Penny Dreadful wrote:

Emma said there had been no reviews of "I, Mutoid" so far,

Well, here's review number two, then! :)

I, Mutoid (adult/gen mix?, UK, 2001, 87 pgs., ed: Emma)

First, some general comments. This is a very minimalist zine, in that it contains no artwork, no fancy layout or creative use of fonts or anything like that. Emma, in her editorial, suggests that this "clean, sparse" look seems rather appropriate for a zine with mutoids as its theme, and I find that I have to agree with her. The bare-bones style definitely works. The zine does, however, have one utterly inspired stylistic touch: the black neoprene cover. Not only does it somehow capture the essence of mutoidness (mutoidity?), it's also tremendous fun. It's hard to resist touching, bending, smooshing, and otherwise playfully fiddling with the thing! Still on the editorial front, I did spot a number of typos (damned things get *everywhere*), but I'm given to understand that the only really serious problem (in which a sentence from one story accidentally appeared in the middle of another) was to be corrected before the first batch of non-trib zines goes out. So, no biggie.

Do note, by the way, that while this is not an "adult" zine in the usual sense -- anyone looking for smut is bound to be disappointed -- it does feature violence, bad language, and frank depictions of sex. So if that sort of thing bothers you, you have been warned!

On to the stories.

"Awakening" by Nickey Barnard: This story (like a few others in this volume and at least one excellent story that's appeared elsewhere) latches onto a simple casting coincidence -- the appearance of Glynis Barber as a mutoid in "Project Avalon" -- and extrapolates from it the possibility that Soolin might have been a mutoid. To me, this idea does seem like a bit of a stretch, but Nickey Barnard handles it very, very well as she explores Soolin's emotions, her secrets, and her relationship with Avon. And that last line is a killer.

"Relative Programming" by Ika features Ika's wonderful original character Space Commander Siv Holland, who will be familiar to anyone who's read her story "With/Out Blake" in "Trooper Orac's Fantastic Plastic Army," though it's most definitely not necessary to have read that one to appreciate this one. The story follows Siv and her Federation soldier buddies on a night out on the town, as they sit around drinking and discussing mutoids, Space Command, their careers, and a host of other topics. It's a wonderful look at the Federation from the inside, and I'm very much impressed by the way Ika manages to endow the conversation with all sorts of implications that the reader will find chilling even while the characters themselves are utterly oblivious to them.

"The Best Laid Plans" by Jackie: It's a bit hard to discuss this one without giving away the plot, but it involves an elaborate plan set by Travis before "Star One." It's an interesting and creative idea, though I don't find this particular re-interpretation of canon works nearly as well for me as the Soolin-as-mutoid one, if only because I found at least one of the major plot elements a little too implausible. The writing's not quite as smooth as in the other stories, either; it relies too much on long chunks of exposition presented as internal monologue for my taste. I, do, however, very much like the scene of Travis dealing with the shipboard disaster mentioned in "Gambit," in which he comes across as very three-dimensional and rather surprisingly sympathetic.

"An Eye for an Eye" by Executrix: A very nasty and *far* too plausible answer to the question of just who Kiera, the mutoid from "Duel," used to be. Short and punchy.

"His Brother's Keeper" by Betty Ragan: I wrote this one, so I can hardly review it objectively... I'd certainly be interested in any comments, positive or negative, that anyone else might have, though.

"Unmodified Needs" by Delmonica: A mutoid's-eye view of "Moloch," featuring a well-written look at a mutoid who remembers a bit more than she's supposed to, with a nice twist at the end. Just goes to show that you can get decent fanfic out of even the most mediocre episodes.

"Interview with a Mutoid" by Steve Rogerson: A disturbingly familiar mutoid gives us an in-depth explanation of what it's like to have been Modified, what she can and can't still remember, and what she's still capable of feeling about it. Very good mutoid POV, nice angst, and a kicker of an ending.

"Memory is an Encumbrance" by Julia Stamford: I'm not sure, but this may be my favorite story in the zine. When the Liberator crew captures a mutoid, they have to decide what to do with him... Leading to an examination of some very hard and provocative questions, like "Is there anything *worse* than being a mutoid?"

"Kie-Eyre or Et Tu, Bronte?" by Executrix: Yes, it's B7 meets _Jane Eyre_, as we meet Space Captain Travis' new governess, and discover what deep, dark family secrets he's hiding... This probably would have worked better for me if I'd been familiar with the original, but the weird juxtaposition of genres is interesting in itself, in a bizarre sort of way...

"The Mutoid's Tale" by Firerose: Mutoids are soulless, nearly mindless, and utterly lacking in free will or emotion, right? Well, maybe not... and pity the ones that aren't. I certainly felt deep sympathy for Firerose's mutoid protagonist, who has to constantly hide the scraps of humanity she's supposed to be lacking. There's probably a nice metaphor in here for the lot of the average Federation citizen, too, now that I think about it...

"Relations" by Penny Dreadful answers the question of where mutoids come from, and it's an extremely well-thought out, well-presented, and disturbing answer. It also provides yet another answer to the question of Kiera's original identity, and a wonderfully fitting and ironic one, IMHO. And the characterization of pre-mutoid Kiera herself is wonderful; she strikes me as an ordinary and very sympathetic person, yet simultaneously as soulless and empty of compassion any mutoid. (There's a scene in here that may well qualify as the most chilling thing I've read recently, and all the more so because, from Kiera's viewpoint, it's viewed so utterly matter-of-factly.) Being a Penny Dreadful story, of course, it also features a great deal of Travis.

"Chronicles" by Emma: Now here's a really nifty idea… Mutoids are colloquially referred to as "vampires" for obvious reasons, but what if it's more than a metaphor? This is one of those terribly clever story premises that always leave me wishing I'd though it of myself, though I'm not at all sure I could have done nearly as good a job with it as Emma has!

The zine also includes four drabbles (100-word stories) by Oliver Klosov, each of them as tight and punchy as only the short-short format can be.

So, in sum: Lots of good stories here, with a very high quality of writing, and while all of them take the concept of mutoids as a springboard, they nevertheless end up covering a great deal of highly varied ground. Definitely recommended!