Star (Blake's 7 zine)

You may be looking for Star One, a UK Blake's 7 zine published by Robert Carter.

Zine
Title:	Star , Star Two, Star Three, Star Four
Publisher:	Waveney and Belhangria University Press
Editor(s):	Judith Proctor
Date(s):	1994-2000
Series?:
Medium:	print, zine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake’s 7
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Star is a gen Blake's 7 anthology. Each zine followed the next with titles like: Star One, Star Two etc....

flyer

The Adult/Slash Stories Went Elsewhere

From a flyer by Judith Proctor: Forbidden Star is "for all those stories that I wouldn't dream of publishing in Star Three."

Some Fall Out from the Blake's 7 War

Kathy Hanson requested to have her art removed from reprints of this zine due to her anger regarding The Blake's 7 War.

Issue 1

Star 1 or Star One was published in 1994, third edition with Kathy Hanson art replaced by Whitby27 (at Kathy's request) 1997.

cover of issue #1

flyer for issue #1

Online flyer posted by the editor:

"The completed zine weighs in at 132 pages, or 63,000 words. The zine is A5 - for Americans, that means it is the same size as zines like "Horizon", or "Down and Unsafe".

I could print A4 (full sheet of paper size), but then it would cost twice as much. If there are enough people out here who want to pay twice as much, I could always consider a separate A4 print run. (The artwork masters are A5, so you'd lose out a little on the fine detail though)

Star One is a genzine with stories set throughout the series. A mixture of authors with styles ranging from the serious to the silly. Artwork by Kathy Hanson and others.

Costs are 3 pounds including postage for the UK, 4 pounds for Europe and 7 dollars for the USA (airmail postage).

This was one of the editor's early fanzines and she quickly learned how important it was to price correctly before advertising:

"Having realised that I worked out some of my costs wrong, I'm adding 50p to the prices. Therefore cost should be 3.50 pounds UK, 4.50 pounds Europe and 5 pounds or 8 US dollars to Australia or the USA. (NO US CHEQUES) This does not affect anyone who already has money in the post."

Much of the fiction is linked here.

The art is by Kathy Hanson (reprints did not have Hanson's art, but instead art by Whitby27), Jacqui Topp, Martin Helsdon, Les Jones, and Andrew Downs.

• Editorial by Judith Proctor
• Meet the Contributors
• Harmony by Judith Proctor ("A first season fantasy set around folk music.")
• Cygnus Delta by Judith Proctor and Patrick McLaughlin ("There is a livestock plague on the planet Cygnus Delta, and Blake goes to the aid of farmers. Things slowly start to go wrong for the Liberator crew. Cally meets a telepathic alien who is threatened by the plague. Avon makes a fatal mistake, and is forced to live with the consequences.")
• Kriegspielen by Neil Faulkner ("It's the middle of the Andromedan war and the fighting seems to have been going on forever. Cally's tired, everyone's tired, and the crew are all at each other's throats.")
• In Broken Images by Catherine S. ("A study of the changing relationship between Blake and Avon from their first meeting to the last fatal encounter.")
• Vila's Christmas Surprise by Andrew J. Down and Julz C. Monckton ("Inspired lunacy on Xenon base when Vila decides that Orac should have his own set of wheels and become a self propelled computer.")
• Love and Honour by Andrew Kearley ("What happened when Tarrant and Zeeona originally met on Betafarl. A view of Betafarlian culture and the full reason why Zeeona removed her glove at the end of 'Warlord'.")
• The Third Option by Judith Proctor ("Tor Hammond is working on the Federation teleport project several years after the events on Gauda Prime. His life is quiet and uneventful until an irritating woman offers him an old Liberator teleport bracelet.")

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

[Kriegspielen]:

I have a particular fondness for stories which could work as episodes with minimal adaptation, or stories which give us insight into 'missing scenes'. Kriegspielen falls into the latter category. At the end of Series Two, we know that 'Liberator' is alone in holding off an alien invasion, although help is on the way (and Avon's 'Fire!' is still the best ending of any TV series that I have ever seen; twenty years on I remember crying 'No!' at the television in frustration.) In the opening minutes of Series Three we see the toll this has taken on Liberator and her crew. What happened in between?

In Kriegspielen, Neil Faulkner shows us precisely this, as told from Cally's point of view. Tensions build up, and morale flags, as the crew of the Liberator hold their position up to and beyond the point of exhaustion. And the situation is exacerbated when the Liberator takes a group of refugees on board...

The flat narrative style is perfect for showing Cally's exhaustion, and that of the rest of the crew. As usual with Blake's Seven fic, the dialogue is crisp and, at times, sparkling. Neil has a real flair for finding the voice of each of his characters. Go ahead and read it - you won't be disappointed!

[Cygnus Delta]: It's not a bad story, but "Cygnus Delta" in STAR ONE annoyed me, the way Blake dies off stage, and it's like: Blake's dead, too bad, on with the show... Not to mention the mental image of Bullwinkle on the Liberator.

[zine]:

Generally good stories, including the occasional reprint of a long lost classic.

[zine]:

As an editor's first venture into zine publishing, this gets very high grades. (It wouldn't be anything to sneeze at if it weren't her first venture either.) The quality of the writing ranged from decent to superior, and nothing at all was dreadful. I don't know if that's due to initial selection, subsequent editing or both, but I know it's statistically (very) uncommon! My opinion of the individual stories:

HARMONY by Judith Proctor--A pleasant little 1st season tale in which contact with "ancient" musical instruments helps meld the Liberator crew into a smoothly functioning unit. Not to my personal taste, as I prefer stories with more depth and/or excitement. For example:

CYGNUS DELTA by Judith Proctor & Patrick McLaughlin--Wonderfully told tale. Everyone in character. (Loved the bird, Judith.) Utterly unanticipated mid-story demise (I won't say whose) made me exclaim, "They killed off _____! I refuse to read another word!" and slam down the zine. But a minute later I picked it back up, murmuring sheepishly, "No, I don't" and continued reading. I really liked this one. (Fortunate--since it's also the longest story in the zine.)

