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Archive for the ‘Historical’ Category

Loki’s Curse by Cameron Lawton

Posted in Authors: J-L, B, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, tagged , on April 9, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Lokis_CurseTitle: Loki’s Curse
Author: Cameron Lawton
Length: 8,000 words
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: m/m historical fantasy horror
Grade: B

Blurb:
Set in ninth century Ireland, when Haakon’s son, the finest warrior in the village, dies in his bed and so is excluded from Valhalla, a blood oath is made. Nobody but the village witch, the Gytha, can foresee the catastrophic consequences. Even she is not sure how they will resolve it.

Review:
This historical fantasy horror short, set in the time of the Vikings, managed to strike a good balance between a solid setting and chills.  It tells of Thorkell, a bard in a Viking village. His best friend and protector, Ivar, contracted a disease/virus and died in agony. Unfortunately, because Ivar didn’t die in battle his soul would not be taken to Valhalla. Ivar’s Father is stricken with grief about this and forces the village witch to bring Ivar back – a spell which has terrible consequences for Thorkell.

The story pulls you in immediately through Thorkell’s grief. He is distraught over the death of his friend, who he secretly loved, and willing to do anything to bring him back. During these first few pages the author does a good job of showing us snippets of life in the Viking village – the superstitions, religion, hierarchy and beliefs which make up their lives – but this never felt forced. Instead a clear picture is built up within a few paragraphs of why Ivar’s father would want to bring back his son, and the hidden feelings of Thorkell.

I also liked that the issue of Thorkell’s homosexuality is dealt with in a realistic way from the start. He knows he can never tell anyone and when Ivar returns and discovers Thorkell’s feelings, Ivar uses that to manipulate Thorkell, exchanging brutal sex for Thorkell’s blood. This is no romance, despite Thorkell’s devotion, instead it’s a chilling horror.  It does have a happy ending, but not before poor Thorkell is forced to see his friend turned into a monster.

Overall, this was a clever story with a strong setting and characters. If you like horror and stories set within Viking times, then this one will be for you and I would recommend it.

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The Mayfield Speakeasy by L.A. Witt

Posted in Authors: V-Z, B-, Historical, Romance, tagged , on March 15, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

MayfieldSpeakeasyTitle: The Mayfield Speakeasy
Author: L.A. Witt
Length: 19,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: m/m historical romance
Rating: B-

Blurb:
Walter Mayfield has his hands full. He’s trying to keep the peace between his brothers, but at least the cops don’t bother him much about his illegal speakeasy. After all, the place is frequented by members of two volatile gangs, and as long as Walter can keep them from killing each other, the cops leave him alone.

That is, until Detective Joe Riordan comes through the door. But Joe ain’t interested in what’s being poured. He’s got three dead bodies, and all three of them are connected to one of Walter’s brothers.

Walter keeps the detective away from the speakeasy and cooperates as best he can with the investigation. Trouble is, he’s taken a whole different kind of interest in the detective. An interest that’s very mutual.

But no matter how much Joe and Walter like each other, the investigation threatens to disrupt the fragile peace in the Mayfield Speakeasy as well as tear apart the Mayfield family. And there’s also still a murderer on the loose, and Joe and Walter need to catch him—or her—before another body turns up…

Review:
It’s the 1930′s and Walter owns a Speakeasy with his brothers. He spends his days dealing out illegal alcohol whilst juggling rival gangs on his premises. When a cop comes round, asking questions about his brother’s adultery, Walter promises to help and finds it impossible to resist Joe’s charms.

There were two aspects to this story. Firstly there’s the relationship between Walter and Joe. I really liked this aspect and enjoyed seeing them come together and work through the difficulties in keeping their relationship hidden whilst still finding time to be together. I liked the pragmatism of both characters but Walter especially shines through as the narrator and I wished him well. His joy at finding a kindred spirit in Joe was shown well, as was his weary resignation when he realises just how tough it is to love another man.

