Once upon a time, the Housefic_Meta members got together and said: there ought to be a way to put together a “must read” list of House fanfiction stories -- something that appeals to a broad range of readers, is in character, is well written ... the kind of stories you can use to introduce new fans to House fanfiction. (The original discussion on it, if you’re interested, is
here)
The result of this musing is the Housefic Meta Library, formerly called the House Fanfiction Hall of Fame. While it may not have everyone’s personal favorites list -- or the favorites of any particular 'ship -- it does have a cross-section of fics that are worth reading. Think there’s no such thing as good Cameron oriented fic? Find it here. Frustrated by weepy Wilson fic? Check some of these out. They range in length from less than 1,000 words to more than 90,000.
The Library fics -- with nomination open to any fics from any reader -- are listed here according to their average score from voting as of this posting. You can find links to the fics and to the discussions on those fics. Authors, if you prefer a different link, let us know. If you find a problem with a link, let us know.
ETA: Just to let you all know, here's the way the voting works. Each vote is worth a certain number of points (3 for a "without reservations" down to 0 for "not a hall of fame fic.") We add up the total number of points and divide by the number of votes to get the average. Anything averaging 1 or higher (or honorable mention) is voted into the Hall. They're listed here in order from the highest average on down. Those that are tied at the same average, say 2.87, are listed alphabetically.
List was last updated in October 2009, and will be updated again with results of current round of fics later this summer/fall. You can find the latest fics and discussions on the main threads at Housefic_meta. Think something’s missing? Mention it on this thread, and we’ll get the process started. (The caveat as always, authors can turn down a nomination. Some have.)
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About TimeAuthor: Namaste
Summary:While recovering from brain surgery carried out in "Euphoria," Foreman makes a trip home to visit his mother, who has Alzheimer's disease.
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Walking GhostAuthor:
pwcorgigirlSummary: House’s patient leads him -- and the reader -- into a complex world of espionage. A multi-fandom crossover.
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Whining and Dining Author: mer_duff
Summary: Dinner at the diner, House and Wilson style.
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Locked Up and Set FreeAuthor: Dee Laundry
Summary: Action and inaction; proximity and distance; consequence and meaning. What Wilson says; what House does.
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Tracking TimeAuthor: Namaste
Summary: A history of House and Wilson's friendship from its
beginnings through the start of Season One.
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Down To The WaterAuthor:
blackmare_9Summary: House and Wilson take a road trip and vacation in the wake of the events of "House's Head" and "Wilson's Heart."
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The Body FoundAuthor:
fourteencandlesSummary: Wilson goes missing.
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Into WhiteAuthor:
pwcorgigirlSummary: A patient's death leads to a discovery for Chase.
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All Good ThingsAuthor:
rubberbuttonSummary: Life, death and a double shot of irony.
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Eden Sank To GriefAuthor:
shutterbug_12Summary: A series of twelve episodes that chronicles House and Stacy's relationship.
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Strategies and Exchanges Author: PWCorgigirl
Summary: House has an encounter with a hooker, and does some reflecting.
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IntersectionsAuthor: daasgrrl
Summary: A variation on the Schrodinger's Cat experiment, but with Wilson.
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A Modest ProposalAuthor:
ignazwisdomSummary: Tritter's case against House still depends on subpoenaed testimony from Wilson. To save House from losing everything, the doctors of PPTH decide on an unusual solution, which in turn leads to unexpected consequences. This is a story about the sacrifices we make that turn out not to be such great sacrifices after all.
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When It Really MatteredAuthor:
karaokegalSummary: It wasn't supposed to happen this way. It wasn't supposed to happen at all.
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Player PianoAuthor:
leiascullySummary: House becomes a jazz musician, rather than a doctor.
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GrievingAuthor: daasgrrl
Summary: House deals with loss in interconnected 100-word drabbles.
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The PianoAuthor:
asyncaSummary: House left both Wilson and Cuddy a goodbye note, but his parting gift to Cuddy was his treasured piano.
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A Distorted GeniusAuthor:
hwshipperSummary: Wilson's been arrested on suspicion of murder, and only Nero Wolfe can help. (H/W Friendship, crossover.
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No Little CharityAuthor: Perspi
Summary: It was an old ritual, old magic from before the world had rational explanations and cold science. Cold science had failed House; Wilson had nothing left to try but this.
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A Life Never LivedAuthor: Mer_Duff
Summary: Wilson learns that Cuddy didn't want him as a donor and that Julie had an abortion.
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A Map of the BodyAuthor: PWCorgigirl
Summary: Ingrid the massage therapist assesses House’s body, discovering his past and his future.
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A Voice In Ramah (Welcome To Holland)Author:
ignazwisdomSummary: Cuddy centric.
A voice is heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more. (Matthew 2:18)
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Playing For PositionAuthor: npkedit
Summary: Just how did Chase manage to make it where no other fellow had gone before?