KRIEGSPIELEN by Neil Faulkner--A time unit's worth of Liberator vs the Andromedans as seen through the eyes of Cally (1st person, present tense). Marvelous story. I wouldn't have thought anyone could get away with using the present tense for 18 pages running, but Neil manages it beautifully. Spot-on rendering of the "voices" of the crew. Gritty, realistic flavor. (Aside to Horizon members: what Neil calls "rotodad".) My only complaint about this story is the manner in which deletion of expletives was handled: if the editor didn't want to allow strong profanity, substituting milder profanity would have been a better choice than using "---ing." The latter is too disruptive to the flow of the reader's involvement.

IN BROKEN IMAGES by [Catherine S]--Blake and Avon seen in relationship to one another, from first meeting to final shot, against the backdrop of a poem by Robert Graves. Anything that focuses on the psychodynamics between Blake and Avon in an intelligent manner will get and hold my attention--even if, as in this case, I find it a bit over-romaticised. The story also suffers from a tendency to attribute not merely motives, but *thoughts about motives*, to the characters in a way that felt unnatural to me. However, I don't expect any of that will prevent most Blake-Avon fans from enjoying it!

VILA'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE by Andrew J. Down & Julz C. Munckton--"Orac on wheels" [equals] unadulterated zaniness at Xenon--and I've a confession to make: I skimmed this story, but didn't actually read it. I couldn't. I rarely like silly B7 stories, and I *never* like Christmas ones (silly or serious). Which I'm sure has just convinced my sparring partners on the other side of the erotica issue that I truly am certifiably humor-impaired and has probably convinced everyone else who possesses a copy of the zine to read this story first!

LOVE AND HONOUR by Andrew Kearley--This is the zine's serious 4th season story--the bulk of it set on Betafarl during Avon and Tarrant's original visit there to arrange to alliance with Zukan. The depictions of Tarrant and Zeeona are in character, but that of Zukan is confusing: I couldn't decide if the author meant to evoke sympathy for him or not. Also the high ratio of "telling" to "showing" bothered me--but anyone who finds the ending of WARLORD ambiguous (and I gather many do) will want to read this.

THE THIRD OPTION by Judith Proctor--It's difficult to review this pgp without giving away too much--even stating who it's really about gives it away. However, it's an intriguing premise, and it very nearly worked for me. It didn't, in the end, because of one (easily avoidable) premature disclosure, allowing the reader to know something that would have been better left unknown until the moment at which the main character finds it out. (I'm talking about the last couple of lines on p.122, Judith.) I also guessed the surprise ending just a smidgeon too soon to make it satisfying, but some readers may not guess (and others may not mind having guessed).

Again, in conclusion: I do recommend this zine. It's certainly worth the price I paid for it (and even the price I *would* have paid for it one day later :-)), and if I had a B7 story to submit at the moment (which, alas, I don't), I would be more than pleased to submit it to STAR TWO.

Issue 2

front cover of issue #2, Will Blight

back cover of issue #2, Kathryn Andersen

flyer

Star 2 or Star Two was published in October 1994 and contains 142 pages.

Fiction:

• Judith Proctor, "Trial" ("Avon is charged with computer crime on an independent world. Does Blake believe him to be innocent or guilty?")
• Jean Graham, "The Ultimate Slash Story" ("A humorous parody of all those stories in which everyone seems to be sleeping with Avon. (Guaranteed to contain no actual sex whatsoever.)") (reprinted with slight revisions from Avon's Gadget Works)
• Andrew Kearley, "Fugitives" ("Follows Travis and Docholli on their way to Freedom City, and clears up an amazing number ot plot loopholes from Gambit' in the process.")
• Louise Rutter, "Ambitions" ("A short Anna Grant story set shortly before Rumours of Death'.")
• Jean Graham, "A Step Between" ("Vila and Tarrant both learn a little bit more about each other after Cally's death.") (S3; reprinted from Threads Through Infinity)
• Neil Faulkner, "Hunter" ("A novella length storv with a strong flavour of "Alien". Liberator answers a distress call, and before long, the crew members are fighting for their lives against an intelligent and deadly opponent.")
• Andrew Down, "Gauda Prime-- An Alternative Ending" ("Avon suspected a set up, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine lids kind of a set up.")
• David R. Sanderson, "Slip to Black" ("Servalan has Avon after Gauda Prime, but the man she holds has load his mind destroyed alter being hit by too many stun shots.")
• Judith Proctor, "Shane" ("After Gauda Prime, Avon swore he'd never kill again. Years later, he ends up on the small agricultural world of Hollerith where he meets the done of the man he killed on Gauda Prime. Blake needs help. Can Avon give that help without losing the fragile peace he has gained?")

Nonfiction:

• "Meet the Contributors"
• Judith Proctor, "Editorial"
• Zine ads

Poetry:

• Judith Proctor, "Wolf"
• Judith Proctor, "Tiger"

Art:

• Will Blight (front cover)
• Kathryn Andersen
• Leah Rosenthal
• Andrew Kearley
• Les Jones

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

See reactions and reviews for Shane.

