My experience with queer
literature is very limited but I feel that it is very important to support
members of the LGBTQ community in their endeavors, so during a particularly
slow day at work I got online and perused the titles that could be ordered into
my store. Josh Lanyon's name kept appearing and it seems that he is one of the
most prominent queer authors on the scene, eventually I stumbled across a
novella of his called The Darkling Thrush. What I read in the
description made me eager to order the book: devilishly handsome gay man named
Colin, works as a rare book hunter for the Imperial Arcane Library, accepts
quest to find magical tome of great power. Lanyon had essentially written a
book about my daydreams and I knew I had to have it. And so began my journey
with Colin Bliss.
The Darkling Thrush picks up at the end of an affair between Colin, an American on work exchange at London's Imperial Arcane Library, and Antony, his new boss. As a result of the affair's end Colin finds himself stuck with meaningless desk work despite his successes in the field. Unfortunately Antony's brother Basil also works for the library and his disapproval of the affair creates a cold and hostile environment for Colin, whose frustration with these tasks makes him the perfect recruit for a mission from the Museum of the Literary Occult. Colin accepts a meeting with the mysterious Mr. Anstruther, who explains that his contacts have a lead on the Faileas a' Chlaidheimh (The Sword's Shadow), an ancient and legendary tome so powerful that the Imperial Arcane Library would rather destroy it than allow risk it falling into the wrong hands.
Despite the warnings of Septimus Marx (the Imperial Magister), Colin packs his bags and heads to the Western Isles which are the last known location of the grimoire. The brash, young bookhunter believes that he can handle whatever perils the quest may entail but Colin quickly learns that he is not the only one with an interest in the Faileas. There is the mysterious adventuress Irania Briggs, whose enemies often meet an unfortunate end, and a mysterious faery woman who says little but often appears on the trail. Further complicating matters is the fact that Septimus insists on travelling with Colin but it is unclear if his interests are professional or personal. As Colin draws closer to the grimoire he learns more about the horrible fate of its previous owner and the reasons why the Library wants it to remain hidden.
Lanyon begins with a good concept and an intriguing cast of characters but the quality stops there and the plot fails to reach its full potential. His writing gets hung up on particular concepts which the protagonist constantly repeats, such as the power and mystery surrounding the grimoire, while failing to explain why these concepts are important to the story or developing the supporting plot lines. Characters are introduced in such a way as to hint at their profound importance or strong role in the plot only to disappear and reappear in a disjointed fashion, and the reader never gets a glimpse of their personalities aside from simplistic themes: the dangerous adventuress, the seductive Magister, etc. This makes it difficult to become invested in the cast and their respective fates.
Then there's the sex. Perhaps I'm different from the average person (or abnormally prudish) but I certainly don't have as much sex as Colin Bliss, and the descriptions of his encounters are so far beyond romance novel cheesiness that they sound like something a junior high student would write in his journal. I can read sex scenes without getting uncomfortable but every time the pants came off I was eager for things to be over. Lanyon's book also has pacing issues, things develop so slowly that I paused 20 pages from the end and thought there was no way he could possibly resolve the various plot lines in time. Well he did, but everything converges so abruptly that the conclusion makes little sense and is unsatisfying. While it is important to support queer literature this particular author has a long way to go if he wants to match the skill and storytelling mastery of mainstream authors.
Rating: 5/10
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-darkling-thrush-josh-lanyon/1023664094?ean=9781937909123
The Darkling Thrush picks up at the end of an affair between Colin, an American on work exchange at London's Imperial Arcane Library, and Antony, his new boss. As a result of the affair's end Colin finds himself stuck with meaningless desk work despite his successes in the field. Unfortunately Antony's brother Basil also works for the library and his disapproval of the affair creates a cold and hostile environment for Colin, whose frustration with these tasks makes him the perfect recruit for a mission from the Museum of the Literary Occult. Colin accepts a meeting with the mysterious Mr. Anstruther, who explains that his contacts have a lead on the Faileas a' Chlaidheimh (The Sword's Shadow), an ancient and legendary tome so powerful that the Imperial Arcane Library would rather destroy it than allow risk it falling into the wrong hands.
Despite the warnings of Septimus Marx (the Imperial Magister), Colin packs his bags and heads to the Western Isles which are the last known location of the grimoire. The brash, young bookhunter believes that he can handle whatever perils the quest may entail but Colin quickly learns that he is not the only one with an interest in the Faileas. There is the mysterious adventuress Irania Briggs, whose enemies often meet an unfortunate end, and a mysterious faery woman who says little but often appears on the trail. Further complicating matters is the fact that Septimus insists on travelling with Colin but it is unclear if his interests are professional or personal. As Colin draws closer to the grimoire he learns more about the horrible fate of its previous owner and the reasons why the Library wants it to remain hidden.
Lanyon begins with a good concept and an intriguing cast of characters but the quality stops there and the plot fails to reach its full potential. His writing gets hung up on particular concepts which the protagonist constantly repeats, such as the power and mystery surrounding the grimoire, while failing to explain why these concepts are important to the story or developing the supporting plot lines. Characters are introduced in such a way as to hint at their profound importance or strong role in the plot only to disappear and reappear in a disjointed fashion, and the reader never gets a glimpse of their personalities aside from simplistic themes: the dangerous adventuress, the seductive Magister, etc. This makes it difficult to become invested in the cast and their respective fates.
Then there's the sex. Perhaps I'm different from the average person (or abnormally prudish) but I certainly don't have as much sex as Colin Bliss, and the descriptions of his encounters are so far beyond romance novel cheesiness that they sound like something a junior high student would write in his journal. I can read sex scenes without getting uncomfortable but every time the pants came off I was eager for things to be over. Lanyon's book also has pacing issues, things develop so slowly that I paused 20 pages from the end and thought there was no way he could possibly resolve the various plot lines in time. Well he did, but everything converges so abruptly that the conclusion makes little sense and is unsatisfying. While it is important to support queer literature this particular author has a long way to go if he wants to match the skill and storytelling mastery of mainstream authors.
Rating: 5/10
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-darkling-thrush-josh-lanyon/1023664094?ean=9781937909123
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