4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
an entertaining, fun, adventurous tale, July 9, 2010
This review is from: House of Stone (Kindle Edition)
ORiginally posted at: [...]
What's a gay porn star to do when his arranged marriage comes due? Go on an epic quest of course. This fantasy story delivers a quest to defeat evil and save the princess with a few side trips such as falling in love with the butler and learning about responsibility. Richard, aka Dick, thought his life was pretty well settled with his job as a gay porn star and a satisfying sexual relationship with his friend and butler, Sim. Unfortunately when his aunt and royalty call Richard to get married, trouble starts brewing in all directions. Only with the help of an ancient ancestor can Richard save both his new wife and his long time lover while realizing his fate and responsibility.
House of Stone is a humorous romp with some great characters and a fun plot. Although the summary may make this seem like a ménage, it's not. The main relationship is between Richard and his butler, Sim. Richard's arranged marriage to his wife Jen provides some interesting conflict and adventure, but this isn't a love match and Jen has her own lover causing problems. There are a few sex scenes, though very brief and mostly alluded after the initial porno opening. The setting is classic fantasy in a contemporary setting. Imagine the modern world as you see it but behind the illusion there is a world of Fae creatures, trolls, brownies, etc that have complicated politics and responsibilities of their own.
The story is told in first person present tense and the narrator, Richard, talks to you the entire time. Whenever something comes up that pertains to the background or world building, Richard takes a few moments to explain everything to you, the reader. This is both humorous and slightly frustrating since this isn't a story you experience. It's told to you from beginning to end, which puts all the pressure on Richard as a narrator to engage the reader. If you like Richard's humorous voice, you'll likely enjoy the story. If you don't, this isn't going to appeal. I personally found it funny for the most part but it starts to wear as the story goes on. There are a few inconsistencies that, while meant for a laugh, feel forced.
For the most part though, House of Stone is an entertaining, fun, adventurous tale. It has a lot of classical fantasy elements while still giving a fresh, contemporary feel. The narrative nature means you may not enjoy this totally but it's worth the time on a lazy afternoon to be swept away in Richard's dysfunctional world.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
non perfect but great fun, May 26, 2011
This is one of the few novels I have read in the last couple of years to have kept me up at night, a hard feat as, growing older, I tend to treasure my sleep more and more.
The blurb in the "product description" is accurate, for once, but I shall repeat some of it just in case it gets altered in the future:
This striking debut novel is set in a contemporary American city (I did not get which but I suppose an American will) where humans happily ignore their peaceful coexistence with all sort of traditional supernatural creatures called the Fae. Among them are the Sidhe (elves, I should say) who are -literally- made of the stuff dreams are made of.
Their society, parallel to ours, is classist to a fault, convolutely involved in a complex network of uses and habits called the "protocol" which tend to create a schizoid dicotomy between spotless, genteel, subdued appearances and a much cruder reality of suffering, rage and violence.
Richard is a minor noble, a good person all in all, very likable and leads a rather uneventful life as a gay porn actor (the first chapter is set at his workplace and is extremely graphic, so prudes beware) until a chain of events forces his hand to make him become not only likable but also mature and unafraid of his responsibilities as a -minor- leader and as a reliable companion for his longtime (male) lover.
All the above should not make you think of a dark fantasy: this is not such, on the contrary: a delightful lightness of touch and constant humour will keep the reader constantly entertained through this delightful romp. Darker issues are just hinted, only there for those willing to think about them. My guess is that readers just looking for fun will get it and be happy.
The writing is surprisingly good, grammar in order, rhythm and plotting nearly flawless. There are nearly no inconsistencies (except perhaps about the details of the grand duel) and characterization is well done even if the first person POV necessarily implies that the main character, Richard, is much better known to the reader than all the others. Only the side character of Rem is well defined throgh the dialogue and one can wonder if the same could not have been done for the others as well.
The first person POV has been the object of some criticism from other reviewers and I may agree to a point.
Richard CONSTANTLY breaks through the fourth wall, dialoguing with the reader and giving all the necessary explanations and world building. It is extremely well done, no mean feat for the author, but it could get on some readers' nerves. Rightly so, sometimes, as I am convinced that the reader should not get world building through "descriptions" and because sometimes the constant humour, though really funny, gets in the way of the dialogues.
(As a side note, paging is not well done and it takes some effort to understand who is speaking a line).
I might point out that the second half of the book is less polished than the first and it looks a bit hurried. More fleshing out could have been needed to improve quality and reader's satisfaction. It is nothing serious, this book is a fun and quality read throughout but, as it always happens with me, I demand more from the authors who I suppose to be good enough to deliver it.
As it is the book is perfectly self contained with a satisfying happy ending. I do not know whether the author plans on a sequel or not. If he does I hope he will live up to my -at this point rather high- expectations.
After the very graphic first chapter (the one you get as a sample on kindle) the book remains very explicit, emotionally speaking, but rather chaste while the author seems more interested in developping a good plot. For this reason I suppose that it could be appreciated by any general reader provided he/she is not disturbed by homosexuality. A very mature teen could read it safely as well.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chrysanthemums never lie, June 23, 2010
This review is from: House of Stone (Kindle Edition)
This was by far one of the best books I've read in a very long time. I wish I could give this book 6 stars. This is the story of Dick. Dick is a Fae noble over a land that isn't much desired, he stars in adult movies (just to pay the bills) and is on the eve of his wedding day. Dick starts out as a man who holds power and no great desire to use it for good. Well, not for evil either. Dick discovers that he has shamed himself in some way and must regain his honor to help those he loves and make a difference in his world. This book has great sex, awesome love, exciting plot, well developed characters. It's hard to find it all in one book but this writer accomplishes it. I hope to see more of this writer and more from this world. I wish I was a better writer so that I could write a review worthy of this book. I loved every word and can't wait to read it again. Try it, you won't regret it.
Chrysanthemums never lie.
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