[dismiss]

On Fanlore, users with accounts can edit pages including user pages, can create pages, and more. Any information you publish on a page or an edit summary will be accessible by the public and to Fanlore personnel. Because Fanlore is a wiki, information published on Fanlore will be publicly available forever, even if edited later. Be mindful when sharing personal information, including your religious or political views, health, racial background, country of origin, sexual identity and/or personal relationships. To learn more, check out our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Select "dismiss" to agree to these terms.

Gambit (US Blake's 7 anthology)/Issue 002

From Fanlore
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Gambit (US Blake's 7 anthology) · Issue 001 · Issue 002 · Issue 003 · Issue 004 · Issue 005 · Issue 006 · Issue 007 · Issue 008 · Issue 009 · Issue 010 · Issue 011 · Issue 012 · Issue 013 · Issue 014
Related terms:
See also: Gambit (US Blake's 7 anthology)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Issue 2

front cover of issue #2, Mary Gerstner
back cover of issue #2, Michael Williams
inside front cover of issue #2, Mary Gerstner
flyer for issue #2, Michael Williams , also printed in Trust, Like the Soul

Gambit 2 was published in April 1988 and contains 294 pages.

The art is by Mary Gerstner (front and inside front covers), Michael Williams (back cover), Denise Loague, S. Molnar, Judith Boguslawski , Craig Kozeluh, Cynthia Case, and Lynne Alisse Witten.

The zine is online here.

From the editorial:

Welcome to GAMBIT 2. We had high hopes of laser printing this issue, but alas, until our computer experts unravel the continuing mystery of how to make this computer (an AMSTRAD PCW8256 transfer an ASCII file to one that will speak to the laser printer's computer, (Avon, where are you when we need you???) it will simply have to wait until issue #3. We have tried to make this one a little more consistent in typeface and style: hopefully it won't look quite as 'ragtag' as GAMBIT 1 did.

[snipped]

There's a niggling question I've always wanted to ask fanzine readers and writers at large: why do so many zines consistently capitalize all the letters in Orac? It wasn't an an abbreviation, and the scripts I have print it as Orac, not ORAC, so why? Hardly of world-shattering importance, I know, but I've always wondered...

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

[Night Wind]: I just remembered that in at least one zine story, I've seen a reference to future art that was handled fairly well: Sheila Paulson's "The Night Wind," in Gambit 2. A composer/performer is mentioned (I didn't look his name up when I looked up the title, and I'm too lazy to go back up in the attic after my zines), and the music forms a background to the story and gives Avon and Tarrant some common ground, but it isn't obtrusive, and it doesn't seem out-of-place. (Not surprising, since IMHO Paulson's an excellent writer...) [1]

[zine]: It contains poems, filks, puzzles and drawings, and a great editorial which lists some prime examples of spell checker substitutes for personal names - I particularly enjoyed Avon / Avoid and Teleport / Teapot (What a pity there are no B7 characters called Marion and Angus because I know from experience they turn into Moron and Anus)

In "A Fine Bargain" a teenage, poverty stricken Vila is hired by Avon to pick locks. Vila proves he knows what he's doing, Avon educates him on the value of access codes. They tentatively initiate their familiar (to us) relationship.

"Imago" is an intelligent account of Servalan's affair with Don Keller during her time as a cadet under Kasabi. Servalan shows her ruthlessness and also gets hurt. Excellent story, making good use of the episodes from which it arises.

"MMS in a Bottle (Labelled Soma)" is not as you might think a Vila story. It is told in the first person by an unknown who has been marooned on a planet and gets an unexpected visitor in Avon. The Sequel gives Avon's side of the encounter.

"Seeing Red" is a comic short and has Zen showing Avon who is boss.

"Summer Vacation" is a lot of fun. The crew have a great time at Space City and Jenna gets to keep the Harley Davidson.

"Chains of Freedom" is a longer story. Avon finds himself unexpectedly involved with a woman and her local politics when Blake goes politicking. Quite good, though the ending is predictable.

