The Golden Book might be the worst official Blake's 7 story ever as it features entirely unnecessary, gratuitous and out of character sexual assault perpetrated by one main lead to another.
WRITTEN BY
No specific credit.
PLOT
The Scorpio crew joins a new rebel alliance brought together by the religious Invecta, a race who still practice human sacrifice. When Soolin is announced as their next victim, Avon agrees to surrender her life in exchange for leadership of the future galactic government.
ANALYSIS
Let's cut to the chase, shall we? For whatever reason, the writer felt that the best way to spice up this short story would be to feature a truly disgusting sequence where Vila, having 'comically' overheard a conversation, is led to believe that Soolin has a crush on him and then tries to force himself on her in a drunken state. No gags, no self-awareness, that dude would have 100% raped her if he hadn't been knocked out. And she gets legitimately traumatised too, to the point where Dayna has to soothe her fears. Of freaking Vila.
There are just so many things wrong with that already from a character perspective, but obviously the main issue here is just that it's tone deaf, inappropriate and creepy as hell. To make matters worse, it doesn't end there. Not content with having Soolin manhandled, the writer takes a step further and has Avon force her to go back to the planet where she was terrified as a child. Again, for no discernible reason other than for Vila to redeem himself later on by rescuing her. Ben Steed would say it's too much!
If you're somehow able to put all that I've described here aside... preferably with bleach... there is the occasional glimmer of a good concept. Although the background of the Invecta religion is nonexistent, it does provide the crew with an interesting moral dilemma to tackle - can they sacrifice Soolin(the person they know the least) in cold blood in order to take a gargantuan step forward in defeating the Federation, potentially saving millions?
And speaking of the Invecta, although we know very little about them, the presence of their priests and the fancy laser-inscribed metal book that manages their sacrifices are both eerie and fascinating, adding some great tension to the banquet scenes where the crew meet the other alliance members.
The fact that Avon is just casually offered supreme power of the galaxy there because he asked who should lead cracks me up. It's very similar to Orbit, except the promise is genuine and thus much more tempting. With Avon in the throes of megalomania, it's up to the rest of the crew to pull through and make the right decisions.
CHARACTERS
Vila and Soolin do not resemble their onscreen counterparts in the slightest. I mean, I guess I can imagine a writer watching a few Series D episodes and basing Vila's personality on the more lecherous scenes in them, but it was hardly his defining trait nor does it make it any less palatable. Kids read these magazines!
Soolin is turned into a damsel in distress, toying with the hearts of others and being utterly incompetent on her own. She can't fight a drunk Vila, she's immediately drugged on the Invecta world and the story doesn't even bother to show us her reaction to being rescued by her would-be rapist because she's drugged and thus rendered into a mere object for Vila's development.
Also, the whole romance angle is just... weird. We're supposed to believe that Tarrant and Soolin are hooking up, and I'm already lost. I don't remember them being remotely close on the show. I do, however, remember Tarrant and Dayna having a decent friendship, not to mention knowing each other longer. So why Tarrant and Soolin? And since when is romance between the crew even in Blake's 7?
Dayna doesn't really resemble herself either, seeing as how she's fine with letting Vila go off to try and save Soolin without bothering to risk her own neck(she's busy crying, you see). There is implied to be a bond between her and Soolin, which is nice, I guess, but it only really comes up in relation to Vila's horrific act.
One character I did like was the Invecta leader. Namely, it was the fact that despite the awful customs of the planet, he was self-aware of how it would seem to the Scorpio crew and tried his best to avoid making them a part of it. It could've very easily been a stock villain role and it wasn't, so I'm glad that was avoided.
NOTES
*The Golden Book is the first two-part Blake's 7 short story, and was published in the Blake's 7 Marvel Monthly issues 10 and 11.
*Tarrant briefly turns into Gunn-Sar, as he notes that Avon invites computers to his bedroom, not women. Ohhhh myyyyy.
*Vila appears to get drunk off of one cup. That's gotta be some potent stuff, especially given his regular drinking habits.
*When did Scorpio get 'superior firepower'? Did I miss an adventure or are they referring to the infamous Matracon?
*This writer seems to mix up the galaxy with the solar system, much like Paul Darrow. The Invecta's plot to take the Federation appears to consist solely of attacking one planetary system. And at one point, it's made to sound like the same one they're in!
*Avon is strangely under the impression that he can just order Soolin to go to the Invecta world against her will, as if he wields some kind of military authority. I'm surprised she didn't shot him there and then! But then again, this isn't our Soolin.
*Rather hilariously the magazine includes a random photograph of a gasmasked alien from Games during the rebel council scene. They were silly to begin with!
*I don't get why the alliance is so fragile that the Scorpio crew's act of impudence would suddenly shatter it. The Invecta leader talks some nonsense about how their poor choice of leader means they're not ready to take on the Federation, but it's so obviously forced. The alliance seemed to be fine in all previous scenes, and didn't vitally need the Scorpio at all.
*I really like the concept of the Golden Book - this metal notebook sitting in a damp cave, with a giant laser etching names of doomed children into its pages. It's certainly memorable.
*Why is there a huge explosion in the cave when Vila shoots at priests? Did he accidentally put an explosive clip into his handgun?
*Interestingly, the group keep the book at the end. I bet Vila sold it for booze.
INFORMATION!
*Soolin references her relationship with Dorian, which was apparently much closer than she let on.
*According to Avon, the Scorpio has superior firepower and 'unmatched speed', setting it after the events of Stardrive.
*During her childhood, Soolin's parents took her to the Invecta homeworld, where she observed one of their ritualistic human sacrifices. The Golden Book noted her presence and etched her name into itself.
BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE
TARRANT: "They are supposed to be one of the great races of the universe and yet they behave like savages!"
AVON: "It is not our place to criticise. We commit acts of equal barbarity every time we press the fire button and send perhaps a few dozen Federation troops to oblivion."
CONCLUSION
*vomiting noises*
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