What do you think?
Rate this book
DANNY Quadrilogy #1
Danny
The first volume of Chancery Stone's DANNY Quadrilogy.
When Detective Inspector James Henderson travels out to the lonely Hope House Farm to investigate a possible missing person, he stumbles upon a maggot’s nest of intrigue and deceit.
Where are John and Margaret Jackson Moore and why are their three sons running their farm? What exactly is going on behind the bedroom doors of the old farmhouse after dark? And can he be imagining things, or is the brothers’ love for each other a lot more than brotherly?
In a series of tense and shocking events, Henderson is gradually sucked into the noir twilight world of the Jackson Moores, awakening long-buried feelings in himself for the boy-angel, Danny, the youngest of the brothers; and dragging not only himself but his sister, Katherine, and Max Conley, an eccentric local solicitor, into Hope House Farm’s all-consuming vortex of sex, incest and murder.
DANNY – a dark fairy tale for grown-up people.
When Detective Inspector James Henderson travels out to the lonely Hope House Farm to investigate a possible missing person, he stumbles upon a maggot’s nest of intrigue and deceit.
Where are John and Margaret Jackson Moore and why are their three sons running their farm? What exactly is going on behind the bedroom doors of the old farmhouse after dark? And can he be imagining things, or is the brothers’ love for each other a lot more than brotherly?
In a series of tense and shocking events, Henderson is gradually sucked into the noir twilight world of the Jackson Moores, awakening long-buried feelings in himself for the boy-angel, Danny, the youngest of the brothers; and dragging not only himself but his sister, Katherine, and Max Conley, an eccentric local solicitor, into Hope House Farm’s all-consuming vortex of sex, incest and murder.
DANNY – a dark fairy tale for grown-up people.
1014 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1998
20 people are currently reading
594 people want to read
About the author
Chancery Stone
21 books50 followersChancery Stone likes wading about in darkness. She always has.
Equally well, she loves the magical powers of redemption, particularly self-redemption. She has a particular fondness for heroes (of either sex) who don’t let anyone fuck with them. This does not involve kick-boxing, vampirism, government agencies or a sociopathic knowledge of firearms. Instead this involves going their own way, in their own time, to their own tune and realising that if God is watching it’s only to see if you’re one of the smart ones.
Chancery Stone was born half a lifetime ago in a quaint Scottish fishing hamlet known as East Kilbride, where she would run wild and untrammelled about the hills, picking heather and singing in the Gaelic. In her spare time, between making moss dyes and raising nursling quails, she ran a child sex club. She was a child herself at this time, of course, and therefore has managed to evade the long arm of the law.
At least thus far.
The Dirty Club had a simple remit: sex, sex and more sex. Limited as it was by her age and ignorance, this chiefly involved urolagnia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, humiliation, bondage, homosexuality, frottage, fingering, nudism, paedophilia, ritualistic power games, domination, bullying, more humiliation and more urolagnia. In fact, altogether too much urolagnia.
She was outed several times – by children to other children, and by adults who really didn’t like that sort of thing. Driven underground at the age of twelve she became a sad academic recluse and took up reading savage and horrific literature and absolutely anything with sex in it.
Then there was wider reading. And yet more reading. And sick three-novels-a-day-habit style reading. And a lot of theatre. And then back to sex again – sex and more sex – extended by now to contain the more missionary and conventional forms thereof.
Eventually she got sick of reading (but, somehow, never of sex) and decided to write instead, and then all of this life-strangely-lived started to spiral out of her, backwards, onto paper.
We expect that once the DANNY Quadrilogy™ is finally done she will turn out some very interesting books in the vein of “Moss Dyeing for Beginners“ and “Quail Baby, Fly Away Home.”
And after that there will be death.
Equally well, she loves the magical powers of redemption, particularly self-redemption. She has a particular fondness for heroes (of either sex) who don’t let anyone fuck with them. This does not involve kick-boxing, vampirism, government agencies or a sociopathic knowledge of firearms. Instead this involves going their own way, in their own time, to their own tune and realising that if God is watching it’s only to see if you’re one of the smart ones.
Chancery Stone was born half a lifetime ago in a quaint Scottish fishing hamlet known as East Kilbride, where she would run wild and untrammelled about the hills, picking heather and singing in the Gaelic. In her spare time, between making moss dyes and raising nursling quails, she ran a child sex club. She was a child herself at this time, of course, and therefore has managed to evade the long arm of the law.
At least thus far.
The Dirty Club had a simple remit: sex, sex and more sex. Limited as it was by her age and ignorance, this chiefly involved urolagnia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, humiliation, bondage, homosexuality, frottage, fingering, nudism, paedophilia, ritualistic power games, domination, bullying, more humiliation and more urolagnia. In fact, altogether too much urolagnia.
She was outed several times – by children to other children, and by adults who really didn’t like that sort of thing. Driven underground at the age of twelve she became a sad academic recluse and took up reading savage and horrific literature and absolutely anything with sex in it.
Then there was wider reading. And yet more reading. And sick three-novels-a-day-habit style reading. And a lot of theatre. And then back to sex again – sex and more sex – extended by now to contain the more missionary and conventional forms thereof.
