The Reading Room - Labyrinth by Jane

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Labyrinth by Jane
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: 536K
Author on LJ: unknown

Warnings: unknown
ARCHIVED:  The Circuit

 

I think I’ll preface my comments by saying that I don’t necessarily think Labyrinth is a brilliant fic -- although there are certainly brilliant things about it. It’s not even one of my favorite fics, to tell the truth, but it’s a classic fic and it’s a long, meaty fic, which I think make it ideal for discussion. Also it’s by Jane, and I know many younger/newer writers and readers aren’t so much familiar with Jane’s work as with what has been written about Jane’s work. Love her or hate her, Jane was an amazing creative force.

 

So let’s talk about the fic!

 

 

Labyrinth is a CI5 case story and an AU. It’s a first time story, it’s a rape story, it’s a partners story…it’s pretty much got it all, including elves. (And I am grinning as I think of the scene with the elves.) While I don’t generally find Jane humorous, I think this is a hysterically funny fic in parts. And poignant too. Personally, I think the fic goes on too long and, like much of Jane’s work, would have been better served by a good, stiff edit. But what an imagination! And she does write rather nice sex scenes.

 

Basically, the story opens with Bodie gone missing and Murphy observing Doyle reacting to the probable death of his partner (which is one of my favorite tropes -- third party POV of the lads). While checking out Bodie’s apartment -- and flipping through Bodie’s eclectic choice of reading material -- Murphy makes a comment implying that he thinks Doyle and Bodie are lovers -- they’re not. We proceed to interminable pages of Doyle’s thinking about what he does feel for Bodie and what Bodie might feel for him…blah, blah, blah. Then Bodie is found alive but pumped full of all kinds of evil drugs. There’s nice writing throughout all this, and there is some pretty weak writing too. And, yes, there is the fingernails-on-a-blackboard-usage of “pet” and “love.”

 

Bodie recovers consciousness, he and Doyle talk about their feelings in tedious detail, and Bodie is released from hospital. He and Doyle attend a welcome home party and Bodie receives a mysterious phone call -- whereupon he tries to strangle Doyle. He’s pulled off in time, but Doyle is unconscious -- and Bodie collapses seconds later. When Cowley arrives at the hospital he’s informed that Doyle is brain dead and -- weirder and weirder -- Bodie seems to exhibit the brain activity of two.

 

It sounds exactly like the kind of fic I hate, but this is actually where the fun begins. And it is, in my opinion, great fun indeed....
 

 

Doyle woke screaming, fright and helplessness making his throat sore and aching, and it was some time before he realised that the hands on him were soothing, not hurting, that he could breathe, and that only his memory was hurting him.

It was hot and he was sweating heavily as he pried open his eyes and opened his sense to his surroundings. The sunlight came filtering down through dense green foliage, in his nose was the smell of humus and decay, and - Bodie. As his senses began to serve him better he heard Bodie's voice too, crooning into his hair, and he realised that he lay back against Bodie's chest, cushioned on him, wrapped around by the strong arms.

"Bodie?" He murmured, his throat still sore.

"Yeah, it's me, it's me, shush, pet, you're all right." Bodie's fingers brushed his cheek with wonderful gentleness. "What happened? What's wrong? I heard your voice and came runnin' - what were you screaming about, Ray?"

"What was I - " Doyle twisted around to look at Bodie. "Christ, you were trying to kill me, strangling the life out of me!"

"Shh, it's all over now," Bodie crooned. "Must've been one hell of a dream, but it's all over now. What I can't understand is what you're doing here. This is the last place I expected to find you!"

Doyle blinked owlishly at Bodie in the filtered sunlight, and at last the little details dawned on him. Bodie was clad in cammo fatigues, and a strip of black rag was tied about his head. There was a machine gun on the ground by his left leg, an FN, standard issue in many armies around the world. And they sat in what seemed to be a jungle clearing - he could hear the sounds of the forest all about…

 

 

 

Comments

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmm.....stuck in a flat for a week and nothing to do but have sex and draw out snipers? Maybe I *should* read it! It certainly sounds as if there's lots going on......

Ha. It does get routine, but Jane always has some very nice scenes -- good eye for detail and she never forgets to put the sensory details in so we don't just have body parts in motion.