Shayno

by Marten Weber

Imagine you are a gay man approaching mid-life in the Silicon disillusioned, unhappy, bored with life. You have a monotonous job and can count your friends on one hand; you have given up on finding love for good. Along comes the perfect an Australian hunk. He is intelligent, witty, suave, well-bred and stunningly good-looking. Only he is straight. Nevertheless a friendship develops based on a common interest in fitness, books, philosophical speculation… and a strange sexual tension. He makes you a witness to his conquests of women. Step by step he gains control over you, and the relationship changes...until one day, disaster strikes… “Shayno is a gritty, honest and well-written description of a gay man’s passion for a straight jock—with unforeseen consequences.” “Deeply moving; immensely erotic, gay and straight” “Aussie hunks, Asian queens, gorgeous escorts, park rangers and a mystery to solve…refreshingly different!” “Marten Weber is an author to watch—in any genre!”

Genres: M M Romance, Gay Fiction

296 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2010

About the author

I am of mixed parentage (a man and a woman) and have lived in more countries than I can count on hands and feet together. I speak several languages, and believe in multiculturalism, tolerance, and free champagne also in economy class.

I dislike bigots and fanatics of all denominations. I am hugely uncomfortable with labels, even seemingly benign ones such as 'gay,' 'straight,' or 'sugar-free' and prefer instead to judge people by their sense of humor and shoe size. I believe that everybody, regardless of race or gender, income or size of genitals, should be gay for a year.

Over the past two decades, I have published hundreds of stories and novellas and set them free on the Internet, not always under my real name. Some of them have mated with other texts, music and videos, to produce the most curious offspring. One story has left the known universe and is currently a best-seller on Pharus II.

Most of my recent books concern the lives and adventures of men, both today, in history, and in the future.

Reviews

[Elisa Rolle]

Don’t get fooled by the cover, this is not at all your typical decapitated naked torso M/M gay romance; this is not a romance at all but more the self-discovery journey of two men, the narrator and Kevin. Already from this little detail, the fact that the narrator has no name since basically you read most of the novel living in his mind, you can understand that this story has not an ordinary development, and even when it’s not told in first point of view from the narrator, the punctuation is not “ordinary”, there are no quotation marks, and basically what is on people mind is mixed with what those same people is saying. Sincerely after one sentence or two you fall into the swing, and the reading flow becomes normal again.

As I said both men are on a self-discovery journey and their journey moves around the same man, Shayne/Shayno. Kevin was raped; yes, he was raped and that is even the reason why the reader immediately understand this is not a romance, since the rape happens on chapter 1. Despite the traumatic experience, or probably due to that, Kevin runs away from Australia to America, following the quest to find the same man who raped him. Is he searching vengeance? Not at all, he is searching love. Kevin was young and innocent and he was disowned by his own family; in his traumatized mind the only one who “cared” for him was Shayno, even if Shayno raped him. Kevin is searching for Shayno since he is his only mainstay in this world, and even if during the search he will find other men who can better love him, he will always have unfinished “business” until he will not be able to find that man.

The narrator instead has lived and loved and now he wants something more from life; when he meets Shayne, his mind tells him he is not the right man, but his heart doesn’t agree. The narrator consciously falls into an abusive relationship since he doesn’t realize that he can have more from life. People around him are leaving or dying, he sees his life crushing around and Shayne represents a “normal” life; being gay did not good to him, maybe falling in love for a straight man, trying to play the “straight” relationship will be good for once. Of course the narrator is totally wrong, of course he is leading head down towards disaster, but he has to realize that on his own.

Kevin and the narrator don’t meet for almost all the story, but their lives are strictly intertwined. The reader is waiting for the moment when the knot will tight them together, what will happen then? Will they be able to re-conquer their independence? Will they be able to kill their deadly bond to Shayne/Shayno? In a way Shayno represents the evil force dragging you down and they must realize that in order to survive.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456497170/?...