The second aspect is the murder mystery plot. Whilst this started strongly, I wasn’t wholly happy with the out of the blue conclusion. It didn’t really make sense or add up after all that had gone before which was a shame when the rest of the story is so well constructed.

The historical setting is very clear and done through characterisation rather than description, especially in the vivid way that the characters speak and act. The secondary plot involving the tense relationship between rival gangs added to the setting and gave an uneasy tone to the parts set in the speakeasy. The setting is integrated throughout the book adding ambience to the story without being intrusive and that worked for me.

Overall, there was much to like about this story. Walter’s character and his relationship with Joe was the main strength and whilst the mystery plot had a slightly disappointing conclusion, I would still recommend this book for lovers of historical novels of this time period.

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The Gaucho Code by Julia Talbot

Posted in Authors: S-U, B+, Historical, Romance, tagged , on March 6, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

SipTitle: The Gaucho Code
Author: Julia Talbot
Length: 8,400 words (32 pdf pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m historical
Rating: B+

Blurb:

Pete is running from the law, all the way from Texas to Argentina, where the local cowboys are a sight different than the horse thieves Pete knew back home. When he meets Jorge, he’s on his very last leg, and he needs a friend. Jorge would love to be more, but he tries to be content with helping Pete out of the gutter. Can Jorge convince Pete that the gaucho code is worth living?

Previously published in Cowboy Up!

Review:

I found this in my e-mail from waaaay back and am glad that I decided to open it up. It starts with Pete, nearly dead of thirst and even his horse dying on him, when he staggers into a small town in Argentina. He is taken in my Jorge’s mother whom he happens to be visiting. Jorge is a gaucho, who travels around finding lost cows which he returns to their ranches for a finder’s fee. He could have a permanent position, but in part due to his preference for me, he prefers the life of solitude.

However he offers Pete the chance to work with him, and they get a chance to know each other on the way to Jorge’s next stop. He’s pretty upfront about being gay, and even Pete’s not against the idea, but until they reach the ranch owned by Jorge’s old war buddy who is sympathetic to his plight as a lonely gay man. The two finally get together before they depart, but Pete’s past is about to catch up with him.

It seems Pete and his brother were not such good boys and robbed a few banks. As well, his brother killed a man in jealousy and before he died in Mexico, he told everyone that Pete had killed the man. Now the man’s father is after Pete and determined to take is revenge, but Jorge believes that Pete is a good person and believes him when he says he didn’t kill the man.

I’m not sure what it means, but I found myself reading this story with a Spanish accent in my head. LOL It was kind of soft and gentle, the two men getting to know each other, dancing around each other and eventually coming together. Jorge did change Pete’s life for the better, only he didn’t realize it until it was almost too late and the noose was around his neck, yet again.

I found it interesting that the men would chase Pete all the way to Argentina. That is FAR to say the least, but I think I’ve heard of such things, so not completely unrealistic. There was a bit of information about the gauchos and how many of them were less than honourable men, having common law wives they got pregnant and came home when they needed somewhere to crash. Jorge’s Italian/British mother was a sensible woman of the times, and I liked Jorge’s ranch owning friend a great deal who just wanted his friend to be happy.

So if you’re looking for a different time and place historical I think this might fit the bill. I am not much of a historical reader, but I really enjoy those that go out of the normal time periods and locations for a more unique setting.

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Coming Home by Missouri Dalton

Posted in Authors: D-F, B, Historical, tagged , on March 4, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

choclTitle: Coming Home
Author: Missouri Dalton
Length: 4,300 words (19 pdf pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m historical
Rating: B

Blurb:

He might be Alan Trent, but the sole survivor of the crashed RAF bomber isn’t sure. He can’t remember his name just the horror of the crash and flashes of the War. Whoever he is, he knows there’s someone waiting for him and that for some reason, he’s reminded every time he takes a sip of cocoa.

