The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

I'm an author with over 18 stories published. I read this book because it was a Pulitzer winner; most authors read a lot to improve their writing. I'm also a paid editor for a publisher.

First, it's a good book, but I was left wondering why it won a Pulitzer. The other reviews, before mine, are accurate in description of the plot so I won't repeat it takes place in North Korea, etc. As much as the story notes the N. Korean regime accusing the USA of being a propaganda machine and terror to the world, this book seems almost like propaganda. Maybe it's accurate; no way to know. I think a short preface to the book would be helpful to state the details of brutality, hunger and poverty are accurate or exaggerated, like is often done on TV and the movies.

As an author, I keep pen and paper with me as I read to write great words or phrases to borrow (this is often done; not plagiarism). I only wrote two things from this book. I enjoyed reading the book, but sometimes/often had to re-read because of jumps in the story between reality and hallucinations. I think there's a believability issue when a common N. Korean citizen is allowed on a diplomatic/political mission to visit a senator from Texas, and the same common citizen (an orphan of sorts, an insult and lower class status) ends up associating with the leader of N. Korea.

When I read Alan Chin's "A Lonely War" a few years ago I wrote four pages of useful, sometimes awesome, words and phrases that have enhanced my writing. I've re-read Mr. Chin's book and intend to buy more of his works. Note: He's not a friend or relative, he is just a great writer and I think "The Lonely War" would be better than this book I'm reviewing. Just my opinion. I pride myself on being fair and honest.

There is a homophobic threat that runs through most of the story, all male related. The term of  ‘man attack’ is often used. One high level military leader, who was credited with ridding the military of all homosexuals was killed when he attempted to rape a man. Ironic that someone so openly opposed to gay activity was closeted.

http://tinyurl.com/lseksyg 

Confessions of a Gay Rugby Player by Patrick Darcy

Publisher: Wilde City Press (May 2013)

Reviewer: Jon Michaelsen

Pages: 34

Strong, athletic, hot muscular guys your fantasy, then Confessions of a Gay Rugby Player is the perfect sizzling erotic adventure! Clearly author Patrick Darcy is writing from first-hand experience.

Star Irish rugby player, Conor Murphy, lives and breathes rugby. He spends his weekends playing rugby, drinking beer, and singing songs with his teammates. There is only one thing he loves more than rugby, and that is hot rugby players. But after the final whistle sounds, the real competition begins: the hunt for the hottest men.

And, hot sweaty men is exactly what the reader gets, not to mention a lot of incredible testosterone-driven pounding on and off the field.

Confessions of a Gay Rugby Player is an incredibly stimulating, sexy read! 

http://www.wildecity.com/authors/patrick-darcy/ 

The Plain of Bitter Honey by Alan Chin

Chin, Alan, “The Plain of Bitter Honey”, Bold Strokes Books, 2013.

Surviving

Reviewed by Amos Lassen

Aaron and Hayden Swann are twin brothers who are involved in a fight against the government that has been taken over by right wing religious fundamentalists. Aaron fights with ammunition; Hayden fights with intellect and words. Suddenly everything changes when they are caught in a sting and they manage to get to the badlands, to a safe haven—The Plain of Bitter Honey where the resistance has set up camp. What they do not know is that the government agents that have been following them know where they are.

While this certainly sounds like science-fiction, we realize that everything that happens in this novel could very well happen here. Set in 2055, this is not the America that we know—this is America, a Christian nation and for non-Christians, life is not good. They are put into ghettoes simply because they disagree with government policy or just because they are different. Aaron and Hayden are very different people. Hayden is preoccupied with the world of literature and Aaron is actively fighting the ruling regime. He is a gay man that has to hide his sexuality and his love for Julian, his boyfriend because homosexuality is against the will of the government.