[Charly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult subject matter, but a fantastic book nonetheless

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

Rating: 10/10

PROS:
- This is an intelligently written book (which might take a little while to get used to if you’re unfamiliar with experimental writing techniques). The characters’ speech, for example, is not set off by quote marks, as is usually the case in published fiction; lines of dialogue simply begin with a dash. Here’s an example:
--Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be parking at an apron position tonight, she says, and
Kevin doubts that most people even know what that means, but she explains further,
and you will be chauffeured to the gate in a bus.
The effect is that the reader has to puzzle out what is actually spoken and what is just exposition, which gives the story a decided slant toward stream-of-consciousness.
- This story provides a fascinating look at a relationship that starts out with what appears to be mutual respect and then dissolves into something symbiotic and harmful.
- The characters are simply awesome. Not in the “he’s a superhero” sort of way; they’re just wonderfully realistic. I can picture people who really say and do the types of things the characters in this book say and do. In particular, Weber does an excellent job of capturing the language spoken by (pseudo)intellectuals. And the narrator is so blunt and honest, so disillusioned, that I couldn’t help loving him just a little right off the bat, if only because I felt he was in such desperate need of SOME kind attention from SOMEbody.
- There are a lot of lines in this book that made me chuckle, and often the humorous line comes from someone who’s not even aware s/he is being funny. Weber’s social commentary is scathing and hilarious in equal measure. Here’s one of my favorite lines: “Or is he just being friendly. Australians are, generally, at least superficially, until you inadvertently insult their country, remote origins, deadly fauna, general lack of refinement, or their barbecue gear.”
- The book starts out quirky and whimsical, the descriptions almost silly enough to make me think it was fantasy. And then harsh reality appears so suddenly that it shocked me, and the whole rest of the book follows a similar pattern: near-constant juxtaposition of frivolity with darkness and horror. The subject matter is so dark, in fact, that the story is almost overarchingly depressing, but the characters’ fatalism and matter-of-fact observations give the story an oddly chipper tone overall.

CON:
- This is not an easy read. At all. In addition to the dark subject matter--which is often graphic and told in rather minute detail--there’s also a general lack of speech tags, the absence of quotation marks, the refusal to identify which character any number of “he”s refer to, and so on. I think all of these elements are intentional, but they still make for a slow and frustrating read at times.

Overall comments: This book is like those people who walk around with a sly, half-grin on their faces: the ones who appear to have a secret and will give you hints as to what it is but won’t ever tell you outright. The writing is introspective and unapologetically frank, yet it’s beautifully wistful at the same time. I wouldn’t say this book was necessarily FUN to read, but it is incredibly well written, and I think Weber is a writer to watch for in the future; I can see him becoming a must-read author within the genre of gay fiction--and he’s talented enough that he may well extend beyond the boundaries of the genre and establish himself simply as a must-read author, period.

[Noel Roach · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

The subject of domestic violence, partner abuse, or any other name it is referred to by, is extremely distasteful and particularly complex. It is difficult to 'like' something about a topic so objectionable.

The main story of the novel Shayno follows the interactions between an unnamed thirty-something gay narrator and Shayne, an ostensibly straight, mid-twenties Australian man, from their first meeting at the gym through friendship into psychological and emotional abuse and finally physical assault. The secondary story of the novel is that of Kevin who has come to the USA from Australia to find Shayno, a man whom he had fallen in love with, and then been raped by, at the age of sixteen. An author's note indicates the character of Kevin is based on a real person, and who is I infer is the inspiration for the book.

The reason for my 2.5 star rating is that author Marten Weber was unable to effectively portray the psychology of the lead character narrator and why he stays in a 'relationship' he self acknowledges to be abusive. Psychological and emotional abuse is quite literally a 'mind fuck' and for the person experiencing it, I would imagine it would be something like living through a book in the literary genre of psychological thriller; Shayno has much more the structure of a M/M romance about it. Granted, on one level in his own mind the lead character narrator is hoping for, and projecting onto Shayne, a M/M romance, but that is not actually what is going on, and the narrator and reader both know it. A story that to me is about character and psychology is told rather through actions and plot progression.

