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All seven parts are preceded by a quotation by Rainer Maria Rilke. Some people might find this annoying but the excerpts used are all short and work beautifully to set the mood and scene for each section of the story. At first, the story is quite slow to develop. In my opinion, a little too much time is spent trying to set the scene of Jack's fatigue at his recent heroic feats as part of SG-1 and his desire to relax and go fishing. Once the action starts, however, the mood and writing style seem to settle down and it becomes poignant and lyrical in its description of the beautiful forest Jack finds himself in, an unexpected and now irrevocably destroyed idyllic landscape from his childhood. This landscape is the trigger that turns Jack's memories back to the past and his nine year childhood friendship with Matt, the new boy next door. This is a beautifully written section which treats an important relationship with delicacy and restraint but still manages to evoke powerful feelings of love and loss in the reader. The realism of the drama being described is brilliantly captured, the author never goes too far into mawkish sentimentality but manages to walk that fine line between delicately drawn intense emotion and melodrama. This part is by far the most memorable and I'd recommend the whole series just for the joy of reading this fascinating look into Jack's past. Jolted back to the present by a figure coming towards him, Jack finds out the meaning of what is going on when he recognises Thor. They spend time together but Jack is in for many surprises, not least of which is finding out more about his friend's past. Both learn more about the other and the two grow closer, finally admitting they are attracted to each other and they start a sexual relationship. The sections that deal with Thor are intriguing, not least for their fantastical elements and the sneaky but effective way the author deals with any squick her readers may feel about the idea of a sexual relationship between Jack and a short, grey-skinned alien. By the time the two actually have sex, the reader has been seduced by the skill with which the author sets up the romantic relationship between the two. I enjoyed the slow build up of sexual and romantic tension and the easy, gentle way the characters interacted. The final section deals with Jack's return to base and his decision regarding his feelings for Daniel. I must say that I found this section disappointingly short. For a story in which Jack is meant to be in love with Daniel, he seems to spend time having intense sex with everybody but the supposed object of his affections! In some ways I think this detracts from the believability of the Jack/Daniel pairing in this story and I think that more weight could have been given to Daniel's position in Jack's life and affections throughout the middle section to balance the final part of this story. However, this is a only a small quibble in an otherwise fascinating and enjoyable tale. Characterisation in this story was very effective, in my opinion. Although Jack is the principle character in this drama, I believed very much in all the characters in the story, from a realistic and sympathetic portrayal of Thor to the creation of the original character of Matt. The author even manages to catch Jack's unique brand of humour, which is no mean feat. In conclusion, this lovely story has elements of drama, fantasy, romance and an understated humour which the author weaves together into a cohesive and wonderfully evocative whole. I would have said that it would have been next to impossible to make me believe in a Jack/Thor pairing but Kai has managed it with an ease that astonished and delighted me. I enjoyed it very much and would certainly recommend it, even to those who might think that the Jack/Thor pairing is not to their taste. I say try it, you might be surprised to find you enjoy it as much as I did. It's definitely one of my favourite Stargate stories. |
