DaveinLA

In the first book, "For Everything You Are", James Matthews presented us with a microscopic view of teen emotions under a very heavy load of stress. I commented in that book - after the chapter where the Stevens left for Nevada - that Cody was going to wind up the one with the heaviest losses. He did. He lost his parents, he lost Jake and he lost Luke. That pattern is repeating itself here. Cody is the person in the story with the most losses in his column, and more to come. What started as a dissection of teen angst is now turning into a cloak and dagger story. ...."velly interesting, Mister Matthews"!

I believed it was going to be Ethen from Chapter 1 - but at this point, Mr. Matthews has some 'splainin to do!

Ethen was the one who grew up climbing those tors and shelves and hills...what a shame! Poor Jake - it just seems he has been frowned upon by the Gods!

And the plot thickens.... I figured Cody would get the roughest end of the stick, but his mother is one of those characters one loves to despise - way to go Mr. Matthews, I can count the characters that are in stories that I truly despise on one hand. It takes real talent to write one of those! I do have one other comment on this chapter, though. Jake's school was described as occupying two blocks and being three stories. Having lived in Nevada for 21 years (but no longer), I can attest that you would not find a school building that large anywhere in rural Nevada! Unless Jake was actually going to school in Yuba City, CA, which has a population of over 60,000! I know...I know, it's fiction!

As usual - I am late to the party on this tale.... But this chapter sure ramped up my expectations. I am thinking the big move is going to be more difficult for Cody than for Jake! Also - for the record, Beale Air Force Base is in California, not Nevada - although it is close enough to the state line that some personnel could certainly live in Nevada and work there!

As usual - I am late to the party on this tale.... But this chapter sure ramped up my expectations. I am thinking the big move is going to be more difficult for Cody than for Jake!

Solus Thank you for all the hard work to write a complicated and innovative story such as Mentally. I liked the concept and enjoyed the descriptions of the Mental Abilities - the idea of an "Eraser" was particularly intriguing. May I respectfully suggest you find an editor. Just to smooth out the typos and grammatical mistakes and, perhaps, point out the plotline breaks. Don't misunderstand, though, we appreciate your work and your efforts. Davey

I still believe Jaden and Damian are going to be the same person. He (Jayden/Damian) has been under the control of the man Kieran thinks is his father - but is actually part of the Military/Helix/Government that is his captor. He may even be "Prophet Daniel". Davey

Quote: ""She will not able to support you financially if this continues.".... Did we not learn in a previous chapter (before they returned to Chicago) that Kieran's Grandfather left his mother trust funds and access to Corporate monies? Did the author not specifically state that since they didn't have to hide, anymore, that money would not be an issue? Hey - reality check! Davey

Sooo....Aiden can cast illusion. I've never done this before - but this story doesn't have a lot of current commentators - but I predict that Jaden and Damian are the same person and that Aiden and Kieran are looking for the same person. We'll see if I am correct..... Davey

Quokka - Thank you for Another Brother. I enjoyed it very much mainly because the characters were mostly very real. As with your other works which I have read, this story is well written. I appreciate your attention to detail. Thank you for your hard work for the benefit of those of us to simply 'consume'!! BTW - They DID evict the Orbison's, right? Davey

Ronyx is one of my favorite authors. I have been fortunate to exchange some emails with him and I know that some time ago, he felt sort of 'burnt out' and didn't have any new stories for a while. But then, he wrote "Dancing on a Star" - which deserves its own review - and "Stuff People Do". I discovered his writings and went to the website that hosts ALL his stories and read like a crack-obsessed maniac. Sheesh, he hits all my buttons with his prose. I love teen angst, impossible situations and conflicts with peers, parents and pressuring groups and adults. You can peruse his other writings and read his masterful use of all those things, but "Stuff People Do" transcends all those boundaries. Matt Stevens is a teenager - a sophomore in High School - who lives in a home with seriously repressive parents. He is so repressed, he doesn't even think about sex at 16 years of age! Ronyx takes us through a roller-coaster ride that is just earth shaking! Matt has an encounter with a gay friend that leaves him doubting his own sexuality for the first time. It evolves into an encounter with his parents that puts him into places no child would want to be in. Without creating spoilers, all I will say is that the author has painted such a palette of emotions and situations that this work is worthy of very high praise. What a master wordsmith the author has been! And...how much work does it take to put down almost 93,000 words? Thank you, Ronyx. Those of us who merely read really do appreciate all your hard work. A Zillion thanks. Dave

Hidden Cameras that can film people under the age of eighteen naked and particularly involved in sexual activity is production of child pornography in all 50 states. All Matt has to do is tell the police about the computer he threw into the lake. Five years later, they won't be able to recover data from it - but if Simpson did it once, he's done it again. Sieze his computer and the game is over!