I have long been a fan of Alan Chin because of the way he develops his plots and his wonderful writing. While I was ready this, I was fully aware of how Chin had thought this out before committing it to print. This is a book that has several layers depending upon the way the reader sees the story. I personally see it as a warning to not let ourselves become too content with the new freedoms we have because it does not take much to lose them just as the Jews of Germany did. We are all aware of what happened there. I realize Chin has done his research well so that he can give us this story and the comparisons to Nazi Germany are important especially since the LGBT community in America is standing at the threshold of having the greatest freedoms it has ever known. Chin presents us with a great deal to think about here and because of that this is not a book that be breezed through. It is, as if, he wants us to stop and think as we read and we do not often get novels that are written that way. 

We see early on that Aaron and Hayden live in a world of hypocrisy. Aaron knows that if he wants to have a good life he has to take action and when he does both his and his brother’s lives are put into dangerous situations. He has an inner struggle to fight as well and it is his only when Hayden’s life is put into danger that he realizes that he must act. It took a while for Aaron to understand that, as they journey to the Plain of Bitter Honey, in order to win, counter-violence may not be the best idea and he begins to see his own potential.

What I find to be so fascinating here is the way Chin combines philosophy and politics with an emotional story that touches the reader deeply. It is interesting that we read a story that makes us think as we find ourselves becoming emotionally involved with the characters. We do not often get the opportunity to think while we read m/m romances and we really do not get many m/m romances with little romance. Here the story is the most important thing and everything else is secondary to it.

You may ask why read a story that has little romance and heavy philosophical currents? This is one of the layers I wrote of earlier. Each of us is free to read the story in the way that we want. Personally I love being challenged by what I read yet I can see how others may read this differently. Chin gives us a very real tale and he does so with great style. I did something I never do before writing a review—I read a couple of other reviews and one of them was quite bothersome to me in that the things that I loved here are the same things the other reviewer did not like. Whereas he found the ideas presented to be too philosophical and over the top, I found them just right. He also commented that the characters were “poorly formed” and he found it difficult to understand just who they were. Again I disagree and I think Chin formed his characters to carry the plot and to allow us to use our own thoughts as we met them. But then that is the beauty of literature and disagreeing is why we have the right to choose. Chin has never let me down and I would much rather have something to think about than reading about two guys rutting away in sexual abandon.

http://alanchin.net

The Butcher’s Son – Audio Version Written by Dorien Grey – Narration by Jeff Frez-Albrech

Review by Jon Michaelsen

Over the past few weeks I’ve been introduced to Audible Books, unabridged audio versions of print novels, and in my case gay genre. Years ago, I’d purchased or rented “books on tape” as they were known back in the day, typically multiple cassette tapes of unabridged versions of print books by often more popular writer's whose publishers had the funds to produce and release novels due to said authors’ popularity. Impractical at the time, the only opportunity to listen to the “tapes” was when traveling alone in a car or aboard a plane most often renting tapes since purchasing had proved financially unsustainable. Alas, the GLBT genre I preferred was sorely underrepresented, and I preferred reading opposed to listening.

So along came ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), whose author-friendly processes have attracted many writers of GLBT literature to release new and backlisted works in audio book. Wow, have I hit pay-dirt, since many of my favorite authors are releasing older, out-of-print novels in this new format for today’s audiences, often complimented with e-book and print versions. Shortly after, I learned of a new Facebook page dedicated to GLBT audio books and immediately “liked” the page to stay informed. Created in April this year by popular writer, Dorien Grey, the Facebook page is Audio Books: Now Hear This -https://www.facebook.com/pages/Now-Here-This/289308547757611.

I’ve listened to several audiobooks from many favorite authors lately, including the first in Dorien Grey’s infamous Dick Hardesty detective/mystery series, “The Butcher’s Son”.  The blurb alerts listeners that “…someone is torching the city’s gay bars…”, thus sets the tone for Grey’s multi Lammy Award nominated, long-running Hardesty mysteries, fourteen books over eleven years and counting.

