HG Collected

Zine
Title:	HG Collected
Publisher:	Dog-House Press
Editor(s):
Date(s):	2000-2002
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	The Professionals
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

HG Collected is a slash Professionals anthology of fiction by HG.

Issue 1

HG Collected 1 was published in April 2000 and contains 141 pages (109,000 words).

An ad in DIAL #14 says: "A collection of Professionals B/D stories from the circuit and out-of-print zines. Stories included in the zine have all been amended by the author - extensively, in some cases."

• Emerging from the Smoke (written November 1983, unofficial sequel to the circuit story Leap in the Dark (1)
• Day in the Life (24) (written March 1983)
• Loose Change (written September 1982) (29)
• Butterfingers (originally printed in Walking in the Moonlight] (34) (written August 1989)
• Communication Gap (45) (written January 1991)
• On the First Day of Christmas... (47) (originally printed in The Hatstand Express #5) (written in 1984)
• My True Love Sent to Me (sequel to "On the First Day of Christmas" (56) (written in December 1988)
• Beggar's Banquet (63) (written in March 1983)

• Foiled Again (83) (the author notes that this was first published in an issue of The Hatstand Express, but it she may have meant Short Circuit #13)
• Hunter Home from the Hill (87) (written January 1991)
• Black Sheep (92) (written in October 1984)
• Every Bed is Narrow and here (107) (originally in Old Friends, Too (written in January 1995)
• Kissing with Confidence and here (113) (originally in the zine Slippery When Wet) (written in November 1992)
• Honours Even (117) (written in August 1983)

• 

  one cover of issue #1

• 

  another version of issue #1

• 

  another version of issue #1

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

See reactions and reviews for Beggar's Banquet.

See reactions and reviews for On the First Day of Christmas.

See reactions and reviews for Loose Change.

See reactions and reviews for Honours Even.

[zine]: There is not a single story in this zine that I did not love. HG writes with skill and humour. Her B and D tend to the loving domestic side with lots of very nice sex, but there is plenty of angst and h/c as well! Although there are a couple of her fics in other places that have the occasional irritating writing glitch that's pulled me out of the tale for a millisecond, that's not the case in any of these - at least not for me! The stories include:

Emerging from the Smoke. This is an alternative sequel to Tarot's "Leap in the Dark", but it stands on its own well enough.

A First Time. Various traumas and angst here, for both the boys, but despite this they stay themselves rather than morphing into totally wet types. They go around in circles just a *little* - *oh, now it's Doyle's turn to be upset...* - but HG manages to teeter just on the safe side.

Day in the Life - Established Relationship. Made me wanna snuggle down with them. I love the way that HG manages to capture the *feel* of a rainy morning off work as easily as she does the lads themselves.

Loose Change - Again another apparent sequel, and I would *love* to read "Rediscovered in a Graveyard" just to see what went on first, but I *love* this fic on its own. There's some big operation building up, and virtually every operative has been called in and is awaiting Cowley to start the briefing. Its not just B and D, Murphy and various other agents are nicely done too. I found it hilariously funny, and occasionally very touching. I can't quote examples because their poignancy comes totally from the context. The bitter-sweetest for me is the very last line.

Butterfingers - First Time. Post "Hunter Hunted".

Communication Gap - Only a page and a half. Slightly saccharine-y in the last column, I thought, but this is pretty much the worst that HG can do...

On the First Day of Christmas - Established relationship. Has one of my favourite lines - "Thrusting temptation aside on the grounds that it would be asleep next to him in the morning, Bodie shut his eyes and under Doyle's incredulous gaze promptly fell asleep". This is very HG to me - says even more than you first realise you think in each sentence.

My True Love Sent To Me - Established relationship, the Christmas after the fic above. More cosy, sexy, gentle fun. Makes me smile anyway.

Beggar's Banquet - First time. Change of pace. Post "No Stone". Angsty. But even when she has Doyle crying, Bodie realises it's most likely from rage as much as anything else - a nice touch that for me keeps them closer to the real characters. Another one - Doyle: "You should've told me... Sodomy's fun. You're beautiful. But you're breakin' my back mate."

Hunter Home From the Hill - Post "Close Quarters". First Time. As good as the rest.

