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Corvo and Ardan #1
Brown: Grisaille in Sand and Sunset
Corvo is a historian working for the Tiberian government diplomatic service when he's sent to the planet Biryan to make peace between his homeworld and the Biryani nation of Balcon. The peace-making process presents problems -- and potential -- of its own, in the person of Ardan.Ardan is the Balcon sacrifice offered to Corvo as a slave in order to assure peace. While Corvo knows he must accept this man as his slave, it is not the way of his people and he must balance carefully between his morals and his duty to keep the peace. Will he be able to navigate the diplomatic waters without setting off any mines?
- GenresM M Romance
43 pages, ebook
First published April 28, 2010
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 15, 2012
this work doesn't deserve the low GR rating when utterly repetitive wolf shifter crap gets more, *grump*. but i can't honestly give it more than 3 for myself; i liked it, but it fell short of what i need from a 4-star story.
this is different fare than most mm; it feels quite solidly SFnal to me, and not in the usual "lets pretend i can write an SF story because i am setting this in an alternate world" prevalent in mm. it truly does feel genuine, the world feels authentic. but alas it is much too short to follow through appropriately. i'd like to see the world created here given a more thorough treatment, which also would allow the characters more time to grow and develop. basically i wanted more, lots more. even the sex here feels SFnal, *heh* (which isn't necessarily a good thing for mm). basically this feels like a sketch of what it could be -- i'd love to see a full-blown series. corvo's job is interesting; it'd be great to see him apply more of it to ardán's world, which is just primed for a clash of cultures. considering ardán's past, and corvo's future as essentially prisoners of the situation, i'd connect much more with these characters if there were more time to see them become friends.
molly church's writing style is solid and doesn't get in the way by calling up my inner editor. the story inspires me to write fan fiction. ;)
this is different fare than most mm; it feels quite solidly SFnal to me, and not in the usual "lets pretend i can write an SF story because i am setting this in an alternate world" prevalent in mm. it truly does feel genuine, the world feels authentic. but alas it is much too short to follow through appropriately. i'd like to see the world created here given a more thorough treatment, which also would allow the characters more time to grow and develop. basically i wanted more, lots more. even the sex here feels SFnal, *heh* (which isn't necessarily a good thing for mm). basically this feels like a sketch of what it could be -- i'd love to see a full-blown series. corvo's job is interesting; it'd be great to see him apply more of it to ardán's world, which is just primed for a clash of cultures. considering ardán's past, and corvo's future as essentially prisoners of the situation, i'd connect much more with these characters if there were more time to see them become friends.
molly church's writing style is solid and doesn't get in the way by calling up my inner editor. the story inspires me to write fan fiction. ;)
March 20, 2011
3.5 stars
This was an interesting short story that had a lot of theoretical implications that could have been explored further. Since Corvo himself is bound in slavery, albeit as the master, his life is forever altered as well as Ardan’s. While adjusting early on when the problems seem so large is interesting it’s absolutely necessary so it’s not as wrought with tension as it may seem it deserved. The tale would have been better as a novel length study that would have given us more time with both main characters. It’s not usually the big things that sink a relationship, it’s the little things that we must adjust too or ignore as we decide that builds or breaks it in the end.
The writing was excellent as well as all the thoughtful moral dilemmas Corvo was working through, however, shoved into such a short story I got tired of being in Corvo’s head while he thought through every implication, personal and political of each situation. Had the story been longer, more actual interpersonal relationship building between Corvo and Ardan may have helped dilute that and still give us the thoughtful introspection it deserved.
A very well thought out premise and two likable characters that just didn’t have enough time with me to really give me a chance to get to know them.
This was an interesting short story that had a lot of theoretical implications that could have been explored further. Since Corvo himself is bound in slavery, albeit as the master, his life is forever altered as well as Ardan’s. While adjusting early on when the problems seem so large is interesting it’s absolutely necessary so it’s not as wrought with tension as it may seem it deserved. The tale would have been better as a novel length study that would have given us more time with both main characters. It’s not usually the big things that sink a relationship, it’s the little things that we must adjust too or ignore as we decide that builds or breaks it in the end.
The writing was excellent as well as all the thoughtful moral dilemmas Corvo was working through, however, shoved into such a short story I got tired of being in Corvo’s head while he thought through every implication, personal and political of each situation. Had the story been longer, more actual interpersonal relationship building between Corvo and Ardan may have helped dilute that and still give us the thoughtful introspection it deserved.
A very well thought out premise and two likable characters that just didn’t have enough time with me to really give me a chance to get to know them.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews