Reading Room - The Larton Chronicles by Rhiannon

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Title: The Larton Chronicles
Author: Rhiannon
Link to story or zine/ProsLib info: Zine only, available from Gryphon Press
Pairing: B/D
Further story information found at prosficspoilers

How do I even begin to tell you how much I adore The Larton Chronicles, by Rhiannon? Reading it is rather like existing with B/D right inside the icon I've used for this post, The Kiss... *g*

The Larton Chronicles is made up of five separate but consecutive stories - if you buy the zine second hand, you may find yourself with the four-story version, before Best of All Ways was added in 2003, so watch out - set in an alternate Aga saga universe where Bodie is an aristocratic "horse-mad mick" (to quote Doyle - he's actually Anglo-Irish), and Doyle is an ex-policeman who was wounded on duty and resigned from the Met in order to write books. We meet them as Doyle is moving from London to the country, and of course bumping into Bodie when he does so.

I have to admit that the premise gave me pause when I first came across it - how on earth could two such different characters really be Bodie and Doyle? But they are - Rhiannon has absolutely captured the essence of our lads, and written perhaps the truest AU story I've ever read. If the lads had come from the world Rhiannon has set up (just as other AUs set up historic or SF or alternate-CI5 worlds) then this is exactly how they'd be! And that's absolutely part of the joy, for me, in reading Larton - all those moments where I smile along the way because yes, iin this world that's exactly how our Bodie and/or Doyle would react to that situation!

For example - Doyle has a low tolerance of fools, a penchant for getting to the bottom of things, and he often comes across as ratty and moody and/or stern - but despite this he has friends (just as he does on the eps - watch his interaction with Benny or Jax, for example, never mind our Bodie! *g*) because he's ratty/moody/stern for all the right reasons - he cares about things. Bodie, in Larton, is devil-may-care, tomorrow-will-look-after-itself, and all hail-fellow-well-met on the outside - and I use all those cliches on purpose because again that's how he wants to come across on the surface, just as in Pros, but just as in Pros we see he has a deeper side: in Pros he's affected by what happens to Frances Cottingham, for example, and he doesn't hesitate in going to visit Tony Cook's mum with Doyle; in Larton he pays for his niece's education when her father won't because she's a daughter rather than a son; in Pros he quotes poetry, in Larton he has a history degree which he uses sporadically. We see his military side too - he's in the Irish army in Larton, and although he retires from it, he still has a penchant for the exciting life, which we see in his love of riding and drag hunting! Doyle claims that he'd rather stay at home reading a good book - but he's out sliding down hills on a sled in the snow with the local kids when he gets a chance.

On the other hand, I've had conversations with people who disagree vehemently about the B/D characterisation in Larton, and can't see our lads at all - as happens, of course, between people over any Pros story, but is perhaps complicated here by the setting Rhiannon has used. I'm absolutely fascinated by the whole thing, because it highlights to me the way that we do all take very specific things from canon Bodie and Doyle, in order to create the characters that we individually love - and although there's often alot of cross-over between us, there are also huge differences. I suppose it's all to do with the little things that we recognise in the show, the things that mean something to us individually, but might imply something completely different to someone else. Whatever it is that Rhiannon has taken as the essence of Bodie/Doyle, it absolutely matches up with mine so that the story works for me.

Another complication is perhaps that Rhiannon has used a very specific sub-culture of England/Ireland - the Aga saga and the "County set", and even Doyle had a grandfather who taught him to ride when he was young, with all that implies. I'm fairly familiar with various parts of the Larton world, others I know I'll never really know, and I wonder what nuances and references I might be missing. Did the hotel used by the "County set" ever really exist in London? And I've never heard the term "panel" to describe the doctors at a GP practice (which is what I assume Doyle is referring to, when he's not sure how he feels about the GP "on his panel" being a hunting man)? And does Bodie's uniform cap badge really read "Sons of Fianna"? How does that fit in with the wiki description of FF - Fianna Fáil meaning "Sons of Destiny" (or "Warriors of Fál" if you keep tracing the translation) for example - Larton presumably using an older and perhaps more traditional way of referring to things? Or...? Fascinating stuff, if you're at all interested in digging further!