Eventually she got sick of reading (but, somehow, never of sex) and decided to write instead, and then all of this life-strangely-lived started to spiral out of her, backwards, onto paper.
We expect that once the DANNY Quadrilogy™ is finally done she will turn out some very interesting books in the vein of “Moss Dyeing for Beginners“ and “Quail Baby, Fly Away Home.”
And after that there will be death.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 13, 2015
I struggled through this, made it to the end, and this first book will be all I ever read from this author. Nothing within surprised me, because, well, I've read, and written much darker stuff. My one star remains for the following reasons;
The blurb, and everything written about this book is a forgery of fact. It makes it sound like such an intriguing tale, when in all actuality the blurb is more interesting than the actual story itself. For instance; Inspector Henderson does NOT show up at Hope House to investigate anything, and John is very much alive at this point in the story. Also it mentions long-standing dark secrets, but I never found any.
The reader only sees the bad in these people, but none of the daily life that builds characters into actual characters. And in the end I didn't feel for any of them. Not a one, because there was nothing redeeming about anyone. I suppose I felt sorry for John in the end, because really he was just a pawn that spawned the evil within his own home.
The story is based on incest, anger, and jealousy. Pretty much that is it. The sex isn't even well written, but more a fade to black, and mostly hand jobs and blow jobs, with some frottage thrown in for good measure.
I came away from this feeling I wasted an awful lot of time reading the same thing for over fifty percent of the book. So much promise that wasn't delivered.
The blurb, and everything written about this book is a forgery of fact. It makes it sound like such an intriguing tale, when in all actuality the blurb is more interesting than the actual story itself. For instance; Inspector Henderson does NOT show up at Hope House to investigate anything, and John is very much alive at this point in the story. Also it mentions long-standing dark secrets, but I never found any.
The reader only sees the bad in these people, but none of the daily life that builds characters into actual characters. And in the end I didn't feel for any of them. Not a one, because there was nothing redeeming about anyone. I suppose I felt sorry for John in the end, because really he was just a pawn that spawned the evil within his own home.
The story is based on incest, anger, and jealousy. Pretty much that is it. The sex isn't even well written, but more a fade to black, and mostly hand jobs and blow jobs, with some frottage thrown in for good measure.
I came away from this feeling I wasted an awful lot of time reading the same thing for over fifty percent of the book. So much promise that wasn't delivered.
May 7, 2010
I'll note in advance that my "could not finish" shelf indicates that I didn't read the entire book. In fact, my impression all comes from an excerpt from the beginning of the book.
This "first page" excerpt had three different major style problems which made me stumble over the text. I think that that many "trip ups" so close to the beginning of the book is a sign poor writing or poor editing.
One was an issue with the main character's age. The second was an issue with how the time of day was represented. And the third was an issue with the location where the story was taking place.
As for age, the main character is a boy living at home with his family. In one scene, he seemed to be older (maybe 16-17 at the youngest), since he's sitting in the kitchen drinking beer. But in the next scene he seems very young, sticking his tongue out at his father for being told to hurry his shower along.
Moving on to the time of day issue. There were multiple time of day cues that lead me to believe that the story was taking place in the morning. The main character was sitting at the kitchen table. The mother was putting milk back in the refrigerator. One brother was waiting for the other brother to come get out of the shower.
While the text never explicitly said "morning", those cues all added up to the impression that it was morning. This impression was then contradicted by the main character looking out the bathroom window and seeing the setting sun.
As for location (or lost in translation) issues, the author writes in British English as opposed to American English. Typically I have no problem with British terms (Douglas Adams is one of my favorite authors), but here they tended to trip me up.
A piece of furniture called a dresser located in the kitchen was the first one. In America, a dresser always belongs in the bedroom. Another was the fact that the milk was in a bottle. In American terms, that puts the setting back to the 1950's, which contradicted the initial indication that the story was contemporary.
Talk about a kitchen door was another one. For me "kitchen doors" always lead to the outside of the house, never deeper into the house. So when the brother hogging the shower came through the kitchen door wrapped in only a towel, I had a confusing image of him coming in from the back yard.
All of these unintended cues could have been corrected by mentioning that the story took place in the UK, but there was no indication of that in the short section I read. (I didn't see a blurb before reading the excerpt. The excerpt was offered initially as an anonymous piece of writing, which the author later claimed.)
Above and beyond those specific stumbling blocks, I found the writing style chaotic and unfocused. I have also seen excerpts from other pieces of writing by the same author that gave me the same impression. All of the excerpts had the same lack of grounding. For example, an initial scene of three men talking over a meal, where there was no real sense of who was who, or where the meal was taking place.
As a result of this chaotic style, I couldn't settle into the story. Instead I found myself fighting to understand what was happening in the scene, repeatedly re-reading sections due to the various contradictory impressions.
Given the sheer number of "trip ups" in such a small span of text, I don't think the lack of understanding is on the part of me, the reader. It is clearly a fault of the text itself.
Please note, this is my second review. My initial review was removed for focusing too much on the author, and not enough on the writing itself. Because the writing excerpts were initially presented anonymously, my stylistic judgments all proceeded any knowledge of the author.
This "first page" excerpt had three different major style problems which made me stumble over the text. I think that that many "trip ups" so close to the beginning of the book is a sign poor writing or poor editing.
