A Quiet War
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | A Quiet War |
| Author(s): | Merry |
| Date(s): | |
| Length: | |
| Genre(s): | slash |
| Fandom(s): | The Sentinel |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | online here |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
A Quiet War is a Jim/Blair story by Merry.
It was published in Crossroads and is online.
Reactions and Reviews
Unknown Date
Hardly smut, though sex is included, is a dramatic, romantic, probing story about Jim and Blair's relationship, in a slightly more mature tone than most of us slash writers bother with. Which makes it damn good.[1]
This story is a slow ride through hell. I'm not kidding here. It's vicious, and it tears you apart, and you finger trembles on the mouse, wanting to skim ahead, because it has to get better, right? They HAVE to figure it out and get happy. Well, it gets worse before it gets better, but it's all good, because its written with a confident and empathetic hand. She is in Blair's head. And she as a style that is particularly suited to this kind of story telling. Uh, angst. I mentioned that right? Because there's a whole lot of angst.[2]
A realistic relationship drama that is a wonderful, sometimes painful, read. Highly recommended.[3]
It's the dissertation drama, told with the authenticity and intensity it deserves -- fully fleshed out, showing their complicated dynamic in its full range of colors. Long, brutally true, and wonderful.[4]
a novel-length sentinel, erg, epic. not really epic, no, because it covers the whole of everything but not the whole timespan of everything. a little too long, perhaps, missing a little bit of focus, but it's also very good. it reads like it must have hurt to write. [5]
2000
I first read Merry Lynne's "A Quiet War" with a sick sense of panic in my stomach the entire time; I didn't stop to analyze it at all. It was a Good Story: it made me feel something, it made me lose myself in it. Now, after having read it, I enjoyed going back over it and seeing what made it tick. [6]
2001
The stories from Crossroads, the only Sentinel zine I own, are mostly available on the net now, which means that I can direct you to A quiet war by Merry Lynne, a long, slow story about two men who have trouble communicating, particularly about the paper one of them is writing. The narrative moves at a leisurely pace that still manages to convey the characters' inner stress and the feeling of time being about to run out. I think Merry knows these guys. I think she secretly lives with them.[7]
I liked the story, and I didn't. The story is from Blair's POV about his ongoing relationship with Jim. The gist is that Blair is working on his Diss and it seems to be the lynch pin to their continued friendship and sexual relationship. They don't talk about the fact that every once in a while they have sex. Blair can't seem to figure out what it is that Jim wants or expects of him until the very end. I like and dislike this story for the same reason: Blair is utterly clueless as to the deeper feelings that Jim has for him. He wants and hopes for Jim to be happy, but instead of looking at himself for that happily ever after scenario he sees Jim marrying and having kids. Okay it doesn't help that Jim is dating a nice girl, which is basically Jim hedging his bets and being miserable. The ending is good, if abrupt. I just kept wanting to throttle Blair as he unknowingly hurts Jim over and over with the things he says. [8]
Some mentioned that Merry's story was a little slow. I didn't get that feeling at all. It was sort of like sitting back with a big dish of French Vanilla ice cream - to be savored. [9]
Well, [I have] actually, several problems with this story. First, the concept of Jim and Blair engaged in a sexual relationship with each other, while dating othersis one of my BIG "NO" buttons. One, I don't see it in character at all for Blair to allow himself to become involved with Jim and see Jim continue to date others. Blair may be insecure, but I think he has more self-respect than that.
I also don't see it for Jim. I think Jim would have learned his lesson after the Jack Pendergrass thing to not be sleeping around while trying to maintain a relationship with someone else.
Finally, I'm a romantic. I'll admit it and I don't do buddy-fuck stories. And for the most part, that's what I thought this one was. It may have tried to redeem itself at the end, but the whole thing left me with a very cold view of Blair and Jim. And to be honest, I see their relationship as many things, but cold ain't one of them. [10]
"Quiet War" didn't feel like a buddy-fuck story to me at all. For me the actual sex act was much too beautiful and heartfelt to be a BF.
