Outlaw Reviews

All the Paths of Shadow by Frank Tuttle

16 Oct 2011 at 12:32

Non-GLBT Fiction

Rating: 7/10
Title: All the Paths of Shadow
Author: Frank Tuttle
Genre: Fantasy/steampunk
URL: Cool Well Press
Price: US $9.99 for digital version
Other Information/warnings: none
Summary [from the publisher]:
Walk warily, walk swiftly, walk away.

The king’s orders were clear enough. “Move the tower’s shadow,” he bellowed. “I refuse to deliver my commencement speech from the dark.”

As the newly appointed mage to the Crown of Tirlin, Meralda Ovis has no choice but to undertake King Yvin’s ill-conceived task. Tirlin’s first female mage, and the youngest person to ever don the robes of office, Meralda is determined to prove once and for all that she deserves the title. The Tower, though, holds ancient secrets all its own. Secrets that will soon spell destruction for all of Tirlin—unless Meralda can unravel a monstrous curse laid by a legendary villain seven centuries before she was born.

An ancient curse. A haunted tower. A clamorous gathering of nobles, mages, and kings from the Five Realms come together in Tirlin for the fifth-year Accords. Meralda finds herself facing far darker foes than any mere shadow of the tower.

My review:

Fly Up into the Night Air by John Houser

03 Oct 2011 at 13:35

Rating: 8.5/10
Title: Fly Up into the Night Air
Author: John Houser
Genre: Fantasy, crime
URL: Smashwords
Price:US $2.99
Other Information/warnings: Violence, including towards minors
Summary [from the author]:
Presenter Advocate Harte Walford wants to do the right thing and bring a cruel attacker to justice. His father opposes any involvement with the case because the victim may be a pretty boy—a male prostitute. The situation deteriorates when Harte discovers that the perpetrator has powerful connections on the town council.

My review:

General, Non-GLBT Fiction

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

11 Apr 2011 at 09:24

Nancy Ferrer

Rating: 5/10
Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go
Author: Patrick Ness
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
URL: Candlewick Press
Price: US$ 18.99
Summary [from the publisher]:
Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.
My review:

Dragon Streets by Jeff Pearce

04 Apr 2011 at 21:10

Rating: 9/10
Title: Dragon Streets
Author: Jeff Pearce
Genre: Fantasy, mystery
URL: Dreamspinner Press
Price: US$6.99
Other Information/warnings: Violence, images of rape and abuse, explicit sexual content (m/m and het)
Summary [from the publisher]:

After Dale Burnett’s abusive common-law wife and innocent son are killed in a car accident, he finds the courage at last to express his bisexuality. And London is a city of hope and potential for a young American. But when a blind date goes horribly wrong, Dale is rescued by Phirun, a British Cambodian who has the astonishing ability to manipulate water. Dragons walk the streets, and they’ve taken human form to live in the world of Man. As two kinds of dragon wage a secret and vicious war, Phirun needs Dale’s help for his side to win, and the stakes include the very survival of the human race.

But one dragon crime boss won’t stop until he gets his hands on the American, who has a mysterious yet vital role to play. As Dale investigates, he grows closer to Phirun, but also to a compassionate female detective of the London police. If the battle is won, Dale must choose between a beautiful female cop who offers stability, affection, and a chance at a new family, or a gorgeous, unpredictable being who is more than man, who has given him ecstasy he has never known before.

My review:

The Zagzagel Diaries: Forsaken by Bryl R. Tyne

08 Feb 2011 at 20:13

Rating: 9/10
Title: The Zagzagel Diaries: Forsaken
Author: Bryl R. Tyne
Genre: Fantasy (contemporary)
URL: Smashwords
Price: Free
Other Information/warnings: Mention of suicide
Summary [from the publisher]:
An unconventional guardian angel attempts to keep his gay charge from committing suicide, while wrestling with his own personal issues. This is the first in the Zagzagel Diaries series.
My review:

Collected Veinglory: M/M Short Stories by Emily Veinglory

08 Feb 2011 at 19:57

Rating: 7/10
Title: Collected Veinglory: M/M Short Stories
Author: Emily Veinglory
Genre: Fantasy/speculative
URL: Smashwords See ETA
Price: US $2.99
Other Information/warnings: Violence, explicit sexual content
Summary [from the publisher]:
Emily Veinglory brings you fourteen tales steaming with her signature blend of dark fantasy and man-on-man romance. Starring princes of Elfland, creatures of myth, and all-too-human hunks, each story offers a window to a richly imagined world where two men strive for their elusive happily ever after.

My review:

Wings of Equity by Sean Kennedy

14 Jul 2010 at 11:42

Rating: 6/10
Title: Wings of Equity
Author: Sean Kennedy
Genre: Steampunk
URL: Dreamspinner Press
Price: US$6.99
Other Information/warnings: Violence, explicit m/m
Summary [from the publisher]:

Ezra Kneebone is most at home in the skies, piloting his airship with his best friend Jazz, even if it doesn’t quite pay the bills or warm Ezra’s empty bed. Those same skies are also the territory of a man known as Icarus, who uses his metal wings to steal from the rich and feed the poor. Icarus and Ezra could be soul mates but for one thing: Icarus has a bounty on his head, and Ezra is desperate for money.

Against the wishes of Jazz and her partner, the formidable Lady Bart, Ezra is determined to get his man… in more ways than one. But when Icarus saves Ezra’s life, Ezra realizes he would be betraying a hero—and his heart—if he turned Icarus in. Unfortunately, the bounty is tempting more than one hunter, and Ezra will find that loving a fugitive may mean becoming one too.

My review:

The Cadaver Client by Frank Tuttle

01 Jul 2010 at 13:59

Non-GLBT Fiction

Rating: 9/10
Title: The Cadaver Client
Author: Frank Tuttle
Genre: Fantasy, horror
URL: Samhain Publishing
Price: US 3.50
Other Information/warnings: violence, gore
Summary [from the publisher]:
The Markhat Files, Book 4

Humans, Trolls and even the halfdead have all passed through Markhat’s door—more than once—seeking his services as a finder of missing persons and lost loves. This is a first, though. This time, his client is a dead man. At least that’s what Granny Knot claims. But as long as the coin is real, Markhat has no trouble working for a guilt-ridden ghost.

Trouble is exactly what he finds, and soon he suspects his client, ghost or not, has darker motives for finding his estranged wife than the reconciliation he claims. Left with a cadaver for a client, a spook doctor for a partner, and Mama Hog as advisor on all things spiritual, Markhat must unravel a dark mystery ten years old, and do it before another grave is filled. Maybe his own.

My review:

The Banshee’s Walk by Frank Tuttle

30 Jun 2010 at 15:30

Non-GLBT Fiction

Rating: 8/10
Title: The Banshee’s Walk
Author: Frank Tuttle
Genre: fantasy, paranormal
URL: Samhain Publishing
Price: US $5.50
Other Information/warnings: violence, horror

Summary [from the publisher]:
When patron of the arts Lady Erlorne Werewilk hires Markhat to identify the parties who are stealthily mapping out the Lady’s estate by moonlight, Markhat anticipates the usual—greedy relatives or rapacious neighbors plotting a land grab. After all, muses Rannit’s most feckless Finder, the Lady runs a colony filled with young artists. Aside from snits over color and perspective, how dangerous could a squabble over a backwoods house possibly be?

With new partner Gertriss in tow, Markhat takes the Lady’s case. Before the first night is done, the house is visited by murder, mayhem, and the haunting wail of what may be a genuine banshee, come to herald not just one death, but the deaths of all within. Trapped in a house under siege, Markhat must make a desperate gamble with an old enemy to win the race to unlock the secret that lies beneath the Lady’s lands. And find a way to turn that secret against the powerful forces converging on House Werewilk.

My review: