Sirocco

Zine
Title:	Sirocco
Publisher:	Skeeter Press, its first publication
Editor:
Author(s):	D.L. Witherspoon
Cover Artist(s):	Kandace Klumper
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	June 2000
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	The Sentinel
Language:	English
External Links:	online version; part one; part two; part three; part four
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Sirocco is a gen 152-page Sentinel novel by D.L. Witherspoon.

The art by is by Kandace Klumper and clip art by "Art Explosion."

"Novel Concepts"

The publisher, Skeeter Press, labeled this series of zines "Novel Concepts." This is a because each story had been previously net-published before being made into a print zine. A similar series is Best of the Net by AMC Press.

• Sirocco (#1)
• Masks (#2)
• Silver Cloud, Dark Lining (#3)
• Unsleeping (#4)
• Hijacked (#5)

Summary

From the author: "When Carolyn runs afoul of bioterrorists, she heads for the one safe place she knows -- the arms of her ex-husband."

Author's Notes

From the online version:

Hmm. What should you know about Sirocco before you read? One, that it is set after the final episode; two, Blair has a haircut; and three, Blair is a cop--Jim's partner. Some readers are bothered by these things so I thought I'd be up-front about it. And, oh, yes, Carolyn's in the story. And a character dies (no, not one of the guys--NEVER one of the guys). Seems like the only warning I seemed to have missed is song lyrics. Oh, well, there's always the next story. :-)

I knew there was something else (fingers snapping)! The character of Colonel Lynne Reese is from the short-lived show, Strange World, which aired twice on ABC before cancellation.

What happens in the story is purely fictitious, but I wanted to make it at least sound plausible, so I did a little research. Heck, I did a lot of research.

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  illo by Kandace Klumper: Blair and Jim

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  illo by Kandace Klumper: Simon Banks

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  illo by Kandace Klumper: sample text

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  illo by Kandace Klumper: Carolyn Plummer

Reactions and Reviews

2000

This is a post "The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg" story, which does have Blair as a cop, but we don't actually see much police work here - there happens to be much more immediate and dangerous things going on. I really liked this. As is typical of D. L. Witherspoon's work, this is a Jim and Blair show, not a Blair and Jim show. As is also typical of this author, the Jim here tends to be a little too perfect, but, hey, that's cool, man. Particularly as she doesn't make Blair a wimp. The plot was well done, with an unexpected sting in the tail (I like surprises!). The characterisation was good, I liked the reconciliations that happened there. I like Carolyn, okay? It's interesting to consider that in fanfic, the amount of support that Jim and Blair get from others outside their clique has varied enormously, all the way from resentment and hostility to encouragement and quiet support, and I suspect part of that is determined by the way the author wants the story to go. In this case, it was support, which probably influenced the choices certain of the characters made. I would be interested in seeing a sequel.

Another zine I love is Sirocco by D.L. Witherspoon (gen) which is a fabulous read, very meaty and wonderful characterizations of Jim, Blair and Simon (Naomi I wanted to kill though). The pencil illoes of Jim and Blair are nice, Simon not so. The cover is very tasteful. Great zine!

2001

I adored Sirocco by D.L. Witherspoon. Suffice to say that I. Love. Her. Jim. He makes me weep and smile and wrap him in cotton. Oh, it's published by the wonderful Skeeter Press.