“Twenty inches long.” Olivander said, in what could only be called a reverential voice. “The heartwood of an oak tree on the exterior provides the strength you will need, with the supple heartwood of willow providing flexibility inside, all surrounding the shaved long tooth of a Hungarian Horntail dragon, soaked for a year in the tears of a certain Phoenix and soaked for another year in the blood of a lion to give courage and healing to its bearer.” .......Oh, dkstories, the wordsmith. How insightful this statement is, in the Harry Potter Universe!

As in many stories on the Gay Authors forum, I am late coming to this one. It is strange, as I have been a fan of dkstores's writing for more than a decade - but somehow I missed "Displacement". I found the concept of this story to be very removed from the constraints of my normal thought processes, making it a difficult story concept to relate by the author. It takes place in an alternate reality, it describes processes that are completely foreign to our thinking - and it involves so many bits and pieces of earth history stitched together that it would make an historian scratch his or her head! Somehow, though, DK managed to pull off a narrative that kept me - the reader - involved in the alternative world, the drama, the intrigue - and, as always, his characters. Somehow, he always manages to make characters real and involved with the reader - regardless of how different they may be from us! And, as always, there are myriad military aspects to this story. How does a writer take ancient military practices, blend them with newly created mystical creatures and stir in a little magic into the mix and make it believable? dkstories can do it. He did it with "Displacement". This is a great story. As always, his stories are well edited, with few grammatical errors. It is fast-paced and every chapter leaves one hungry to see what the next one brings. A thousand thanks to the author for the amount of enjoyment he has shared with us. Davey

Mr. Jobe - you have done it, again. Your EPIC Chronology of Adam Blake and his love of his boys has once again proven you a Master Wordsmith! I enjoyed the entire saga. As I have told you before, one of your strengths is the great effort you put into building your characters in such a way that endears them to the readers. However - after consuming 172 chapters - it is obvious that the main order of praise is simply thanking you for the amazing amount of WORK you put into this delightful read. Thank You. Dave

I know I am a little late coming to the tale of "Perry and Jesse". When I have finished it, I will most likely write a review and explain why I am so late. However, my comment here is that Underthehoodster nearly lost me on this chapter. I would not have been able to abide Perry cheating on Jesse with Tom. But, the great thing is that the author proved how much of a great storyteller he is by not letting that happen! Way to go, Underthehoodster!!

I thought I had read all of C James's work until I accidentally found Jake while scrolling through the list of Premium completed stories. C James is a master wordsmith of the highest caliber. His portrayal of Jake - a teen with a brilliant mind and a conscience that, at times, is at odds with his somewhat errant personality - gives his readers every right to fall in love with Jake as any doting parent might look upon their favorite child. A situation which Jake does not enjoy as his parents are in the category of people who should have been prosecuted for having a child in the first place. In this novel, named after him, Jake travels a very rocky road. He has tangles with the law, he has tangles with gangsters that lead to bloodshed and injuries and he has tangles with his own unworthy parents. In his own judgment, he is unworthy to act on the feelings he has for his best friend, whom he knows to be gay by his friend's own admission, simply because he believes his own character will ultimately cause harm to his friend. So he lies, telling his friend he is straight and maintaining a best friend relationship without any overtones of a closer relationship. Until it is all revealed. C James paints the interactions between the two friends so graphically that the reader feels them inside as he or she reads the prose. He does the same with the other characters until the reader is caught up in the very same world that Jake lives in. This story is rife with drama, action, some teenage angst and great colorful character descriptions. It ends on a surprising note - one that some may consider controversial - but one worth giving an intellectual appraisal of. This is a novel well worth reading. Like Mr. James other works, it is a masterpiece. I cannot end this without adding that one of C James's other works, Circumnavigation, despite its daunting 158 Chapters and 1,080,000 words, may be the best dramatic novel on the web. If seated on a panel to vote, I would certainly give it my ballot. So, it is no secret that Mr. James is the best of the best. Thank you, C James, for the hard work and the effort you have put into providing us with such great reads. It is appreciated more than you know. Davey

My all-time favorite Science Fiction novel is The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I own both a hardcover (actually trade paperback) version and a Kindle version. Every couple years, I open one of them and re-read it - each time finding some new facet that had been undiscovered until that reading. Dreams of Humanity is the same for me. I read it many years ago here on Gay Authors. It disappeared for a while and then reappeared, but I have always held onto my own copy. It and its sequel are my favorite completed Science Fiction stories on the web. Each time I read them, I discover some jewel within that my previous readings had missed. In almost all of my reviews at this site, I have stressed the importance of character portrayal by the authors. In Dreams of Humanity the reader is drawn to Garrett Lars/Atrix as steadily as a moth to candle flame, first in sympathy, then in admiration and finally with an unbridled sense of respect for Garrett's personality, strength and - amazingly - humanity. This is a complex story with many threads weaving a tapestry of a future universe where great power is held by three different - and differing - forms of governance. Dan Kirk is masterful in his descriptions to us, the readers, how those different alliances are governed. Because it is important to the overall tapestry, he even gives very plausible histories of why each alliance operates as it does. He draws the readers into each military action with such prose that it is almost like watching a video, it is so real within our minds. As with his other stories, Dan proves that he is great at giving his readers very plausible military situations and actions. The supporting characters, and there are many, are also fleshed out so that we become familiar with each one to the point that we develop opinions of each whether of admiration or contempt. The story is a grand epic which focusses on a main character that is most remarkable and is told in a setting that is so imaginative and so large that when we reach the end, we are physically tired and filled with awe. It is at that point that we turn to Dreams of a Father and find that it is possible for an author to write a tremendously good story and follow it up with an even better one. If you like Science Fiction, space battles, International (Interplanetary) drama and intrigue and characters that you are drawn to inescapably, I would not recommend Dreams of Humanity to you, but rather beseech you to immediately go to Chapter One. As with all of Dan Kirk's stories, the English construction is superb, the grammar almost perfect and without error. Though it is a large story - like Mrs. Russell's The Sparrow, there is not a wasted sentence or phrase. Just a superbly constructed piece of prose. Davey

