The Mind of a Man is a Double-Edged Sword

Zine
Title:	The Mind of a Man is a Double-Edged Sword
Publisher:	Strelsau Press & P.I. Press
Editor:	Regina Gottesman
Author(s):	Susan R. Matthews
Cover Artist(s):	Pat Cash
Illustrator(s):	Pat Cash
Date(s):	September 1983, reprinted 1986
Series?:	yes
Medium:	print zine, fanfic
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake’s 7
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Mind of a Man is a Double-Edged Sword is a Blake's 7 gen 124-page novel written by Susan R. Matthews. It includes art by Pat Cash. This fanzine won the 1985 Zen Award.

This zine was also part of a trilogy called "Double-Edged Sword Trilogy" published in 1989, see below.

front cover by Pat Cash

back cover

Summary

Summary from Southern Enclave:

It has been two years since Star One. On Liberator, Blake, Cally & Vila, along with Tarrant, Dayna & Soolin, are still fighting the Federation. Blake is also looking for Avon who disappeared during the fighting at Star One. Did Avon disappear on his own or was it something more sinister? What will happen when they find him and bring him back to the Liberator?

Series

It is part of a series that was published separately, and then in 1989, as a single volume:

• The Mind of a Man is a Double-Edged Sword
• Mascarada
• Shadowplay

Sample Interior

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Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

A very very good AU story built around the relationship between Avon and Blake - with one enormous flaw.

Any fan of Avon-torture must enjoy this one. The whole premise of the story is built on his suffering the most appalling agony at Servalan's hands - to put it as non-spoilingly as possible, the torture is almost entirely mental and emotional, and tied very tightly to the close relationship - the love - between him and Blake, which is turned against them both. And the story follows the results of that torture.

Both men are well-written (though I would have preferred a little more reserve in Blake, who was a *touch* too sentimental over Avon for my tastes) and the fierce bond between them very believable. The other characters are quite well-done, especially (in my opinion) Tarrant, who comes over as brash and irritating, but also quite likeable and sympathetic, not an easy mixture to achieve. Vila is a little duller than I like him, somewhat humourless, but not too bad. Servalan is even nastier than in the series, a mixture of sadism, slightly decayed sweetness and steely calculation, and she and her subordinate, who supervised the torture, share some rather enjoyable if psychologically ugly scenes.

Now. The flaw. For the first time, I found myself thinking 'this would have been better as slash.' Cally - one of the three major characters, as central as Avon and Blake - is in my opinion *dreadfully* written (and in a good story, a flaw like this stands out all the more). She starts off by being sullenly dull, and half-way through turns placidly dull - positively bovine. And so the Avon/Cally relationship falls as flat as a three-week-old pancake; even he is duller in their scenes together. There is so much more real emotion in the Blake-Avon scenes that it makes the 'romance' slightly ludicrous to me.

A lesser fault of the story is its slightly humourless quality. The blend of angst and humour that helped make the series so fascinating is admittedly very hard for writers to achieve - especially with an angst level as high as in *this* story - but I did miss the humour that the TV Avon and Vila, especially, could inject into the most grim of storylines. There were odd attempts at humour - especially the end - but they didn't work as well as the drama.

Nevertheless, if you like to see both Avon and Blake put through the wringer, physically and emotionally, as thoroughly as possible - lots and *lots* of hurt and some comfort to sweeten it at the end - this is definitely worth reading and re-reading.

1989

This story is MARVELOUS, one of the best B7 stories I have ever read. It’s dramatic, heart-rending, heart-warming, agonising, romantic: it has every thing. And what it has most of all is the man I can only call, in my heart, the real Avon. Not the depressing, disappointing thug of A Terrible Aspect, but the man I discovered on screen all those years ago.

