No Man Is Born An Angler

Fanfiction
Title:	No Man Is Born An Angler
Author(s):	Anna S.
Date(s):	2001
Length:	5000 words
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Stargate SG-1
Relationship(s):
External Links:	Wayback link
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No Man Is Born An Angler is a Jack/Daniel story by Anna S., originally posted on her website, which vanished sometime before 2010. The title comes from a quote from Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler (1653): "Because as no man is born an artist, so no man is born an Angler." It was popular enough to be included on several SG-1 fans' recs pages.

Reactions and Reviews

Jack and Daniel are stranded on a planet with no chance of rescue. They have to learn to exist in primitive conditions and come to terms with the fact that they are the only two people in their world. What does it mean for a Jack who's never even considered a sexual relationship with another man to find out in this situation that Daniel wants him?

This story is interesting to me because its premise is quite an unusual one for Stargate - it lacks the usual hopeful tone of most fiction in this fandom and the reader never really expects or believes in an eleventh hour rescue. Told in Jack's first person point of view, Anna S. has captured Jack's rather dry, self-deprecating style of conversation as he talks about the boring minutiae of a life lived precariously hand to mouth and deals gradually with his feelings about Daniel's suggestion that they are "a thing" and should take their relationship to a sexual level.

The story is structured around five sections that follow a pattern of one-word titles starting with "f": Field; Fire; Fall; Familiar; and Funny and the titles work on both literal and metaphorical levels. For example, in "Field", Jack and Daniel are out in the field working when Daniel breaks the news that he thinks that they are a "thing" and he wants them to try sex - and Jack has to "field" his advances. In "Fire" they are playing chess in front of a fire while Jack begins to realise that he does have sexual feelings for Daniel - the "fire" of passion. And so on for each of the other three sections.

The writing is understated and lacks the richness of style that Anna S is known for but this spare prose suits the bleakness of Jack and Daniel's exile perfectly as the text details a life of hardship and boredom without any romantic illusions. The story explores the effect of this sort of hand-to-mouth existence on Jack and Daniel as Jack gradually faces his feelings for Daniel. This Jack has honestly never thought of having sex with another man and I like the fact that there is no sudden transformation in this story. The sex scene is treated realistically and avoids all the traditional fannish clichés associated with gay sex. Some readers may not like the unrelenting honesty of this portrayal of what is quite a depressing situation for our heroes but I love the melancholy tone of the story and the sparse language only emphasises for me the sheer emotional turmoil and the significance of their situation.

I love the title of this story as well - I'm a sucker for a literary allusion. For people like me who always want to know about the relevance of titles chosen by the author, I believe it's from a quote in the 'Epistle to the reader' in Isaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, a famous 17th century treatise on fishing, and it reads: "as no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler." The quote comes at the end of a paragraph about choosing flies for catching trout and the uselessness of following a set program of particular flies for each month. Walton advises instead that only knowledge of the area you are fishing in, experience, patience and choosing the lure to suit the particular place and time based on experience will catch you your fish. I think this is a wonderful metaphor for the way Daniel wins over a wary, skittish, inexperienced and slightly homophobic Jack into his bed and also for the way each man has to adjust to the harsh conditions of their deserted and primitive new home, a life for which they are not really prepared. Additionally, I think Anna S. was being slightly ironic in choosing this title. The Compleat Angler is a testimony to the pleasures of the pastoral life - yet Jack and Daniel in this story have little time for frivolous pastimes and find their isolation and interminable toil to survive on an alien world anything but a gentle bucolic life of simple pleasures. Of course, I could be completely wrong about all all of the above ... but that's the way I see it.

Some readers, who prefer a more overtly romantic storyline and an unambiguously happy ending, may not enjoy this story as much as I did. I think that "No Man Is Born An Angler" is a very well-written story, as I've come to expect from this author, and I found it a poignant and melancholic look at Jack finding love in difficult circumstances. I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys good fiction with excellent characterisation, fine writing, realistic action and a dry strain of humour running through the text. This story might not be to everyone's taste but it's one of my favourites.

This story is brilliant for the title alone (which comes from 17th-century Field and Stream equivalent The Compleat Angler, "as no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler"). The original plot, hot sex, and amazing characterisations are a bonus.