Reviews – Reveiws – Reviews

My publisher asked me to send them some snippets from my last batch of reviews to go onto the back cover of my next book being published in February called Buddha’s Bad Boys. And since Tuesdays are the days I showcase my own work on this blog, I thought I would share some of those review snippets today. These are from reviews of my novels First Exposure, and one or two from The Plain of Bitter Honey:

The level of emotional honesty is unavoidable, it’s so real. At some point during all of this, I realized I wouldn’t be able to ever forget these characters. Beautiful, sweet, carrying their burdens, frightened, hopeful and working to survive. Again, it’s the writing. It brings inspiration and darkness to life. -- Prism Book Alliance

Chin has really created a character that we so badly need in gay literature. This is a book that cries out to be read and reading it is an experience that you do not want to miss. It is an “upclose and personal” look at how we live as gay men and how we relate to those around us. – Amos Lassen

There are some books that are really easy to write reviews for. And there are others that are difficult. Not because they're not great books, but BECAUSE they are great books. This is one of those. The conclusion of the novel is ultimately heart-breaking and beautiful. It is full of hope and you want the characters to succeed. I stayed up past one in the morning to finish because I couldn't stop, and when I finally came to the conclusion, I put the book down, curled up in the fetal position on my bed, and just cried. -- Jennifer Lavoie's Reviews

This is no mere flash-in-the-pan "novel" that one can read through hurriedly in one sitting. This book should savored like fine wine, something to appreciate so one can get the full experience of the subtle layers of flavors that can further intensify the pleasure.

--Mulitaskingmamma's Reviews

Chin has given us an irresistible page-turner about friendship, protectiveness and tenderness. The author’s brilliance is his ability to write authentically and entertainingly about the human condition, while simultaneously exposing the wide range of often-conflicting emotions and tragic imperfections that are part and parcel of our humanity. -- Queer Town Abby

Mr. Chin gives us an unrelenting, breath-taking work, sympathetically beautiful and riveted to an unhinged life, which could realistically evolve if we allow prejudice and obsession to overtake a sense of humanity. Despite its powerful pace, the novel is character driven and superbly written. Mr. Chin always makes strong statements in his work, but The Plain of Bitter Honey, to this reader, is his most powerful to date. -- Edward C. Patterson, author of the Jade Owl Series and many other outstanding books

I've said in the past that Alan Chin is my favorite author, and that is still the case with this new book. It is best described as a sci-fi/speculative/political novel, so unlike any of his previous works I have seen, and he handles the genre with mastery. The story is action-packed, well-constructed and expertly told, with a diverse, developed cast of gay and straight characters working together in situations that risks not only their lives, but perhaps the future of this country. Bravo … five stars out of five. -- Bob Lind, Echo Magazine