Customer Reviews

Secret Matter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My personal problem with this book is that I cannot relate with the two main characters.
Religion-inspired soul-tearing guilts that torment young innocent Kevin are as far from my background as the blinding perfection of sweet natured, understanding, sincere 'Bel.
It is my problem of course but I also think that such a conflict as Kevin experiences is literarily speaking a little obsolete and perhaps up to date only among the gay youngsters belonging to certain religious communities.

At the same time it is not my wish to underestimate the depth of this book. Mr Johnson, throughout his work, develops a view of the world and of religion as they could and should be and though this makes some paragraphs quite hard to understand at the same time it is absolutely different from the usual new ageish blurb you get from shallow minded so-called thinkers. You may think them objectionable but you cannot discard them as useless.

The book in itself is probably no masterpiece: it is an easy story, neat, consistent, well written, with some nicely done action scenes that betrays a competent writer.

I feel like objectioning about the author's clearly understandable opinion that casual sex is questionable, the real thing being only the one you share with the love of your life... what about those who have not found it yet?

Kevin Anderson is moving along through his life, finishing up college, and getting ready to leave New York City for a prestigious internship in San Francisco when issues about his sexual orientation begin to bother him. His roommate, Tim, is gay, but Kevin has been so busy with school that he has purposely not given it much thought. When Tim confronts him, Kevin ends up feeling rather glad they are going different directions upon graduation. Kevin flies out to the West Coast for an internship with a company that is helping to rebuild after a giant earthquake. He couldn't be more excited.

And then the Visitors arrive. A race of oddly human-like space people touch down in several cities around the globe, including San Francisco, and nothing will ever be the same. Everyone around Kevin: his neighbors, his boss, new friends, and coworkers are profoundly affected by these new beings, especially when Kevin's company is given a contract to build a facility for them. By accident Kevin meets up with a Visitor named 'Bel, and their connection blossoms into a friendship. But is 'Bel so alien after all? And what's with the Visitors' periodic changes in skin color? They seem so human, albeit much larger, but they possess some odd characteristics, and they seem to be hiding something. Are they dangerous? What secrets do they carry, and where, exactly, are they from?

Before Kevin can get to the bottom of his questions, political disasters and miscommunications occur, and the Visitors are expelled. 'Bel and his emissaries are very clear that certain actions on the part of the U.S. will have grave consequences upon his people and their world, but no one listens except Kevin, who has fallen for 'Bel. Now the young man is on a mission to unravel the Visitors' secrets in order to prevent the death and destruction of Visitors and millions of Americans.

The secondary characters are critical in wrapping up the story and resolving the mystery of the Visitors. Very quickly the reader feels sympathy for Kevin and his struggle to deal with both his internalized homophobia and the new experiences that confront him. The book is a mystery, a coming out story, a sci-fi adventure, a romance, and an insightful twist on biblical themes and philosophical debates. Secret Matter is an enjoyable read most worthy of the Lambda Literary Award it won...

Secret Matter is a science fiction story with gay characters. When the Visitors arrive from another planet, Kevin Anderson falls in love with the one of the aliens, 'Bel. Kevin ultimately learns the secret of why the Visitors have come to Earth, and together with 'Bel, they must save the planet.

The author, Toby Johnson, is a talented storyteller. The book has a nice pace to it and is plot driven. There is no explicit sex in this book, which was much better than having too much sex, as many gay romance books do. The author updated his 1990 book so it wouldn't seem out of date for contemporary readers. Technologically speaking, the update works pretty well. However, the fact that the protagonist, Kevin, is afraid to come out of the closet, seems a bit dated for the 21st century.

Although I enjoyed the story, it was hard to read because of all the grammatical errors, run-on sentences, and awkward phrasings. There are at least 3 dozen grammatical problems in the book, and each one brought the story to a dead stop while I struggled to decipher its meaning. It was like driving down a road riddled with pot holes.

This lack of editing is unfortunate, because it reflects poorly on both the author and the publisher, and makes me reluctant to buy other books produced by either of them. In its present form, this book is unsuitable for a public library, because the patrons would complain about all the errors. For the same reason, I cannot recommend this book to any of my friends.

In the near future, Kevin Anderson is about to graduate, leave New York and move to San Francisco to start his first job as a young architect helping to rebuild the city recently all but destroyed in the recent earthquake. Just before his departure his old room-mate tries to get him to come to terms with being gay, but Kevin continues to live in denial. However events will force a change of heart soon after his arrival in San Francisco.

Recently the Visitors arrived landing in major cities throughout the world, human like aliens who it appears have come in peace. Soon after he takes up his new post the company Kevin is working for becomes directly involved with the Visitors building an embassy for them, and it's not long before he meets 'Bel, a handsome young alien who is immediately attracted to Kevin, and just as quickly brings him out of the closet. As Kevin gets to know 'Bel he begins to discover that the Visitors are not quite what they seem, what secrets are they concealing about themselves and their mission?

The story follows the growing relationship between the two young men, one which soon develops into an intense love affair, but the main thrust of the account is the aliens' mission, the discovery of their secrets, and their attempts to prevent to US from taken actions which they claim will unwittingly cause the destruction of the world. Following a break down in relations between the US and the Visitors and the latter's subsequent expulsion, Kevin and 'Bel find that they are the only ones able to prevent the destruction of not just the earth, but the aliens' world too.