This story has done much to restore my faith in Avon after the terrible battering the image has taken recently. It’s a while since I’d fell like watching my videos of the series, apart from the ever-enticing Carnall, but this story drove me back to them, and there was Avon, same as ever, electrifying. The story is a puzzle of a kind. Is it real or is it fantasy? What really happened in the two years after Avon was captured by Servalan? Are his companions dead - did he kill them all as he believes, or can it be they still live and search for him, even Blake and Cally whom he loves? Mind-warped, tortured into submission, Avon does not know the truth of anything any more. But one day Tarrant walks past him and he beings to doubt his sanity, yet even that’s deceptive for he can no longer tell what sanity is.

It would spoil the story to tell you more. Try and read it if you can - and if you miss it, you’ll have missed something very special.

1990

Fifth season trilogy concluded in the zines Mascarada and Shadowplay. Lots of angst initially, (giving rise to my favorite term “clawed worm tales') but quickly developing into a tight, suspenseful story where everyone (including the Liberator) survives and is reunited. Nice character interaction.

1992

[The trilogy] is something of a classic -- one of the earliest American B7 stories, quite influential. I thought the first one was excellent, but the later two strayed a bit too far from what I consider "real B7." One the other hand, better fen than me adore the entire trilogy.

The Mind of a Man trilogy is The Mind of a Man Is a Double-Edged Sword and its two sequels, by American writer Susan Matthews. The first part is one of the best B7 stories around, a long, imaginative, introspective psychological drama, an example of the American style of B7 fanzine at its best, but a notably demanding read. The second story drags quite a bit and lacks sufficient action but is still worth reading. The third story is the easiest read, exciting, dramatic and moving. Most of the characterisation is good, though Susan has totally lost touch with Vila's personality by part 3 and one of the final scenes is too much for some people. When you've read the story you'll understand those two comments!

The Mind of Man trilogy (better known this side of the Atlantic as Double-Edged Sword - the full title of the first instalment being The Mind of a Man is a Double-Edged Sword') is a marvellously intricate 'alternate universe' story which diverges from the aired series beginning at a point near the end of the episode Star One, The first novel in particular is a psychological masterpiece, but I can't tell you why without giving away the whole enchilada - which would be worse than rude in the event you (or anyone else out there) intends to read it: it would be unpardonable. Personally, I don't think Parts 2 and 3 are quite up to the standard of Part 1 (I especially don't care for the 'domestic' note sounded in Part 3), but they're still a cut above most fan fiction, and the 1 st andard' established by Part 1 would be hard for anyone to match consistently.

Notably the first Section with Is the best. For Avon fans, surely a must: Avon defined as never before. For others, a very challenging read (stick at it, it's worth it!). I think if you've enjoyed part 1, you have to read the other parts. It's a pity part 2 is so heavy-going (the main plot is slim and the action very slow) but it does lead you effectively into the far more accessible part 3. A shame that Vila becomes so COMPLETELY wrong in part 3, but the other characters come over well throughout.

As others have stated, the first part of the trilogy is the strongest story, the last part is a bit of a wallow. As Ros Williams stated, the Vila sub-plot is totally ridiculous and there's a hole in the Anna Grant part of the story (Anna Grant again!) big enough to drive a train through. But overall the story is well-written and captivating.

I think people kept calling Avon "Studs" in this thing. Oh, well.

1993

First (and best) of a trilogy. I am afraid of saying anything in case I spoil it. Maybe some would call it a psychological twistie story, with Avon as the victim, but it is very well done. The other two stories gradually become more sentimental, soppy or 'nice' - too much so, at least for the B7 universe. But they aren't bad, they just don't keep up to the same standard as the first.

Plain cover, but some interior illustrations. 100+ double-columned pages.

Plot: Avon was captured by the Feds after Star One, and brainwashed to kill Blake the next time he sees him. The entire third and fourth seasons as we saw them took place only in his mind. In the real universe, Blake and the others have been searching for him. They find him and the bulk of the story is his recovery from conditioning.

