Comments on: Here Be Dragons

By: Allergic Patient

Allergic Patient — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 07:30:27 +0000

Nice blog, I think you have written this article very well, you bring up some solid information. Thank you for sharing this information with me I really do appreciate it. Keep up the good work. Look forward to seeing what else this blog has to offer. =) TY for taking so much time working on such a great blog.

By: wonderveggie

wonderveggie — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:45:02 +0000

To Elise: thank you for your information!

To LdDurham: Oh good! And thank you for sharing that with me. I can’t wait to read more.

I will keep checking your reviews so I can be directed toward good works.

By: topandbottom

topandbottom — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:27:03 +0000

This is LdDurham:
wonderveggie, you are very welcome. Elisa was able to give much more thorough info, which I thank her for.

And yes, both CW and I write. I write for JoyBoyIsland.com. And I have been trying to light fires under CW to get some of her stories published. Hopefully soon we will be able to download her books. Until then, both CW and I have written in the fan fiction world, where I have learned how to make my writing better. I think CW was born with a pen in her hand.

We both are very happy that you have begun to investigate and enjoy the M/M genre. It definitely deserves much love and it was that reason that we began our reviews.

We don’t have any set schedule for our reviews, although we are always reading. But we seem to be able to pull off at least one a week. Or sometimes we do a series. (We have a pair of books in a series we are getting ready to review, actually.)

By: topandbottom

topandbottom — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:14:54 +0000

This is LdDurham:
bouncy_cat, thank you so much for giving us your own review! It’s really great to hear from other readers. Thank you!

Even greater to hear is that we were able to do what we set out to do: bring more attention to the genre and its publishers. Awesome! Thank you for letting us know.

By: elisa rolle

elisa rolle — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:22:03 +0000

The first book by TA Chase was No Going Home, edit by Liquid Silver Books in the mid of 2006. Soon after was out Here Be Dragons, by Loose Id. At the beginning of 2007 was out Angel’s Evolution by LQB and last month Stealing Life and this month and Anthology, Three, with a story by TA, both from LQB. In this moment TA is working on the sequel of No Going Home, but I know he also wants to write a sequel of Here Be Dragons. Both Angel’s Evolution than Stealing Like are Blooker, he has posted every chapter soon after he has write them and then sent all the book to editig and to be published. In this moment he has a new blooker, The Vanguard. ciao, elisa

By: wonderveggie

wonderveggie — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 04:01:49 +0000

To CW: Like Bouncy_cat said, your review made me curious (although LdDurham’s made me a little leery). When I read the blurb at Loose Id, I thought it would still be a good read and that maybe it wasn’t LdD’s style.

I suppose it wasn’t my style, either.

To LdD: Thank you for the information about how many books Chase has published. Also, you both write? What? Are you authors on Loose Id, too?

I’m new to homoerotic literature (it is *blush* quite hot) and want to read good stories with good plots and characters. I plan to download some of the other books you have reviewed and read them over the next few weeks. Do you (both) review on a regular schedule or just when you find a chance to read new books?

By: bouncy_cat

bouncy_cat — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 14:58:41 +0000

CW’s review got me curious. She listed all those things that were wrong with the book, but she still liked it. So much even, that she wants there to be a sequel.

Normally I really don’t care whether a book is believable or not. It can be completely crazy and I’ll still love it, so I really thought I would find the same charm in the book that CW found in it.

I didn’t though. I’m not even halfway through the book right now and I don’t think I’ll read the rest of it. I can’t really explain what it is about T. A. Chase’s writing style that I don’t like, but it just doesn’t work for me.

I liked Kael in the beginning, but after a while he began to annoy me a little and at some point I just lost interest in him and Hugh altogether. They both seemed out of character to me, too often.
I didn’t expect that all the different fantasy elements being thrown together would bother me, but it did.

From the 11 e-books I bought from LooseId so far I liked this one the least, so I think I have to agree with LdDurham this time.

ps: I discovered LooseId after reading your reviews for Tongue tied. I bought it and liked it, and then went on to buy 10 more books. So thank you both for that. I look forward to reading more of your reviews ^_^

By: topandbottom

topandbottom — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:40:35 +0000

This is LdDurham:
Wonderveggie, I looked up Chase’s books and from what I can tell, Here be Dragons is Chase’s second of three published works. (I couldn’t find copyright dates unless I purchased the other two books, which I am not doing.)

The exact same things that you found entertaining were the same things that first drew my interest to the book. I was as disappointed as you that they didn’t pan out as well as hoped.

We’re both really pleased that you enjoy our reviews. Not only are we voracious readers, but we’re also writers and so we can understand both sides of the page. And we really do want more and more people to read this new genre. Thank you very much for your comment and never worry about being too long. We appreciate the feedback!

By: topandbottom

topandbottom — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:24:40 +0000

This is CW:
Thanks for adding your insights and opinion into the mix, wonderveggie. I don’t at all mind that you agree with LdD, and in fact, all of your reasons for doing so are things that I agree with.
I’m curious. Did you buy the book based on my recommendation?

By: wonderveggie

wonderveggie — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 23:47:23 +0000

I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to agree with LdDurham: the plot didn’t maintain my interest and I kept having to refrain from rolling my eyes. I also found the main characters’ (Kael and Hugh) personalities to be very wishy-washy and poorly planned out. Both characters acted out-of-character or like a completely different character for no apparent reason. It would have been far more plausible if Kael’s backbone had grown over time and with much therapy, not just randomly. And why would Hugh need someone to defend him from the captain’s advances? As a plot device, needing to defend your lover (or potential lover) from unwanted attention is a good way of explaining a character’s sudden agressiveness/posessiveness/protectiveness, but Hugh was not portrayed as a man who needed that help. Instead, he is portrayed as someone who can take care of himself and those around him. For Kael to come to his rescue is unbelievable for both characterizations.

I wish I hadn’t spent $7.99 on this book. Is this an old release by the author? What I mean to ask is if this is one of the author’s first releases? Because I found some aspects very entertaining (such as the idea of Kael being on the run from his ex and worrying over any other person he thought might be in the same boat as he was), but I din’t like how the author tried to cram in so many different…things. Elves, vampires, catpeople, magic, “real” science, government-army secrets, etc.

I truly believe this book could be made better with a good beta-reader and focusing on a few different topics, rather than mashing them all up in one huge hodgepodge of fantasy.

Hmm…sorry if this post was too long. I look forward to reading some of the other books reviewed on this site. I really like how you give both pros and cons for the books and give the links to the books. The reviews themselves are fun to read and I like how each reviewer backs up their arguments instead of simply saying, “This book blows chunks. Don’t buy it!” Or, “OMG! U relly got to rede this book! It was Da Bomb!”

So, thanks for your hard work and worthwhile reviews.