One was an issue with the main character's age. The second was an issue with how the time of day was represented. And the third was an issue with the location where the story was taking place.
As for age, the main character is a boy living at home with his family. In one scene, he seemed to be older (maybe 16-17 at the youngest), since he's sitting in the kitchen drinking beer. But in the next scene he seems very young, sticking his tongue out at his father for being told to hurry his shower along.
Moving on to the time of day issue. There were multiple time of day cues that lead me to believe that the story was taking place in the morning. The main character was sitting at the kitchen table. The mother was putting milk back in the refrigerator. One brother was waiting for the other brother to come get out of the shower.
While the text never explicitly said "morning", those cues all added up to the impression that it was morning. This impression was then contradicted by the main character looking out the bathroom window and seeing the setting sun.
As for location (or lost in translation) issues, the author writes in British English as opposed to American English. Typically I have no problem with British terms (Douglas Adams is one of my favorite authors), but here they tended to trip me up.
A piece of furniture called a dresser located in the kitchen was the first one. In America, a dresser always belongs in the bedroom. Another was the fact that the milk was in a bottle. In American terms, that puts the setting back to the 1950's, which contradicted the initial indication that the story was contemporary.
Talk about a kitchen door was another one. For me "kitchen doors" always lead to the outside of the house, never deeper into the house. So when the brother hogging the shower came through the kitchen door wrapped in only a towel, I had a confusing image of him coming in from the back yard.
All of these unintended cues could have been corrected by mentioning that the story took place in the UK, but there was no indication of that in the short section I read. (I didn't see a blurb before reading the excerpt. The excerpt was offered initially as an anonymous piece of writing, which the author later claimed.)
Above and beyond those specific stumbling blocks, I found the writing style chaotic and unfocused. I have also seen excerpts from other pieces of writing by the same author that gave me the same impression. All of the excerpts had the same lack of grounding. For example, an initial scene of three men talking over a meal, where there was no real sense of who was who, or where the meal was taking place.
As a result of this chaotic style, I couldn't settle into the story. Instead I found myself fighting to understand what was happening in the scene, repeatedly re-reading sections due to the various contradictory impressions.
Given the sheer number of "trip ups" in such a small span of text, I don't think the lack of understanding is on the part of me, the reader. It is clearly a fault of the text itself.
Please note, this is my second review. My initial review was removed for focusing too much on the author, and not enough on the writing itself. Because the writing excerpts were initially presented anonymously, my stylistic judgments all proceeded any knowledge of the author.
September 20, 2010
This is my favourite book of all time, when it comes to recommending DANNY I can't possibly word how amazing it is.
The book is the first instalment of many to come in the series and is such an enjoyable read that it should be compulsory. The book surrounds a farming family, where sex, murder, incest and violence are frequent occurrences.
Ian the middle brother, the runt of a family surrounded by lust, fear and lies, the one everyone ignores but quite possibly the very person they shouldn't take their eyes off, perceptions can be deceiving.
John, the eldest, whose inexhaustible levels of love and hate lead him and everyone around him to despair and ecstasy in equal measure, the centre of a destructive dysfunctional world that's so addictive it should carry a written warning.
Then we have Danny the supernaturally beautiful, irresistible, youngest brother of the three, the boy that everyone wants and he's not one to refuse an offer, but which is the one he couldn't refuse if he tried.
DANNY is daring, sexy, emotional, taboo bursting, addictive, irreplaceable, genuinely original, obsessively readable, passionate, it has no equal and I cannot recommend it enough. Read it now and experience the inescapable world of DANNY.
(Then read DANNY Volume 2 The Revenant, the only book that can possibly approach it)
The book is the first instalment of many to come in the series and is such an enjoyable read that it should be compulsory. The book surrounds a farming family, where sex, murder, incest and violence are frequent occurrences.
Ian the middle brother, the runt of a family surrounded by lust, fear and lies, the one everyone ignores but quite possibly the very person they shouldn't take their eyes off, perceptions can be deceiving.
John, the eldest, whose inexhaustible levels of love and hate lead him and everyone around him to despair and ecstasy in equal measure, the centre of a destructive dysfunctional world that's so addictive it should carry a written warning.
Then we have Danny the supernaturally beautiful, irresistible, youngest brother of the three, the boy that everyone wants and he's not one to refuse an offer, but which is the one he couldn't refuse if he tried.
DANNY is daring, sexy, emotional, taboo bursting, addictive, irreplaceable, genuinely original, obsessively readable, passionate, it has no equal and I cannot recommend it enough. Read it now and experience the inescapable world of DANNY.
(Then read DANNY Volume 2 The Revenant, the only book that can possibly approach it)
November 13, 2009
I read this book in August and I am not sure how to review it. It was overwhelming; this book is so far out of the box from what I normally read. I knew it would be a shock-value kind of book, from the few reviews out there I knew I would love it or hate. The fact I couldn’t find but one copy in the US peaked my interest and I ordered from Posionpixie. The story slams you from the start and my jaw was on the ground for many pages. I was not quite sure what I had gotten myself into but I knew I couldn’t walk away. It’s hands down the most graphic, violent, disturbing, nauseating, sexually explicit book I have ever read. That left me feeling emotionally, mentally, and morally drained. But there is a story between the pages of sex and more sex and that story grabbed me. I want to know more about Danny. I gave a friend this book and now that she has finished she agrees…we want more story. So Danny Vol 2….here we come!
