Stargate Atlantis/Fanfic Recs

Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for here:

These are recommendations made by Tropers for Fan Fics, all of which have been signed. After a few samples, you will be able to judge whether you might be interested in the 'fic, based on who recommended it. No-name recommendations will be fed To The Wraith. Nobody would back up the rec. Discussion of the recommendation is welcome on the discussion page. As such discussion is important, do remember to add the discussion page to the watchlist, if need be.

Warn for sexually explicit or non-canon territory. Some people just don't like it, and as we all know, Shipping is Serious Business.

Authors, and Websites
Domenika Marzione
 * Recommended by Polaris.
 * Comments: Pretty good Original Flavor fics, and a lot of 'em. Frequently surpasses the writing of the show itself, especially in the later seasons.
 * Additional Comments: These are especially noteworthy because the author is familiar with the U.S. military from the inside, so her writing involving Atlantis' military characters is incredibly authentic feeling.

Sholio a.k.a friendshipper on Livejournal
 * Recommended by derry 667, seconded by Polaris
 * Comments: Another mostly Original Flavor fic writer, but also some great Alternate Universe Fic (including one that in itself plays with and mildly parodies the trope). 90% Gen Fic but very occassionally write slash, het and multiple pairings. I'm predominantly a Gen Fic reader myself, but I'd still recommend giving all the the stories a try. YMMV, of course. She specialises in fics about The Team (from season 2 onwards) with, it has to be said, a heavy emphasis on the McKay-Sheppard friendship (again YMMV, if you are that way inclined, you could see it as pre-slash). Stories vary from Action-Adventure to serious Tear Jerkers and not infrequently throws in a little Mood Whiplash for good measure. Spot on characterisations and all the humour seen on the show and then some. Does it sound like I'm gushing? Why yes, I am. These fics are brilliant.

General Fics
''Stories focused on the family and the friendly relationships of the cast. Plot-focused stories or light day-in-the-life stories. Pretty much anything that isn't focused on romance.''

Retrograde by Martha Wilson
 * Recommended by Polaris
 * Synopsis: The Atlantis expedition has been lost for three years. SG-1 goes to find them, and arrives just a little too late.
 * Comments: Suspenseful, wrenching, and extremely well-done. Be sure to check out the sequels as well.

Geeks and Goons series by Koschka
 * Recommended by Acacia
 * Synopsis: A series of post-episode stories, The Defiant One through The Siege Part 3, focusing on the Sheppard-McKay friendship.
 * Comments: I've placed it under General because that's what most of them are, but Supergeek (the Brotherhood one) does venture into UST. It can easily be skipped if that's not your thing. The whole series is crammed full of sweet and funny, just like these two should be. And there's Fix Fic for Sanctuary, which really needed it.

Hero For A New Age by Smittywing
 * Recommended by Polaris
 * Synopsis: "Superman's the last of his kind, too," Ronon said quickly. â€œI'm going to try to get McKay to rig me up some heat vision so I can melt steel like Superman."
 * Comments: Culture exchange, McKay style. Ronon reads comic books, and comes to some interesting conclusions.

The Remnant by Isabelle Ashe (AU from S1 finale)
 * Recommended by Katherine
 * Synopsis: Post-season one AU Dark Fic. The survivors of Atlantis cling to one another, mentally and physically broken after two years on the run from the Wraith.
 * Comments: A bleak, heartbreaking fic, focusing particularly on Zelenka and Heightmeyer (and Zelenka/Heightmeyer, though not what I'd consider very romantic.)

XSGCOM: Terra from the Deep
 * Recommended by S J C, amitakartok
 * Pairings: None
 * Synopsis: SG-1/X-COM Crossover - As old enemies fall by the wayside new ones appear to challenge the Tau'ri and their allies.
 * Comments
 * amitakartok: as good as the prequel so far, if not better.
 * Night: Unclear how the story will develop yet. Still, like the other, it's got a feel-good asskicking flavor, and the Wraith have been delievered such a serious beating by the Expedition (who packed naquadria-based weapons this time) that any kind of resemblence to canon SGA before the appearance of the Pegasus!Replicators can be considered dead.
 * Sithking Zero: I agree with both Night and amitakartok. Given the far higher tech base of the XSGCOM universe compared to canon, things go wildly differently. Minor point of contention is that the series is not based exclusively to Atlantis and the Pegasus galaxy, but is split between Pegasus and our own Galaxy. In addition, the story is not devoting (In my opinion) enough time to the Aquatoids, the new Pegasus villain in addition to the Wraith. At the time of this comment, the story is up to the siege of Atlantis.

Asura Path by tobetasered
 * Recommended by Judge King
 * Pairings: None
 * Sypnosis: A change in the Asuran Race's base code leads to a revolution that shall alter the balance of power in four galaxies and forever change the fate of all humans. Janus, what have you done.
 * Comments: A very interesting AU fic in which Janus made some modifications to the Asuran base code.

Flight of the Orion by ajw
 * Recommended by Judge King
 * Pairings: None obviously
 * Sypnosis: AU Stargate One Shot. What could have happened if the Ancient battlecruiser Orion had been fully operational when she engaged the Wraith Hiveships in battle in the third season premier No Mans Land.
 * Comments:

Another Way by ajw
 * Recommended by Judge King
 * Pairings: None
 * Sypnosis: McKay and Daniel make a different choice and take the ZPMs powering the Attero Device instead of the control crystals. An AU of the season five episode "The Lost Tribe".
 * Comments:

''The Puddlejumper Diaries by Andrew Joshua Talon
 * Recommended by Judge King
 * Sypnosis: A humorous fic about the Puddle Jumpers being sentient.
 * Comments:

City on the Edge of Forever: Pilot by synecdochic
 * Recommended by User:Gentlemens Dame 883
 * Synopsis: Weir thinks, really thinks about what the expedition would need and plans accordingly. A "pilot" for an AU. Oneshot, since it seems the author never got around to writing more.
 * Comments:

Stargate Atlantis: Season 7 by Lady Mayrid
 * Recommended by Dangly Legged Owl
 * Synopsis: How much can one person change the outcome of a universe? Sheppard and his team are about to find out as Atlantis receives a new addition. Lines are crossed, boundaries drawn and old alliances formalized as the adventures in the Pegasus continue.
 * Comments: A novel-sized virtual new season of SGA with a huge focus on Wraith characters and culture. There is a growing romance between a Wraith and an OC involved, but I would recommend this fic to anyone for its inventiveness, attention to detail, and overall engaging style. There's also the continuation, Season 8.