They were dealing with a lot of emotional turmoil too and, of course, both sort of dancing around "The Dis, Now What?" issue; well, Jim moreso than Blair, I think, as I see Jim as somewhat insecure. I see them both fucked up and confused, not knowing what to say, how to say it, what the consequences could be, what the future holds. "QW" was an enjoyable, yet sometimes difficult read, and I like that. It wasn't a black and white tale, but had some grey areas and I was holding my breath at times wondering what fucked up thing one was going to say next to the other, but the scene where they finally get it together and Blair tells Jim he loves him - from then on my breathing remained steady;) I live for dialogue and this one had some of the best Jim and Blair conversations I've yet to read - fresh and witty with a subtle tenderness.
I think in the hands of a lesser writer the story behind "A Quiet War" could probably be one I'd not wish to read again, but Merry managed to turn this into a story I'll read again and again. [11]
I felt bad for Blair, he was trying so hard to figure out what Jim wanted, and Jim wasn't able to communicate that to him at all. It was like Jim was trying so hard to protect himself that there was no way he could open himself up to letting Blair know how he really felt. Completely summed up when Jim asked Blair what planet he was living on and Blair replied, "The Planet Jim Doesn't Talk to Me and I'm Not a Fucking Psychic." No kidding. And then Jim blames Blair for not getting it. But I think he only did that because he was so afraid that his feelings weren't returned. All of Jim's actions in this story seem driven by fear. And there's a lot of assuming on both their parts, assuming how the other one feels, assuming that finishing the diss will mean the end of everything. They both think that the other one wants it that way. This is one of the few stories in Crossroads that I don't reread a lot, because it's too painful, too real. All that miscommunication, I can have plenty of that in my own relationship, thank you very much. But, I did love this story, and reread parts of it, because I have a real fascination for what affects the diss could have on their relationship. I love diss stories. [12]
2005
Each time I begin this story, it takes me a little while to embrace it. It's a quiet story in some ways, which makes perfect sense given the title. It's about misunderstanding and lack of communication, but not in a light-hearted humourous way, although the story has its moments. It's about silence and fear and the things people do when they're afraid of losing everything. When they're too afraid to say what they're even afraid of. This is Blair pushing to finish his dissertation and Jim pursuing a relationship with a woman (who is actually likable and good for him) while on some level he waits for Blair to leave him. In the midst of it all is this intense thing between them that they won't talk about and can't give up. Merry's portrayal of their relationship is real and messed up and so beautifully crafted you'll find yourself aching to help them fix what's wrong. It's told from Blair's POV, and it works exceptionally well.[13]
2008
Post-SenToo, but not including TSbyBS. Jim and Blair have been living together for three years, occasionally having sex, but never, ever sleeping together. And completely avoiding anything resembling healthy communication, I might add. Then things start to change: Jim meets someone and it starts getting serious, and Blair suddenly finds the need to start getting serious about finishing his dissertation. Angst ensues, nudged along by conversations that manage to talk about everything under the sun and yet communicate *nothing* (Blair! Jim! You really, really need to learn to talk about your feelings. Really!) This story has a very polished feel to it, more so than most fanfiction out there. As a result, you get sucked into the story, even if it isn't your usual cup of tea. Even better, you've got Repressed!Jim and DesperatelyLonging!Blair and a female OC that manages to do what she needs to do for the plot without ever taking over the story or turning into a Mary Sue. Now that's an accomplishment.[14]
References
- ^ "Rispa Reccomends". Archived from the original on 2003-04-20.
- ^ "Wistful's Fic Recs". Archived from the original on 2013-05-04.
- ^ "It's About Friendship, the Jim/Blair fanlisting". Archived from the original on 2021-01-26.
- ^ "All Jewels Have Flaws... or... Net (dot) Bitch Does Recs". Archived from the original on 2021-10-21.
- ^ Other (Sentinel) recs; archived link
- ^ from Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (November 2000)
- ^ "the flambeau factory: recommendations 2001". Archived from the original on 2021-10-19.
- ^ from Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (June 2001)
- ^ from Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (June 2001)
- ^ from Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (June 2001)
- ^ from Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (June 2001)
- ^ from Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (June 2001)
- ^ a 2005 rec at Crack Van
- ^ 2008 comments at Epic Recs