I hope everyone had a great weekend, but now it's time to start off a new week. A great way to start the week is to take a look at a story that can be found on Gay Authors. Today's feature is Toy Soldiers by Dabeagle. Valkyrie was nice enough to provide us with this great review. If you haven't already done so, maybe it will inspire you to take a look. If you do, don't forget to leave Dabeagle some reviews. Enjoy!

Reviewer: Valkyrie
Status: Complete
Word Count: 55,840

I’m a big fan of Dabeagle’s writing and when he posts a new story, it immediately goes on my ‘must read’ list. Toy Soldiers is a very special story, because it is the last collaboration he wrote with his good friend Ryan Bartlett, who passed away earlier this year. Their writing styles mesh well to produce a story that is riveting, action-packed, and heart-wrenching, with enough levity to counteract some of the darker parts.

Harlequin and Sage are members of the Green Squad; young soldiers who were kidnapped and raised by the malevolent Corporation. Their upbringing and training was not pleasant, and they receive word that their squad is to be ‘liquidated’. They escape and find a world vastly different from the one they just left. Learning how to navigate the social minefield that is adolescence, while engaging on a journey of self-discovery and plotting how to take down the Corporation proves to be a challenge for the boys.

This story took me on an emotional roller coaster. It highlights a lot of what is bad in our society---greed, corruption, and abuse---but provides a necessary counterpoint with hope, love, and justice. I read the entire thing in one day because I was riveted by the story and couldn’t stop reading!

The story could use some cleaning up since there are frequent misused words and grammatical errors, but it is still a well-written story with a good flow and great plot. I highly recommend reading it.