I think it was me who said I generally dislike AUs (and from your descriptions of the zines, I will NEVER buy any. I dislike almost all of the AUs you mention).
In order to appeal to me personally, an AU has to keep the characters "in character," so they are recognizable to me as my personal image of Bodie and Doyle. Even if the AU is otherwise very well written and/or creative, I won't like it if it's just a story about characters who have the physical attributes and names of Bodie and Doyle. For example, I didn't think Arabian Nights was anything other than the typical "bodice ripper" (as you called it) about the sheik who kidnaps and rapes the at-first-reluctant-but-then-sex-slut white chick, which is such a cliche. Where are Bodie and Doyle in that scenario? Nowhere that I can see, unless the sheik is a terrorist, the kidnapped girl is a political prisoner, and they come in to rescue her. Then it might be a B/D I can believe in an AU.
I just don't want to read about Bodie and Doyle as Mr. Bennett and Mr. Darcy, or CinderellaBoy and his Prince, or Sleeping Beauty, or whatever. To me, the best stories - whether relying mostly on canon or AU - keep Bodie and Doyle in character, fighting the bad guys, facing near-death situations, struggling to accept the unsavory aspects of their job, and struggling to find a balance betweeen their personal relationship and the objectivity and emotional detachment needed on the job. Once an author strays from that basic premise, then I'm probably not going to be interested in the story. But when the author keeps that premise and the personal quirks of the characters, and takes it to an AU, the result can be excellent, which is why I really like stories like Professional Dreamer, Whisper of a Kill (even if not really AU), Suitable Gravity, Blue Figurine, and a few others.
That's just personal preference, of course. I have a very low tolerance for sappiness, and it seems that when the guys are in canon situations, they tend to be written tougher and more masculine. I can't stand stories that turn the guys into weepy girly-men, and that doesn't happen as often in stories where they're working for CI5 (although unfortunately, it still does!).
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Re: Pros AUs - Novels, part 2
Date: 2007-07-29 06:51 pm (UTC)In order to appeal to me personally, an AU has to keep the characters "in character," so they are recognizable to me as my personal image of Bodie and Doyle. Even if the AU is otherwise very well written and/or creative, I won't like it if it's just a story about characters who have the physical attributes and names of Bodie and Doyle. For example, I didn't think Arabian Nights was anything other than the typical "bodice ripper" (as you called it) about the sheik who kidnaps and rapes the at-first-reluctant-but-then-sex-slut white chick, which is such a cliche. Where are Bodie and Doyle in that scenario? Nowhere that I can see, unless the sheik is a terrorist, the kidnapped girl is a political prisoner, and they come in to rescue her. Then it might be a B/D I can believe in an AU.
I just don't want to read about Bodie and Doyle as Mr. Bennett and Mr. Darcy, or CinderellaBoy and his Prince, or Sleeping Beauty, or whatever. To me, the best stories - whether relying mostly on canon or AU - keep Bodie and Doyle in character, fighting the bad guys, facing near-death situations, struggling to accept the unsavory aspects of their job, and struggling to find a balance betweeen their personal relationship and the objectivity and emotional detachment needed on the job. Once an author strays from that basic premise, then I'm probably not going to be interested in the story. But when the author keeps that premise and the personal quirks of the characters, and takes it to an AU, the result can be excellent, which is why I really like stories like Professional Dreamer, Whisper of a Kill (even if not really AU), Suitable Gravity, Blue Figurine, and a few others.
That's just personal preference, of course. I have a very low tolerance for sappiness, and it seems that when the guys are in canon situations, they tend to be written tougher and more masculine. I can't stand stories that turn the guys into weepy girly-men, and that doesn't happen as often in stories where they're working for CI5 (although unfortunately, it still does!).