There are different sorts of AUs, and I think the typography has some bearing on how well they work.
1. Alternate universes set on Atlantis itself, so a smaller shift from canon. Maybe a character took a different path in life but still ended up there (like in Teamwork).
2. Atlantis characters in some other setting. John is a publisher, Rodney is a typesetter (from lalejandra's publishing AU. This category has to work harder to get me to buy it, or else they're just random people who happen to be named John and Rodney and Elizabeth et al.
3. Somewhere in the middle - a situation that touches upon Atlantis canon - aliens, Ancients, NID, Stargate Command - but has the characters doing very different things. Jenn's Arizona series is one that comes to mind.
In the end, I think the thing that makes an AU work or not work is characterization. Of course, that's my key point for all stories, and with Atlantis I find myself accepting a narrower range of option than I have in other fandoms. My view of these characters is concrete in a way that doesn't allow me to follow every single flight of fancy.
It's a game of alternate paths: what if John had done this or Rodney had done that? I have to believe the answers the author poses, or else she's going to lose me and I'm going to move to the next story with a shrug of my shoulders.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2006-01-23 06:44 pm (UTC)1. Alternate universes set on Atlantis itself, so a smaller shift from canon. Maybe a character took a different path in life but still ended up there (like in Teamwork).
2. Atlantis characters in some other setting. John is a publisher, Rodney is a typesetter (from
3. Somewhere in the middle - a situation that touches upon Atlantis canon - aliens, Ancients, NID, Stargate Command - but has the characters doing very different things. Jenn's Arizona series is one that comes to mind.
In the end, I think the thing that makes an AU work or not work is characterization. Of course, that's my key point for all stories, and with Atlantis I find myself accepting a narrower range of option than I have in other fandoms. My view of these characters is concrete in a way that doesn't allow me to follow every single flight of fancy.
It's a game of alternate paths: what if John had done this or Rodney had done that? I have to believe the answers the author poses, or else she's going to lose me and I'm going to move to the next story with a shrug of my shoulders.