Prelude to Armageddon
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Prelude to Armageddon |
| Author(s): | fawatson |
| Date(s): | Pt 1: 3 September 2012 Pt 2: 8 September 2012 Pt 3: 22 September 2012 Pt 4: 29 September 2012 Pt 5: 13 October 2012 Pt 6: 25 November 2012 Pt 7: 2 December 2012 Pt 8: 31 December 2012 |
| Length: | Pt 1: 704 words Pt 2: 333 words Pt 3: 380 words Pt 4: 2 x 100 words Pt 5: 2 x 100 words Pt 6: 121 words Pt 7: 365 words Pt 8: 609 words |
| Genre: | backstory |
| Fandom: | Mary Renault |
| External Links: | Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight (archived on MRF, members-locked) |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
"Prelude to Armageddon" is a series of ficlets by fawatson based on Mary Renault's 1953 novel The Charioteer. The stories are set consecutively through the autumn of 1939, from the start of war to Laurie's deployment in France.
- Part One is set on 1 September 1939. Laurie and his friend Simon[1] discuss the impending war and their intentions, even as his mother assumes that he will return to Oxford for the fall term.
- In Part Two, Laurie has just started basic training.
- In Part Three, the trainees get a day's leave; but, though most head straight for the nearest town, Laurie goes for a country ramble.
- Part Four comprises two connected drabbles which follow immediately on Part Three. Laurie is woken from a nap by the sound of an airplane, which is being piloted by Bim.
- Part Five comprises two connected drabbles: Laurie has been transferred to France; his aunt comments on this in a letter to Laurie's mother.
- In Part Six, Laurie is peeling potatoes on kitchen duty.
- In Part Seven, Laurie receives a pre-Christmas letter from his mother, and recalls their decorations in detail.
- In Part Eight, Laurie gets leave in Paris.
Background
The first ficlets were written for the maryrenaultfics' "An Apple for Teacher Challenge" of 1 September 2012, and hence reference the prompt "apple". However, this is dropped in later installments (though still referenced in several of the headers).
Comments
On Part One:
- "Now this is one that nobody has tackled before! It's good to see Simon again; and his dog, too. You've created a very convincing world for Laurie in this series of stories."—comment by greerwatson
- "This is lovely; I liked the way Laurie is still busy enjoying the beauty and ease of summer, whereas Simon almost appears to have gone out that day to enjoy the last calm before the storm."—comment by queen_ypolita
On Part Two:
- "Aww, warm woollen socks! And I adore Aunt Olive's gloves"—comment by queen_ypolita
On Part Three:
- "This is lovely, it feels and tastes autumn."—comment by queen_ypolita
On Part Four:
- "Oh, my. We get very little Bim. It's intriguing to see a glimpse of him before the Battle of Britain. One sees the man whose death so distressed his friends."—comment by greerwatson
- "This is WONDERFUL, and made me quite emotional to have Laurie and Bim juxtaposed like this, and of course unaware of the other."—comment by trueriver
On Part Five:
- "I hadn't thought about how long Laurie would have been in France. Thank you - I look forward to instalment 6! :)"—comment by trueriver
- "I liked the contrast between Laurie's cold feet and Lucy tucking her afgan better"—comment by queen_ypolita