The Low Road

by James Lear

An erotic adventure story for men who love men, set at the time of the Jacobite Rebellion in war-torn Scotland. Charles Gordon is sold into near-slavery as the plaything of corrupt military officials, but his talents-both in and out of bed-win him powerful friends as well as dangerous foes. Love and lust across the battle-lies in 18th century Scotland.

Genres: Historical, Erotica, M M Romance, Romance, LGBT, Gay, Historical Fiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

James Lear is the nom de plume of prolific and acclaimed novelist, Rupert Smith. He lives in London and is the 2008 Winner of Erotic Awards "Best Writer".

Reviews

[Nick Pageant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love James Lear for two reasons. The first is his relentless porniness. Any Lear book is guaranteed to be 75% sex with the remainder being the second reason - snarky, fun humor. This nugget has all the sex you can imagine and none of the snark. It got tedious in the second half, unfortunately. This book seemed to take itself rather seriously, which would be fine if it weren't for the page after page of sucking, rimming, fucking, peeing, spit-roasting, facials, and on and on and on... I'm ALL about ALL of those things, but Little Nick gets tired out and Big Nick gets bored.

Little Nick awards one bonus star for the cover!

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lolz.

Seriously, how a Scottish young gentry's efforts to retrieve an arrested member of his household during the Jacobite Rebellion years can be both lighthearted and porny is pretty impressive. This is gay porn. It's non stop cocks in all and any orifices and gallivanting around the area including a portion on ship of questionable registration and crew.

Add in the vocabulary and this is just fun. Rapey, but fun. And the cover is pure gold. *sigh*

Favorite quote:

"Within twenty minutes my hostile first impressions had crystallised into a most cordial hatred."

[Leta Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha! This book read like the stroke books of yore. I felt like this could be one that I sneaked from my grandmother's shelves back in my teen days. Except hers were all het and this would've not been there at all. BUT the vibe was the same. Basically it was deeply, deeply trashy, full of over the top historical adventure and sex tales, as well as overblown and kinda unbelievable love affairs, and I LOVED IT ALL. :D Yay!

[KatieMc · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a signature James Lear, all-gay-sex-all-the-time, type of story, inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped. It sprinkled in all his favorite activities which always seems to include piss splashing of some sort. The problem I had with this one was it just felt too serious. I missed the tongue in cheek fun I found in his other stories.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the cover of this book is wholly appropriate, so please don't flag me as it is the publisher/author's design. It just bares reminding, pun intended (sorry girls I couldn't resist)!



Well ummmm wow! That was certainly an interesting read. There is a pinch of romance with a HEAVY dose of erotic gay sex. Sex of every conceivable type between gay men. I think it pretty much ticked every box and some in the "how to dictionary" for male sex. Including but by no means limited to ...Bukkake, gang bangs, light BDSM, DP and Spitroast. I'm sure there are others but I'm afraid these were out of my realms of reasonable research!

If you are faint of heart then this is not the read for you. I snicker because it really is a good read interspersed with intrigue and adventure, with many misdeeds along the way for Charlie, a young Jacobite avoiding the clutches of the British and on a quest to discover the truth about his father.

Charlie literally fucked his way through entire garrisons. A likeable character on a voyage of more than self discovery whether he wanted it or not. It is a funny, kinky, well written tale and as Lena told me... not to be taken too seriously.

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather detailed ... er volume of work, well-endowed with stimulating tales of mammoth, enormous ... umm deeds of valor, hung strung together with a whisper-thin plot involving Jacobites. What's not to love?

[Jean Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘You'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland before ye.
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.’
- from ‘Loch Lomond,’ Scottish folk song (see explanation below)*

James Lear is a sly dog who subverts the kind of novels that are widely thought of as ‘classics’ by larding their plots with man-on-man sex. The results are surprisingly faithful to the original books, if not strictly faithful to the era in which they are set.

The most obvious model for James Lear's novel about Scotland after the defeat of the Jacobites (Catholic supporters of Prince Charles Stuart's claim to the throne of Scotland) at Culloden in 1746 is Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, a novel published in the 1880s but set in the mid-1700s and largely read (when it first appeared) as an adventure story for boys. The central character in Kidnapped is a young man whose parents are dead, and whose wicked uncle arranges for him to be taken to sea against his will. In the course of his adventures, the young man grows up and eventually gains his rightful inheritance.

The Low Road picks up the picaresque (adventure-story) and coming-of-age themes and intertwines them with the romance of ‘coming out’ into a society in which ‘sodomy’ is a hanging offense but in which most men enjoy sex with other men. Nineteen-year-old Charles Edward Gordon, the central character, lives with his grieving mother in the family mansion after his father, a brave Jacobite leader, has been murdered. Young Charlie, a physically active but isolated lad, develops a ‘friendship’ with Alexander, the servant who works in the stable.

Charles and Alexander engage in horseplay (literally), which leads to more intimate contact.
For awhile, the lovers live together in bliss, but the country is still in turmoil, spies and English soldiers are everywhere, and danger lurks.

One day, Alexander disappears and a mysterious French ‘priest’ named Benoit arrives to tutor the lad in Greek and Latin. Charles resents him, but grudgingly admires him.
By spying on the strange man in the house (after being spied on himself), Charles sees the “priest” masturbating. Charles confronts Benoit about his hypocrisy. Before Benoit can explain his real mission and his real identity, English soldiers arrive to search the house for ‘traitors’ to the English crown. The soldiers take Benoit away, leaving Charles and his mother. Charles realizes that he must take action.

Charles sets forth to outwit the ‘redcoats’ of the garrison and rescue Benoit. Along the way, he stops at an inn where he encounters a group of men:

‘a rough and ready group, but, I thought, honest-looking Scotsmen each and every one of them. When I entered the inn, they had been joining in a chorus of Loch Lomond -- a crypto-Jacobite hymn, as every young Scot knew well.’

Charles is naively trusting. After excessive drinking and sex with the men, Charles loses consciousness and wakes up on board a ship, where he is destined to be the plaything of the crew.

The captain is an English gentleman who rescues Charles from the attention of uncouth sailors (not that Charles really objects), and decides that he wants to keep Charles for himself. Although he has been commissioned to bring Charles, the Jacobite ‘traitor,’ to a feared English general for ‘questioning’ (torture), Captain Moore sends word that Charles has been killed. Charles does not want to be the captain’s concubine forever, so he escapes.

Charles eventually meets up with the feared General Wade while impersonating a messenger so that he can discover the whereabouts of Benoit. In one adventure after another, Charles uses his healthy young body in the service of Scotland.

Meanwhile, Benoit uses any means at his disposal to write letters to Charles, addressed to him at Gordon Hall and smuggled out by corrupt guards. Benoit has little hope that Charles will ever receive the letters, but writing them helps keep Benoit sane in desperate circumstances.

The letters are interspersed with Charles' adventures, so the reader can follow the parallel narratives as the suspense builds. The plot proceeds at a gallop despite the frequent sex scenes involving orgies, voyeurism/exhibitionism, spankings, cross-dressing and a memorable banquet in which Charles is the piece de resistance. Charles survives numerous close calls long enough to mature from a sheltered boy to a more sensible man, and all complications are resolved -- at least for the major characters, if not for the doomed Prince for whom Charles was named.

For those who love historical fiction and m/m erotic romance, this novel is a treat. The epistolary form seems true to the period, and the episodic plot lends itself to being read in installments. James Lear has such a shamelessly homoerotic take on history and literature that a reader wonders which "classic" he will take on next.
----------------------------------------------

* From the Wikipedia entry on ‘Loch Lomond:’
‘There are many theories about the meaning of the song. One interpretation is that it is attributed to a Jacobite Highlander who was captured after the 1745 rising. The English played games with the Jacobites, and said that one of them could live and one would die. This is sung by the one who was sentenced to die, the low road referred to being the passage to the underworld.
Another interpretation is that the song is sung by the lover of a captured rebel set to be executed in London following a show trial. The heads of the executed rebels were then set upon pikes and exhibited in all of the towns between London and Glasgow in a procession along the "high road" (the most important road), while the relatives of the rebels walked back along the "low road" (the ordinary road traveled by peasants and commoners).

[⚣ Marco ⚣ · Rating 3 out of 5]

~3.5 stars~

[Trio · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been ages since I've read a James Lear novel, and there's still nothing quite like it. Even if you remove all or most of the erotica, he does write a good story.

Audio nicely performed by Mark Bachman. There are a ton of different accents in this one, and he does a great job.

[Optimist ♰King's Wench♰]

OMFG!!!!!!!! THAT COVER!! AND SLAVERY! *squeak*

[~ Lei ~ Reading Is An Adventure ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★☆☆½ ~ 3.5 Stars
Anyone say Road Trip? Young Charles Gordon embarks on a sex-filled journey that's about 95% sex and 5% plot. It's a thin plot and to be honest, I'm not really sure what Lebeque and Charlie had in common, but a cock-plenty time was had by all. I'll be reading more from James Lear!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my! Would you look at the cover. 1 star for the book cover, 3 to 3.5 for the story.

[Ottilee B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an adventure. Also pwp with ALOTTA raunch! (Probably not bad for when this happened but I'm just not into clearing-the-throat-spit-and-shove sex. Ick.) That said, it wasn't a bad adventure, just rough. Had my teenage self read this I'd mark the passages where NO sex was involved as it would've been easier: Charlie is forever at it to spring Lebecque and L. is at it to get pen and paper to write Charlie!

[Zach]

Possibly the best gay erotica set during the waning years of the Jacobite movement that you’ll ever read.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

What even is this genre? It's like unfunny historical erotic satire.

[Keller Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fun steamy read. What I expected from James Lear.

[Monika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really struggled to finish this story and that doesn’t happen often. I was also a bit stumped as how to rate this one. If it wasn’t for some small parts of the story that I thought were full of emotion and beautifully written I would be giving this story two stars. If there had been more of that emotionally beautiful story that was so well written, the part that I fell in love with I could easily give it five stars.

The Low Road is more sex than story – although there is a plot – at times the sex is brutal, I found it difficult to read and after awhile it became so repetitive I began skimming the sex scenes. The letters from Lebecque to Charles and the last few chapters were the best parts of this story. I wish there had been a lot less sex and a lot more story because quite honestly I loved the writing style of this author, he certainly knows how to write an emotionally charged story.

After a lot of thought I decided to give it 3 stars with a warning that The Low Road won’t be for everyone. For those that like to read books with a lot of sex and don’t mind if that sex is rough and sometimes brutal this may be a book for you but for those that want more romance than sex then you may want to pass this one by.

This story had so much potential to be more than it is and I for one wish it had taken a different path.

[Carlos Mock · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Low Road by James Lear

Charles Edward Gordon -- Charlie -- is 19 y/o heir to The Gordon Hall in Scotland. His father fought on the wrong side of the Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland. The book opens in 1750 when Charlie discovers gay sex with his groom, Alexander. The plot is an excuse for gay erotica. Never knew there were so many gay men in the Scottish highlands!

Abducted by the English, trying to save his tutor, Messieur Benoit Lebecque, Charlie's adventures start when he tries to find the truth about his father. Kidnapped by mercenaries and sold into slavery as the plaything of a group of corrupt military officials, Charlie's talents, in and out of bed, win him powerful friends as well as dangerous foes.

Narrated from the first person point of view, it reads like a short story that went on for too long. The sex scenes were all very hot, but after a while, I found that I had started skimming through them rather than enjoying it.

I was disappointed because the writer never reveals the truth about Charlie's family.

[Jon O · Rating 1 out of 5]

In Lear's world, all men are gay, or into gay sex. Good-looking or ugly, fat or skinny, tall or short, good guys or villains, all would get into gay sex as the story progressed. It is like watching porn in words, instead of visual. Somewhere along the line, the pornish acts became redundant and did not contribute much thrill as compared to the first few pages. I was bored by then, and waited for the book to end. And oh yeah, never seen before a really long letter, where the whole act of sex was written as a chapter itself? Then, read this book. Ridiculous to expect a man in prison would be able to describe such a lengthy writing when he was in prison.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

A series of sexual escapades hung on a poor excuse for a plot. The sex, mostly vanilla, and the characters, gay with enormous members to a man, became so boringly repetitious that I skipped through several passages with the absolute certainty that I wasn't missing anything. Not one of my James Lear favorites. "The Hardest Thing: a Dan Stagg Mystery" containing much less sex, is a far sexier and totally compelling read.

[shadesofmaybe · Rating 3 out of 5]

well - holy fuck.

[Monica Vidal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not even sure what to say...I've read it, I've finished it, I was shaking my head the whole time but I kinda enjoyed it, so there's that.

[Wendell Hennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

as always, a plot that leads from encounter to encounter, an all man's story.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bawdy, erotic story that is heavily inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped.