So... this is the first (or one of the first) fan stories to use the ideas that the postBlake seasons didn't happen and that Avon's head was messed with to make him kill Blake. I like both ideas...rather more than I liked this story. To be fair(ish), this zine was called a "classic" when it was given to me so I probably had excessive expectations. Like most classics, it was something of a let-down, but not completely...

The good bits first: I thought Soolin, Dayna, and Tarrant were pretty well done (but, since my emotional investment in them is low compared to crew #1, I'm less stringent when reading); I also thought some of Avon's interior monologues, especially at the very beginning, were very well done; and I do like both ideas mentioned above. I quite liked Anna, too. She could have her own series of stories...I also was interested in the way the author made Sula and Anna two separate women. Don't know if I liked it, but it was interesting.

But...Cally and Vila are all over the place in terms of characterization. Hidden depths are hinted at, but then contradicted or allowed to die undeveloped. Blake is downright gooey. I appreciate that the author was trying to show at least two aspects of Servalan -- the side that was attracted to Avon, and the side that would let her kill him or, in the case, use him mercilessly -- but I don't feel that it worked very well.

One thing that amused/annoyed me was the repeated insistence that Avon is very masculine, virile, manly...pick your term, it's in there ....while dwelling on the studs (the clothing decorations, not people 8-). It made me wonder if the author was reacting to a slash novel that had just appeared? There are scenes where the men touch, and I don't think that I would have had slash in mind at all as a possible intent in those scenes -- it is possible for two people of the same (or opposite) gender to embrace without it being sexual. I don't know -- I had the impression she was reacting to, or trying to rebut, another source or was very worried any physical contact would be misconstrued, and assumed that describing Avon as virile would eliminate the possibility of a slash relationship. We all know, of course, that all gay men are effeminate... 8-/ <for those of you who don't read smilies -- the last sentence was dripping sarcasm>

But it's entirely possible that I have completely misinterpreted the author's intent...

Has anybody else read this story? Care to comment?

Wow. This is an oldie, in point of fact the FIRST Blake's 7 zine I ever

read. I loved the premise, still do, but would agree with most of [another listmember's] criticisms, especially Blake being "gooey". Susan Matthews (who I'm pretty sure no longer writes fan fiction) was into slash, but I don't think it was intended in this particular zine.

Some of the problems with Cally and Vila are because the novel had two sequels, "Mascarada" and "Shadowplay", in which the plot grew steadily more convoluted and Blake AND Cally and sometimes Vila got all gooey. And Tarrant behaved like a kid.

Despite all this, I remember enjoying the trilogy very much-- I had to read the latter two parts as they came out, which is always exciting, especially if you haven't been in the fandom very long.

I just re-read this (for two reasons - (1) I was reminded of it by the Horizon questionnaire, as I put it 6th on the list of 5 favourite B7 fan stories, and (2) suddenly people on this list are discussing it!)

Because I can put my finger more easily on its faults, I am wondering to myself why I *did* like it! It is not the only season-X-was-just- brainwashing story I've read, but it was possibly the first, and definitely the most convincing. The way she handles Avon and his pain and conclusions that he is going mad are pretty spot-on. Particularly at the start. And sprinkled throughout are some wonderful little turns of phrase, I think my two favourites must be: "Cally sometimes wondered at Blake's patience with the insolence of Tarrant's teeth."

and, near the end: "He was getting too old for this sort of thing. The image in the mirror was not the sincere young firebrand revolutionary. He was a sincere middle-aged firebrand revolutionary. In not too many years he'd be a sincere old firebrand revolutionary. It was clearly time to get a new mirror." Sorry, that paragraph still makes me laugh...

The bits about Avon and studs were certainly very noticeable to me this time around, since someone here mentioned them. The silly thing is, that Avon didn't really wear studs like that until the fourth season, so why the people on the Liberator should think that leather-and-studs was his accustomed dress... okay, besides the 4th season biker gear, there was the brown outfit with gold studs in Ultraworld (3rd season, note) and the black leather outfit with silver buttons and a row of studs down the arms which Avon wore in Killer (and some hapless citizen of Heliotrix also had the same designer...) but I can't think of others, not that I've done a catalogue of people's costumes.

Making Anna and Sula separate people might have been a good idea, except for one, absolutely glaring problem - how could a dark-skinned Anna Grant be the sister of the Caucasian Del Grant? Adopted? Why use such a *clumsy* plot device when it is not needed? Dramatic emphasis is no excuse for inaccuracy and inconsistency. Del Grant had to be real enough - we met him in the second season. And there was no sensible reason for Sula to have cast herself in the role of Anna Grant anyway - they should have used a look-alike like they did with the other "roles". Such an obvious physical contrast would have been a dead bet for a chink in the reality reconstruction they were doing. Why would she have been so *stupid*?

Blake was too, as someone else said, "gooey". I was going to say "sentimental" but I think gooey is probably a better word. And possibly too obsessed with finding Avon - *too* much emphasis on this Great Bond between them. As for the touching bits, I would expect that the author was just determined that this would not be taken as slash, because there *are* some people out there who will draw such conclusions from physical touching (or so I've been told).

Cally's character *was* a bit "off" but acceptably so, I think. Putting more emphasis on her alienness than the show actually did, and tossing in a bit of speculation about Auron culture.

Vila, however, did seem a bit too cringing at one moment, and too concerned in the next, but that could just be a result of us seeing his internal thoughts rather than them being hidden.

Dayna was okay, and so was Tarrant. Okay, so there was a little Tarrant bashing going on, and he wasn't as smart as he ought to have been; it sort of struck me as a margin-for-error between the Tarrant-of-season 3&4 and the Tarrant of the "actual" reality; different experiences make people different - *this* Tarrant was trying to be friends with Blake, rather than rivals with Avon.

But Soolin I think was out of character in some respects; well, particularly the way she treats Vila (and why keep on describing him like a pet?) she's not a "mother goddess" type at all! I guess I was irritated at her not being used well - it strikes me as oddly interesting that the author made Cally more temperamental (so that it could be said that she was like Avon) and Soolin less cynical and wary and cold, so that it could *not* be said that she and Avon were alike (which I think in some respects they are...)

I also didn't really care for the way that by the end of the story, most of them were paired up (and under the covers) with one of the other leading characters. Far too pat! And casual! And *gooey*! And it doesn't help that the next two stories get even *more* gooey.

However, forewarned is forearmed, I guess.

I wasn't all that keen on "Mind of a Man." There were a lot of things I really liked -- the whole second half of the series (third AND fourth seasons) as we saw them were manufactured by Servalan and Sula. Sula and Anna are separate people. And I think she did a really nice job catching Avon's voice, and with the internal monologues at the beginning when Avon is still trying to decide of he's crazy or not. But I got so tired of the sappy Blake she created. And the recurring, ad nauseum, references to Avon's virility, masculinity, manliness etc while going on and on about the black leather and studs...just seemed strange. I thought she was trying to assure readers that this wasn't slash -- because as _we ALL know_ gay men are all effeminate.

Somebody else on the list responded to the review with the comment that the plot was convoluted and that it's probably because it's part of a trilogy.

1994

DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD and MASCARADA. Again, a predictable choice. I'm a bit different in that I prefer Mascarada to DES...Avon gets a bit "soft" in DES and I think he regains his "edge" in Mascarada. For some reason, I didn't care much for SHADOWPLAY, the last part of the triology...perhaps because Cally got relegated to "pregnant lady" status.

1995

"The Mind of Man is a Double-Edged Sword" was good, for its subtlety. If you didn't know it was an AU, you wouldn't find out too soon that it was an AU - and I like surprises. I dunno, it was well written. The later stories in the trilogy get too soppy, but the first one was good.

