Fic rec: A Special Working of Gravity

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Title: A Special Working of Gravity
Author: Jackie Thomas
Link to story: A Special Working of Gravity
Permission to archive the rec/review at Palely Loitering: Yes
Short review: A simple premise- Bodie in prison for six months, Doyle there to pick him up when he gets out - but what a marevllous tale..

Let yourself be drawn silently by the stronger pull of what you truly love.
-Rumi

I knew I would love this as soon as I heard the premise and read that opening quote. Bodie in prison because of a foul up on the job, is full of delicious possibilities. We start the day he gets out and all you need really is one quote from that very moment to make you click on it as fast as possible if you haven't yet read it.

Bodie's smile was warm as he made his way through the parked cars to Ray. His smile even reached his eyes, a place it had deserted these last six months. Ray folded him into his arms as soon as he was within reach.

They held each other in a fiercely tight and, on Ray's part, long-imagined hug. For all of Bodie's wandering hands and his own more guarded expressions of affection, they had never hugged before. Hugging wasn't very CI5, after all. But through these last months when the only decoration on the pistachio green walls of the visitors' room was a sign saying 'no physical contact,' this hug had become a private goal of Ray's. And he didn't care how nancy it was; he was bloody well not letting go if he could help it.

She has a marvellously light, sure touch with her descriptions in a style that is poetic, yet decidedly unshowy. Nothing ever stops the narrative flow, nothing feels 'look at me the writer', yet her turn of phrase is beautiful.

He was not like Bodie who would be at home anywhere on the planet and on whom the jungle exerted a primal hold. Ray belonged among the sturdy constructions of the greatest and most inexplicable of cities.


3.7, 4.5, 6.2, 2.8. They were identified like guns on a rack, defined by a measurement of calibre and used in similar ways. Taken down, loaded, aimed and fired.

She also delivers a terrific case fic too. Cowley, a wonderfuly enjoyable Murphy-plus-family, and even Ojuka are in there. And did I mention that it’s set around Christmas??

Her dialogue is another added bonus. She captures the cadence of the lads to perfection, and I hear LC and MS throughout. And take as evidence of her skill, if you will, this priceless exchange between Murphy and Doyle when Doyle gets beaten up and Murphy comes to visit:

"What happened to you?"
Ray got back into bed, squinting to bring the Murphy quota down to a manageable one.
"Nothing good."
"Have you been to Casualty?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"
"I just stepped out for a bit, the turkey's in the oven."
Ray frowned. "Is that a code?"
Murphy rolled his eyes. "It's Christmas, Ray."

How it all resolves is kept right to the very end, and will have you holding your breath a little. But we started with a hug, so we’ll end on one. A hug that could be canon from any episode involving a bruised and end-of-his-tether Doyle.. It’s my favourite moment, the image and exchange that stayed with me long after I’d finished reading:

The visitors' waiting room had been taken over by Murphy's extended family; a well-stocked gene pool of blue-eyed, brown haired brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces decamped from their Christmas reunion. The whole room was vibrating with worry so Bodie led Ray to the quieter end of the corridor where they sat on the floor together to wait for news.

Ray was very far from his painkillers and his head and back and shoulder were not letting him forget it. But these seemed trivial complaints when a dead body had put a bloody scar through Christmas and Murphy, who had stopped a bullet for him, was fighting for his life.

… "You okay?"

"Storming."

Bodie slipped his arm around Ray's shoulder. He eased him close until Ray let his hands fall away from his eyes and his head drop to Bodie's chest.

"Go on, I'll wake you if there's any news."

When his various aches woke him sometime later, it seemed natural to find himself folded into Bodie's embrace.

Comments

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I really like this writer and this particular story, in fact I'd love it if she wrote more Pros. And you've got some great quotes here!

Thanks for this.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Like JoJo, she's a writer I desperately want more from. I'm glad you enjoyed this rec and the quotes.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

I like this one a lot too. Like the spare, clean writing. The understated but intense emotions. The dialog is terrific. Jackie Thomas is an auto-read for me.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Jackie Thomas is an auto-read for me. Absolutely. Speaking of which, what kind of a bone do I have to throw to get another one out of you???*g*

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Speaking of which, what kind of a bone do I have to throw to get another one out of you???*g*

Oh, thanks! I was thinking today how much I'd like to finish up a story I started a while back. And I did a novella for the next Never Far Apart. I guess I should see what's happening with that.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

I was thinking today how much I'd like to finish up a story I started a while back. A novella in that zine sounds wonderful, but that's a looong way off, so you just carrying on thinking and finish off that other story for us..:: waits patiently::

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

..:: waits patiently::

Ah, but YOU could spend that time writing something nice and long for us. I'm in the mood for a long, meaty story -- and I certainly do enjoy your work.