There is a lot going on in this account, and the author clearly has a message to deliver. The sci-fi aspect is fascinating and a lot of thought has gone into creating the scenario playing out here, much of which I must admit lost me but no doubt such might appeal to the more avid sci-fi fans. Against this background TJ has quite lot to say about the acceptance of gays, and quite rightly has little time for bigots; he also has some thoughts on religion, faith and being gay. He proposes his own interpretation on what some scriptures say about man on man relations (although seemingly ignoring what other parts of the Bible say), but he is entitled to his view.

However there are other aspects which suggest a less than clear understanding of scripture. He introduces the idea of an original pair like Adam and Eve but who do not succumb to the temptation to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and thus would be without sin, but misses the crucial scriptural point that, having committed no sin, they would not be subject to death, neither would their offspring. It might have been interesting to have seen this woven into the plot.

Secret Matter is an interesting read, it has recently been updated to move it forward in time and take account of more recent events and it is this edition that I read, and which includes and explanatory prologue by the author and an afterword by Mark D Jordan. It provides a good mix of personal interest, sci-fi theory, drama and tension. Unfortunately the quality of the writing is not great, the narrative can be rather stilted and pedestrian although the dialogue is a little more natural - (I find it surprising that it won a Lambda Literary Award, could this have been more for its message that its literary aspirations?). After a relatively slow start as we are gradually introduced to a number of characters who will at some stage play their part, it begins to gain momentum and one becomes less aware of the shortcomings of the writing. While TJ manages to build to an effective climax many of the potential surprises are diminished as he provides many clues along the way as to where everything is heading.

I've been wanting to read this book for a while now, but I had very mixed feelings about it before I finally broke down and got it (gifts cards are a great motivator). I finally got it and I was pleasantly surprised. This is by no means a heavy (or heady) book it is fun and easy to read. Yes it's a little dated (even with the updated edited version) and of course the characters are all young and beautiful. But what I liked most about the book is the mirror it forces you to look at. Suppose an alien race came to our world unable to lie or deceive but we don't know this. How would people react to it? How would each of us see this; sense we lie and deceive each other on a daily basis? Chances are we would not trust them or their innocence. That is what the author forces us to look at.

There are a ton of religious undertones throughout the book, which was another reason I was a little leery about buying the book. The author has a religious background, which is fine, but I wasn't sure how it would translate to Science Fiction novel. I loved all the characters and I couldn't put the book down until I got to the end for fear of what might or might not happen to the characters. In the end the message is simple: acceptance of ourselves and the world or worlds around us.

The main reason I didn't give this book five was because it was a little dated and as much as I loved the characters they were all very typical of what you expect in a story like this (young and beautiful, even the `older' characters are said to have very good bodies and to be handsome), which made it hard to relate too.

The storyline in Secret Matter wasn't what compelled me to slog through it past the second chapter. It was the long list of glowing reviews. While, I do admit, it took a while to develop any character sympathy, the writing style is quite painful. Toby Johnson's lack of writing experience take what would otherwise be a compelling and amazingly original story, and populates it with shallow cliche unbelievable characters and plot points.

His characters uniformly suffer from the inability to distinguish from adjectives and adverbs, from the President down to the average person. And, when a government facility was assumed to have relocated from San Francisco, CA to Riverside, CA to reduce the likelihood of earthquakes, it showed how sloppy the author truly was. (Riverside, CA is near the southern end of the San Andreas Fault, and has nearly the same risk for a catastrophic seismic event as does San Francisco.) The characters seemed to exist in a world where there were no consequences to their actions. (Usually, shooting a gun at the president lands one in jail.) And, were seemed to be more convenient puppets of the author than believable personas.

I had seriously hoped that Secret Matter would deliver. I was able to finish the novel, but, then again, I managed to sit through Bio-Dome when I was sick in bed. And, an illness shouldn't decide your entertainment choices. Ever.

SECRET MATTER has been nominated for the Spectrum Awards Hall of Fame presented by Gaylaxicon, the Washington, DC-based national gay and lesbian science fiction fan club. The award will be given at their annual convention in DC in Oct. 1999This is the first year for this award. The Hall of Fame is just starting. So of all the hundreds of gay sci fi books published up to this year, SECRET MATTER was chosen as one of the top five. So even if it is only nominated, it is a significant honor.There is more information at the web site for White Crane Journal.

As with all of his books it is easy to read and carries a powerful and affirmative message. Loved the storyline and was rather sad when I reached the end.

Lethe Press is proud to bring out Toby Johnson's Lammy-winning, beloved gay sci-fi novel in a new edition "for 21st Century readers" that's been updated and expanded by the author AND that includes an Afterword by gay religion scholar and social commentator Mark Jordan. It has been one of Lethe's best selling titles.

When human-like Visitors arrive in the skies, the mysteries begin. Where are they really from? Why have they come to Earth? What's the secret they're protecting? And why is one of them apparently flirting with the young architect Kevin Anderson who's just moved to San Francisco to help in the rebuilding after the "Big One," the earthquake that destroyed the City.

Were the Visitors responsible? Or have they come to save the Earth from more such immense earthquakes & disasters?

Enjoy discovering the "secrets."

"fly blend of sweet romance, social commentary and entertaining science fiction--the sort of easy going read rarely found in gay fiction, and very welcome" -- Richard Labonte

Winner of a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Science Fiction and bestselling novel, Secret Matter returns to print--and to Kindle--in a revised edition for the 21st century.

By Toby Johnson, author of Gay Perspective, Gay Spirituality, and (with Walter L. Williams) Two Spirits.
". . . a writer with a positive vision and a wonderful attitude" --Philadelphia Gay News