Old and New Project: 2 by Taliesin, 2 by Slantedlight

[tinturtle]

Fandoms in this post: The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Professionals

Howdy, everyone. Here's another Old and New Project post.

The fics I had collected were:

The 'Fine and Private Place' Affair by Taliesin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 32,450 words; slash)
I've embarked on a reread of Taliesin's Revenant series, of which this is the first installment. This whole series is excellent. Thoughtful worldbuilding, vivid writing, true-to-character dialog. It's hard to say much else about it while remaining strictly spoiler-free. I highly recommend it, though.
Comments with (minor) spoilers:

In this series, Napoleon has died and returns as a ghost. The stories all relate Illya and Napoleon's encounters with other ghosts in the course of their work but are more humane than they are scary.

These Layers of Charnel Air by Slantedlight (byslantedlight) (The Professionals; 16,835 words; slash)
I reread this fic for the recent reading room discussion at ci5hq. Here is a version of what I wrote there, adapted for those who may not have read the story:

Probably my favorite thing about this fic is the way the story arises from canon differences between the Lads' characters. There are other attractions, too. The mystery of what is going on with Doyle is absorbing and well paced. The internal monologue of Bodie, the POV character, is compelling. The dialog is beautifully written, and the rest of the writing unusually elegant without being distracting.

Another thing I like is Slantedlight's use of setting details that I wouldn't know to include. An example I remember noting here is the specificity of the darts game that takes place in the story. The characters don't just play darts, they play Killer. During the game Bodie "[throws] deliberately for his own eighteen, landing perfectly on the treble." There is a similarly pleasing sprinkle of detail in many of Slantedlight's works.

The new fics I read were:

Finders Keepers by Taliesin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; 22,396 words; slash)
I liked this fic fairly well. Most of the story is an entertaining adventure as Illya tries to meet up with Napoleon, who is being pursued through New York by Thrush. I found the transition to a more relationship-focused story at the end a bit abrupt, though, which somewhat detracted from the whole.

Doubt Thou by Slantedlight (The Professionals; 12,558 words; slash)
This is a good story, with a dramatic beginning and ending. There are also some well done moments between the Lads and an interesting depiction of the thoughts of someone in an altered mental state. I was slightly confused about how one scene related to the whole, but it was not a serious problem.

Also-reads: 0

This may be my last project post for a while. I'm thinking about doing a reread of the Astreiant series by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett. A new novel in that series came out last year, and I think it might be fun to revisit the others before I read it. I'd also like to do some Astreiant fan art, and I want to gather material for that. The Astreiant series is commercially published, but the main characters bear a definite resemblance to Bodie and Doyle from The Professionals—including in the old cover art, which I miss—and the series can be read as a Professionals AU by those so inclined. I think it holds a lot of appeal for non-Pros fans, too, though. The books are mystery/adventure stories set in a fantasy world with features of Europe in the late Renaissance. The society in the series is matriarchal, however, which is cool and unusual. The stories are non-explicit M/M.

Some old Astreiant cover art, click to embiggen: