, let me show you how it's really done." A sometimes overt, sometimes subtle thread permerating the story that dark and gritty = "real," and the fairy tale-style magic of canon is basically for kids. (This is a wide, sweeping statement, of course, and many exceptions exist. It's just a broad, holistic opinion of mine.)

I tend to really appreciate stories that can nail the tone and style of canon and do something interesting with it. The same, but different. OTWTG really railroads the plot back onto the canon tracks, and it's not particularly subtle about it. WhereasI was in awe of Forging the Sword when it dawned on me that there had been no mention of Sirius Black escaping at the beginning of third year... because Peter had never appeared in a photograph that Sirius saw... because the Weasleys had never gone to Egypt... because they'd never entered the Galleon Draw... because their daughter had died.

I'm not bashing OTWTG; I liked it. It's well-written and good. It's a style thing: it aims to show you how a Slytherin version of Harry would respond to canon events, and it has to do some contortions to make sure "canon events" happen. FTS takes the heart and soul of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's characters and alters a single event and explores how it organically changes them - and, by extension, the plot of the series. And that's just more interesting to me.

 

Been reading Fanfiction since 2002. Started out reading it on the old WarnerBros forums, but there weren't many that stood out at the time. The first truly massive Fanfiction work I ever read was Barb's Psychic Serpent Trilogy. Even though the ending was shit, I think this is absolutely one of the seminal works of Fanfiction.

If someone were just starting out reading Fanfiction today and I wanted to give them a couple of stories to get them started, I would probably focus on reccing the best stories I could think of that had a similar style to canon. Stories like Forging the Sword and Ectomancer come to mind. I'd also probably rec the Alexandra Quick series if they wanted that "J.K. Rowling feel" of storytelling without actually reading about Harry Potter.

 

Heh. Don't you try and pin any responsibility for HPMOR on me!

And thanks, that's kind of you to say. Makes me want to keep writing.

 

I think my intro to HP fanfiction was some canon rehash called Dangerverse that had the following elements:
1. some OC who Lupin falls in love with
2. Sirius, Lupin, OC, and Sirius's wife (whoever that ends up being) basically start a massive family with Harry, Hermione, Malfoy, Luna all living together. Something like that.

And yet after all that change literally the exact plot until book 4 (I stopped reading it then I think) happens, even though Sirius has a daughter, Harry has magic fire powers, all of the 'pack' (which includes the 4 above plus Neville, Ginny, Ron) are Animagi and have random 'abilities' of their own. Also the Founders are in the fic. For some random reason.

Hilariously enough, it was technically well-written and I was new enough to HP that I liked it back then. Now, of course, I think it sucks.

A good intro...I think On the Way to Greatness by Mira Mirth is about the best intro. An easy to understand divergence that skips over the beginning books a bit to get to the interesting parts.

 

Christ, I don't even remember what my first HP fic was. I started with Dragonball Z fanfiction way back in like 2001 and moved on once I realized that Harry Potter had a section too.

The earliest fics I can remember reading are:

Harry Potter and the Power of Time by Rosswrock. The original indy!Harry

and

Deceptions by Wolfmoon. Fuck A Second Chance at Life. Deceptions was the first alternate school fic that I ever remember seeing.

But if we want to make a list of good fics I'd say What Would Slytherin Harry Do would be a good way to introduce someone to the idea of AU fics and Unatoned because I feel that it fits perfectly for what a new reader should read. A completed fic with a good detective mystery.

 

The fic that got me into HP fanfiction isn't something I'd recommend to many people. Two reasons.

1. I haven't read it in years, so I can't say how well it holds up.

2. It's Harry/Draco slash.

Hear me out.

In the early years of HP fanfic one of the more popular authors that popped up during the long wait between PoA and GoF was Maya, who largely contributed to popularizing Malfoy. Perhaps Maya's most famous work was Underwater Light.

I won't launch into a review here, but it was the first really long fic that had action, humor and romance that I read. Judge me all you want, but I remember it fondly.

Just thought I'd share, since other people were.

 

I came across fanfiction outside of sites like ffn. My first read was some James Potter Series, I don't remember the actual title, or anything about it really, and can't be bothered to google it.

What I do remember is that I didn't come across it on ffn (which I found much later), and I think it came in PDFs if I recall correctly.

From your list:

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: I started reading it as an alternative science-based explanation of HP magic, and because I found the first couple of chapters funny. But after the first few chapters, it just got meaningless, and it didn't explain HP magic at all, rather its own brand of magic on the HP template, which is fine if the story is actually good, which it wasn't.

Poison Pen: I think it was fine at the time I read it, not sure if I'd have the same opinion now.

To Shape and Change: I recall reading this, but I don't remember how I felt about it.

Oh God Not Again: Fun read.

Make A Wish: I think it was a good time waster.

Harry Crow: Stopped before I even completed the first chapter. I have no idea why anyone would ever read this, let alone consider it a favourite. Normally when I stop reading a story, I forget about it, yet this one made such an impression that I can actually recall the first few scenes.

RuneMaster: I guess if you're bored and have nothing else to do, this is something you might consider trying.

A Black Comedy: Perhaps the only one on this list that I read multiple times.

Harry Potter: Junior Inquisitor: I think it was a fun story in the beginning, but I think it went down the drain several chapters ago. Stopped reading it somewhere in between.

Delenda Est: Fine read, although I didn't like the ending either.

C'est La Vie: Not my cup of tea. Stopped after the first couple of chapters.

Lord of Caer Azkaban: Another one I distinctly remember clicking the x in my browser midway through the first chapter.

The Lie I've Lived: I think it's an enjoyable read.

Partially Kissed Hero: I have read it, but don't remember how it was or if I finished it.

 

If I had to recommend a piece of fanfiction to anyone as proof of how much better than the originals they can be, I'd tell people to start with Lamora's The Game of Champions, as I've genuinely re-read it at least four or five times, and it's been just as great each time.

 

If the person looking for HP fanfiction wanted something reasonably close to canon, I'd recommend:

1) The Awakening Power. Canon ships, and a Harry that's a little more proactive without being Indy. Voldemort messing with Voodoo is a plus

2) The Phoenix and the Serpent Canon ships, two of the best OCs in HP fanfiction history, and an interesting take on the nature of magic. Mark told me he's not done with it, but that was back in 2013

 

That is a weird HP fic.

 

I don't even remember what the first fanfiction I read was. Something from the FFML back in the 90s, I think, or the FFML Archive. I think people have too different preferences for "one story fits all". Just check the pet peeves and deal breaker threads to see what turns people off.

 

Harry Crow was responsible for almost putting me off the HP fandom for good, it was only recently after joining DLP that I can even look at it now.
Delenda Est: I'm more fond of this fic than most simply because of Bella, who is one of the most engaging characters I've read.
MOR gave me a headache three chapters into it. I wouldn't go as far as to say I hate it, but it was something I was trying to like and failed.
Haven't read the rest.

 

Finally read 'Forging the Sword'. Why is there not more if this?

 

Because it takes time to craft something truly wonderful.

I for one am okay with waiting an entire year for a single chapter if it means the chapter will blow my mind with its incredible quality.

 

After the End by Arabella and Zsenya. First piece of fanfiction I ever read, and my god I'll never forget it. I read all 475k words in a couple of days, this was just after I'd completed the 10th standard.