All right people, fan fiction is good but it's not the only thing on the web. What original web fiction do people read?
The single best web original I'm reading is Worm. It's a superhero story about a girl with the power to control insects. It is god. It has fantastic characters, exciting plots, fantastic world building and more. I can't recommend it enough. There are some extremely positive reviews on Dark Lord Potter if people want more convincing.
My second favourite web story is probably Mother of Learning. Simply put, it's a 'Groundhog's day' time loop story set in an original fantasy world. Again the characters and world building are great. At the start I wanted to punch the main character (Zorian) in the face for being a jerk but this is a true Groundhog's day story: the personal development of the main character is at least as important as gaining cool super powers.
There are some other stories I like too.
Legion of Nothing A superhero story about the grandchildren of golden age super heroes taking up their forbearer's mantels. It's been running for a while now, has a good cast and some nice development. On the down side, the writing can be a little dry at times (fairly unemotional which is strange since it's first person).
I also quite like Star Harbor Nights. It is also about superheroes but no long updates. The original site is now gone but can be viewed here on the Internet Archive (Some can also be read here but I don't think all). After the content on that site stops, it picks up again here, continues for a few years before stopping again. It's still well worth a read if you've got the time, and can be bothered tracking the bits down.
Another good superhero fic is Flyover City!. Unlike the others I've recommended, Flyover City is not an average super hero story. The star and narrator is Joel, a twenty something phone worker, working customer assistance at a telecom company. He has no powers, his life's a bit of a mess and when someone steals his scooter, that was the last straw. He decides to be a superhero. From there he is drawn into a okay adventure (it didn't really draw me in but it wasn't bad). Again the characters in this are quite good and we get to know then well; it's really more a story of their lives than super heroics. Joel doesn't become like batman (or anything like that) but by the end he really is a hero.
There is also a thread of almost parody like humour running through the story but that doesn't get in the way of the seriousness of the situations. While there were only a few laugh out loud moments, it's still a funny story, in a weird internety surrealist way.
At forty one fairly short parts it won't take that long to read. I'd recommend people give it a look.
Rounding out my super hero recommendations, I have The Last Skrull. It has a good story, full characters and, get this, a beginning, middle and end (!!!). Despite that, I feel there is just something lacking that stops it being truly great. The story stars a 'Sue Daysdale' who follows in her mothers footsteps as the superhero/vigilante the Skrull.
The Nocte Yin Series by 'the point' is also worth a mention. It's about the youngest daughter of an 'evil' family (her father's a mad scientist, her mother a sorceress, oldest brother a warlord, elder sister the wicked witch of the south east, younger sister a psychic with four mind controlled slaves and her youngest brother an Bond-esk evil genius.) The problem? She's not nearly as evil. Most of the time that is... It's a bit fan girlish in places and the writing could use a buff up but I enjoyed it. There are four complete stories with a fifth in progress. Start with Nocte Yin. Please note, the first three stories heavily feature a Evil Academy if you love and or hate the school genre please take note. It's a bit fangirlish in places but I've enjoyed it.
The single best web original I'm reading is Worm. It's a superhero story about a girl with the power to control insects. It is god. It has fantastic characters, exciting plots, fantastic world building and more. I can't recommend it enough. There are some extremely positive reviews on Dark Lord Potter if people want more convincing.
My second favourite web story is probably Mother of Learning. Simply put, it's a 'Groundhog's day' time loop story set in an original fantasy world. Again the characters and world building are great. At the start I wanted to punch the main character (Zorian) in the face for being a jerk but this is a true Groundhog's day story: the personal development of the main character is at least as important as gaining cool super powers.
There are some other stories I like too.
Legion of Nothing A superhero story about the grandchildren of golden age super heroes taking up their forbearer's mantels. It's been running for a while now, has a good cast and some nice development. On the down side, the writing can be a little dry at times (fairly unemotional which is strange since it's first person).
I also quite like Star Harbor Nights. It is also about superheroes but no long updates. The original site is now gone but can be viewed here on the Internet Archive (Some can also be read here but I don't think all). After the content on that site stops, it picks up again here, continues for a few years before stopping again. It's still well worth a read if you've got the time, and can be bothered tracking the bits down.
Another good superhero fic is Flyover City!. Unlike the others I've recommended, Flyover City is not an average super hero story. The star and narrator is Joel, a twenty something phone worker, working customer assistance at a telecom company. He has no powers, his life's a bit of a mess and when someone steals his scooter, that was the last straw. He decides to be a superhero. From there he is drawn into a okay adventure (it didn't really draw me in but it wasn't bad). Again the characters in this are quite good and we get to know then well; it's really more a story of their lives than super heroics. Joel doesn't become like batman (or anything like that) but by the end he really is a hero.
There is also a thread of almost parody like humour running through the story but that doesn't get in the way of the seriousness of the situations. While there were only a few laugh out loud moments, it's still a funny story, in a weird internety surrealist way.
At forty one fairly short parts it won't take that long to read. I'd recommend people give it a look.
Rounding out my super hero recommendations, I have The Last Skrull. It has a good story, full characters and, get this, a beginning, middle and end (!!!). Despite that, I feel there is just something lacking that stops it being truly great. The story stars a 'Sue Daysdale' who follows in her mothers footsteps as the superhero/vigilante the Skrull.
The Nocte Yin Series by 'the point' is also worth a mention. It's about the youngest daughter of an 'evil' family (her father's a mad scientist, her mother a sorceress, oldest brother a warlord, elder sister the wicked witch of the south east, younger sister a psychic with four mind controlled slaves and her youngest brother an Bond-esk evil genius.) The problem? She's not nearly as evil. Most of the time that is... It's a bit fan girlish in places and the writing could use a buff up but I enjoyed it. There are four complete stories with a fifth in progress. Start with Nocte Yin. Please note, the first three stories heavily feature a Evil Academy if you love and or hate the school genre please take note. It's a bit fangirlish in places but I've enjoyed it.