A Silence Full of Music

Zine
Title:	A Silence Full of Music
Publisher:	Requiem Publications
Editor:
Author(s):	Nancy T
Cover Artist(s):	Cat's Meow Creative Arts
Illustrator(s):	Cat's Meow Creative Arts
Date(s):	as a print zine: 2004 or 2005
Medium:	print fanzine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	The Sentinel
Language:	English
External Links:	scroll down for the "Without Words Series"
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

A Silence Full of Music is a 190-page (104,710 words) novel by Nancy T. It has four parts.

The fiction was written and posted between 2001 and 2004, and published as a print zine in 2004 or 2005.

Summary

From the distributor: "Blair's cancer takes his voice, and he must learn to cope, regain his life. He finds a new voice, faces the return of the disease, and finally, turns his crisis into a way to help others, despite the risk to himself. All through his trials, Jim is there to offer comfort and support. Warnings: Permanent disability, h/c... this story is very intense and graphic at times in its depictions of Blair's suffering. Be assured Jim is there to offer comfort, and happy endings are guaranteed."

Contents

• Without Words, published as a separate novel and then incorporated into "A Silence Full of Music" ("After a life altering, life changing crisis, Jim and Blairmust learn new ways to communicate.")
• Never Get An Anthropologist Talking ("What would it take for Blair to submit to getting an artificial voice?")
• Labyrinth ("Blair's cancer returns -- NOT a death story!")
• Gleams of Light ("A five-year cancer survivor, Blair finds himself going undercover into a cancer support group to help flush out a mercy killer and, in the process, becomes a target.")

Excerpt

Originally provided by the publisher:

From Gleams of Light:

Jim sat stoically silent, uncomfortable with being in an oncologist's office again. Blair was examining a particularly fine specimen of a conch shell when the doctor walked in. "Blair! It's good to see you again." He extended his hand, and they shook. He waved his guests to seats and settled behind his desk. "You're looking much better than the last time I saw you."

"That wouldn't take much," Blair chuckled, recalling the last time he'd been hospitalized with a secondary infection that had threatened his life. "I just got my five-year bill of health." He turned, gesturing toward Jim, who extended a hand at Blair's introduction. "This is Jim Ellison, my partner."

The doctor shook the proffered hand. "Nice to meet you, Jim. And congratulations to you, Blair." The doctor settled in his comfortable, leather upholstered chair. "Actually, that's why I requested you," he began. "Because I remember how sick you were there for a while. You can empathize with these patients, blend in."

"What is it you want us to do?"

Fleming folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "I'd like to admit you to the hospital as one of my patients, and I'd like to have you join our support group. You're a police detective and an anthropologist, and a cancer survivor... you can fit into this group and use your knowledge and skills to discover whether or not we have a mercy killer on our hands."

Blair nodded. "I still sometimes have nightmares about those days in the hospital," he admitted. "But I know what it's like to be there. And no matter how bad it got, even when I was ready to give up, I still really wanted just one more day, one more week, one more month to be with Jim." He turned to his silent partner and reached over to give his hand a squeeze. "Nobody should have to die before they're ready, or before God takes them Himself. When do you want me there?"

"The sooner the better," Fleming said. "I've lost three patients in the past two weeks."

"That's what Captain Banks told us," Jim added. "Could we have a day or two to think about it?"

"What's to think about, Jim?" Blair asked. "People are dying who aren't ready to go."

"Then can I have a day or two to adjust to the idea?" Jim asked. "Please?"

The younger man gave it some thought. "A day or two might be better, if you can wait," Blair told the doctor. "I'm awfully healthy and fit - I've been working out with Jim lately," he confessed. "I really don't look the part of an end-stage cancer patient."

"Today is Tuesday," the doctor said, flipping the pages of his desk calendar. "How about I admit you on Friday?"

"Great," Blair agreed. "That will give me some time to look sick."

Jim grimaced at the words. "And just where do I fit into this great plan?" he asked.

"As my distraught lover, of course," Blair said with a smile, raking his fingers through Jim's short hair. "You'll be in the hospital day and night, sitting by my bedside, waiting for me to die. It's perfect!"

"Don't even kid about it!" Jim snapped. "This is going to be hard enough as it is."

"Calm down, man. Shhh... It's going to be all right," Blair soothed. "I'm fine. I'm perfectly healthy. I'm just play-acting, okay? And you'll be there to watch my back, like any good partner would."

Jim frowned. "I still don't like it," he growled.

Fan Comments

One of the most dreadful stories I've ever read (real fast, skimmed over it admittedly) is one recently posted by Nancy wherein Blair has cancer. Oh dear, I don't know where to start with it. There's barely a plot. I long for a story featuring Jim, a man with heightened senses. It's a h/c fest poorly written. As sick as Blair was I couldn't *feel* any emotion. Jim annoyed me and I stopped reading when Jim came home to find that Blair, to ease his pain and nausea, had smoked a joint - and Jim did a little freakout, chastising Blair with the "I'm a cop" speech and he didn't want Blair doing the stuff - and I hated this silly, cardboard cutout Jim. Good grief!

Yeah, I took a skim over that one too. It really has nothing to do with TS, IMO. It's more of a story about what life is like as a cancer patient, with Jim Ellison playing the role of home care nurse and comforter.