"Why I Hate Susan Matthews"

I didn't half mind DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD musing on the B-A relationship, and thinking how disgusting and dreadful it would be if two such strong and masculine men were sexually involved. (Can you say homophobic?) I just could not believe that, and the implications were equally appalling, given the themes that crop up in her stories: chiefly, severe physical abuse. Apparently it's perfectly spiffy for two strong, "only men to beat the hell out of each other; but, ooh-ick how gross and horrible if they were to make love to each other.

Matthews' style is also an example of a certain type of h/c that aggravates me. Where scenarios are set up to bring the fellas close, lots of touching and holding and emotional declarations, but taking pains to make sure no one thinks they're implying that nasty slash stuff. I've said it before: if someone sees a B/A relationship in my gen stuff, I'm not gonna have a hissy fit about it.

1996

It's difficult to find many zines as good as "Mind of a Man'. That has an amazing angst quotient.

I'm with you on Mind of a Man. The third part of the trilogy was disappointing and did create too many loose ends, but the first part was absolutely brilliant, and to be honest, if I could get a cheap copy of the third part, I probably would have one just for completeness' sake.

2016

(My thanks to burntcandlemas for lending me this one! Even though I really disliked it, I really wanted to read it. If it hadn't been a borrowed copied I would have spent loads of money tracking it down before then finding out that I hated it.)

I don't have much to say about this one, because I read it ages ago (or rather, I tried to read it ages ago - I never finished it), but I thought it fitted with the general theme of intense smarm and A/C that I'm going to talk about in a bit, so might as well glance back at it.

Essentially, as I say, I found it unreadable, though it is true that it's very intense B-A smarm (which is a favourite genre of mine). The plot is that Avon was captured by Servalan and made to dream series 3 and 4, which are a semi-accurate reflection of what is actually happening, as Blake has acquired Tarrant and Dayna and Soolin. I think Servalan (or perhaps the woman who Avon and we believe to be Anna - more later) wants to use Avon to help predict what Blake will do... or something.

I think there definitely is an interesting plot in here somewhere, particularly around the double Annas - Avon's actual ex-girlfriend (who I think has a child who isn't his?) is an attractive black woman, and the Anna we know is actually Bartholmew. But the writing was very hard to get through.

Also - my primary concern with this fic is that when he can't remember his name and is hanging out on this planet doing farm work (farm work!) Avon goes by the name 'Studs'. It's like Paul Darrow wrote this.

Let's talk quickly about the smarm since that's why I was here - for me, even as someone who thinks that B and A love each other etc, it's too much. I find Blake's intense devotion to Avon and the way it manifests before he eventually gets rescued to be too much (N.B. I've got some stuff about 'Mindfire', which I infinitely prefer' below), and I find the way they are able to talk about their feelings when they reunite too much. The actual pairing in this fic is A/C (as it often is in A-B smarm), but the portrait of Cally is as poor as the other reviews on Fanlore claim. Plus, the relationship with Blake is depicted as far more important to him, and the heights of ecstatic romantic emotion are all to do with Blake. Smarm fics that should really be slash fics have driven me to crazy before, but I don't like this one enough to get upset (even though I do think Blake is more important to Avon than Cally is). Something that helps the lack of crazy is that, as soon as you go over the top with the devotion... it does make them feel very little like the characters we saw on screen. And this me saying this – me.

[snipped]

Essentially, I'm glad I sold 'Shadowplay' ages ago, because I was never going to reach it.

I remembering liking the idea of Mind of Man a lot more than the execution (and definitely, I suggest you don't read the sequels, they go downhill badly, though again the ideas are better than the execution). Cally turns positively bovine... okay, she is anything but my favourite characters, but still, it hurt.... Cally's near the bottom in my list of the characters (along with Dayna, who annoys the crap out of me) and I can quite easily handwave A/C away.... given I spent years doing it :)