XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS - GENERAL FAN FICTION REVIEWS
C
Reviewer can be reached at lunacy@dc.seflin.org
Last updated: 01/21/01

Please make sure to read the EXPLANATORY NOTES before reading these reviews.

CALLISTO AND GABRIELLE by Joseph Anderson
Dark, thoughtful piece that has Callisto visiting Xena and Gabrielle's camp, surprisingly enough just to speak with the bard. An uneasy Xena can't help but feel suspicious of the blonde warlord's motivations, only she finds herself understanding these well-enough later when Callisto unexpectedly joins forces with them. - 6 pgs., 11/5/97
http://members.aol.com/jander5988/cal-gab.html

CALLISTO: CHILD'S PLAY by Joseph Anderson
This new Callisto story has the blonde warlord feeling "motherly" toward an abused waif. Well-written and absolutely chilling. Please note the warnings involving violence posted by the author at the beginning of this story. - 11 pgs., 7/2/97
http://www.hudsonleickfan.com/CallistosTales/childplay.htm

CALLISTO: ODYSSEY by Jeffrey C. Morton
In the face of an enemy warlord Callisto sees a face from the past - a faste that like so many others has haunted her since the burning of Cirra - only now she isn't as defenseless as she was then. - 16 pgs., 3/14/97
http://www.hudsonleickfan.com/CallistosTales/leson.htm

CAMPFIRE THOUGHTS by Marie E. Costa
Set after the events in DREAMWORKER, this vignette like the episode touches upon some of the central themes in XWP - blood innocence, redemption and friendship. It has Xena remembering recent events as Gabrielle sleeps by their campfire. - 5 pgs., 7/26/97
http://www.amazontrails.com/xena/campfire.htm

THE CARNAGE OF THE DEAD by Xat
Thoughtful vignette about the impression left by the Warrior Princess on a son of Rome. - 2 pgs., 10/25/98
http://www2.prestel.co.uk/freyia/fanfiction/carnage.htm

CAUSE AND EFFECT by S. Singer
This story provides yet another glimpse into Xena's past as it has her reuniting with a couple of old acquaintances, including the mysterious figure known as The Master who came into her life after the death of M'Lila and tried unsuccessfully to quiet the rage within the warrior. Good characterization of a more in-control Xena now reflecting on the errors of her past and the people she disappointed. [See the sequel THE CHALICE OF BLOOD] - 18 pgs., 3/26/98
https://ausxip.com/fanfic2/causeandeffect.html

CAVES by Jill
Marking the debut on the Web of a gifted new bard, this nicely crafted tale has an almost mystical feel to it. It has Xena hunting the same mythical creatures she first encountered as a warlord many years before. Meanwhile, Gabrielle struggles to understand what it is exactly that Xena is planning to go up against - an effort made even more challenging when a mysterious woman shows up with connections both to the warrior and the unseen menace Xena is determined to find. Jill does a nice job with the depictions of Xena and Gabrielle, establishing between them an easy sense of trust, love and protectiveness. Note: The story does contain subtext. [See also the follow-up THE SEA AND THE SPRING LEAVES in the alternative fiction section.] - 23 pgs., 12/22/97
https://ausxip.com/fanfic/caves.html

CELEBRATE ME HOME by BlackFox
A solstice story in the tradition of Charles Dicken's A CHRISTMAS CAROL which has the Fates showing Xena what life would have been like for her and Gabrielle had she never allowed the young girl from Poteidaia to follow her. Poignant tale with a a good depiction of Xena and her relationship with the Gabster. - 20 pgs., 3/30/98
http://www.amazontrails.com/xena/celebrate.htm

**CELEBRATION by Palomine
This story is *THE* episode I would love to see on TV as a follow-up to ORPHAN OF WAR - absolutely WONDERFUL, poignant tale that is going to grab on to your heart strings and NOT let go! Set four years after Xena's visit to the centaur village where she last saw the son she left there as a newborn long ago, this story has a teenage Solon now getting ready for his Virilis ceremony - a rite of passage that will mark his coming of age as a young man but that requires him to make some important decisions about his life. One person he very much wants present at this ceremony is the Warrior Princess who befriended him years before and whom he feels strangely drawn to. Hearing about the invitation and with Gabrielle's ever-present support, Xena then heads back to the centaur village for the fateful reunion with Solon - it is a reunion that will forevermore change the lives of mother and son as the warrior finds the opportunity to make a difference in the boy's life and a young man discovers through a bard's inspiration the hidden truth about himself that deep down he's always known about. This story is worth reading alone for the poem/song that is included near the end. Palomine has given us here one of those rare gems of XWP fan fiction that you will remember for a long time. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - 24 pgs., 5/22/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/content/celebration.html

CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE by Becky Lutzke (deanlu)
Released in April 1996 on the NetForum, this tale is written in a semi-script format. It has Gabrielle remembering a very painful part of her past during a visit to the Amazons. - 7 pgs., 8/12/96, re-released 1/8/98
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/6211/celebr.html

CHALICE OF BLOOD (THE) by S. Singer
A sequel to Singer's CAUSE AND EFFECT, this new tale has Xena trying to teach Gabrielle about the meditation techniques she learned from her old teacher, The Master, when another old friend comes to request their help in finding the fabled Chalice of Blood capable of giving whosoever drinks from it unimaginable power. Nice depiction of the Xena/Gab relationship in a still-unfinished, promising story. [unfinished] - 48 pgs., 3/26/98
https://ausxip.com/fanfic2/thechalice.html

**CHALLENGE OF SUCCESSION by Yellowjacket
FANTASTIC story that has Xena and Gabrielle going back to the Amazons to confront a serious challenge to Melosa's throne. This is one of the best Gabrielle centered stories in XWP fan fiction and a personal favorite. It is a coming-of-age tale that has the bard dealing with her insecurities and finding the courage to accept the responsibilities of being Amazon royalty. This one reads like an episode from the TV show. VERY well written, funny, with outstanding characterizations and lots of heart. A MUST READ which carries my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! - 34 pgs., 1/18/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/content/challengeofsuccession.html

**CHAMBER OF HORRORS SERIES by Nene Adams - featuring consistently excellent stories, this series gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!

IF THOU LOVEST ME - [Alt]
CHAINS OF ICE, CHAINS OF FIRE - [Alt]
**WHISTLING DOWN THE WIND
**FOR THE LOVE OF IRINA - [Alt, Uber]
**RESURRECTION AT REST - [Alt, Uber]
**ALL I EVER WANTED WAS YOU - [Alt]
**THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY - [Alt, Uber]
**"I" OF THE BEHOLDER - [Alt, Uber]
FLESH OF MY FLESH - [Alt, Uber]
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF AMPHIPOLIS - [Alt]
**LEGEND OF CASSUS SOMNUS (THE) - [Alt]

**CHAMPION by Kamouraskan
In an EXCEPTIONAL show of creativity, Kamouraskan reinvents Xena history, revisiting the moment the warrior first met her soulmate - this time under very different circumstances, however. The story opens on the same clearing the series began five seasons ago but Xena has already been to Amphipolis and endured a ruthless stoning at the hands of the same people she once fought to protect. Disgusted with what her life has become, alone and empty the former warlord is getting ready for a trip to Tartarus when she senses a presence drawing near. To her amazement, she finds herself facing a very determined young Amazon - a little blonde by the name of Gabrielle who knows about her past, desperately needs her help and seems to know what's in Xena's heart even better than the warrior does herself. What ensues is a poignant, at times vicious, battle of wills as the young Amazon struggles to change the dark destiny Xena seems so willing to embrace - a battle Gabrielle is determined to win even if she has to pay the ultimate price... Despite changing such a pivotal moment in Xena's history, Kamouraskan has done a beautiful job here retaining the essence of the characters and the magic of that spiritual bond between them. She introduces a clever twist that fits surprisingly well with the dynamics of these characters. CHAMPION is a fanfic gem that should capture the interest and imagination of Xenites in much the same way the series did years ago. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [See the sequel CHAMPIONS] - 8 pgs., 11/9/99
http://www.btinternet.com/~a.e.c/champion1.htm
http://xenafiction.net/scrolls/kamouraskan_champion.hts
[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

**CHAMPIONS by Kamouraskan
A VERY promising sequel to Kam's fantastic CHAMPION, this second tale opens where the first one left off with the new, and somewhat battered Queen of the Amazons getting a welcomed surprised when her reluctant choice for a Champion makes an appearance. Unfortunately, as Gabrielle's deadly challenger Velasca soon points out, Xena's past with the Amazons not only disqualifies her as Champion but marks her as a criminal the queen herself will have to sentence. Before that can happen, however, Gabrielle will have to find a way to survive the challenge ahead of her - and to do that she's gonna need the help of the very warrior whose fate she may later end up holding in her hands. Kam's characterizations are excellent here with a Xena that very much recalls the troubled warrior with a fierce instinct for self-preservation we first saw in episodes like THE GAUNTLET. Her Gabrielle is equally compelling showing the exuberance of early Gab appropriately tempered by the responsibility on her shoulders. A fine read - DO NOT MISS! - 37 pgs., 3/26/00
http://www.btinternet.com/~a.e.c/champ1.htm
http://www.xenaeyes.com/champions.html

