Proof that the remaining 10% is worth experiencing the Agony Booth for here.
These are recommendations made by Tropers for Star Trek: The Original Series fanfics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.
You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.
If you're looking for recommendations for the 2009 movie, please click here.
An index of all Star Trek Fanfiction Recommendations pages can be found here.
Authors and Websites
Star Trek XI Kink Meme
by various authors, very NSFW
- Recommended by Ayries
- Pairing: Various (Slash, Het, Femslash)
- A Kink Meme for Star Trek XI. There are a good chunk of TOS related fics however. Not only has this somehow achieved upwards of five thousand comments in under two weeks, but it somehow has managed to have a very good excellent-to-poor fic ratio. Some of these authors are just amazing.
- It's currently on part fourteen and growing every day, and the excellent-to-poor ratio is, if not the same, better.
- There is a TOS specific kink meme here.
- And then here's the kink meme for everything Star Trek: [1]
- Recommended by LeighSabio
- Pairing: Mostly Kirk/Spock/McCoy
-
Almostevery fanfic on Liz's livejournal is excellent. She is especially good at writing a Heartwarming Moments (Or a Moment Of Sexy). I especially recommend A Cure For Migraines and The Enterprise Incident - or, In Which Jim Has Pointy Ears (In two parts, link is to the first part). Liz also always replies to her reviewers politely, nicely and pleasantly. (A rarity on the Internet.)
- Recommended by dedicatedfollower467
- KCS usually does one-shot and drabbles, but everything written is spot-on. The stories have an excellent grasp of canon - I'd definitely say the stuff has an Original Flavor. What's unusual about the author in many ways is that the stories don't try to set up a particular ship or even focus on a particular character - while most of it is Big Three-centered, you'll find that they range all over. Definitely enjoyable work, go check it out!
- Seconded by scarletclarinet. Brilliant writing and characterization. Lots of short pieces, but author has an admitted habit of taking short pieces and expanding them far beyond the original scope (e.g. the Insontis series). Plots vary from original to filling in the gaps before, during or after canon episodes. Absolutely wonderful to read.
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- A collection of stories published in the fanzine the Orion Press, written from the 1980's to the 2010's and spanning the in-universe timeline from pre-TOS to early TNG. They have the advantage of being screened and edited and are generally polished and enjoyable works written by a pool of pretty consistent contributors. They definitely conform pretty strictly to canon, and occasionally fanon.
A Trekkie's Tale by Paula Smith.
- Recommended by JBridge
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: The perfect Parody Sue fanfic. Also coined the term.
Add ReviewElysium by Argella
- Recommended by sauronlulz
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "Reflecting on her ignorance helps to assuage the flicker of anger I feel toward her for her violation. She does not understand." Spock's thoughts during "This Side of Paradise."
Lost and Found by UKJess
- Recommended by Ainyre
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Kidnapped and then mysteriously released by the Romulans, Kirk is traveling back to Earth to stand trial. Can his friends, and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise do anything to help this self-confessed traitor?
Fortune's Favoured Child by UKJess
- Recommended by Ainyre
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: After the deaths of both Edith Keeler and Sam Kirk, an alien encounter whilst traveling in a shuttlecraft is the last straw for the distressed and exhausted Captain of the Enterprise.
Freedom Is Standing in the Light by Syn Ferguson
- Recommended by Ainyre
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: A chance meeting in a garden changes the shape of two lives forever.
What Lies Within by Jungle Kitty
- Recommended by Ainyre
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: At the Academy, Kirk faces the Kobayashi Maru.
- Warning: Dead link
Gotor: The Most Powerful Being Who Ever Lived! by Galaxy 1001 D
- Recommended by Andariel
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: It's a trek through time as the officers of two Enterprises confront Gotor: The Most Powerful Being Who Ever Lived!
- Comments: Hilarious one-shot that takes place in both the Original Series and the Next Generation
Kraith by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and many others
- Recommended by Capt. Equinox
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: One of the oldest TOS fanfic works, the Kraith series dates back to 1969. It was a maturely written exploration of the Trek universe, with particular focus on Spock and Vulcan culture. It sparked great controversy and was deplored as much as embraced by fans. Its professional, polished quality caused it to be adopted as fanon, almost as canon, by thousands if not millions of fans. Kraith remains the only fanwork to actually have plot elements incorporated into the film and later series. Much more background on Kraith here.
