R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
T a k e t h e T i m e . . .
I tried to keep my list short, but it was just too hard. All these authors are worth a look, especially if you're an S/B fan, since most of my list is either non-shippy or S/B. Some of these are old favorites, authors that are fairly well known on the JM.com, BBB, and BAPS circuit, others might be harder to stumble across but write some of the best stories out there. I didn't write this list all at once, so some links have more detail than others, and I've organized it alphabetically. Check carefully at the sites for ratings warnings, I didn't keep track myself.
Amanda Rex
www.geocities.com/amanda_rex/indexbuf.html
Anna S [A+]
http://www.drizzle.com/~eliade/demon_noir.html
Buffy Season Noir. I don't even have words to express how good this story is. Anna has created an alternative universe season eight. It's dark, but not dank, and utterly delicious. All our favorite charactes are there, though Giles is still in England. She starts with episode zero, which she imagines as the final episode as season seven, and has three other episodes posted so far. Her AU splits off after the season six episode Gone.
Annie Sewell-Jennings
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=33007
geocities.com/anniesjennings/buffy.html (not all her stories are listed here)
Imagery and more. Very dark.
Avalon
members.dencity.com/avalon_online/btvs/btvs.html
Blair Provence - Not Even Jimmy Olsen [A+]
archive.shriftweb.org/archive/3/noteven.html
Takes place in Season Three, it's an outsiders view of a night with the gang. If you love the show, you'll love this story. There should be more like it.
Elena B
bifictionalbedlam.slashcity.net/guests/otherpervert.html
This story is *the* explanation for Anya's ever changing hair. A little fetish-y and lots of fun.
Herself [A+]
www.echonyc.com/~stax/Buffy/herself/index.htm
good characterization, lots of sex, post-wrecked S/B stories
Hlynn
members.aol.com/hlynn28/creative/
From post-FFL to post-The Gift , Hlynn captures everything that makes Spike and Buffy fun and heartwrenching to watch.
Idle Idol [A+]
home.earthlink.net/~kgeer/fiction/long_way_home/long_way_00.html
WIP, post The Gift, lots of Spike and Dawn interaction as well as the rest of the Scoobies. Fun, adventure and heartbreak.
Isabelle
carnal-sins.net/main1.htm
Has been on my favorites list almost since the beginning. I'm especially fond of her old stories, though they're in the most need of a beta for spelling and grammer. She has a number of wonderful epics, and I love how each story can take a completely different direction, but always end up with a S/B resolution.
JerichoTGF
www.geocities.com/jericho_tgf/index.html
A classic S/B author, Tracy is a must read for every newbie.
Julbie
www.dreamwater.net/dmarkedlove/other.html
Her stories are written in script format, but the ideas are absolutely original.
Kalima [A+]
www.echonyc.com/~stax/Buffy/kalima/index.htm
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=5999
Most of her stories are more about the S/B relationship, and how they love each other and screw up, than about developing their relationship. Good characterizations, strong images. I lover her Dawn pieces, plus there's a great story with Spike and Anya talking about their loves.
Lucy Van Pelt
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=47583
Miranda [A+]
home.earthlink.net/~mlb13/
Miranda was one of the first fanfic authors I read, which is probably how come I knew I'd love fanfiction. I'm a big fan of her S/B, S/T, and S/T/B stories, as well as other character pieces, and it's great to see the differences in how she pulls off her stories. There's a lot of angst, but by the end the conflict is resolved, and I always feel like I'm reading something I can actually see the characters doing.
Mikelesq [A+]
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=17206
He writes beautiful stories with a variety of BtVS/Ats characters. He has fun with the story, in much the same way that Joss has fun with his story, and you can tell that he loves writing. His prose is wonderful and he captures each character perfectly. While some stories might contain relationships (usually canon), and even focus on the relationships, I would classify his writing as non-shippy. Everyone should check him out; he's really worth the time.
Mustang Sally and RivkaT [A+]
www.disenchantedkingdom.com/index2.html
recommended series - The Hearts Filthy Lesson and Serious Moonlight.
The third part, Changes, is good, but the first two parts are great! A wonderful and long read.
Sangga
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=63650
There are bits and pieces of each fic that kind of twig my brain, but overall I enjoyed them. Good combo of story telling, good characterization, and S/B interaction.
I especially love To Make Much of Time (the sequel to Black the Sun), but it's still incomplete.
Shoshanna
www.crosswinds.net/~foolforlove/
What I love about Shoshanna is her ability to take events on the show and look into their meanings and turn it into an action filled, angst ridden, happy ending, fluffy, romance story. I usually end with a little more insight into the characters and a nice feeling about love.
Terri Botta
www.wordsmiths.net/Botta/fixingit.html
The Visitor
www.geocities.com/the-visitor/Buffybot/seasonone.html
The Buffybot Adventures - a series of stories written in the summer between seasons five and six. All around fun, these adventures include a trip to the 70s (where we meet some teenagers that seem somewhat familiar) and to a comic convention.
Valerie X
www.geocities.com/webandofbuggered/
I love her stories because she makes them fun, while still showing how much insight she has into the characters. My favorites are The Summit and Super Food World.
VicNoir
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=110996
smutty fluff and more.
Wisteria [A+]
www.alanna.net/
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=130556
Angst and imagery. And sometimes a happy ending. I love this girl.
Yahtzee [A+]
www.thechicagoloop.net/yahtzee/index.htm
Yahtzee has written a number of great stories, so I'll just mention my favorites. In Harm's Way reads like a missing Season 4 episode, the characterizations are spot on and the story line realistic. There are no pairings, just canon; if you love the show, you'll love this story. Acid Trip is a Xander story, and a trip in itself. Xander's accidental foray into drugs leaves him disorientated, and he needs to make sense of the world so that he can save Buffy and keep Anya. Pheonix Rising is also *the* future fic, it's the only B/A story I've ever liked, and it's one of those stories I go back and read. The new world she creates is so realistic; I couldn't help but fall for her new characters. On the Ats side, Yahtzee strikes again, fleshing out things that are only hinted to on the show. If you watch the show but never read the stories (that used to be me) read her story (co-written with Rheanna, mentioned below) Splinter anyway.
Zero [A+]
www.zeroimpact.com/fanfiction (currently down)
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=7427
I love reading old fanfic written by authors who loved the pairing even before Spike's season four return. I'm pretty sure I can hold zero responsible for that. She also gets my praise for a wonderful original character POV in Ride.
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Mostly Ats instead of BtVS, but I love these authors. Actually, sometimes I think that I only watch Angel so that I can keep up with what they write.
HonorH
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=29024
I recommend the series that contains the stories Dawn and the Dead (Dawn visits the LA gang), Elegy for a Fallen Heroine (the LA gang comes to Sunnydale after Buffy dies), and Ties that Bind (Dawn and Spike with the LA gang + one).
Rheanna [A+]
www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/ruthhanna/html%20files/main.htm
If I had to say something negative about Rheanna's fiction it would have to be that she doesn't write BtVS. If you are only ever going to read one of her stories, I recommend Spliter, cowritten with Yahtzee (mentioned above). Splinter begins when the Ats gang jumps through the portal in Pylea and ends at their return to the Hyperion, but creates a whole new world inbetween. This story is worth reading just to see how these two authors were able to create a completely realistic Fred before Season Three began. Once you read it, you'll find it impossible to resist the rest of her fiction.