Posted on March 5, 2010 by Erastes
Graphic Novel
Dreaded pirate Black Wade has a cruel mind and an explosive sexuality. His mercilessness is legendary, but it wavers when he encounters the young and warm-hearted English officer Jack Wilkins. these two absolutely different men are prisoners to their fate. overwhelmed by their passion they unite in a fight for freedom and love.
Review by [...]
Filed under: 18th Century, 4½ Stars, Age of Sail, Fiction, Reviews, graphic novel, pirates | Tagged: 18th Century, 4½ Stars, Age of Sail, Fiction, graphic novel, pirates, Reviews | 4 Comments »
Posted on February 15, 2010 by Alex Beecroft
Lt. Peter Thorton of the 18th century British navy must struggle to come out gay while surviving storms at sea, ship to ship battles, duels, kidnapping, and more in his quest for true love and honor.
My own Quick Summary
Lt. Peter Thorton is in love with fellow lieutenant Perry. Both men are given commissions to [...]
Filed under: 18th Century, 4½ Stars, Age of Sail, M Kei, Reviews | Tagged: 18th Century, 4½ Stars, Age of Sail, M Kei, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 7, 2010 by charliecochrane
1918, the closing months of the war. Army psychiatrist William Rivers is increasingly concerned for the men who have been in his care – particularly Billy Prior, who is about to return to combat in France with young poet Wilfred Owen. As Rivers tries to make sense of what, if anything, he has done to [...]
Filed under: 1910's, 4½ Stars, Fiction, Pat Barker, Reviews, World War I | Tagged: 1910's, 4½ Stars, Fiction, Pat Barker, Reviews, World War I | 6 Comments »
Posted on January 30, 2010 by speakitsname
J.S. Cook debuts haunted American expatriate Jack Stoyles, whose numb exile in an unexpected Atlantic outpost is suddenly brightened by a stranger who kisses him — and then dies. Betrayal, graft, a lost girl, and too many deaths. With good reason Jack called his place Heartache Cafe.
This short story in ebook format part of the [...]
Filed under: 1940's, 4½ Stars, America, Fiction, Joanne Soper-Cook, Reviews, World War II, ebook, novella | Tagged: 1940’s, 4½ Stars, America, ebook, Fiction, Joanne Soper-Cook, novella, Reviews, World War II | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 21, 2010 by Alex Beecroft
“Calico” is something of a breakthrough novel in that it spans a bridge which is only now opening for two-way traffic. The author describes “Calico” as a “western/romance/adventure/mystery with a twist”…the twist being that its cowboy hero/protagonist just happens to be gay.
Calico Ramsey finds himself with the responsibility of seeing that two 17 year [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, America, Fiction, Reviews, Western, YA | Tagged: 4½ Stars, America, Fiction, Reviews, Western, YA | 4 Comments »
Posted on January 17, 2010 by Erastes
Complementing each other on the dance floor isn’t enough to form a relationship. Is it? It’s 1953, and Hollywood is booming with extravagant musicals. Coming off a string of hits with MGM, Paul Dunham couldn’t be hotter. Hoping to capitalize on Paul’s popularity, the studio announces its attention to pair him with the latest actor [...]
Filed under: 1950's, 4½ Stars, America, Fiction, Jamie Craig, Reviews, ebook | Tagged: 1950’s, 4½ Stars, America, ebook, Fiction, Jamie Craig, Reviews | 4 Comments »
Posted on January 10, 2010 by speakitsname
When Feldwebel Horst Stussel is murdered in Jake’s Plenty’s brothel, local police chief Captain Nicholas Renard suspects Jake’s involvement in the crime – but with an Allied invasion of North Africa mere days away, Jake and Renard must combine their wits, their cunning and their courage to defeat the Nazis for once and for all.
Review [...]
Filed under: 1940's, 4½ Stars, Fiction, Joanne Soper-Cook, Reviews, World War II | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 29, 2009 by speakitsname
Hidden Conflict presents four novellas that tell the experiences of gay military men, their families and friends, during times of conflict and war. Each story presents a unique voice at a distinct time in history.