May 26, 2013
Ok, made it just under half way before giving it up. The writing isn't bad, but there's just too much I'm not having fun with and don't choose to spend my time with this one right now. Maybe I'll come back and finish some other time. If I do, it won't be to find out the end since there's tons more books to wade through with irritating numerical nomenclature (try "1", then "2", then "3", etc.) And while were on the subject of dislikes, the book covers (especially for number 2...or be that 2.1 ~eye roll~) gives me nausea. I don't mean to be mean, but seriously, ditch the dog.
Edit: Ohp! My bad. It was just plain ol' two. Who the hell can remember. >:(
Edit: Ohp! My bad. It was just plain ol' two. Who the hell can remember. >:(
September 15, 2010
I love books where the author is unafraid to delve deep into her characters' lives and motivations, and Danny has to be one of the bravest books ever written. It's simultaneously the darkest tragedy and the blackest comedy I've ever read, and it plays like it's been shot in grainy black and white.
Completely unsuitable if you are into YA or any of the light and frothy genres, but if you are prepared to delve deep into the darkest recesses of the human soul and watch the characters at their most base, you will find this gripping, readable book one of the best experiences of your life.
Completely unsuitable if you are into YA or any of the light and frothy genres, but if you are prepared to delve deep into the darkest recesses of the human soul and watch the characters at their most base, you will find this gripping, readable book one of the best experiences of your life.
November 21, 2013
Is anyone else submerged in the Danny series besides me? I was hooked from the first volume and can't get enough. It's 1,000 pages but once I started it, I didn't come up for air until I finished it a week later. I read volume 1 voraciously, even getting up at night to read for an hour or so when I couldn't sleep. Mind you, this isn't reading material for everyone. If sadomasochism, incest, violence, murder and lots of explicit sex aren't up your alley, I'd suggest you stay away. On the other hand, if you are titillated by any or all of the aforementioned, dig in for the feast of a lifetime. This is by far the best guilty pleasure I've ever indulged in. Chancery Stone has an incredible gift of making the basest of sexual acts read like fine literature. Perhaps it's her attention to detail that makes these volumes so alive and erotic. Unlike most other m/m authors, she takes such time to build characters and circumstances that they live in the mind long after the final page is read. By books end, I felt like I'd moved into Hope House Farm along with them.
I had a different reaction to the 2nd book - Danney, volume 2, The Revenant. Due to the absence of one of the main characters, it wasn't as 'dangerous' as the first volume and therefore not as compelling. It was, nevertheless, a fun read because of her writing style and because of being able to visit the same characters again.
I just finished the 3rd Danny, Eilian Mohr, on my kindle and have to say that it was a great reliefe not to have to hold another heavy volume. Without giving too much away, I can say that some of the old fireworks are back in Volume 3, though still not to the extent that they were in v. 1. There are some surprises along the way, however, that make the trip worthwhile.
I had a different reaction to the 2nd book - Danney, volume 2, The Revenant. Due to the absence of one of the main characters, it wasn't as 'dangerous' as the first volume and therefore not as compelling. It was, nevertheless, a fun read because of her writing style and because of being able to visit the same characters again.
I just finished the 3rd Danny, Eilian Mohr, on my kindle and have to say that it was a great reliefe not to have to hold another heavy volume. Without giving too much away, I can say that some of the old fireworks are back in Volume 3, though still not to the extent that they were in v. 1. There are some surprises along the way, however, that make the trip worthwhile.
September 14, 2010
This was a frustrating book. I liked it, I was annoyed by it but ultimately I want to know more. So I will continue the series.
The characters: the majority are not likeable (not anti-heroes either). I did like James "Max" Conley, quite a bit. He joins the story about halfway through. The brothers/cousin are quite violent, but it is within reason due to their background. They lie constantly. So much so that even when truth is revealed, I'm not sure if I believe it. That was intriguing while being annoying at the same time.
The plot: There are murders (several!) but it's not a mystery/thriller. There is *tons* of sex, but most of it is not erotic. It's a drama/study in human behavior. It does not end on a cliffhanger, but there is no real resolution. You definitely are left wanting more, more, MORE!
You might like this book if you like things that are unusual, violent and epic. Stay far away if you do not like incest, violence, violent sex, piss scenes (just a few. They were not "fun" BDSM play though. They were pretty amazing), and emotionally wrecked characters who don't show much growth.
The characters: the majority are not likeable (not anti-heroes either). I did like James "Max" Conley, quite a bit. He joins the story about halfway through. The brothers/cousin are quite violent, but it is within reason due to their background. They lie constantly. So much so that even when truth is revealed, I'm not sure if I believe it. That was intriguing while being annoying at the same time.
The plot: There are murders (several!) but it's not a mystery/thriller. There is *tons* of sex, but most of it is not erotic. It's a drama/study in human behavior. It does not end on a cliffhanger, but there is no real resolution. You definitely are left wanting more, more, MORE!
You might like this book if you like things that are unusual, violent and epic. Stay far away if you do not like incest, violence, violent sex, piss scenes (just a few. They were not "fun" BDSM play though. They were pretty amazing), and emotionally wrecked characters who don't show much growth.
