Reading Room - Any Other World by Andromeda

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

Art by Roven


Any Other World is a sequel to Kitty Fisher's The Pillory and picks up immediately after the end of that story.

One of the things I like about it as a sequel, is that it's devoutly faithful to the original work, it doesn't cheat or massage the plot, rather it finds fresh motivation and layers of storytelling to flesh out the bones already there.

So, for instance, Cowley's demonstration of his complete possession of Bodie in The Pillory becomes in Any Other World the beginnings of Bodie's mistrust of him, 'Bodie frowned... then something else struck him. "You asked me to ask him if he had enough money. When he came round before."'

Betty's fidelity and thwarted attempts to visit Doyle in the original become an integral part of Cowley's eventual demise in the sequel.

For me, the story is not without its flaws, it inherits an out of character Cowley and I believe Betty's tears would have had more cold steel in them at the dénouement, no matter how fond of Cowley, or betrayed by him.

It could do with a good proof reading, there are a few typos (the eradication of which I consider a mandatory courtesy to the reader, although we are all prone to them and they are as tenacious as dandelions).

I'm not sufficiently qualified to comment on the use of sodium amytal, ECT or the other therapies offered to Doyle, nor on the hospital protocols which attend them, but my instincts tell me that those who are might feel the need to do so.

And I also found the reference to Doyle's crash as having proceeded from his extreme inebriation and resulting difficulty in 'controlling several tons of metal at high speed' somewhat perplexing. High performance cars are usually pared back, constructed of lighter materials. We are not told what type of Porsche Doyle stole, but the iconic 911 comes in at around a tonne. (Although, equally, The Pillory asks us to accept that the same inebriated Doyle was able to hot-wire a vehicle, which was almost certainly kitted out with the embryonic incarnations of the security devices that are now commonplace on even the most modest runabout, but would have been entirely absent in his Capri.)

And whilst Doyle being informed 'Your record has been expunged' is entirely in keeping with the finer traditions of the U.K.'s various systems of justice, it isn't quite so easy to understand how Inspector Taylor 'cleared up the little business with the Porsche' within that same context.

If The Pillory focussed on Doyle, Any Other World focuses on Bodie, taking him from turning his back on a wounded and retreating Doyle to the revelation that 'Doyle hadn't betrayed CI5 out of spite. He hadn't handed across those so damaging secrets. He hadn't shot Willis and he hadn't set up Marrika. Yet George had insisted all those things were true.' And on to the end of CI5 and the promise of something else, a promise he and Doyle are finally able to seal with a kiss.


Title: Any Other World Author: Andromeda
(http://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda/pseuds/Andromeda)
Pairing: Established Bodie/Cowley; pre-relationship Doyle/Bodie
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/195114
Other Notes: Warning – Major character death. An authorised sequel to The Pillory by Kitty Fisher (kittyfisher) (discussed last week - Thursday 19th November 2015)
And if you liked it, why not let the author know?

Comments

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Thank you for another elegantly written review! I just wanted to say that I can't stop now but will try to return later. Also wanted to say what a perfect choice of art work - I love it!

Artwork

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

The story links to it on AO3, it must have been part of the Big Bang, and I just couldn't post the story without the art. They belong together :0)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I've got to say that I wasn't convinced by this as a sequel to The Pillory. As you say, it did a good job in being devoutly faithful to the original work ... finds fresh motivation and layers of storytelling to flesh out the bones already there, but I don't think it manages to live up to either the original work or its own - it's a somewhat simplified version.

For instance, where you note Cowley's demonstration of his complete possession of Bodie in The Pillory becomes in Any Other World the beginnings of Bodie's mistrust of him, 'Bodie frowned... then something else struck him. as a good continuation of the original story (which it is on one level) I just wasn't able to match it to the depth of machinations set up in The Pillory, and Bodie's conviction that Doyle was a traitor, to the ease of "something struck him". Cowley, too, goes from being able to set up and manipulate the whole situation to get rid of Doyle and get Bodie on his side in The Pillory, to seeming far too simple and almost naive in AOW.