Review by Vashtan
I’ve been in a reviewing funk over the question how [...]
Filed under: 18th Century, 1910's, 19th Century, 4½ Stars, Age of Sail, Alex Beecroft, E N Holland, Fiction, Jordan Taylor, Mark R Probst, Reviews, World War I, World War II | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 28, 2009 by speakitsname
Set in a small town in the middle of nowhere in the mid-1960s, Common Sons not only anticipates the coming gay revolution, but delineates its fields of battle in churches, schools and society, pitting fathers against sons, straight teens against gay teens, and self-hatred against self-respect.
From the opening scene (where a reckless bout of drinking [...]
Filed under: 1960's, 4½ Stars, America, Reviews, Ronald L Donaghe | Tagged: 1960's, 4½ Stars, review, Ronald L Donaghe | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 18, 2009 by Erastes
Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Conlan, United States Navy Seabees, knows he’s not in Kansas anymore when he steps off the launch at the small island of Ile Dorée and sees gorgeous Frenchman René Dubois waiting for him on the dock. The year is 1943, the place is the Pacific and the world is at war. [...]
Filed under: 1940's, 4½ Stars, Fiction, Reviews, Samantha Kane, World War II, ebook, novella | 6 Comments »
Posted on November 2, 2009 by Erastes
Victor J Banis “Coming Home”, published by MLR Press in 2009, available either as a stand-alone ebook or in the print anthology “Esprit de Corps”, also MLR Press.
The swinging sixties, the Sunset Strip a smorgasbord of horny Marines, looking for a little action before heading off to Nam. A queen’s delight, and it’s all too [...]
Filed under: 1960's, 4½ Stars, Fiction, Reviews, Victor J Banis, Vietnam, ebook, novella | Tagged: 1960's, 4.5 stars, book review, ebook, Victor J Banis, Vietnam | 4 Comments »
Posted on October 27, 2009 by Erastes
Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic and often bawdy, Lola Dances ranges from the 1850 slums of the Bowery to the mining camps of California and Montana, to the Barbary Coast of San Francisco. Little Terry Murphy, pretty and effeminate, dreams of becoming a dancer. Raped by a drunken profligate and threatened with prison, Terry flees the [...]
Filed under: 19th Century, 4½ Stars, America, Reviews, Victor J Banis | 4 Comments »
Posted on October 11, 2009 by Erastes
Janos Vesh is a man fighting his past and the stranglehold it has on his present and future. He acts out against the blackness that threatens to consume him by taking revenge as a highway robber on local landowners, similar to those who tormented his youth. Nothing but the comfort of his lover, Stefan, can [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, Reviews, ebook, novella | 1 Comment »
Posted on September 22, 2009 by Erastes
In Hoofers, by Kiernan Kelly, Dan Allen of Dancing Dan and his Magical Feet has just joined a new vaudeville troupe. He’s hoping for a good spot in the line-up, but he doesn’t hold out much hope for it when he discovers that the famous Foster Elliot not only is working the same troupe as [...]
Filed under: 1910's, 4½ Stars, America, Fiction, Reviews, ebook, short stories | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 7, 2009 by Erastes
The powerful and moving film adaptation of Martin Sherman’s award-winning stage play. For almost 20 years, Bent has stunned theatre audiences around the world. Now adapted for the big screen by the author himself, this inspiring tale of love over oppression has even greater power and poignancy. Set amidst the decadence of pre-war fascist [...]
Filed under: 1930's, 4½ Stars, Reviews, films | 3 Comments »
Posted on June 1, 2009 by Erastes
Set in 1920s Chicago, The Folded Leaf follows two very different boys who find themselves forming an unlikely friendship. Lymie is thin, clever and terrible at sport. Spud is athletic and quick to fight and blithely accepts Lymie’s passionate devotion to him. The bond between them is obsessively close, until they leave home for [...]
Filed under: 1920's, 4½ Stars, America, Essential Reads, Fiction, Reviews | 3 Comments »
Posted on May 27, 2009 by Erastes
With Queen Elizabeth newly established on her throne, the now elderly secret agent is reaching the end of his scandalous career. Despite his fast-approaching retirement, queer events leave Box unable to resist investigating one last case…Why have pillars of the Establishment started dying in bizarrely reckless accidents? Who are the deadly pay-masters of enigmatic assassin [...]
Filed under: 1950's, 4½ Stars, Fiction, Reviews, detective | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 25, 2009 by Erastes
Exiled to an abandoned presidio in southwestern Texas, Father Alonzo Vargas is accustomed to being utterly alone except for his white donkey, Angelica. He is also fully acquainted with the corrupt and rotten sheriff, John Cullen, the man responsible for his semi-permanent exile. When he finds a victim of the sheriff hanging upside down from [...]
Filed under: 19th Century, 4½ Stars, Jamie Craig, Reviews, Western, ebook, novella | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 15, 2009 by Erastes
Craiglockhart War Hospital, Scotland, 1917, where army psychiatrist William Rivers is treating shell-shocked soldiers. Under his care are the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, as well as mute Billy Prior, who is only able to communicate by means of pencil and paper. Rivers’ job is to make the men in his charge healthy enough [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, Charlie Cochrane, Fiction, Reviews, World War I | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 5, 2009 by Hayden
1642, England: David Caverlys strict father has brought home the quiet, puritanical Jonathan Graie to help his dreamer of a son work the family forge. With war brewing in Parliament, the demand for metal work increases as armies are raised.
The fair David is drawn to his fathers new apprentice. And though his father treats them [...]
Filed under: 17th Century, 4½ Stars, England, Erastes, Fiction | 3 Comments »
Posted on April 30, 2009 by Erastes
Nathaniel, or Natty as his family calls him, is a young man at a crossroads. His mother wants him to spend time with her family, far better off than his father, who is a poor vicar. His father would rather he do just about anything else, and his cousins have no interest in getting to [...]
Filed under: 19th Century, 4½ Stars, Alex Beecroft, England, Fiction, Hayden Thorne, Reviews, YA | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 14, 2009 by Erastes
At 20, when his reign began, Alexander the Great was already a seasoned soldier and a complex, passionate man. This novel tells the story of the boy Alexander, and the years that shaped him.
Review by Charlie Cochrane
It seems illogical to read a set of books starting with the last and working back to the first, [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, Alexander, Charlie Cochrane, Fiction, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 27, 2009 by Erastes
After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C .his only direct heirs were two unborn sons and a simpleton half-brother. Every long-simmering faction exploded into the vacuum of power. Wives, distant relatives, and generals all vied for the loyalty of the increasingly undisciplined Macedonian army. Most failed and were killed in the attempt. For no one possessed [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, Alexander, Charlie Cochrane, Fiction, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 18, 2009 by girluknow
Do you support the right of any human being to marry the person they love? The right to say ‘I Do’ to a life of commitment and sharing with that one special person? We do. All profits from this anthology will go to the Lambda Legal Fund to help fight Prop 8.
There are 2 [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, Alex Beecroft, Anthology, Charlie Cochrane, Reviews, short stories | Tagged: Anthology, ebook, print book, Reviews, short stories | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 22, 2009 by Erastes
Young Radford never thought he’d end up a pirate. Shanghai’d, he finds himself cursing the company he kept onboard the Alecto.
Wounded during a raid against a Dutch vessel, Radford is marooned on an island with a mysterious French tattoo artist referred by pirates as the Inkman. Can this man, wise in ways of the [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, Reviews, pirates, short stories | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 5, 2009 by Erastes
It’s the Winter of 1802 and the long war between England and France has entered a fragile truce. But the lives of Commander William Marshall and Lieutenant David Archer, have become more complicated than ever.
As a Commander, Will is accustomed to making tough decisions. Can he give an order that will surely put his Davy [...]
Filed under: 19th Century, 4½ Stars, Age of Sail, Fiction, Lee Rowan, Reviews, novella | 1 Comment »
Posted on September 15, 2008 by Erastes
They’re Britain’s ‘Wild Ones’ – the motorcycle cowboys who live for gas machines and faster girls – who ton-up along the Motorways, terrorising drivers and defying the law. Who experience sex too young, marry unthinkingly and live only for the next kick – whatever or whoever it is.
The Leather Boys is a savage, brilliantly [...]
Filed under: 1950's, 4½ Stars, Erastes, Essential Reads, Fiction, Reviews | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 10, 2008 by Erastes
Vienna Dolorosa by Mykola Dementiuk is a full-length historical novel set in Vienna, Austria, in an inner city hotel managed by a transvestite and doubling as a brothel for men who like boys dressed up as girls. The entire book takes place during a one-day time period — March 12, 1938, the day Hitler [...]
Filed under: 1930's, 4½ Stars, Erastes, Fiction, Reviews, World War II, history | 11 Comments »
Posted on April 23, 2008 by speakitsname
Poetry drew them together. Forbidden love bound their hearts.
A student of letters, Micah Yardley wants one thing: To meet Jefferson Dering, a poet he’s long admired from afar. After hearing his idol speak at Harvard, Micah travels to Jefferson’s home in Wroxham, entertaining visions of discussing poetry over dinner and drinks. What he experiences exceeds [...]
Filed under: 19th Century, 4½ Stars, Alex Beecroft, Fiction, Reviews, ebook | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 22, 2008 by Erastes
New York City, 1896. A serial killer is on the loose, gruesomely preying upon cross-dressing boy prostitutes. Police detectives are making no progress solving the ghastly crimes. In fact, someone with power or influence seems to be bent on silencing witnesses and thwarting any investigation. Reform-minded police commissioner, and future president Theodore Roosevelt is determined [...]
Filed under: 19th Century, 4½ Stars, Erastes, Fiction, Reviews, detective | 6 Comments »
Posted on February 26, 2008 by speakitsname
In 1941 Poland, silence is a way of life. Eighteen-year-old seminary student Koby Bruk has watched for two years as the people of his home town allowed the Germans to move in, displace homes and families, and impose their rule on the people who remain. When Koby is bullied by his classmate Irvine, he chooses [...]
Filed under: 1940's, 4½ Stars, graphic novel | 8 Comments »
Posted on February 24, 2008 by speakitsname
Hua Mu Yun is a cynical ex-soldier, damaged by the chaotic battles of China’s warlords era. Unable to stand human contact, he’s become a criminal, denying his more honorable past. Leng Ruo Fei is the spoiled and beautiful darling of the Peking Opera. Trained as a dan (female impersonator), his voice brings people to their [...]
Filed under: 19th Century, 4½ Stars, China, short stories | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 26, 2008 by Erastes
It’s 1943 and the world is at war. Reporter Nathan Doyle is just back from the European Theater when he’s asked to cover the murder of a society blackmailer–a man who, Homicide Detective Matthew Spain believes, Nathan had every reason to want dead.
Review by Alex Beecroft
It is 1943. When the body of a [...]
Filed under: 1940's, 4½ Stars, Alex Beecroft, Fiction, Reviews | 6 Comments »
Posted on December 11, 2007 by speakitsname
Review by Alex Beecroft
This is not a novel at all, but a collection of three long short stories. (Or perhaps a short story and two novellas). The three are ‘The Hellfire Club’, ‘The Succubus’, and ‘The Haunted Soldier’. The Hellfire Club is set before ‘Lord John and the Private Matter’ and sees John investigating the [...]
Filed under: 18th Century, 4½ Stars, Alex Beecroft, Jacobite, Reviews | 5 Comments »
Posted on December 3, 2007 by Erastes
Review by Erastes
From the blurb: “Ambitious and handsome, Joshua Andrews had always valued his life too much to take unnecessary risks. Then he laid eyes on the elegant picture of perfection that is Peter Kenyon.
Soon to be promoted to captain, Peter Kenyon is the darling of the Bermuda garrison. With a string of successes [...]
Filed under: 4½ Stars, Age of Sail, Alex Beecroft, Erastes, Fiction, Reviews | 12 Comments »