[Hunter]: Neil Faulkner, without doubt, is an excellent writer. I hadn’t finished Hunter back then, I got back to it now, he wrote wonderful Cally, so larger than what the show had given. I like the portrayal of her and Avon’s relationship (it is not romantic, but the notion is unclear, I like the exchange of insights on some matters (life and death, the part ‘a woman is a planet’ hahaha)

[zine]: A lot of genzine for your money, with stories, poetry and various pieces of artwork. The contents, following the example set by Gambit zines, are helpfully arranged in series order and comprise one series A, two B, three C, one D and two PGP. All the stories are short to medium length except Neil Faulkner's "Hunter" (series C). This is an ambitious and ultimately successful tale involving another ship and a particularly unpleasant alien; to say much more would be to give away an artfully constructed plot. The portrayal of the Liberator crew is pretty good, especially Cally's attitude to Avon, though I wouldn't have thought Vila was quite as feeble as he is towards the end. This is one story where the character interaction and the action sequences are given equal weight.

Equally good is "Trial" by Judith Proctor, which centres on Avon's trial for fraud and is told in the first person by Blake. It is set in the early days on Liberator and brings out Blake's uncertainties about Avon both as a friend and as a fellow-rebel; how can Blake reconcile his cause and personal loyalties? There's a typically Avonish twist at the end. The second story by Ms Proctor is "Shane", Avon as a gunslinger. It has an utterly delicious drawing on page 118, but shouldn't he have an authentic big black hat? If you haven't read the novel by Jack Schaefer or seen the film you won't get all the resonances, but this is still a very enjoyable read. Perhaps you should get the novel too?

My favourite story was the haunting "A step between" by Jean Graham. It's a brief description of the conversation between Tarrant and Vila following Terminal, and it is exquisite. Nobody writes this type of simple yet telling prose as well as Ms Graham, or if they do, I'd love to find examples. I would have bought the zine at twice the price just to get these four pages. It also contains another of her stories "The ultimate slash story", but this one is comic.

Fans of Travis, and of episode links, will enjoy Andrew Kearnley's "Fugitives", an ingenious tale involving Travis and Docholi. The remaining stories, all short, are "Ambitions" by Louise Rutter about Anna/Chesku, Andrew Down's amusing "Gauda Prime - an alternative ending" , and "Slip to back" by David R Sanderson, a bleak PGP which features Servalan.

[zine]: I have finally read my copy of Star Two, and this time I'm going to attempt a review!

Okay, the worst thing about Star Two was that the middle pages kept on falling out. 144 pages were just too much for the staples.

I have to say that I liked Shane the best, perhaps merely because it was the story I read last. Not being familiar with the story from which this was um, inspired, I don't know how original it was, but I came at it fresh, and I simply liked it. This is the Avon I like best - dark, mysterious, sharp-tongued, full of angst, pragmatic and honourable in his own sneaky way. A melancholy story, really.

Hunter, being the longest story in the zine, it was just as well it was good too. Not just a kill-them-off-one-by-one adventure-type story, but sprinkled about with good character bits.

The rest of it was good enough, for the most part. "Trial" was a good idea - another one of those sneaky Avon stories - but the style of telling it from Blake's point of view in the first person, didn't really work for me. "Wolf" was okay, I suppose. Leah's Travis cartoon was worth a smile or two. "The Ultimate Slash Story" was, um, well, silly. "Fugitives" was a workmanlike explanation of how Travis and Docholli got together, not bad, not outstanding. "Ambitions" was pretty good - a fairly good idea for why Anna did what she did. "Tiger" sounds like it ought to be a filk - is it? "A Step Between" was a cheering little piece, spot on for where it was set. And what were either of them doing having read the most proscribed text in the Federation, I wonder... "Gauda Prime - An Alternative Ending" was just silly. "Slip To Black" had no surprises in it; it sort of felt as if we were meant to be surprised at the end, but you could see it coming a mile off. I dunno, it wasn't a bad idea, but it didn't quite work.

Overall, this was a decent zine, and I'm glad I contributed to it. 8-)

Artwork? You want to know about the artwork? There were fourteen pieces of artwork, including the front and back covers. All artwork was of A5-page size (since this is an A5 zine, they couldn't be bigger). The pieces by Leah Rosenthal, Will Blight and I (9 out of the 14) were all good, and the pieces by Andrew Kearley and Les Jones were not. Though I suppose the one on p75 by Les Jones had something going for it - must be the claws tearing through the door. 8-)

Issue 3

Star 3 or Star Three was published in 1996 and contains 170 pages.

front cover of issue #3, Lucia Casarella Moore

back cover by Whitby27

flyer for issue #3

The art is by Lucia Casarella Moore (color cover), Whitby27 (back cover), Will Blight (inside cover Scorpio), Gavin Miller, Lynne Taylor, and Kathryn Andersen.

From the editorial:

Thanks are due to many people who deserve thanks for helping In the production of this zine. Lillian (or allowing me to reprint The Haunting of Haderon after I fell love with a friend's copy, Tim Lomas for invaluable help with scanner and OCR. Richard Self for scanning artwork. Vega for proof-reading, my sons for being willing to stop playing SimCity so I could use the computer again and my husband for happily putting up with a bedroom full of zines. Not forgetting the Blake 7 Fan Writers Network (B7FWN) for much helpful criticism and for contributing several of the stories in this zine.

I have no current plans for a Star Four. I want to take the time out to do some writing myself. I've had one plot for a B7 novel hanging around for over a year waiting for me to find time to write it. I've also got several other B7 zines that are in various stages of production, so I don't want to take on any extra commitments until I've cleared out all the projects in hand. If/when I start work on Star Four, I'll let people know.