Alternate Universe 4 by Shirley Maiewski,Anna Mary Hall, Virginia Tilley and Daphne Hamilton
- Recommended by Capt. Equinox
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Begun in 1967 and first published in 1974, Alternate Universe 4 is still considered one of the most outstanding Star Trek fanworks. It depicts a fourth alternative universe (the first three are canon Star Trek, the Mirror Universe and Kraith) in which Kirk is cast out of the Federation for his role in the destruction of a heavily populated star system. He changes his name and becomes a navigator on an alien freighter. He is recognized and recruited by a member of Lightfleet, a secret space service existing in parallel to Starfleet. Founded by an ancient, idealistic alien race, it's named as the organization Gary Seven was working for in "Assignment: Earth". Intelligently plotted and sensitively written. Background information here.
The Captains Speak (Archived version) by Electric Joe
- Recommended by SuperTulle
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "This is In Their Own Words, and I'm Paul Barrows. Welcome back to our multi-part special about the facts behind the legend of the starship Enterprise."
- Comments: A Deconstruction Fic / Literary Agent Hypothesis view of what actually transpired on the Enterprise. As the captains of NCC-1701 are interviewed, it turns out that a lot of what we saw in the series never happened, or happened a lot less dramatic.
Khan Victorious by CaekDaemon
- Recommended by Nerdman 3000
- Status: Dead; last updated April 2018
- Synopsis: The premise of this massive alternate Star Trek timeline is based on what if Khan Noonien Singh and the Augument’s won the Eugenics Wars through one last ditch effort tactic: engineering a genetic virus, known as the Ascension Flu, which results in any future children born infected with the virus to be born as Auguments.
- Comments: This timeline is massive, spanning from the end of the alternate Eugenics Wars to, according to the author, the events of an alternate Star Trek Nemesis. Incredibly detailed, and long, this is probably one of the most impressive works I’ve ever read. I actually did a wordcount, and at the time of this writing, Marth 5th, 2018, this timeline is over 212,000, and has only now just gotten into the events of First Contact. A pretty impressive work.
- Link: [2] (registration as an AH.com user is required).
Last Picked by Cathy German.
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: An adorable/terrifying recounting of our trio on a simple rescue mission gone wrong, told in the voice of a hilarious, sympathetic, and completely spot on Bones. The good doctor gets to be the hero of the hour for once.
The Dragons of Veyga by Closet Scrawler.
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Kirk and Spock land on Veyga, a pre-warp, medieval-fantasy-style planet that has unfortunately been made aware of the wider universe by the Klingons. As they attempt to negotiate a successful trade agreement with the Veygans while navigating the cultural waters, our duo is attacked by the mysterious Shadowguard. They must follow the clues in an attempt to discover their assailant's motives, and in the process uncover the dark secret of Veyga. Don't let the "dragons" fool you- this is not crack. Kirk and Spock are IC and have some lovely understated moments of character interaction. The medieval styling is just a fun theme for what is a very Science Fiction story with an interesting ethical quandary worthy of Trek.
IMs from the COs by To.The.Hilt
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Spock is giving a lecture and is away from the Enterprise for a week, so Kirk stays in touch over a text service.
Absolute Horizon by Anna Amuse
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: The Enterprise's five-year mission is coming to an end. The question is, what else is going to end with it? Absolutely brutal, even more so because it's totally believable as canon. It is gen, but just barely (technically pre-slash in context with the author's other works, but you don't have to read it that way).
Equilibrium by PSW
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: McCoy's transport is destroyed in what is thought to be an accidental containment field explosion. In truth, he has been abducted by a hostile alien race for a sinister purpose. Can Kirk and Spock rescue him when they don't even know he's still alive? A novel length work focusing on Bones with some great Vulcan Original Characters.
Arc of the Wolf: On the Nature of Wind by SLWalker
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: 2242 - 2243 "Courage, struggling for oxygen." Full-length novel about Scotty's time in Engineering school during his senior year. Takes place after Distant Horizons. 1st Place ASC Award Winner, 2008. One of the only substantial fics I have seen focusing on Scotty. There are several more works in the Arc of the Wolf Series following Scotty's career.
Take Us Out by KLMeri
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Leonard finds himself in a situation that quickly goes from bad to worse, and it turns out he is the only one who can fix it. Hostage situations sure tend to get more complicated with crazy telepaths involved.
Plain Sight by The Buzz
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: A routine mission goes bad when Kirk, Spock, and McCoy find themselves crashed on a remote planet, injured, and hidden from the Enterprise. To make matters worse, the planet's inhabitants appreciate neither Starfleet nor unexpected visitors.
The Lines Between by The Complex
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Dormant
- Synopsis: Revenge blinds. Tempers simmer close to the surface when the Enterprise is interrupted from their much-needed break. Accusations are thrown about, misunderstandings are made, and mysteries are uncovered. Post "The Enterprise Incident." K,S,M friendship. A tense, painful character study.
