The Reading Room - THE HUNTING by Jane

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Title: The Hunting, Book I Part I
Author: Jane
Pairing: B/D
Further story information found at prosficspoilers
Link to story and zine info:
Zine: Nut Hatch Collective, 1986

 I’m not sure if it seems contradictory that someone who loves Kate MacLean and Sebastian and Helen Raven and a host of other, well, relatively hardboiled fics as much as I do should be so fond of something as sweet and fantastic (in the sense of removed from reality) as The Hunting, but I do. 

In fact, I think The Hunting is Jane at her absolute best. Of course, if you dislike Jane, it’s probably Jane at her absolute worst too. It’s self-indulgent, it’s repetitive, its expositiony, a lot of the dialog is lame, there’s too much time spent on other characters (and tiresome other characters at that). But it’s also enormously imaginative, shamelessly romantic, sexy and just incredibly fun. 

If you can overlook the part about…er…Ray being an elf. 

 

Actually, to be fair, Ray Doyle is not in The Hunting. In his place we have Raven, an elven prince of the Kith tribe. Jane made it clear again and again in the Nuthatch zines that The Hunting is only loosely based on the characters of Doyle and Bodie. It is its own original universe peopled with its own cast of characters. A fairytale for grown ups, that’s what The Hunting is to me. 

The initial books are my favorite. The series does get increasingly repetitive and later on there’s way too much focus on the supporting cast, but Book I is delightful. Especially Part I when Bodie and Raven first meet and fall in love. 

Bodie is a much respected human warrior of the hard and brutal tuath chieftain Garth. Bodie’s been off in the Black Hills doing a little reconnaissance work in between trying to forge an alliance with other outlying tribes against the elves. In this world, the elves and humans have a best an uneasy alliance, and signs indicate that the elves may be  readying for war once more against the humans. Or at least Garth. 

Garth has a particular hatred for the elves, especially the Kith, because they abducted his only daughter long ago and carried her off never to be seen again. 

Unfortunately, Bodie’s mission has met with failure. If Garth goes to war with the Kith, he’ll be on his own. Bodie returns home to deliver the grim tidings and learns that one of Garth’s raids has ended badly -- but in the course of things two elves were captured. One has since died, but the survivor, an elven prince, is still being held captive. 

Bodie heads for the feasting hall and lays eyes on the prisoner.  

The crush of warriors and freemen drew apart to permit him to approach the chief's table, and as he did Bodie stopped short in surprise: the elf was there in the full wash of the firelight, fine chains binding his ankles to an eye-bolt in the table on which he sat, naked, like a living decoration. He was unhurt, as far as Bodie could see, and clean; his long, curling hair spilled about his shoulders, freshly washed, and his skin was so pale that in the illumination from the hearths he seemed to be made of molten gold. He sat still, his slender limbs curled into a graceful attitude, his head bowed, eyes closed, and his mind seemed to be far away. 

"Ah, so be it," Garth rumbled as Bodie fell silent. "If we must fight alone, we will -- as we always have. Come and eat, Bodie, you look wasted from your efforts. Sit at my table and drink my wine... And look at my prize. This we took in a battle ten days ago. Come closer, do not be afraid; he is chained, and in any case I have had Shon blind him, he can do no one harm."

Blind? Bodie's eyebrows rose and his mouth twitched in distaste. It was not the way a warrior should end his life, chained naked on a feasting table, sightless and alone. He took a deep cup of wine, and moved closer to look at the elf. And it was as the elf lifted his head that Bodie saw his face clearly for the first time. 

Bodie immediately recognizes the elf as the fierce warrior who spared his life in battle a couple of summers earlier. He realizes that he owes this creature everything and that if he has any honor at all, he must do what he can to save him. But to save Raven, Prince of the Kith, means giving up his position, his home, maybe even his life.

 

Comments

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

For me Elves are something like that:
(http://s517.photobucket.com/albums/u337/smurfsmurf/Main/?action=view&current=elf-1.jpg)

So I was pleasantly surprised about this story. Elf Doyle has not too much of a 30cm light-creature, indeed he is a warrior, and his fabulous skills aren't 'too bad'.

I think the story has a very strong beginning.
The moments in the cave are a bit too sweet for my taste, but the hunting afterwards makes up for it.

Hillarious that I like it...
It's indeed a beautiful story!