**CHANGING OF THE BARD by Joanna
This new offering by one of our most beloved master parodist comes JUST in time for those of us still reeling from the events in THE DELIVERER. If you're feeling angsty about the new season or even if you're not - DO NOT MISS THIS PARODY!!! This will make your day, your week, and probably your year! It is set after the events in DELIVERER and has the Warrior Princess and Gabrielle sitting around a campfire, worrying about the recent MAJOR change in the bard's life. HILARIOUS does not even come close to describing this! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - 4 pgs., 10/27/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/content3/changingbard.html

CHILDHOOD REMEMBERED by Marie E. Costa
Set during and immediately after the episode THE BLACK WOLF this vignette reveals Xena's deepening respect for Gabrielle and her appreciation of friends which accept her despite her past. [Note: Vignette is the second one on the page] - 5 pgs., 9/7/97
http://www.amazontrails.com/xena/campfire.htm

A CHILDHOOD SOLSTICE by Titanium
A really sweet story that has Gabrielle enlisting the aid of Artemis in order to give the Warrior Princess a very special Solstice present. A nicely written tale which celebrates the friendship between warrior and bard. - 15 pgs., 3/30/98
http://www.amazontrails.com/xena/childhood.htm

**CHILDHOOD'S END by Anon
At LAST we have the long-awaited return to the Web of one of the BEST and most deligthful XWP stories ever written! Anon originally released CHILDHOOD'S END on the Forum in early 1996 but it has been impossible to access the story for months now since the NetForum staff disabled access to older postings. With it now going up at one of the fan fic archives, Xenites will hopefully be able to enjoy this tale for years to come. This story is the cutest of the cutest! Xena as a five year old - need I say more? It is a beautiful tale of friendship, sacrifice, innocence lost and innocence regained. Anon has been re-editing the story and is not completely finished yet so only part of it is now available. CHILDHOOD'S END was the first piece of fan fiction I ever read so it holds a special place in my heart. It got me hooked on the NetForum and on fan fic. A MUST READ! It receives my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!! - 108 pgs., 11/96, re-released 4/19/97
http://www.caveofchoirs.org/stories/fanfic/xenaff/chld0102.htm
http://www.xenafan.com/fiction/content3/chld0102.htm
[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

CHRONICLES OF THE WARRIOR PRINCESS - BOOK I: HUNTERS AND THE HUNTED by JPuertoR
Just in time for Halloween we get an entertaining XWP/ALIENS/PREDATOR crossover thriller by a new bard which has Xena and Gabrielle discovering a cache of these strange looking eggs in the forest. Soon after they happen upon the creatures responsible for that little cache just as these are...getting to know the locals. Meanwhile, another deadly visitor is making his presence known, playing a game which the warrior and bard know they must join before humans become an endangered species. This is a suitably gory, suspenseful action-adventure which fans of the sci-fi horror genre should particularly enjoy. [unfinished] - 10 pgs., 10/18/98
http://members.aol.com/jpuertor/xenafiction/hunters.htm

CIRCLE OF LIFE by Kodiakke
Intriguing character piece that looks at the effect of the Xena/Gab relationship on the Warrior Princess as circumstances force her to once again unleash her dark side. Well-written. - 14 pgs.
- 14 pgs., 2/7/99
https://ausxip.com/fanfic6/circleoflife.html

**CIRCLE OF STONES by Mary Morgan
With stories like AFTER THE VOLCANO, JUDGEMENT OF THE GODS, and JUST A PINCH OF BLACK POWDER, Mary Morgan has a history of giving us exceptionally well-written, thought-provoking fiction. It is a reputation she lives up to with this latest effort which has Xena and Gabrielle investigating the disappearance of several villagers when an unexpected development leaves the bard racing against time to solve a mystery made suddenly much more personal. Mary's treatment of the Xena/Gab relationship is one of the factors that always make her stories such a pleasure to read. She envisions them with a kind of connection that is spiritual and magical and always poignant. It is this depiction that turns a simple mystery into so much more - a MUST READ that comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! -- 6 pgs., 8/11/98
https://www.altfic.com//subtextfic/Xena/morgan/circleofstones.htm
[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

CITY OF PEACE by the NetForum bards
A fascinating cooperative story by several NetForum bards (Stradivarius, JayBird, XenaAddict, Raye Dene, and Wishes) which has Xena trapped in a strange world, thinking of herself as a warlord once again, while a desperate Gabrielle works to help her return to reality, finding some ulikely allies in the process. - 62 pgs., 8/17/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/content/cityofpeace.html

CLEVER TOO by Wakar
An epilogue to the episode THE FURIES which has Xena talking things out with her mother and then a very clever bard showing just how well she knows the Warrior Princess. - 3 pgs., 10/8/97
http://www.sonic.net/LightStreams/FanFiction/Clever.html

