Chronicles

Mini Review By Sarah Thompson

This is the B7 zine with the most issues, by far-- into the 60s now. It's not quite as many as the numbers suggest, because there have been a fair number of double and triple issues, but still more than any other zine.

The name started out as "The Chronicles," and along the way the "The" was dropped. Here I'm going by what it says on the cover and/or the title page of the zine.

I don't have a complete set, unfortunately, but I'll post what I've got, in order, and maybe someone else can fill in. I've got a mixed batch of originals, Australian reprints by the original publisher, and authorized North American reprints by Bill Hupe.

In general I'm not terribly impressed with the fiction, though there are some good things too; but the art is superb-- among the best I've seen in zines.

The art gets better and better. Minds-i-view is one of my favorite B7 artists.

xBryn Lantry fans will want to read her gen fiction and poetry. And for Tarrant fans, I've noticed that Monica Mitchell is a very Tarrant-friendly author, well worth checking out. (Explanation of typical abbreviations: Ta-hc, uc Ta/ocf means: "Tarrant gets hurt and has an unconsummated romance with an original female character.") I also liked her Wodehouse pastiche in #30.

The story by Leah and Annie in #45 is one that I actually hadn't read! It's not quite Bizarro but almost as funny.

I'm puzzled by Falcon D'Arenburg's "Wall of Honour" series as it appears to have nothing to do with B7 other than being set in that universe. Possibly there was something in the earlier segments, which I don't have, that explained the relationship between these characters and the B7 ones.

"Star-Walker" in #53 is somewhat similar in that it appears to be set in an earlier(?) version of the B7 universe, but without the B7 characters. The main connection of "Litraline" to B7 is that the rebel heroine is the daughter of Travis.

"World Enough and Time" in #47 is an interesting time travel story, close to a historical AU. Jenna finds herself in Roman times.

I rather like the B7-ized "Christmas Carol" in #46. Avon (series 2 model) is Scrooge, of course; Marley is played by Gan (presumably because he's conveniently dead and so can appear to Avon as a ghost).

Rosemary Woodhouse's "Young Vila" stories are recommended for Vila fans; others in the series have appeared in various zines including INPUT and CHILDREN OF THE FEDERATION.

As usual, there is some scrumptious art.

The editors note in the editorial for #53 (July 1992) that they are planning to go to MediaWestCon the following year, 1993. Dang, a missed opportunity! That was my very first MWC and I didn't know much about fandom yet. I think they were pointed out to me, but I didn't quite understand who they were! Well, maybe there will be another chance to meet.

"A New Prometheus" in #27/28 is a very touching look at the background of a seldom-mentioned character-- the android, Vinni. By the same author, under her new married name, is "A Body Worth Guarding" in #49/50/51, in which Tarrrant meets Deeta's widow, who turns out to be quite a remarkable person in her own right. I remember commenting back when I was looking through the earlier issues of the zine that Monica Mitchell (later Bell) does good Tarrant, and is a good writer in general.

"Not in Your Stars" in #55 is a rather odd story. It's sort of a Trek crossover, but not exactly; it's a study of what sort of person James T. Kirk might have been if he were a product of the B7 universe rather than the Trek one, and a loyal officer of a different Federation. Here he interacts with the young Tarrant. It's well-written and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Trek as well as B7. Being pretty much a Trek apostate these days, I liked this story better than the one that I presume was a prequel to it, because that one had no B7 characters at all.

Even odder are the two sex-reversal stories by Venessa Kelly. Whereas Vickie treated this theme seriously, these stories are for laughs. And yes, the change is permanent and never explained!


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Last updated on 03rd of February 1998.