Blake's 7 Fanzine Reviews

Blake's 7 Fanzine Reviews
by Joyce Bowen

Fire and Ice 5

I just got the n/l with my B7 review, and is my face red or what! I completely forgot one of the best zines I read in 1999--FIRE & ICE 5. Of course, you have to like B/A to like this series, but B/A is my favorite--right up there with h/c with Blake and Avon. (You should be 21+, etc., to get a slash zine.) As usual, it's from Kathy Resch, and she can be reached at Kathleener@aol.com. The price for Americans is $20 or $22 depending on the postage.

All Change

Another new small genzine that just came out is ALL CHANGE, and it is Judith Proctor's radio play (print copy)--an alternate to the two Blakeless BBC ones (the Sevenfold Crown and The Syndeton Experiment audio plays--neither one of which I personally like). ALL CHANGE is set in fourth season. Check out Proctor's or Linda Knight's web sites for details. http://www.nas.com/~lknight is Knight's site which is probably a better one to use because then you can check out all the other fandoms that you like, too. And, no, I have no clue why it's called ALL CHANGE. Is that a British term?

Rites of Passage

I highly recommend RITES OF PASSAGE--an Avon genzine. The prices are cheap--and do include postage. (These are new prices, by the way.) USE CASH. It's 5 British pounds for UK, 10 US dollars for Americans, and 7 Australian dollars for Australians. This includes postage.
Pat Fenech, 11 Lincoln Street, Stanmore, NSW 2048, Australia
fenech@onaustralia.com.au
The zine has four stories (2 by Fenech, 1 by Ana Morgan, and 1 by Bryn Lantry) which take Avon from the LONDON to post Gauda Prime. Blake plays a major part in this Avon genzine so that's why I recommending it. I love the zine. Pat gives very fast service. There are/will be other ways of getting this zine, but frankly sending Pat cash now will result in you getting your zine quickly. The only problem that might occur is the normal December/Christmas postage slowdown. I'd like to think that all the B7 people in Several Unlimited will rush a ten dollar bill over to Pat ASAP. You will not regret making this buy.

Seven--Together Again 7th Tape

I just listened to "Seven," the seventh Together Again tape put out by Sheelagh Wells and Joe Nazzaro which I highly recommend to anyone interested in Blake's 7. This tape is longer than the others, it's about 80 minutes, but follows the same format as the other tapes. The people involved in this conversation besides Sheelagh and Joe are Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Jim Francis (special effects & models), and Chris Boucher (writer). The title of the tape becomes clear with the front photo because baby Orac is being held by Gareth and Paul, and it completes the group of 7. This photo, like the preceding six, is quite good and I hope will be offered later as a separate offering.

The conversation rambles about various topics, and everyone, except baby Orac, gets time on the tape with Joe leading the discussion, and Sheelagh sometimes adding comments. Francis talks about his work fourth season, and Boucher talks about the series in general. Gareth and Paul add various comments throughout. Gareth talks about what he thought about Blake as a hero and the last episode. Paul talks about the upcoming two part movie which might start production in April 2001. From what he says, one assumes only Avon will be in the movie and basically it will have a new cast of younger characters. It will almost be like a Blake's 7: The Next Generation. The basic setting is twenty years after "Blake." There are two easy ways to order this tape which is Ł8.25 for UK residents and $15 for Americans, price including postage. Judith Proctor's site offers this and tapes 3-6 for sale on her website which now can accommodate credit cards. The site is http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7. Of this series, the first two tapes, Blake's Back and Liberatored, are out of stock. The remaining tapes which are the same price are Action, Kingmaker, Elements, and Solstice. I own all seven and think most B7 fans would like to have them. Perhaps if there are enough requests, the first two tapes will be reissued. I hope so, as these are my two absolute favorites of the series.

The second way to get these is directly through Sheelagh. She gives fast service and accepts both American cash and American checks. To order, use this address:

Sheelagh J. Wells, 20 A New Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 ONX, England

The last I knew Wells was still offering photos and lithographic prints for sale and these are lovely. IF you are a new customer, ask Wells for a flyer about her photos and prints. Everything I have bought from Sheelagh has been delivered promptly and is of the highest quality. You can't go wrong with her merchandise.

More Info about these tapes

AVON 22

AVON 22 is a good little Blake's 7 genzine from Avon Club. Americans can buy the zine directly from Ann Bown for $8US cash or via Judith Proctor's website http://hermit.org/Blakes7/ The zine is 60 pages long with 4 stories, all with Blake in them to some degree.

The most Blake-less story is "Blakes Seven: The True Story II" by Ros Williams. It's the only humorous story, set in an a/u approx-imately forty years after Gauda Prime.

My favorite story was "A Dish Best Served Cold" by Sarah McEvoy. Set 1st or 2nd season, Blake and Avon encounter Amaro, an old enemy of Avon's. There are twists and turns in this short story about revenge in which we get an explanation for Avon's scar on his chin.

"Station Encounter" by Cheryl Smith. An early 2nd season story involves an ofc called Madison. In true Mary Sue fashion, she proves indispensible to the crew and Avon really likes her. I would have liked this story better if Madison hadn't have turned out to be so wonderful. But it is an interesting story with some good plot turns as Blake and company with Madison attempt to outwit Travis.

"Betrayal" by Maggie Crowe. When Blake investigates a planet with a distress beacon, he takes Gan. That alone makes the story original since Gan is normally no one's first choice as a backup man. The distress signal is from Dr. Alfred Smithson. He claims betrayal by the Federation, who has taken his scientific work and perverted its use. Avon, Vila, and Gan are captured by Travis, and it's up to Blake and the others to rescue them--with plot complications. I found strange that Blake played a practical joke on Jenna and the rest of the crew, including Avon, helped. There are interesting touches in this story, including an old friend of Vila's who turns out to be important.