Starved
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Starved |
| Publisher: | Requiem Publications |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Grey |
| Cover Artist(s): | Cat's Meow Creative Arts |
| Illustrator(s): | |
| Date(s): | August 2004 |
| Medium: | fanzine, print |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Due South |
| External Links: | online here |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Starved by Grey is a Due South slash novel. It is 168 pages with a colour cover and inside art by Cat's Meow Creative Arts.
Summary from the publisher: "This wonderful story is the first all romance novel from Grey! A bit of angst, what romance would be great without it, but mostly romance. Ray is mandated to attend a stress management and team-building seminar and he takes Fraser with him. Both are surprised by what they learn."
Excerpt
Ray scratched his head in confusion, wondering what was up. "You made coffee just for me?"
"Yes, Ray, I made coffee just for you. Would you like some?"
"Sure. Thanks."
Fraser poured some coffee from the thermos carafe on his desk. He dropped a sugar cube into it and stirred before handing it to Ray. "I didn't have an opportunity to buy any of the chocolate candies you like. I hope this will be sufficient."
"It's fine. Thanks." Ray sipped the delicious drink and sighed in appreciation. Leave it to Fraser to make perfect coffee when he didn't even drink the stuff. "So, is this your way of saying you're sorry?"
Fraser pinked up and tugged at his ear. "Is it that transparent?"
"Nobody likes to come right out and admit he was an asshole."
Reactions and Reviews
After the Henry Allen, Fraser and Ray's relationship disintegrates to the point that Ray decides to call a 'breather' from the partnership. Two weeks later, Ray is growling at suspects, verbally assaulting Dewey, and generally being such a pain that Frannie wants his caffeine supply cut off. (Oh yeah, and Fraser is 'moping', heh.) Welsh's solution? A partnership retreat, of course! Okay, so it wasn't Welshe's idea, but per HQ, someone had to go and everyone is getting damn tired of Ray. Emotional bonding, trust exercises, and freakish amounts of sex (seriously, if either of the boys has more than a single digit sperm count after this fic, I'd be shocked) ensue. I like Grey's writing, but most of her long stories deal with non-con, which is one of my biggest squicks. Fortunately she also wrote this delightful (and delightfully long) pop-tart, with its trust issues, miscommunications, and vast amounts porn, giving me the opportunity to squee. My favorite parts of this story are actually the retreat exercises and, more importantly, Ray's reaction thereof. I've been to retreats like these and re-living some of these exercises with commentary from Ray and Fraser was hysterical. Add in some beautiful description (I'm so going to visit Starved Rock because of this story), good characterizations (especially with regards to the retreat exercises), and some creative uses for fudge (*cough*) and you have a long story that will keep you entertained for hours on end. [1]