Random Pros Read - Torchsong by Courtney Gray

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I happened to have the zine that with On Guard by Gloria Lancaster, as read by Heliophile, so I went to have a re-read of that, and then picked another random story in the zine (also found on the Circuit Archive) - Torch Song by Courtney Gray.

Now, I like Gray's other stories - The Blue Figurine, and Boyhole, for instance, and so even though this started off with Bodie meeting a woman, I assumed I'd enjoy the re-read.

And it did turn out that of course Bodie and Doyle were really in love, so that was okay, but... it turned out to be the kind of AU story where Bodie is in CI5, and Doyle was a singer - and that might be fine, but it went the way of Big-Bodie-Protect-Doyle and Doyle-Needs-Protecting just a little bit too much for me. Not completely, not so much that I had to put the story down, but enough that I winced occasionally.

I'm going to have to re-read some of her other stories now, and see if this was a pattern I just never saw in her other writing (or accepted more easily back when it was all new to me), or whether this was a one off.

As I'd expect of her though, it's mostly a solidly written story, with a plot and everything, so probably very worth reading by people less picky than me... *g*

Comments

[cloudless-9193.livejournal.com]

I've read it once, a long time ago, and I remember Doyle, the singer, and Bodie, the bodyguard, but nothing from the dynamics between those two.
I'd have to reread it.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I know I've read it before too, but I can only guess it wasn't one of my favourites (and thus deserving of a re-read), because I didn't remember it at all... I'll be interested to hear what you think!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I don't recall her stories falling into that pattern, but I'm not sure how many of hers I've read. Actually, something of the reverse. Maybe it was for a challenge. *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

No, I don't either - but I don't remember reading this one at all, though I must have, so maybe that's why. Then again, there's also more of her stories up at Circuit than I remember, so maybe there are others like this one, and I just read and re-read the ones that I liked... I'll have to go back and look at the others, too!