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Blow the Candles OutAuthor: Syal
Summary: It's Wilson's birthday, and while Julie may not have a clue about what he wants, House does.
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For Every Closed DoorAuthor:
starlingthefoolSummary: Crossover. House dies and becomes a reaper.
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Eight Days, Eight MonthsAuthor:
namasteyogaSummary The story of House and Stacy's original breakup, told through one day glimpses of their lives between the infarction and her departure.
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Things To Do Before You DieAuthor:
thedeadparrotSummary: In which Wilson turns thirty-eight and a half, thinks about kittens, and doesn't have a midlife crisis. But not necessarily in that order.
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AftershocksAuthor The
black_cigarette collective
Summary: n the wake of the Tritter investigation, House deliberately distanced himself from Wilson and found himself owing a large gambling debt to a particularly vicious gangster. When House balked at paying, the retribution came down not on House, but on Wilson, who was kidnapped and assaulted within an inch of his life by the gangster's hired thugs. The leader of the thugs, we learn, knew House in his early adolescence. This story is what happens after Wilson is found alive and the long process of healing and forgiveness - with a certain amount of retribution -- begins.
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Extreme WeatherAuthor:
phinniaSummary: House leads Wilson on an unusual vacation, in an unusual place. Spoilers for “Frozen.”
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Letters of TransitAuthor: nightdog_writes
Summary: House follows a series of postcards from Wilson to an unusual and unexpected conclusion.
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Little Boy BlueAuthor:
topaz_eyesSummary: House deals with a new patient, and his mother’s death.
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Lead You Into The NightAuthor:
cryptictacSummary: What's the differential for a woman who says she hates her baby?
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Nocturne in Gray and GoldAuthor: ignipes
Summary: A piano, a motorbike, a river, a few telephone calls, fifty cents gone for good, and one late-night conversation about the lies our forefathers told us.
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In The Big HouseAuthor: mer_duff
Summary: A good friend will bail you out of jail; a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn that was fun!" Or maybe not.
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Left Of WestAuthor:
hannahrorloveSummary: It's a different room but everything's the same.
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Safe From HarmAuthor: Maya Tawi
Summary: In the author's words: "This story is what happens when I mainline old House episodes, re-read The Gun Seller, and then fall asleep and have cracked-out dreams. For some reason, my brain decided that House needed an Adventure. I was only too happy to comply." House and Chase, mostly.
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A Man Should KnowAuthor: Perspi
Summary: What Foreman learns about guns when he’s young, changes his life.
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You Already Know How This Will EndAuthor
fourteencandlesSummary: Varying points of view -- House in and post-rehab.
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The Open RoadAuthor:
punSummary: Wilson goes along for the ride. (Originally written for the House Big Bang challenge.)
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InterventionAuthor: Sy Dedalus
Summary: A detailed look at what happened before, during and after the events of the first season episode “Detox.”
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A Button, A Feather, a Grain of SandAuthor: nightdog_writes
Summary: House is away at a medical conference, and keeps in touch with Wilson by sending him daily gifts of rather enigmatic objects.
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Things That Go BumpAuthor: Kaye
peg22Summary: Wilson has nightmares, House gets a headache.
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Ides of MarchAuthor:
finding_jaySummary: So reality was wrong. Reality is almost always wrong.
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The Sudden Loss Of SelfAuthor:
srsly_yesSummary: From a
sickwilson_fest prompt: "Wilson is paralyzed from the waist down (or some similar injury, this was inspired by "Fifth Of July" a play RSL was in), becomes very depressed and angry and House has to help him find a reason to go back to work and keep helping people." Boil it all down, and what do you have? A story about friendship.
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All Who WanderAuthor: Acidic Flower
Summary: A nice, meaty piece about Wilson, House, their deep bond and the separate internal conflicts it reveals in both characters
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Time For Some of UsAuthor:
joe_pike_juniorSummary: House’s world had always been on a shakier axis than some, more marked by instability than almost anyone Wilson knew. (House and Wilson friendship)
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MuseAuthor: pwcorgigirl
Summary: House falls in love with a piano, and with a woman.
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Pathogenesis and InterventionAuthor: Shalott
Summary: House discovers a smallpox outbreak and he, his team, Wilson and the rest of Princeton-Plainsboro have to deal with the growing emotional and physical toll of treating the victims.
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Weaving Time in a TapestryAuthor: Auditrix
Summary: Coffee, biscotti, and a chance encounter with chess players sends House back to reflecting on the past, to a girl he met when he was a resident and a long car ride they shared before Christmas.
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WalkaboutAuthor: Karabana
Summary: Chase after his father’s death. Not all who wander ...
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In MemoriamAuthor: Stick Marionette
Summary: House is dead, but he won’t let anyone forget him.
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Paladin of EmpathyAuthor: Perspi
Summary: No one stayed that close to House without possessing something unyielding. Cameron discovered hers.
