An East Wind Blowing [Paperback]

Mel Keegan (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Heretic Books (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0854492860
• ISBN-13: 978-0854492862
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,901,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars And They Call The Wind Maria..., March 10, 2000

By 

Drew Brainiard "watchword" (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An East Wind Blowing (Paperback)

This is probably the best historical romance Keegan has done, and yet it is the least interesting to me. Despite being well-written and meticulously researched, AN EAST WIND BLOWING (and I even like the title) left me cold. The problem is the characters, and I don't think it has anything to do with their ages (check out Knowles' A SEPARATE PEACE or Grimsley's DREAM BOY if you think adolescents can't be turned into complex and appealing characters). What we seem to have here are two character-less characters. Keegan gives us Bryn, "the son of an overweening lord." My take, given the info Keegan has shared: Bryn is (should be?) arrogant, spoilt, rigid in code and ethics. And then we have Ronan, a "common freeman," who appears (from the description we have) to be rebellious, adaptable and a little insecure. And this feels like a workable character dynamic: room for both of them to learn and grow and fall in love. But it doesn't happen. There is no conflict, no resolution and therefore no character development (which is not to say that there isn't plenty of outside conflict: i.e., battles against the barbarian Angles--this novel is as dependably action-packed as all Keegan's work). These protags do not actually act OUT of character, the problem seems to be no personalities at all. And after all, this is a romance; character is paramount. The characters of the crippled Dafydd and Selgi are more textured and memorable in the fleeting glimpse we have of them than our central characters are in the space of an entire book. I'm thinking that a successful romance (het or gay) needs a plot line (and possibly a theme) with a beginning, climax and resolution, and to me that means some kind of growth. I'm a huge fan of Keegan's work, and I think this would be an easy fix for such a talented writer. With a few brush strokes we could have two fully realized characters fighting the Angles, fighting each other and fighting their own hearts. Same story, same resolution, but a more interesting journey.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars sketchy, May 4, 2007

By 

Furio (Genova - Italy) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: An East Wind Blowing (Paperback)

A pity that such an original setting -British early Middle Ages-, a plot with good potential and Mr Keegan's great skill should be wasted with such a light heart.

Let us skip the ridiculous art cover, there are still so many typos as to disturb even comprehension and the blame of this belongs mostly to Gay Men's Press.

Mr Keegan though shares just as much of the blame.
In most of the pages we are faced with what looks like a summary of the story: in a third person narrative the POV shifts constantly with each paragraph and quite often even within the paragraph leading to incredible confusion.
The same facts are often repeated, often with amendments that contraddict what has already been said half a page above. This leads to many inconsistencies in plot events, characterizations and in minor but disturbing details such as people's looks.

Then, suddenly, we are faced with nearly perfect pages that hint at Mr Keegan's undoubted abilities and leave the reader with a bitter aftertaste.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice piece of Literary Gay Fiction, March 12, 2005

By 

H. Ang "Xanthis" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An East Wind Blowing (Paperback)

First of all, someone has to do a better job in proof reading it. I noted a number of typo errors. It's not often you get to read a gay novel where sex is at the sidelines. The story is what made it worth the wait when the sex part kicks in. Drawn out in some parts but exciting in others. A definite recommendation for those who are into a romance, rather than a clinical description of the gay kama sutra.