Exits

Zine
Title:	Exits
Publisher:	Neon Rainbow Press
Editor:
Author(s):	Jody Norman
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	November 2005
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	The Sentinel
Language:	English
External Links:	Online here
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Exits is a 121-page gen full-size Sentinel novel by Jody Norman.

Summary

From the publisher:

Jim and Blair both notice that they are slowly drifting apart, and there seems to be little they can do to stop it. That is until a new case sets Jim on a collision course with his future, one that might or might not include Blair — it all depends on the choices Jim makes.

Excerpt

John looked at him, and Ellison tried to hold the gaze, hot anger spurring him on, until finally he glanced away. "Blair's interest was always in the Sentinel," the shaman said quietly, "but what he didn't talk about that much was the Sentinel's place in the tribe, as one of them."

"Sentinels aren't of the tribe," Jim contested, his stomach churning.

John snorted. "Of course they were. Why else would they have cared about their people?" He shook his head. "Those were his parents, siblings, friends, perhaps even lovers. Sentinels came from the tribe so that they were of it, caring for all the people within it, and bound to all those people by the bonds that a community creates. A Sentinel would have shared in their rituals, their joys and sorrows, and would have known those people as his own. Of course," he added, "that was a necessary safeguard, too, on both sides. Evolutionarily, the Sentinel was bound to the community, the tribe, and cared for them, insuring that his or her talents would be used for their benefit, not his own. He was thus less likely to abuse his powers at their expense. And the community, in turn, would have protected their Sentinel for all of the same reasons."

"The Guide did that," Jim growled, his heart thudding in his chest.

John gave him a long, steady look. "The Guide had a particular talent for doing that, yes. He and the Sentinel had a bond that no one else could duplicate, and ways of caring for each other that the other members of the tribe couldn't participate in. But both Guide and Sentinel were a part of the tribe, and the tribe was part of them - one whole thing."

Jim bent his head, staring down at the couch. He could feel his lungs, tense and laboring, could hear his heart, thunderous in his ears. "Sit!" John barked, and the drill sergeant command was so familiar that Ellison found himself moving to do just that, circling the couch and dropping into its cushions. He stared at his feet, then raised his head and looked at John, unable to hide the helpless feelings churning through him."

Reactions and Reviews

This was a long haul, getting through to this last story -- but well worth the ride! Interesting, unique series. And I can certainly see Blair as a precept one day. I hope more people will work their way through to the end: it's very satisfying!

Although ... you've taken great pains to establish that the relationship between Jim and Blair in this story, while intense and quite intimate, is not a sexual one, and you've set the stage for them to move on to other intimate relationships -- and that makes sense in the context of this story. But it's hard to see how any other person could...intrude into or tolerate their closeness. It will definately take a special woman or man!

But I submit to all and sundry that there are more kinds of Love "...in heaven and on Earth than are known to the minds of man" -- and that Jim and Blair do not just love each other, but are "Lovers" in every sense of the word except for sexual. Why not? As much as I love the stories that depict the two as lovers in the physical sense, I also love the idea of people being able to feel that same kind of commitment, of companionship, of possiveness, even, that we attribute to "lovers", without the *need* or desire to add that last form of intimacy. Lord knows, this Blair and Jim have plenty enough intimacy without that! :-)

Anyway, great series!

[reply by the author]: Thanks for your wonderful comment! I really enjoyed writing this series of stories, and it's good to know others enjoyed reading it. I know it's a long haul through them; just glad to know it's worth the trip.

You're absolutely right that it would take an exceptional person to build an intimate relationship with either or both of them, with sex in the picture or not. And sexual relationships are great to have, and very satisfying at the best of times. I don't have a problem with Blair and Jim sharing a sexually intimate relationship, with someone else or each other, in addition to what they have now, it's just that I never felt the urge to write it. I enjoy reading others' stories that do that, though!

And I really appreciate your understanding that they are Lovers in every sense of the term -- that's always been my feeling, and I'm glad it came across so strongly to you! I felt that a mental bond would offer them an intimacy that they could know in no other way -- and it made sense to me that Sentinels and Guides would need that kind of communication and closeness given the work they do. That said, though... they are men, and human beings, and I wouldn't be too surprised if down the road they develop that sexual relationship as well, either between themselves or (and) between themselves and other members of the Legacy House.

Thanks again for reading and appreciating all of them, and for commenting on it!

i just finished reading all of the stories in this series and i've just got to tell you how wonderful they are. angsty, suspenseful, tear raising, joyful, you name it. they've got it all. they are nice long character studies, full of thoughtfulness and lots of action. they surely represent a lot of time and effort expended and invested on your part. they make a very enjoyable read.