Jason’s
Comments
(group member since Mar 20, 2016)
Jason’s
comments
from the M/M and Queer Romance Group group.
Showing 1-20 of 111
Kaje wrote: "Jason wrote: "Kaje wrote: "I'm reading What It Looks Like by Matthew J. Metzger - this author is becoming an auto-buy for me. He writes b..."
Man, I just read the blurb. Matt is rather versatile ..."
I imagine I would enjoy them both, but I have to admit, Vivaldi is one that I've REALLY been looking forward to. The blurb looks phenomenal and Darren and I might make a buddy read out of it. Gonna start it after Haffling.
Kaje wrote: "That Jo Walton series is tough - I kept hoping... :(I'm reading What It Looks Like by Matthew J. Metzger - this author is becoming an auto-buy for me. He writes b..."
Man, I just read the blurb. Matt is rather versatile it would seem. I'm not into erotica but I will be reading his Vivaldi in the Dark around the first of next month.
Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ wrote: "And finished! OMG, you guys will need tissue. I'm not the biggest cryer, but my eyes got a little something in them while I was reading. ;)Another home run."
Ooh girl, you know that's my kind of read! I'll be starting in a couple of days.
Love your new profile pic, btw.
My review:
Initial Thoughts
Bleak and gritty, Crisped + Sere completes the tale of Immemorial Year. And what an amazing story it was! Klune's repertoire is quite varied. From comedic to serious, depressing or heartwarming, TJ never disappoints. But I feel he is most in his element when he does intense and dark, as he did with this series.
The Story
One of the best post-apocalyptic stories I've ever read, Immemorial Year, tells the tale of Cavalo, a tough and rugged loner with a broken mind, struggling to survive the wasteland of Northern Idaho.
He faces many dangers. The greatest of which is a faction of cannibals, called the Dead Rabbits, who threaten to take away all that he knows, and what's left of his sanity. His only companions are his loyal canine friend, Bad Dog and SIRS, a robot from the time "Before".
The Characters
Early on in the story, Cavalo takes a Dead Rabbit, Lucas, captive. Lucas is a particularly dangerous and brutal young man, however Cavalo is perhaps even more so. As the story progresses, these two killers come to understand each other on a primal level and eventually they develop a much stronger bond of partnership.
As always with a Klune title, the secondary characters were solidly written as well. From Bad Dog's loyalty to SIRS's wit, it was interesting to see non-human characters come to life as they did. And the relationship they shared with each other was actually quite emotional at times. I'm reminded of Tom Hanks and Wilson from the film Castaway.
The Writing
The first part of the story sets the stage in understanding the man that is Cavalo, and how broken his mind has become from years of isolation. The abstract thoughts that he had and memories he recalled were written in a dreamlike manner that told of his past and state of mind.
The world building and graphic descriptions were as bleak and intense as the story:
One of them was slumped against the wall. A man. Cavalo could see part of his rib cage poking through shredded skin. It was white and wet. His tongue poked through the stiff split of his lips. Arms laid at his sides, hands hooked into claws.
Final Thoughts
I love post-apocalyptic stories and I love TJ Klune. The combined result made for one of the most satisfying reads for me this year. I loved the story, characters, and particularly the writing. Although he has a style all his own, the gritty nature of the story felt like a Cormac McCarthy novel. From a literary standpoint, this was his best work.
*Favorite vocabulary word learned: compartmentalization (noun): a mild state of dissociation
Nice to meet you Alex! Welcome to the group.
I'll be starting this one next week. So excited, hope it's as good as the reviews suggest.
Just finished myself. It was an incredible story. From a literary standpoint, I think this was TJ's best work.I'm starting my vacation today, so I wont be on GR for a week, i look forward to your reviews though. Thanks Fantsasy and Sammy for participating in the buddy read. Happy reading!
