Hostage [Paperback]

Josh Lanyon (Author), Sarah Black (Author), Laura Baumbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2008

Aspiring astronaut Daniel survives a helicopter wreck only to disappear into Vietnam's bamboo jungles. Armed with little but rage, Hutch dismantles the undergrowth to find him. Federal agent Will Brandt walks at gunpoint into California's High Sierras after witnessing the murder of his partner, Taylor MacAllister. Somebody's going to be sorry. Sam Adams visits the Navajo reserve to shoot pictures with his vintage camera. He hardly expects to become a political prisoner - or meet the passionate young man who'll rescue him from loneliness. And, Las Vegas criminalist Cody Baxter struggles to save himself and his kidnapper before Cody's lover, Gil, finds him - and rescue becomes revenge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: MLR Press (April 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193453126X
• ISBN-13: 978-1934531266
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Do not miss this!, June 9, 2008

By 

R.Parklane (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hostage (Paperback)

LouisaClark has given an excellent review on this one. For my part, I love all 4 stories.

Josh's Dangerous Ground is one intense, exciting, riveting and emotional story. The plot is excellent as 2 FBI agents race against time to escape the clutches of a group of ruthless thieves bend on killing them. At the same time they have to struggle with their anguished and conflicting emotions. Josh's characters are so easy to love and Will and Taylor are no exception. Both government agents, Will and Taylor have been partners for 3 years, a formidable partnership in perfect synchronization. They are acknowledged gays, with casual relationships with other men on the sideline, never allowing deeper relationship to intrude into their job. They last thing they want is feelings for each other. But Taylor wakes up to that need, the need for a long and lasting relationship with Will. By contrast Will is afraid to acknowledge his feelings for Taylor and rejects his partner's love. Just when he wants to accept that love, they are overwhelmed by forces beyond their control and Will may not have that second chance again. Never a dull page, this one keeps me glued to the very last word, all too soon. And that sex scene in the pool is just so hot and passionate. Thanks Josh for another wonderful read.

I love Laura's alpha hunks partnering endearing but independent betas. In Burn Card, we have Cody, an intelligent CSI geek, in a committed and devoted relationship with the imposing and 100% alpha Gil, a rich celebrity who owes a security firm. Theirs is a loving, caring and sensual relationship, as each man will do anything for the other. And when Cody is kidnapped it is up to his "dark" knight in shining armor to the rescue. Cody waking up to find himself blindfolded, mouth stuffed, hand and legs bound is one heart stopping read, as Laura depicts his predicament so amazingly well. The plot is tightly paced and layered with suspense and the bitter revelation towards the ending almost sad.


And now for Sarah's "The Classic Story of Good and Evil" which is just excellent and so compelling and emotionally stirring. Sarah has her own very unique style. Her M/M stories are romantic, but most of the times, they have a sad undertone to it. Fortunately, they do end well. But the journey to get to the "happy" ending is at times almost heart wrenching to read for a sap like me. But you can't stop reading because you care too deeply for the characters and wish to make sure Sarah give the heroes a good ending. Such is the case in "The Classic Story of Good and Evil which have me at the edge of my seat till the very last word. The tumultuous setting during the Vietnam war gives a very dark and poignant atmosphere to the story. It is so well written that I feel as if I am immersed in that very hell itself. And the usage of military terms adds to the realism of the story. As for her two characters, Hutch and Daniel, they are amazingly vibrant and so easy to fall in love with. Their feelings for each other could not be more "wrong" in a military world which does not allow such "sickness". Both men know that. More so for Daniel who loves flying and aspires to be an astronaut and Hutch is not about to deny the man he loves that wish. But when death is at every corner and today maybe your very last day on earth, it is not easy to just ignore these deep feelings for the sake of one's career and ambition. These feelings are brought to the surface when an injured Daniel felt he could so easily have lost Hutch. And when Daniel was snatched away by the Vietcong, it is one taut, nail biting and stirring read as an injured Hutch raced through the hellish jungle to rescue Daniel before that first streak of dawn. A satisfying and most touching ending. Bravo, Sarah.

Sarah's "The Second Indian War" may be short but it is well crafted with its profound and sad message. It may not be truly romance but the interaction between the lonely thirty over years old Sam and the eighteen year old TJ who is so passionate about his people and land makes this one enjoyable read.

This anthology is top quality writing, which is so much more than a M/M romance. It is not just for us into M/M or gay romance. It deserves a much wider reader base.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent writing, but not my cup of tea, April 30, 2009

By 

Charly T. Anchor (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Hostage (Paperback)

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Disclaimer(s):
* Many of the "cons" in this review are the result of my personal preference for (a) longer stories that have time and space to develop the characters more fully and (b) stories that are just different--in setting, in development, in subject matter, etc.--than these are.
* I prefer to read romances that are more about feelings than sex. If a book has lots of lust-filled, dispassionate sex, I'm not impressed. If the sex is a manifestation of love, bring it on.


"Dangerous Ground" by Josh Lanyon - 7/10
Pros:
- Good depiction of the despair of losing someone you love.
- A few funny moments.
- Exciting plot.
Cons:
- Sex scenes that for some reason just didn't quite do it for me; one of the guys is in love, and the other is rather standoffish emotionally. (This is fixed by the end, of course.)
- Too open an ending for me.

"Burn Card" by Laura Baumbach - 6/10
Pros:
- Good (if abbreviated) descriptions of what it must feel like to be kidnapped and tied up.
- Brief development of the characters' background, but still managed to convince me how deeply they cared for each other; when one of them was kidnapped, I felt the anger/depression/hopelessness of his partner immediately.
Cons:
- Not an open ending per se, but not terribly satisfying either. The conclusion was more in line with a slice-of-life short story than a short novella, which is what this is.
- Simplistic plot (but again, with a good depiction of the emotional impact of the kidnapping itself) with next to no mystery regarding the kidnapper's identity.

"The Second Indian War" by Sarah Black - 3/10
Pros:
- Pretty (and accurate) descriptions of a canyon/mesa setting at sunset.
- Well written flash ending.
Con:
- Not my kind of story - political, very short, no romance (but with an odd kiss that felt out of place).

"The Classic Story of Good and Evil" by Sarah Black - 6/10
Pros:
- Characters I cared about by the end of the story. For someone as critical as I am of character development, that's an achievement in as little space as Black had with this story.
- Sappy ending that I liked a lot.
Cons:
- Jumpy plot--short scenes with choppy description and little development. (I am, however, willing to admit the possibility that Black wrote the story like this on purpose to capture the fleeting, volatile atmosphere of the Vietnam War.)
- Flashback-type accounts of the characters' previous encounter(s) that I found hard to follow. Even after reading the story a second time, I wasn't sure what the exact state of their relationship was supposed to have been at the beginning of the story.

Overall comments: Probably not for you if you're looking either for heartwarming (or heart-pounding) romance or for graphic/erotic sex (with the exception of the Lanyon story).

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd recommend, May 23, 2008

By 

Jazz (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hostage (Paperback)

All 4 stories were excellent! Sarah B. was a new author for me, and I will be buying more of her books...Josh Lanyon's story was really exciting and well written, and of course Laura Baumbach simply ROCKS!!! I love everything she's written! My only complaint? The stories were too short. I'd would have loved to have more, but I understand it's an anthology and all that. If you're a fan of any of these authors, you'll welcome HOSTAGE for your keeper shelf, and if you've never tried any, then this will be a good place to start. I'd recommend this one to all...