I also don't get a feeling of emotional depth here - we've gone from Doyle being under suspicion and wrongfully punished for betraying CI5, to the idea that Bodie, his partner and allegedly the man who loved Doyle, allowed himself to be manipulated and duped by Cowley to the point that Bodie not only allowed Doyle to be sent to prison (bearing in mind he's a cop...) but then literally got into bed with that other man. So rather than Doyle betraying everyone, Bodie must surely have some emotions involving his own betrayal of Doyle (and granted that's not a simple thing in itself), and yet I don't think we were shown them at all - just Bodie working out what had happened and deciding that he was on Doyle's side after all.

I don't want weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, cos I'm not keen on that kind of writing either, but after the strong emotions and shocks of The Pillory, I found this slightly bloodless as a sequel, I'm afraid.

(Very nice cover, mind - shame I can never get them to show up on my Kobo!)

The Hatstand (http://hatstand.slashcity.net/lists/sequels.html) lists a couple of other sequels to The Pillory. One by JessUK (http://web.archive.org/web/20081120011838/http://www.devinemadness.com/kittyfisher/seven.htm), which is actually a list of seven potential sequels, interestingly includes one which starts off Doyle survives and it turns out that Bodie is still listed as his next of kin, so he has to go to the hospital to sign for the treatment. . The other sequel is from Discovered in a Letterbox, a letterzine which requests that no part of it be posted to the net (guess the people at Fanlore didn't see that part...), and it takes a very different approach. Doyle survives the crash of course, and then Bodie appears, at Cowley's suggestion, to spirit him away somewhere. But on their own, Bodie knows Doyle, and although the story is way too short to be a complete this-is-how-it-ends, we're shown the doubt creep in, and there's enough time for us to see how both lads feel, and to believe in them and what's happening, and the hope of what might happen next. And that, I think, is the way a sequel to this needs to be done, with blood and despair and pain and hope, because The Pillory itself was such a traumatic act to follow... shame this story isn't widely available!

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

Yes Kiwisue mentioned other sequels when we were discussing The Pillory. As I said then, I think stories like The Pillory just call to some people to 'fix'.

I was interested by the points you raise, I can't say I considered Bodie's feelings much. I'm an 'action' person myself, so he was doing what I would have done and putting right the wrong he discovered.

I know you're not advocating for the rending of hair shirts, just a little introspection. Maybe the story could have done with some.

My own assumptions were that Bodie had worked through his feelings about being betrayed while Doyle was in prison and would work through the guilt of misjudging him once Doyle was 'safe'. Exonerated.

In the middle he was behaving as if he was on a case, all business.

So I didn't see it as lacking. But I can see where you could give the story more depth by allowing Bodie moments to reflect.

So, although I've never felt it's lack in the story, your point does resonate with me.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I also don't get a feeling of emotional depth here - we've gone from Doyle being under suspicion and wrongfully punished for betraying CI5, to the idea that Bodie, his partner and allegedly the man who loved Doyle, allowed himself to be manipulated and duped by Cowley to the point that Bodie not only allowed Doyle to be sent to prison (bearing in mind he's a cop...) but then literally got into bed with that other man. So rather than Doyle betraying everyone, Bodie must surely have some emotions involving his own betrayal of Doyle (and granted that's not a simple thing in itself), and yet I don't think we were shown them at all - just Bodie working out what had happened and deciding that he was on Doyle's side after all.

Completely agree. Bodie doesn't seem to think that he did much wrong. Actually, I got the impression that Bodie wasn't thinking much at all. He completely let's things slide for three years, and then is practically handed the answers on a silver platter. And I really don't buy that Macklin and Dr. Ross would allow Doyle to rot in jail, knowing what they knew. Both could have gone to Bodie earlier. The whole thing was just way too pat.

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

I haven't quite finished the story but I liked it FAR more than I liked The Pillory. That story felt angry and cruel right from the beginning. Any Other World
seems calmer and more thoughtful--hopeful right away. I do find it jarring that Bodie could go from so angry to much more introspective by the next day but yay! for his instincts kicking in and making him go into investigative mode to find out what really happened. And why didn't you do that years ago? Because of Cowley's evil influence?