I love Rhiannon's writing style as well - her ability to use just a few words and an evocative image to make you feel the grass under your feet, and the pancake in your hand as you walk the show field with Doyle and Ashley; or the idea that "Jess in the kitchen jamming" helps to leave the stables free for Doyle to finally put his arms around Bodie; or that endless feeling of sitting in a meeting while the minutes are gone through - Why minutes? Seem to have been reading things for hours (to paraphrase Larton, as I don't have my copy here at work!) Even when she fades to black you can somehow feel what's going on between the lads, and lovely lines such as "You know, that's very good marmalade" when Bodie's stolen a kiss from a grumpy Doyle at breakfast make it all mean so much more... *g*

I could go on and on, and pull out a thousand parts that I adore, but I won't... *g* This is a cuddle of a book, and finishing Larton is always, for me, a complete tragedy, because I want it to go on forever - and I can't think of a better compliment for a story.

I'd love to hear what other people think of it, from either side - what says Bodie and Doyle to you in Larton, or if it doesn't then what's missing for you?

Comments

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the nice review. Larton is beautifully presented, but...

There is no Bodie and Doyle for me. It's so much an original fic that I don't even bother trying to find them any longer. I found on first read I couldn't even read this fic because it has nothing to do with our boys. Neither has that spark that I love from watching them and in this fic, I don't "hear" them at all nor do I see them when I read. I decided to give the novel a second chance as original fic with no expectations of Pros at all and guess what? I loved it. It's a fun read and easy on the brain. I found the lack of any spark of passion between these two men a bit off putting but overall, it's a beautiful story that is well worth a read.

I think the biggest thing that took me out of the story the first time is Bodie's passion for horses. Given that he avoided them in canon and seemed uncomfortable around them, I think that Doyle would have been the perfect horse master.

But honestly it's definitely an entertaining novel. The story scenes came to life as I read and I have a love of horses myself that makes this story work as a gentle read after a hard day.

What would be fun is to actually list canon traits of the boys that seem to have been transferred to Larton since I don't see any. Maybe a list will spark some recognition in my old brain.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I remembered you were one of the people who didn't like Larton, and I'm interested to see a few of your reasons why they're not Bodie/Doyle. I'm very curious about your reasons for saying Bodie doesn't like horses, or seem comfortable around them though - when does he avoid them, and when does he seem uncomfortable around them in Pros? I'll grant you he runs away from the bad guy on the horse in SoTM, but the guy is trying to run him down! And he's not very effectual in luring the horse to him, but again there are mitigating circumstances, and I'm not sure even a horse-lover could have done better in the same situation. Do we see him with horses in any other ep, though, to make you think he's not keen on them? I can't remember...

I can definitely make a list of ways that they are, though (*g*):
Canon - Larton
Bodie seems to thrive on a risky lifestyle - Bodie thrives on the risk of the hunt
Doyle's competence and fitness suggests he loves the risky CI5 lifestyle as well, but he says outloud he'd prefer a good book - Doyle protests that he wants a quiet life, but he goes sledding with the kids, and generally joins in other social life
Doyle started a sports club "mainly for the black kids in my area" - Doyle seems to have sympathy with deprived kids in Larton - he tries to help the Jenkins boys even though they caused him to be in an accident
Bodie puts forward a front of being a woman chaser - Bodie puts forward a front of being a woman chaser (*g*)
Doyle finds it hard to relax until he's finally worked out what's bugging him about a case - when Doyle's researching/writing, he won't rest until it's done - unless Bodie forces him to
Doyle doesn't suffer fools gladly - Doyle doesn't suffer fools gladly
Doyle seems to like animals (the rabbits in No Stone) - Doyle has pet cats
Doyle seems to have more sympathy for the working classes than the upper - Doyle has more sympathy for the working classes than the upper
We hear more about Doyle going to arthouse cinema than we do Bodie - Doyle is the one who yearns to be taken to posh show and dinner for his birthday, Bodie takes him to the local play with chips afterwards
Bodie has more of a romantic bent than Doyle does, in the poetry he quotes - Bodie is described as "romantic like his mother" and again quotes poetry - though in Irish *g*

Erm... I'd best to do some work, but I'll try and come back with more later - it is rather fun making the list, I hope others might join in!

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

I have grown to truly enjoy Larton, but they are not Bodie and Doyle in an AU world, they aren't Bodie and Doyle period. Aside from that, the story is charming, the village a place that I wish I could visit.

But I can hardly find the romance or love. . . .I have to squint sideways upside down on a two by four. When I finish I look for a passioned filled story to balance my reading. I understand that in that day it would have to be hidden, but not from the reader as well. And as sc_fossil said no real spark burns between them.

