FORBIDDEN STAR #2

Mini Review By Sarah Thompson

This is an excellent zine, very strongly recommended. Everything in it is good, but the stories I particularly liked were "White Mutiny," "Mardi Gras," and "Passing Through Fire." The latter is kind of in a class by itself, as it's not supposed to be a turn-on, but it definitely deals with adult themes. It's an expansion of Vila's experiences with Servalan in Moloch, very believable, very dark.

There is a nice mix of assorted pairings and of serious stories and humorous pieces. I especially liked the two slash pastiches by "Christabel:" A/B in the style of Shakespeare, and A/V in the style of computers. Both of them had me ROFL.

I rather liked Neil's story. He has a very different take on the chrarcters from most fans, including me, but I found that I was able to maintain my belief in his verison of the characters for the duration of the story. Interesting, since he's a big Cally fan, that Cally doesn't come off terribly well! But as Alison just demonstrated, the B7 characters tend to go their own way even when the author tries not to let them do it.

The art is excellent too. IMO the zine is worth the price for the cover alone, and the interior illos are also very nice and well- suited to the stories they illustrate.

Contents

Editor: Judith Proctor
Publisher: Waveney (Wimborne, Dorset)
Date: December 1997
Format: A4, 166 text pp. + [4] pp. zine ads, beige card covers, brown tape binding

Fiction:
Christabel, "Just As You Like It-- Or Probably Not" (script; Shakespeare pastiche; A/B; humor)
Arachne, "Girl's Night Out" (C-J, implied B/J; humor)
Dorinda Hartmann, "Dreams and Dreamers" (S1; B/G)
Vanessa Mullen, "White Mutiny" (S2, post-Redemption; B/J, A/B)
Predatrix, "One Thing As Certain As Death" (S1; A/B)
Twisted Sister, "In the Writer's Zone" (real world crossover; A/G; humor)
Susan Cutter, "Mardi Gras" (S1; A/B)
Julia Stamford, "Frozen in Hell" (uc A/B, uc B/J, past A/J)
Christabel, "Getting Connected" (script; A/V in computer style; humor)
Twisted Sister, "The Characters' Revenge" (sequel to "In the Writer's Zone;" real world crossover; A/G; humor)
Arachne, "Dressing for Dinner" (Tr; humor)
Arachne, "A Brief Revival of Saffron" (S1, A/Se)
Julia Stamford, "Three Times Daily" (S2, A/B)
Twisted Sister, "Portrait" (S3; A/C)
Nicky Barnard, "Passing Through Fire" (S3, Moloch; V-Se, Se/ocms)
Alicia Ann Fox, "In the Cold with You" (alt-S4, alt- Rescue; A/C)
Neil Faulkner, "Things that Never Get Said" (S4; D-Ta, A-Ta, past C/D, past A/C)
Meredith Dixon, "Sleeping Around" (O/ac; humor)
Loulou Harris, "Cold Revolution" (S4; A/So)
Twisted Sister, "Vila's Bait" (S4; Ta/V/D/So/A; humor)
xBryn Lantry, "The Kiss" (S5, post-alt-S4; uc A/B)
Susan Riaz, "To Live Despite Regrets" (sequel to a gen story, "All That Remains Is Regrets" in STAR THREE; S5; A/Ta)
Gemini, "All in the Mind" (S5; A/Se, A/B)
Andrea, "Inside" (S5, with real world frame story; A/Ta, and narrator)
Dorinda Hartmann, "Comparisons" (uc B/G)
Susan Riaz, "Future Ambitions" (S5; uc A/Ta, A/B)

Poetry:
Ebony, "Insomnia" (A)
Ebony, "Masquerade" (uc A/C)
Ebony, "Rebel" (A/B)

Nonfiction:
Judith Proctor, "Editorial"
Various writers, "Manhoods" (euphemisms; humor)
Zine ads

Art:
Karen River cover A, B
Mary O'Connor p. 33 B as Leopard Man; illo for "Mardi Gras"
p. 80 V-Doran; illo for "Passing"
p. 87 A-C; ilo for "In the Cold"
p. 100 So; illo for "Cold"
p. 111 S4 A
p. 122 Ta
Val Westall p. 40 A; illo for "Frozen"
p. 43 A/B; illo for "Frozen"
p. 53 A/Se; illo for "Saffron"
p. 62 A; illo for "Three"
p. 75 A; illo for "Three"
p. 95 D-Ta
p. 153 Ta-oc; illo for "Future"
p. 159 A-Ta; illo for "Future"
p. 164 A/B; illo for "Future"


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Last updated on 02nd of June 2001.