No Guts, No Glory
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | No Guts, No Glory |
| Author(s): | Pat Gonzales |
| Date(s): | July 1981 |
| Length: | |
| Genre(s): | |
| Fandom(s): | Star Wars |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | |
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art for this story by Karen River
No Guts, No Glory is a gen Star Wars story by Pat Gonzales.
It was published in Pegasus #5.
The art for this story is by Karen River.
Fan Comments
“No Guts, No Glory’ is absolutely charming. It is refreshing to meet a female character that does not want throw Skywalker or Solo (or both) into the nearest bed. The characterizations are excellent and the plot interesting since the characters mature a little instead of just going along with the story for the ride. [1]
Pat Gonzales contributes a story to please every Luke fan; ‘No Guts, No Glory.’ In it, Luke finds himself a real female friend, and manages to get her into trouble several times, to her dismay. There is a plot flaw in the story, I think – see if you can find it. But overall, the story is well-written and enjoyable. [2]
"No Guts, No Glory"—uh, why does the lady with Luke on page 29 look vaguely familiar? (Actually, more than vaguely!) Saibra is a good character, very realistic in her fright during the various predicaments which Luke got her into (I would have been totally petrifled myself), and she commanded my respect by being able to rise above the dangers. I have a quibble with the plotting, though. Ater Saibra and Luke spotted the Imperials at Telresan base, I'd have thought that the Rebel Commanders would have been highly suspicious of any information originating from there. It seemed totally asinine for them to send Luke and Saibra to Dantooine under these circumstances. I had to put this out of my mind in order to enjoy the rest of the story. On the whole, it was well-written, a bit gruesome at places, but never gory...and I always enjoy stories where Luke is treated with respect by the author. And it was great to see Luke have a woman friend. [3]
"No Guts, No Glory." This one was the big surprise for me. I hadn't cared much for her story in PEG IV, but liked this one very much. Either her writing has improved a lot or my taste in reading matter has. "Son of a scrod" makes excellent cuss word — will have to adopt it for everyday conversation. Did have a couple of quibbles. 1. Idea of the Alliance being desperately hard up for parts sold so well that I had a hard time believing they would let Luke waste them on a ship all the senior techs had given up on (not to mention wasting the time of a tech on that). 2. Have trouble believing Alliance would have checked out of Dantooine without knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that every piece of equipment larger than a pencil sharpener had gone with them. 3. Would Luke tell a woman who was obviously already scared out of her wits that he'd been shown a room full of torture equipment that they were threatening to use on her? He strikes me as too sensitive a guy to do that unless he was so scared he wasn't thinking straight. And while he's obviously a little scared, he doesn't strike me here as being out of control to the extent that would lead him to do that. Aside from those points, I thought it was quite believable and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Nice illo on page 41. [4]
"No Guts, No Glory" was [fine], though I detect a strong hint of Mary-Sue in Saibra. What-the-hell, it was fun to read. [5]
"No Guts, No Glory": Again, an okay story, but there were details that bugged me. The transition on pg.31 from Luke grinning and following Saibra to the ship having been fixed was poor. There is a time gap in there that is not indicated at all. I found the idea of Luke and Saibra going to check the report of usable x-wings hard to take, when they are already in doubt as to the integrity of that base. This setup was just too awkward, after the reports of Imperials (especially from Luke! I'd have expected him to be particularly leery of going out after having seen the Imps himself).... [6]
"No Guts, No Glory"—A well-thought out piece about the "other" rebels, the nameless, most of the time faceless people of the Alliance. It's nice to see the major characters interacting with others we never see. [7]
"No Guts, No Glory" is a damn good job. I don't know if Pat Gonzales considers Saibra Michea her alter ego or not, but it doesn't matter. She's made her a very real and believable character. [8]
You are a victim of Mary-sueitis when you are sitting there reading a story and you say to yourself, "I don't give a good goddam about this character." Sometimes, however, the character has flaws like a human being should, but the character is still a boor. This is how I felt about Saibra Michea. I mean, there she was, full of fears and quirks a la reality, and yet I wanted to boot the critter out of the airlock. Upon reflection, I think I understand why I felt that way...it wasn't the character per se, it was the way the main character reacted to her. I mean Luke. There he was, all officious of her, talking to her, reacting to her, her, HER! I mean, you could hear the wheels turning in the author's mind—Gee wouldn't it be neat to be in the SW universe and then I'd get to talk to the characters and they'd listen to me and maybe we'd be friends. The character was a real person but the main characters were unnaturally cognizant of her existence...Well, maybe I shouldn't be so mean to the author on this— Pat Gonzales still shows her talent in other aspects of the story—style, turn of phrase, the way she handles suspense. She just has to keep on writing and practicing her craft. [9]
"No Guts, No Glory" by Pat Gonzales strikes me as a classic Mary Sue epic, which is a pity. Gonzales has proved she can write without falling into this trap, and "No Guts" started out well. Luke is handled pretty well, but Leia keeps coming across as jealous. [10]
I am not by any means a Luke fan but Pat's version of the Junior Jedi in "No Guts, No Glory" is a lot more fun-loving, less "square", than the movie Luke and he comes across a much more sympathetic character — still impetuous and inexperienced but resilient and courageous in tough situations too. Saibra, an almost Mary Sue, is one of those very appealing fan-SW heroines who has faults enough to be human — no obnoxiously overwhelming beauty of face and/or sex appeal, and has one of those relationships with Luke which are so rare in real life: a friendship with one of the opposite sex based on true companionship. Saibra ribs Luke about the Princess but no jealous overtones escape the reference. I wasn't exactly fond of the torture scenes, especially the one with Luke. TESB proved that the Imps are not above such monstrous actions but somehow I think Vader might have included a clause in the bounty to keep Luke for his own black mercies. A big ovation for Gonzo's constructive, competent, imaginative use of the droids that rang very true to the active roles assigned to them. Too often, I fear, fan writers lack the creative comedic touch to handle these two mechanical characters who should be central to the SW universe. C-3P0 has suffered especially since TESB despite his valor on Bespin (his last words before being blasted by stormtroopers were not those of cowardice but "I must warn the others!") simply because he is seen through Han's cynical viewpoint. R2 fairs better only because he is with Luke who treats him as a companion, not a burden. Karen's illos were a fitting accompaniment with the shadowed close-up Luke-face on 52 particularly nice as well as the skeptical Leia and the decidedly Fordish Han at the end. [11]
"No Guts, No Glory " by Pat Gonzales is a severe disappointment coming after her much better characterized story in PEGASUS IV. "Guts" continually contradicts itself, sometimes within paragraphs. On page 32, the heroine, Sabira, dreams of being engineer on a ship and swears, "I'm going to be sitting in fr9nt of one of these"; half a page later, when Luke wants to take his new tub for a spin with her, she babbles, "I can't... what if something goes wrong" (not showing much confidence in her own repair work) "all right, I'll go... under protest." On p. 42, Commander Ryel offers her a mission because she "did such a spectacular job of converting a cruiser" — and when she dithers reassures "it's a very simple check." There are no reasons given for Sabira's guilt ("what have I done now?"), insecurity, and all-around wimpiness, nor does she grow out of it in the course of the story. The plot is a series of cliches, ending with Sabira universally beloved and taken on by Han as an apprentice, signs
of the Mary Sue. Gonzales should have done better.[12]