One thing that made me happy was that the relationship between Bodie and Cowley is more like a caretaker and his patient than a loving couple. There isn't even a kiss (is there? not quite finished and probably won't have time for a while, which is why I decided to comment anyway) nor cuddling or sex.

As a nurse, I get a knee-jerk reaction to most "medical info" in stories, so while I did wonder about sodium amytal used on a patient who had just been in a coma, I can't comment since I care for babies. But honestly, coma is generally used incorrectly in most stories so--lol

Anyway, thank you for reccing this story, I enjoyed what I have read so far.

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far, I'm catching up in order, so forgive me if I've missed a point you've made further along.

I'm not hugely exercised by most medical things - in Star Trek you can make them up - alien spores caused you to grow an extra nose? No problem! - the show itself wasn't always believable. Doyle's broken arm in Annie, for instance, never seemed quite 'real' to me. But then the show was constrained by Brian Clemens belief in 'supermen' and Mrs Whitehouse's distaste for gore (I often wonder what her opinions might have been on Waking the Dead).

Personally, I prefer modern series, like Farscape, where a wound can been seen to heal over an arc of days, as you would expect in real life. (I don't believe in 'supermen'.)

My own thought's are, if you're going to reference specific injuries and treatments, you should try and get it right. On the other hand, if you're just going to say 'fever' and 'medicine' without being any more specific, I don't think it really matters if no one can tell whether the patient has 'flu or malaria.

I can't say I understand the fixation with coma - I suppose it's shorthand for 'seriously/dangerously ill'. But, for me, injuries like Bodie's hand in Close Quarters are usually more interesting because Bodie is awake and having to deal with it - and its frustrations. But then I suppose people like a bit of waiting room angst.

And fortunately I don't know enough to wince!

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Whoop! I finally made it here - I've been trying to find time all day.

Firstly, thank you again for your choice for the Reading Room. I've enjoyed revisiting The Pillory and its 'fixes'. And thank you for your lovely reviews - I love seeing what other people think, and you say it so much better than me.

I kind of remembered I didn't like something about Any Other World, but I couldn't recall what. Like you, I thought it was well thought out - I like the way it doesn't resort to a Bobby-Ewing-in-the-shower type fix - though poor old Betty having a fit of the vapours doesn't quite ring true; she strikes me as a tough old bird. *g*

On the whole, it does what it sets out to do - and it does it pretty darn well. But this time round I noticed how absent Doyle was from the story - it revolves around him, and his guilt/lack of guilt, but he's so missing from proceedings... I think that's what bothered me the first time I read it - I wanted more Doyle! It feels like there are whole great lumps of the story missing - Bodie visiting, Bodie lusting, Bodie angsting...

It's still a good read though, and the artwork - stunning! Thank you again for suggesting it/them. I've really enjoyed going back, reading and thinking about them. Never a bad thing!

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

I agree--instead of Doyle in a coma and then a fugue state--I'd have liked his POV. Is he angry that the suicide didn't work? Intrigued that suddenly people are interested in his case?

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

He's too passive, isn't he? I can't imagine a docile Doyle!

And yes! That's it - I want his reactions too - it's like the other half the story never made it into print.

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

See I wonder if Doyle would wake up confused that anyone thought he had tried to commit suicide. I wonder if it would take some persuading to get him to see just what a state he was in?

Whether he wouldn't wake up angry and ready to do battle now the crisis has passed?

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your kind words :0)

Yes it is odd how absent Doyle is from his own story, and that it's his old mate who spurs the investigation. Between the two stories Bodie does come across as a bit of a weather vein, blowing in one direction when Cowley has his ear, and another when Doyle's defenders start to speak up.

I don't think I'd've wanted to read a 'Bobby Ewing' type fix, it would have spoiled both stories for me.

My own belief is that Bodie came to believe in Doyle's guilt incrementally, that he exhausted all other avenues before conceding it as the only possible truth. Which is why he's so ready to shun him, almost as if he's needling Doyle into proving him wrong. Like a child testing boundaries.

Then when the conspiracy starts to unravel I think Bodie just welcomes hope back in, because it's never really been away, just ruthlessly suppressed.

And yes, I see Betty as being very cool under fire :0)

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Between the two stories Bodie does come across as a bit of a weather vein, blowing in one direction when Cowley has his ear, and another when Doyle's defenders start to speak up.