Read
September 16, 2010Publisher's Review
When Detective Inspector James Henderson travels out to the lonely Hope House Farm to investigate a possible missing person, he stumbles upon a maggot’s nest of intrigue and deceit.
Where are John and Margaret Jackson Moore and why are their three sons running their farm? What exactly is going on behind the bedroom doors of the old farmhouse after dark? And can he be imagining things, or is the brothers’ love for each other a lot more than brotherly?
In a series of tense and shocking events, Henderson is gradually sucked into the noir twilight world of the Jackson Moores, awakening long-buried feelings in himself for the boy-angel, Danny, the youngest of the brothers; and dragging not only himself but his sister, Katherine, and Max Conley, an eccentric local solicitor, into Hope House Farm’s all-consuming vortex of incest and murder.
DANNY – a dark fairy tale for grown-up people.
When Detective Inspector James Henderson travels out to the lonely Hope House Farm to investigate a possible missing person, he stumbles upon a maggot’s nest of intrigue and deceit.
Where are John and Margaret Jackson Moore and why are their three sons running their farm? What exactly is going on behind the bedroom doors of the old farmhouse after dark? And can he be imagining things, or is the brothers’ love for each other a lot more than brotherly?
In a series of tense and shocking events, Henderson is gradually sucked into the noir twilight world of the Jackson Moores, awakening long-buried feelings in himself for the boy-angel, Danny, the youngest of the brothers; and dragging not only himself but his sister, Katherine, and Max Conley, an eccentric local solicitor, into Hope House Farm’s all-consuming vortex of incest and murder.
DANNY – a dark fairy tale for grown-up people.
December 7, 2010
shocking, dark, twisted, and absorbing! this one will tickle your brain and leave you wanting more.
March 25, 2013
Sexually explicit is an understatement for this book. This is a different kind of love story. A novel filled full of dirty secrets, violence, and taboo. I would not recommend this book to the frail of heart or those deep in religious conviction. You will find this book a horrible waste of your money, time, and offensive. From page one deviant and sinful behavior grips a hold of the reader and leaves you blinking and staring at the pages in disbelief. I kept questioning myself: “Did I just read, what I thought I just read?” And as the story is laid bare at your feet, the depth of the abuse and the twisted love in this family will blow your mind. I felt like I was pulled into the novel until I was trapped between the pages. I had to keep reading. I had to know what twisted horrible act of love was to come next and I was never disappointed. This is a far cry from my usual reads but I loved it! It challenged my morals and put my belief system on trial. I clearly know right from wrong but somewhere between the pages, what was wrong was blurred into this was love. And love, well, isn’t love right? I enjoyed the fact that I was thinking about the characters hours after I had put the book away. In a life that knew of nothing but abuse love; what would I do if I was Danny? What would I do if I was John, Rab, or Ian?
Well, I know what this reader is going to do! I am going to buy book two!!!
Well, I know what this reader is going to do! I am going to buy book two!!!
Want to read
November 3, 2012Barely into this one. Something like 10% and I honestly don't know if I can finish it. Sooooo disturbing.
Around 25% in, I had to shelve this one for a while. Not ONE character with ANY redeeming qualities in this book so far. It's LONG and so many twists and turns and who's doing who, it's giving me a headache! Ughhh!
Around 25% in, I had to shelve this one for a while. Not ONE character with ANY redeeming qualities in this book so far. It's LONG and so many twists and turns and who's doing who, it's giving me a headache! Ughhh!
Read
July 13, 2016DNF.
Now I know why this book has so many * star reviews. I mean, WTF is THIS book?! O.O
Now I know why this book has so many * star reviews. I mean, WTF is THIS book?! O.O
May 24, 2012
There comes a time in everyone's life when one has to decide whether to stubbornly go on or to cut their losses. I have just decided for the latter.
I had downloaded a sample of 'Danny' a while ago when it had somehow found its way on my Goodreads feed.
The sample is extremely deceptive. It's very long - several chapters are included and pretty good; dark, yes, disturbing, yes, but certainly intriguing enough to keep turning the pages. There's even a murder.
Things start to get really dull once you've paid for the entire book. Nothing seems to make much sense: everybody is having sex with everybody - although nobody seems to have much fun doing it. Even very graphic sex scenes can get very repetitive, and I kept asking myself - are we meant to side with this character? Or this other one? Does Character X want to sleep with Character Y more than he wants to sleep with character W? Do I even care?
Having already invested a few days in this book, not to mention the price of the Kindle copy, I was reluctant to give up - but "Danny" is a very, very long book. When the character of a policeman with huge amounts of body hair and a ridiculous moustache appeared on the scene, I began to think that joining the Foreign Legion might be a preferable option to carrying on reading this nonsense, especially as I had only reached 16% of the book. Another 84% of that would have definitely killed me.
At this point the author would probably accuse me of being a prude. I can assure her - and other potential readers - that I am not afraid of reading something explicit. But what I do object to is to have to plough through an absolute borefest of sex and unlikeable characters. Even the protagonist, Danny, is absolutely insufferable.
