Serrated Seven

Review By Jean Graham

Serrated Seven is a "hurt/comfort" genzine from Ashton Press.

It starts off with an involving, angst-ridden Tarrant story, "In the Shadow of the Night" by Linnadel Cameron, in which everyone somehow survived Gauda Prime, and Blake and co. rescue the pilot from a grisly fate on a Federation penal world.

The "comfort" portion of this tale consists primarily of all the characters repeatedly hugging one another, an action severely outof-character for most of them, but wildly popular in wishful fan fiction.

"Happy Families" by Sheila Paulson is, by the author's own admission, an unmittigatedly sentimental post G-P story in which everyone (except poor Gan) turns up alive, to be reunited (eventually) with an autistic Avon who's been rescued and adopted bv a family of space traders.

In "Death Be Thine Enemy, Death Be My Friend," Beth Masterson fills in the five grim days of Avon's interrogation and torture before the events in "Rumours of Death."

We're afraid we didn't understand the point of Robin Roarke's 1 pager "Of Mice and Thieves," in which Vila talks to a pet rodent, drinks a lot and never gets to do anything.

In "Turnabout" by Teresa Ward, Travis gets the worst of it, and in Leokadija's "Neltzsche Was Right," a much-tortured Soolin, Vila and Avon go after revenge against Servalan.

Avon's trapped in a cave-in, wondering if Blake will come looking for him or not in B.N. Fish's "Voices."

Dee Dee Winslow and M.R. Robber penned "The Hour of Light and Dark" with a post G-P Blake, Avon and Vila put through the wringer bv a gloating Servalan, until Avon agrees to a mysterious deal with her.

Jennifer Smallwood's "Machinations" tortures Avon in excruciating detail as Servalan's minions attempt to extract Liberator's location from Blake.

"Watches of the Night" by Joan Hoffman is a succubus/vampire tale with some softcore porm content, slightly out of place in an otherwise all-gen zine.

"Change of Heart" by a long string of initials (!) puts Tarrant through the gauntlet when he and Avon try to escape Federation troops in rugged forrest terrain.

Poor Tarrant gets the worst of it yet again in C.A. McCov's "Shared Danger," in which the pilot, Vila and Cally are betrayed by a planet's rebel faction and sold to Servalan.

In "Firebreak" by K.D. Swan, Vila develops a peculiarly uncharacteristic self-destructive streak, but in Jane Mailander's "The Longest Night" he acquires the even more credulity-stretching habit of chanting ancient myths round the campfire on good old Terminal. Even more laughable is the shellshocked Avon suddenly bursting forth into - of all things - a maudlin Leslie Fish filksong. This entire story evoked more titters than the obviously intended pathos. (Sorry, filk fans.)

Finally, there's Sue Williams' "Shattered Dreams,' with a wounded Avon accidentally left behind on a planet and hallucinating an angry Blake, whom he fears will not return for him.


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