Review: Gathering Storm by Lyn Gala
Just finished GATHERING STORM by Lyn Gala....
I enjoyed this book a lot. It really walks the edge of being an
action thriller with a romantic subplot rather than straight MM (not
knocking, just saying). Fiercely and joyously lurid: strippers,
paranoia, abductions, mercenaries, and government conspiracy. I
totally enjoyed it, read it at a breakneck pace, and found it
completely satisfying, but I think it'll shock some people who are
expecting something mushier or more literal.
A couple thoughts:
Lyn Gala can write. Really write. Pacing, detail, solid-ass research
of her topics... Interesting, flawed characters who make real
choices... Plot and character working in tandem. She has skills and
talent and a real voice.
The violence and pacing and breakneck action are extremely
well-handled. This doesn't feel like horseshit, "keep them apart
until they can bone," obstacle-mongering.
But it also veers into seriously grim, nasty, dark brutality.
Seriously. Again, an odd choice for the genre, but one I enjoyed
categorically. Absolutely more thriller than romance. Fascinating
minor characters who all add visibly to the rush and flow of the
story, internal and external. And a few of those all-too-rare
creatures in MM: women who act like living, breathing humans.
The central relationship is fascinating, and the two main lovers are
both perfect for each other and deeply scarred people. Interesting
and sexy. Loads of tiny memorable moments and details that accrete
to form these two men believably. I'd know them if I saw them on the
street, and not cause they're naturalistic or homogenous. They're so
stylized, but still humanized. Tricky thing to pull off, that. On
the other hand, the entire book delays their actual "relationship"
until literally the last 30ish pages. On the other-other hand the
relationship (and intimacy) feels so earned that it works. Though
deeply romantic, it doesn't feel like a romance. Interesting.
The BDSM is extremely well-handled and specified and complex. This
doesn't feel like someone who's hit Wikipedia and the Mr. S catalog
to assemble some quick-fix spanky naughtiness. Not only is BDSM here
literally character-development in every case, but it evolves and
refracts their internal landscapes as they converge. Imagine! Sex
that means something! Rough sex that isn't a cartoon! Lyn Gala has
thought not only about the "Tab-A, Slot B" mechanics of sex, but the
way that very formalized sexual interaction reflects and affects the
people involved. That last bondage/whipping scene is pretty fucking
perfect, both as porn and as character-driven prose.
Oh yeah... and best cover of the damn year, hands down, goes to Dreamspinner Press for this one. Mesmerizing, spot-on without being even slightly literal.
Will I reread GATHERING STORM? Not sure yet, it's harrowing... but I definitely
enjoyed reading it. And I'll be reading everything else she's
written or will be writing. Newly minted fan here.