Review:

This is less a romance, than a story of a man’s rediscovery of who he is. Our main character wakes up in hospital following an RAF plane crash. He’s been badly injured, especially his face, and they don’t know who he is. His memory is also gone. Through a narrowing down of who was on the plane, and what they looked like, they determine he is Alan Trent. However when his wife comes to collect him, he just feels something is wrong. He hates living in the city, he can’t remember her at all, he just remembers that for some reason cocoa is soothing to him.

He’s struggling to accept his life as Alan Trent, when a friend flags him down at a veteran’s event, and tells him his real name. His wife doesn’t want to believe it, but he starts to have memories, and goes to the country village where his parents await. On the way, his friend explains that he lost him to another man, Callum. James now remembers having an argument with Callum about enlisting, but he can’t remember more, until several months later, Callum returns from his own tour abroad.

I really enjoyed reading of James’ struggles to remember his life, and also to deal with what we would now consider PTSD. He can sense there is something there at the edge of his memory, but he just can’t make it come clear. He tries his best to be who he’s told he is, but it’s just not working. I also thought the author did a good job of having the memories come back in bits and bites, and the descriptions used were very evocative of having things fit back together in your mind.

As I said, it’s not really a romance. He does reunite with Callum at the end, but the story his him getting his life back. Now it seems that he and Callum were living opening together in their village and his parents didn’t appear to have an issue with it, so I’m not sure how realistic that was, but I’m sure it happened and people just chose to believe they were “good friends”. I think this is definitely worth a read when you want something different from the usual romance. It is romantic, but much more of a character study of James than the couple in question. I do like stories by this author as they always seem to be just a little bit out of the norm, a refreshing taste once in a while.

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Chevalier Book 5: The Gilded Knife by Benji Bright

Posted in Authors: A-C, B, Fantasy, Historical, Series, tagged , on February 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Chev 5Title: Chevalier Book 5: The Gilded Knife
Author: Benji Bright
Length: 11,315 words (35 pdf pages)
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m fantasy historical
Review: B

Blurb:

There are tales of dashing knights and blushing ladies, and there are stories of bravery bound to become legend. Then there’s the life of a mercenary.

Four swords-for-hire — Giovanni, the supposed magician; Solister, the armored giant; Casic, the virtuous fighter; and Farrbiner, the drunken healer — try to make their pockets heavy and their grief light. On their way to fame and fortune, or maybe just notoriety, they encounter every twist and turn the criminal underworld can throw at them. In a world full of double-crosses and shady motivations, can’t a man just find a warm place to thrust his sword?

In Book 5: The Gilded Knife, the mercenaries escape to the island of Veyr after hearing news of a Chevalier on their trail, but they find more hazard than solace when they’re drawn into a plot against their will by their old acquaintance, Embrio Merculle. Their actions will forever change the future of Veyr, but will they survive to reap the rewards?

Review:

Ah, the series is starting to pick up now. Our four managed to escape the country, however when they arrive at Veyr they are “convinced” to help the man who was originally trying to purchase the sword in the first book. It seems his family will be challenging for the rule of their country and having the special artifacts will help their case. They need a mage and a swordsman to challenge the other house, winning the Gilded Knife and a better chance at taking over the rule. The simultaneous battle between Solister and two fighters and Giovanni against a female mage go poorly until a Giovanni is able to turn things around for them at the last minute.

Now that we have been given the background on each man, it’s moving forward with more of the adventure. While I enjoyed the descriptions of Veyr, the clothing and housing, I thought the author did a great job on the battle. I was caught up in the fight between the mages and Solister’s failing challenge of strength. I like a snarky character and that is how Giovanni wins. He’s not a magician who can conjure lightning bolts like his opponent, but he can trick you and confuse you and that’s how he gets the upper hand.

