Exile (Professionals zine)

Zine
Title:	Exile
Publisher:
Editor:
Author(s):	P.R. Zed
Cover Artist(s):	Lorraine Brevig
Illustrator(s):	Lorraine Brevig
Date(s):	2009
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Professionals
Language:	English
External Links:	Online at A03
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front cover by Lorraine Brevig

back cover by Lorriane Brevig

Exile is a slash Professionals novel by P.R. Zed. It has 83,000 words, 130 pages. Full colour front and back covers and 5 internal black & white illustrations by Lorraine Brevig.

According to the author, the art was inspired by musicians Liam and Noel Gallagher: "When Lorraine asked me if I had any idea what I wanted them to look like, I immediately sent her a raft of pictures of the Gallagher boys."

Summary

From the zine flyer: "Infiltration of the IRA is never going to be the easiest of undercover assignments. When it also involves winning the confidence of Republican family members who have nothing but hatred and contempt for their ex-Army, ex- CI5, cousin, Bodie finds himself tackling one of the most dangerous missions of his career. Exile conveys the increasing menace and sense of isolation that surround Bodie as he painstakingly and chillingly attempts to maintain his cover in the IRA heartland. Meanwhile, back in London, Ray Doyle is swept up in a maelstrom of emotions as he refuses to believe the accusations of treason that have been levelled against his partner and desperately tries to trace his whereabouts.

Author's Notes

This novel was years in the making, and it would never have been completed without help from a number of people in the Pros community. These are the people who helped make the novel better, who gave my writing the tough love it needed and let me know when I need to rip things apart and start over.

Thanks must first go to Valentin, who saw this story just before ZebraCon 2003, when it was a 10,000 word fragment I'd already been plugging away at for a while, and told me that no, I couldn't finish it in another 10 pages and yes, it really needed to be a novel.

Dorinda and Suzan Lovett both saw the first complete draft of Exile. Neither of them pulled their punches when letting me know where there were plot holes and when things could be sharper.

Exile wouldn't have been nearly as good without the input of Ancasta, who saw an early draft, and gave me the key to Doyle's state of mind. Nor without the comments of FJBryan, who kept a sharp eye out for issues of structure and shoddy spy craft.

Callisto and Sally Fell both were kind enough to perform Brit checks on the final manuscript, and saved this Canadian from herself many times over. (The final version uses Canadian spelling, which is mostly, though not entirely, like its British cousin.)

m. butterfly did the final copyedit, and used her mad editing skills to unearth typos and track down errant punctuation.

Flamingo helped immeasurably with the production of the original zine by offering the services of her printer and acting as a very kind liaison.

And finally, Lorraine Brevig was generous enough to agree to illustrate my humble tome and her stunning work now graces the story. I cannot thank her enough for her efforts and hope you enjoy her art as much as I do.

June 2009

Reviews and Reactions

This zine is just gorgeous. It is perfect bound, which I really like. The art is amazing throughout, with very nice color front and back covers. As pretty as a zine is, it's even better when the story inside is as good as this one is. It's well worth the price. t's a joy to read a story that takes me on a fulfilling journey from the first page to the last. I liked the original characters very much. They're well done and brought out a lot of emotions as I read their actions and reactions as the story unfolded. Bodie and Doyle are dead on for me. I felt their pain and revelled in their happiness. All in all, a truly wonderful experience... I bought prints of some of the illos they're so nice. But no amount of gorgeous art will make up for a weak story. I've bought many zines based on art alone, and keep them because of the art. This zine is special because the story is fabulous as well. I was chewing my fingernails many times. I honestly couldn't put it down and I know I need to read it again, this time more slowly since I was so anxious to know what would happen next on my first time through!

I really, really enjoyed it! A novel gave you the space to explore the psychology of undercover work properly and I find that fascinating. I was absolutely gripped by the story - you wound up the tension brilliantly and right up to the last minute I was worried about who would or wouldn't survive. The relationship between the lads was wonderful, rock-solid despite the split caused by the undercover and despite Ray's 'running' when Bodie returned. The characterisation was perfect all the way through and that goes for Murph and Cowley as well. I liked your OCs, though maybe 'like' is not the right word for Liam... and I grieved for Robbie. Thanks for putting this online and in the archive!

I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! A ridiculous amount of research and work and sweat went into this, and I'm so glad you think it works. And that everyone is in character. And that you like the OCs! (I love trying to create OCs that have a life of their own.) And I have to admit, on giving it a read through before posting, I was sort of gutted at what I did to Robbie. (I was debating saving him right up until I wrote the scene where Doyle reads the newspaper article, and then I knew that was the right way to go.)

What an amazing tour de force. It always seemed such a cop-out that no episodes touched on Northern Ireland, although I suppose that was inevitable, but this is entirely plausible and really brings out the horror, the violence and the sheer destructiveness, both physical and emotional, of such conflicts. You portrayed Bodie's state of mind well, but for me the way you dealt with Doyle's was particularly good - grief, doubt, betrayal, fear, all inextricably intertwined, while remaining very much in character. Not to mention it was a gripping read! Lorraine's art is exquisite, as always.

Wow, this is excellent. Intense, and definitely gripping all the way through -- the longing and isolation was practically heartbreaking. In a good way, of course. And then everything came through at the end, finally. It feels like it could have been an episode -- well, except for the slash. Ha, I wish. Really, really good read, and thanks for posting it. I'm so happy that I finally got to read it!

Wow ! Just finished it this morning, and I am truly amazed at the amount of research you did. It all works very well in the story (I mean, the research is not *obvious* and blends in nicely with the story, but it must have been a bitch to check all this up.)

As others said, yes, they are perfectly in character, the OCs are interestingly done, even if I wanted to bash Liam's head for him more than once. And, of course, Robbie's death was so sad, but somehow inevitable. Just one little thing: I don't think Bodie will so easily forgive himself for killing those three soldiers, even if it was necessary. Even for CI5, this is going a bit far, even for the greater good, and I think Bodie will have a lot to sort out in his head, a lot more than finding peace in visiting Robbie's grave. Besides, he also has to deal with coming to like and even, in a way, respect the Armagh lot. So, I find the last sentence a bit too optimistic, too light. IMHO, it calls for a sequel where Bodie really has to deal with these events, and I feel he can do this only if he opens to Ray. But that's only my opinion. All in all, this story was one of my best reads this year, and I can assure you I read a lot, mostly in Pros. PR, you're up there in my personal heaven with Thomas, M. F. Glasgow, Helen Raven and H.G., to quote but a few of my stars.

The illos are great, particularly the last color Doyle. Wow, triple wow! and congrats tot the artist.

I'm so pleased you like this. The writing (and researching) of this story took up a goodly number of years, and I ripped it apart and put it back together more than once before I got it to a point I was happy with. I can understand your opinion about the ending. That was one of the many things I struggled with, whether Bodie would forgive himself or not. (The other big dilemma was whether Robbie was going to survive, though that finally resolved itself more easily.) I think for now I'm done with the story, but who knows, I may come back to it and deal with the psychic backlash of it all for both Bodie and Doyle at some point.

What a fabulous story. I've been saving it for months, knowing I was going to enjoy it, and squirrelling it away for when I knew I'd have time to savour it properly, and I'm so glad I did.

The research you must have done leaves me gobsmacked - I lived through that era in London, and I honestly can't think of a detail you've got even slightly off. And your OCs are just wonderful - beautifully written and all the more menacing because of the way you've understated the menace; right up to the ambush, they're almost not-scary, and then all the more scary because of it. I also love that you didn't pull any punches there, or in Robbie's subsequent fate. Then there's the wonderful blokey relationship between Bodie and Doyle - all the unspoken feelings, and Doyle's reaction when he finally knows Bodie is safe - just perfect.

Thank you for a great read. And of course, applause for the wonderful artwork - Liam and Noel made me grin *g* I love your writing anyway, but this is fabulous, and one I'm sure I'll want to read again. Many times!

An excellent story with beautiful artwork!

Characterisation and plot second to none...I applaud and bow at your feet:) I am very new to Professional fanfic, but always enjoyed the show and have been watching reruns lately(Ah Ray Doyle...beautiful...sighs!) Again wonderful work and the artwork is stunning!

Liam and Noel...I was thinking they looked familiar and then it hit me...great idea and great job!