The Almost Unbelievably Curious Case of Jeremiah Hudgejaw by Marten Weber

Reviewer: Alan Chin

Publisher: Aquarius Publishing

Pages: 148

Set in the beginning of the 1900’s aboard the RMS Noricum, traveling from England to New York, Jeremiah Hudgejaw is on the lookout for a husband for his daughter and a wife for himself. Jeremiah is a super rich, super homophobic, self-absorbed loudmouth who has a knack for offending nearly everyone he meets. Also, he often can’t tell if a person is male or female, which gets him into trouble when he is smitten by a young steward who he mistakes for a female.

Jeremiah is joined on this cruise by several quirky characters who provide both humor and romance. The comedy is built on the kind of absurd misunderstanding one finds in Oscar Wilde’s plays.

The writing is well crafted, fast paced, and breezy in this somewhat entertaining historical satire that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the topic of homophobia and gay marriage. The story is rather predictable, the premises are too absurd, none of the characters are likeable, and the humor gets tiresome, yet it leaves a smile on the reader’s face.

http://www.martenweber.com/

Shayno by Marten Weber

Reviewer: Alan Chin

Publisher: Aquarius Publishing

Pages: 293

Shayno is the story of two men, both in search of something they think Shayno, a hunk who immigrated to America from Australia, can provide. What neither of them know is that Shayno is a man incapable of returning affection. He slowly leads his prey down a path that just keeps getting darker and more dangerous, toying with his prey in order to glorify his fragile ego.

The first protagonist is a middle-aged technician working in Silicon Valley who has become bored with his job, his friends, his life. He wants to find love and adventure, and when a sexy (albeit straight) hunk pays attention to him at the gym, he follows that hunk like the Pied Piper.

The second protagonist, Kevin, is a young Australian surfer. He’s on a journey to find Shayno, whom he knew and fell in love with before Shayno flew to America.

Mr. Weber shows an exceptional talent at creating gripping scenes, even though he uses rather unorthodox ways of writing prose that make it difficult for the reader.

The characters he creates in this novel are often placed in interesting situations, but overall I found all three to be rather stupid, a bit cliché, and unlikeable. Several times, the author turns his characters into mere mouthpieces to spout his views. I couldn’t connect with the characters; therefore, I never became captivated by their story.

This is not your typical MM romance. It is a study of how a person can be led, step by step, into a dangerous situation, and also how people can be enthralled by danger. It’s well worth a look if you’re searching for something unusual. 

http://www.martenweber.com/