Betwixt and Between

Author: Maigret and Wolfling

Published:

Page Count: 240

Format: Full Size

Cover/Art: Interior artwork by The Theban Band
 

Available From:  OOP

An Alternate Universe Sentinel Slash Zine featuring 240 pages of Jim and Blair with artwork by The Theban Band.

PART 1 PROPHECY OF THE HEART written by Maigret

PART 2 KEEPING THE STARS APART written by Maigret and Wolfling

Available Online:

Observations:

UPDATE 01/26/01

Those of us who prefer spiral binding, REJOICE!!
ffluxpress has printed a second edition which is bound with the highly coveted, much sought after spiral binding. And do these guys aim to please or what? Because they realize some of us are rather anal and like things to match, they are going to offer the next 'zine, Between and Beyond, in both spiral and VeloBind! But now I have a quandary..... Do I buy the next 'zine with VeloBind to match my first, or do I buy a second copy of Betwixt and Between so I have a matching set featuring my most-loved spiral binding? Argh. They're messing with my mind! LOL!

END UPDATE

It's official. I am now a lifetime, card carrying member of the Blair-Elf fanclub. Though I have enjoyed Blair-Elf stories in the past, I always sorta made this snorty noise and rolled my eyes heavenward as I said the words "Blair-Elf". Never again. This is by far the best story of this type -- AU fantasy -- that I have read to date. I guess it hit every button I have and apparently one or two I didn't know existed! :-)

A few things about the format first....
I really looked forward to getting this because I knew the effort put into its creation came from the heart. It was a real project of love and usually that means a fine product is the result. I think ffluxpress succeeded beautifully. The end result is a very polished, professional looking 'zine. Well edited, formatted nicely, wonderful easy to read type with reasonable margins, printed on a very nice paper (thicker than that regularly used), with a protective plastic cover and a heavy stock back cover. And the art! OMG, I'll have to spend a paragraph just on the art! In all fairness, no 'zine is perfect. There were two things about this 'zine that made it less than so for me. One was the binding. I honestly thought that I was very accepting of all bindings, even though I always get a thrill from spiral (it's a kink ;-) ). However, about halfway through I decided I really didn't care for VeloBinding. About 3/4 of the way through I was sure of it. And by the time I had 20 pages left, I found myself examining the binding to see if it could be removed without damaging the 'zine. I decided, yes it can. :-) I definitely plan to re-read this one, but I will remove the binding before doing so! LOL! Aw, well. What I'm really hoping for is that in the next printing they'll use spiral and I can just buy another copy. :-)
Fortunately, the margins are 1" so there was no problem reading it, it's just that it really takes two hands to keep it open so as much as I loathed to put it down, I had to take breaks to eat. I learned to eat really quick meals in two days.

So, enough about that....
One thing I think is really cool, is that the Prophecy separates the two stories and is printed in script-type font on this really pretty paper that looks like an ancient scroll. I just think that adds a neat touch, since the Prophecy is the whole reason for the story.

I thought this was an interesting way to present the "Blair as an Elf" theme. For one thing, though it's obviously AU, it's also not. To me, it feels more as if they are in their "real" universe, but have to deal with this really weird, life-changing event and consequently have to visit another realm to do so; they are just so "Jim" and "Blair". Jim and Blair start out in their regular universe -- Jim as a detective, Blair as a student and observer. This is not the usual "Jim I have a secret. I'm an Elf!" type story. Nope, this is "Blair, The Reluctant Elf". LOL! And one pissed off Elf, too. Blair finds out, rather abruptly, about his family history. Naomi's character interestingly parallels that of canon Naomi, as she causes great distress in Blair's life by way of "helping". I love it when Blair's father keeps calling her "Woman". Snerk. You can guess how that went over with Naomi! I thought all the characters were extremely "in character", but the authors did a particularly good job with Simon and Naomi.

Another thing I love about this story is the original characters. There are several wonderful new characters who have their own little adventures and problems going on. Yet, that somehow didn't distract at all from Jim and Blair. Rather than just being supporting characters, I really felt like I knew them and I cared what happened to them.