Shipping Fics
Stories focused on the romantic relationships between the cast.

The Hard Prayer by Rheanna
 * Recommended by jaimie 2 i.
 * Pairings: John/Rodney
 * Synopsis: One year after the end of the world, John meets another survivor.
 * Comments: Brilliant post-apocalyptic fic that has damaged!John meeting up with damaged!Rodney. They are messed-up as befits survivors of the apocalypse, and it is dealt with realistically and is not overblown. This fic also has some great funny moments in it.

Freedom's Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose by synecdochic
 * Recommended by D Mint. Seconded so hard by Skazka. Thirded equally hard by Polaris. Fourthed strongly by Appolonia.
 * Pairings:
 * Synopsis: A futurefic charting the post-Atlantis career of Rodney McKay over several years at a podunk nowhere college located somewhere in the American Midwest.
 * Comments: Though aspects of it have been Jossed by casting changes on the show it's still an awesome read. Be warned, there's a bit of slash but only in an implied sense.
 * skazka: This troper would like to add that all of the above is true, and the podfic version made me, um, weep like a child.
 * apollonia: This troper, who normally dislikes McKay/Sheppard found the implied slash perfectly tolerable and cried buckets when reading this. She is grateful for the podfic link and most keen to find out what effect having it read to her will have on her liquids.

Finding Babel by fiercelydreamed (explicit sex)
 * Recommended by Hopeful Nebula.
 * Pairings: McKay/Sheppard
 * Synopsis: He wondered if this was how it felt to go crazy -- you didn't lose your mind, it just stopped synching up with the world around you. The Pegasus galaxy makes Rodney an expert in what he can survive without.
 * Comments: Every time I read this I get all weepy. I'm not a huge SGA fan (out of circumstance, not choice) but this was recced to me and I immediately fell in love, because everything's not all perfect at the end, but the author conveys a wonderful sense of hope. Also, I love finding disability fics that don't invoke pity. (Fair warning: it's 21,000 words long.)

Written By The Victors by Speranza (AU)
 * Recommended by Polaris
 * Pairings: Several, both slash and het
 * Synopsis: The history of Atlantis.
 * Comments: Like Freedom's Just Another Word, listed above, this is one of those fics that just about everybody in the fandom has read, and for good reason. It is amazingly detailed, with an intriguing and well-executed premise: The history of Atlantis, as told in Pegasus and on Earth. It is also incredibly hard to describe, so if you haven't read it, just do so, and be pleasantly surprised.

Bell Curve, or, Ladies' Night At the Boom Boom Room by Rageprufrock (AU)
 * Recommended by Polaris
 * Pairings: McKay/Sheppard
 * Synopsis: In his rational mind, Rodney knew that following a girl who'd just dumped you into a strip club was really, really pathetic.
 * Comments: If the title isn't enough on its own to make you want to read this, I don't know what else I can say. It's not actually about strip clubs, except at the beginning, but it is utterly hilarious and exceptionally well written.

The Ratio of Burning by Stillane
 * Recommended by Polaris
 * Pairings: McKay/Sheppard
 * Synopsis: They hand over a fully functioning, loudmouthed genius with a penchant for sarcasm and slight irrationality. They get back a fully functioning, polite savant with a penchant for silence and serenity.
 * Comments: This is creepy as all get out, but it's really, really good. The resolution is killer (in a good way).

A Farm in Iowa by Sheafrotherdon (AU)
 * Recommended by Polaris
 * Pairings: McKay/Sheppard
 * Synopsis: John inherits a farm, Rodney ends up entirely out of his element, and there is much ado about baseball.
 * Comments: As you may have noticed, this fandom has a lot of really good AU fics. This is another one of them, first in a series, all of which is excellent.

Transcendental by Shalott
 * Recommended by Polaris
 * Pairings: McKay/Sheppard
 * Synopsis: The strangest thing about John's job wasn't actually the Wraith, because he'd seen the first two Alien movies about fifty times apiece, and he figured as long as they didn't have mandibles and lay eggs in you, he was still a few points up on Ripley.
 * Comments: This was written back in first season, so it's been entirely Jossed, but that doesn't change that it's an extremely awesome fic, and one that I've successfully used to lure people into the fandom.

Four Blatant Lies about Atlantis (And One That's Totally True by sabinelagrande
 * Recommended by magentastorm
 * Pairings: McKay/Sheppard
 * Synopsis: Wherein aliens don't make them do it, John loves ASCII, Carson hates everyone, Weir is highly amused, and Lorne's just trying to be a pal.
 * Comments: Just about the funniest Stargate Atlatis fic I've ever read. Pure, hilarious crack.

Widow's Walk by synecdochic
 * Recommended by Rose And Heather
 * Pairings: Weir/Zelenka
 * Summary: Elizabeth is the one to wait, and Zelenka is the one who's done waiting.
 * Comments: This is by synecdochic, of Freedom's Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose fame. That should tell you all you need to know.