First, the gems. 'Fealty' by xBryn Lantry, is one of my favourite stories, simple but quite beautiful. It's mostly PGP, A/B and quite lyrical - it breaks my 'Avon Does Not Cry' rule and does it wonderfully, without sentiment. Both men are perfectly in character, and I'd keep the whole zine just for these 12 pages.
Completely different, but also good, is Melody Clark's 'A Story That Doesn't Have an End'. It's a sequel to 'A Feast of Bacchanalia' in Resistance #3, and is set some years after the series, with Blake President, and Avon his Chief Adviser. They're lovers by now, but at odds (so what's new?). Very satisfying, especially if you're in the mood for a happy ending to the whole saga. I also liked 'Together Again For The First Time' - I won't give the plot away, but it's A/B and great fun.
Two stories by Cybel Harper, both trying for heavy Avonish angst, but neither of which work for me - 'Absolution' (A/B) was okay, but I found Avon's post-GP trauma somewhat uninvolving. And 'No Promises' (A/V) has post-Rumours trauma resulting in a sort of attempted suicide, a little more involving, but still lacking something (quite nice portrayal of Vila in the latter, though).
'Domesticity' - A/G, which usually makes me giggle, and the entire cast seem slightly off, but it's a good stab at something different. 'No Way In' will appeal to those who like A/V without sentimentality (and with a bit of a sting at the end). 'Come Together' (post-Killer) has Vila and Blake competing for Avon, and everyone talking and thinking too much for my taste and doing far too little.
Fiction:
Catocala, "No Way In" (A/V)
Cybel Harper, "Absolution" (A/B)
Natasha Barry, "Together Again for the First Time" (A/B)
Shoshanna, "Do-It-Yourself Slash" (A/V; humor)
Adrian Alexander, "Domesticity" (A/G)
xBryn Lantry, "Fealty" (A/B)
Cybel Harper, "No Promises" (A/V)
Natasha Barry, "Come Together" (A/B)
Melody Clark, "A Story That Doesn't Have an End" (A/B; sequel to
"A Feast of Bacchanalia")
Poetry:
Cybel Harper, "Freedom" (A/B)
Cybel Harper, "Gamesmanship" (A/B)
Cybel Harper, "Why Me?" (A/B)
Judith Ellison, "Proposition" (A/B)
Judith Ellison, "Childe" (A/B)
Judith Ellison, "Inga" (A/B)
Robin Hood, untitled (A/B)
Robin Hood, "Wind Rising" (A/B)
Robin Hood, "Morning Fire" (A/B)
Robin Hood, "Wait for the Future" (A/B)
Ty Downs, "Avon, Why Me?" (A/V)
Robin Hood, "Night Winds" (A/B)
Art:
Adrian Morgan cover nude A
Repro Bates p. 5 A/B
Last updated on 26th of January 2000