Holes in the Ozone
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Holes in the Ozone |
| Publisher: | Mkashef Enterprises |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Dovya Blacque |
| Cover Artist(s): | Alayne |
| Illustrator(s): | Alayne |
| Date(s): | 1991 |
| Series?: | no |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Wiseguy |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Holes in the Ozone is a 149-page Wiseguy slash novel by Dovya Blacque. The Pairing is Sonny/Vinnie.
Summaries
From Media Monitor:
After Lynchborg, Vinnie's lost and on the edge of a nervous breakdown. It takes the caring attention of Roger Lococco and the resurrection of Sonny Steelgrave to give Vinnie some direction again.
From Zine Scene:
With McPike recovering from gunshot wounds in Seattle, Vince finds himself wandering the rainy streets alone, not knowing what to do, where to go, what to think. Salvation arrives in the form of Roger Loccoco who has a little surprise for Vinnie. It seems Sonny Steelgrave wasn't as dead as McPike lead Vince to believe. Now it's up to an old friend, an old enemy, to make Vinnie see that life is truly worth living...even if it means having to face some ugly facts about yourself and your chosen path in life.
From Bill Hupe's catalog:
This is a Terranova/Steelgrave "/" novel: graphic, same-sex elements vividly depicted.
Zine's Acknowledgments
A word of recognition to the person who paved the path, pointed the way, took the first step... [Melody C], whose WISEGUY novel, A River That Runs Both Ways, showed me not only that it could be done but how it could be done best.
Special thanks to Alexis Fegan Black and Natasha Solten for their selfless aid to the plotting inept —namely, mei Without their input, this novel would not exist. Also, thanks to Alexis for her assistance with the typesetting.
And a very big thanks to M.D.K. for helping with the proofreading while trying to begin the new year at college! Thanks, kiddo!
And last but, as they say, certainly not least, a nod to the actors who are so unscrupulously de-characterized herein for the inspiration they so unwittingly provided! My admiration for the degree of perfection present in their performances knows no bounds and I most certainly mean no disrespect, insult or slur on the character of anyone by the contents of this novel.
Excerpt from Publisher
"The prince didn't die, Vince." Roger repeated, making me understand with willpower alone.
"What?"
"Sonny Steelgrave is alive." There, the words were out, simple, clear and plain. And I think I really heard them that time, but felt myself slipping backward into that void Roger had turned me out of.
"It's true," Roger insisted. "Frank resuscitated him before he took you out of the theater. The paramedics got to him and finished the job Frank started. He was in protective custody until earlier this year." He paused to refill our glasses. "He's not the man he was, but he's alive."
I drank, feeling the heat sear where the thick wall I'd erected so carefully had begun to crumble, blinked, my eyes feeling raw again. "How…how do you know any of this? I don't believe you."
Roger nodded, taking a sip from his glass. "I wouldn't believe me, either. As for how I know, give me a break. You know the connections I used to have. A lot of them are still active…"
[][][][][][][][]
…I looked up to my right just enough to meet Sonny's gaze face-to-face.
And he smiled. Not that I'm-gonna-tear-your-lungs-out sneer he once used so readily, but a true smile of pleasure.
"That you, Vinnie?" he asked softly, his eyebrows dancing; the only sign of nervousness.
I swallowed heavily, felt my eyes begin to sting, and nodded.
"Oh, man," he breathed and took another awkward step nearer. "Oh, man."
I couldn't hold my eyes still; they kept darting over his face, his body as though trying to make sure he was real. I wanted badly to reach out and touch him… and I could have as he stepped even closer.
Roger stood, nodded to me and moved off to take a seat at the bar. Sonny took the seat Roger had just abandoned, pushing his heavy coat off his shoulders to reveal a black turtleneck and one diamond stud in his left ear.
He looked beautiful. The thought didn't really surprise me, but the acceleration of my heart beat sure did.
"Oh, man," he repeated again, his large brown eyes tearing up, the smile still playing on his handsome face, a face age lines had only improved. "Vinnie Terranova," he whispered. "Cop extraordinare."
I shivered.
Sample Interior
Reactions and Reviews
1996
How about a mini-review off the top of my head (and keep in mind it's been a couple of years since I've read it). It turns out that Sonny didn't die at the end of "No One Gets Out...", but instead was just zapped real good and when he came to was placed in the Witness Protection Program. He has some memory loss and a completely different personality. He also owns his own bar (titled something along the lines of Blue Moody or the like; his name is also a scramble of a couple of the guys from the Moody Blues). Vinnie finds out, goes to find him, they fall in lerv again and it goes downhill from there. Roger's there (silently pining), Frank's there (keeping the homefires burning and being *way* too understanding) and some guy that looks vaguely like Ray Sharkey is there. Not a winner, all things considered and not what I would recommend as a first zine read. [1]
1997
I wanted to like Holes in the Ozone, I really did, because I have a big crush on Sonny (but not much use for Vinnie, I fear). However... Sonny was too "wussified" by his experience for my taste. Yeah, he was okay, but he wasn't the Sonny Steelgrave I knew and lusted after. It would've been kinder to leave him dead, IMO. [2]
Agree with you entirely on Holes in the Ozone, a prime example of completely changed characterization grafted onto a familiar name. In some cases a fanwriter is obviously exercising gross wish-fulfillment or extrapolating extensively from a few characteristics or a pregnant screen situation, but it's even more irritating and puzzling when there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason left to the character at all.[3]
References
- ^ July 26, 1996, Michelle Christian, Virgule-L, quoted with permission
- ^ from Strange Bedfellows (APA) #16 (February 1997)
- ^ from Strange Bedfellows (APA) #17 (May 1997)