The Australian movie 2:37, tells the troubled stories of several teenagers at a high school, through the events of a single day, where at 2:37 in the afternoon someone commits suicide: a huge flood of blood flows out of a locked bathroom. Who is it? It is very easy to imagine any or all of the characters who's stories have been told up to that point choosing suicide as a way to end their personal pains. It turns out to have been none of them and we never know/find out the story of the dead girl. We never know the 'truth' of the dead girl, but the movie is satisfying because through the exploration of the other characters, we know that 'truth' exists. By comparison Shayno tells us that psychological/emotional/physical abuse occurs in close relationships, even gay ones: something I/we already know. Shayno however, explores only at the most superficial level how/why the victim finds himself so far on the wrong side of the line of acceptable interpersonal interactions. The book was unsatisfying for me not because I never know the 'truth' of the lead character narrator (he does not seem to know it himself), but because that 'truth' is sever sought after for the character, the reader, or I suspect even the author.

My above review is more about what is missing from this book. If you want to know more about what is in the book, read Charly's Review. (Though I think she actually means 'parasitic' or something similar when she uses the word "symbiotic").

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazon Review by Charly Anchor, very well analyzed. It's not an easy book, but one of the best on a LGBT subject ever written.


14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Difficult subject matter, but a fantastic book nonetheless, November 28, 2010
By
Charly T. Anchor (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Shayno (Kindle Edition)
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 10/10

PROS:
- This is an intelligently written book (which might take a little while to get used to if you're unfamiliar with experimental writing techniques). The characters' speech, for example, is not set off by quote marks, as is usually the case in published fiction; lines of dialogue simply begin with a dash. Here's an example:
. . . . --Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be parking at an apron position tonight, she says, and Kevin doubts
. . . . that most people even know what that means, but she explains further, and you will be chauffeured
. . . . to the gate in a bus.
The effect is that the reader has to puzzle out what is actually spoken and what is just exposition, which gives the story a decided slant toward stream-of-consciousness.
- This story provides a fascinating look at a relationship that starts out with what appears to be mutual respect and then dissolves into something symbiotic and harmful.
- The characters are simply awesome. Not in the "he's a superhero" sort of way; they're just wonderfully realistic. I can picture people who really say and do the types of things the characters in this book say and do. In particular, Weber does an excellent job of capturing the language spoken by (pseudo)intellectuals. And the narrator is so blunt and honest, so disillusioned, that I couldn't help loving him just a little right off the bat, if only because I felt he was in such desperate need of SOME kind attention from SOMEbody.
- There are a lot of lines in this book that made me chuckle, and often the humorous line comes from someone who's not even aware s/he is being funny. Weber's social commentary is scathing and hilarious in equal measure. Here's one of my favorite lines: "Or is he just being friendly. Australians are, generally, at least superficially, until you inadvertently insult their country, remote origins, deadly fauna, general lack of refinement, or their barbecue gear."
- The book starts out quirky and whimsical, the descriptions almost silly enough to make me think it was fantasy. And then harsh reality appears so suddenly that it shocked me, and the whole rest of the book follows a similar pattern: near-constant juxtaposition of frivolity with darkness and horror. The subject matter is so dark, in fact, that the story is almost overarchingly depressing, but the characters' fatalism and matter-of-fact observations give the story an oddly chipper tone overall.

CON:
- This is not an easy read. At all. In addition to the dark subject matter--which is often graphic and told in rather minute detail--there's also a general lack of speech tags, the absence of quotation marks, the refusal to identify which character any number of "he"s refer to, and so on. I think all of these elements are intentional, but they still make for a slow and frustrating read at times.