There is also quite a bit of intrigue as the female leader who solicited their services is not above doing anything to get her way, and when another Chevalier asks to have the four men, she’s more than happy to agree, however her nephew is not thrilled. So what will happen? You doubt she’s being upfront and honest, but …

Also you get to see a bit more about the men and their true personalities. The friendships are coming to the fore whereas at the beginning it seemed more like they banded together out of convenience rather than friendship. There was less sex in this book, only one masturbation scene, and I think it fit. Sometimes I felt the sex in the others was a bit tossed in for erotica purposes, but in this case I didn’t miss that side of the story as I was caught up in the adventure. I wasn’t sure if the series was going to hold my interest, but this book has definitely got me eager to see how things go for them next.

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Beast Within the Maze by Mark Alders

Posted in Authors: A-C, D, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, tagged , on February 3, 2013 | 4 Comments »

16150844Title: Beast Within the Maze
Author: Mark Alders
Length: 9,307 words (38 pdf pages)
Publisher: Extasy Books
Genre: m/m fantasy historical
Rating: D

Blurb:

Always be prepared for love.

To appease the Minotaur each month a young man of age from the city of Argros is sacrificed. To be chosen is a privilege and those who face the beast become heroes…forever. Also, to be sacrificed means that the people of Argros will have good fortune, bumpers harvests and protection from both invaders and the beast’s hunger for that month.

This month it’s Dymas’s turn to be sacrificed.

Dymas has been preparing for this day for over a year. Now, with his purpose in life clear and his fate sealed, Dymas prepares to meet the beast within the maze. But will all be what it seems? Will Dymas, a young man who’s quite different because of his love for life and of others, change the Minotaur’s mind so he doesn’t become its next meal?

Review:

I am a fan of all things related to Greek myths, and while not specifically stated that this is the setting, using a Minotaur pretty much makes it clear the time period. The aspects of the story that didn’t mesh with that time period kept distracting me. Dymas has been told that he will be the chosen sacrifice to the Minotaur in one year, and during that time he goes to a “training” institute where he will learn how to prepare himself for death. He meets Martin (known as Mouse) on his first day and they forge a friendship that eventually turns to love. However they don’t go “all the way”, forming a pact that once they are both in heaven (Mouse is the next sacrifice after Dymas), they will then consummate their love.

On the day of Dymas’ sacrifice, he takes his goat Nathanial with him in hopes it will please the Minotaur. Once he meets, the creature is a bit mystified by the goat and Dymas, but before long they are getting “friendly” and the creature agrees to let Mouse live the next month and he will join them in their bed forever.

Okay, the names distracted me. Save for Dymas, the names were Martin, David and Nathanial (who happened to be a female goat). I’m pretty sure that Martin and Nathaniel were not ancient Greek names. And also given that Dymas was at the training centre for one year before his sacrifice, he meets Mouse on day one, but Mouse is to be sacrificed after him. And then what will happen now that the Minotaur has two men, is he just going to continue killing the others? What was the point? Was he raping them as rumour had it? I was left with far too many questions. Even bigger was reference to sky gods and going to live with the sky gods after death, whereas in Greek mythology all the dead go to the underworld, not a heaven in the clouds. There aren’t sky gods unless you count god of the sun Apollo. So I was quite distracted by the presented mythology. Perhaps if there hadn’t been the veneer of ancient Greece and it was just made up completely it would have worked, but Argos and Minotaur scream Greece.

Readers unfamiliar with Greek mythology or history  may not find this as much of a problem as I did. There isn’t really a typical HEA. Dymas goes from professing his love of Mouse, to the next day gladly surrendering to the Minotaur and declaring he loves him as much as Mouse after one bout of sex. I’m afraid this just didn’t work for me as everything was just glossed over too much for me to truly enjoy it and I can’t recommend it to Greek myth fans.

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Chevalier Book 4: The Chaste Ring by Benji Bright

Posted in Authors: A-C, C, Fantasy, Historical, Series, tagged , on January 24, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

16204833Title: Chevalier Book 4: The Chaste Ring
Author: Benji Bright
Length: 35 pdf pages
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m fantasy historical
Rating: C

Blurb:

There are tales of dashing knights and blushing ladies, and there are stories of bravery bound to become legend. Then there’s the life of a mercenary.