To her credit, Chancery Stone can write elegant prose at times - although her dialogue is often implausibly articulate for a bunch of farmers in 1980s Cumbria. But that is not enough to sustain a novel essentially made up of money shots and punches in the face.
Spending money on this book is probably going to be one of my biggest regrets for 2012.
I had downloaded a sample of 'Danny' a while ago when it had somehow found its way on my Goodreads feed.
The sample is extremely deceptive. It's very long - several chapters are included and pretty good; dark, yes, disturbing, yes, but certainly intriguing enough to keep turning the pages. There's even a murder.
Things start to get really dull once you've paid for the entire book. Nothing seems to make much sense: everybody is having sex with everybody - although nobody seems to have much fun doing it. Even very graphic sex scenes can get very repetitive, and I kept asking myself - are we meant to side with this character? Or this other one? Does Character X want to sleep with Character Y more than he wants to sleep with character W? Do I even care?
Having already invested a few days in this book, not to mention the price of the Kindle copy, I was reluctant to give up - but "Danny" is a very, very long book. When the character of a policeman with huge amounts of body hair and a ridiculous moustache appeared on the scene, I began to think that joining the Foreign Legion might be a preferable option to carrying on reading this nonsense, especially as I had only reached 16% of the book. Another 84% of that would have definitely killed me.
At this point the author would probably accuse me of being a prude. I can assure her - and other potential readers - that I am not afraid of reading something explicit. But what I do object to is to have to plough through an absolute borefest of sex and unlikeable characters. Even the protagonist, Danny, is absolutely insufferable.
To her credit, Chancery Stone can write elegant prose at times - although her dialogue is often implausibly articulate for a bunch of farmers in 1980s Cumbria. But that is not enough to sustain a novel essentially made up of money shots and punches in the face.
Spending money on this book is probably going to be one of my biggest regrets for 2012.
June 12, 2013
Wow! What a fascinating book to read. The subject matter of this book (incest) is not for everybody. In spite of the rather dark subject matter, I found it difficult to put the book down. In the just over 1000 page book I found not a single place where the reading dragged along. Just about all of book centered around Danny. Just about every character in the book wanted Danny and in some way loved him. It was really difficult to figure out Danny's motivation. He seemed to be addicted to sex. And there is plenty of it in this book and not just with him, but with just about every other character in the book. But when a character was having sex with someone other than Danny, it was usually because they were using the other person as a substitute for Danny. In the long run, I guess Danny was just looking for someone to love him just for himself rather than his apparently georgeous good looks. In the background of everything though is the malevolent presence of the incest which didn't start with Danny's brothers, but of course with the parents. The readers are given the story of how all of this started in dribs and drabs and I for one, am still not quite sure just how everything transpired.
There was excellent developement of the characters in this novel. They were all quite complex...difficult to wholly love or hate. There was lots of rape and violence in this book; not something I usually enjoy reading about, but the author handled it in such a way that I wasn't repulsed by these actions, but rather was curious about the characters' motivations for treating each other in such a manner.
This is the first book in a 4 book series and even though the ending was satisfactory, I still want to read more and will be reading the rest of the series if the other books are written as well as this first one was.
There was excellent developement of the characters in this novel. They were all quite complex...difficult to wholly love or hate. There was lots of rape and violence in this book; not something I usually enjoy reading about, but the author handled it in such a way that I wasn't repulsed by these actions, but rather was curious about the characters' motivations for treating each other in such a manner.
This is the first book in a 4 book series and even though the ending was satisfactory, I still want to read more and will be reading the rest of the series if the other books are written as well as this first one was.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2019
As twisted and dark as the blurb suggests
Honestly I don’t know how to feel about this book. Did I love it? No. Did i hate it? NO. Did it entertain me for the epic length of pages? Yes! I couldn’t seem to stop reading it. Even though a lot of it was just the same situation over and over there was something really compelling about the dark story of Danny and his family. The author was stingy with secrets and it kept me wanting to find out more. So I kept on reading, and the author kept teasing me with more secrets and I finally finished it and there are still secrets to spill.
Yes, I will most likely be moving to the next epic length novel.
This book is almost a decade old. From what I can tell it came out in parts and then was compiled into longer novels. There are plenty of reviews out there regarding the content but I will say I found the writing tight and the flow of the story well constructed so whatever issues there were when the story originally surfaced, I didn’t find them in this edition. The only thing of note is that it appears the file uploaded was a version that was in editing and a lot of commas were highlighted that should have been removed. It didn’t bother me, but something I noticed.
You’ll need to go to goodreads to see content warnings, and there are a lot. This books is not for everyone, or even most people, and I’d recommend you think hard about it before diving in if you’re not someone who enjoys dark content.
Honestly I don’t know how to feel about this book. Did I love it? No. Did i hate it? NO. Did it entertain me for the epic length of pages? Yes! I couldn’t seem to stop reading it. Even though a lot of it was just the same situation over and over there was something really compelling about the dark story of Danny and his family. The author was stingy with secrets and it kept me wanting to find out more. So I kept on reading, and the author kept teasing me with more secrets and I finally finished it and there are still secrets to spill.
Yes, I will most likely be moving to the next epic length novel.
