Blended Spirits 1
The Sentinel - Gen, Anthology, 109 pages, spiral-bound.
Color cover (pastels drawing), with b&w interior art.
Publisher: AllGen Press
Review: What I like best about this zine is there's a little of everything in it. I think everyone will find something that appeals, and all the stories are clearly edited and well-crafted. A definite pleasure to read.
"A Kind of Madness," by Chrys, is a
flashback story mixing a past mission
of Jim's with the present. I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but I
liked the
resolution, not your typical explosion-talking out-happy ending
kind but something realistic while still gentle.
"Brass Ring," by Virginia Foster, is a
filling-in-the-gaps story for TSbyBS. It has some of the scenes from the episode along with
what came
before and after. I like the author's take mostly, and found some
new ideas
in it, even if it stretched my belief a little bit when it got
emotional. :>
"The One Left Behind" by JET, looks at
survivor guilt. It's also a little
more...mushy than I care for, and yet JET makes it easy and
soothing to play
along with. I loved the climax of the story, just felt it ended
way to
quickly after.
"At Home," my offering, is a little Blair-gets-sick-and-comforted
piece.
"Passion Be Not a Thing of the Past," by Jody Scherr,
is a poem in the
abstract vein.
"Innocence Lost," by Lyn, does this kind
of story right, letting you get
to know a character along with Blair so that when the character's
killed,
you feel for Sandburg. It's a sad story and could have used more
comfort,
but had a good message that was well-developed.
"Then Come The Wild Weather," by Gemini,
is almost two stories in one: I
enjoyed the one of B&J having fun camping together, but mixed
throughout is
a very different plot of something bothering Jim, something which
isn't
explained very well even at the end. It felt like a story that
had no real
climax, but it was good up to then, with nicely done characters.
The art is also a mix, from some very neat illos (particularly
the last one in the zine) to a picture that makes Blair look rather
frightening. But
it's always nice to see a zine that took the time to get illos,
not even just stills. That reflects the effort Beth B seems to have put
into the zine, from the nice layout to a lovely cover.
Reviewed by: Anna Kelly