The central idea behind "Blind Luck" is simple but unusual and I can't say much more without giving it away. A beguiling Avon/Vila story.

Avon's past is explored in "Explosion". The crew get involved with a rebel computer set up, and the story turns into a whodunnit with Cally as the detective.

"Jailbreak" begins with Blake and Avon in a detention cell, getting rescue from an unexpected quarter. Not very convincing.

In "Cash on Deliverance" Vila is mesmerised by the delectable wares offered by the Galactic Dome Shopping centre. However his shopping habits save Liberator from attack. An inventive Bizarro 7 story.

"Rencontre" is an epilogue to Keeper of the Trust in Gambit 1. Blake confronts an elusive Avon after a mission has gone wrong. They have a revealing and antagonistic exchange that ends with ominous words. A very, very good short story.

"When You Rise to the Occasion" has Vila having to support Avon and rescue everyone else. Quite good, but the ending is a bit of a cop-out.

"That which Evades" is a Travis story. Servalan is having the original Travis re-conditioned , and has a series of encounters with the doctor in charge about the way Travis is developing.

"Yesterday: Memories of Today" starts from the premise that Avon and Dayna are especially close. They teleport down to rescue a psychologically disturbed Blake, and the remaining crew have a hard time locating them. Finally, and ironically with Vila's help, Blake comes to a decision. Quite a believable story, if you buy the initial Avon/Dayna angle and go for log cabin by the lake scenarios.

"Night Wind" is a brilliant Avon/Tarrant story set some time after the Teal Vandor Convention, wonderfully acute is its descriptions of Tarrant's feelings and attitudes towards his crewmates. He goes to see Avon late at night and they talk warily. This is probably the best story in the zine.

"Alone; I Hope!"; while the rest of the crew are away, Avon and Vila get a message from Blake, but is it genuine? Avon meets an old acquaintance and so does Vila. The plot could have done with a bit more development, especially over motivation.

"Force of Attraction" is a one pager whose point I missed.

"A State of Mind" is a PGP where everyone seems to have survived. However there is a sting in the tail.

"Renewal" is a brief excerpt from the "Renewal" series which starts with Avon's killing Servalan. It proceeds at a bewildering gallop, but then I've not read any others from this series.

"A Matter of Trust" is an emotional PGP. Avon has collapsed mentally and physically, Blake tries to help him readjust. Quite good

The next three stories are all brief PGPs. "Phantasm Projection" is a macabre one-pager where Servalan gets more than she expected. "Shadows with no Substance" gives an alternative version of what was happening to Avon. In "Aftereffects of a Dream" Avon and Vila are rescued by one of Blake's people.

"Outside Impression" is told by the child in a rebel family which works with the Scorpio crew. Straightforward with no surprises.

In "The Wall" Avon and Soolin survive, plot with other rebels and get enmeshed in one of Servalan's plots. Next comes "To Tear Down the Wall"; to discuss the plot would be to give away the surprises of the first story.[2]

"Enjoyed GAMBIT 2 tremendously. My favorite stories al- ways seem to be post-GP, but this issue had many good tales set in all the years of the series. I was quite interested by the "Wall' stories written by Mary Gerstner, and the short piece 'Outside Impression.' Loved the humorous pieces: 'Cash on Deliverance was delightful, and 'Jake's 7' too. Thanks for a very readable and enjoyable zine. [3]

I've just received (and devoured) GAMBIT #2. I think it's much better than #1, My favorite story was 'Yesterday: Memories of Today,' which I thought was superb. And I thought "The Wall' and its sequel were wonderfully done, if painful. What a depressing way to end a zine! I finished reading it and felt I'd been kicked in the gut. Ouch! But I liked it. I'm a glutton for punishment, I know. I was very impressed with the illustrations which accompanied my story... They were beautifully done and fit perfectly. [4]

