LUNACY'S FAN FICTION REVIEWS
Brigid Doyle
Reviewer can be reached at
Last modified: November 03 2012 12:33:02

Please make sure to read the EXPLANATORY NOTES before reading these reviews.

Alternative stories are designated as such with an [Alt] at the end of the title line.

This file features reviews of stories written by Brigid Doyle. For any other fiction by this bard please visit any of the Xena fan fiction indexes.

BETWEEN THE TIMES SERIES by Brigid Doyle - read in the order listed below:

**LESSON 1 - SWORDS ARE NOT TOYS
LESSON 2 - STAYING PUT
LESSON 3: FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS, SPOKEN OR UNSPOKEN
LESSON 4 - DON'T LEAVE THE BARD BEHIND
LESSON 5: LESSONS OF TITANIC PROPORTION

**ENTWINED DESTINY by Brigid Doyle
On a fateful night full of surprises a ruthless blue-eyed pirate discovers a skinny little stowaway on board her ship and to her utmost disbelief, is soon helping the young girl to get back to the family she was accidentally separated from. A delightful, poignant tale about what-could-have-beens. Excellent work. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - 9 pgs., 1/9/99
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/7473/entwineddestiny.html

**HALFWAY TO MY HEART by Brigid Doyle
An engrossing new contemporary uber set in New York and the surrounding areas, Brigid's latest opens at a girl's boarding school where Reagan McAllister's life has become a living hell. Recently orphaned after an accident claimed the lives of both her parents, the twelve-year old's only family is an older sister - now in charge of the company business - who wants nothing to do with her but whose own stint at the boarding school made her quite a reputation...and lots of enemies. Forced now to pay for her older sister's wild days in school, Reagan finds herself unable to escape the scrutiny of the school's headmistress - a very cruel, very disturbed woman intent on making the young McAllister pay for her older sister's sins. Meanwhile, Payton McAllister, rich, wealthy, powerful and exceedingly bitter toward her dead father and the "second family" he seemed to prefer, refuses to have anything to do with the half-sister she sent away to boarding school until the situation grows critical, forcing the two sisters back into each others' lives. In the days and weeks to come, a very innocent, gentle heart will lay siege to the walls around Payton's own even as the McAllister enemies are circling ever nearer. It will take one sister's strength and the other's love to stand against them, rediscovering the power of a timeless bond in their greatest hour of need. Brigid delivers here an original take on the uber concept with characterizations that are vividly drawn and quite effective. The story moves along at a good pace, shifting the action at key points to create very compelling emotional cliffhangers. An absorbing read, this one should keep us entertained in the days ahead. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [See the sequel WHAT CHILD IS THIS?] - 107 pgs., 5/30/01
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic15/halfwaytomyheart1.html

HINDSIGHT by B. Doyle
A flashback to the early days of the Xena/Gabrielle relationship when a recently converted and still short-tempered Warrior Princess first found herself having to deal with a very stubborn and very curious bard-wannabe. - 5 pgs., 9/7/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/content/hindsight.html

**LESSON 1 - SWORDS ARE NOT TOYS by Brigid Doyle
With this story Brigid begins a clever new series called BETWEEN THE TIMES which will feature tales inspired by dialogue or events in the TV series suggesting that at some point Gabrielle learned an important lesson on the subject at hand. In this first entry set just a few moons into their friendship, the young village girl remains fascinated with Xena's sword despite the warrior's admonitions to stay away from it. With Xena gone fishing, Gabrielle thus decides to engage in a little swordplay - never suspecting just how profoundly she's going to regret that decision in the days ahead. This is a delightful throwback to the beginnings of the Xena/Gab partnership resurrecting the appeal of that initial pairing between a gruff, impatient ex-warlord with a soft spot for little blonde strays - and a naive, chatty but fiercely stubborn village girl offering the gift of friendship. Nicely written, dripping nostalgia and guaranteed to evoke a grin or two, this is one for the MUST READ list. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - 9 pgs., 10/3/99
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/7473/swords.html

LESSON 2 - STAYING PUT by Brigid Doyle
The second entry in the BETWEEN THE TIMES SERIES has Cyrene trying to soothe a distraught young bard and calm a FURIOUS ex-warlord after Gabrielle once again ignores Xena's orders and ends up almost learning a deadly lesson. Brigid paints such a poignant, earnest characterization of our heroines that you'll heart will go out to both of them as they struggle to make a seemingly impossible partnership, work. - 10 pgs., 10/3/99
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/7473/stayingput.html

LESSON 4 - DON'T LEAVE THE BARD BEHIND by Brigid Doyle
This fourth entry in Brigid's BETWEEN THE TIMES SERIES turns the table a bit on the developing relationship between warrior and bard as Xena finds herself learning just how important her young partner has become to her no matter how frustrating Gabrielle can sometimes be. This is a nice hurt/comfort tale set during those early years. - 6 pgs., 5/19/01
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/b/betweenthetimes4.html

MINE...TO HAVE AND HOLD by Brigid Doyle
Long, action-packed story that has Gabrielle along with a group of miners, struggling to find a way out when they are trapped in a mine while a desperate Xena struggles in turn to try to reach her friend. Suspenseful and well-written. - 66 pgs., 3/19/98
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/7473/mine.html

NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS MAY THINK by Brigid Doyle
Sensitively written vignette about the beauty of love and the many forms it can take. - 3 pgs., 4/12/98
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/7473/nomatter.html

POETIC JUSTICE by Brigid Doyle
A *truly* precious new story set after the episode FORGIVEN which has Xena and Gabrielle once again coming across that determined warrior-wannabe Tara who once again desperately needs their help, this time to try to get rid of a little blonde terror determined to be her...sidekick :) Hysterical! DO NOT MISS! - 7 pgs., 3/16/98
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/7473/poeticjustice.html

**SEASONS OF SUNSET by Brigid Doyle
Set during the second season, sometime after the episode GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN, Brigid's latest is a wonderfully poignant hurt/comfort story in which a carefree moment of happiness leads to unexpected tragedy for the warrior and bard. Taking a moment to enjoy the first snowfall of the season as they're traveling through a forest, the two soon find themselves regretting that decision when an accident leaves them at the mercy of the elements. Seriously ill, the two are rescued by an old woman who sees in their friendship a part of her own past. With her help, the warrior will battle against the forces trying to take her beloved bard from her but this is one enemy even the infamous Warrior Princess may not be able to vanquish. Brigid paints a very heartwarming picture here of the devotion between soulmates showing it at work not only in the Xena/Gab relationship but in the recollections of the old woman helping them whose life seems to very closely mirror their own. This is a well-written, emotional piece that will remind you of Xena fanfic from the first couple of years. Definitely one for the MUST READ list. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - 23 pgs., 5/5/00
http://ausxip.com/fanfiction/s/seasonsofsunset.html

STAY PUT - see the BETWEEN THE TIMES SERIES

**STOLEN MOMENTS by Brigid Doyle
Set after the episode WHO'S GURKHAN this story begins with Xena and Gabrielle back in Poteidaia where Virgil has convinced Lila and Sarah to come stay with his family. After the sale of Gabrielle's childhood home, Xena is helping to load things on a wagon when she happens across a box containing Gabrielle's letters home and a very special scroll the bard's mother never got a chance to send. This is a very moving, well-written tale about a mother's love which sheds new insight into the events following that first critical meeting between an ex-warlord and a farm girl on a clearing outside of Poteidaia. DO NOT MISS! - 10 pgs., 5/20/01
http://ausxip.com/fanfic14/stolenmoments.html

**STRENGTH OF VISION by Brigid Doyle
Beautiful tale about the struggle of one fragile little life to survive and a mother helpless against the course of destiny who must simply take solace in the gift she's been given, knowing that it's a gift she holds only for a time until a greater calling demands that gift for another. VERY nice. Poignant and universal in its tribute to the selflessness of a mother's love. DO NOT MISS! - 3 pgs., 11/30/99
http://ausxip.com/fanfiction/s/strengthofvision.html

SWORDS ARE NOT TOYS - see the BETWEEN THE TIMES SERIES

TALE OF TWO MOTHERS (A) by Brigid Doyle
In a village tavern two mothers talk about their daughters, seeing these through the eyes of a stranger and gaining an understanding into the unbreakable bond that is now so much a part of them. An original approach with a nice perspective on the Xena/Gab friendship. - 4 pgs., 3/7/99
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/7473/twomothers.html

THINGS OF YOUTH (THE) by Brigid Doyle
Very cute story that has Xena and Gab joining forces with Hercules and Iolus in an effort to do some damage control for another of Salmoneous dinar-making schemes. Soon though, they find themselves facing another liiiiiiitle problem - an enchantment that literaly shaves YEARS of their lives ;-) - 31 pgs., 3/97
http://xenafan.com/fiction/content/thethingsofyouth.html

**WHAT CHILD IS THIS? by Brigid Doyle
A very nice "feel-good" sequel to Brigid's excellent uber HALFWAY TO MY HEART, this story picks up the story of the McAllister sisters as they get ready to celebrate their first Holiday season together. Each will have challenges to face as Reagan has to deal with the memories of Christmases with her parents and Payton has to adjust to once again celebrating a time she had once grown to despise. Together and with the help of friends, both old and new, the two sisters will rediscover the warmth of family and the magic of a season that celebrates love. Brigid does a good job here of reducing some of the angst from the first story while building the relationship between Regan and Payton and shedding a bit more light on the past of both characters. Another satisfying offering from a fine storyteller. DO NOT MISS! - 44 pgs., 8/10/01
http://ausxip.com/fanfic15/whatchild.html

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