Took a break from this for a couple of days, diving back in today.I agree, for the longest time the relationship between Lucas and Cavalo was certainly disturbing; a manifestation that is the product of the hardened and insane mentalities they share and the bleak dystopian world they live in. That said, it's so satisfying to see them finally develop true feelings for each other. Love might be the one thing that can take them from the brink of their insanity. It's also cool to see two bad ass mofo's being protective of each other.
Quite the "family" they would make with SARS and Bad Dog, after all this is over.
Charming wrote: "Jason has just agreed to join us as a moderator, so everyone be sure to give him lots of scutwork. :-)"I'm happy I could help, and actually I've always liked tedious work, should be fun. :)
Count me in as well. Ever since Rattlesnake, I've been wanting to read another title by Kim. Plus paranormal is one of my favorite genres.
Colleen the Avid Reader, Geek Girl, and Jedi's Mom wrote: "@CharmingMotel. Pool. won for the September BotM"Yay! I'm definitely down for that one. After reading Rattlesnake, I've been wanting to try something else by this author.
FantasyLiving wrote: "People hate the cover? I think it's awesome! It definitely matches the feel of the book. I've started reading. I didn't get very far. They're walking to Grangeville, and threatening each other.
..."
I love the cover as well, this and the one from W+S.
Girl, from Grangeville on, it's nothing but excitement. At about 75% myself. And bad dog is awesome. I know how TJ likes to sometimes plunge a dagger in my heart. And I told myself I can deal w/ secondary characters dying, I can even deal w/ SIRS, Cavalo or Lucas dying. But if Bad Dog dies, I'm calling into work sick the next day!
Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ wrote: "I know a lot of people hate this cover, but every time I see it, it reminds me of the Mutant Enemy logo and makes me laugh.https://youtu.be/NCLPHSVtvmU"
Ha ha!
Yay! No worries girl. I'm only at the halfway mark myself, plus I'm still reading Foxes by Suki Fleet, and listening to the audio of lightning struck heart.But OMG, this thing is sooo good! Look forward to your thoughts! ;-)
Just finished the fourth chapter, "Grangeville". My God, what a tense moment. I had to remind myself to just breath, as Cavalo made his way to the town center.
I'm so jealous that you got to start it already. I'm waiting, rather impatiently, for midnight. I have to work early tomorrow, but I still plan on reading the first couple of chapters.
This thread is for Buddy Read/General Discussions of Crisped + Sere by T.J. Klune.
Blurb:
In a world ravaged by fire and descending into madness, Cavalo has been given an ultimatum by the dark man known as Patrick: return Lucas to him and the cannibalistic Dead Rabbits, or the town of Cottonwood and its inhabitants will be destroyed.
But Lucas has a secret embedded into his skin that promises to forever alter the shape of things to come—a secret that Cavalo must decide if it’s worth dying over, even as he wrestles with his own growing attraction to the muted psychopath.
Twenty-one days.
Cavalo has twenty-one days to prepare for war. Twenty-one days to hold what is left of his shredded sanity together. Twenty-one days to convince the people of Cottonwood to rise up and fight back. Twenty-one days to unravel the meaning behind the marks that cover Lucas.
A meaning that leads to a single word and a place of unimaginable power: Dworshak.
Proposed Start Date: August 23 2016
Proposed End Date: September 4 2016
Participating readers:
Jason
FantasyLiving
Sammy
(anyone is welcome to join in, at anytime)
Reflection wrote: "Kaje wrote: "I loved "The Violet and the Tom", despite reading it early in my BDSM exposure.......I finished the Chaos Station series - SciFi with broken characters and angst (my catnip)...."
He..."
Actually, at the last minute, I bumped Foxes by Suki Fleet in front of Trailer trash, but will start it next week.
Also, I added Fireheart to my list, my "catnip" too i guess.
Will be finishing The Lightning-Struck Heart today. Then I'll be starting Trailer Trash by Marie Sexton next.The Klune title was my first adventure into his humorous stuff. It is funny (although a bit overwhelming so), but beneath all the wacky dialog is an amazing story.
I've heard good things about the Sexton title so I'm excited for that one, my first read by this author.
