Jet

"Hilltop Hour" (Sentinel)

Reviewed by Kathryn A on 6th July 2000

I really couldn't get into this story. It just struck me as too over the top, too melodramatic, and too smarmy. I mean, when I get, on the first page, this:
    "The double doors to the ER exploded on impact as Ellison sprinted through them, his anxious eyes searching for Simon."

...then I start wondering where the bomb was.

When Jim starts saying that he and Blair were super-close "almost from the moment we met", then I start wondering what show the author is writing about, or, at least, how long it is since she last watched "Switchman". Not my take on the guys at all. This story did not work for me.

This story was nominated in the 2000 Cascade Times Awards in the "long story" category.

Perspective

(1) "A Matter of Perspective" (Sentinel)

Reviewed by Kathryn A on 13th August 2000 (6)

This was good; a post TSbyBS making-it-right story. And it wasn't OTT or clichéd. I liked what Jim did, I liked the way he stood by honour, and then had a time apart to sort himself out, to find peace, to find the way ahead, to learn from his mistakes (at last), but not too easily to be believable. I liked what happened to Jim here! And it was also believable that Blair should grow anxious and uncertain, even though there was no need to be.

(2) "Second Strike" (Sentinel)

Reviewed by Kathryn A on 18th August 2000 (1)

This is a sequel to A Matter of Perspective. I enjoyed this. The bad guy was a bit clichéd, oh well. This was a mix of of the mystical, hurt, comfort, angst, and (unsurprisingly) smarm.

Addendum: nominated for favourite alternate universe story Cascade Times Awards 2001