impunity

I love that the brat is rapidly becoming the best-kept secret that everyone knows about. Fantastic chapter! Well worth the wait. (Not that I wouldn't appreciate a shorter wait. Just sayin'.)

Sorry I haven't been a consistent reviewer of your story. I just wanted to let you know that I have been a consistent reader, and very much enjoyed it. Thank you.

Not sure how I forgot to read this one. It was pretty grim, but positive in the end. I like how Rush and Ben have evolved as a couple. Clay's story was heartbreaking but he seems like a great character. I didn't realize he was native American until the very end, though; that was slightly disconcerting. One relatively minor point: Hepatitis A is spread through fecal-oral exposure (contaminated food or poor hand hygiene), so isn't generally considered a sexually transmitted infection (although it can be spread through rimming); it isn't typically tested for in sexual assault cases. You might consider changing it to hepatitis B, which has the same mechanisms of transmission as HIV. Hepatitis C does, too, but B would be more likely.

Damn, that was creepy! And brilliant! I lover it.

I really liked this one! The characters were interesting and their interactions very engaging. I especially loved the food descriptions, although they did make me hungry.

Normal? And don't be dissin' public health!

You seem to have unfairly neglected some of the services, though. I feel badly for the Army, US Coast Guard, and the US Public Health Service.

Just one?

So, they provided the essential hacker training?

I'll go along with hot but probably not beefy. And I think we're dealing more with a deviant ex(?)-hacker type. I doubt the military would want him.

Excluding the whiny ones...all of them.

Come back when you're ready. We'll be here. Maybe a bit worse for wear, but here, nonetheless.

I think most of us have moved on from anxiety to despondency.

Mark did tell me once that he had a physician on his team. It wasn't really the unlikely ending that was bothering me, but the beginning. Classical medical teaching is that untreated streptococcal pharyngitis (throat infection) leads to rheumatic fever which is associated with heart disease, while poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (kidney disease) is associated more commonly with skin infections regardless of whether they were treated. However, I just did a bit of research and it looks like the epidemiology of PSGN is shifting so I will let it go. I think I have been away from clinical medicine too long.

I like Bloodlines but it drives me crazy. No offense to Mark or his team, but the medical premise is all wrong.

You have no idea how excited I am about this new book! (Ok, I might have mentioned something to this effect on the forum. ) This was a great beginning! Just enough exposition to remind us of the key issues and events, not too much to get boring. Looking forward to learning how things turn out for our favorite returning characters, as well as getting to know some new ones. I loved the scene with Ty's crappy dad and his epic blunder about the game; serves him right for not even bothering to watch. Thanks again for continuing to entertain us with this delightful story.

I had pretty much figured that was a big part of the reason for the change. With only a little more than a decade left to work with, Mark can't really afford large gaps of several years or he risks running out of history and having to start predicting the future. I liked the historical showcasing of the earlier books but it sometimes got in the way of plot and character development. I think that's why I don't like TLW as much: on rereading, it seemed like just a series of guys Stef would meet and inevitably fuck. Eventually it got tedious and I couldn't finish it. I think, also, that post-2000 history is fresh enough for current readership that showcasing of historical events is less necessary. This may be why it's working so well as a backdrop to the more well-developed character interactions.

I think the tone of the books has changed, too. The earlier books seemed to be primarily a vehicle to showcase certain historical events through the characters' reactions. The later books seem more about character and plot development with history as more of a backdrop (9/11 excepted, of course).

Ok, I felt old before but this was just uncalled for. I have to admit that I spent most of the 1980s on an entirely different continent so most of your references don't mean much to me. However, I completely agree that was a very fun decade.

Ah, the soundtrack of my teen years. I don't have the time to quote it elegantly and delete all the surrounding text with only a mobile device on an international data plan and about to lose hotel wifi on which to do it, but I loved your line about being JJ's portrait in the attic!

I tried and got stuck halfway through TLW. It's my least favorite book. I will probably pick it up again at some point. Although, I did just reread everything from Bloodlines (minus The Box), so I just have to fill in the gaps.

Thanks for sharing.

Hey, I think you figured it out. When you first click on the CAP link, the stories are chronological. BW is on page 2, only you can't see it. When you go to page 2, they reorder alphabetically, so TLW ends up on page 2, and it looks like BW isn't on the list and TLW is on twice. What a weird glitch. Thanks! I feel a lot better now.

No, he adds the eBook on completion of each book. BW is tagged as CAP16. Besides, Valiant appears as the last book in the Bridgemont series. And there is no reason for TLW to be listed twice. Does anyone else see this, btw? Am I going crazy? It's really messing with my OCD nature.

The stories are in alphabetical order when all of them (CAP, Bridgemont, miscellaneous stuff) are listed. But, if you click on the CAP link, the 16 CAP stories are listed chronologically (1-16), except for BW which is weirdly replaced with a second listing of TLW.