In the first part of the story, Prophecy Of The Heart, Blair is returned to the place of his birth, The Between, where he learns of his heritage and his part in fulfilling an ancient prophecy. Jim sets out to find his missing guide and finds himself in a strange world soon followed by a very reluctant Simon. I love Simon's character throughout. He is grumpy, and pretty vocal about his displeasure with being introduced to yet more Jim/Blair weirdness. Poor Simon. He was sort of the comic relief in this story, but I kind of had to feel sorry for him. I won't tell you why. I think it'd be more fun for you to read it.

After doing what they needed to do in The Between, the guys gratefully return to Cascade, only to learn days later that only part of the prophecy was fulfilled. In Keeping The Stars Apart, they must return to The Between and fight a really nasty mage. The authors did a great job with this character. He's the guy you love to hate! Once again Simon is dragged into events, bitching and complaining the whole way! Hee. The group finally defeats the evil mage, and secures The Between once again.

There's just so much going on in this 'zine it's impossible for me to be able to explain it all coherently without giving away any of it. But it's now high on my list of favorite TS novels, a place I never really thought to put an AU. The imagery is great and the magick cool. Blair isn't a wimpy, frail elf, just Blair, who happens to be an Elf.

I do want to take a moment to mention the sex scenes. Hot! This is a first-time story. And the sex just gets hotter throughout. There is biting in one of the sex scenes, in case that's a squick for you, well now you know. I nominate this 'zine as having one of the best 69's I've ever read! This 'zine would be worth the money just to read the sex scenes and for the art. However, the scenes were appropriate and there was not that feeling of the authors writing in the sex just because they felt it was time for some. I appreciated that the "gay" issue wasn't, well, an issue.

Now the art. If you buy 'zines just for the art, you won't want to miss this one. The art is by The Theban Band, and damn! it's hot. After seeing their work at their site I had to buy a couple of prints, and as soon as I collect more pennies, I have to get some of the pieces featured in this 'zine if they're available. The Theban Band does photo manips that are just out of this world. You can see their work at their site

Wondering what that second thing is that keeps this from being the perfect 'zine for me? Thought I forgot about that eh? It's Simon. Can't tell you why, but by the end I was feeling a little sorry for him. I say a "little" because part of what was causing his angst was ultimately for his own good, but still..... Poor guy never got a break! LOL! Also, Simon's distress over the whole Elf thing was never resolved, though not in a distracting "unfinished feeling" sort of way. So I'm hoping in the second 'zine, Between and Beyond, which is promised for the Summer of 2001, Simon will get a little of his own back! ;-)

Review submitted by:
"The Reviewer"

The presentation of this zine is amazing. It's high quality appearance shows the hard work and dedication that ffluxpress puts into their zines. The artwork from The Theban Band is stunning and in my opinion worth the cost of the zine alone. As I bought this zine from the webpage before they had any information regarding the zine. (The only thing present on the site then was a story snippet.) I did not know that this was an Elf story. Or more obviously an AU. As I am not turned off by either of those things I charged ahead into reading this thick story. All 240 pages of it. If you are not use to reading fantasy novels (as I am not) the elfin names are hard to follow and sometimes confusing. But I still liked the fantasy and adventure of it. Blair's father is an Elf king and has been searching for his son since Naomi took him away. The explanation for how Blair never knew who he really was is both fun and clever. I also enjoyed the way Blair's character develops to understand his father, be angry at his mom while still loving her and how he learns to accept himself and his new found powers. The writers have a very interesting concept going on how the Elf and the Sentinel bond and communicate thus increasing Jim and Blair's dependence, attraction and understanding of one another. The characterization is very well done and the sex was extremely hot. I loved the first time aspect of it the J/B relationship and how the characters around them act to their love. Being realistic this is a nice relaxing ROMANCE story. If you are looking for a nice, long, relaxing story I highly recommend this zine. In the wealth of TS zines that are out there this is a gem that I have loaned, recommend and given as a gift. I can't wait to see the next zine from ffluxpress. They have a hard act to follow.

Things of Note: My copy of the zine (preordered from the net) is bound at the side with a plastic bar and a sturdy what feels almost like a thin plastic backing. The zine has thick paper and is very nicely presented, I was amazed by its professional look when I received it. I was upset to find that this was only Pt 1 (though complete in itself) of a larger story (there is a note that the next zine will be out summer 2001). Though I enjoyed this story I like to know of things like that before hand.

Why you should buy this 'zine: The story. The art. The sex scenes!

Why you shouldn't buy this 'zine:

Miscellany:

Review: Write to Submit