Delayed Reaction (Blake's 7 story)

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Fanfiction
Title: Delayed Reaction
Author(s): Rebecca Ann Brothers
Date(s): 1991
Length: 35 pages
Genre: gen
Fandom: Blake's 7
External Links: wayback link to story; Online at Hermit Library

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Delayed Reaction is a gen Blake's 7 story by Rebecca Ann Brothers. It was originally printed in the zine Roads Not Taken.

It has a sequel called Dreamers.

Reactions and Reviews

Thank goodness for this fic! For some reason I hadn't read it before, but that was a mistake because it's got all the things I like in a PGP fic (except Blake being president - but give him time - and it's a gen fic, so there's no hot sex either)( though having said that, it's almost excessively gay for a gen fic. As well as the many conversations about how much they missed each other and need to work together forever, etc, and Deva calling Avon 'your Avon' to Blake, B even invites A to share his bedroom and then goes away for a shower and emerges dripping and mostly undressed... ) - including a plot! And quite a good plot about brainwashing etc, and Dev Tarrant (Deeta Tarrant is resurrected! I love Deeta Tarrant). The only bone I would pick with 'Delayed Reaction' is that I don't entirely understand how they finally defeated Servalan - it could have been better explained. But when you're having this good of a time? Who really cares? Good stuff for all the crew to do. Doccholi is in it - and it has some fantastic wry Deva. It's just great. If this fic hadn't been online, I probably would have kept the zine.[1]

The PGP--Post-Gauda Prime--is a, perhaps the central genre of B7 fiction. These "Fifth Season" stories come up with a remarkable variety of alternatives to the series finale as presented in canon. Usually, given the subject matter, there's a heavy dose of angst. Not here. It certainly isn't a farce or a satire, but this story, while building suspense with a well-done B Plot (and with a hefty measure of suspense coming from the canonically believable limited amount of information the raiding party is working with), handily averts tragedy. There are credible explanations of why certain characters aren't quite as dead as you might have assumed. Some intriguing one-off characters get interesting developments. And even at the end there are fewer dead characters than one might have guessed. All wrapped up in a satisfying conclusion where the bad guys are thwarted by, and for, being themselves.[2]

A PGP where Avon, at the last second, doesn't shoot Blake and they band together to destroy their least-favourite ex-President. Rebecca's version of the relationship between Our Heroes, is believably warm, though a little light on explosions, and the entire crew and Deva get good roles, along with a very* rarely resurrected guest star ...[3]

DELAYED REACTION by Rebecca Ann Brothers. This was my very favorite even though it's too much of an Avon worship for my taste. But Blake's OK and all the Tarrants are there, and Docholli, and an interesting twist on who gets programmed to do what, and what happened to Jenna, and the story is well told. This would actually make an excellent multipart episode.[4]

References

  1. ^ aralias at zine review - roads not taken, Archived version, March 4, 2015 -- part of a full-zine review, see [[Roads Not Taken (Blake's 7 zine)|]]
  2. ^ from Crack Van, recced by executrix, March 21, 2004
  3. ^ Sally and Jenny's 50 Favourite a-B Gen Stories
  4. ^ Subject: Zine review: Roads Not Taken by Sue C. on Lysator dated August 4, 1993.