Avon: A Terrible Aspect
Encyclopedia
Avon: A Terrible Aspect is a science fiction
novel
by Paul Darrow
set in the fictional Blake's 7
universe. It was Darrow's debut novel
, first published hardcover
in 1989, with copyright
shared between Darrow and Terry Nation
, the original creator of the Blake's 7 universe
. The novel can be regarded as a prequel
to the Blake's 7 storyline, recounting the life story of Kerr Avon
from shortly before his conception to moments before his first meeting with Roj Blake
and his co-conspirators. Although the novel is not usually regarded as canonical
, Nation apparently liked the way it explained "why Avon was the way he was."
in the southern Indian Ocean
, which are sometimes known as "Desolation Islands." The name Kerguelen is, however, not a direct translation of "desolation", but a reference to the discoverer
of the archipelago
. Since the novel consistently uses Ker, this form is preferred for use in this article.
defected
from the Federation death squads, on the run from his former employers, briefly meets a young woman called Rowena and fathers a child, the future Ker Avon, before continuing his attempts to evade his pursuers and reach Earth.
The first part of the novel follows the further adventures of Rogue Avon as he travels from Phax, a fictitious moon
of Uranus, through the Clouds of Magellan
to Earth, where he is eventually killed by his half brother Axel Reiss, who has remained loyal to the Federation. The second part of the novel details Rowena's endeavours to raise her son Kerguelen and avenge
his father; however, she fails in the latter and is killed on Reiss' orders. The third part portrays Reiss' attempts to mould the education of the young Ker Avon in order to use him in his schemes to achieve more power in the Federation hierarchy.
In the fourth and final part of the novel, these plans misfire when Ker Avon, whose intelligence and survival skills have been honed in the challenging environment of Federation intrigue and double cross, turns the tables on Reiss and kills him, partly to avenge his father and partly as an element in his scheme to defraud the Federation banking system and abscond to a safe haven outside the Federation's sphere of influence. However, in the course of his final duel with Reiss, Avon sustains injuries that prevent him from avoiding capture. Avon is sentenced to be deported to the prison colony of Cygnus Alpha, and the novel ends as Avon boards the Federation prison ship London, seconds before the beginning of the first season episode Space Fall in which Avon first meets Blake.
is pragmatic at best. Indeed, treachery seems to be the rule in the Federation universe, most people being all too ready to abandon and betray
previous alliances and commitments to further their own ends. Avon, his father Rogue, and Axel Reiss are all approached by various parties proposing that they betray or even kill former allies. The whole Federation hierarchy is dominated by shifting power blocs manoeuvring for control. The devious, scheming Vasht in particular is notably reminiscent of Servalan
in the series, even to details in her personal demeanour.
Some departures from canonicity occur in terms of plot. Besides Ker Avon himself, a few other characters such as Tynus and Anna Grant are shared with the series, and particularly in the case of Anna Grant there are significant departures from the character as portrayed in the series. In the novel, she is a drug addicted
, sociopathic
tool in the hands of Axel Reiss, quite different from the admittedly treacherous but strong willed and self-possessed Anna Grant as portrayed in the third season episode Rumours of Death. Similarly, the events leading up to Avon's capture in the novel disagree in many respects with Avon's relation of those same events to Del Grant in Countdown: in the series, Avon attributes his injuries to the man who was arranging for his getaway (a reasonable enough match for Maco in the novel); however, the duel with his uncle, a major event in the novel (and arguably in Avon's life), also takes place after he left Anna but is not mentioned at all in the series.
Other apparent departures from the canon are of a technical kind. In particular, the Federation universe in the novel seems to be largely contained within the boundaries of the solar system
. Avon's conception and birth take place on a (fictional) moon of Uranus; Rogue Avon's laborious return to Earth involves hopping between various fictitious asteroids all firmly located between Saturn and Earth; and the intriguing "Clouds of Magellan", a clear reference to the Magellanic clouds
, appear to be located in close Earth orbit
. Likewise, Cygnus Alpha, most definitely located well beyond the solar system, is described as "newly acquired by the Federation", although, in the series episode Cygnus Alpha, Vargas in his talk with Blake makes it quite clear that prisoners have been sent there for generations. However, since similar mistakes in astronomical technicalities are routinely made in the original series, it is debatable whether this represents a departure from the series canon.
references and quotations, from the title itself—a quotation from Henry V
—to Raher quoting Julius Caesar
several times in his final conversation with Avon.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Paul Darrow
Paul Darrow
Paul Darrow is an English actor best known for his portrayal of Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series Blake's 7...
set in the fictional Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
universe. It was Darrow's debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
, first published hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
in 1989, with copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
shared between Darrow and Terry Nation
Terry Nation
Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, the original creator of the Blake's 7 universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
. The novel can be regarded as a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the Blake's 7 storyline, recounting the life story of Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon
Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Paul Darrow...
from shortly before his conception to moments before his first meeting with Roj Blake
Roj Blake
Roj Blake is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Gareth Thomas ....
and his co-conspirators. Although the novel is not usually regarded as canonical
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
, Nation apparently liked the way it explained "why Avon was the way he was."
Avon's first name
In the Blake's 7 series, Avon's first name is usually given as Kerr, with a double r. However, in the novel it is consistently spelled Ker with a single r. This is explained as a short form of his full name Kerguelen, said to mean desolation. The latter is either a misunderstanding or poetic license on Darrow's part, probably based on the Kerguelen IslandsKerguelen Islands
The Kerguelen Islands , also known as the Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean constituting the emerged part of the otherwise submerged Kerguelen Plateau. The islands, along with Adélie Land, the Crozet Islands and the Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands are part of...
in the southern Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, which are sometimes known as "Desolation Islands." The name Kerguelen is, however, not a direct translation of "desolation", but a reference to the discoverer
Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec
Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec was a Breton explorer and French naval officer.- Early life:He was born in Landudal, Finistère. During the Seven Years' War, Kerguelen-Trémarec was a privateer, but without much success....
of the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
. Since the novel consistently uses Ker, this form is preferred for use in this article.
Synopsis
The story begins approximately 26 or 27 Earth years before the events of Blake's 7 proper, when Rogue Avon, a former professional assassinAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
defected
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
from the Federation death squads, on the run from his former employers, briefly meets a young woman called Rowena and fathers a child, the future Ker Avon, before continuing his attempts to evade his pursuers and reach Earth.
The first part of the novel follows the further adventures of Rogue Avon as he travels from Phax, a fictitious moon
Natural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
of Uranus, through the Clouds of Magellan
Magellanic Clouds
The two Magellanic Clouds are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are members of our Local Group and are orbiting our Milky Way galaxy...
to Earth, where he is eventually killed by his half brother Axel Reiss, who has remained loyal to the Federation. The second part of the novel details Rowena's endeavours to raise her son Kerguelen and avenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
his father; however, she fails in the latter and is killed on Reiss' orders. The third part portrays Reiss' attempts to mould the education of the young Ker Avon in order to use him in his schemes to achieve more power in the Federation hierarchy.
In the fourth and final part of the novel, these plans misfire when Ker Avon, whose intelligence and survival skills have been honed in the challenging environment of Federation intrigue and double cross, turns the tables on Reiss and kills him, partly to avenge his father and partly as an element in his scheme to defraud the Federation banking system and abscond to a safe haven outside the Federation's sphere of influence. However, in the course of his final duel with Reiss, Avon sustains injuries that prevent him from avoiding capture. Avon is sentenced to be deported to the prison colony of Cygnus Alpha, and the novel ends as Avon boards the Federation prison ship London, seconds before the beginning of the first season episode Space Fall in which Avon first meets Blake.
Relationship to Blake's 7 canon
The novel is strikingly true to the original Blake's 7 universe in its portrayal of moral ambiguity and corruption. Some characters, such as the enigmatic Prospector, seem to be more successful in living up to a standard of moral integrity than others, but none are incorruptible; their moral codeMorality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
is pragmatic at best. Indeed, treachery seems to be the rule in the Federation universe, most people being all too ready to abandon and betray
Betrayal
Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations...
previous alliances and commitments to further their own ends. Avon, his father Rogue, and Axel Reiss are all approached by various parties proposing that they betray or even kill former allies. The whole Federation hierarchy is dominated by shifting power blocs manoeuvring for control. The devious, scheming Vasht in particular is notably reminiscent of Servalan
Servalan
Servalan is a fictional character in the BBC science fiction television series Blake's 7, played by Jacqueline Pearce . She was the principal villain of the series...
in the series, even to details in her personal demeanour.
Some departures from canonicity occur in terms of plot. Besides Ker Avon himself, a few other characters such as Tynus and Anna Grant are shared with the series, and particularly in the case of Anna Grant there are significant departures from the character as portrayed in the series. In the novel, she is a drug addicted
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
, sociopathic
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
tool in the hands of Axel Reiss, quite different from the admittedly treacherous but strong willed and self-possessed Anna Grant as portrayed in the third season episode Rumours of Death. Similarly, the events leading up to Avon's capture in the novel disagree in many respects with Avon's relation of those same events to Del Grant in Countdown: in the series, Avon attributes his injuries to the man who was arranging for his getaway (a reasonable enough match for Maco in the novel); however, the duel with his uncle, a major event in the novel (and arguably in Avon's life), also takes place after he left Anna but is not mentioned at all in the series.
Other apparent departures from the canon are of a technical kind. In particular, the Federation universe in the novel seems to be largely contained within the boundaries of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. Avon's conception and birth take place on a (fictional) moon of Uranus; Rogue Avon's laborious return to Earth involves hopping between various fictitious asteroids all firmly located between Saturn and Earth; and the intriguing "Clouds of Magellan", a clear reference to the Magellanic clouds
Magellanic Clouds
The two Magellanic Clouds are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are members of our Local Group and are orbiting our Milky Way galaxy...
, appear to be located in close Earth orbit
Geocentric orbit
A geocentric orbit involves any object orbiting the Earth, such as the Moon or artificial satellites. Currently there are approximately 2,465 artificial satellites orbiting the Earth and 6,216 pieces of space debris as tracked by the Goddard Space Flight Center...
. Likewise, Cygnus Alpha, most definitely located well beyond the solar system, is described as "newly acquired by the Federation", although, in the series episode Cygnus Alpha, Vargas in his talk with Blake makes it quite clear that prisoners have been sent there for generations. However, since similar mistakes in astronomical technicalities are routinely made in the original series, it is debatable whether this represents a departure from the series canon.
Literary references
Given Darrow's background as a theatre actor, it is perhaps not surprising that the novel abounds in ShakespeareanShakespeare's influence
William Shakespeare's influence extends from theatre and literature to present-day movies and the English language itself. Widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, and the world's pre-eminent dramatist, Shakespeare transformed European theatre by expanding expectations about...
references and quotations, from the title itself—a quotation from Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
—to Raher quoting Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
several times in his final conversation with Avon.