Learning Curve by Lil black dog
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Jim and Spock need to talk to each other. McCoy decides some tactful manipulation is in order and arranges shore leave for him and his two COs. Friendship and character focus.
Where it Stops, Nobody Knows by WerewolvesAreReal
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Spock wonders, sometimes, if perhaps there is nothing at all he can do to fix time. If the loop will continue forever, or if perhaps in a million days the timeline will abruptly flow again, smooth and flawless, while he remains mad...
Common Touch Trilogy by Jane D 2
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "When a diplomatic crisis threatens the relationship between Vulcan and Starfleet, will Kirk and Spock manage to stay on the same side? Events will bring new challenges both to their personal and professional relationship, and to the balance of power in the Federation. Common Touch is the first part of a two part story." A very interesting and intricate novel length character study exploring Spock and Jim's relationship during and after the ending of the five year mission. Feels very close to canon, but isn't actually canon compliant. If you are not an emotional masochist like me, you might not enjoy the extremely painful separation and conflict between our favorite command team which is the focus of this story. Just thought I'd warn you. Common Cause, about events following "The Menagerie", is the prequel.
Way, Hey, An' Up She Rises by Kara Storm
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "On his first shore leave as the new captain, Kirk overindulges with the help of his friend and first officer, Mitchell, who abandons him in a seedy port bar. It is the science officer, Spock, who is missing his previous captain and is having second thoughts about joining the mission, who comes to his rescue." This writer has a beautiful way with words and a slightly different style than a lot of fanfiction I've seen.
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "Bones tells me you have been naming constellations, Spock?" Jim asked with a grin. "I thought those were, let's see, 'illogical flights of fancy for the lazy mind'." "For the simplistic mind, Jim, the simplistic mind." Bones corrected. "Trust me, I've heard that lecture several times the last few years." A short, sweet, and poignant piece. All of this author's works are highly recommended.
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "Spock never liked taking his shore leave, and Jim and Bones aren't letting him talk his way out of it this time. Lucky for them, he's the only one capable of getting them back to the ship - alive." This piece has a fun, garish, nightmarish quality and an intriguing plot. Near novel length, trinity centric.
After the Kironide by Jack Hawksmoor
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: After the kironide, before the evening's entertainment, Kirk and Spock get some hc away from those dastardly Platonians. A Plato's Stepchildren interlude.
- Title: Alternate Universe 4 by Shirley Maiewski, Anna Mary Hall, Virginia Tilley and Daphne Hamilton.
- Recommended by: Capt Equinox
- Synopsis: "We count our familiar Star Trek Universe —— Television's Star Trek —— as number one; The "Mirror, Mirror" Universe as number two; the KRAITH Universe as number three; and Light Fleet's Universe as number four. "Alternate Universe 4" was created to honor a man often overlooked or treated as a minor character in much of the world of Star Trek fandom writing: Captain James T. Kirk..."
Court-martialed for culpable negligence in the death of a heavily populated star system — he made a bad decision while seriously ill, but he never offers the illness as a defense — James Kirk is convicted, stripped of his honors, heavily fined and forbidden to ever set foot on a Starfleet installation again. Taking the name Thomas Baroner (from "Errand of Mercy"), he becomes Spaceman 3rd Class on an alien freighter and is soon recruited by a member of Lightfleet, a very idealistic but clandestine space service founded by an ancient alien race. Gary Seven was in Lightfleet, and while we never meet him, this is a detailed portrayal of the organization that trained and sent him.
And War's A Bloody Game by Aconitum Napellus.
- Recommended by jinjoo88
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Stranded with a medical team in a war zone, with the captain incapacitated and no contact with the Enterprise, Spock, Dr McCoy, and Nurse Chapel must fight to survive with dwindling rations and an ever-increasing patient load.
Guarding the Guards by queenofroses12
- Recommended by Hwarin
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: The events of the episode The Naked Time from the perspective of the one department guaranteed to have been the busiest during the chaos. When the entire ship is going mad around them, it is up to the Redshirts to keep their crewmates safe. POV of Security Chief Giotto. Some implied slash for Kirk and Spock.
- Reviews: The characters are very believable, the comedy is well written, and it could fit right in to an official novelisation. The original characters are also quite fun, especially Ensign Styles - Hwarin
Charlie Y by Gainsborough
- Recommended by kensu
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Charlie Evans returns to the Enterprise after three years of captivity. But he's changed, honest he has! Contains a sequel to another famous episode, and references abound on just about every page. It also contains an ending that just might be life-changing for the reader.
