To Do

(1) To Do List (Sentinel)

By Aubrey Robin
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 22nd July 2000 (5)
Tags: Novelette
(54K)

This was really good. Resolution, worked at. I liked this also because, unlike many other Blair-as-cop stories, we actually have a Jim who does consider, and is willing to resign, in order to be with Blair. That doesn't turn out to be necessary, but I feel relieved that it was considered.

This story won the 2000 Cascade Times Awards in the "smarm" category, and was nominated in the "missing scene" category.

(2) You Are My Home (Sentinel)

By Aubrey Robin
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 30th July 2000 (20)
Tags: Vignette, Smarm

Very short, just smarm. Okay, but not really my thing.

(3) Contrition/Absolution (Sentinel)

By Aubrey Robin
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 30th July 2000 (21)

Two halves of a smarmy snippet, one each from Jim and Blair's point of view. Again, just smarm, not for me.

(4) The Commitment (Sentinel)

By Aubrey Robin
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 30th July 2000 (22)
Tags: Novella
(134K)

Ahhhh. This was good. Nice and long, good moments, strong characters, good character insight, good touches of description.

After I parked the Volvo on the street I had peered up at the windows of the loft, seeing neither lights nor the weird blue flicker that a TV makes on walls when you're looking in from the outside. Of course, this was no indication of what my roommate was doing; he of the enhanced eyesight could be tying flies in utter darkness for all I knew.

Another bit that I liked was particularly good characterwise - a point where Blair was bracing himself for a Jim-tirade, Jim noticed, and decided not to. It wasn't that Sandburg was flinching, but he understood and put up with it - it reminded me of how I sometimes am with my brother, so it really rang true for me.

(6) The Undiscovered Country (Sentinel)

By Aubrey Robin
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 30th July 2000 (23)
Tags: Novella
(175K)

This was great! Good Jim, good Blair, good insights. I particularly liked the bit where it really hit Blair that he's a cop - a cop in his own right, not just Jim Ellison's sidekick. (I don't think I've seen any other Blair-as-cop stories so far that have faced that.) It made it all the more believable. Good plot with a twist. And some good lines, a sort of wry humour to them.

I gave myself a mental shake and straightened up, willing my legs to move forward again. I would fall apart later in the privacy of my own home, thank you very much, preferably with a large sentinel nearby to duct tape the pieces back together.
    "I know I'm not great company these days. The pain meds seem to zap my vocabulary. Makes me sound like you."
    My eyebrows rose. "Excuse me?"
    "You know, monosyllables, grunts, the typical Ellison speech pattern."
    I grunted. "Whatever. Finish your soup."

Addendum: nominated for favourite drama story in the 2001 Cascade Times Awards.

(7) Heart in the Right Place (Sentinel)

By Aubrey Robin
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 8th April 2000
Tags: Short Story
(41K)

That was lovely; smarm but not soppy. It was so like Sandburg to let his enthusiasm carry him away to do something infeasible, yet such a considerate gift. The first-person scenes for both Blair and Jim were good, and there were some cool turns of phrase.

(8) Remembrance of Things Past (Sentinel)

By Aubrey Robin
Reviewed by Kathryn A on 30th July 2000 (24)
Tags: Novelette
(66K)

Oh, that was good. An intense working-through of angsty things past, for both of them. (And the Shakespeare quote at the end, oh my! Absolutely perfect.)