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is such a good story. I didn't think I'd like the very idea that Bodie was in prison, but for this story and this writer, I was willing to try. I'm so glad I did. It's definitely a great read.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

It *is* a great read. And I love that her starting point is the day Bodie leaves prison. So what sets it off are the repercussions for the pair of them. A brilliant idea.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this great rec!

It's that great kind of storytelling where the things left unsaid, the "spaces" between the lines tell you as much as the words do... like really good jazz. It's there in what isn't being said between Bodie and Doyle -- illustrated beautifully in that substitution of notes -- and is echoed through out the whole story in conversations with Murphy, Cowley and even with Armstrong.

Again, thanks! :D

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

like really good jazz. Yes! Excellent analogy. I always adore that kind of spare, understated prose when it's done as beautifully as this. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I once saw film of an interview with B.B.King, where he said what people didn't understand about Blues and Jazz was that the notes they *didn't* play were just as important as the notes they did. It's stuck with me as my way of explaining one of the things I love best in good writing.

Of course B.B. also wrote "Nobody loves me but my Momma... and she may be jivin' too." So... *g*

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Hope it's OK to muscle in here but I think that's such a good point and something I once said about Helen Raven's writing, where the things left unsaid are *almost* as important as those said.....and sentences are left suspended in mid-air so the reader rushes on to the next line with bated breath. (Alhtough, Dray, I'm not sure you like HR?) Anyway..... I'll go away now....

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

No problem. *g*

I'm going to have to read some more Helen Raven. My recollection of what I have read is that while I admired her considerable abilities as a writer I didn't "like" what I was reading... and no, I'm not a "everything should be sunshine and lollipops" reader. I think we all come to fandom land with our own personal view of canon and the sort of stories/writers we would like to read.

I must also admit that unlike a lot of Pros fans I just don't care for AU at all. It doesn't matter how well written it is, my mind just starts thinking "why aren't I reading a Bodie & Doyle CI5 story or an original novel instead?" and I wander off. I've never actually seen another fandom with so much AU so I know it's very popular and as I said, I've had a lot of it recced to me that's extremely well written, but I just don't enjoy it at all so...

And now I'm rambling.

If I might ask, which Helen Raven story would you rec to someone who is *not* an AU fan, something that would be accessible on-line.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

When I first discovered HR's work I was completely smitten with it and, in my naivete, thought everyone else would love her too, but I soon discovered that quite a few people didn't like her and so I think it's a case of you either love her or hate her (much like Marmite) so I don't think you're on your own and, over time, I've got much more objective about her and can really understand why she wouldn't be to everyone's taste.

If I might ask, which Helen Raven story would you rec to someone who is *not* an AU fan, something that would be accessible on-line.

I suppose I should but for some reason I don't associate her with AU...God, I don't know.....Heat-Trace - her masterpiece - I don't think of as AU because Doyle is a London copper, so not that far removed from ci5, and Bodie's still a ci5 employee so it still seems kind of ci5ish, to me, anyway. Freezing is ci5, Technique is ci5 (and written under the name of Wild Horses) and The Same River is a futuristic kind of ci5. Transients and Cook are AU and Quantum Mechanics is a kind of vampirey AU and defies classification... But if you don't like her writing then I don't feel these stories will convert you and why should you be converted? People should feel free to like or dislike whatever they want to. Amen!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I didn't think you were trying to convert me, I was genuinely interested else I wouldn't have asked. *g*

I've been a student/teacher most of my adult life and I've found that when I run across an artist/writer whose work I don't much "like" but that is loved by a lot of people, it is often interesting to look more closely at the work by the artist/writer that the devotees most love. I won't necessarily come to "like" it any better but I often learn something valuable in the process.

I know it's a game of semantics, but I'm more tolerant of divergent plot lines as you sort of have to be if your a slasher. *g* I would consider what you're saying about Heat-Trace to be an example of that, if Bodie still works for CI5. Sci-Fi and Vampires however, are too AU for my personal tastes.

My other reason for asking is that I began my Pros reading by stumbling around in the archives and by asking for Recs from friends who I've hadn't read anything in years or who "knew of" the fandom. In the process I ended up reading stories like Consequences... Ack! My discomfort level was so high that if it hadn't been for going on to make friends who are active in Pros and who were kind enough to merely call me a "prat" for ill formed views on Pros fic and then to gently steer me in other directions (without caving my head in with a shovel) I wouldn't have continued to read. I want to read some of Helen Raven's work again to make sure that I wasn't just viewing it through very freaked out eyes at the time... Erm... I hope this makes sense. *g*

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I didn't think you were trying to convert me, I was genuinely interested else I wouldn't have asked. *g*

No, I didn't mean it literally, I was just being flippant and I never doubted that your question was genuine, not sure why you thought I did.....