- but I'm glad that you pointed out that this first part of book 1 is something special, because although I really enjoyed this story, I don't want to go hunting for the rest of the 18, 19, 20 followers.
Did I ever mention that I'm not into sagas? And that I don't want to be dependent on sequels?

Thanks a lot for this rec! Really! - I NEVER would have read this story without it.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

So I was pleasantly surprised about this story. Elf Doyle has not too much of a 30cm light-creature, indeed he is a warrior, and his fabulous skills aren't 'too bad'.

I agree. These elves are more the Tolkien kind of elf than the kind who used to do the housework for the shoemaker. *g* They're sort of New Agey and yet there's plenty of action and warmaking. It's very enjoyable.

I think the story has a very strong beginning.

That first image of Raven chained to the table is very memorable.

The moments in the cave are a bit too sweet for my taste, but the hunting afterwards makes up for it.

It's a real mix of romance and action -- I'd have preferred that they didn't fall so totally in love so fast, but...that's just my taste.


Hillarious that I like it...
It's indeed a beautiful story!

I love the little bits -- like how the elves ears are these super sensitive erogenous zones.


- but I'm glad that you pointed out that this first part of book 1 is something special, because although I really enjoyed this story, I don't want to go hunting for the rest of the 18, 19, 20 followers.
Did I ever mention that I'm not into sagas? And that I don't want to be dependent on sequels?

No? Well, the first book stands fine on its own. There are lots of great parts in each of the other books, but it does get to be pretty monotonous at times.

Thanks a lot for this rec! Really! - I NEVER would have read this story without it.

;-D

I know. Believe me, I know.

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

"I know. Believe me, I know."
So you can count this as 'the good deed of the day'! :-)

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

So you can count this as 'the good deed of the day'! :-)

I'll put it in my plus column!

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

Now I think about it, it does seem a bit odd that I've been in the fandom this long and have never read 'The Hunting'!

I'll admit to having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Jane - I think she's terrific at world-building and inventing completely new cultures, and she can write some brilliant action scenes, but her tendency to repeat herself and the way she bombards us with facts when she's been researching a subject do tend to grate on me, I'm afraid.

However - purely by coincidence - 'The Hunting' has turned up in my batch of Circuit Library stories this week! I only started reading it last night but so far so good, and I'll be reading all the comments here with great interest!

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Now I think about it, it does seem a bit odd that I've been in the fandom this long and have never read 'The Hunting'!

It is another of those classics!

I'll admit to having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Jane - I think she's terrific at world-building and inventing completely new cultures, and she can write some brilliant action scenes, but her tendency to repeat herself and the way she bombards us with facts when she's been researching a subject do tend to grate on me, I'm afraid.

I know. I end up doing a bit of skimming with Jane, but when she's good, she's very good.

I love the little things in this -- I mean, they're nutty, but I still love them. Like the food they eat in the cave.

"There is sweet water pouring through the roof of this cave from a stream up above, and I smelt mushrooms. I cannot tell the colour though. Here." He held out his left hand, the palm full of them. "Are they brown or purple?"

"Brown," Bodie told him.

"Ah, good." Raven brought one to his lips and bit into it. "Fresh, too. Try some. There are plenty more."

The flavour was unlike anything Bodie had ever tasted, but Raven was right, they were good. "You look pale, but better," he observed as he put water on to boil and brought out yesterday's bread. "Will you eat?"

"A little," Raven agreed. "Honey and roses -- I can smell them."

Bodie broke open an unleavened loaf and filled it with honey, spread with his dirk, then packed it with rose petals, plucked from blooms that had been fresh the previous afternoon. He handed the whole thing to Raven and watched the elf sink his teeth into it. "It's good to see you eat," he observed drily. "You are never going to grow strong if you do not, you know."

"I know," Raven said between bites, licking honey from his lips.

He missed a trickle, which worked its way onto his chin, and for the life of him Bodie could not have held back. Leaning forward, he licked it away and smacked his lips.

I don't know, but somehow those roses petals and honey and mushrooms sound delicious. *g*



However - purely by coincidence - 'The Hunting' has turned up in my batch of Circuit Library stories this week! I only started reading it last night but so far so good, and I'll be reading all the comments here with great interest!