Four swords-for-hire — Giovanni, the supposed magician; Solister, the armored giant; Casic, the virtuous fighter; and Farrbiner, the drunken healer — try to make their pockets heavy and their grief light. On their way to fame and fortune, or maybe just notoriety, they encounter every twist and turn the criminal underworld can throw at them. In a world full of double-crosses and shady motivations, can’t a man just find a warm place to thrust his sword?

In Book 4: The Chaste Ring, the mercenaries head to the riverside city of Shelsby where Casic discovers his estranged sister may be in danger. To protect her, he’ll confront foreign magic, dangerous secrets, and his own tragic past.

Review:

The focus in this book is almost exclusively on Casic and his past and relationship with his sister. Her female lover has found Casic and asked him to help free his sister from a lover who intends to use a mage and a ring to destroy her desire because he fears she is cheating on him. You find out more about Casic and the fact that he and her sister were adopted as teens, but their “father” used their special talents to hire them out as prey for his friends who would hunt them, then a mage would heal them only to do it all over again. Each member of the quartet have a pretty horrific childhood/early adulthood.

However it seems perhaps his sister doesn’t need the assistance her lover thinks she does. In this case, Casic goes undercover as a whore to try to get close to the mage who is hosting a massive gay orgy. Thanks to Giovanni’s spells, he is able to avoid having sex with anyone and manages to destroy the mage. I’m still trying to figure out what the deal is with Casic. I’m not sure if he’s straight, gay, bi or asexual . He seems a bit turned on by the groping he experiences, but it seemed to be a new experience for him. Not sure where that will go.

I’m finding it interesting getting the back-story of the men, and now I suppose we’ll see where it goes. They are on the run again and know that a Chevalier is after them, so an additional challenge to the trouble they seem able to find on their own. There’s not much that happens to push the story forward in this one, it’s more background and has significantly less sex than others, but little pieces are given that I presume will play out in a larger story arc. I know not everyone enjoys the serial nature of stories, and some may find it an interesting way to enjoy a longer story.

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Chevalier Book 3: The Selfish Eye by Benji Bright

Posted in Authors: A-C, C+, Fantasy, Historical, tagged , on January 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

16138448Title: Chevalier Book 3: The Selfish Eye
Author: Benji Bright
Length:
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m fantasy historical
Rating:C+

Blurb:

There are tales of dashing knights and blushing ladies, and there are stories of bravery bound to become legend. Then there’s the life of a mercenary.

Four swords-for-hire — Giovanni, the supposed magician; Solister, the armored giant; Casic, the virtuous fighter; and Farrbiner, the drunken healer — try to make their pockets heavy and their grief light. On their way to fame and fortune, or maybe just notoriety, they encounter every twist and turn the criminal underworld can throw at them. In a world full of double-crosses and shady motivations, can’t a man just find a warm place to thrust his sword?

In Book 3: The Selfish Eye, Giovanni leads the company to the city of Akhern, the central hub of scholars and practitioners of magic. In order to help a fellow scholar, he’ll have to face his past and navigate the dangerous world of trafficking with spirits. Will Giovanni’s wits protect him, or will he find himself wishing he’d never come home?

Review:

In this next installment of the story, it’s Giovanni, the mage’s turn. I’m still sure if he’s really a mage or more of a magician, but none-the-less he has been called back to the north by a friend who asked for help. After many weeks of traveling they arrive at the frozen city where it is explained that his friend wants the group’s help to steal a valuable artifact. The current owner is Giovanni’s old master, who took advantage of him as a young boy sexually in exchange for teaching him to be mage.

His friend also has a new apprentice who has managed to bind a fox spirit’s soul to a human body, and in exchange for experiencing human pleasure he offers Giovanni one wish. Giovanni is forced to endure his old master’s attentions once more as part of the plan, then gets his revenge using the fox spirit after the artifact is recovered.