I like PGP stories, which is just as well as most zines seem to have a lot of them. 'The Wall' and "To Tear Down the Wall' were both very well done and bleak enough even for my taste. Your story 'Renconte' was exactly what was needed to finish 'Keeper of the Trust.' GAMBIT 2 is very nicely formatted and a big improvement over 1. [5]

I loved GAMBIT 1, or what I've read so far, anyway. (My friend bribed me to let her read it first!) However, the three stories I did read--'Prelude," 'Hi-Ho Liberator, Away,' and the Bizarro--got me totally hooked and determined to get #2. Please PLEASE don't stop with #3; I may go into withdrawal! P.S.: Please tell the authors of 'Hi-Ho Liberator Away' that my friend Terri and I were still laughing four hours after we finished reading it It's the funniest story I've ever read! [6]

I thought GAMBIT 2looked great, and I like the formal, and every story was good--'The Wall,' 'Matter of Trust,' 'Chains of Freedom' stand out for me. (I've always wanted to see 'Comfortably Numb' lyrics in one of these--and the story was so dismal and sad, a real downer loved it! [7]

t delights me to have possession of the mass of fiction you have presented. I can get my B7 fix that way. Since Blake is my favorite B7 Character, I really enjoyed the friendship story Yesterday: Memories of Today." Oh, Blake can be soooo fun

to write about, and the Avon-Blake relationship is an intriguing one. I also enjoyed the warped humor (hee hee) of 'Summer

Vacation' (Avon and his armory.) Other enjoyable works were 'Blind Luck,' 'Cash on Deliverance,' "Alone I Hope,' and of course 'A State of Mind.' Ghosts? Hmmm. [8]

Except that there wasn't more than one story by you, GAMBIT 2 was wonderful. I love April Giordano & Mary

Gerstner's B7 universe...have they a name for it yet? Even after reading them a dozen times I still shout with laughter. Chains of Freedom' was well-written and thought out. It wasn't a they- saw-each-other-across-a-crowded-room-and-knew-they-were- meant-for-each-other. Jeanne had them falling in love in a very real way. But again, they were separated. One of these days somebody is gonna have pity on the poor guy and write a story where Avon not only gets the girl, but keeps her as wel. 'Blind Luck:' a wonderful Avon-Vila. Everyone recognizes that these two are friends even with Gan still among them, and that their verbal exchanges are just their own way of showing it, but they will always be there for each other. 'Explosion:' a real winner, a mystery to be solved and an injured Avon. A hurt Avon always brings out the mother in me. 'Rencontre' was something I was waiting and hoping for, and it was wel worth the wait, I can tell you. There it was at the end, the

gauntlet thrown down only to be picked up again at Gauda Prime. Marvelous. [9]

I found GAMBIT 2 to be a very satisfying read overal. You had many nice long stories, and I particularly like the ones by Leigh Arnold ('Explosion") and Linda Knights ('Yesterday: Memories of Today.') Sheila Paulson's 'The Night Wind' was beautiful, and 'Blind Luck' was also a favorite. I even found myself liking the cartoon strip parody, the sort of thing I'm usually not too keen on. I will have to say that 'The Wall' and To Tear Down the Wall' were well written but, boy were they depressing. Not the sort of thing you want to read when you're having a good case of the blues. [10]

I really liked 'Seeing Red' and 'Summer Vacation' by April Giordano and Mary Gerstner. Complete silliness. Reading them aloud in the car on "the way back from ORAC helped pass the time and had my friend and I in stitches. I also liked 'Yesterday: Memories of Today' by Linda Knights, and Meg Garrett's 'Force of Attraction.' (Giggle.) "The Wall' and 'To Tear Down the Wall' were, ah, bleak and depressing, but very well done. (And Mary Gerstner really had a hand in writing 'Seeing Red' and 'Summer Vacation' also?) [11]

I enjoyed a great deal of #1, most notably the Bizarro story and a very good examination of the tensions between Blake and Avon ('Rencontre') which I believe you wrote. Another story, 'Diara,' has my vote for most cliched bad writing in the field so far (excluding some especially bad slash, that is), but I enjoyed parts of it for the wrong reasons anyway. Hey, I don't exclude myself from the lowest common denominator. I hope #2 can reach the same average of quality, for the collection as a whole was well worth keeping. [12]