I've just completed The Machiavelli Factor by Lillian Sheperd, Derelicts by Bryn Lantry and Limitations which is a single novella written by an eight writer collaboration. Zines that may appear at some time in the coming year include a collection of stories by Suzan Lovatt (all of which have been printed before), Sevencyclopaedia, Neil Faulkner's epic guide to B7 facts and trivia and possibly (but this may take some time), a reprint of the collected Jabberwocky without all the typos.

All new zines are subject to the whims of health, alien invasions, etc., but I'll do the best that I can.

• Messing About in a Spaceship, poem by Judith Proctor (4)
• The Haunting of Haderon by Lillian Sheperd ("A reprint of an old zine much beloved by Avon and Vila fans. Left to die in the desert, Avon and Vila struggle to survive. Lots of angst.") (Series One) (also as Liberator #5 in 1979) (6)
• Seven Days to Destiny by Vega- ("Levett's experiences with the Liberator crew on the trip back to Destiny.") (Series One) (37)
• Economy Drive by D. C. Morris and S. Barrett ("After giving most of the Liberator's treasure to Avalon, Blake decides it's time to start economizing.") (Series One) (49)

• Alter Ego by Richard Self (Series Two) (51)
• Olag Gan, poetry by Judith Proctor (Series Two) (70)
• Wit and Wisdom of the Dead by Neil Faulkner ("Travis has Lurgan's brain chip with the location of Star One. There's just one minor problem, the chip has Lurgan's personality encoded on it and Lurgan doesn't want to tell him anything. It's a bit difficult to threaten a dead man...") (Series Two) (72)
• Hymn to Him by Kelsey Adam (filk from My Fair Lady). (Series Three) (86)
• Amagon by Judith Proctor ("After Star One, Blake fall into the hands of the Amagons and finds himself hit with a severe culture shock as he realises that he isn't the only one with strong beliefs, but the Amagons don't believe in freedom, they believe in submission to the will of God.") (Series Three) (88)
• Transition in Three Stages by Vega ("After Star One, Jeima is separated from Blake and Liberator. She is determined to take control of her own life and escape the rebellion. This story is a prequel to 'Investments' in 'The Way Back' but may be read as an independent story.") (Series Three) (98)
• I'm Not Blake by Loulou Harris (Series Three) (124)
• Cally's Thoughts on the Way to Terminal, poetry by Susan Bennett (Series Three) (128)
• Unconscious Influences by Andrew Williams (Series Three) (129)
• Intermezzo by Nicolene van den Berg (Series Four) (133)
• Og's Song by Judith Proctor (S4; filk, Nobody Loves Me...) (Series Four) (134)
• Headache by Susan Barrett--Parody version of the episode "Headhunter". (Series Four) (136)
• A Time Before We Met by Susan Barrett ("Avon and Vila send themselves back in time to before their arrests, intending to remain free and not become entangled with Blake.") (Series Four) (139)
• Death Hand by Lynne Taylor (150)
• Flight to Space City by Nicolene van den Berg (152)
• All That Remains Are Regrets by Susan Barrett ("A story centered on Tarrant after Gauda Prime. Everyone except himself and Avon is dead and Tarrant has barely survived two years on a penal colony. Alone, lacking his former confidence, is there a way back for him?") (Series Five) (159)
• A Blake's 7 Alphabet by Jane Carnall (167)
• Meet the Contributors (168)

• 

  from issue #3, Will Bright

• 

  from issue #3, Whitby27

• 

  from issue #3, Gavin Miller

• 

  from issue #3, Gavin Miller

• 

  from issue #3, Gavin Miller

• 

  from issue #3, Whitby27

• 

  from issue #3, Whitby27

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

[The Haunting of Haderon]: A genuine sf story (rarer than you might think for an allegedly sf fandom) with superb characterisation of the first season crew, and a beautifully drawn relationship between Avon and Vila. It's the sort of gen story that slash fans read for the emotional content, while still being a good political/adventure story. It was first published in the very early zine Liberator 5, then again by the author's own press, and then again in the zine Star Three. It's now available online in the Hermit library… Yes, this is the second story from Star Three I've recced. The zine is excellent, and is still available for those who like dead tree format, while several of the stories are available online.

[The Wit and Wisdom of the Dead]: This is a brilliant reinterpretation of the events of the Star One story arc, plus answers to various questions left dangling by canon. It's one of those stories that takes canon and puts a different interpretation on the events, completely changing the meaning of what you see in screen.

You need to know that during the course of the second season, Federation officer Travis has become more and more obsessed with his pursuit of Blake, with a little assistance from military psychotherapists. Eventually he's court-martialled for political reasons, but escapes, and apparently continues to work for Supreme Commander Servalan. This eventually puts a once honourable but now extremely embittered man in a position to commit an extreme act of betrayal, not just against the Federation, but against the entire human species. He has possession of the sole recording of the location of Star One, the massive computer complex that has master control over all computer-run technology in the Federation.

One small problem - the recording is the brainprint of Lurgan, one of the people involved with the creation of the Star One complex. He has to persuade the brainprint to tell him exactly where he's going. The brainprint is not just data but a real and less-than-cooperative personality, he doesn't have the tools to read it by brute force rather than asking it, and how do you threaten a dead man?

So Travis brings the brainprint up to date on recent history, or at least carefully selected highlights. Along the way we learn a lot about the Star One story arc that canon never went into. For all that Neil's not known for his interest in character neepery, this is a stunning characterisation of Travis, and he brings the canonically off-screen character of Lurgan to life.

The story has a hard sf tone, with some discussion of the cyber-engineering that's relevant to the story, although I don't think it goes too far in that direction for those who don't like techie talk. There's also an exploration of politics and the structure of the Federation woven smoothly into the story. This story takes a good hard look at the political dimension often ignored in fanfic (and canon, for that matter). As someone who likes both character neepery and heavy political discussion, I'm enchanted with this story.

