Gavin AtlasCritiques

Porn with plot

A collection of stories with lots of hot sex, very close to porn but with the occasional glimpse of emotion thrown in. I liked the fact that it's an unashamed exploration of the mind of the "bottom boy" as well as some perspective of the mind of the man (or men) who top him. Entertaining and fun, good for a short break because each story is very short and can be read on its own.

I think I need to start this with the table of content: Highland Sleeper by Jeff Mann, No Mincing Words by Rob Rosen, Elsewhen by ’Nathan Burgoine, Mount Olympus by Jeffrey Ricker, Reunion on the Rails by Hank Edwards, The Blue Train by Erastes, The Train Home by Rick R. Reed, Royal Service by Dale Chase, Resist Me, Please! By Daniel M. Jaffe, Engine of Repression by Gavin Atlas, One Night on the Twentieth Century by Jay Neal, Shadow Mapping by J.D. Barton, Geronimo’s Laughter by Joseph Baneth Allen, The Roundhouse Men by Dusty Taylor, The Last Train by William Holden. Why? Because aside for very few names I didn’t know about, this is a collection of la crème de la crème in Gay Fiction. All these authors are bestsellers on their own, and having them all together in one anthology is a treat that make me forget for a moment that anthologies are usually not my cup of tea. It’s also a compliment to the editor, Jerry L. Wheeler, because I think it hadn’t to be simple to put them all together, maintaining by the way the feeling of uniqueness of the collection, all the stories work together for the same target.

Like the majority of these anthologies, Riding the Rails falls into the Erotica category, but I was quite surprise to find out that indeed this is also a Romance collection; some of the stories in it are not even about sex ( see ’Nathan Burgoine’s one), and almost all of them are about love story with an happy ending. Sure there is a bittersweet aftertaste all along the anthology, something that, truth be told, I have always found when reading stories related to trains… there has to be some deep connection between the two things, or maybe the train itself is a metaphor for something you wish but cannot catch. In any case, aside for maybe one or two exceptions (Rick R. Reed and Jay Neal probably), the romance reader will have plenty of happily ever after to enjoy, some of them a little kinky (Jeff Mann), some of them sweet (’Nathan Burgoine) and some of them funny (Daniel M. Jaffe)… to everyone their own.

A collective compliment to all authors go for the high quality of the stories, more little novel than short stories; different in genre, from historical, to sci-fi, to steampunk, but all of them way more than the average you usually are expecting to find in a collection; here the authors sent their best production, not what they had laying around in a forgotten folder.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1602825866/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Sizzlingly hot, sex sex and more sex!

Sizzlingly hot, sex sex and more sex!

Sizzlingly hot, sex sex and more sex!

This is the third and last short story I had to read by Gavin Atlas; it would be interesting to see how he works in a longer novel. The starting point is always the same, a young boy, a bottom for nature, that starts wanting a romance and ends having a bedroom full of men ready to fu*k him, but I'm not sure to love him. Probably again the problem is that I'm searching romance where romance has no reason to be: this is a pure erotic piece, without any hint of romance, and if I have to be sincere, it's also arousing in some part; but be warned, if you are not able to put aside the romantic in you, this isn't for you. At least in this short story, Derek is tricked in giving up his bottom for a lot of men, but at least he is able to understand that it's exactly what he wants. He has even the chance to stop the men, even if a very small and maybe too fast dropped chance, but he decides to not catch it.

Derek moves on a small town hoping to find love. He is tired to be considered only a sex toy, and in a big city he has not the characteristic to be other than that. But the first man he meets in Richmond, Virginia, is not exactly searching a real boyfriend, and when he finished with Derek, the boy has a reputation to be simple and easy. And truth be told, Derek is not a very clever man... He is only 22 years old and in the end, he realizes that he is not ready for romance; I have still a doubt on this story, that probably if Derek was lucky enough to meet a different man, he would have the chance to find the romance he was searching.

At least, Mike, the man who tricked Derek, is not so bad: yes, I believe that he has little consideration for Derek's needs, he is only lucky that what he wants is for now what Derek thinks to want. But for sure, Mike can't be the real thing for Derek, sooner or later the boy will change again his mind and Mike is not the man he will choose for good.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/489838.html

The short story by Gavin Atlas was published inside the Anthology Hard Hats edited by Neil Plakcy. The common theme of the anthology is the construction workers world, and in Gavin Atlas 15 pages story, Demitri, the owner of a construction company named Hercules to the Rescue, is trying to restore an house while the lawyer who owns the house is on vacation and his son is using the house as personal playground.

Dylan, the young man, is a college student with very little propension for studying and a lot of interest in find a sugar daddy to maintain him. While his father is gone, Dylan is having a relationship with the man's boss, with the little and improbable hope of a job's offer. The man is also inviting friends over to 'use' Dylan as their personal whore, and Demitri is tired to see all this, above all since he eavesdrops a phone call in which Dylan told his forbidden fantasy about him.

Like in the previous short story by Gavin Atlas I read, there is a twink type of character who has no problem to consider sex as a recreational activity; in this case is a 'little' better since Dylan has no a psychological problem, he is only lazy! He thinks that using sex he can work less for what he wants. And also Demitri is a better character since he, as reward to Dylan to access the boy's grace, offers to the boy an alternative to a life as kept man... I'm not sure that Dylan will take the chance, but still is better than nothing.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1573443123/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

I'm sincere, I was very in doubt if writing something about this book since it let me very perplexed... I don't know if like it since, in a way, it's true and too open, or dislike it since it's cruel and too open.

In a small mine town the old "gays" gather in a pub lamenting the lack of interest they arise from the nearby prep school students. And what can you expect? Men older than fifty years against wealthy young students? no chance. But then one of the old man has a chance encounter with Danny, a young and cute student who can't literally say no. After being dumped by one of his professor, Danny searches solace in the anonymous sex, with only one condition: his lovers should be way older than him. At first Danny tries to have safe sex, he has always ready a condom for his visitors, but it's clear that his behavior his quickly leading him to a very dangerous field.

The a man takes an interest in Danny more than passing. He finds himself captivated by the young boy, a boy that never asks and always does. The older man would like for Danny to be more selective, to be able to say no when he wants to say no, but soon he realizes that Danny is unable to say no, and so he decides to take that decision from him, to be Danny's caretaker and to be the one who will direct the traffic! Please? He will not protect Danny, a boy that obviously has some unsolved trouble in his past, he will only control from that moment on that the people who will take advantage of him, will pass though him first.

I can understand that this could be a till true situation, but who cares of Danny in all this? Danny is asking in a very loud way to be helped and I don't think that this is the way to help him.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/451450.html

I expected this to be erotica, really. However, I have come to the realization that if there is no plot, then I at least want the characters to be in love, maybe even monogamous. There is very little plot in Sean Michael's Jarheads series, but the characters really love each other and that makes the sex quite good. This book has no plot, and there is plenty of sex, but there isn't really love. Danny is a student at an uppity college in a small town where a bunch of middle-aged miners grumble that they don't get any from those pretty college boys. At least until Danny. Danny can't say no and that's the entire premise of the story.

One miner discovers Danny secret and the fact that he likes older men, and shares his name with some other miners. Soon Danny is having sex with at least 5 different men. At first it appeared that Danny was just an eager submissive looking for the right top to claim him. So, the sex was pretty steamy the first couple times. Then it becomes clear that Danny's inability to say no is a serious mental block. He isn't engaging in consensual sex anymore. His grades start to suffer and he's often in pain. One miner takes pity on him, and decides to make Danny his. Woohoo - he's rescued! Nope. That miner has just decided he'll be in control of who Danny has sex with and when. He's worried Danny's father will order him home if he flunks, and bang, no more free sex! I think the author wanted to convey some romance between the two but it didn't work. Danny didn't find someone to claim him in love, he got a pimp.

Obviously, other readers may find more to the story, but for me this was just sad. The writing was fine, fluid. I would try another story from this author, but overall, I can't recommend this one. I will admit the cover is piping hot! If you're looking for something along these lines with a better story, try Ally Blue's Easy. Really hot sex, and a much better story.½