by HG
Review by: Slantedlight
Review
There is not a single story in this zine that I did not love. HG writes with skill and humour. Her B and D tend to
the loving domestic side with lots of very nice sex, but there is plenty of angst and h/c as well! Although there
are a couple of her fics in other places that have the occasional irritating writing glitch that's pulled me out of the
tale for a millisecond, that's not the case in any of these - at least not for me! The stories include:
Emerging from the Smoke. This is an alternative sequel to Tarot's "Leap in the Dark", but it stands on its own well enough.
A First Time. Various traumas and angst here, for both the boys, but despite this they stay themselves rather than morphing into totally wet types. They go around in circles just a *little* - *oh, now it's Doyle's turn to be upset...* - but HG manages to teeter just on the safe side.
Day in the Life - Established Relationship. Made me wanna snuggle down with them. I love the way that HG manages to capture the *feel* of a rainy morning off work as easily as she does the lads themselves.
Loose Change - Again another apparent sequel, and I would *love* to read "Rediscovered in a Graveyard" just to see what went on first, but I *love* this fic on its own. There's some big operation building up, and virtually every operative has been called in and is awaiting Cowley to start the briefing. Its not just B and D, Murphy and various other agents are nicely done too. I found it hilariously funny, and occasionally very touching. I can't quote examples because their poignancy comes totally from the context. The bitter-sweetest for me is the very last line.
Butterfingers - First Time. Post "Hunter Hunted".
Communication Gap - Only a page and a half. Slightly saccharine-y in the last column, I thought, but this is pretty much the worst that HG can do...
On the First Day of Christmas - Established relationship. Has one of my favourite lines - "Thrusting temptation aside on the grounds that it would be asleep next to him in the morning, Bodie shut his eyes and under Doyle's incredulous gaze promptly fell asleep". This is very HG to me - says even more than you first realise you think in each sentence.
My True Love Sent To Me - Established relationship, the Christmas after the fic above. More cosy, sexy, gentle fun. Makes me smile anyway.
Beggar's Banquet - First time. Change of pace. Post "No Stone". Angsty. But even when she has Doyle crying, Bodie realises it's most likely from rage as much as anything else - a nice touch that for me keeps them closer to the real characters. Another one - Doyle: "You should've told me... Sodomy's fun. You're beautiful. But you're breakin' my back mate."
Hunter Home From the Hill - Post "Close Quarters". First Time. As good as the rest.
Foiled Again - Pre-First Time. A nicely written dance of Pre. Padded white suits and orange juice will never be pure again.
Black Sheep - Post "Its A Beautiful Picture". Trouble in the anti-paradise that is their established relationship here. I like the way that HG *knows* that it'd all be a battle between their prickly personalities.
Every Bed is Narrow - Back to some gentle comedy, domestic and cosy and more-ish IMHO.
Kissing with Confidence - Established Relationship. The lads are on their way home from 2+ weeks of separation. They're randy and flirtatious. Would it seem that obvious if we saw them behaving like this in an ep? Possibly, but I mind less when its couched in HG's easy humour than I might in some other fics.
Honours Even - Liked this one alot. Which of course I did the others, but... T'lads are on an operation involving an old mate of Bodie's. Starts out in Doyle's pov, changes later to Bodie's which other side of the coin you *will* appreciate. And back again. I love how they're coping with their relationship of the moment at the same time as the op, which itself has a kind of triple-think to it.
So, that's it - 14 stories of various types. HG's Bodie and Doyle are recognizable throughout the entire anthology, which I liked. I like knowing that an author has a clear sense of her characters. Okay, after a concentrated dose, you *do* notice repeated phrases through some of the stories, but my reading-mind rationalised and dismissed this bone-picking because I knew these were written over a dozen years or so. If I had to pick a favourite I'd say "Loose Change", just for the way it telescopes the view of the lads so that you feel you're seeing them afresh. As I said above, I'm fond of every story in this zine, and would recommend it highly.
(Slantedlight October 2005)