We'll see!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I had heard jokes at multi-fandom get-togethers about Pros and Elves - but as I like elves of the Tolkien variety (though not the diminished Victorian fakes) I gave this a try. I really liked Part 1. The only thing is that I didn't really see it as Pros. Yes, Jane herself admits that it is only loosely based - I actually thought it was so loosely attached that it had managed to free itself except for the naming of Bodie. I thought it was a good original fantasy fic masquerading as fanfic for some undisclosed reason. I still enjoyed it very much indeed - the fantasy world is built with loving detail and the characters are well developed (though not our lads). There is humour, angst and tension and a good plot. But it's a step beyond an AU.

I then went on to read some of the rest of the saga and after a while gave up - the repetition got boring and some of the plot seemed too directed towards giving an excuse to write the sex scenes rather than those growing out of the plot.

So thanks for the rec - I'm glad I'm not the only one who was 'captured' by Raven's predicament! And part 1 is a good read, even if it's strictly speaking OF (Outside Fandom) rather than AU.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

I had heard jokes at multi-fandom get-togethers about Pros and Elves - but as I like elves of the Tolkien variety (though not the diminished Victorian fakes)

I like them all, to be honest. But not in Pros. Or at least, I thought not in Pros. I was pleasantly surprised.

I gave this a try. I really liked Part 1. The only thing is that I didn't really see it as Pros. Yes, Jane herself admits that it is only loosely based - I actually thought it was so loosely attached that it had managed to free itself except for the naming of Bodie.

Oh yes. I agree!

I thought it was a good original fantasy fic masquerading as fanfic for some undisclosed reason. I still enjoyed it very much indeed - the fantasy world is built with loving detail and the characters are well developed (though not our lads). There is humour, angst and tension and a good plot. But it's a step beyond an AU.

What's interesting to me is that -- and I do totally agree that it is more truly original fic than AU -- I still prefer it with the characters *looking* like Bodie and Doyle.

I then went on to read some of the rest of the saga and after a while gave up - the repetition got boring and some of the plot seemed too directed towards giving an excuse to write the sex scenes rather than those growing out of the plot.

There are some very imaginative parts and great bits, but it is badly bloated.

So thanks for the rec - I'm glad I'm not the only one who was 'captured' by Raven's predicament! And part 1 is a good read, even if it's strictly speaking OF (Outside Fandom) rather than AU.

I'm so glad you gave it a shot. And that you enjoyed it!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

What's interesting to me is that -- and I do totally agree that it is more truly original fic than AU -- I still prefer it with the characters *looking* like Bodie and Doyle.

I think quite often I 'see' characters as 'acted' by my favourite actors or perhaps 'types'. Not really surprising - after all, we see Ray Doyle as Martin Shaw and Bodie as Lewis Collins, but there were arguments over the original cassting so we might have ended up with the same characters with different faces. Orlando Bloom plus prosthetic ears is now a kind of elvish archetype in international consciousness and any good/sympathetic pirate is Johnny Depp. So when illustrations in a book are either non-existent or incredibly bad cover art my mind just switches into casting mode and finds a suitable look. Jane's descriptions of Raven and Bodie obviously make this more likely here and the obvious candidates are the lads! If you try to replace them with different actors it's quite hard - but I see MS and LC rather than Doyle and Bodie. Does that make sense?

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

So when illustrations in a book are either non-existent or incredibly bad cover art my mind just switches into casting mode and finds a suitable look.

I wonder if this is one of the appeals of fan fiction. We can visualize the characters/players in a way we typically can't in original fiction? I know when I read I usually have a vague sort of mental image of what the characters look like, but it's not concrete in the way it is in fan fiction where I know exactly how Shaw and Collins will look when someone describes Bodie's pout or Doyle's cackle.

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

The link with films and TV shows certainly turns some fanfic into almost-films in the reader's mind. But that doesn't explain the book fandoms - LotR among them - where the fans are desperate that the eventual films should be well cast! And of course every fan has his/her own idea of who should play each part!! I think provided the author writes good description I usually do have a 'concrete' idea of a character, though sometimes it might be based on an actor. Perhaps our favourite actors/roles turn into archetypes in our subconscious?

Unlike Rosie, I adored LotR long before the films were thought of, and didn't like the casting much. 'My' Legolas would have looked more like Paul Michael Glaser a.k.a. Starsky and my Aragorn would have been a roughened version of either Bodie or Doyle. Mortenson was all wrong, however well he acted!! In fact, in The Hunting, I 'see' Raven as played by PMG, not MS, who never strikes me as even faintly fey...

Strange things, our minds!!

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

In fact, in The Hunting, I 'see' Raven as played by PMG, not MS, who never strikes me as even faintly fey...

