The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

The author is an Australian so there are definitely hints/references/phrases to 'Australiana'. However, I think I might have screamed myself when 'screaming cockatoos' were mentioned one too many a time.

Brady is nineteen, torn unwillingly from a ramshackle poverty existence, a survivor of three years in one of several military space stations circling the earth, positioned to lookout against a violent and all-powerful alien attack. He's already been physically brutalized by fellow soldiers, and has found refuge training as a medic. His world changes when an alien space-pod arrives containing the body of a human abductee - Cameron Rushton. What hidden dangers are posed by the returned man - is he a spy, can he be trusted? And what is Brady going to do when he starts hearing voices and dreaming awful dreams that are not his own.

This is less a sci-fi genre title than I expected. Sci-fi aficionados be warned - the forewarned alien attack (following from an earlier massive invasion with the destruction of the human world as we know) took forever to arrive. There are no spaceship battles, no rampaging alien monsters, not much by way of description or 'world-building' of an alien / futuristic culture. What we do get is one menacing humanoid with nefarious /rapacious intent, a little future-tech description, heaps of psychological flashbacks to brutality and maltreatment by both aien and human antagonists, strong attraction-repulsion between Brady and Cam our two MCs, quite sizzling M-on-M sex action when it finally arrives post mid-way through the book. But you can't go wrong if you were to approach this book more as a character driven romance-type, in a futurist setting.

I like Brady and Cam. I particularly alike how Ms Henry writes Brady (angry & desperate survivor, feisty yet fearful, full of 'attitude' but deeply wounded and broken), I like his internal musings, frenetic thoughts, his 'voice'. In fact - he sounds very Australian LOL!

There is a HFN ending with hints of a sequel to come as several threads regarding our MCs space/military careers, their extended family members, the menacing? alien are left unresolved. There is also unrequited justice/revenge on Brady's part against his attackers. I would definitely be game for the sequel if there is one. I'd give three stars for the sci-fi attempt, four stars for character development and plot, so rounded to three and half stars overall.

Oh and the book cover is fantastic - Brady's face is positively beautiful/haunting. Reminds me a bit of Wentworth Miller in his younger days actually.