Just because we can find similar traits in the story lads still doesn't made them anywhere close to my Bodie and Doyle (now in Walking by Owl Light, I did see my Bodie and Doyle. . .go figure)

Yet, this is still an enjoyable read. I kept the zine and have reread, and will again, just not in my top ten.

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

You have captured perfectly just why I adore Larton and why, if I could only save one zine, it would be that one. I remember the first time someone mentioned the premise to me, and I was going: "OK, riiiight . . " And then I bought it and was hooked, and bought a second copy for best because the first one, which sits by my bed, is so dog-eared from constant re-reading. If I'm feeling miserable, I open it at random and start reading! I quote bits constantly -- I was on a training course yesterday and heard myself saying: "I have my hat on and am awaiting my instructions!"

A lot of it is very generation-specific, which is why I love the glossary, which is almost as entertaining as the story itself *g*.

The writing is lovely -- capturing vivid images in a few words, and hilarious throwaway lines which I howl with laughter at every time I read. And the fade to blacks are really rather hot *g*.

The supporting cast is great fun. In many fandoms, OCs are dismissed as superfluous. But every time I read Larton, I enjoy Jack and Agnes and Miranda and Toby and the Irish showjumping lads. Again, we have immaculate pen portraits told in a few words.

My feeling with Larton is you either 'get' it or you don't. Few people sit on the fence and think it was OK!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It's absolutely my desert island zine as well! And it is hot and subtle and vivid, and... and yes! The original characters are real people, aren't they! They're not more important than the lads, but they're there because the lads are there, and they help show us how gorgeous B/D are...

From what I've seen/heard from people, I agree with you about the "get it or don't" factor with Larton. I'm guessing that's because of the setting - you have to know why the lads would be that way in the Aga-saga setting of it all, to be able to make the connection between them and their surroundings, so you have to be fairly familiar with that generation/lifestyle/way of thinking (whether or not you've actually experienced it)... What do you reckon, though, is the reason that it's such a get-it-or-not story?

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested having more information regarding your comment: her ability to use just a few words..." Are you saying this is a "good" or preferred way to present a story? Is there some benefit to using less text or dialogue to get your point across? I'm curious.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

No, it's not the fact that she physically uses fewer words to get her point across that makes the difference - I don't see a specific "benefit" to pure word count - but it can be a way of creating magic, and I think that's what Rhiannon does. If you can choose the right words to describe something, then you can often evoke so much more feeling or emotion in the reader, than by just using ordinary words - and that's what to me makes a good story, how strongly I feel about it.

Often there are layers of meaning to specific words, or to words used in a specific way, or in one way rather than another. They're often the culturally specific meanings and layers that have come through slang and evolving language, or perhaps are associated with a particular part of history, so that they don't just pull up an image of something but of all those associations as well.

For example, in Pros when Doyle is telling Bodie where Cowley injured his leg, he says "in Spain" rather than "fighting fascists in the Spanish civil war". The latter would have given us specific information about where he injured it. The former, though, assumes several layers of knowledge from the audience - that they'll know it's connected to the context of Bodie describing Cowley's speech as "fascist", that they'll know there was a civil war against the fascists in Spain, that they'll know how that would have fit in with Cowley's life and that he would have been fighting against the fascists rather than for them - and so on. It's a specific relationship with the audience/reader - you're not lecturing to them, and telling them how the world is, you're bringing them closer to you, making them a confidante, by saying "you understand these things, just as I do, we're friends in that way". You then not only follow the story closely, but you feel good about knowing it - that you get it.

And the opposite is true too - I find it in Jane's fics often, for example, that she'll spend ages telling me about things that are fairly obvious, or explaining to me her knowledge of the sport of running, or a job, or a specific place or part of history, and I end up frustrated rather than interested, because she's not giving me any credit for having any experience or knowledge of my own, she's trying to teach me things when what I really want to do is read about the lads... She uses too many words to explain something that she could have shown me in a good phrase or two and I get the impression that she's really showing me what she knows, rather than telling me the story.

But when Rhiannon mentions briefly that they kissed in the kitche, but then "'That was very good marmalade,' Bodie said thoughtfully" you know that it was a long, deep kiss, and that afterwards there was the kind of meaningful stillness inside Bodie that left him "thoughtful" before life tipped in again and they both went off about their business. And I love that - Rhiannon's perfect choice of words there has shown me the slowing down of the moment between the two of them, rather than just telling me that they kissed for such a long time and it tasted of marmalade...