Oh! That's fascinating. PMG does not seem remotely elvish to me. Character archetypes are very interesting to me too -- like we (meaning the media) has an idea of what a princess might look like or a wicked witch or a lonely nice guy. *g*

I agree the casting of LotR didn't do much for me.

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Perhaps our archetypes are influenced nowadays by screen appearances? Maybe a hundred years ago our internal visualisation of book characters would have been more influenced by people we had met.

Whatever, MS and LC become quintessential secret service guys - not elf material at all! And yet there is something alluring about the idea of Doyle and elves - I don't think it would work the other way, with Bodie as an elf, even with Jane writing it. I can't think what it is.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

I don't think it would work the other way, with Bodie as an elf, even with Jane writing it. I can't think what it is.


There is some story where Bodie is an elf...I can't remember what it is. I think Doyle is something else not quite human. The details are (blessedly) fuzzy. *g*

[margaret-r.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this first book. Didn't have a lot of success reading the others in the series though!

The characters of Raven and Bodie are nicely presented here, despite not having a lot in common with the lads, and the world they live in is quite vivid and real. Some of the scenes of them together are beautifully romantic and sensual too, which makes it easier to ignore the faults and repetitions!

In fact it's a bit of a shame that it has been presented as Pros fanfic and not an original fantasy.

Thanks for the rec, it was a good read and kind of fun to imagine Doyle as an elf, even it if wasn't really believable:)

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Some of the scenes of them together are beautifully romantic and sensual too, which makes it easier to ignore the faults and repetitions!

She does some of her loveliest, most senusal writing in these scenes. Maybe it's the whole woodland atmosphere. One of the best scenes is when Bodie first takes Raven to his little cottage and poor Raven is doped out of his skull and anticipating rape, and Bodie is so gentle in his pleasuring of him. It's really a nice little scene.

[cloudless-9193.livejournal.com]

Doyle as an elf really put me off, therefore I've ignored this and all the other elf stories. But having read your rec I'm curious now and think I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Doyle as an elf really put me off, therefore I've ignored this and all the other elf stories. But having read your rec I'm curious now and think I'll give it a try. Thanks!

I can tell you that I was about as resistant as could be to the notion of elves. To be honest, I still am. The Hunting sort of worked its way under my guard. So many people had recommended it to me that I finally felt I might as well give it a shot.

Admittedly, I have to be in the proper mood for it. When I'm thinking I want to read Pros, The Hunting is not the first thing that pops into my mind.

I hope you do give it a glance!

[emmamydog11.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed most of the plot but I did't hear Doyle in the story. It has interested me enough to continue but it's not really Pros.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed most of the plot but I did't hear Doyle in the story. It has interested me enough to continue but it's not really Pros.


No, definitely not. In fact, it makes Larton look like strict canon. *g*

I'm so glad you're giving it a read!

[rosie55.livejournal.com]

Generally I don't much enjoy fantasy/elves fic, nor for that matter did I get much out of Lord of the Rings etc though of course I read it back in the 70s when it was de rigueur for my generation. But very soon after I came into Pros fandom I was given the entire series of The Hunting (yes, the printed version.) And what do you know, eventually,interspersed with other stuff to keep me sane and over a period of about a year I read the whole lot. There, I knew you'd be impressed!
I think I may have skip read much of the later volumes because tbh, I can't remember very much about them,so I go with the repetition and the supporting cast comments. But hey, it kept me interested enough (and just bloody-minded enough towards the end) just to have read it all once. Volume 1 I have subsequently re-read a couple of times and have even put it on my Kindle, so I guess that means it really did overcome my prejudice against elf-fic.
I do very much enjoy AUs and I think Jane's world-building and the detail of that is both enjoyable and convincing. Possibly for the same reason, I adore The Cook and the Warehouseman where again the imagined world is - in my mind - one of the best aspects of the story. Being apparently devoid of that sort of imaginative mind myself, it impresses me when I see it in action like this.
It's amazing how Prosfic can broaden your reading habits - I'll be reading Terry Pratchett before you know it!

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Generally I don't much enjoy fantasy/elves fic, nor for that matter did I get much out of Lord of the Rings etc though of course I read it back in the 70s when it was de rigueur for my generation.

*g* Elves defined for a generation!

But very soon after I came into Pros fandom I was given the entire series of The Hunting (yes, the printed version.) And what do you know, eventually,interspersed with other stuff to keep me sane and over a period of about a year I read the whole lot. There, I knew you'd be impressed!

Oh, I am! That must make seven of us remaining in all the kingdom. *g* I think you should get some kind of Order of the Fandom for that.

I think I may have skip read much of the later volumes because tbh, I can't remember very much about them,so I go with the repetition and the supporting cast comments. But hey, it kept me interested enough (and just bloody-minded enough towards the end) just to have read it all once.

I think Jane was tiring of it by the end (there are those companion volumes and poems and etc. It was an enormous undertaking -- the work she put into that world alone is just incredible). One of the later stories, though rushed, is really great. One of my favorites. Raven gets whacked on the head -- his cheekbone is broken (!) and he gets amnesia and is carried off by rogue, gypsy elves. It's a great story even if she did hurry through it. I keep trying to remember which book that one is.

Volume 1 I have subsequently re-read a couple of times and have even put it on my Kindle, so I guess that means it really did overcome my prejudice against elf-fic.I do very much enjoy AUs and I think Jane's world-building and the detail of that is both enjoyable and convincing. Possibly for the same reason, I adore The Cook and the Warehouseman where again the imagined world is - in my mind - one of the best aspects of the story. Being apparently devoid of that sort of imaginative mind myself, it impresses me when I see it in action like this.

Yes, say what you will about Jane et al...ye gods that woman had an inventive mind.

It's amazing how Prosfic can broaden your reading habits - I'll be reading Terry Pratchett before you know it!

HA! No need to go overboard.

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I think you should get some kind of Order of the Fandom for that.

If making it all the way to the end of "Waiting To Fall" earns you a knighthood in the fandom, then reading all of "The Hunting" should at least earn you an earldom!

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

If making it all the way to the end of "Waiting To Fall" earns you a knighthood in the fandom, then reading all of "The Hunting" should at least earn you an earldom!

Very true. ;-D

[rosie55.livejournal.com]

Only just seen this, as I was returning to browse through the rest of the comments! Earl Rosie, eh? I like it!
I keep looking at the box in which my set resides now and trying to remember which volume the amnesia story is in - Josh has tempted me to look for it now.
And no, I really don't have time to read the whole lot again.
No, really...

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Josh has tempted me to look for it now.


I'm pretty sure it's one of the last books, if not the last. (Wouldn't want you to have to read all one million pages again unless you really want to.) *g*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I have a soft spot in my heart for The Hunting because Book 1 was my introduction to Pros, believe it or not!

I was in another fandom at the time and a friend recced it to me, saying only "You should read this" without giving any other info. I did and was intrigued enough to seek out more of Jane's work, thus discovering the old Circuit Archive. I read Rainy Days, which of course is set in the CI5 universe. I googled some more and found Dave Matthews' website. It was only then that I realized Bodie and Doyle were from a TV show! I couldn't see the appeal of the lads from the still photos at all. I found Proslit and mentioned that I'd never seen an episode, so some kind and generous fen sent me some eps on tape. Seeing the lads in motion and hearing them made all the difference. The rest is history!

That was 6 years ago. I don't think I've re-read it completely since then but certain scenes still are vivid in my mind, the one where B first sees Raven being the most prominent.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

I have a soft spot in my heart for The Hunting because Book 1 was my introduction to Pros, believe it or not!

That just seems the wildest intro to Pros. So you basically read it as original fic.


That was 6 years ago. I don't think I've re-read it completely since then but certain scenes still are vivid in my mind, the one where B first sees Raven being the most prominent.</em. For me it's one of the most vivid "pictures" in fandom.

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was like original fic to me.

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

I always felt that The Hunting was one of those stories that was a must read after one had been in the fandom for a while. That metabolick read it first was probably another way to do without the canon to interfere with story . . .lol

Jane was an amazing world builder and her greatest flaw was just loving her own created characters too much.

I see Doyle in my mind's image as I read, but I didn't hear Doyle or recognize him in the character of Raven, but I applied the Larton concept to it, . . . . maybe in a land far, far, away a long,long time ago.

Book 1 itself is a keeper.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

I always felt that The Hunting was one of those stories that was a must read after one had been in the fandom for a while. That metabolick read it first was probably another way to do without the canon to interfere with story . . .lol

Talk about a long and winding road. *g*

There are a number of elf stories in the fandom, but I think The Hunting is the quintessential elf story. It's certainly, by the far, the most complex and detailed. The supplemental material Jane supplied...the songs and poems, the maps, the histories, even all the exploration of side characters, though tedious to me, was impressive. Especially given all the other stuff she was writing at the time.