This book is almost a decade old. From what I can tell it came out in parts and then was compiled into longer novels. There are plenty of reviews out there regarding the content but I will say I found the writing tight and the flow of the story well constructed so whatever issues there were when the story originally surfaced, I didn’t find them in this edition. The only thing of note is that it appears the file uploaded was a version that was in editing and a lot of commas were highlighted that should have been removed. It didn’t bother me, but something I noticed.
You’ll need to go to goodreads to see content warnings, and there are a lot. This books is not for everyone, or even most people, and I’d recommend you think hard about it before diving in if you’re not someone who enjoys dark content.
December 29, 2014
Very difficult to review, because I have no idea. I kept wondering if I just missed something major. In the end, I just lost interest. Maybe I will pick it up again one day and have another go.
April 8, 2015
Now this was truly very twisted, taboo, dark, naughty & fun. And I can't wait to see what happens next! Review coming soon ❤️❤️
February 9, 2023
Incredibly intense, wicked and dark. Like a poisonous modern Wuthering Heights.
I cannot say I 'enjoyed' it, but I absolutely loved it.
I cannot say I 'enjoyed' it, but I absolutely loved it.
December 11, 2015
Danny 1.0, ironically titled Hope House, is the first part of the Danny Quadrilogy, one of the most original, daring and exquisitely plotted stories I've ever read. The author takes the time and space to develop her characters to the point that they feel so real you forget they are fictional. The writing is elegant in a sparse, smooth way. Danny is an addictive and intensely emotional read. But what I loved most was that it is utterly unpredictable throughout.
As others may have already pointed out, this novel dives deep into the dark corners of the human mind and heart and so isn't for the squeamish. This book contains a huge amount of graphic, mostly m/m sex scenes, depicting in detail any kind of sex act you can possibly imagine. There is a lot of rape, physical violence, blood and gore; worse, there's child abuse in all its forms--sexual, physical, verbal, emotional. There are incestuous relationships of the heartbreaking kind. And yet, none of it amounts to gratuitous pornography. Still, if you have trouble with any of the above, this book may not be for you.
The Danny Quadrilogy chronicles the story of the Jackson Moores, who own a farm in rural England. Set in the Eighties, but reaching both backward and forward in time, it depicts ultimate child abuse and family dysfunction before the terms became popular. In the relative isolation of their farm life, the Jackson Moore boys have survived their toxic childhood by developing socially unacceptable and often dangerous behaviors.
John, the oldest brother, elicits opposing emotions from the reader. Driven by unvoiced needs and intense jealousy, he is physically imposing, even threatening. He holds such rage, and his temper is as quick as it is violent, but there's a gentler side to him, which we only get to see in bits and pieces in this first volume.
Ian, the middle brother, is described as physically repulsive. He uses his superior intelligence to manipulate and turn family members against each other. Sneaking and eavesdropping, he seems to be the keeper of the accumulated dark family secrets.
Danny is the youngest son, and the most fascinating. Otherworldly beautiful and seductive, he uses the lure of his body as a fits-all tool to deal with trouble of any kind. In volume 1 we find Danny on the cusp of adulthood. Soon it becomes apparent that Danny's irresistible appeal has all family members locked in a tense and often violent power struggle to claim exclusive ownership of him. And underneath all this lurks the central question: what does Danny want--and can he still feel love?
From the beginning of the story we sense that something isn't right with this family. Why is Danny so spacey and irritable at times? Why are there things he can't remember, and where do his violent nightmares come from? Is John merely unpleasant or downright psychotic? Is Ian really as rotten as he looks? The characters prove too complex for easy answers. Wrapped in a fast-paced plot of increasing violence, murders, deceit and betrayal, the reader must pay close attention to scenes and dialogue between the brothers to slowly unravel the reasons for Danny's often erratic and baffling behavior, which is no easy task, as the characters often lie or warp the truth to fit their own agendas.
At the dramatic end of this epic first volume, readers may feel that they are left with more questions than answers, but they can rest assured that the subsequent volumes will provide further clues to the Jackson Moores’ tightly kept family secrets.
As others may have already pointed out, this novel dives deep into the dark corners of the human mind and heart and so isn't for the squeamish. This book contains a huge amount of graphic, mostly m/m sex scenes, depicting in detail any kind of sex act you can possibly imagine. There is a lot of rape, physical violence, blood and gore; worse, there's child abuse in all its forms--sexual, physical, verbal, emotional. There are incestuous relationships of the heartbreaking kind. And yet, none of it amounts to gratuitous pornography. Still, if you have trouble with any of the above, this book may not be for you.
The Danny Quadrilogy chronicles the story of the Jackson Moores, who own a farm in rural England. Set in the Eighties, but reaching both backward and forward in time, it depicts ultimate child abuse and family dysfunction before the terms became popular. In the relative isolation of their farm life, the Jackson Moore boys have survived their toxic childhood by developing socially unacceptable and often dangerous behaviors.
John, the oldest brother, elicits opposing emotions from the reader. Driven by unvoiced needs and intense jealousy, he is physically imposing, even threatening. He holds such rage, and his temper is as quick as it is violent, but there's a gentler side to him, which we only get to see in bits and pieces in this first volume.
Ian, the middle brother, is described as physically repulsive. He uses his superior intelligence to manipulate and turn family members against each other. Sneaking and eavesdropping, he seems to be the keeper of the accumulated dark family secrets.
Danny is the youngest son, and the most fascinating. Otherworldly beautiful and seductive, he uses the lure of his body as a fits-all tool to deal with trouble of any kind. In volume 1 we find Danny on the cusp of adulthood. Soon it becomes apparent that Danny's irresistible appeal has all family members locked in a tense and often violent power struggle to claim exclusive ownership of him. And underneath all this lurks the central question: what does Danny want--and can he still feel love?
From the beginning of the story we sense that something isn't right with this family. Why is Danny so spacey and irritable at times? Why are there things he can't remember, and where do his violent nightmares come from? Is John merely unpleasant or downright psychotic? Is Ian really as rotten as he looks? The characters prove too complex for easy answers. Wrapped in a fast-paced plot of increasing violence, murders, deceit and betrayal, the reader must pay close attention to scenes and dialogue between the brothers to slowly unravel the reasons for Danny's often erratic and baffling behavior, which is no easy task, as the characters often lie or warp the truth to fit their own agendas.
At the dramatic end of this epic first volume, readers may feel that they are left with more questions than answers, but they can rest assured that the subsequent volumes will provide further clues to the Jackson Moores’ tightly kept family secrets.
Read
December 22, 2010Publisher's Review
The Jackson Moores have been tilling the land of Hope House Farm on the West Coast of Cumbria for many generations, but they have been harbouring a dangerous history of dark and sinister secrets for far longer: cancerous secrets, that have slowly eaten away at their family, their sanity and their very existence.
Nemesis comes in the shape of P.C. James Henderson, when he first spies Danny - youngest son of the family - on his way to commit a crime - or at least to conceal one. This pivotal moment sets Henderson on a doomed road of infatuation and addiction, ending in ruin and, ultimately, death. For Danny is no ordinary boy and he belongs to no ordinary family.
Until now, the Jackson Moores have managed to keep their skeletons firmly inside the closet, but when Henderson unwittingly uncovers their twisted House of Usher, the whole rotten construct starts to sink into the mire, dragging everyone with it in a spectacular display of ruthless revenge.
The Jackson Moores have been tilling the land of Hope House Farm on the West Coast of Cumbria for many generations, but they have been harbouring a dangerous history of dark and sinister secrets for far longer: cancerous secrets, that have slowly eaten away at their family, their sanity and their very existence.
Nemesis comes in the shape of P.C. James Henderson, when he first spies Danny - youngest son of the family - on his way to commit a crime - or at least to conceal one. This pivotal moment sets Henderson on a doomed road of infatuation and addiction, ending in ruin and, ultimately, death. For Danny is no ordinary boy and he belongs to no ordinary family.
Until now, the Jackson Moores have managed to keep their skeletons firmly inside the closet, but when Henderson unwittingly uncovers their twisted House of Usher, the whole rotten construct starts to sink into the mire, dragging everyone with it in a spectacular display of ruthless revenge.
October 25, 2018
So much more than I expected
Danny series of books will be a marathon of reads that I can honestly say I can't wait to read the next book and the next and so on....
Highly recommend for a reader like me but...
Not for the faint of heart as the story includes dark subjects that some readers may consider offensive. No spoilers from me, however there could be triggers for some readers of physical/verbal/sexual abuse nature which may include familial relations.
The characters are amazing, some I just wanted to strangle myself! The creative imagination of the author has left me shocked like no other has up to this point.
Great fall winter time of year to get my long reads in.
Danny series of books will be a marathon of reads that I can honestly say I can't wait to read the next book and the next and so on....
Highly recommend for a reader like me but...
Not for the faint of heart as the story includes dark subjects that some readers may consider offensive. No spoilers from me, however there could be triggers for some readers of physical/verbal/sexual abuse nature which may include familial relations.
The characters are amazing, some I just wanted to strangle myself! The creative imagination of the author has left me shocked like no other has up to this point.
Great fall winter time of year to get my long reads in.
October 20, 2019
Total head fuckery.....
This is long... really long.... 800+ pages long...
but it honestly doesn’t feel like it.
The dynamics are twisted and there is a lot going on in Danny’s house.
This is filled with triggers and taboo.
It’s for those who read dark and enjoy twisted shit.
There are not many people I’d recommend this to.
If you’ve read Flesh Cartel or Antidote (Don’t... series book 2) and made it through in one piece, then you may like this.
This is long... really long.... 800+ pages long...
but it honestly doesn’t feel like it.
The dynamics are twisted and there is a lot going on in Danny’s house.
This is filled with triggers and taboo.
It’s for those who read dark and enjoy twisted shit.
There are not many people I’d recommend this to.
If you’ve read Flesh Cartel or Antidote (Don’t... series book 2) and made it through in one piece, then you may like this.
January 6, 2016
I expected much better things from this book. It lacks character and story development. I couldn't find reason for anything that happened. It seemed the story left you with no explanation (maybe in the rest of the books). It seemed to me, everything that happened was too convenient. I cannot recommend this book.
December 31, 2011
Totally Loved! Review to come. Took me forever to read because I had to read so many things in between. LOVED IT! 18 and over read! :)
Read
March 31, 2013Great story, stretches the boundary a bit.
August 18, 2015
&danny;
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews