Carpetbaggers
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Carpetbaggers |
| Author(s): | cofax |
| Date(s): | July 28, 2010 - September 29, 2011 |
| Length: | 119,268 words (10 chapters) |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Chronicles of Narnia |
| External Links: | AO3 FFN Dreamwidth LiveJournal TV Tropes |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Carpetbaggers is a Chronicles of Narnia fanfic set during the Pevensies' rule and Narnia's Golden Age. It has over 48,000 hits on AO3 and is frequently recommended.
Reactions and Reviews
Found a link to this over on Ana Mardoll's Deconstruction of Narnia posts, and I have to say, I think you've written my favorite Narnia novel, and I am looking forward hopefully to seeing the rest. The voice is splendid, the characterization feels very real -- extrapolated from the books & movies but much more three-dimensional, and I very much enjoy and appreciate how absolutely everything is problematic.matt_doyle[1]
Brilliantly written. You write in the vein of Lewis it's uncanny. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book, from chapter one were they have to fend for themselves, find food, fight off the sea serpent (shadow of things to come!) bind the people to Narnia, helping the dwarves, the Centaurs, the trees to the final chapters riding Narnia of bandits to re-establishing relations with Archenland. All in all stellar!AslansWatchman[2]
This whole book is stylistically sophisticated, faithful to the tone of the original Narnia books, and stunningly good.This retired English teacher recommends it to all and sundry.
It is a tour-de-force evocation of the "letter and spirit" of Lewis's style.Raven Wenner[3]
Easily the best Narnia fanfiction ever, seriously, this was extraordinary.september ninth[4]
Wonderful, wonderful story. What I like most is that it isn't the perfect Narnia that everyone tends to imagine when they write fanfic. You took it to a whole new level, and their uncertainty and inexperience, along with their courage and wisdom, was simply amazing to watch and enjoy. There are things that I never even thought about, like the Witch's castle, how they would gain the trust and respect of their people, what happened after the coronation ceremony, basically. Excellent work!Saoirse7[5]
So, I can't dive into this right away, but a story this awesome deserves its kudos. I am thrilled to see Carpetbaggers up here, which is by far among the very best of Narnia fic ever written. In this first chapter, you begin with the chilling, devastating premise of what happens after the celebrations end and the business of governance begins. Every characterization is spot on, the action with the sea serpent is thrilling and you have a real gift for the realpolitik of Narnia after the Witch. Every Pevensie gets his or her fair turn, every one is terrific, with action and smarts and it's just terrific. I'll continue to post here in the hope that others searching for fic find this story and embrace it as it should be.
This one is interesting for its practical look at nation-building and the basis of sovereign power. Aslan has named the Pevensies kings and queens of Narnia, but that endorsement only gets them so far. They have to earn the respect and acceptance of their new subjects, in a variety of different ways. What makes this one work for me is the way it contrasts with the half-cozy, half-mythic tone of the source; there are plenty of stories about those themes, but by sliding this one into that gap, it reflects interestingly on how such practicality gets turned into smooth-looking history.
References
- ^ Comment by matt_doyle on Chapter V, Part 2 on Dreamwidth (2011)
- ^ Review by AslansWatchman on Fanfiction.net (2019)
- ^ Review by Raven Wenner on Fanfiction.net (2018)
- ^ Review by september ninth on Fanfiction.net (2016)
- ^ Review by Saoirse7 on Fanfiction.net (2012)
- ^ Review by rthstewart on Fanfiction.net (2011)
- ^ my taste in fanfic by Marie Brennan (2012)