Jane was an amazing world builder and her greatest flaw was just loving her own created characters too much.

That tendency follows through in all her incarnations. She does fall in love with her side characters and spend way too much time on them for the average reader's (okay, me) taste.

I see Doyle in my mind's image as I read, but I didn't hear Doyle or recognize him in the character of Raven, but I applied the Larton concept to it, . . . . maybe in a land far, far, away a long,long time ago.

If anything, this is a Doyle more closely aligned to the Doyle of Gentle on my Mind. Natural, innocent even, sensual, sunny, untroubled by worldly (human in this case) concerns. She uses a lot of the same language and descriptives for both of them.

Book 1 itself is a keeper.


I think it's a must read for anyone interested in the fandom as a whole.

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

If anything, this is a Doyle more closely aligned to the Doyle of Gentle on my Mind. Natural, innocent even, sensual, sunny, untroubled by worldly (human in this case) concerns. She uses a lot of the same language and descriptives for both of them.

Okay. . . images I'm trying not to keep, but I do see the similarities in the characters.

This type of elf works for Doyle because he is a warrior. . .

Now what about a hobbit?

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Now what about a hobbit?

*splutter*

[constant-muse.livejournal.com]

Like Bodie here, I'm a virgin, to "The Hunting". But I've finally managed to read this first part, so these are very first impressions.

Surprised how much I liked it. Actually I do like Jane's style, it was of course the small, dainty elvish "Ray" that was putting me off.

LOL, for an ex-Australian, at Chief Garth and his daughter, the lovely Feyleen (draw out the last syllable with a rising inflection for best effect).

It's quite LotR-based, don't you think? (the books I mean, I haven't seen the films). The virtue of the vegetarian elves contrasted with the barbarian humans is very appealing and adds substance to Jane's characteristic tale of B & D madly in love at first sight and shagging ALL THE TIME. Clever trick that, with the elf's ears so that even more sex is possible!!

Bodie is a lot like canon Bodie, and I can see Doyle/MS in Raven, I just wish he didn't have to be small, I have great difficulty imagining it. I'd prefer human-size elves, as in LoTR, in fact that is my default mental image when reading, as I couldn't sustain the mental image of the small figure.

Bk 1 pt 1 is a satisfying story by itself, and I'm not sure I want to read more of the saga as I wouldn't like to see their idyll spoiled.

Thank you very much for giving me the incentive to read this. It's encouraging to read your review and others' comments - putting jokes about elf!Doyle aside and enjoying this as a fantasy fic.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

It's quite LotR-based, don't you think? (the books I mean, I haven't seen the films).

I'm sure Tolkien was a major influence.

The virtue of the vegetarian elves contrasted with the barbarian humans is very appealing and adds substance to Jane's characteristic tale of B & D madly in love at first sight and shagging ALL THE TIME. Clever trick that, with the elf's ears so that even more sex is possible!!

I love the ear thing. Also her elves are very susceptible to cold. They try to almost hibernate in winter, so they're vulnerable in cold climates and less active during the winter months, which was a nice touch.

I also like that, though Raven is technically older than Bodie and every bit as experienced and hardened a warrior, in elf years he's a stripling and is still viewed by his kinfolk as hardly more than a boy.

Bodie is a lot like canon Bodie, and I can see Doyle/MS in Raven, I just wish he didn't have to be small, I have great difficulty imagining it. I'd prefer human-size elves, as in LoTR, in fact that is my default mental image when reading, as I couldn't sustain the mental image of the small figure.

I picture him more as MS in Series one. He's very slight, almost boyish, and so he looks smaller than he is -- especially compared to Bodie. I prefer to think the elves are just whippy and fine-boned.

Bk 1 pt 1 is a satisfying story by itself, and I'm not sure I want to read more of the saga as I wouldn't like to see their idyll spoiled.

I think the first couple of books are strong, but this first bit is definitely the best.

Thank you very much for giving me the incentive to read this. It's encouraging to read your review and others' comments - putting jokes about elf!Doyle aside and enjoying this as a fantasy fic.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I've read enough of Jane's (and Kathy Keegan's ;-) ) work now to see that she makes repeated references to LotR as well as Star Wars. She must have loved both those worlds a lot.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

She must have loved both those worlds a lot.

She seems to be very widely read -- with a good background in film as well.