Teot's War

Fandom
Name:	Teot's War
Abbreviation(s):
Creator:	Heather Gladney
Date(s):	May 1, 1987
Medium:	print
Country of Origin:
External Links:
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Teot's War is a professional fantasy book by Heather Gladney.

It is the first of two books in "Song of Naga Teot."

Summary: "A desert warrior joins forces with the Liege Lord of Tan in hopes of starting a war to regain control of their homeland."

Fannish Importance

For some fans, it is a "slashy" book, and subject of much discussion.

Some discussion examples: zines (Concupiscence) and apazines (Late for Breakfast and Strange Bedfellows APA).

It was the topic of a panel discussion at Escapade/Escapade 1994.

Fan Comments

1993

We went up to WorldCon in San Francisco at Labor Day. There, we went to an otherwise unremarkable panel on straight women writing about gay male characters. We angled to meet one of the panelists. Heather Gladney, who had been highly recommended to us as a "slashlike" writer by Alyx. We took her out to breakfast the next day, talking about our experience in slash publishing, our desires.

Well, she did the keeping in touch, calling us two days later, crying 'Why didn't anyone ever tell me I'd been writing slash all my life? Needless to say, it's been great ever since. Heather is a totally excited neo-fan. writing in her own universe. She's read most of our zines now, and some circuit stories, as well as seen a few Pros & WG episodes. There is a quite substantial story based on Naga Teot & Drin in Concupiscence...

The books that she's already had published are Teot'a War and Bloodstorm. They were both published by Ace/Berkeley and are currently out of print. Look for them in your local used bookstore either under fantasy or science fiction. They're great. (BTW, we're always looking tor spare copies to hand out, if you should stumble on a cache of her books, let us know, we'll be happy to buy them from you!) They're fantastic! I don't object, since Naga/Drin is definitely a hair fandom! Naga has waist-length black hair that he wears in braids most of the time, and Drin has longish red-blond hair that (in my fantasies, of course) gets all twined together and looks great. The characters are cool, the books are fantastic, sexy, emotional, wonderful, (oops, a little OTT there. Sorry. NOT!)

Naga Teot's universe is created in three fantasy novels, two of which were published by ACE Books. These novels, set in a post-technological universe, tell a slash story about a soldier and a king. The writing is strong, the world in which the characters live vivid and well-rounded. There's an earthy quality to the narrative and to the writing that's delightful to read—the books stand on their own merits regardless of any slash relationship. That said and understood...

From the first, there is caretaking, understanding and emotional intimacy. By the second book, their relationship is stable and concrete; they share a bed, suffer through gossip about their private lives, and there are several scenes that seem pointedly "just before" or "just after" lovemaking. Caladrunan's struggles to make decisions based on what's good for the country, rather than what's good for Naga, rise to the forefront and create wonderful tension between these men.

Gladney's books are currently out of print; look for them in your used bookstores, or contact MP for help finding them.

They are absolutely positively worth the read for any slash fan; additionally, there's a small pile of side stories written by a woman named Erica St. Jeanne, in exact replica of Heather Gladney's style. Just superb.

Re: yrcts about slash losing its anonymity, I wonder if there isn't something in the reverse waiting for us out there? Maybe there's a whole society of "slash" fans out there who never had the material to read, or never understood what it was they were looking for. Maybe slash extends beyond a response to film and print media. In my opening comments I included a rave from Concup iii's review about two books, Teot's War and Blood Storm, by Heather Gladney. I won't repeat myself (except to say that they're really great, and that you must read them), but the important part of all this is that those books are slash and they don't know it. Heather Gladney wrote them in a vacuum, she'd never heard of slash before, but from the very first meeting between the two main characters, the relationship is obvious and blinding and slash.

I read these books, and books like them that have been professionally published, and I think, somebody's buying them. There are more of us out there who crave this kind of stuff. So, in that light, I imagine this generation of fans as the one that shoulders the responsibility of bringing fandom into the public light. The first generation of slash fans were responsible for legitimizing it within their own groups, for establishing a base of readers, a loose connection with other slash fans, etcetera. They got to live in fear of a Paramount lawsuit (thanks, guys).

Now we have iminent [sic] domain. We have a twenty-year history of companies not suing slash publishers. We have e-mail. We have a growing awareness among women that if it's okay for men to get off on watching two women, the reverse just might be true. It's a great thing we can do, bringing slash out into the light, graciously accepting the influx of people who, like us, know what they want from their erotica and help us with their sheer numbers, to continue legitimizing slash and literature like it. (Are you hearing the snare drums, the marching trumpets? Do you see the light shining down upon you, the Chosen One, and hear the choir singing Hosannas yet? If not, I apologize; it's late and this is my very best effort at religious zealotism.)

Seriously, I really do think that only only by, standing hard in the face of public scrutiny does something become legitimized (said the woman who won't print her last name). I'm not excited about being the one to do it, but on the other hand I'm very excited about it getting done.

[snipped]

About potential slashers being everywhere, I commented earlier to [K] in fun, but I actually really meant it—I think they are. I think they're out there and they just don't know how to find the door into slash or slash-like literature, which is why I think fandom's expansion is such a good thing. I fantasize that potential slash readers comprise maybe ten or fifteen percent of women today, and I think, with that kind of power bloc, slash (and slash-like stories like Teot's War wouId become a "safe", "appropriate" and mainstream form of erotic literature.

That is, how's Teot doing? I'm sure you'll explain it to everyone in your zine this distie, so 1 will provide a corrective.

EVERYONE: Christine adores the two novels Teot's War and Bloodstorm by Heather Gladney. So do 1. She sees them as proto-slash, and so do 1. She sees them so strongly as proto-slash, however, that she will tell you (truthfully for her) that sex is obvious between every other line and paragraph. This requires a particular kind of dirty mind and vivid imagination. What the novels do have is a pair of terrific male leads, who participate in all the bonding symbols common to many traditional slash scenarios, who at no time are overtly allowed to be seen as having actual sex. In the text, that is. An innocent reader (any of those around?) will see no sex. A particularly fair-minded reader (that's me) will see potential sex that is not confirmed. A particularly cynical paperback consumer will see an editor who made Gladney take out the overt sex to make them "marketable." Little did that editor know what a dirty mind and a vivid imagination can do — or maybe s/he did? This, in fact, turns out to be the case, for Christine has obtained some overtly (and extremely) explicit fanfic, written in appropriate style, to fill in the blanks Turn to Christine's zine for further explanation of what the books can and will do for a slash-minded fan, complete with drooling, dripping, buttock-clenching details. No, 1 have not seen Christine's zine; it may not be written yet. I'm just betting that she'll write — that is, rave — about Gladney's novels for the APA.

These fantasy novels, set in a post-technological universe, tell about a soldier and a king. The writing is strong, the world in which the characters live vivid and well-rounded. There's an earthy quality to the narrative and to the writing that's delightful to read—the books stand on their own merits regardless of any slash relationship. That said and understood...

Here's what the book cover said about Teot's War: "The Desert Warrior. He rode out of the desert with two swords strapped across his back, a harp at his side, and nightmares burning in his eyes.

He came from the wastelands smoldering with hate, no room in his heart for anything else. Until he met the gaze of Liege Lord of Tan, who claimed his Oath, his loyalty, and more.

A king held captive by his position, a swordsman held captive by his Oath, together they would start a war—and free their land, or die."

.. .which is a darned good description of this book's focus.

Naga Teot is the last of his desert clan, and everything we love in a hero. Standing at shoulder-height to his liege, he is small and compactly built, with waist-length black hair. He's tough, he's crazy, he's deadly—a years-trained, highly skilled mercenary. His nightmares began when as a child he watched his entire clan wiped out by Osa armies of technology more advanced than his own. Caladrunan, the Lord of Tan, is the king of the only country that may be able to stand against the Osa. Drin is the more staid, the more emotionally open—the man raised to be king. Drin is the only person Naga won't strike out against when his nightmares, "relivings" and fits of prophesy come upon him. So it falls to Drin, by default and'choice, to care for and comfort Naga through these episodes. Naga sleeps in Drin's bed, to protect Drin and so that Drin can divert Naga's nightmares.

Slash relationship is obvious from Naga's very first meeting with Caladrunan, where in a thicket surrounded by guards and archers, chaos all around him...

"Against all protocol, l I looked up. For a heartbeat my eyes locked with his. Palest hazel eyes, yellow with the blaze of temper; deep lines cut hard between his brows. A puff of wind rippled his hair and robes. He looked monolithic—a grim work of stone risen native from the yellow Tannese earth."

Naga has sworn Great Oath to Caladrunan, which ties them together until death, and through the course of the book Naga learns how right his choice to swear Oath was. The action-plot events do drive the book, but mostof the detail goes into describing the evolving relationship between Naga & Caladrunan. Drin. Kigadi, shield-brother. (Get the point?)

From the first, there is caretaking, understanding and emotional intimacy. By the second book, their relationship is stable and concrete; they share a bed, suffer through gossip about their private lives, and there are several scenes that seem pointedly "just before" or "just after" lovemaking. Caladrunan's struggles to make decisions based on what's good for the country, rather than what's good for Naga, rise to the forefront and create wonderful tension between these men.

Naga's passion for Drin is as strong as his need, and his commitment is total:

"I'd rather be up here with a friend."

I smiled, feelingwarmth burn my earsin a suddentearypleasure. Surely he knew the effect of such remarks, surely it was deliberate praise; but it warmed me, steadied me. I murmured, "Thank you, Liege, for that."

"Why not? It's true.... You at least, know when to be quiet and let me think my own thoughts. Do you get anything from it?"

I blinked. "What do you mean—of course—the Liege Lord of Tan—"

"No," he said impatiently. "No, not that at all."

"Just as a private person, as your friend?"

His face cleared of its scowl. "That's it."

I pulled my legs under me, knelt before him. I clenched my hands together on my knees. Hereached forward impulsively; touching my shoulder. He said, "No speeches. Just tell me."

Quietly, deep in my throat, I spoke then a far more serious binding than any Great Oath. I said, "I would to anything for you. Drin."

1996

Speaking of cans of worms, I hope I'm not opening up a new one here, but... it seems to me we need a word to describe slashy works of fiction that use original characters. The Japanese have a term for it (trust the Japanese to have the vocabulary of slash sewn up but not to have a word for sinus or leisure or privacy, they call it 'original June' after the magazine that pioneered this type of story. The point came up in your comment about 'mainstream gay fiction not focusing on emotional commitment'. A lot of the mainstream gay fiction I've read does, if not to the same extent as slash; ifs the pornography that doesn't The problem for me is what qualifies as mainstream gay fiction. Is it gay fiction if it's written by a straight woman? Is it gay fiction if ifs written about two gay men but has a (generalisation alert) female' emphasis on emotions and relationships rather than sex? Is The Front Runner gay fiction? Is Teot's War slash? To me, they're Junes, like Mary Renault and Harriet and Peter and MZB: gay male sex for female-sensibility readers, as a correspondent so succinctly put it.

1999

I had the unique opportunity to read and review TEOT'S WAR before it was widely available. I was thoroughly impressed then (despite odd editing glitches from ACE), and am no less now. Like many others, I find myself returning to Tan, fascinated by Naga's sweet darkness and basking in Drin's light. In those days I was publishing a smallpress zine called PANDORA, and Heather had a number of fans in our camp. We published an excerpt from BLOODSTORM prior to the novel's publication and phone calls, letters, art, and short stories passed back and forth. We printed one of those, too, didn't we Heather? A lucky few have even heard the music from the operetta based on the tale. It is as haunting and lyrical as the written word. Time changes all things, but if book #3 arrives in the spirit of the manuscript I read so many years ago, fans will be delighted. It was not an "easy" book given the subject matter, and at that time not the "end" of the saga. That part was still in transition and full of really interesting possibilities. I won't betray the author, but I will say you'll be scared, you'll be depressed for at least a while (com'n, we're talking about NAGA after all), and you'll be laughing hysterically at some of the events. It is unfortunate that--for whatever reasons--ACE did not support and nurture this author ten years ago. Chalk it up to life (and death) in the midlists. God willing, all three books will be released together. Work and the "real world" may have intruded on Heather's plans for this series, but rest assurred Heather never lost interest. Hope you see this, Heather. Sorry to have lost touch, and very pleased to have found this site to celebrate the books. I still remember that 6 hour phone call!

2005

There is plenty of characters, none of them particularly well rounded with the possible exception of the two main heroes who have a great potential but are not fully drawn and result in not being really endearing. The main characterization's flaw is that we are never explained why the leads come to like each other in the first place: both men with a past, many personal problems and inner depths, they simply take a sudden and deep liking for each other, just so.

A last note: I do not know whether the author meant it (reading the second volume will possibly help) but there is a rather strong gay subtext in the relationship between the two: nothing graphic, not even any explicit mention of the fact, but one can feel it nevertheless.

2009

Cars become antiques when they hit the age of 20 years. But they don't necessarily become classics. What goes into making an antique car a classic is harder to define...the smoothness of the ride, the quality of the craftsmanship, the beauty of the design, the reaction of the audience as it looks back and remembers the times of their lives spent with that car. The same can be said about literature. Many books have withstood time, but how many are classics? Well, Teot's War, originally published in 1987, may be an antique in the best sense of the word, but what is even more impressive is that it is a classic in every sense of the word. Classic adventure. Classic fantasy. And classic homoerotic fiction.

snipped]

The relationship between Naga and Tanman is the driving force in this book. The bonding of the two men is wonderfully handled and what is so refreshing is that the homoeroticism of this pairing is so subtle. Their connection isn't born out of lust. The homoeroticism comes from the loyalty and respect and friendship that slowly develops. These men do not moon after one another or crave some quick roll in the hay. They never speak of any attraction for each other. That is blessedly left for us to discern.

2016

OH I love these two books and was hoping to find the rest of the series on this site.. When I last moved I lost the first two books until recently when finally I unpacked a box of books and there they were for me to read again. Sigh! I think that the growing close relationship between the two main characters was a fact that kept the rest of the series from being published at the time it should have been written. Today it would be readily accepted that the two men could have a deep caring relationship that transcended the norm for that time, that and the fact that Teot was dark skinned. Come on Heather. I'm sure that you have the rest of the series written. Give us the rest of the story that your fans all long to read. These two books are among the few paperbacks that I have kept and cherished and read over and over. Worth a readers time even though the ending has not been published yet.