That's a brilliant way to describe it!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I’m another one who really enjoyed this sequel, warts and all, and felt great relief at Bodie finally coming through, realising how wrong he’d been about Doyle and that the real betrayal was that enacted by Cowley on both of them.. I really liked the way the author had Bodie uncovering the truth in a kind of incremental -layer by layer - way, starting with small, subtle things such as :

A brief smile flashed across Cowley's face and Bodie blinked. But when he looked again, only deep concern showed in Cowley's face and Bodie decided he must've imagined it.

I almost cheered at that point and thought yes, Bodie! Watch him....

And the beginning of this revelation via the loyal copper friend of Doyle’s from Hendon, really liked that, too.

the story is not without its flaws,

And so, for the sake of discussion (and to try and avoid being totally bland and boring) but probably totally undermining the whole story, I couldn’t help but wonder why Bodie hadn’t explored and exhausted every opportunity to clear Doyle at the time? Surely, being Bodie he would have made it his mission, however difficult, to speak to people such as Macklin, Kate Ross, Betty (re the tapes)? He seems to have uncovered important things pretty easily now so how hard would it have been two years before when he probably wanted and needed to even more? But then we wouldn’t have a story….. I’m sure the author’s covered this point as the whole story revolves around it, but I can’t remember how she does it.

Just a tiny quibble.....I couldn’t quite hear Macklin using the term ‘pouring Ray into a taxi’ (I think he uses that word twice). Does anyone, let alone a character like Macklin, actually speak like that? That jarred a little. But I really did enjoy this story, it was a good tale, a page turner, and as you say in your review, it was ‘faithful to the original’, consistent and yet at the same time managing to go in new directions. I really enjoyed it this time around and when I first read it as a Big Bang story in 2010. Thanks very much for your choice and rec!

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

I see your point (perish the thought that you could ever be bland!) about Bodie's investigation, but as Maklin says himself:

"I told you this hip," here Macklin knocked at it with the heel of his hand, "was no accident. I was
warned off, Bodie. I spent months in hospital and I came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth
speaking up."

So I wonder if Cowley's control is slipping now he's no longer in control of CI5? Macklin knew before but wouldn't speak up, Betty thought the tapes had been kept and transcribed faithfully, maybe Bodie wouldn't have got the answers he's getting now if Cowley still had the reigns of power.

I have heard some people use the term 'pouring someone into a taxi' - or more often 'into bed' - after a few too many. Macklin does have some odd turns of phrase, like his 'not enough hate, too much of the other' in Mixed Doubles (not that he gets a chance to say much elsewhere!), but I take your point. Macklin's phrasing does seem a bit off, as if anyone could be speaking, whereas in the ep he's a definable character, you get a sense of a whole personality.

The 'evil smile' was a tad overdone for me, but I liked that Bodie comes to question his convictions about Doyle's guilt because others refuse to believe it. It's as if Bodie's waking up from his own fuge state.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Good points:

maybe Bodie wouldn't have got the answers he's getting now if Cowley still had the reigns of power........

It's as if Bodie's waking up from his own fuge state.

Yeah, it does seem as if Bodie was sleep walking for 3 years! And then all of a sudden he sees through Cowley. But anyway, it's a story I enjoy a lot with something actually going on - a plot to be solved! Reminds me slightly of another story I love and that's Pamela Rose's Where the Worms Are.

Pamela Rose's 'Where the Worms Are'

[fiorenza-a.livejournal.com]

I'd not read that, so I ferreted it out.

I can see what you're saying about the vague similarities - and I enjoyed the fic - thank you :0)

RE: Pamela Rose's 'Where the Worms Are'

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for looking it up and glad you enjoyed it.

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

"Where the Worms Are" is brilliant and totally believable! I don't think I would like the sequel of The Pillory more than the original thing (which I hated) but I admit, at least Kitty Fisher's and Pamela Rose's writing styles are equally superb.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

'Worms' is a great read - I particularly like the period of their estrangement from each other and the way they miss each other, Bodie's loyalty to Cowley etc. It's paced very well, too, and as you say, very believable.