One word of warning - by its very nature, this story is a major spoiler for the story arc that dominates the end of season two.

The story was first published in Star Three (still available at the time of writing), and is now available online in the Hermit library.

[zine]: STAR THREE ($24 cash) is available from Wavenry (Judith Proctor). It's 167 pages with a color cover by LC. Moore that has a nice Blake, nice Avon, and awful Gan. Wow! What a concept....a one that has Blake somewhere on the cover! I do get tired of B7 zines that are supposed to be general ones that are fronted by Avon or Avon and others. There's not much Blake in this, and there's subtle Blake bashing in some of the stories. "The Haunting of Haderon" by L. Sheperd is reprinted. It's a wonderful story, despite having little Blake, which I've read before. I like Sheperd. The rest of the zine has no established or familar writers-the only name I easily recognize being Proctor's. She has, also, at least one story under a pen name. As of now, I don't know if I'm keeping this in its entirety or gutting it for the Blake stories. All I remember now is that one story is a major MARY SUE, a "genre" I thought only existed in parodies these days. I despise them. I think this zine needed more stories by older writers to balance the new writers.

[zine]:

Maybe I shouldn't be reviewing this, since I've got a slight vested interest In people reading It (namely pp.72-85), but I'll try to be objective. It's what I pretend to be good at. Star Three, unlike its digest-format predecessors, is of the A4 double-column text format. It contains 15 stories of between 2 and 30-odd pages, evenly spread between the four seasons and PGP. There are also six poems, mostly of the pastiche type. Art is sparing, mainly by Gavin Millar and the ever- and-ever better Val Westall, with a few pieces by Kathryn Andersen and Lynne Taylor. Cover is a typical Lucia Casarella Moore colour job under an acetate sheet.

Showpiece story has to be a reprint of The Haunting of Haderon, Lillian Shepherd's classic from 1979 which dumps Avon and Vila in a desert that's not really home to a mysterious and deadly alien species oh no never cross my heart guv. It's a ?ooa story, grimmer and a lot less twee than your average h/c, but with one fatal law - Avon and Vila are taken out, dumped, and left to face the terrors of the desert (if there are any). If I'd written it, they'd have been taken out, dumped, and just shot. Nowhere near as angsty in the long run, but probably more realistic.

Vega's Seven Days to Destiny is a shameless Mary Sue, supposedly written from Levett's POV, but I couldn't really associate what I was reading with the Levett in Mission to Destiny. Economy Drive (D C Morris/Susan Barrett) is one of two 'silly' stories (the other, Headache, a parody of Headhunter, is also by Susan Barrett) and both are Just short enough to make their point and raise a few chuckles before coming to an end. I don*t mind zany humour so long as it knows its place (said the author of the ultra-ultra-short Passable Features). Richard Self's Alter Ego reeks of Golden Age - what's the malevolent entity sending Liberator careering into the heart of a sun? Can a careful combination of cold logic and impassioned humanity save the day? Guess. The overall plot isn't a bad one, but self- conscious over-wordiness pulls it down a bit, and I can't recall why Malevolent Entity was on the Liberator in the first place. Maybe I blinked in tne middle of the wrong paragraph. The Wit and Wisdom of the Dead - well, all I can say about this one is that I think it's one of my best. In fact, it's the first time I've read through one of my own pieces in print and not seen anything I would dearly like to change. Like most of my serious stuff, it tries to redefine B7 without actually violating anything explicit in the canon, as well as pursuing my ongoing mission to up the tech level and social realism in fantic without compromising characterisation. I'd like to think that any Travis fan (he's the only regular in this story) would like it.

Amagon (Judith Proctor) puts Blake face-to-face with his patronising attitude to religion and the multi-faceted nature of belief. Judith's knowledge of Islam peps all this up no end, though it does sound somewhat educative at times. Transition in Three Stages is another Vega story, and spotlights her interest in Jenna and her free-willed spirit (as well Vega's apparent obsession with the Cassage of time). Jenna goes solo after Star One, trying to put Blake behind her ut still pursuing his cause. Like Investments in The Way Back, the emphasis is on infiltration rather than confrontation, and on the whole it's very cleverly thought out, proving that you don't need lotsa action to generate tension and drama. The weakest aspect is the dialogue - characters chat and say "Hmmm" rather a lot, which makes them sound vague and dithery even though the opposite is intended. And where's the paranoia and obsession with secrecy?

I'm Not Blake is a short and extremely readable psychological piece by Pita Enriquez Harris focussing on the problems of identity, while Andrew William's Unconscious Influences is one of those pieces that lurches between the flatly naturalistic and something a little more mystical (and presumably meaningful). The result doesn't make tor good poetry. The suggestion of invisible threads binding three regular characters to their deaths only half works. Intermezzo by Nicoline van den Berg is a plotless vignette in the immediate aftermath of Cally's demise. Much better is her Flight to Space City, a PGP where a young steward on a regular liner comes to find that one of his passengers has quite an illustrious past. This story imposes a very strong and poignant sense of obsolescence on the events of the series - things ain't what they used to be* and the story is all the better for that.

Death Hand by Lynne Taylor sees a PGP Vila fleeing a mutoid Avon and gloating Servalan. Ho hum. The remaining stories in the zine are both by Susan Barrett. A Time Before We Met sends Avon and Vila back in time to the Dome City on Earth. Forget the physics and scope for paradox, it's the story that counts, and a jolly good one it is too. Time travel is one of those SF staples that doesn't really belong in B7, but Susan pulls it off incredibly well here. All That Remains Are Regrets is very different, a first-person Tarrant POV as the broken has-been pilot comes to terms with himself after a routine courier mission throws up shadows from his past.

And that's it. As with any genzine, the contents add up to a mixture of themes and emphases, and quality obviously varies, but the overall standard of writing is higher here than in the average genzine (there is nothing I would call even half dreadful). If you like genfic, I'd say go for it.

But then I would, wouldn't I?

[zine]: Thoroughly enjoyed this zine, and I would recommend it to most fans. My favourite story was difficult to decide upon, but The Haunting of Haderon is brilliant. My kind of story. I also greatly enjoyed A Time Before We Met and All That Remains Are Regrets by Susan Barrett. The former is a good Avon-Vila story, the latter a wonderful Tarrant story which is a must read if you would prefer to think well of his character. I also liked Seven Days to Destiny. I didn't think I would, but it was one of those lovely stories where you start out ready to plough through something, and after the first page you are. Flight to Space City is also a favourite, and very different to many of the stories I have read. I can't say anything more without giving away the plot, but I liked it. There are a few stories I haven't read yet, so I may add to this in the next issue.

Issue 4

Star 4 or Star Four was published in October 2000 and contains 113 pages.

cover of issue #4

Fiction:

• Una McCormack, "Under the Influence"
• Natasa Tucev, "The Quality of Mercy"
• Penny Dreadful, "Trap of Glass"
• Morrigan, "Trade"
• Nickey Barnard, "London's Burning"
• Una McCormack, "Other People's Problems"
• Neil Faulkner, "How to be Topp on the Liberator"
• Marian de Haan, "Small Revenge"
• executrix, "I Know You All"
• Gillian Taylor,"Rehabilitation" (story link, ^{Archived version})
• Gillian Taylor, "Four Little Words"
• Julia Stamford, "A Price to Pay"
• Sally M., "A Christmas Canto"
• Susan Beth, "Logic Puzzle"

Nonfiction:

• Judith Proctor, "Editorial"
• Susan Beth, puzzle (see above under Fiction)

Art:

• Andy Hopkinson (front cover, altered photo)
• Andrew Williams
• Penny Dreadful
• Whitby27

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4

See reactions and reviews for Trap of Glass

[zine]:

Good mix of stories, mostly serious ones, but occasional humourous ones, and even the serious ones have those occasional flashes of humour that B7 is so good at.

The logic puzzle Susan Beth devised had me stumped for days and earned me some very odd looks from friends as I sat surrounded by scribbled notes trying to work it out.

Particular favourites in this zines were...

Trade - by Morrigan. Blake and Avon are captured by a bounty hunter. Avon tries to negogiate their release. London's Burning - by Nickey Barnard. The guards aren't Blake's only problem on the prison transport. Rehabilitation - by Gillian Taylor. An accident brings back some painful memories for Vila.

A Christmas Canto - by Sally Manton. Sweet and sad and very well written.

[zine]:

Star Four is beautiful to look at. I love the brooding Blake on the cover -- it's even better in reality than on the web. It's nice and chunky, although the size is possibly just on the limit of the binding method, I only hope the last pages don't part company with the rest. The quality of the fiction within is almost uniformly very high. I haven't reviewed the humorous stories, as it is well known that I have no sense of humour whatsoever...

Under the Influence (Una McCormack) is an exposition of the relationship between tortured and torturer. Beautifully characterised and very sad, the story made the Earth Domes briefly live for me.

The Quality of Mercy (Natasa Tucev) starts with a kidnapping on Albian but travels far into the souls of Blake and his kidnapper, a failed Federation officer, against a backdrop of an excellent adventure yarn.

Trap of Glass (Penny Dreadful) is as original as we've come to expect from Penny, and to say any more would spoil it.

Trade (Morrigan) is another kidnapping story, with some nice dialogue as Avon and Jenna bargain for their crew-mates. Vila is nicely portrayed angsting over the relative prices on the heads of the motley crew.

London's Burning (Nickey Barnard) revisits the crew and inmates on the London, as Blake finds out what his fellow passengers think of child abusers. Though the theme is old, the writing and the complex characterisations are excellent, and Nickey gives the scenario several novel twists. I really enjoyed this one.

Other People's Problems (Una McCormack) is a short but sweet tale that examines whether people's actions match up to their reputations.

Small Revenge (Marian de Haan) creates a rebel so annoying that his presence on the Liberator unites the warring crew-members against him. Though well written, this story didn't quite work for me; I felt it tried to meld together too many disparate plot elements (although each was interesting of itself) and I didn't believe that Avon would explain his background quite that readily.

I Know You All is one of my favourites of [executrix]'s incredibly varied and stylish output. This deliciously written story throws Avon, Blake, Anna and Servalan into an alternative universe after that cellar scene. As someone else has commented, [executrix] has a gift for one-line character summaries.

Rehabilitation (Gillian Taylor) graphically fills in some of Vila's childhood at the hands of the Federation's prison system. This story deftly tackles a whole range of emotive issues and the differing reactions of the rest of the crew were well thought out.

Four Little Words, by the same author, takes another look at the Orbit scenario. Not one of my favourites.

In A Price to Pay (Julia Stamford), Servalan makes Avon a final offer. As plausible as it is heart-wrenching, this story stands out for me, even in this excellent zine.

I've never been much for the Christmas on the Liberator sub-genre, so I approached Sally Manton's A Christmas Canto with some trepidation. Despite occasional descents into sentimentality, on the whole the story packs a poignant punch and is heartily recommended.

If one thing lets the zine down it is the quality of the repro on the internal art. There are several nice Whitby27 illustrations (I especially liked the Avon--Blake heads on p19) as well as some good ones by Andrew Williams (a very shifty-looking Vila on p85), but I fear they've rather lost in the translation to print.

In summary, an excellent zine with a very high standard of fiction overall, and several real gems. Certainly good value for money.

[zine]:

This is a very enjoyable collection. There is a variety of topics, styles and modes, ranging from conventionally written linear plots to experiments in form and language, and from comedy to tragedy. My objection to some of the stories is that they take too much licence in interpreting the series, but they are all recommended for their literary qualities.

Under the Influence (Una McCormack) focuses on the interaction between a Federation interrogator and a prisoner. In spite of his position of strength, the interrogator comes under the influence of his seemingly powerless victim. The idea is not new but it is wonderfully rendered. Another story by Ms McCormack is short: 'Other People's Problems', with an interesting twist in the end.

In The Quality of Mercy (Natasa Tucev), Blake is stranded on a very hostile planet along with a Federation security officer. This story tries to balance the ruthlessness of B7 universe by introducing a different set of values. They are personified in a character from Blake's past, but also prove relevant to his own personality.

Trap of Glass (Penny Dreadful) discusses whether it is just a coincidence that Travis's personal tragedy and psychic disposition are so suitable to the Federation needs. There is some fine eye/optic/glass symbolism and it is very professionally written.

Trade (Morrigan) demonstrates Avon's skills in dealing with criminals. A rather enjoyable thriller, with fast pacing and some brisk dialogue.

London's Burning (Nickey Barnard) proposes a kind of transitory period, in which Blake has regained his memory but still hasn't re-established his former self as the resolute leader of men. Provided one accepts this 'uncertain Blake' as a premise, it is a very good story, especially in its realistic depiction of convicts and the overall threatening atmosphere aboard the London.

How to be Topp on the Liberator (Neil Faulkner) is a humorous story - a real treat, and very postmodern in the way it derives its comic effect mostly from the written language.

In Small Revenge (Marian de Haan), the Liberator crew are presented as a rather unpleasant bunch, torn by antagonisms and suspicions, with hardly any warmth in their relationships. The story is about their encounter with someone who is even less pleasant than they are.

I Know You All ([executrix]) is a quote by Shakespeare's Hal, who hangs around with all sorts of morally dubious characters, but proves to be a worthy ruler once he inherits the throne. This becomes a parodic reference to a humorous story written in [executrix]'s inimitable style, about a successful coup in which Blake, Avon, Anna and Servalan all play a part.

Rehabilitation (Gillian Taylor) suggests that the treatments Vila received from the Federation in his childhood haven't left him as intact as it usually seems. The idea is interesting, although Vila's sentiment is somewhat out of character. Four Little Words, by the same author, dwells on some nastier traits in Avon's personality.

A Price to Pay (Julia Stamford) is a PGP story with wonderful, requiem-like atmosphere. There is something about this final encounter between Avon and Servalan that almost resembles the resolutions of classical tragedies.

In Christmas Canto (Sally Manton), a homage to Dickens, Avon undergoes a curious transformation and changes his attitude to Blake. Sally Manton depicts her characters with great fondness and understanding. She is also very skilful in creating atmosphere and intimating events by means of carefully chosen symbolic details.

For recreation, there is an interesting Logic Puzzle by Susan Beth. The art (by Andrew Williams, [Whitby27] and Penny Dreadful) is to my liking, and the front cover image of Fearless Leader is everything I could wish for.

[zine]:

This collection of thirteen stories and a logic puzzle is the fourth and best looking in the series, with a lovely blue cover featuring Blake by Andy Hopkinson, and a very amusing Shakespearian frontispiece by Andrew Williams. I naturally wondered if the stories were of the same standard, and was quickly satisfied that they were, ranging from good to excellent.

The first story, 'Under the Influence' by Una McCormack, deals with Blake before The Way Back, recounting his interrogation and torture, and his refusal - though to no avail - to sign a confession. While the story showed that Blake's interrogator was as much a prisoner of the system as he, I particularly liked the hard questions raised by the former. If Blake cared, he asked, so much about the right of people to think and speak freely, why did he kill so many? Blake's response: 'They were legitimate targets. This is a war.'

The interrogator also questions Blake's responsibility 'to sacrifice your [Blake's] own people, your friends, on the grounds that you've had some revelation that the rest of us don't understand?' The latter's confession duly contains admissions that he had planned to hurt and kill innocent civilians. He also spoke of the death of people he had persuaded that his beliefs were right and apologised to the families of the soldiers he murdered.

'The Quality of Mercy' by Natasha Tucev is set on Albian after Countdown. A Council member, and secret Federation officer, approaches Blake, claiming to have news of the latter's sister. The story deals with that officer's capture of Blake and the subsequent chase by the Liberator's crew.

The things I found especially good in this story were: the strategy the officer used to capture Blake; the latter's suspicion of the former, which still didn't stop him getting caught; the ability of Blake to find the officer's inner weakness and exploit it to his advantage; and the dividing up of the story into the well-conveyed viewpoints of Jenna, Vila, the officer, Avon, and Blake himself.

'Trap of Glass' by Penny Dreadful, set between Orac and Weapon, is a very interesting explanation as to the differences between Travis 1 and Travis 2. I will not discuss it here, as I would give too much away, and will only say that it is worth reading.

'Trade' by Morrigan concerns the capture of Blake and Cally by a bounty hunter who, instead of handing them over to the Federation, offers to ransom them for a large sum of money. Enjoyable passages in the story include Vila wondering 'exactly how the Federation assigned specific values to each of them,' grumbling as to why his price was not higher than Blake's or Avon's; and the intensity of the negotiations, with Avon haggling over every detail, particularly the amount of money. The best of all, however, was Blake's annoyed comment after he learnt about the haggling, that 'Our lives were on the line and you argued about money? It's not even your money, Avon.'

