Book Review: Strange Fortune by Josh Lanyon

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Publisher: Blind Eye Books
ISBN 978-1-935560-00-5

Valentine Strange is delighted to accept a job from the Holy Order to find and retrieve an antique diadem of the Goddess Purya from somewhere in the distant White Mountains. Although the mountains are filled with bandits and scoundrels, this soldier of fortune has little fear of anything short of not being paid for his services. But when the Holy Order insists that Master Aleister Grimshaw, a witch with a history of insanity, join the expedition, Strange realizes there is more at stake than the retrieval of a relic.

As the small band begins their search, Strange and Grimshaw forge a tenuous friendship. But they are followed, step by step, not only by bandits, but by a demonic power more powerful than anyone could imagine. When the stakes are raised well beyond the danger level and they are betrayed at every turn, they are forced to rely on each other for survival. Finding the diadem could spell doom for Strange and Grimshaw, or could it be their only hope of survival?

Strange Fortune is a rollicking good read – interesting characters, fast paced, rich descriptions, and action that kept me turning pages. It’s a fun read. Adventurous and romantic. Lanyon has created a wonderful world of magic and spirits and spells and romance. It is a winner.

I stumbled over a few issues that I felt kept this marvelous story from being a great one. A minor annoyance was it held a dozen more misspellings and missing words than I’m used to seeing. The book could certainly use a more careful copyeditor.

A more troublesome issue was the story’s time setting. Although the author clearly created a unique setting, the physical setting seems to be taken from early twentieth century India, yet the customs and beliefs of the characters seems to indicate ancient times, when Holy Orders ruled, witches were common and people worshiped demons. For me, it seemed to disconnect. One minute they were worshiping idols, the next Grimshaw was checking the time on his wrist-watch or firing his rife. And the language the characters often used – such as “the bottom line is” – is really quite modern. I just kept getting the impression, that if the author had paid closer attention to keep the language and the physical setting in ancient times (bows and arrows instead of rifles) this would have been a great read, rather than a very good read.

Still, my few minor issues aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and highly recommend it to everyone.

For more information about Strange Fortune press here.

Island Song made V. Banis's all-time tops list.

Yesterday I was thrilled to find that Victor Banis, an author I respect and admire, included Island Song on his all-time top 7 favorite gay romances. I was listed beside Mary Renault, Annie Proulx, Ruth Sims, E.H. Kahn, Somerset Maugham, and, of course, Victor himself.

Here's what he had to say about Island Song:

This is such a beautiful book. Yes, the author has a few mis-steps in this, his debut novel. Yes, it goes on a few pages longer than it should. Doesn’t matter. If you’ve got any trace of romance in you, you have to swoon over this tale of love and loss and redemption. It is a love story, but so far outside the boundaries of what that label suggests as to render that designation pointless. And, yes, some of the love is shared by men, but some of it too is the love between friends, and family, and love of nature and the mystical, even the love of a dog for his human partner.

The prose is magical and can turn from light to dark in a single heartbeat: “Scanning the clear water, he sees only the massive shadowy shapes of whales circling the boat…He spots Songoree above him, swimming beside a seven ton monster, performing an acrobatic dance that captivates him. With outstretched limbs and his long hair billowing outward from his head, Songoree moves through shafts of purple light filtering down from above. Awed, Garrett slowly ascends while enjoying the performance. Songoree is truly a creature of the sea. He seems as delicate as a seahorse and as graceful as a manta ray…Garrett’s lungs begin to burn, and he is still fifteen feet from the surface. Now he feels it…In a flash, the universe transforms. It comes straight up from the dark water below at horrifying speed. An immense shadow slides just below him…”

Alan has set his story in Hawaii, but in essence he is writing of the island within the heart of each of us, and it is there, like our wounded protagonists in his moving story, where one finds healing and peace. This is its song, and it’s a lovely one indeed.

That's high praise indeed, and I'm very grateful to Victor.

Book Review: Safe As Houses by Alex Jeffers

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Publisher: Lethe Press.

Allen Pasztory was raised by Hungarian immigrant parents who were both deaf. Even though he hears, he was brought up talking with his hands and facial expressions. He meets Jeremy while working at an advertizing agency in San Francisco. The two begin a rocky relationship until Allen finds out Jeremy is raising a son, Toby. The idea of being a family, of raising a child, is all that’s needed for Allen to commit to a long-term relationship. The three of them setup house in San Francisco and all seems to move along without a care, except that it’s the 80s and many of their friends are dying of AIDS.

Out of the blue, Allen takes a new job as an admissions officer at a prep school in Rhode Island, and it’s clear the move is because death is inching too close for comfort in the gay Mecca. Yes, Allen is HIV positive, and the move is him distancing himself from the dying.

While making a new life for himself and his small family (by this time Toby is a teenager), Allen’s nephew, Kit, comes to live with them as well. Together, as a loving family, they deal with Allen’s failing health in a touching and dignified way.

This is a story of family and love – the consuming love that grows from a family on the outskirts struggling with a vital disability – told from two different family’s viewpoints, Allen’s parents and Allen’s new family. It is a tapestry woven in vibrant detail with beautiful language.

I often felt that the children were the glue that held Allen and Jeremy together because so often Allen seemed to show more affection for Toby and eventually Kit. Allen’s relationship with each of the characters, including his parents, was sensitive and touching. It becomes a clear example that “alternative families” can be every bit as nurturing and loving as “traditional families”, even though they have different issues to contend with. Safe as Houses is a triumph in the gay parenting cause, and indeed, living with any disability.

What struck me most was that this family was able to create such a loving, cohesive unit in a world that refused to acknowledge their right to exist – somewhat reminiscent of an exquisite lily growing out of a muddy bog.