I wish I had my zine here, I'd think of another/better example! Does that make sense, though?

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Ah, The Larton Chronicles! I have to ration my reading of it, you know. I don't want to memorize it, although I've come awfully close. *g* And also when I read it, I have such longing to be there, and to stay in that world. It's actually rather painful to have it end. *g* It was such a joy when Best of All Ways actually came out.

I'm in the camp that see the essences of Bodie and Doyle in the characters. They aren't "Bodie and Doyle" in the sense that they didn't lead the lives the Bodie and Doyle did. There are differences (even beyond the obvious of backgrounds). But the essence is there, and the stories work for me beautifully as an AU.

I also love the "less is more" writing style. It means that I can reread and, each time, find something new, even if it's just the deeper meaning of a half sentence that I blipped over before. *g* And you're right, with that marmalade example in the comments--it says so much, and resonates because it's showing and not telling.

Oh, and the humour! So much humour in this! And fabulous supporting characters who are interesting in their own right.

The Larton Chronicles just cheers me up every time I read it--except for the whole black depression then when it's over. *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I have to ration my reading of it, you know.
I know! I could sit and read it over and over again, and then I'd lose the joy of spotting the little things that you forget - or "blip" over... *g* I've just finished re-reading it now, and I'm still in that lovely cozy place of adoring the Larton lads and wanting them back - I want mooooore!

[cloudless-9193.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this lovely review. It sums up all I feel about Larton. I think their characterisation is spot on, what they say, how they act, how they express their feelings to each other. It's all so comforting, even when they quarrel and are separated for a while. There is so much love here without the word ever spoken (At least I don't remember it was ever spoken out loud between them.)
The parish meeting you quoted was hilarious, btw. I really could imagine Doyle sitting there and thinking these things. Perfect! :-)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh I am glad you like the story too - and comforting is a great word for it! You can just tell that the depth of their love does mean they'll never separate properly, and so you know it'll always end happily for them... and so us. *g* I wonder if we have that understanding almost because their love is pretty much unspoken, because it's so deeply understood between them in the story that they don't need to say it out loud. They do say some things - Bodie waits for the moonlight to come out over the pigpens, and then says "Just wanted to say that the years with you have been the happiest of my life" (paraphrasing!), and Doyle tells Halliwell that they're really happy and then worries about having jinxed them, and I'm sure there are other odd things - but I don't think they do say "love" out loud... Oh I'm wrong! When Doyle's come off the horse and is half-conscious he sees Bodie looking worried and says "What's wrong, love?" So it is acknowledged by them too, just... so subtley!

Don't

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

The Larton Chronicles is a story I wanted to read since long. So I settled down for a nice long summer read. Even 'family safe', from what I’ve heard, so that I could read it outside in the garden.
And the beginning was very nice. Nice and slow. Bodie and Doyle becoming friends, they start to miss each other. Nice!

Suddenly, at page 29:
"Penny's just dropped, Bodie. Been very slow, haven't I? You're very fond of me, aren't you?"
But Bodie is too sick, and there is no proper talking after that. Then comes his nearly suicide, hospital, recovery. Then "...they settled by the fire.", and they agree to "Let's just see how things go."
Pardon? That's all? What do they feel? What do they think? What do they think about a gay relationship? What do they adore in the other man?

Six months and half a page later this: "...I'd like you to stay overnight. And we might consider a more permanent arrangement. See how we go on. What do you say?"
"Well," said Bodie, "I would have liked that said with more enthusiasm..."
Me too! Really!

Another half page and "...few months later." they have a 'toaster and Hunt Ball' conversation, so they seemed to be a pair!? Oh yes! They consider to buy the Parsons Farmhouse.
Hmmmm.... The most exciting time of a partnership – pressed in one and a half page?
Again I miss some thoughts, some feelings.

Another half page later obviously more than two years have passed. They are planning to celebrate their anniversary and to go to Switzerland. End of part One.
I was confused. No, I really began to get angry!

Part Two starts very nicely. Bodie returns home, all is bright morning sun and singing birds and happy cats and dogs, and Bodie enjoying all this, not wanting to wake up Ray. Very nice again!
I was full of hope. Would I get my long missed 'together moments'? No way...

The dialogues are nearly painful uninspired. Where is the banter, the caring, the loving?
And the rest of the second chapter is just bad and boring. What do I care about the management of that Irish team of Bodie?

– So I gave up in the middle of the second part.

For me the worst thing is the lack of really intense moments between Bodie and Doyle.
OK – they are there! But it never could reach me, I never was happy or smiling or 'just lost'.
It's more like an impersonal description of some accidentally chosen spots in their life.
Like an unwanted school essay after the holidays.

What a pity!

I like the rec more than the story itself. Thank you!

Do Do DO!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

More than anything else, Larton is subtle. If you're after loud, passionate exclamations of love and explicit sex scenes in your fic, then you won't find them here - it's not that kind of story! But that would be like trying to compare Jackie Collins with Miss Read, or Dan Brown with Agatha Christie - it makes no sense to try and do so! Some people will like the style, others won't. But there's alot more to it for many people than you're suggesting above!

Where is the banter, the caring, the loving?
It's absolutely throughout the zine, just waiting to be recognised - I could quote you a thousand examples, but I won't. *g* There's certainly plenty of banter, though it's not "snarky" banter as in alot of Prosfic - but to be fair, there's not alot of snarky banter in canon either, the lads are rarely as rude to each other (affectionate or not!) as they are in some Prosfic! Same thing with the caring - we see the lads on screen caring about each other in very subtle ways for the most part, and that's exactly how it's portrayed in Larton too - subtley. One thing Rhiannon has her eye well on is that two men of their age/generation living together through the eighties and even into the nineties and later, would not necessarily be overtly "out" in that they wouldn't be kissing and holding hands in public, especially in a small community like Larton.

That's the thing about Larton - it's not big, in your face slash (or humour) - it's slower paced, it's gentler, it's subtle and underspoken, and it's absolutely a reflection of the community/sub-culture in which it's set. This is partly where ideas like the "British stiff upper lip" and "No sex please, we're British!" come from - because this is what Britain was (and in some places, surely, still is!). The humour is often in the understatement itelf, you see... If you get that understated kind of writing, then Larton is gorgeous and infused through with love and humour!

Finally - what's with the "Don't" as subject header?! Surely everyone should try stories and see what they think, even if they don't ultimately decide they like them!

[hagsrus.livejournal.com]

I'm not generally a lover of AU and I didn't care for it much the first time I read a borrowed copy, but it nagged at my mind, and I went back and borrowed it again... and bought it... *g* (Well, I'm fond of agasaga anyway.)

One of my major problems with the first book is that, even after many readings, I just don't see any evidence that D is sexually attracted to B. I always wonder if there's a hint I'm stupidly overlooking.

Once the loving relationship is established I'm content with the fade to black.


"Shut up," said Bodie. "Have 'em all in here to see if I'm molesting you."

"You can stop doing it right now," said Doyle.

 
"Surprising how these bricks hold the heat," said Doyle, early the next morning. "Well, say something instead of lying there looking smug and sloppy." He poked Bodie hard.

Bodie just went on looking very contented, then sighed and got up to make some tea.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I think Doyle's attraction to Bodie is played very subtlely - I saw it in the way he let Bodie so easily into his life, though, and in wee bits of sentences like the moment when Doyle is about to go out with the hunt and is very dubious about it:
"I can feel it swilling about me as I go over those banks. Why am I here?"
In answer, Bodie appeared...

Oh, and a bit before that, when Bodie comes knocking on Doyle's door for the very first time:
Doyle opened it and stood transfixed. Apart from the clothes it could have been the young man in the painting on his doorstep.
...
"Come up rather well, hasn't it?" said Doyle. "Good-looking lad. Relation of yours, is he?"

And then... I just find the attention Doyle pays Bodie speaks volumes - and he looks at him so affectionately, at the horse show when he thinks that he was never that young, and that he doesn't really get offended when Bodie tries his chance at the literary luncheon and says Maisie Dalrymple thought Doyle was his boyfriend... oh, and when Amy looks at Bodie "as though he was prime steak... her behaviour was getting to him."