I liked the young vulnerable side of Servalan ni 'Imago,' and then watching her develop into the woman capable of all those dastardly deeds. 'Seeing Red' was a great humor piece. It was a change to see Zen being assertive. Freedom' was a nice story and had excellent artwork, but Avon was too much out of character to be believable. Even if Avon fell in love he would never be so blatant about it in front of others. The man has too many 'walls' around him to permit such displays of affection. 'Explosion' was along the lines of MISSION TO DESTINY so it was a nice mystery story. Also we got a little of Avon's background thrown in to perk up interest. I was grinding my teeth while reading 'When You Rise to the Occasion' because of the seeming role reversal of Avon and Vila. But not to worry, the end explained the inconsistency. It was good to see a story with Tarrant as the focus in 'The Night Wind.' The poor fellow is usually shoved into the background as an irritant for a certain computer expert. Tarrant is young and impulsive but he does have his good points. This is just a list of the stories that stuck out in my mind. The rest of the stories and poetry were good but at 12:00 in the morning, I am too tired for a more in depth commentary. I like the different type faces for the stories. It helps me keep them separate when I thumb through the zine.[13]

On the whole I thought GAMBIT 2 was better than GAMBIT 1 -- and I liked #1. You're obviously doing something right. A friend who'd read it before I did said, "'The Wall' is a terrific story - but what a thing to end a zine with!" Since I don't like 'downer' endings, I took that as a hint and read that story first, then worked through the zine back to front. Saving the best for last, so to speak, since I think of the first two seasons as being the 'real' BLAKE'S 7 anyway. 'The Wall' and 'To Tear Down the Wall,' which I consider really all one story, is definitely the best and strongest in the zine. In fact I would call it the best of the Ultimate Annihilation stories I've read, well written and eminently believable, if unpleasant. The beginning, and ending, page illos with each section were also excellent and appropriate to the mood of the story. This one's a classic.

'Outside Impression' - I'm normally not especially fond of stories featuring outside views of our heroes, but this one works very well. The narrator's background is good without being overwhelming, and I love the notion of Federation troopers going renegade out of sheer boredom! I thought she had the fourth season B7 characters all right on target. The line about Avon, "That's as bad a case (of battle fatigue) as I've ever seen," was perfect.

'A Matter of Trust'-I liked this one very much, one of my two favorites out of the entire zine. Al right, I've said I like a good wallow. I'd read one somewhat similar in which it was Avon hunting through a maddened Blake's mind, but I find I prefer this one.

'A State of Mind'--I mostly don't care a lot for the it's-an-illusion type stories, but again good writing manages to make this one work. The insights into Avon's character were especially good. 'Doctor Graham,' hm?

'Force of Attraction'- Another good one. Closer to real science fiction than most B7 fan writing--or the series either, for that matter! Fun idea.

'Yesterday, Memories of Today'-My other favorite. Again a great hurt/comfort wallow. My only complaint was that there wasn't a better explanation of Blake's mistreatment. Not all the gory details, but I found myself wondering, "Who were these people and why were they harassing him so when they didn't know who he was--and neither did he!" It all seemed a bit extreme for one amnesiac stray; there must have been loads of them after the war, It was, however, a good study of character interactions, especially after Blake's return to the ship. And it was nice to see Dayna get a prominent role to play for a change.

'That Which Evades'-A nice exploration of Servalan sub- lety and ruthlessness. I always thought Carnell was the only man we saw in the entire series (Avon included) who would have been really a match for her.

'When You Rise to the Occasion'--Quite predictable, it gives itself away as being a dream, or something such, early on. It was still fun though.

'Rencontre' -Good, though it still doesn't really resolve the conflict brought up in 'Keeper of the Trust' Then again, maybe that conflict was not really settle-able within the context of the series. You do write the characters so well.

