tinturtle | Old and New Project: 2 by Jane (of Australia)

Fandoms in this post: The Professionals

This post is different from others I've made recently. I'd been trying to include both Pros and MFU fics in every Old and New Project write-up, thinking that it would be more fun for readers. That approach is just not working for me, though. It leads to too much time between posts. Today's post includes only Pros fics (and only two of them). MFU fans can expect some MFU fics by Taliesin next time, though.

The fic I had collected was:

Nothing Left to Lose by Jane (of Australia) and Madelaine Ingram*, from a story by Kathy Keegan* (The Professionals; 33,648 words; slash)
(*Both Madelaine Ingram and Kathy Keegan were probably the same person as Jane.)
This is a post-apocalyptic AU in which an alternate Bodie and Doyle meet in a world struggling in the aftermath of a comet impact. I have a bit of a soft spot for post-apocalyptic stories, which is probably why I like this one. Certainly, there are some things about it that annoy me: most notably how prominently sex, much of it of some shade of nonconsensuality, figures in the worldbuilding. I'm just not sure what it's all there for. Overall, though, the worldbuilding is vivid, detailed, and hangs together, which covers a multitude of annoyances. The main story features well handled suspense and a lot of atmosphere. There is also good chemistry between our lead characters, and although they don't quite strike me as the Bodie and Doyle of canon (more on that in the spoiler section), they do resemble them, and the Waif!Doyle that I understand is common in Jane's stories is not in evidence here. On the whole, I am a fan.

Indeed, in a late-night moment of prodigality, I actually went and bought an ebook of the commercial novel based on this fic, which is available here complete with appalling CG cover art. I was curious how it would be different. If I read it, perhaps I will share my findings.

Comments with spoilers:

The other major annoyance of this story for me is that it's never made clear how the biker tribes can attack towns during storms so severe that no one else can even venture outside. There seems to be a logic issue there.

As for the characters, as the story progresses, readers learn that the Bodie and Doyle of the AU world are not meant to be our Bodie and Doyle at all but rather their descendants. It's a curious choice for what is ostensibly a B/D slash story, I think. While the Bodie and Doyle of the fic get together, the fact that they exist at all means that our Bodie and Doyle did not, instead marrying and having the children who were the parents of the characters in the fic.

Finally, anyone planning to read the fic may want to check out this illustration by Suzan Lovett. Nothing Left to Loose was part of the zine Leather and Blue Jeans, in which every fic was inspired by that image. Much better than appalling CG.

The new fic I read was:

The Hunting, Book 1, Part 1 by Jane (The Professionals; 33,199 words; slash)
Well, this is The Hunting. The world is low tech and at least somewhat magical. Doyle is an elven warrior. Bodie is a human one. There is slash.

As a Pros fic, this story didn't work for me at all. The characters didn't strike me as identifiably Bodie and Doyle. There were also definite Waif!Doyle shenanigans happening. On the other hand, I didn't hate it. I was interested enough in the plot to finish it, and I quite liked the setting, which was vaguely pre-Medieval and reminded me of a podcast about Iron Age Britain that I had been listening to. I won't be reading any further parts, though.

Comments with spoilers:

I did find what we saw of the elven society a bit too utopian, but possibly that's complicated in later installments.

Also-reads: 0