Charles Gordon is frustrated. His father, a Jacobite general, was killed shortly before Culloden. In turn, his mother decides they must retreat to the Hebrides island of Rum for years. When Charlie turns 19 they return to the family home in the Highlands, Gordon Hall. However, his mother is very controlling and keeps hiring tutors to educate the young man. Charlie, on the other hand, wants to learn more about his father and why no one will speak of him. He's also begun to notice men, and is infatuated with one of the very few men on the estate, the hot and hunky stable master, Alexander. Alexander, on the other hand, has also noticed Charlie and his perfect globular ass. The two quickly begin an affair, and after some months, they eventually are caught, as Alexander and his family disappear. Meanwhile, Charlie's mother hires the forbidding French priest, Benoit Lebecque. The older man challenges Charlie and successfully manages to curtail the worst of the younger man's behavior. Charlie is suspicious of Lebecque, his motivations, and his presence at Gordon Hall. When the British soldiers come knocking on Gordon Hall, they seize Lebecque and drag him away as a spy.

In unrealistic and sort of not really well developed twist, Charlie suddenly changes his beliefs about Lebecque, fancies himself in love with the cleric, and sets out to free the older man. He has a series of erotic adventures along the way, including becoming prey to a gang of Scottish mercenaries, shanghaied onto a pirate ship, seducing and fucking the British militia on his way to Glasgow, and finally falling in with a secret double agent who helps him lead the final charge to rescue Lebecque. Some of these scenes are hot and the men are very, very memorable.

Meanwhile, in a series of letters to Charlie, Lebecque confesses his own feelings for Charlie as he recounts his own queer blossoming within the prison system with a sympathetic guard, a horny fellow prisoner, and the young student he's been "hired" to tutor but eventually is forced to service repeatedly. The Count of Monte Crisco, this was not.

The book ends with a happily ever after, which was fresh and welcome. Though I was left philosophically wondering, would one of the biggest "and best" sluts in all of Europe really give up enjoyment of varied sexual adventures to settle down for one man?

As much as I really enjoyed this erotic tale, I didn't give this a full five stars for two reasons. One (as I already indicated) I couldn't really buy Charlies sudden desire to rescue Lebecque after spending a lot of time being suspicious and hating him. It felt like there needed to be something more - a better explanation or a scene that develops this abrupt turn of feelings. Second, Charlie talks about how no one talk to him about his father, and this gets him in trouble a couple times. This was never really addressed or explained, and I feel like it was the root of all the problems. These two things were left danging and annoyed me.

Four stars.

[Kajsa Gillsjö Collin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, though I don't think I've ever read anything like it before. What I liked most was probably the language. It flows and is both quite beautiful, without being hard to read, and quite funny.
Charlie as a character is... interesing. I'm not sure I like him that much, but he is so stupid in an almost endearing way, that made it fun to read about his advantures. The story itself is also pretty entertaining, though nothing overly special. Just a fun and halfsilly adventure through 18th century Scotland. (And what's wrong with that?)
My biggest problem was probably the lovestory. I don't dicagree with Charlies decition to go and save Lebecque. Not at all (and without it there wouldn't have been a story). But I had a hard time seeing Charlie and Lebecque as a couple. It was a bit of fun to read about them bickering with eachother and Charlie trying to prove himself more inteligent and such. But I saw no chemistry or love between them. They both start out being at least irritated with eachother, and, in Charlies case, pretty much hating the other. Sure I can buy that Lebecque starts loving Charlie, but don't dare show it in any way, because the story isn't from his point of view so I can not be totaly sure of his thoughts and feelings. But we DO get the story from Charlie, and he seems to hate Lebecque (though he finds him attractive) only to suddenly one day (when Lebecque has been taken away) declare that he loves him. Where did that come from?! He also has a hard time not getting distracted by adventures and sex, even though Lebecque's life is most likely in danger. Would you really forgett the one you love that easily?
I instead thought Charlie should have ended up with Alexander. He was probably my favourite character in the book, and the one I at the start thought was going to have to be saved. If Charlie had saved Lebecque (for honour/duty) and then returned to Alexander (for love) it would have felt more real in my head. Alexander and Charlie had a much better conection. But as it now is I am at least happy that Alexander got his own happy ever after in the end. (I saw more chemistry between him and his lover during a few paragraphs in the end, than I did between Charlie and Lebecque throughout the whole book.)
And... maybe not a complaint, but it felt very strange to have so much sex in a book that I almost started thinking it was a bit TOO much and that I wanted the story to move along. Usually I find that gay love stories could use a bit MORE sex. Haha!
So overall, a fun, silly and sexy adventure. Nothing for the Nobel prize, but I liked it well enough, am glad that I read it, and look forward to trying more of Mr Lear's books. :)

[Amyiw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow it is hard to rate this, if I was going for an erotica rating, I might give it 3 because the sensual element is lost along the way. But having already read another of this author, I knew this was going to be a porno fuck fest erotica with a story line to keep it moving. There is a little of a romance going for a couple of the men but mostly it is just straight sex and not always pleasurable but sometimes degrading. This author likes to put a little of the degradation into it and it usually involves golden showers. Heads up if it is not your thing.

