an unauthorized fan treatise - thoughts

Just finished An Unauthorized Fan Treatise by Lauren James—which you can read for free online at this link—and I cannot recommend it enough, particularly for anyone else who's been involved in fandom from a young age online. It's a fictional story, but despite that, is an absolutely fascinating exploration of fandom culture and how far someone will go for their theories. Having known people who used to/still do ship things like Phan, Cockles, and the multitude of K-Pop ships out there, this story hits.

It's told in the format of blog posts, pop culture articles, comments, and...court documents, and is a crossover between the hyperinvasive fandom culture present particularly in the early 2010s around queer (or thought to be queer) men and a crime thriller. Beyond being exciting to read for its criminal elements, it provides a genuinely fascinating and thoughtful exploration of fandom culture.

I honestly cannot believe that this is free to read online. It's not long at all—I read it in 1.5 hours, and it's only about 45k words—and goes down easy while also compelling you to keep reading. 

The author is releasing the story in print with some bonus writing exploring what happens after the fact later this year as Last Seen Online and you can preorder it now. I know I'll be checking it out from my library ASAP!

If you've read this, share your thoughts below! Feel free to ask any questions too.