Title: Magnificent Desolation
Author's LJ/DWJ: abyssinia / grav_ity
Categories: other media, Sam, Jack, Jack and Sam friendship, pre-series, character study
Warnings: none
Author's Webpage/Fic list: : Masterlist of Fanfiction / Gravity Not Included
Link to story: Magnificent Desolation

Why this should be read heard: Abyssis lovingly, eloquently traces the history of space travel on Earth, and how it has intertwined with Sam and Jack's lives. She deftly weaves past events with show canon, showing us the unique bond that they share, with their love of flight and the stars that shine above them. And Grav_ity takes this gorgeous character piece and reads it with all the quiet and powerful intensity that it fully deserves.

One of my all-time favorite Stargate fics, podficced brilliantly. This is just under half an hour of SG-1 at its best.

Title: A Long Drawn-Out Breath and an Impossible Sky
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: magibrain | magistrate
Categories: character study, character: Sam, character: Daniel, character: Jack, character: Teal'c, drama, theme: awesome women, theme: lost episode, theme: super Sam, theme: things that go *boom*
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: SG-1 fic on DWth by tags | SG-1 works at AO3
Link to story: A Long Drawn-Out Breath and an Impossible Sky
Why this should be read: This is a fic that could have been an episode of the show, except that it's a story that can be conveyed only in prose -- unless, perhaps, you too have been zapped by the gizmo in the story, which adds a nifty layer of meta to an extraordinarily meta-rich, and extraordinary, fic. Like 'ante meridiem,' this had to be a Carter fic, but this one is a classic science-fictional problem-solution story. It's a vehicle for a beautiful look into Carter's mind, both her regular mind and her mind expanded and illuminated by alien technology (and some key input from Daniel, whose empathetic intuition is as important to his contribution as his linguistics expertise).

About 4300 words.

Snippet of fic:

A little piece of alienness always followed them home.

Title: The Cold Hard Equation
Author's LJ/DWJ: blahnicity
Categories: angst, character: daniel jackson, character: jack o'neill, character: samantha carter, character: siler, era: season 8, friendship: jack and sam, friendship: sam and daniel, theme: awesome women, theme: super sam
Warnings: implied character death
Author's Webpage/Fic list: SG-1 tag at yung_luk
Link to story: The Cold Hard Equation

Why this should be read: Sam. ♥
Or, in more coherent words: Sam Carter. Being science-y and saving the day. Being a pilot and saving the day. Living one of her dreams and saving the day. Making the hardest of all decisions, and saving the day.

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Title: Evening Shadows
Author on LJ/DW: settiai
Categories: Sam and Daniel friendship, things that go *boom*, drama, action/adventure, hurt/comfort
Warnings: none
Author's Website: settiai.com
Link to Story: Evening Shadows

Why This Must Be Read: Because as much as I love the Wonder Twins...

And as delightful as it is to see Sam working out a scientific puzzle, or Daniel fitting bits and pieces together to find the answer...

Sometimes, it's just great fun to turn Sam and Daniel loose on the universe and watch things go boom. :)

When a planet's government betrays its treaty with the SGC and attacks the team, it's up to Sam and Daniel to use their fists and their weapons - and each other - to get safely back to the Stargate. There's whumping and shooting and banter galore, and it all adds up to an intense and satisfying read!

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Title: Chance
Author's LJ/DWJ:  mitai 
Categories: Sam, team, action/adventure, hurt/comfort, things that go *boom*, possibly super sam
Warnings: major whump, some violence
Author's Webpage/Fic list: N/A
Link to story: Chance
Why this should be read:
Chance is a very satisfying action fic, that picks up just as an off-world mission goes horribly wrong. SG-1 is separated and outnumbered, but it's up to them to stop a fanatic group from taking control of the planet. We get to see awesome Sam, snarky Daniel, and some black-ops Jack. Also, their prophecies say that Teal'c is an angel of God.

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Title: Zephyr
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: gabolange / gabolange / gabolange
Categories: character study, character: cam, character: daniel, character: jack, character: sam, character: teal'c, character: vala, era: futurefic, team, theme: super sam
Warnings: Secondary-character death
Author's Webpage/Fic list: nextnonsequitur
Link to story: Zephyr
Why this should be read: Set about ten years in the future, when Sam is the general in command of the SGC and the Stargate Program has just gone public, this lovely, pensive fic is a combination of turning-outward (Sam wrestling with the demands of presenting the Program to the world accurately and sympathetically via the unruly media) and turning-inward (the team, coming back together to mourn the passing of a longtime comrade, closing in tight on itself). Outstanding Sam characterization, plausible and poignant extrapolation, 2431 words.

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Title: And These Valleys Unknown
Author's LJ/DWJ: nandamai   nandamai
Categories: Sam, Jack, Friendship, AU (from "It’s Good To Be King"), Angst
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: nanda's lament
Link to story: And These Valleys Unknown

Why this should be read: What if the Ancient time ship malfunctioned during the episode "It’s Good To Be King" and stranded Sam and Jack in an unknown time? This is really Sam's story as she (once again) experiences all the pressures of being the only one who can possibly find a way to get them home. Both of the character voices are very believable. Simply written and full of rich detail, I could almost feel the claustrophobic atmosphere of the humid planet. About 2,475 words.

“It took you a month to save me from my last vacation with Maybourne.” Sam’s heard this before. “Three months the time before that. I figure ten days here, two weeks tops.”