Whereas Bodie comes right out with it - "At last, all my fantasies realised!" as Doyle says he'll help him upstairs to bed, Doyle seems accepting of the idea of it, just not as it relates to him and Bodie. But I put that partly down in the story to him being rather harsh with himself - he tells Bodie that he's no good at the living together bit, but he does also say "It's not that I'm not attracted to you... God knows why, you're not my type at all - but it just wouldn't work..." I think it perhaps grew more slowly for him, but it was there, and then hidden behind a few insecurities for a while... And as you say, later on there's definitely sexual attraction shown between both of them - it's just took a while to properly bloom... *g*

Oh, and I do love those fade to black moments in this fic - and it's not often I say that! Another one I like is their very first one:
"Jessie's in the kitchen, jamming, Ashley's at school, so you can put down that bloody curry-comb and come over here. If you don't think it'll frighten the horse."
"What did you have in mind?" said Bodie, coming over.
Doyle slid his arms round his neck. "Just this, and if you giggle I'll slay you."
"Who's giggling?" said Bodie, returning the embrace. They were both breathing hard when they separated, leaning back against the partition, looking at each other.
"I don't think that's goingto be a problem," said Doyle...

*sighs happily*

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

Ah, Larton.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I know I've banged on ad nauseam about how much Larton means to me - it was the very first slash story I ever read (even before I'd even heard the term 'slash', let alone knew that such a thing existed) and it was the first time in my life that I finished a story and went straight back to the beginning and read it all over again. And it was because of Larton that I discovered the Pros fandom and everything that goes along with it, so it's probably obvious why Larton holds such a special place in my heart.

So, I definitely come down on the side of those who "get it." Agreed, this Bodie and Doyle aren't exactly the same as those we see on the screen - but how could they be when their lives have taken such a different direction to those of the canon lads? But that's what an AU is all about, surely? As others have said, it's capturing the essence of the lads that's important and Rhiannon does it perfectly IMHO.

Her other big achievement to my mind is her depiction of life in Larton itself and all the wonderful characters who live there. I'm sure that anybody who's the least bit familiar with English village life will recognise Larton and its inhabitants.

Anybody who's looking for sizzling sex won't find it in this zine, but that's all part of its charm for me. As someone once said to me about the lack of sex "We never see it, but we know they're at it like minks!"
There's actually nothing about the story that's overt or 'in-yer-face'; everything's done very subtly and quietly, and there are no hearts-and-flowers declarations of true love. But that doesn't mean that it isn't true love!

I was interested to see that for some people the Wayward Books version of the zine didn't work. For me the opposite was true, the Wayward book was my first introduction to Larton and I had some trouble getting into the zine version at first. I think this was mainly because I was completely unaware of the Pros connection during my first few readings of the story and consequently I had two completely different images of the lads in my head for a long time. (If anybody's interested I'd 'cast' Colin Firth as Mike (Bodie) and Jeremy Northam as Rob (Doyle)!!)

There is one thing about the story that leaves me wanting more (apart from just wanting more that is...) - I'd love to know more of the lads' back-story as far as relationships with other men is concerned. Doyle has been married and divorced, and has fathered a child, and Bodie has reputedly bedded half the women in the county, and yet neither of them appear at all surprised at their attraction to each other and remain completely unfazed as their relationship develops. I'm not saying that this doesn't work for me, I'd just love to know why!

So that's it for me - Larton is my number one feel-good zine, and my idea of heaven is just to immerse myself in it and wrap it around me.

Don't suppose anyone knows of a house for sale in the village, do they?

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

Oh god yes, they're definitely at it like rabbits off-stage *vbg*. And the understated nature of it rings totally true -- this is rural England and nothing's in-yer-face, and this is two blokes who probably aren't good at expressing their feelings . . .

I do agree re. the backstory -- it would have been good to have had more of that inked in.

msmoat and elizabethoshea and I are totally convinced we have *found* Larton, down to the duck pond, pub and tin tabernacle *g*. We reckon it's Badsey, near Chipping Campden and Broadway!

ETA: Look, look, Badsey has a village show (http://www.badsey.org.uk/)which is totally Larton!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

but that's all part of its charm for me
Yes, that's just it - it's not your bog-standard slash story at all, Larton's taken a whole other genre and shared it with our lads, and she's done such a good job that it totally works! I suspect it helps to be familir with that genre and way of life and so on, so that you can see how the lads fit in as themselves, despite everything being different, but when you do it's wonderful!

I do agree that it would be fun to know more about the lads, but I think them keeping it fairly private from each other is pretty realistic too. I liked the way Bodie found out about David - from someone else, and then he saw the photo and asked without making a fuss, so that Doyle just told him... and it wasn't a big dramatic scene, it was just... dealing with it. I think the only way we could really find out more though, given the way it's already been dealt with, is for it to be written as backstory, and then of course the lads wouldn't be together yet *sobs*

I suppose it makes sense that Wayward worked better for you than Pros did at first, since that was the way around that you read them - you already had Colin Firth and Jeremy Northam (had to look him up - very nice choice *g*) in your head, whereas I already had LC and MS, so we had to work differently to picture other people...

Don't suppose anyone knows of a house for sale in the village, do they?
Or rent...? *g*

[etain-antrim.livejournal.com]

I adore Larton! Bodie and Doyle are certainly not the characters we see on screen, but they feel true to me nonetheless. As several folks noted, their backgrounds and experiences are different enough from the canon characters that they couldn't be exactly the same. And I love the subtlety of the writing -- I have no problem believing that these two men love each other and are committed to making a life together, even if each occasionally wants to thump their beloved. In truth, I really admire Rhiannon's ability to tall a story through short vignettes and have considered trying that technique sometime. In all of her stories, there is lots of missing time (and occasionally odd lapses in the accounting of time that make me crazy), yet the story is complete and we know all we need to know, It took me a while to get past the staccato nature of her text, but now I relax and appreciate each tiny window onto the story she's telling.


Larton is the 'zine I reach for when I need some comfort -- like others I have many passages almost memorized -- but I only have the four chapter version. Obviously I need to order the full, five chapters. What bliss to be able to live in Larton again for the first time!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

their backgrounds and experiences are different enough from the canon characters that they couldn't be exactly the same
Exactly - but they do have similar reactions to things, and sort of... philosophies on life, ways of dealing with things, and to me that's the essence of the lads, and what makes AUs so much fun...

Excellent thought about the way Rhiannon gives us windows on their life - I like that! We see all the important things, glimpsing through that window, it really is like being there with them, somehow... *sighs happily*

I'm rather jealous that you've not read The Best of All Ways yet - as you say, it's wonderful have new Larton to read! It's too, too heartbreaking that there will be no more...

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I'm another one who totally "gets" it. Larton is definitely one of my 3 fave Pros zines. I love it for all the reasons you cite.

What's interesting to me is that to me Rhiannon's other stories are completely insipid, boring, and downright frustrating because of the huge lapses of time they contain. Some friends and I were trying to work out the timeline for Rhiannon's writing but didn't get very far. It seems to me that she achieved near perfection with Larton and sadly missed with Veils of Morning, To Walk By Owl Light, and Prelude and Answer, and yet some of them must have been written after some of Larton. Very curious.

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Wow. I adore "Veils of Morning" and "Prelude and Answer", and like "To Walk by Owl-Light". Plus "Music in the Dark". To me, all of them have exactly the same traits that I love about Larton: wonderful, real supporting characters; amazing, detailed settings (the "starving artist" lifestyle portrayed in "Veils of Morning" is wonderful--the food descriptions alone are astonishing and absolutely real); and a slow relationship arc that nevertheless is bone-deep. They are, though, more...let's call it "raw Rhiannon" than Larton. Editing her is an interesting process. *g* Larton is the most polished of the lot (with the exception of "Music in the Dark". But the elements that I love about her storytelling are there in all the others.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the delay, I've been back in Windsor, and I have a houseguest! *g*

I'm with MsMoat below though, I adore Rhiannon's other stories - especially Music in the Dark. I don't at all mind the time-lapses either, to me that's just her style of writing, and it tells me something too - it helps evoke the passing of time and the calming down of emotions previously evoked, or the way they've been preying on the mind or whatever... I don't think she "missed" with them at all - though Larton is also my favourite of them all! *g*

[timberwolfoz.livejournal.com]

Damn, I missed the discussion on this!

But my two cents worth -- what I find charming about Larton is that it's such a different world but you can still see the elements of the original B&D.

Thanks for the heads-up that the later edition has five stories whereas the original one has four; I was totally unaware of this!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Never too late to discuss, I reckon! It is a very different world, isn't it - but I absolutely think that our B/D are in there, their very essence... *g*

And I'm glad we were able to help out about the newer story too - I believe it's available from Gryphon, and I'm assuming they'll have a way of just purchasing the final story as well as the whole zine. Mind you, Larton's a zine that I totally need a back-up copy of, because I read it so often that it's already falling apart... *sighs happily*