COME PLAY by Kronus
A suspenseful new story by a new bard which has Xena and Gabrielle trying to decipher the mystery surrounding the disembodied voice Xena keeps hearing whenever danger is near. With only three chapters released so far, this tale is already quite promising. [unfinished] - 1/5/98
http://xenafan.com/fiction/content2/comeplay.html

COMMON BONDS by Del_kaidin
Intriguing new story set after the events in BETRAYAL - THE DEBT PART II which has Xena and Gabrielle meeting up with an old friend of the Warrior Princess - a woman who Gabrielle immediately feels a strange kinship with - a woman with a dark secret and a tortured past... Promising. [unfinished] - 11/21/97
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/2521/vamp1.htm

COMPELLING ASSOCIATIONS by Lara Zielinsky
A truly compelling new offering that tells the tale of Xena's first meeting with the god of War. Learning of a feared and vicious new warlord many are referring to as the "goddess of war", Ares goes to see for himself who this young upstart could be. What he finds is the warrior of his dreams - a blue-eyed mortal goddess who captures his heart, his mind and his every passion. Determined to learn more about her, a disguised Ares conspires to get close, starting an obsession that would haunt him...and that warrior, for all time. This is a very well written speculation on what Xena and Ares' first encounter could have been like. It features a terrific characterization of the god of War and ties in nicely with the events in the TV series. A great read certain to be particularly popular with fans of Ares. - 65 pgs., 1/4/98, re-released 1/5/99
http://members.xoom.com/LZClotho/gen/compelling.html
[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

CONSTANT CRAVING by Lala
Cute, short vignette set after the events in THE DELIVERER which has Xena dealing with some of Gabrielle's rather "exotic" cravings ;-) - 3 pgs., 11/12/97
http://xwp-altfic.simplenet.com/constantcraving.txt

**CONTEST (THE) by Eimajj
Beautiful story of friendship, courage and sacrifice that is sure to tug at the old heart strings. Set two months after the events in the episode RETURN OF CALLISTO, this tale has Gabrielle withdrawn and depressed just as mysterious attacks begin to haunt her and Xena. The Warrior Princess soon discovers the reason for the attacks but her one concern is the bard and to keep her safe she'll pay any price. DO NOT MISS!! [See also the sequel A MOTHER'S PLEA]. - 34 pgs., 4/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/
https://ausxip.com/fanfic/thecontest.html
[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

**CROWN OF LAUREL (A) by Silk
This is a wonderfully written, action-packed story which has Callisto orchestrating a devious trap for the Warrior Princess and bard - a trap which will lead them right into the hands of one of Xena's deadliest and oldest enemies and into the heart of an empire. This story is the first piece of fan fiction set after the events in the episode GABRIELLE'S HOPE and the first entry in Silk's SWORD OF WAR TRILOGY. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!- 101 pgs., 11/1/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/
https://ausxip.com/fanfic/laurel1.html

**CRY WOLF by Mary Morgan
A poignant new offering from this gifted storyteller set around the mysterious events which take place at a village after a young woman is captured and imprisoned there. Only the village blacksmith is moved by the girl's quiet suffering as she endures and struggles to fulfill some unmentioned purpose as if her very life depended on it. I continue to be amazed at how this bard can tell a story more by implying things than saying them straight out. In mastering this economy of words technique, Mary gives us stories that are meaningful and deeply moving. Moreover, she tends to develop the characterizations of Xena and Gabrielle through the eyes of others which in turns makes characters like the blacksmith in this story fascinating players in their own right. A wonderful effort you should not miss. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - 9 pgs., 3/4/98
https://www.altfic.com//subtextfic/Xena/morgan/crywolf.htm
[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

**CUSTOMER (THE) by Bel-wah
A powerful new tale about an old soldier turned keeper of the dead, a "customer" determined not to cooperate, and a love strong enough to even thwart death itself. Bel-Wah combines excellent writing here with a masterful use of shifting point-of-views to give us a riveting look at the horrors of war, the struggles of those who become part of it, and the fortitude of the human spirit as it grasps for the one thing that will one day see it beyond the confines of a physical shell. An exceptional MUST READ that comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [some subtext in this. See the follow-up A XENA SCROLL] - 12 pgs., 12/2/8/98
https://ausxip.com/fanfic5/customer.html

CYCLE OF LOVE by Tim Wellman Tim's latest is a clever, hopeful Solstice tale that has Xena and Gabrielle arriving at a village where the warrior soon begins to feel something is not quite right. Unbeknownst to Xena she is about to be offered a very special Solstice gift. This is a story about renewal and the magic that is possible with faith in the cycle of love. DO NOT MISS! - 7 pgs., 12/22/97 http://timwellman.virtualave.net/cycleoflove.html