Safe as Houses is a book not to be rushed through. It must be read at one’s leisure, to wallow in the pleasure of glimpsing into this loving family. But read it one should, a delicate story that is superbly written.

Safe as House combined with his other novel, I Remember Tulum, has made Alex Jeffers one of my favorite authors, and I can’t wait to read more from this extraordinary talent.

For more information press here.

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Recent Letters from Readers

I recently received some feedback from fans, and I wanted to share. This first one was from Susie, who had requested a free story from my website. I sent her a story about a character named Simple. Here's what she said:

Wow. Just Wow. Simple is an amazing character. What you wrote was beautiful and moving and made me think. I love that in a book. I am going to purchase both of your books next week when I get my paycheck. I can hardly wait.

Thank you so very much for the story.

Another fan, Tish, read my newly released novel, The Lonely War, and wrote to tell me:

This book sounds like it should be read as a paperback not an ebook. I have a terrible time with books about Changi.
 A) I was born in Singapore, my father was Royal Navy and mum is of Indian decent from Malaya (KL). 
B) My mum lived through WW2 with the Japanese invasion of Malaya and still speaks of that time with great clarity. Both her father and grandfather were tortured (several times) by the Japanese at Changi for helping the British and Australian soldiers. My great grand father was tortured to death. My grandfather watched his father die yet he never held a grudge. Believing in forgiveness instead.


This book has made it to number 3 on my all time best m/m list. It was so well written and so engrossing I forgot that I was sitting bundled up on the sofa with cold icy winter rain falling, but I was back in Singapore listening to my nanny tell me of the time the Japanese came to her island. Andrew’s (this is his story) cadence throughout this whole experience set a tone and pace that never faltered. Even though the subject matter in some instances was beyond imaginable, Andrew kept the soul of himself in perfect balance. He was well written and so were the supporting characters, so much so I wanted to know what happens to them all. 
Mr. Chin did a bang up job of taking a horrible, heartbreaking time and weaving a believable love story into it. For me the love story isn’t about the men but about life. And I love bittersweet love stories about life.

Hope you enjoy these. I received both on the same day and was thrilled. I love when readers take the time to contact me to let me know their impressions of my work.

Thank you Susie and Tish.

Book Review: A Report From Winter a memoir by Wayne Courtois

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by Lethe Press

In the dead of winter, after a ten-year absence, Wayne Courtois journeys back to his family home in Maine to attend to his dying mother. He is soon assaulted by three facts: the bitter cold winters in Maine are much more brutal than he remembered, his mother’s cancer is much further along than he anticipated, and his emotionally distant brother will be of no help in caring for their mother or attending to funeral arrangements.
Too weak to move, eat or speak, Wayne’s mother can only moan. The morphine drip is her sole comfort. Wayne can only hold her hand while reliving childhood memories of a dysfunctional family life that seems woven into the harsh realities of the bitter cold weather. Sinking into emotional turmoil, Wayne calls on Ralph, his longtime partner, to help him through this distressing ordeal.

Wayne Courtois has created one of the most touching, brave, and beautiful books I’ve read in a very long time. It is unpretentiously funny, grippingly sad, and wisely perceptive. I was so often reminded of the emotions that I felt while dealing with my father’s cancer and eventual death that I went through emotional turmoil myself. But what I walked away with was a beautiful portrait of the caring relationship between Wayne and his lover, Ralph. That, in my estimation, is what this story is about, a relationship that is caring and nurturing, that’s long on love and seems to glow in an uncaring world.

The writing is vivid and lyrical. Wayne Courtois is a new and, already, a commanding voice on the literary stage. He explores difficult subjects with grace and dignity. I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed this read. I would recommend this book to everyone – gay or straight, young or old – because, for me, it is universally about caring relationships, and the beauty and many solaces they provide.

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Jessewave.com Is Having A Drawing To Win A Copy of My New Novel

Wave, over at www.jessewave.com, was gracious to post an interview with your's truly, and also a wonderfully insightful review of my new release, The Lonely War. It is the first review of my new novel and I was sweating bullets.

While you're there reading the review, be sure and leave a comment, which will automatically enter you in a contest to win a free e-copy of The Lonely War.

You can read both at:

Review: http://tinyurl.com/ycqq2st

Interview: http://tinyurl.com/yk55rmc

Thanks, alan

Fat-burning time in Chang Mai

Herman and I just spent the last couple of weeks with some of his family, along with a group of Chin relatives from the Bay Area, visiting Herman's father's village in Southern China. Herman's parents made the trip along with his oldest brother and both his sisters. We were guests of honor at a grand celebration in the village for the dedication of a new building which we helped pay to have built. The celebration was full of fanfare and color with lion dancers, fireworks, and a 15 course meal for over a thousand people (yes, we paid for that too). I've never eaten so much or so well. It was a fabulous time.

We're recovering in Thailand, just arriving in Chiang Mai today, and will be here through the holidays. Then we've rented a house on the southern tip of Phuket for five weeks. We'll spend three weeks in Vietnam, then to Hong Kong for a few days before returning home in mid March.

One bad side about our time in China: because we traveled with several older relatives who couldn't walk far, we were bused everywhere and spent most of our time stuffing ourselves with rich banquet food. I gained ten pounds. I was already fifteen pounds heavier than I like to be, and for the first time in my life I'm feeling really fat. So I'm now eating lean with no red meat, and I'm walking several miles per day. The weight is coming off, very slowly, but it is a painful process. Dieting is for the birds, but so is carrying all that extra weight.

I'm trying to look at it as an interesting challenge, but it's hard to get past the body aches and headaches. My fault for abusing my stomach.