Aadler’s Favorites —
Fan Fiction by Other Authors

Vanessa Nichols

Good surprise endings are hard to find. I’ve tried a few myself — with, I hope, some small success — but it’s a tricky business, and seldom done well. i-n-s managed it with “Winners”, and I could probably come up with a few other instances if I really thought about it. Now, however, the list is a bit longer. With the first few paragraphs of “Five by Five”, I knew that I couldn’t take anything for granted. I read carefully and looked back frequently, and still wasn’t sure of the full state of things until it was revealed at the very end. That this could be done to an attentive reader, without violating characterization, shows some virtuosity. That an action-lover such as myself could be so entertained by a story that was essentially all conversation, makes it all the more noteworthy. “Broken” is much shorter, a glimpse rather than a tale, and strikes to the heart like a railroad spike. These were from the Angel section, and there are others worth a look. Regrettably, there is nothing of comparable quality in the Buffy section … but give it time.
Five by Five	Season: future	Spoilers: N/A
Broken	Season: 3 (Angel) or thereafter	Spoilers: “Birthday” (Angel)