Derry and Caleb - Cally, for short - are two pretty normal 15 year olds who live on adjacent properties and have become best friends...well, better than best friends! During a summertime frolic playing a boisterous game of hide and seek in the high grass of Derry's grandfather's field, they discover a mysterious place that holds a powerful secret. Apparently, intentionally covered up and hidden, the place hold what the boys discover to be passageways or "doors" that lead to far-distant places. One of those places is a nexus point that holds many of such passageways - thousands or maybe millions of them. Let the adventures begin! The author has put an entirely new spin on the idea of instant travel to far distant places. He has presented it by allowing his very real and believable characters discover this secret in a fun and exciting way. They bring one other person into the fold of this secret which is far too big to allow anyone on earth to discover - but they discover others in their travels and explorations. There are many elements to creating truly great stories. The author has to create actions - happenings - that are exciting enough to make the reader feel as if he or she is actually a part of those actions. The author must use language to paint graphic images in the readers' minds. The author must have enough sense of timing to pace the action well enough to allow the readers to ride the story at an appreciative rate. But, to me, the most important thing an author must do is create characters that are believable. Not always likable, but believable. The greatest tribute a reader gives to an author is laugh when his characters laugh and to cry when his characters are sad! Geron Kees has created such characters. I even love his not-so-human characters and the ones made of material other than flesh and blood! Thank you Mr. Kees for gifting us with the "Doorways" adventures. Thank you for an imagination that can create such tales, but mostly thank you for all the hard work that it takes to bring these stories to this forum. Dave

Another terrific installment to the "Doorways" adventures. I have many comments - but I am going to put them in a review. I do have two questions, though...First - did the 'translator' implants that Difris installed allow them to read the labels on the cans in the mound? Secondly, when are they going to bring Nyf home with them so that he and Difris can learn what life is like for Cally and Derry? Geron, great job! Thank you for all your hard work! Davey

Geron - You did it, again! What a concept! And now, little Robot AI's that are prohibited from traversing through the 'doors' are creating their own 'kids' to traverse in their stead! Wow! Wonderful! Davey

Hi, Geron - Obviously I am late to this party - but the idea for "The Odd, Onward Door" is absolutely awesome. The way you presented a hidden doorway to be found by two exploring teens as a gateway to a "doorway terminal" is just ingenious. Difris - the lonely, intelligent caretaker - is a spark of genius. As with your other works, it is skillfully crafted with few of those grammatical and typographical errors that make reading a chore at times. You are a true wordsmith of the highest order. And, man! Did you provide a framework for myriad tales of the adventures through the doorway terminal! Thank you for all your hard work. I am racing to the second installment! Davey

I have to confess - I love teenaged angst. But with that confession I will also confess that authors who fill their stories with poetry and song lyrics make me crazy because I am not a big fan of either. But you managed to fill this story with a great portrayal of teenaged angst as well as use poetry and lyrics to a great advantage as you so masterfully penned the tides of emotions discovered by Jesse and Maxie. All of the truly great stories are made so by the portrayal of their characters and you have made your readers know your characters in this story. I was angry when Maxie was mad. I felt loss when Jessie was sad. I laughed with them and cried with them. I do not know what higher praise could be offered an author than the reader's tears as one of their characters cries. Davey

Wow, Mr. Delport - just Wow! I enjoyed this story on several different levels. I loved your characters and you made them so real - even Rascal and the little ones. You just simply allowed me as a reader to seem to know your characters as if I could pick up my Cell Phone and call one and say, "Hi! It's me....." Secondly - although I have been to Kenya, I know little of South Africa and you exposed us to so much Geography, many local customs and the Food - OMG - I opened a notepad file and started making notes to look up and try recipes. Thirdly I am madly in love with yachts and sailing vessels - and you described not only the sailing of the Cat, but the operation of the large motor yacht with wonderful detail and great accuracy. A zillion thanks to you for all your hard work that you so painfully put into "Never Walk Alone"! All of us should be thankful to an author who is willing to work to give us such an enjoyable and readable story. Davey