Fic Rec Fridays 2019 - part 8

As Through a Swirling Mist (21665 words) by Jezunya
Chapters: 11/11
Fandom: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Gandalf | Mithrandir, Thranduil (Tolkien), Thorin's Company
Additional Tags: Ghost Bilbo, Happy Ending, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, halloween fic, ghost story, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Complete, POV Bilbo Baggins
Summary:

After taking that nasty blow to the head, Bilbo wakes to the quiet, grey landscape atop Raven Hill, made only quieter and greyer by the shifting shadows of his little magic ring – only the ring isn't on his finger anymore, and there's another Bilbo Baggins lying at his feet, unconscious in the freezing twilight, whom Bilbo's hands pass right through when he tries to retake control of his body.

Incorporeal and unseen, Bilbo must find his friends in the aftermath of the Battle of Five Armies and, somehow, bring back help before the cold night – or the cold of the ring – consumes him.

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My rec for this week is a small, well-crafted and atmospheric ghost story that fits any season in spite of the Halloween context.

It has an appropriately agonizing mystery that unravels at just the right pace to keep the reader hooked, and there’s also a very, very nice dose of angst and despair to go with it (by ‘a very nice dose’ I mean that I left at least one comment that was essentially a long string of NOPE). Also it doesn’t hurt that the antagonist is not above upping the stakes when you least expect it.

Last but not least: the tale is now complete, so you can make it through to the resolution and eventual happy ending in one sitting. Enjoy!