Man in the Box (Uncut) - Part 1: The Perfect Man by Fergie Boy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is currently free on Smashwords, so I would recommend you make the most of that now! This is gay porn not m/m romance, so you've been warned!

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/vie...

The hero is a Scot who wins Wimbledon and promptly announces he is gay. It was written long before Andy Murray accomplished the feat, but I wouldn't mind betting he provided inspiration for the tennis and physical side of things even if not the sexual!

None of the characters are real. From what I can gather, there aren't even specific parallels, more amalgams and bits of players to create Lewis McNair's own distinct Universe.

Even though it's not meant to be instructive or even a polemic fighting for justice, anyone wondering why so few high profile gay sports people come out, only need to read this book to understand. The scenario may have been done before, but the teasing way the narrator addresses the reader, while jumping back and forth in time gives the book (and the series) a distinct edge.

There is enough sex and fantasizing about sex to glibly dismiss this as gay porn, but intertwined through this and the other books in the series is a touching tale about a number of characters. Sure, the star is Lewis and his search for the perfect man, but along the way we get to know all the people his life brushes up against in all their strengths and weaknesses.

Usually I don't like head hopping, but in this case, I was quite happy to briefly jump into minor characters' heads.

There is a lovely understanding of people's needs and wants. Their fears and fantasies. The perfect may not really be perfect but even in their imperfection, each has their own qualities.

The only negative niggle I had was the number of very explicit fantasies the characters have. Maybe that's the point though. Closeted gay men or men who have limited sexual options do spend a lot of their time thinking about sex. In detail. In great detail!

Apart from a few homophonic typos, the writing quality is fluid and easy to read so don't let them put you off. I gather from correspondence that we've had that the author intends to re-edit and re-publish the series later in the year.

Fergie Boy is the pseudonym of a writer who also publishes under the names Jack Brighton and Tom Farrell. Each incarnation writes books in a slightly different tone. The Fergie Boy stories which originaly appeared on a website Gay Boy Books are highly erotic but not specifically BDSM in nature. Tom Farrell's books fall into two categories: 'Flaming Hot Gay Erotica' and 'Flaming Hot Gay BDSM'. Both collections are softer than Jack Brighton's normal work - the 'Erotica' collection much more so. But it is still Jack Brighton - his ideas and his style.

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A Road to Bondage by Jack Brighton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not m/m romance.

They don't use condoms
There is dubious consent
Little if any lube
They do BDSM while drunk
They don't have safe words
There is sex with other men

It is gay porn. The cocks are at least nine or ten inches and always hard. The studs can come more than six times a night. They can withstand dry fucking with little or no prep. They can withstand abuse and even kidnapping.

So why 4 stars and not 1 or 2? Because underneath all these pornographic trappings is a book that delves into the line between abuse and BDSM and the part alcohol plays in both. It also shows how "true love" can hit even the most jaded player.

In this case, sobriety prevents Alex from expressing the kinky part of his personality.

The Epilogue is the true essence of the book. But it needed the details of the rest of the story to make it real.
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Here we see the grown up versions of the two men ten years after they met and "tells" us how their relationship developed over those years. Some readers might have preferred to be "shown" that, but my imagination worked just fine in joining all the dots together based on the men I got to know through the first few chapters.

Rory stared at the face he had grown to love. It was a fine face indeed. Even now after these months of worry which had added a haggard element; Alex still looked amazing. He was forty-three; and five of those years had caught up on him suddenly, so that he now looked nearer his age. But he carried it so well; strong fleshy features under dark brown hair that always looked unkempt... and exactly right, even though the lucky bugger never bothered to do anything with it. The designer stubble he had taken to wearing, added to the manliness; and Rory really liked the new look, even though he nagged him to death about shaving it off. There always had to be something to use as his stick to prod Alex with.

It explores the way BDSM can fit into a "normal" relationship. How and when they switch into the groove.

Alex needed a bit of a prodding; but by God, could he spring into action once the mental barrier was crossed. Whisky and a few verbal jibes usually did the trick. The game had started and they were both fully aware of it. They never initiated it with direct words: no clear statement of intent, just an understanding of what was going to happen.