'Cash on Deliverance' -Taken as a whole I adore the Bizarro series, but for me this just wasn't one of their better efforts. OK, but not great.

'Jailbreak'--Good story, not as much emphasis on the B7 characters as I might have liked, but I do appreciate a strong capable female.

"The Adventures of Jake's 7'--Must confess this didn't do anything for me. Maybe you have to be Jewish?

'Explosion'-Good, as most Leigh Arold stories are. liked the way it started out as a 'people' story and then turned into a murder mystery. My one quibble would be that for as seriously as Avon was supposed to have been injured in the blast, he recovered awfully fast. But then, they did that in the original series all the time, didn't they?

'Blind Luck'-Interesting premise, but I found I didn't really believe it. Vila's trying to conceal his blindness after his return to the ship didn't seem to have much point to it. I think he would instead have played it for all it was worth in a bid for sympathy and pampering; I would find that more in keeping with Vila's character.

"The Chains of Freedom'-Well written, like al DeVore stories, but again I just didn't really believe it. I picture Avon being too stand-offish and suspicious of everyone to really drift into a casual romance like that. Excellent illos with this story, by the way.

I hope we'll be seeing much more of Judith Boguslawski's work,

There are apparently a lot of people who can do good portraits, working from photos, but one who can do great story illos like this--and good faces--is a treasure!

'Seeing Red' and 'Summer Vacation' --Two amusing entries in the humorous alternate universe that a friend has dubbed the

'Saint Blake' series. These are different from the Bizarros, but I am coming to enjoy them just as much in their own way. I particularly like the 'Rambo' Avon always trying to use the hapless Vila for target practice, while in tum fleeing in terror from the determinedly lascivious Cally who's trying to trap him in the medical unit. And Blake, in intervals of trying to fight off Jenna (well, sometimes), benignly regarding them all as so many precocious children. I sometimes had the feeling it was a lot like that, with regard to Blake, in the original series. I'll be looking forward to further Saint Blake stories.

'Imago'--Interesting idea, but somehow I can't really believe Servalan having been so much of a sap even at that early age. Not to the point of continuing to pursue Keller after he'd told her it was over. I did like the idea of her having once had long, luxuriant hair though, and cropping it after such an experience. I also enjoyed the original and well-thought-out background supplied.

'A Fine Bargain'- This one didn't do a lot for me either, l have never cared much for the our-heroes-have-met-before type story. The universe, or even Earth, is a big place, and it's just stretching coincidence a little far. Plus, I find it more fun to watch them coming to terms with each other as strangers at the beginning of the series. [14]

I have enjoyed both previous issues of GAMBIT. They contained a lot of very good writing--and they were long enough that I almost felt like I had enough B7 (for once).

This may seem a strange comment, but I appreciate the spiral bindings! I have a tendency to read and re-read zines, and stapled bindings just don't stay together very long.

I especially liked 'The Wall' and 'To Tear Down the Wall' in GAMBIT 2--besides being good stories, I had always thought that parts of "The Wall' album sounded like Avon.[15]

I do like the way you set out the contents in GAMBIT: divided into series and in order. And do you think it would be any good suggesting to Linda Knights that she write a sequel to 'Yesterday, Memories of Today' in which Avon discovers that Blake's memories of being a cold-blooded butcher are implants? He's my favourite, though I love Avon too, and I don't like seeing either of them in such trouble at the end of a story. Especially a good story. [16]

References

  1. ^ comment by Michelle Christian at Virgule-L, quoted with permission (Oct 26, 1994)
  2. ^ a review by CB from Judith Proctor's Blake's 7 site
  3. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  4. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  5. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  6. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  7. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  8. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  9. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  10. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  11. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  12. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  13. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  14. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  15. ^ from "Gambit" #3
  16. ^ from "Gambit" #3
Retrieved from "https://fanlore.org/w/index.php?title=Gambit_(US_Blake%27s_7_anthology)/Issue_002&oldid=2758570"