Tropical Storm
by Melissa Good

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Book Reviews of Tropical Storm

Book Review: Keep Fan Fiction in Cyberspace
Summary: 1 Stars

The two central characters in this story, Dar Roberts and Kerry Stuart, are thinly disguised versions of Xena and Gabrielle, from the popular television blue eyed, a cynical corporate warrior who speaks in a "warm contralto"; Kerry is smaller and blonde, a naïve young woman from the Midwest. Kerry's youthful innocence and charm win over the battle-hardened Dar, as they become friends, bond, and fall in love. This development parallels almost exactly the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, except that the TV characters are not overtly lovers.

Moreover, Kerry becomes Dar's assistant (just as Gabrielle is Xena's sidekick); Dar is the dominant or "butch" partner, Kerry is the submissive or "femme" partner, again reflecting the dynamic of the Xena-Gabrielle relationship. Dar even dreams of having known Kerry from another time (presumably another lifetime); her dream involves a romantic interlude by a waterfall ("Xena" is filmed in New Zealand; waterfalls feature prominently in the scenery of the series).

The author's writing style is typical of the over-written purple prose of most fan fiction. The expository paragraphs ramble almost interminably with descriptions of people, food, and scenery. The two women spend countless pages analyzing their feelings for each other, and later, having long, heart-to-heart conversations. The prose is riddled with passive voice; the point of view switches constantly between the two women; adjectives and adverbs pile up on top of each other. Seemingly every paragraph contains a reference to Dar and Kerry's hair or eye color.

Melissa Good is a well-known fan fiction author among "Xena" fans. Her stories based on this series can be found at almost any "Xena" fan-created Web site. Except for its modern-day setting, "Tropical Storm" is not very different from any of the mind-numbingly long sagas that Good has concocted. The story is an example of "uber" Xena settings, where the two women meet, fall in love, and realize that they are bound together by the mystical bonds of their past life experiences. Most stories of this ilk are little more than sapphic Harlequin romances, where the plots (such as the are) fall to the background; the real point of the stories is misty-eyed discourse on the eternal love between the two "soulmates."

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