By being "told" we also see Rory's maturity and the understanding he has developed for his partner's needs and his own and how they can both be met.

Rory loved how he could push him and would have such fun in doing so; get away with blue murder for weeks on end: then slap! A hard crack across the cheek, totally out of the blue, and the balance was reset in an instant. And it was at that moment, when a flash of fear shot through his being and adrenalin flooded his body, that Rory loved him the most, that their relationship seemed totally solid, that he would do anything for this man and take whatever he chose to dish out, grateful for every thrust from his virile big cock and blow from his strong right arm.

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Capped off by a novel way to use Maltesers.

I'm enjoying reading Jack Brighton's books and those of his alter ego's Tom Ferrell and Fergie Boy. Yeah, there is a sameness about the sex, but there is also a story there.

A few typos stop it being a five star.

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Full Release by Marshall Thornton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Full Release - Understanding the genre

It’s important when reviewing a book that you assess it in terms of the genre it slots into. If you missed it, check out this blog by the author himself. http://marshallthornton.wordpress.com...

This story is mystery/suspense. So what elements do we look for in this genre?

A crime, someone to solve the crime, logical steps along the way to reveal the villain and tension while doing it.

Mystery/suspens has been written for centuries. Judging by the sheer volume of books available in stores it’s one of the widest read and biggest selling. So it’s rare to find anything new.

So how can a writer stand out from the crowd. By setting the story in an unusual setting, updating the methods of solving it to a specific time and expertise, having an unusual crime solver and giving that person a distinctive voice.

In this case, the investigating hero is gay, but his sexuality is only relevant in the way it has affected his personality, his relationships with other people and the background the story takes place in. Along the way there is sex needed to drive the plot along, and even a possible long term hook up, but more importantly it gives the author the chance to make some pithy observations on the gay community and the different people who populate it. But all this is still background, the story is not about “being gay”.

Marshall’s sleuth is a fairly innocuous accountant, the last person anyone would peg for an action hero. One reviewer accused him of being too stupid to live. Well, that’s exactly what he’s meant to be. He’s out of his element, out of his depth and needing sleep.

The question is then, does Marshall deliver on the rest? All the “guns on the wall” fired. I found the story very readable. His descriptions were good, his writing style smooth. My main bitch is the number of silly typos that pulled me out of the story time and time again, usually missed prepositions or wrong words. Most people may not even notice them, but I’ve done enough editing to make something like that shine out at me. Especially as they were basic things that should have been pulled up. Apart from these, I felt the character’s voice suited the plot and depiction. The background setting was skilfully drawn. I found the crime and its solution believable enough given the basic premises. Realistic? Probably not, but we’re talking fiction here.

Someone also suggested it was a comedy and the juxtaposition of murder and comedy was wrong. This is definitely not the case. Sarcasm about life does not equal comedy. For someone who was forever being put down because of their profession (accountancy = boring), being vanilla, having a failed relationship, being cleaned out of all his money by an ex-partner, with a job under threat even before the crime is committed of course he’s going to be wanting to fight back, however he can. In this case, with words and throw away lines about the city he lives in and the people around him.

I found the bitterness and bitchiness of Matt very similar to a couple of gay guys I know.

Did I feel the story was good as it could be? No. Apart from the typos, one of the problems came from the structure of the book and the character himself. Because he was so alienated, alone and helpless, he has no-one to bounce dialogue off, no side-kick, so a lot of the plot development – the clue solving, has to take place in his head. If, as a reader, you don’t feel any sympathy for the guy, or relate to his “voice” then this can all become dry.

It didn’t make me stop reading or dislike the book, but it does make it harder to emotionally become involved with the book or the character. I probably should read some Raymond Chandler or other authors who have written the lone warrior style hero and see how they get around this problem. Maybe they don’t, and then it comes down to a preference of styles.

If you like this type of story where the single, much put upon underdog has to bumble around trying to do something he’s not trained to do, then you will enjoy reading “Full Release”.

I found Matt’s efforts to solve the case rewarding enough, and because I can’t see any other way the story could have been better given that scenario, that set-up and setting, I’m giving it 4 stars rounded down to 3.5 because of the typos.

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