So the story line, which is maybe 1/4 of the book, is and young 18 year old man (boy) finding himself sexually and finding himself in what he believes in. It is a little hard to believe an 18 year old is so sheltered and ignorant of both but I think 18 was picked so that it wouldn't be a child in the sexual situations. The politics and keeping these secrets from him about his family... well 18, even 17 or 16 and not knowing family secrets, especially in that time, is not believable. So we just suspend belief or consider him very sheltered, very, very sheltered, and move on. He seemed more a boy of 14 or so. So he is the son of a Jacobite and the politics are hidden from him.

His mom and the new tutor discover that he is "learning" certain things from the stable master and sends the stable master away. This makes for a very angry man though his mom and tutor are trying to "protect" him. Charles (the young man) is a bit boastful and ignorant which leads him to bad decisions, first with the English guards and later at a tavern. He wants to help save his tutor but instead, he ends up on a boat in totally slavery where he learns a bit more of how the world works. When he finally escapes, he makes his way back with better choices and you are no longer tsking his bad choices.

You really have to go along for the ride and accept that Charles really loves being used sexually. He does want to get back on track to save his tutor and get home but until he has a path, he accepts where he is. It is a bit silly and it is a fun read. It has a lot of graphic sex and a little erotic sex too, all male. It seems, all males in this are willing to swing the other way, whether military or pirates, since they are surrounded by men and that is all there is... well, they all swing. A fun romp though the secrets and ignorance brought the story down. Really the story is only a small part of the book though. 4 stars for male erotic porn, very heavy on the porn. If it is what you want, this is the book to pick.

[Doujia2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished the last 30% of this book! I've been putting off finishing this one as it's my final James Lear erotica, and I need to be in the right mood to enjoy it. It’s mindless, raunchy fun, full of orgies and watersports, and absolutely perfect for the holiday season.

This one is slightly better than Hot Valley IMO, though they’re pretty similar in terms of plot (basically just non-stop fucking) and structure.

My ranking of all works by James Lear:
While My Wife's Away
Mitch Mitchell Mystery series (starts with The Back Passage)
Dan Stagg Mystery series (starts with The Hardest Thing)
The Palace Of Varieties
Low Road
Hot Valley

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd already read a number of Rupert Smith's pseudonymous James Lear's Mitch Mitchel (1-3) and the first of his Dan Stagg gay (porn-ish) mysteries and enjoyed them immensely. When I discovered The Low Road, his first published under the Lear name, being a completist, I decided to check it out. The sex is already in place and well-done. The plotting is not. I think he was attempting a Tom Jones episodic pastiche (with a heavier dollop of explicit sex), but it doesn't quite work. All the 18th century tropes are there (e.g., narrative letters, kidnapping, chance encounters that advance the story, etc.), but somehow it doesn't quite work. Without the sex, it's barely a novella. His later mysteries find the happier balance between plot points and sex interludes. Still, it's very funny and, for the most part, moves along nicely.

[Chucky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully raunchy! This is pure porn & LOVE IT. There’s almost constant f-cking & su-king from beginning to end. Almost any type of fetish you might want is included. I continued to wonder how this boy kept up with it all often at times getting plowed by ships crews, platoons of men, etc. & always having their seed emptied into his guts or throat. This is one joyful randy romp.
The book does seem to take itself too serious most of the time, but should be read with no other intent than to enjoy the sex. WARNING: KEEP A TOWEL CLOSE BY TO CLEAN UP WITH!
Also, the bits with LeBeaus letters often droned on & on seemingly trying to put one to sleep. I suppose the author thought that after enduring so much sex, the reader would need intermittent naps.

[yohtan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's porn. You know this had the potential of being top tier porn if the plot that is supposed to carry thr sex in between was fleshed out a little more and the characters given a bit more of chance for true romance but I know this is just wanking material really. The sex was well written and I liked the guy who narrated accent. 😛