CLONEMASTER by Pat Terra
Avon feels the mission to rescue the clone Blake and his companion Rachel is yet one more trap. What he doesn't calculate is the profound effect the Blake clone will have on him personally...
DEBTS by Susan Cutter
Blake agrees to any sort of scene Avon desires. But guilt and pain sometimes demand unexpected types of expiation...
ECHOES OF BETRAYAL by Susan Riaz
Kerr Avon, busy with work on the Aquitar Project, has no interest in the activities of the Freedom Party - until the day the leader of the Freedom Party makes an unexpected visit...
IN WAY OF FAREWELL by Pat Jacquerie
In an elegant hotel, in an idyll away from the Liberator, Blake and Avon deal with the subtleties and complexities of their feelings towards each other.
THE HONEST MAN by xBryn Lantry
Post the Andromedan War, Blake suddenly encounters a much-changed Avon in a POW camp...
OUTWITTED by Willa Shakespeare
Blake turned anguished eyes to Avon, who sneered. "Avon, giving her the Star-Drive was bad enough."
"You helped, as I recall. If the hero of the masses can collaborate with the enemy to save his own miserable neck, why shouldn't I?"
"I couldn't leave you alone. You've always been vulnerable to her. You need my help."
Avon rose up on one elbow. "Listen to me, Blake. I'm going to tell you this for the last time. I don't need you for anything. I never did."
Post Gauda Prime. Servalan is determined to force Avon to
recreate the technology of the Liberator and Scorpio, and uses
Blake as hostage against any rebellion by Avon. An excellent
plan - except that Avon is indifferent to the fate of the hostage...
Divide and Conquer or Plan 9 from Andromeda by Willa
Shakespeare
In the wild escape from Star One, the Liberator crew is rescued - by an Andromedan ship, heading home - a trip which will take approximately 1,485 years. Naturally, the Andromedans are interested in their "specimens" - particularly their reproductive habits...
Additional stories by Aurora, Catherine, Gene Delapenia, Vanessa Mullen, Judith Proctor, and Leah Starsky. Poetry by Predatrix and Khylara. Art by Val Westall.
AGE STATEMENT REQUIRED.
ECHOES OF BETRAYAL by Susan Riaz
Quite nice pre-series story, though a little hard to believe (though that
could be my own rejection of the idea that Blake and Avon knew each other
then), and therefore not very involving.
CLONEMASTER by Pat Terra
Nothing wrong with the writing, but for some reason clone stories rarely
work for me. Possibly because the clone is usually just Blake with the fire,
passion and, yes, bull-headedness, the things that make him fascinating,
left out. That seems to be my problem with this story, but Avon and the real
Blake are quite well-done.
AS TIME GOES BY by Judith Proctor and Vanessa Mullen
Three PWP scenes, each set after one of the TV episodes and exploring how
what happened in the episode affected the unfolding relationship between the
two men. Atmospheric, beautifully quiet. I liked it, especially the second
scene (set after The Web).
IN WAY OF FAREWELL by Pat Jacquerie
By the author of the only A/T I have ever liked...but this felt oddly
flavourless, with the characters and their relationship far too placid,
leached of the fire and brilliance that makes them - and it - unique. Others
may like it - it just didn't feel like Blake and Avon to me.
DEBTS by Susan Cutter
A darker story, centring around a rather twisted and nasty view of Avon's
sexuality and his relationships with Gan and Blake (set just after Pressure
Point). Veeerrrry interesting. Actually, the psychological bits left me a
bit unpersuaded, but - if you can accept the premise - both men are well
portrayed, especially Blake, whose cheerful and unabashed twisting of the
situation at the end is a wonderful touch...
CASTE GAMES and HOSTAGE HEART
Very short pieces, the first sharp and a bit silly, the second more just a
dialogue than story, a light but nice coda to the episode Hostage.
TOO MUCH LOVE WILL KILL YOU by Catherine
Competent, nothing not seen before, but quite readable. The main problem is
the ending, which seems a bit scrappy and tacked on unnecesssarily.
WHITE KNIGHT by Willa Shakespeare
First of three stories by Willa, and not at all bad, though I liked the
other two better. Starts with a long, and rather obvious, dream sequence,
but picks up immediately after this with Blake wanting Avon, Avon acting
cold and indifferent and only interested in sex, Avon finding he is none of
these, and panicking with the usual cruel backlash and messy emotional
results...yes, it's been done before. But when it's done well, who cares?
THE HONEST MAN by xBryn Lantry
This is terrific, a really good AU set in a POW camp after the Andromedan
War. Enigmatic and thoughtful, with the usual lovely writing, complicated
characterisation (giving us a deep, strong but not overly or blatantly
emotional bond between the two men) and ambiguous ending.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER OR PLAN 9 FROM ANDROMEDA by Willa Shakespeare
Another AU set just after the Andromedan War, and it couldn't be more
different. The crew of the Liberator are captured by an alien ship. The
aliens want them to reproduce but have very fuzzy ideas on how humans do
this - and it all leads to Blake and a blinded Avon being - er - forced to
have sex to save the others (no sacrifice is too great, I guess). Meanwhile,
back on the Liberator, Orac is determined to rescue them with the help of a
reluctant and very resentful Del Tarrant...
I really enjoyed this novella. Willa does not go in for deep-and-would-be-meaningful, or heavy angst, but the story is fun to read, and gives a light but appealing portrayal of all the characters, not just Blake and Avon. Both the sexual and emotional attraction between the two men is well-done, the dialogue a nice blend of passion, humour and the obligatory, but creative, fighting; the Jealous Jenna bits are less jarring than I often find them; there's a good mix of action, humour and a bit (not a large bit) of angst. And the scene of Tarrant being bullied by Orac is enormous fun.
MEMORIES by Gene S Delapenia
A short piece about Servalan, a bit out of place here, perhaps. My interest
in the Supreme Commander being tepid at best, I really can't judge it.
OUTWITTED by Willa Shakespeare
Again, the characters are lighter and a little nicer than I see them on the
screen, but not too much so; we're given a good plot (a PGP with both Blake
and Avon prisoners of Servalan). There's one scene which nearly breaks my
Blake Would Never Hurt Avon rule, and the ending is rather mushier than I
like, but I can overlook these small faults. A brief appearance by the
Scorpio crew is enjoyable (Willa does a very, very good Vila and Tarrant, as
she did before in Divide and Conquer.)
All the art is by Val Westall, and very good too, including a couple of lovely nude studies of Avon.
While working on the Aquitar project, Blake and Avon meet and are drawn together. / A lovely series of short pieces in which Avon and Blake come to understand the meaning of love and trust. / Both Blake and Avon learn quite a bit from Blake's clone. / A farewell dinner and night of passion during the latter part of searching for Star One. / Avon repays a debt to Gan / Fireworks following 'Trial' make affections clear / A dreamed allegory helps Blake understand his emotions but at the cost of driving Avon away. / A bleak post-Star One in an Andromedan prison camp / A novella length story where the crew survives Star One and stays together, captive on an Andromedan ship with escape in doubt. / A novella length PGP story where Servalan puts Avon to work with Blake as his assistant.
Review
Like all Fire & Ice, this focuses exclusively on Blake/Avon slash. The physical relationship is depicted though most of the stories are primarily focused on the emotional aspects. There is remarkable consistency throughout the fanzine; though I preferred some stories to others, it was generally due to personal preference rather than the quality of writing. Many slash stories use plot as an excuse, but I found enough action and intrigue within Fire & Ice 4 to satisfy my craving for a good story where the outcome involves something more than whether or not Blake and Avon resolve their differences. I'd recommend it slash fans and to gen fans who do not dislike slash.
Back to Blake's 7 Index Last updated on 21st of December 2007.