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Gambit (US Blake's 7 anthology)/Issue 001

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Issue 1

Gambit 1 was published in October 1987 and contains 292 pages.

front cover of issue #1, Leah Rosenthal: "Decadence"
back cover of issue #1, Rita Terrell: "Vila Bear" -- possibly a hoka
from the first issue, a mini-glossary of fan terms and how this fan defined them at this point in time

The art is by Leah Rosenthal (front cover), Michael Williams, Denise Loague, Mel Henshaw, Heather M. Saavedra, April Giordano, Mary Gerstner, S. Molnar, Carol Wyke, and Rita Terrell (back cover).

From the editorial:

BLAKE'S 7 fandom is growing in the U.S. of A. Rapidly. If my mail and the borrowing rate on my tape and zine collection are any indication, 'new souls for the faith' are signing on daily, and not since STAR TREK mania struck in the early 70s have I seen this much enthusiasm for a science fiction series. It's not surprising in one respect: B7 is the first show I can honestly say I like even more than STAR TREK, and Mr. Spock will have to pardon such sacrilege from a first-generation Trekkie, but it's true. Lack of convincing special effects notwithstanding, B7 is by far the more believable, well-written, consistent and addictive of the two.

The chemistry that makes BLAKE'S 7 special is not unlike that of STAR TREK, though the shows themselves are vastly different. ST's crew was very much a family, and there-in lies the secret to its enduring popularity. Blake's crew, though they'd never have admitted it, constituted a family too, and we armchair psychologists can have all sorts of fun with father/mother/sister/brother symbols and just who represented what — but maybe that should wait for another column!

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

I didn't expect such a hefty zine and I was very good about rationing the stories, a few a night. It was pleasing to see the quite high quality of the work you published. Of course, I had my favourites such as VACATION, BRAVERY IS FOR FOOLS and KEEPER OF THE TRUST, oh, and that wonderful spoof in the restaurant. However, to my surprise, I found myself moved the most by a poem, THE LIE by Bryn Lantry. It is so evocative I can almost see Avon sitting there trying to rationalise what he'd done. [1]

I like how the stories are published in a chronological sequence. That way I don't have to try to remember which season the story. I'm reading is set in.

HI-HO LIBERATOR AWAY! I like a good humorous B7 story and this sure is one. Something to turn to after all those angst-filled post Gauda Prime stories, it was fun seeing Cally "get her way" at the end.

CARY was a haunting little story. I had half-guessed the ending but it was still a stunner.

OF MICE AND MEN was another welcome story, especially being set in the 4th season. It was a rather grim time for our heroes. Nice to see them relaxing for once.

I liked the listing of bloopers in the back. Now I have to find time to look back through my tapes so I can see them first hand. [2]

I loved the chronological order because I have just started watching B7 and I haven't seen the entire series yet. I read the series A and B parts of GAMBIT and thoroughly enjoyed them. I liked the heavy psychological emphasis of the stories. I liked the idea of Avon being a telepath in A PLACE TO START, and I would like to see more stories with this idea. I loved CAREY, it was a strong emotional story, and I liked the way the Avon-Vila relationship was shown. I also liked the dark tension, reminiscent of the series itself in ASSUME A VIRTUE. REVENGE OF THE THAARN was an excellent continuation of DAWN OF THE GODS. I like stories that highlight Cally and other less-seen, less-explored characters. [3]

In the way of praise: I would like to single out NOTHING RHYMED by Carole Bede and CAREY by Pearl Stickler. I loved your trivia feature and the article on the show's bloopers. You had a few I hadn't noticed before. On the negative side, I would have to say that I didn't care much for either DIARA or VACATION. Both of these seemed to miss the feel of the show altogether. I would also like to see longer length stories, though I'm sure that they are hard to come by. [4]

Your KEEPER OF THE TRUST had an absolutely marvelous beginning, one of the most fascinating I've seen. The idea of Blake having Avon involuntarily committed, so to speak. I was wondering if this dream treatment would be a precursor of GP. How would Avon feel toward Blake after it was all over? How would Blake feel about it all, since it was obvious he was already having second thoughts there on the planet? Alas, I never found out, because you sort of changed plots on mid in mid-story! Dirty pool!! The next thing I know is Avon is happily dreaming about Anna, and Blake is standing around getting rained on, and then it shifts into a standard "escape the trap" story. You never did really resolve that wonderful conflict... I suppose it would be difficult to impossible now that it's been published, but I still wish I could ask you to go back and finish the story you started. [See RECONTRE in this issue. -- ED]. I was overall under-whelmed with most of the art. There were a couple of good ones, but on the whole I wasn't impressed. I do remember a picture of Servalen on page 123 in which she appears with her left hand on the top of her right arm.

I was especially taken with MEMORY by Melissa Honig. It was an original idea, an interesting point of view, and very well done.

One thing I was pleased to note in your submission guidelines for GAMBIT is no cross-universe. BLESS YOU!! I have only ever seen one cross-universe story that I thought was worth reading... but that one had all characters pretty well in character, and also had an honest-to-gosh story to tell. I told Deb Walsh in a a LOC on B7 Complex 12, with the B7/Robin Hood cross, that neither side really did anything. It was just a case of the author saying and "here they are meeting." [5]

References

  1. ^ from a letter of comment in "Gambit" #2
  2. ^ from a letter of comment in "Gambit" #2
  3. ^ from a letter of comment in "Gambit" #2
  4. ^ from a letter of comment in "Gambit" #2
  5. ^ from a letter of comment in "Gambit" #2
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