.Incident Report by K'Sal
- Recommended by AcrossTheStars, LeighSabio
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: After being caught in "illicit activity" in a conference room during tedious diplomatic negotiations, Kirk must write up an incident report for Starfleet Command.
- Tags: Comedy
What I Am To You by Cimorene
- Recommended by AcrossTheStars
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: Post-The Search For Spock, Jim and Spock explore his returning memories... and discover what they should have been to each other all along.
Rekindling Fire by Jenna Hilary Sinclair
- Recommended by AcrossTheStars, Killa
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: The effects of the Kolinahr have left Spock divorced from his body, unable to fully express what he knows he and Kirk should be. But when V'Ger returns, demanding Spock, Kirk will fight very Hell itself to save him - and to keep him for eternity.
Innocent When You Dream by Hafital (Warning: adult content. NC-17)
- Recommended by AcrossTheStars
- Pairing: Pike/Chekov
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: On a training voyage, Captain Pike meets Cadet Pavel Chekov.
- Comments: Not a pairing that would ever have crossed my mind, but dear God is it well-written!
Down and Out and Under the Table by Jenna Hilary Sinclair
- Recommended by {{Across The Stars}
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: A very, very drunk McCoy witnesses a private moment between his Captain and his First Officer.
Deep Water by Jenna Hilary Sinclair
- Recommended by AcrossTheStars
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: Not all is as it seems.
Trinity by Liz Ellington
- Recommended by AcrossTheStars
- Status: ? (Dead link)
- Pairing: Kirk/McCoy/Spock
- Synopsis: The long and difficult road from their first meeting to long after their careers are over.
Communication by Jenna Hilary Sinclair
- Recommended by AcrossTheStars
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: During a war with the Tholians, Spock is given his own command. These are the letters sent between the two officers during the months they're kept apart.
Insert Slash Here: A Collection of Oneshots by Brittany Diamond
- Recommended by LeighSabio
- Status: Dead
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: A collection of short stories that use canonical scenes as a jumping-off point, and suggest what may have happened before or after them. Some are lemon, some non-lemon.
Sensate Focus by Lyrastar
- Recommended by LeighSabio
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: After Amok Time, Kirk and Spock head off to the Altair VI peace conference, and find a few surprises there
Bitter Glass by Killa
- Recommended by the GirlInGlasses
- Status: Complete
- Parings: Technically Kirk/Spock, but no sex, could be interpreted as seriously deep friendship.
- Synopsis: A story about regrets and second chances. Faced with the news of Kirk's death in Generations, Spock tells the story of a thirty-year friendship that defied all categorization. (Crossover with Star Trek: TNG) Originally posted in 1996.
Heart To Heart by Cecil
- Recommended By: StudiousJones
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: When Jim Kirk turns seventy, his life as starship captain seems farther away than ever before, but soon he is forced to realize that domestic life on Earth might lead to events which are more disastrous to him than most deep-space missions.
- Tags: AU ignoring Generations.
Things that Never Happened I: Blue by Nemo the Everbeing
- Recommended By: Jesska
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Spock/McCoy
- Synopsis: After everything they've ever known falls to pieces, McCoy and Spock attempt to find some meaning in what is left of their lives.
Another Country Beckons by Rae Trail
- Recommended by Ainyre
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: A starship captain discovers that his subconscious mind has been busily courting while his conscious mind runs his ship.
The Word Withheld by J S Cavalcante (Warning: Adult content. NC-17)
- Recommended by Ainyre
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: After retrieving Kirk from the interspatial rift of "The Tholian Web", Spock realizes his oath to Starfleet and his service aboard the Enterprise are in jeopardy because he has denied to himself–and withheld from Kirk–a certain truth about the nature of the Vulcan relationship called "t'hy'la."
The Game by jesmihr
- Recommended by Ainyre
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: Kirk, Spock, Scotty and McCoy kill time in a bar.
Dream Until Your Dream Comes True by Djinn1
- Recommended by Kittenmommy
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Spock/Chapel
- Synopsis: This is not your normal Spock/Chapel. It's dark, it's twisted, it's...well, give it a try and find out exactly what it is.
Hesitation by CMM
- Recommended by RoseAndHeather
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: Kirk/Spock
- Synopsis: The King's Speech, Star Trek-style. In a world where the Vulcan Federation annexed the outnumbered and outgunned Earth to rescue the planet from its war with the Klingons, Spock is King George VI, Kirk is the Queen Mother, Saavik is Princess Elizabeth, Dr McCoy is Lionel Logue, Sybok is Edward VIII, Ty'Lena is Wallis Simpson, T'Pau is the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sarek is King George V. The story echoes the film - and the history it was based on - without being a slavish copy.