Foiled Again - Pre-First Time. A nicely written dance of Pre. Padded white suits and orange juice will never be pure again.

Black Sheep - Post "Its A Beautiful Picture". Trouble in the anti-paradise that is their established relationship here. I like the way that HG *knows* that it'd all be a battle between their prickly personalities.

Every Bed is Narrow - Back to some gentle comedy, domestic and cosy and more-ish IMHO.

Kissing with Confidence - Established Relationship. The lads are on their way home from 2+ weeks of separation. They're randy and flirtatious. Would it seem that obvious if we saw them behaving like this in an ep? Possibly, but I mind less when its couched in HG's easy humour than I might in some other fics.

Honours Even - Liked this one alot. Which of course I did the others, but... T'lads are on an operation involving an old mate of Bodie's. Starts out in Doyle's pov, changes later to Bodie's which other side of the coin you *will* appreciate. And back again. I love how they're coping with their relationship of the moment at the same time as the op, which itself has a kind of triple-think to it.

So, that's it - 14 stories of various types. HG's Bodie and Doyle are recognizable throughout the entire anthology, which I liked. I like knowing that an author has a clear sense of her characters. Okay, after a concentrated dose, you *do* notice repeated phrases through some of the stories, but my reading-mind rationalised and dismissed this bone-picking because I knew these were written over a dozen years or so. If I had to pick a favourite I'd say "Loose Change", just for the way it telescopes the view of the lads so that you feel you're seeing them afresh. As I said above, I'm fond of every story in this zine, and would recommend it highly.

[zine]: I am adoring my "HG Collected 1" zine, and desperately want the second, but the children need shoes... well, I need food this week. Thinking about it, outside the lovely flow of writing, her B and D are kind of close to the sappy edge sometimes (I really can't see either of them buying a hideously crocheted cardigan and dozens of jars of jam just to make an old lady happy...), but she generally manages to take the edge off that, often with humour. And when she writes stuff like "Loose Change", which I think is just genius and hilarious, with hints of real life prattage (like Warren), the hard edge of being in CI5 and for me at least, was kind of poignant at the end... And the fact that she does this makes it clear that she doesn't see B and D as soft little dolls, but just occasionally takes them out to play with in a slightly different game. Which is okay by me.

Issue 2

HG Collected 2 was published in January 2002 and contains 147 pages (113,000 words). Two of the stories are co-authored by Sebastian.

cover of issue #2

• Quality Time by HG (1) (written in March 1996) (also published in Alter Egos #1)
• Gruff 'n' Grim by HG (2) (written September 1984)
• X-Ray-Ted, sequel to Gruff 'n' Grim by HG (16) (written in 1985)
• Private Performance by HG (24) (written in May 1992)
• Opening Gambit by HG (34) (HG notes it was written in 1990 and first published in The Hatstand Express #18 -- thought this issue of "The Hatstand Express" was published in late 1988 or early 1989.)
• No Strings by HG (37) ("Following on from the aired episode, 'Involvement,' Bodie & Doyle are forced to redefine their relationship in the light of Doyle's disastrous affair with Ann Holly.") (written in 1983, also in Uncharted Waters #10)
• Anticlimax, sequel to "No Strings" by HG (51) (written in September 1985)
• Two in a Bunk by HG and Sebastian (59)
• Joint Venture by HG (63) (written in September 1985)
• Putting Off the Armour by HG (also published in Alter Egos #2) (76) (written in November 1996)
• Surfer's Tension by HG (102) (written in May 1984)
• Conundrum by HG (109) (written in August 1982)
• Room With a View, sequel to "Conundrum" by HG (122) (written in October 1985)
• Head Start by HG (130) (first published in Alter Egos #1) (written in February 1996)
• No Unicorns by HG and Sebastian (139)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

See reactions and reviews for No Unicorns.

See reactions and reviews for Gruff & Grim.

See reactions and reviews for Two in a Bunk.

See reactions and reviews for Private Performance.

See reactions and reviews for Surfer's Tension.

See reactions and reviews for Conundrum.

See reactions and reviews for No Strings.

See reactions and reviews for Putting Off the Armour.

See reactions and reviews for Quality Time.

See reactions and reviews for Head Start.