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Title: Reckless
Author's LJ/DWJ: annerbhp   annerb
Categories: Action/Adventure, Sam, Team
Warnings: Minor Violence
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Fic Master List
Link to story: Reckless

Why this should be read: SG-1 have been captured and separated before the story begins, and we watch from Daniel's POV as Sam rescues the rest of the team almost single-handed. This is about the kickass Sam whom we saw in the episode "Space Race".* A really enjoyable fic with some great insights into Sam. About 1600 words.

*ETA: Just want to point out the fic has Nothing to do with "Space Race" I was using that episode as an example of the part of Sam's character that I think is less often seen on the show.

God save anyone who underestimated Sam Carter.

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Title: The Knife's Edge of Madness
Author's LJ/DWJ: none known
Categories: au, drama, episode related, awesome women, repercussions, super sam
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Strix_varia25
Link to story: The Knife's Edge of Madness
Why this should be read:

In Desperate Measures, what if the team hadn't found where Sam was being kept?  That's the premise of this well-written AU.  Instead, Sam escapes on her own ... but with a traumatic brain injury that leaves her disabled and with only fleeting memories of who she is and where she comes from, and what she does for a living.  This is a Sam stripped of everything she takes for granted: her status in the Air Force, her team, her body, even her mind.  This is a Sam struggling with the frustration of trying to relearn the basics of every-day life.  This is a Sam trying to reconcile memories of impossibilities--wormholes, aliens, starships--in a world that doesn't know about the Stargate Program.  Yet through it all, she remains the Sam we know and love.

 

( The physical therapists descended like locusts )

 

The Knife's Edge of Madness

Story: Solidarity
Categories: stranded, episode related, Sam, character study
Warnings: none
Author on DW: dira
Author's Website: Words Words Words
Link: Solidarity

Why This Must Be Read: Okay, so Sam only thought she was stranded off-world in this one. But the struggle of dealing with being stranded fits perfectly, even if it's actually on the same planet.

This marvelous character study of Sam at the nadir point of Solitudes is full of despair and courage and sheer stubbornness, as Someone -- or Something -- will not let her give up.

Bleak, beautiful, breathless. Go read!


You're not dead yet. Wake up and get to work.

"Yes ma'am," Sam whispered. She staggered up to her feet, saluted with her burned fingers and then swiped the half-frozen pain-tears from her eyes and headed back over to the DHD.

With thanks to Minxy, for reminding me of this marvelous fic...

Title: West
Author's LJ/DWJ: minnow1212
Categories: Sam, S8, stranded, character study
Warnings: none
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Fanfic Index on LJ
Link to story: West

Why this should be read: Minnow calls this lovely little character study a "snippet fic." It is, I suppose, only a bit of what might possibly be a larger story. But really, it's all I need.

Because Minnow gave us Sam, in Season Eight.

And took away her team…

And the ability to communicate with the confused locals…

And even the knowledge of where to look for the Stargate.

She pared her down to the essentials – and kept her beautifully, absolutely Sam.

And anyway, I can't resist the idea of Sam considering that the next time she has to draw a picture of Daniel for the natives, she should emphasize the eyebrows instead of the glasses. :)

(Oh, and don't forget the little additional snippet, hidden in the comments!)

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Title: Az'heni
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: aurora_novarum   aurora_novarum   Aurora_Novarum
Categories: Sam, Team, Tok'ra, Drama, Angst, Adventure
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: List of My Stories   Aurora Novarum at AO3
Link to story: Az'heni

Why this should be read: Because it's a fun, well written, off-world team adventure with freezing weather, daring rescues, unexpected goa'uld, and snow ball fights. And it's also an excellent exploration of the repercussions for Sam of having had Jolinar as host and her own responsibility for Jacob's current position as a Tok'ra host. About 10,500 words.

A stressful first encounter with some offworld natives leads to more of the unexpected and causes Sam to wrestle with some of her recent past. Set pre-Seth Season 3

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Title: Undertow
Author's LJ/DWJ: abyssinia
Categories: supersam, under the influence, drama, team
Warnings: violence
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Masterlist of fanfiction
Link to story: Undertow

Why this should be read: SG-1 is captured by genetically-modified natives who sense Sam's protein marker and are convinced that she's Goa'uld - or Tok'ra. Jack, without hearing, can't lead; Teal'c suffers the enraged helplessness of someone who can't defend his friends; Daniel, without the use of his hands, can't write or do anything to help the others. And Sam – poor Sam is beaten and drugged until she doesn't which way is up any more. And since the story is told wholly in her POV, the reader is equally confused, as Sam's sense of time and perception is warped and out of sync.

There's great wordbuilding and teamy goodness and courage and strength in this one, and by the time you've figured out what's happened, you'll want to go back and reread it all over again!

(Bonus – Abyssis also posted the "Undertow"- director's cut, in which the scenes are actually placed in order, rather than as Sam remembers and perceives them, plus a happy team ending. I strongly recommend you read Undertow first, but you'll probably enjoy reading this one, too.)

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Title: Creak
Author's LJ/DWJ: nandamai / nandamai
Categories: theme: prisons, theme: super Sam, theme: under the influence
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Nanda's Lament
Link to story: Creak
Why this should be read:
Carter's sense of identity and pure cussed doggedness run deeper than conscious awareness, and it's deeply gratifying to be with her as her innate indomitability prevails over the memory-suppressing drugs she's dosed with after being captured and enslaved to the Goa'uld.

About 1685 words, and don't miss the remix linked at the bottom of the page.

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Title: Tempus Fugit
Author's LJ/DWJ: kerravonsen
Categories: Crossover
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: AO3 (Not complete), Fic tag,
Why this should be read:

The Doctor and Sam discuss temporal mechanics. Scientific accuracy meets "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff," handled by an experienced and talented author.  What's not to love?

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Tempus Fugit