Overall comments: This book is like those people who walk around with a sly, half-grin on their faces: the ones who appear to have a secret and will give you hints as to what it is but won't ever tell you outright. The writing is introspective and unapologetically frank, yet it's beautifully wistful at the same time. I wouldn't say this book was necessarily FUN to read, but it is incredibly well written, and I think Weber is a writer to watch for in the future; I can see him becoming a must-read author within the genre of gay fiction--and he's talented enough that he may well extend beyond the boundaries of the genre and establish himself simply as a must-read author, period.

[Micha Meinderts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much everything was a little (or a lot, sometimes) off: pacing, plot, characters, information dosage, drama, location... many things seemed pointless or too much of a coincidence. It was wordy, both in volume, which should have been cut down to about 2/3s, and in vocabulary, with too many words that are perfect for books, but not stories like this. They seemed out of place despite the described but never really proven intelligence of the main characters.

The author took a long time establishing the relationship between James and Shayne, far too long. Nothing really happened and it was repetitive. Lots of that could've been cut, just like the semi-intellectual conversations. It felt like it was there to make it bigger, more literary than the story warranted. They hardly ever were about things that pertained to the story, so rather pointless.

It was supposed to be about domestic abuse among gay men but one of the abusers not being gay made it, again, pointless. The switching PoVs, that disappeared later in the book: pointless, and confusing to boot. Lengthy sex scenes, I guess it comes with the territory, but they didn't advance the story. The ending was abrupt and both mushy and an extreme coincidence that took away all previously built credibility.

The characters were mostly well done, perhaps a little exaggerated, but at least they had their own voice and personality.

All in all reading this was like listening to a guy who thinks he's great and loves the sound of his own voice. It needs a good, GOOD, editor that slaps the author around a little.

And seriously, was is up with the dashes for dialogue? What they fuck were they thinking?

[Ur-narrative · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the sort of book one would like to read when one has doubts staring at oneself from every possible side. This is a journey of self-discovery, one would say. And I agree, too. But it is more than just that. The characters are well-built (and not just the hunks!). The plot is not your usual run-of-the-mill M/M plot with painfully predictable mores. The language is soothingly cultured, and it is, for want of a better word or phrase, the type of language 'used by men' (not your Wordsworth-ian Man, though!)

I read this book for the first time when I was in the throes of an editing job for my own book. As a professor of English literature, I have to do that a lot. What then would be the best way for a person like me to relax and find respite from the world of books that we have negotiate our ways through all the time? Unfortunately, the answer to that is books. Nothing else would work better. But what sort of books? I would say this sort of book. But that is saying as a reader. As for the more technical aspect of it all, I would have this to say that Weber's narratives, especially the present one, are seriously structured ones, meant both for the serious reader of literature, and the amateur reader of fiction. The narrative style that he adopts in 'Shayno' is one that is nothing short of excellent, because it is very comfortable to read, and very apt in delivering the message to the reader.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the most fucked up books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The book tells two stories. First, the nameless narrator. His voice is sorta stream-of-consciousness and it takes a little while to get used to it.

Then there's Kevin. I can't really say anything without giving away the plot. Kevin is a young guy coming from Australia to the US in search of Shayno/Shayne. Shayno is a bad dude but Kevin is in love with him. Oh, and did I mention that the nameless narrator also is involved with Shayne. Yes, two names, one guy. It becomes clear once you read the book.

This book was great. One of those stay up all night reads because you want to know what happens next. It's not your typical gay love story. You owe it to yourself to read it.

[Philip Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shayno was the first book I read by Marten Weber, and it is his absolute best. It is incredibly well written, with thoroughly developed, beautifully contemporary characters.
In style and vocabulary, it is miles above what I found under gay American literature. Weber reminds me of some of the classic authors like Woolf for Vidal, but with a beautiful modern twist.
The story is fantastic: sad, exciting, with a sense of dark humor and ultimately hopelessly romantic. I don't want to give too much away, because the story has an amazing twist. Marten Weber is a very talented author.

[Klaus Tomanke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable read, which drew me in from the very beginning and made me care about the characters. Can highly recommend it.

[jules0623]

This review is perfect: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Antonio Capurro]

Marten Weber is such a great writer.