I've been a student/teacher most of my adult life and I've found that when I run across an artist/writer whose work I don't much "like" but that is loved by a lot of people

I think that was my point, that my impression is (and I could be wrong) that HR *isn't* loved by most people and I think she'd say this herself (e.g. when she'd written The Same River she said hardly anyone seemed to like it and only about 2 people wrote and said they did, yet I think it's one of the most beautiful Pros stories there is) and so, I'd say yours was a majority view. A handful of people like her a lot, but as I say, I don't often see her stories being recc'd or discussed and over the years I've read quite a few comments from people who say they *hate* her stories so, at least the reaction is a strong one!

My other reason for asking is that I began my Pros reading by stumbling around in the archives and by asking for Recs from friends

For ages I didn't know anyone in fandom so it was a more the case of try something and see if you like it and it's such a subjective, hit and miss thing to recommend a story to someone else. Later on, one thing I did find useful was to look at rec sites and see if any particular reccer liked the same kind of stories that I had already read and liked, and if they did I'd try other stuff they'd recommended and that's how I found the gem In Hot Water by JM (on the CD) which I would never have stumbled across otherwise.

views on Pros fic and then to gently steer me in other directions (without caving my head in with a shovel)

I can never understand that way of thinking (the shovel bit). Do people feel threatened or something because someone else likes stuff they don't like?

I wouldn't have continued to read. I want to read some of Helen Raven's work again to make sure that I wasn't just viewing it through very freaked out eyes at the time... Erm... I hope this makes sense. *g*


Yes, it does make sense. The only thing I've found is that many stories I loved when first reading Pros I couldn't stomach now, but I don't think it's happened the other way round: that I like stories I didn't like then! Oh, maybe AU's - originally I couldn't bear the idea but now if it's a good enough story, then that's fine.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I didn't think you meant it literally, I was just being flippant in return, hence the *g*

My sense has been that a lot of people like her work. Her name has definitely shown up in lists of writers I should read when I've asked for Recs -- perhaps I know some of the "handful" who like her a lot. *g*

I tend to be a bit of a "live and let live" type myself, having several good fandom fans who regularly read and write things I'd never go anywhere near -- particular pairings/threesomes or types of story like incest fic -- and I'm sure the reverse is true... well, I know it is (I've certainly locked down certain stories I knew would give undue offense). As long as we're all mutually respectful it isn't a problem. I find it very upsetting when I feel that a fellow ff writer is being told what to write or what *not* to write even when what they've written isn't to my taste... Last time I checked at least no one had died and made me Empress of India... Perhaps I should check my mail... *g*

It will probably be a week or so before I can get to any of the Raven stories you listed -- I have a lot of other commitments right now, particularly in my other fandom. When I've had the chance to read some of her work would you mind if I PM'd you? Please feel free to say no of course!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

My sense has been that a lot of people like her work. Her name has definitely shown up in lists of writers I should read when I've asked for Recs -- perhaps I know some of the "handful" who like her a lot. *g*


Maybe... I know that a few years ago I was on a locked discussion list of about 15 people and most people weren't that keen on her (much the same kind of response when I first asked a question re Jane and The Hunting on a major discussion list - I could almost feel the draught as everyone left the room!


I find it very upsetting when I feel that a fellow ff writer is being told what to write or what *not* to write even when what they've written isn't to my taste.

God, I've never seen that kind of thing - luckily! Nor have I ever come across someone telling new fans what to read or what not to read which I understand has happened to one or two people, but thankfully I've never experienced anything like that.

probably be a week or so before I can get to any of the Raven stories you listed -- I have a lot of other commitments right now, particularly in my other fandom. When I've had the chance to read some of her work would you mind if I PM'd you? Please feel free to say no of course!

No, please feel free to write but I'd better warn you that I haven't read her long stuff for a while now and bear in mind that I do appreciate and even agree with some of the criticisms levelled at her work but I still like her, despite those views.....i.e. I might not have that much to add! But yes, please feel free to write - I'd like to read your HR thoughts.

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

I've just been catching up on my reading-not-skimming and I thought I'd add a comment about HR's stories - I'd recommend Transients as a "CI5 world" AU - no spacemen or vampires. Doyle's a massage therapist but he was in the police - left after Sid Parker was killed - and Bodie was in CI5 until his injury. I've re-read it a few times and it grows on me a little more on each occasion. It's also not too long - about 14,000 words *g*.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the Rec. I think I'll start out with the straight *cough* CI5 stories and see how it goes. 14,000 words is a bit short in Pros terms. *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeay, Callisto-recs! *vbg* And you've reminded me that I really enjoyed reading this, and must go and read it again, so thank you! Hmmn - do we have any idea whether Jackie Thomas is still writing Pros? Or anything else about her?! If I ever knew I can't remember right now... Ahh, just been to her website - she seems to be all about The Mighty Boosh these days... shame!