I was very interested in the fox spirit and I wouldn’t mind seeing him show up again. Maybe because he reminded me of a kitsune with a tail and an interesting tattoo. The story just really gives you a background of Giovanni’s life, the place where he grew up and I suppose what he was escaping when he went off and became a mercenary. The artifact itself, which had interesting capabilities seemed to be less important to the story than merely a mechanism to bring all four men together. I was sorry that while Giovanni was with his master we didn’t get to see the actual stealing of the artifact as the aftermath made it sound like a rather exciting battle.

I know the next story is the background of another member of the group. I am enjoying the adventure part of the stories, and so far the sex has all been purely erotica, and in some cases, used more by people to assert their power over them, than truly reciprocal pleasure. We shall see if down the road there are HEAs for the men or if it will remain an erotic adventure series.

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The Card by George Seaton

Posted in Authors: S-U, B+, Contemporary, Historical, tagged on January 15, 2013 | 2 Comments »

GS_TheCardTitle: The Card
Author: George Seaton
Length: 18 pdf pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: m/m memoir
Rating: B+

Blurb:

The dynamic between fathers and sons is complex, most often least understood by the players themselves. But is it the father who does not know his son, or is it the son who does not know his father?

The discovery of a Father’s Day card in a box—long ago shoved into a dark corner in a cellar—provides a revelation to a son, a gay son that shatters all previous conclusions about his father. Set in Denver, the ravages of a massive flood, and the disappearance of a nine-year-old girl, provide the background for a son’s coming of age, and a father’s eerie ability to “…read the hunch…,” that is essential to his prowess as a cop.

Review:

A quiet, thoughtful short story that you probably need to be in the right mood for, but which I found rewardingly poignant to read.

This is intended to be a Father’s Day story so I’m reviewing it well out of season, but I’d become heartily sick of leftover Christmas stories and needed something different! As far as I can tell this is a genuine memoir, although it has the standard disclaimer at the beginning saying it is a work of fiction and any resemblance to actual people/events is purely co-incidental. It certainly feels like a real memoir, anyway. The narrative rambles a little and begins slowly, giving details of the two events in 1965 that allowed his gifted cop father to really distinguish himself, and which prompted the narrator to send him his first and only Father’s Day card.

The narrator is having one of those contemplative days when he searches through his boxes of mementoes, now wrapped carefully in black plastic sacks to preserve them and stored down in the basement of the Denver home he shares with his long-term partner. The Father’s Day card has special significance, and prompts him to reminisce about the father he admired from a distance. They certainly weren’t close, and he refers to him as a grizzly several times.

It is his father’s infallible hunches that really distinguished him as a cop, and that particular year he solved a child’s murder and rescued two more youngsters from flood water, both in the run up to Father’s Day. As the narrator says, they were not particularly a Hallmark type of family, and although he certainly hadn’t come out at that time he believed his father must have known and quietly disapproved. However, for all the unbridgeable distance between them he really felt proud of his father and wanted to let him know. Of course, the card had to be left for his father to find rather than handed over because that would have been too scary, but clearly the card was appreciated as he discovers in standing up and slightly open the following day.

For a central figure the story revolves around, the father is surprisingly absent, signified more by the things he leaves behind than his physical presence. He’s a smouldering cigar butt, a glass of scotch, a penknife and the scent of leather. These little details are scattered through the story and they really drew me in. By contrast, the sixteen-year-old narrator’s life is a welter of sensations, from his almost innocent sexual explorations with his best friend (these are only briefly touched upon) to the drama of the floods he witnesses from the bluffs. I loved this juxtaposition of youth and age, wild and calm.

For such a short story I was impressed by how much the author managed to convey about the challenges of father/son relationships, and there is a beautiful moment at the end where he receives a message from the past that really touched my heart. George Seaton is clearly a talented writer and I’ll definitely be looking up more of his back catalogue in future.

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