More exciting for those of us who have been waiting – hoping! – for the earlier novels in the series to be reissued, listening to the recently released audio version “The Butcher’s Son” provides yet another medium for readers to enjoy. The plot is deftly written, exhibiting poenty of cleverly spaced twists and turns to provide not only a satisfying read (I read the e-book version last year, so I know what I'm talking about), but a pleasing listening experience aimed to challenge even the best amateur armchair sleuth.

What I found vastly different listening to the audiobook versus reading the e-book version was experiencing narrator, Jeff Frez-Albrecht’s, dead-pan interpretation of Grey’s crisp prose, a new experience altogether exciting and chilling, like reading, err listening, to the story for the first time. The mysterious, suspenseful aspect of the novel is significantly enhanced with perfect timing enunciation, not to mention offering the opportunity to kick back, close your eyes and get lost in Grey’s skillfully crafted fictional character’s lives, especially the never perfect, oft complicated Dick Hardesty.

http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00C5S8YH6&qid=1370825165&sr=1-1

Did Steinbeck Write A Bromance?

By Alan Chin

I’m not one of these people who look through rainbow-color lenses and sees shades of gay in everything that comes my way, at least I try not to be. But I recently read East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and what I interpreted was an inspiring, non-sexual intimacy between Adam Trask and his Chinese cook/housekeeper Lee.

The main theme for the novel revolves on the translation of the Hebrew word timshel, which appears in the Cain and Abel story in Genesis, when God discusses sin with Cain. It basically means God gave man the ability to choose between good and evil. That is the choice each of East of Eden’s characters face—as does, ultimately, every person. The story puts forth the idea that no matter how deep-rooted a person’s sin, there is always a chance for redemption. Thus, God gave man the ability to overcome evil.

This beautifully crafted novel presents a modern version of the Cain and Able story, where twin brothers (Caleb and Aaron) live with their father (Adam), and Lee cares for the Trask family.  It is clear that Adam is deeply in love with Kate, the mother of the boys. But she abandons the family to become a prostitute shortly after giving birth. For the seventeen years that follow, Lee becomes mother, cook, confidant, money manager, and companion to the boys and to Adam. Lee is unmarried, and shows no interest in women. The intimacy between Adam and Lee grows to a point beyond friendship. It is as close to a gay relationship as Steinbeck could write in his day.

The question that I’m struggling with is did the author intend that relationship to be a romance, or am I reading much more into it than he envisioned.  Not matter what Steinbeck’s intentions, I found both the story and the relationship between Adam and Lee to be brilliant, one of the best gay reads I’ve had in years.

The Fox’s Quest by Anna Frost

Reviewer: M-E Girard

Publisher: Musa Publishihng (February, 2013)

Pages: 203

The Story:

Like the title suggests, this time around we follow Akakiba, Yuki, and Sanae on their quest to recover the magic-stealing swords that are messing with the spirits. But they’re not the only ones we’re following along. In fact, the other sides (shinobi, demons, monks) are given just as much focus in this book as the main trio is.

The story is more plot driven, really focusing on the quest and tying in all the different points of view by the end. Again, I was looking for more when it came to Akakiba and Yuki. By the end of the book, I was wondering again if I was totally misreading and misinterpreting the tension between the two. However, just when I’d decide to stop expecting any kind of romantic story line to develop, something would happen that would hint at the possibility of it happening. I’m still wondering what the deal is between these two and if it’ll amount to anything. Though after two full books, I’m not sure I’m as interested to find out.

In my review for Book 1, I’d stated that the end made me go, “OMG, I like these characters! Tell me more!”  I think that I wanted more focus on the characters, and less on the plot. Like I stated in my review of Book 1, I really like the themes of sex and gender that are explored in this story. I was looking for this to be explored through the tension and sparks present between Yuki and Akakiba. Turns out this story just isn’t about that.

This story would probably appeal more to those who enjoy adventure stories, especially those who enjoy the Japanese culture and setting.

I want to be clear that although I’m feeling a little let down by where this story took me, it mostly has to do with my own expectations and my taste in reading. This type of story isn’t for me. I was looking for things that just weren’t there.

The Characters:

The main trio is comprised of Akakiba, the shape-shifting demon hunter; Sanae, the snarky sister now in fox form and no longer part of the living; and Yuki, the human sidekick to Akakiba. There are many other characters, some of which have point-of-view chapters. Like in Book 1, I just didn’t have as much interest in the other point-of-view characters.

I had a difficult time keeping track of all the other characters. I couldn’t remember who carried on from Book 1, especially when it came to the ones that got point-of-view chapters throughout the story. It didn’t really affect my reading, though. I just kept moving through, even if I couldn’t quite place who was who.

Like in Book 1, I was looking for more of Akakiba. I wished I could have more access to what he was thinking, what he was feeling. That might be because I was hoping for more focus on the characters, rather than on the plot. Akakiba was the most compelling character, in my opinion, but he took a bit of a back seat in this book.

The Writing:

Like in the first, the writing is clean and visual. I do like this author’s writing style and I’d probably read something from her again, just based on that.

http://frostanity.blogspot.com/

City Knight by T.A. Webb

Reviewer: Jon Michaelsen

Publisher: A Bear on Books (Feb., 2013)

Pages: 44

Two Broken Hearts; one powerful story. 

I love discovering new authors (new to me, anyway), especially when said writer lives in my hometown and whose stories are set in the city I live and love.

Recently I came across such an author by the name of T. A. Webb, or “Tom” as he soon became known since I reached out to him on Facebook after he posted a message about his upcoming release, “City Knight”. I was instantly interested because I love a good mystery/thriller novel mixed with romance, a genre I’m partial to in my own writing, and the fact the soon-to-be-released novella’s setting was Atlanta sealed the deal for me before its release date.

I marked my calendar, followed every snippet, blurb or excerpt the author shared on social media, waiting with baited breath. I am so glad I did, too. I purchased City Knight the day of its release, but didn’t get to start it until a couple days later. Once I began reading, I knew right away I’d not want the story to end anytime soon.

From the blurb of the novella, the first in a planned trilogy, the author asks, “What happens when two broken men collide?” Could there be a better tag? The protagonist, Marcus, is an ex-cop who long ago buried his heart. He works the streets of his neighborhood in Atlanta to keep them safe in honor of his lost love. Ben is a young man who works the streets to earn money for college. Having experienced a horrible crime, he has simply decided not to care about his life, anyone in it or whatever might happen to him.

City Knight begins with a lurch, grabs on tight and doesn’t let go until your eyes are burning and blurry from reading too fast to find out what’s on the next page, not wanting to put the story down until done. Ben or Benjamin, depending on who’s asking, is on the street one night working and lamenting having one year left letting johns “paw” all over him for cash until he earns his Masters and begins his internship. He’s unaware a stranger has been watching him from these nights, studying him even.

The mystery man turns out to be former cop, Marcus, a self-appointed neighborhood bodyguard, an all-around protector of the worst kind. One night, Marcus is on his watch when he spots Ben leaning against a brick wall, obviously selling himself. Intrigued because the young man reminds Marcus of someone he loved dearly, a man named Jeremy he lost violently not long ago.

The two men, Marcus and Ben, each laden with broken hearts and damaged souls, collide one night when a john tries to snatch Ben into his car. Marcus sees the attack and rushes to Ben’s aid. After taking the young man to a diner to get some food, Marcus convinces Ben to come home with him.

To share more would be revealing too much since City Knight is a short at 44 pages, yet it is a novella tightly written and mesmerizing, a must read. There is mystery, suspense and thrill - and of course a budding, yet fragile romance between the two in this deft novella, leaving readers wanting more.

The first story in the Knight trilogy, City Knight is a force to be reckoned with, but be forewarned the story ends in a stunning, bone-chilling cliffhanger that almost had this reader throwing his e-reader across the room. 

http://www.amazon.com/City-Knight-ebook/dp/B00BFMJIIM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368149842&sr=1-1&keywords=city+knight