'London's Burning' by Nickey Barnard is my favourite story in this collection. The title is a pun on a BBC drama series of the same name about London fire fighters, in which Gareth Thomas played Assistant Chief Officer Bulstrode. (Michael Keating also made an appearance in the series.)

The story deals with events aboard the London, where there is a plot by Raiker to dump all the prisoners. Commander Leylan, well drawn as disillusioned, but honest and dedicated to his job, finds out about this plot, which - I was astonished ot learn - is the result of Raiker's moral indignation at Blake having committed 'one of the worst crimes that exists.'

Raiker's attitude is also shared by many of Blake's fellow prisoners, who attack him a few times. Ms. Barnard is exceptionally good in showing - one of the few to do so - the likely consequences of Blake being convicted of child abuse, something already seen in 'Haunted', published in the zine _Pressure Point_.

What the reader might find a little disorientating is that the pattern of events does not fit in with that seen in Space Fall. The best way, then, to read the story, is to see it as an alternate version of the start of that episode, albeit one that unconvincingly returns back to 'normal' quite quickly.

'Other People's Problems' by Una McCormack is set after Redemption. While short, being a page in length, it shows Travis in an unexpectedly favourable light.

'How to be Topp on the Liberator' by Neil Faulkner is my very close second favourite story in this zine, and one of my favourite humourous Blake's 7 stories. It is written in the style of four books by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle - including How to be Topp - that appeared in the 1950s. A schoolboy called Nigel Molesworth writes these books, which cast a satirical look at Britain in that decade, in a semi-literate style. This story was presumably inspired by Molesworth's treatment of the science fiction of the time, which includes a passage describing when he, after landing in a spaceship on Uranus, is arrested by the PUKON and his TREENS. The PUKON them orders the latter:

'Put him in the reactor, o clot-faced doodlebugs'.

'The reactor is full, O PUKON. You always put the earth men there and they always escape it is very depressing. It is the same with the furnaces and the steel doors. Always get out at the last moment'.

'Try the moon-crater full of monsters'.

'Full too, O PUKON'.

The story is told from the point of view of an Avon who appears to be a reincarnation of Nigel Molesworth. All those who enjoy B7 humour will love Avon's description of the typical dangerous mission, when Blake 'have this grate idea to steal sipa machine/sekrit weapon ect from Evil Fererashun'; and they will also love his explanation as to why Travis is 'so meen'!

'Small Revenge' by Marian de Hann is set between Trial and Killer. Blake goes to a planet to recruit a replacement for Gan. Not only does he want someone who he can completely trust; he wants to end the vulnerability and isolation felt by him due to the decision of Avon and Cally to bond. (Ms. de Hann feels (a feeling shared by myself) that such a relationship would change the crew dynamics.)

Blake decides to make the recruitment a fait accompli, to avoid all the arguments that would otherwise result. The problem is that the new person claims that Avon worked for Central Security and interrogated him after his arrest. His denouncing of Avon as a traitor leaves Blake with a big problem on his hands, and Avon explaining his criminal past. A paragraph on the eating habits of the crew is both concise and amusing, as well as nice background.

'I Know You All' by [executrix] is a very interesting version of what could have happened had Anna Grant's coup succeeded. Blake becomes President and finds that the job entails a huge amount of paperwork. The story also tells the reader something he has longed to know: Servalan's first two names.

'Rehabilitation' by Gillian Taylor starts predictably enough, with Vila staring down Dayna's cleavage, thinking the same thoughts as those of many male readers: 'He knew that it was not good manners to stare, but if she didn't want men to look, she shouldn't wear things like that blue and gold jump-suit she had on today.' Dayna, due to her very sheltered life, is not used to such behaviour; and she overreacts to a movement by Vila, causing an injury to his head.

Sadly, this injury brings back all the memories of the drup treatment he underwent at the Eurodome Criminal Rehabilitation Centre. The memories and their consequences show well what lay behind his remark that 'I've had my head adjusted by some of the best in the business.' A must - if a nasty one - for those who want a glimpse into Vila's past.

'Four Little Words' by the same author looks at what might have happened had Avon thrown Vila out of the shuttle in Orbit. The reactions of Dayna, Soolin, and Tarrant are well drawn; and there is a black joke at the end, which I will refrain from revealing.

'A Price To Pay' by Julia Stamford is a PGP story with a difference, making it one of the best I have read. Servalan visits Avon, who has survived, and offers him Blake's legend in return for his co-operation. If he agrees, they will secretly cremate Blake's body and he will be put back on the Federation's wanted list. The Servalan we see is surprising but in character, admitting to respect for Blake's ideals, saying that he did the right thing in fighting the aliens in Star One. While believing that the Federation will go the way of all empires, she doesn't believe that it will happen in her lifetime, so will leave Blake's legend alone.

The final story, 'A Christmas Canto' by Sally Manton, is set before Warlord, and based on Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Non-humourous Christmas treatments of B7 can be difficult, in that they can get drowned in sentiment, something fatal for a B7 story. This one succeeds, in that it splashes around in sentiment, but not for too long. The concluding 'Logic Puzzle' by Susan Beth I will say nothing about, leaving readers to think of a solution.

As the reader has seen, the stories are a mixed bag, in terms of setting and character. They range from before to after the series, although with a bias towards the second season. In terms of the characters, fans of Avon, Travis, Blake, Vila, and Servalan will be happy; but a third to half of the stories appear, in my opinion, to deal with crew interactions as a whole, all of them doing and saying something, stories which display the writers' considerable talents well. As a result, even those B7 fans with particular allegiances will find this collection well worth reading.