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KarmaAuthor:
californiaquailSummary: Kutner and House discuss religion, goodness, evil and the meaning of life after Kutner witnesses something incredible. Includes a side of Foreman, Chase, Cuddy, Cameron and Wilson.
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herePlease Note: Check with
this posting to access fics by Californiaquail.
Title:
Last RitesAuthor: Dira Sudis
Summary: Rowan Chase dies, and House sends Cameron to keep (Robert) Chase company.
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Resurrection of the Unspoken WordAuthor:
srsly_yesSummary: A nontraditional love story. How much do House and Wilson love each other? (Check out the fic header for more info on what to expect.)
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A Love RestrainedAuthor: Esse
Summary: Wilson doesn’t really know what he wants, but he finds some of it with House.
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The Biggest LieAuthor: mojokitten
Summary: House and Cameron are inexplicably dating.
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HorseAuthor: PWCorgigirl
Summary: Wilson, Foreman, some basketball and some memories.
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WingmanAuthor:
srsly_yesSummary: Friendship, blindness, and a charity ball. House-Wilson friendship story with a kind of role reversal.
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Kayser-Fleischer RingsAuthor: drworm
Summary: House’s birthday stirs up bitter thoughts about human nature and a conversation about circles with Wilson.
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My Fathers’ SonAuthor: dee laundry
Summary: House and Wilson raise a son together. Told from the son’s point of view.
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Teddy HouseAuthor:
alex51324Summary: Crack. In this story, House is turned into a teddy bear and it’s up to him and Wilson to find out how to fix it, as well as exploring various trials, tribulations and obstacles along the way.
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Title: No Less A Devil For ThatAuthor: Branwyn
Summary: Cameron gets an a series of increasingly unsettling letters, and House steps in to investigate.
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WoodwindsAuthor:
queenzuluSummary: Wilson doesn't end relationships; he launches himself headfirst into something even more disastrous instead.
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Only HumanAuthor: Peak in Darien
Summary: It’s a beautiful thing, Wilson is thinking.
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In TransitAuthor:
lightlikewaterSummary: House and Wilson go to Iowa.
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DecameronAuthor:
nakannaleeSummary: Cameron/House one-sided with House/Wilson as pairings and an unreliable narrator. From the author's note: This is what happens when I'm in the middle of a Gothic novel and a course on the Renaissance. The title--as well as the basic layout--are borrowed from Boccaccio, a 14th century writer. Um, trust me, it's not as haughty as it sounds.
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LilliesAuthor: AndreaLyn
Summary: Those who knew House in life react to his death.
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Not Another DateAuthor: Genagirl
Summary: House invites Wilson and Cameron to go to the carnival.
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Essential Elements of TeamworkAuthor:
asyncaSummary: Cuddy makes a last attempt to get pregnant and, predictably, House can't help interfering. It's up to Wilson to clean up after him.
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Going HomeAuthor: mer_duff
Summary: Wilson discovers you can go home again, as long as you know where home is.
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These Chords Are Old But We Shake HandsAuthor:
californiaquailSummary: House does Wilson a favor and ends up learning something important about himself.
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herePlease Note: Check with
this posting to access fics by Californiaquail.
Title:
CasinoAuthor: Bellsie
Summary: Away from the confines of PPTH, Cuddy tries to relax but ends
up doing a lot of thinking about the men in her life.
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Take As DirectedAuthor: Jennamajig
Summary: House’s relationship to Vicodin, and its side effects.
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Paper MoonAuthor: cryptictac
Summary: Wilson is stuck in a life he no longer wants.
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As Heroes AreAuthor: eudaimon
Summary: Seven years after the events in "Kids," Mary, the diver, comes back from the London Olympics to visit Eric Foreman.
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Arureos (Greek For Rat)Author:
deelaundrySummary: From an HW Fest prompt: “Wilson gets attached to Steve McQueen during House’s hospitalization and is loathe to admit it and/or return said rat.”
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True At The TimeAuthor: Miss Parker
Summary: Cuddy wanted a little baby with blue eyes so badly it made her short of breath.
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The Devil's PlaygroundAuthor:
fayding_fastSummary: House meets a strange man who promises he can help him to get his friendship with Wilson back on track.
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TraditionsAuthor: Adrienne S.
Summary: New Year’s Eve has its traditions. So do House and Wilson.
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MetaphysicsAuthor: Extrabitter
Summary: Wilson finds himself inexplicably drawn to return early from a conference.
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The ContractAuthor: DIY Sheep
Summary: Everybody lies. Including House, lying to protect Wilson, Cuddy, the ducklings. House goes to prison, and if you've seen prison movies, imagine the worst. Wilson is there to save his friend - physically, mentally, emotionally.
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The Java JiveAuthor: Namaste
Summary: House and Wilson hang out, talk and drink coffee.
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MessengersAuthor: Telegram Sam
Summary: Wilson ponders death and ravens.
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