What do you think?
Rate this book
Dr. John Fell: Lost & Found #3 to 12
The Complete Dr. Fell Volume I: Lost
Homeless after his mother's funeral, John Fell can't stop mourning his murdered lover, Rob, and he clings to his goal of fulfilling his and Rob's dream of completing his PhD to become Dr. John Fell. Looking after his best friend's sub, Charlie gives him the resources to write his thesis and fight his homophobic father for his inheritance. John retreats to his cabin in the woods, but pet-sitting Charlie has shown him a new path. Putting aside his doubts, he finds solace in helping boys learn to serve their owners, and for owners to be worthy of service. Dr. Fell's poverty, pride, and loyalty to Rob hinder his quest for a new boy, but his sense of duty can't let him walk away from someone in need. Forced to confront his responses to abuse and neglect, dispirited by the imperfect relationships of his fellow doms and their subs, and struggling to make ends meet, John gives up the academic dream that sustained him through the lean years with Rob. Time and again, Dr. Fell is drawn back into the outside world by boys in need and by the irrepressible Charlie, who just won't let him be. The center of a growing circle of family and friends, John slowly returns to life. But is all that enough to help him find his 'forever boy'? Will John Fell, PhD, be smart enough to let his past go and make a new future for himself?
316 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Syd McGinley
74 books111 followersI'm a writer of queer erotica -- mostly m/m and D/s.
I live with Beloved Joe and the evil kitten clan.
I fled Thatcher’s England in the late 1980ies, and have lived in the American Midwest since then. Frying pan and fire come to mind. Back in the UK, I ran a record store (ah vinyl!). Since coming to America, I've taught college, edited at a small publishing house, researched and written background reports, and been a professional thank you letter writer.
I live with Beloved Joe and the evil kitten clan.
I fled Thatcher’s England in the late 1980ies, and have lived in the American Midwest since then. Frying pan and fire come to mind. Back in the UK, I ran a record store (ah vinyl!). Since coming to America, I've taught college, edited at a small publishing house, researched and written background reports, and been a professional thank you letter writer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 6, 2015
Argh!
Why did I wait so long to read this? This was excellent, in every way.
Why did I not buy all the paperbacks at one time? Now I have to wait for the next one to arrive. *sulks*
Why not 5 stars? Because there are a few editing errors and a couple tense discrepancies that pulled me out of the story. Yes, I can be nitpicky like that. Deal with it. Or not.
Why did I wait so long to read this? This was excellent, in every way.
Why did I not buy all the paperbacks at one time? Now I have to wait for the next one to arrive. *sulks*
Why not 5 stars? Because there are a few editing errors and a couple tense discrepancies that pulled me out of the story. Yes, I can be nitpicky like that. Deal with it. Or not.
December 2, 2010
I love this book! I read one heck of a lot of M/M stuff and this stands out in the crowd. It provides an accurate, realistic portrayal of 'power exchange' relationships (D/s) and the meaning they have for those involved. I like Dr. Fell because he's human, flawed, trying his best to deal with grief and has friends around him who are both true and loving.
This isn't an instant gratification novel(though there is plenty of sex to keep it floating if that's your interest). It's a biography for a fictional character, and at times it feels more like a collection of short stories assembled in chronological order. (If you have bought any of the short stories as e-books previously you will find that they repeat here, but the book is a great read and can be had in paperback format - I adore owning REAL books!).
If you liked this then you will definitely love the next, 'Dr.Fell Volume Two: Found'. Trying myself to acquire 'Pink: Dolorosa' presently but struggling to locate a copy. Thank you Syd for a terrific set of believable characters and a down to earth setting that works so well.
This isn't an instant gratification novel(though there is plenty of sex to keep it floating if that's your interest). It's a biography for a fictional character, and at times it feels more like a collection of short stories assembled in chronological order. (If you have bought any of the short stories as e-books previously you will find that they repeat here, but the book is a great read and can be had in paperback format - I adore owning REAL books!).
If you liked this then you will definitely love the next, 'Dr.Fell Volume Two: Found'. Trying myself to acquire 'Pink: Dolorosa' presently but struggling to locate a copy. Thank you Syd for a terrific set of believable characters and a down to earth setting that works so well.
March 15, 2010
Outstanding book. I put it up there with the deviation series. You have Dr. Fell who is a Dom. He is like a teacher to other subs and Doms. It is his life and all the ups and down. I truely got into the characters. I have even emailed Dr. Fell to find out when his next book will come out.
November 3, 2012
Very good writing and intriguing characters
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 9/10
PROS:
- Very well written. Very. I probably reacted more delightedly toward the abundance of English professor-related pithy remarks than most readers would (I teach college English), but the writing is just spot on. I tend to earmark pages that contain particularly clever comments and/or well written sentences, and I had to stop doing that with this book because there are so many. The book is brimming with one-sentence observations that are caustic and concise and simply perfect for the situation.
- Funny on a number of different levels. The boys/pets are ridiculous and cute almost constantly, and the Doms’ reactions toward their boys are amusing. Dr. Fell also provides a running commentary on his own relationships with the other characters and on their interactions with each other, and his comments are dry, witty, and at times, razor sharp. The story in which he helps out a troupe of young actors struggling through a Shakespeare scene is priceless.
- Surprisingly individual characterizations of a large number of characters. The different stories in the book run very smoothly from one to the next (although I can imagine being extremely frustrated if I had had to read them separately in their original electronic formats), and McGinley is clever in the way he introduces the characters a few at a time. For the most part, the reader has the opportunity to get to know the current characters fairly well before they move to the background and new characters are brought to the forefront.
CONS:
- The book is written in present tense. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing: it provides a sense of immediacy to the story that past tense doesn’t, and present simply makes the stories sound different than most other books out there, the vast majority of which use past. The problem (and it’s a slight one) is that McGinley slips up just a few times in his/her use of past tense vs. past participle to describe events in the past. Present tense muddles the already difficult grammatical puzzle of how to relate flashbacks, but I have to give McGinley credit for attempting it at all; I don’t have the nerve ever to write fiction in present.
- The book is sad. Impressively so. I marvel at McGinley’s ability to create a truly heart-wrenching story in which the tragedy occurred many years before the story starts. I almost cried--CRIED--several times, and I’m still (2 days later) a little depressed at Dr. Fell’s isolation at the end of the book. (I’m hoping, however, that since this is called “Volume 1: Lost” there is a forthcoming “Volume 2: Found” in which this problem will be solved and at the end of which Dr. Fell will live happily ever after with his own boy.)
- In one of the novellas contained in this volume, the number of characters is overwhelming. There are 10 boys at Dr. Fell’s cabin for one week, each of whom has his own Dom, and although not ALL of them are referred to by name, many of them are, and I had to read that part of the book rather slowly to allow my brain time to process the identities of the different characters.
Overall comments: This is an excellent read, despite Dr. Fell’s depressing situation and my nitpicky comments about the writing. It does contain some heavy BDSM, so if you’re not into that, stay away. But Syd McGinley, with this one book, has established a place on my list of favorite authors within this genre.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 9/10
PROS:
- Very well written. Very. I probably reacted more delightedly toward the abundance of English professor-related pithy remarks than most readers would (I teach college English), but the writing is just spot on. I tend to earmark pages that contain particularly clever comments and/or well written sentences, and I had to stop doing that with this book because there are so many. The book is brimming with one-sentence observations that are caustic and concise and simply perfect for the situation.
- Funny on a number of different levels. The boys/pets are ridiculous and cute almost constantly, and the Doms’ reactions toward their boys are amusing. Dr. Fell also provides a running commentary on his own relationships with the other characters and on their interactions with each other, and his comments are dry, witty, and at times, razor sharp. The story in which he helps out a troupe of young actors struggling through a Shakespeare scene is priceless.
- Surprisingly individual characterizations of a large number of characters. The different stories in the book run very smoothly from one to the next (although I can imagine being extremely frustrated if I had had to read them separately in their original electronic formats), and McGinley is clever in the way he introduces the characters a few at a time. For the most part, the reader has the opportunity to get to know the current characters fairly well before they move to the background and new characters are brought to the forefront.
CONS:
- The book is written in present tense. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing: it provides a sense of immediacy to the story that past tense doesn’t, and present simply makes the stories sound different than most other books out there, the vast majority of which use past. The problem (and it’s a slight one) is that McGinley slips up just a few times in his/her use of past tense vs. past participle to describe events in the past. Present tense muddles the already difficult grammatical puzzle of how to relate flashbacks, but I have to give McGinley credit for attempting it at all; I don’t have the nerve ever to write fiction in present.
- The book is sad. Impressively so. I marvel at McGinley’s ability to create a truly heart-wrenching story in which the tragedy occurred many years before the story starts. I almost cried--CRIED--several times, and I’m still (2 days later) a little depressed at Dr. Fell’s isolation at the end of the book. (I’m hoping, however, that since this is called “Volume 1: Lost” there is a forthcoming “Volume 2: Found” in which this problem will be solved and at the end of which Dr. Fell will live happily ever after with his own boy.)
- In one of the novellas contained in this volume, the number of characters is overwhelming. There are 10 boys at Dr. Fell’s cabin for one week, each of whom has his own Dom, and although not ALL of them are referred to by name, many of them are, and I had to read that part of the book rather slowly to allow my brain time to process the identities of the different characters.
Overall comments: This is an excellent read, despite Dr. Fell’s depressing situation and my nitpicky comments about the writing. It does contain some heavy BDSM, so if you’re not into that, stay away. But Syd McGinley, with this one book, has established a place on my list of favorite authors within this genre.
August 20, 2010
I have to say that I found Dr. Fell a little whiny but he grew on me. I was frustrated at how he was stuck in one place and not moving past the death of his partner. Yet he kept putting himself into situations that could only end badly for him. Again and again he'd get attached to someone else's boy only to have to watch them go back to where they belonged. Over all this was a well written book, and Dr. Fell is a very realistic and well developed character. Even though Dr. Fell was frustrating at times you couldn't help but root for him and wince each time he let himself get hurt. The cast of supporting characters are also well developed and enjoyable, who can't love Twink for all his irritations? The natural development of Dr. Fell and the community he lived in is great. There were no info dumps, and the author took time to show not tell Dr. Fell's history. Over all I think this is a very good collection and while not great it is needed to understand the rest of Dr. Fell's story.
July 20, 2010
What a big softie big, bad Dr. Fell is! It figures he's a cancer. I almost couldn't stand his remorse and grief about his dead lover Rob (give it a rest already, John! He's been dead 5 years!) - I almost thought Rob was like a Mary Sue character, too perfect, and he really is a character, not just a memory, or referred to in passing. But I got past that, and started to see Dr. Fell work through his issues, and that he actually had some self awareness that he wasn't really a big, bad Dom - even though that's what he is - paradoxically he is just a softie - how does McGinley make it all work? What a genius!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2013
This is one of my favorite series. Although not truly indepth the characters are well fleshed out and likable. The author does an excellent job keeping the reader interested throughout the book and leaves you wanting more. The writing style (first person present) is sometimes rough but it fits the stories within. I did feel left out in some spots wondering what happened to a few of the boys after they left the cabin. I understand these questions are answered in; The Boys Of Fell which I have yet to read but plan to very soon. If you are looking for a light but correct BDSM read then I highly recommend this series.
October 25, 2015
2009 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
October 12, 2010
I am completely in love with Dr. Fell.
July 24, 2011
Don't know why but I love Dr. Fell :)
May 31, 2015
Sorry I didn't feel any connection, any passion between characters and plot was plain. I couldn't believe any of these man was real
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews