Amazingly enough, I actually like this story...
351259
I've never understood why Doctor Who fans hate "The Gunfighters" so much. Years ago, I read a ton of negative fan reviews, which tended to judge this story as a laughably poor attempt at drama. More recently, a growing number of fans have acknowledged that "The Gunfighters" is supposed to be a comedy, not a drama; yet they still tend to laugh *at* the story, rather than *with* it. Well, for what it's worth, I laugh with it.

To be more specific: I find "The Gunfighters" to be a legitimately witty spoof of the American Western genre. Donald Cotton's script purposefully indulges in a host of Western cliches, and then "winks" at the audience about this. The much-loathed "Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon" - a narrative song that runs through the whole story - is used to highlight the silliness and cliched nature of the action, and thus doesn't bother me at all. (Indeed, strange lines like "he's gone a bit mental under Earp's heavy blow" always give me a chuckle.)

Cotton's dialog is often clever, with many funny exchanges. (Clanton: "I never figured you for a back-shooter, Ringo." Ringo: "I never figured you for any kind of shooter.") The guest actors are often criticized for their silly American accents, but I find them to be no more or less phony than the American accents I hear on British TV today; and silly accent or no, Anthony Jacobs makes a super-cool Doc Holliday.

Fans also often mock the sets in this production, but this strikes me as a strange criticism too, because they're good by the standards of 1960s Doctor Who. Indeed, I like period sets such as the interior of Holliday's dental practice much more than the bland white corridors featured in so many Doctor Who episodes. Of course, the sets aren't good enough to convince me that "The Gunfighters" was filmed on location in Tombstone, but that's okay; I thought the new Harry Potter movie looked obviously studio-bound, too. :-)

In short, this is an underrated serial, though its appeal is clearly limited to those who respond well to its peculiar sense of humor. Surprisingly - considering that it's so hated - "The Gunfighters" gets a pretty nice DVD package, which includes a great documentary on William Hartnell's third season that's full of juicy behind-the-scenes gossip. Another featurette covers (mostly hostile) press reaction to Doctor Who in its early days. Neither of these features deals much with the production of "The Gunfighters," specifically, so fortunately there's an audio commentary track featuring several enthusiastic members of the production team. Overall, I'd say both the serial and the DVD get 4 out of 5 stars, making them equal partners in awesomeness.
540149
I was intrigued to see where a paranormal m/m story would take me since I had never read one before.  I was mildly surprised and mildly disappointed.  But, I did like the story and am looking forward to continuing with the series.

I enjoy m/m romances.  I love watching them accept the inevitable and work through the problems that they may face with society (even though there shouldnt be any).  Well, it was totally different with this book.  They live in a society devoid of humans and accept what fate has given them.  Even though they were captives in their own right, they were free from the binds that society places on us.  None of them were gay, per se, or even bi-sexual  they just were.

So, what surprised me? First, that I ended up really enjoying this story after a rocky start.  Once I got past what disappointed me (later), I enjoyed reading about Dare and Reese and understanding where they came from and made them who they were.  I enjoyed seeing the fun side come out in Dare and the fierce, protective side as well.  Reese was protective and caring right from the start so I enjoyed watching him finally accept his home and his place in life.  Secondly, the family dynamics.  Dare and Bay were hysterical when they got together.  Brothers, through and through.  Reese was overly protective of Jude and could not fathom his life without Selena in it.  It broke him to have left her behind when he and Jude escaped.

Now, what disappointed me.  Well, the sex.  It took a while to get to the meat of this story.  In the beginning, I felt like all Dare and Reese were doing was having sex.  Yes, sex is great but I was starting to feel like that was going to be the whole story between the two of them.  Then there was Reese, himself.  I appreciated his protection of Jude and Selena but, he whined  a lot. It took a while for me to finally accept that he felt that he couldn't trust Dare and his only outlet was whining to himself.  Accepting that made the story flow a little better for me.

Now that I voiced my opinion, I have to say that, once the true story started coming together and moving, I was totally invested.  The mix of werewolves and Were was interesting.  This story is an honest fantasy.  The difference between the species were expertly noted by Megan Erickson; she made sure we knew the difference between shifters and Weres.  I liked the conflict that was brought out and enjoyed how it all came to a head.  It was wonderful watching Reese finally accept his place in the pack and defend the one person that would have given his life for him.  The minor characters were just as interesting as Dare and Reese.  You knew that Jude and Gav would become an item.  And, Mav just added another level to Dare.  You will have to read the book to meet all these wonderful characters.

Megan Erickson really did a great job of keeping me interested once we got into the story.  Once the true fun starts, it didn't stop.  She was fluent and showed us all their true emotions.  She brought us into a world of beings that found a way to enjoy life even when they could have been repressed. I am looking forward to seeing just where she is bringing Bay as he travels to Astria.  I am interested in finding out what he finds and just how it will affect Reese, Jude and Selena.

Review copy provided by the author for a voluntary review.
1592233
So after doing a bit of research, it seems to turn out that some of the things in the book are not actually real.
But despite the subtitle of "the true story of-" may not be true - and the writing style didn't strike me as impressive or particular - I have to admit I did enjoy the story.
I really did.
So I can't agree with all the bad reviews I've read so far - the story is interesting and compelling,  well told and it just flows well all in all. I was hooked from beginning to end.
And I honestly I did not find offensive the, let's say, "sexist" point of view the story is told, or the all "sexual debauchery" thing. I mean - the author is telling the story of a bunch of young guys - am I right? Not saying that's how it should be or every kid should behave that way - but yet some happenings described in the book shouldn't come as a surprise, nor disgusting.
I liked the book - it entertained me for a good couple of hours - and I'm planning to read more form the same author.
3700772
When a nice lady helped me find The Iron Trial, she handed this to me. I wasn't interested, but decided that it couldn't hurt. She did warn me that it gets scary towards the end. For the record, the horror genre doesn't faze me most of the time. The moment I read the scene where they played, I felt I wouldn't enjoy it. I don't like unfair play in real life. Why would I like it in literature? I was going to check out some of her other books, but after reading this, I'm not interested. Despite this, there's something I'll respect her for. While she wrote this, she spent several years performing  research. Granted, she had to change a few details, but at least it might be evident.

Zachary's father was the one character who I liked. I'm not going to condone him for tossing out his son's toys, but I'm glad that he felt sorry. He even went so far as to see if he could retrieve them. Later on, he gives a heartfelt apology that goes on several paragraphs. He said that even though, he grew up mean, he didn't want his son to go through that.

I found it funny that Tinshoe Jones is how he seemed to have an actual mention. I know that people call themselves crazy as a joke, but when someone has an actual mental illness, they see their behavior as normal. I just found him crazy for believing in aliens yet calling the bus driver insane. The one thing that bothered me about the scene was how the bus driver didn't try to stop. I imagine that he wouldn't get that severe punishment, but that's no excuse for not reprimanding him. (There's also no excuse for the Adults are Useless trope.)

The one thing good thing I liked about the protagonists is how they're realistic and relatable. Zach has to live with a father who left him and his mother. When he returns, it's because he couldn't make it in the big city. He becomes angry when his toys are thrown out. When Zach says he doesn't want to play, Poppy and Alice are curious. Did you like that bit of praise? Well, yuck it up. From here on out, I'm not going easy on this novel. They began to irritate me when they began to argue with each other at the worst times. It doesn't help that Alice and Poppy hesitated to forgive each other. I began to doubt if they're even friends. I understand that friends get mad at each other, but shouldn't you teach children and teachers that you should put aside your egos to forgive people? I'm not sure this is made clear, but forgiveness isn't putting the feud on hold to reignite it.

On top of this, they suffered little to no consequences. I won't fault them for stealing a boat because, they reported a missing boat. However, they broke into a library (that was somehow closed on Saturday) and managed to evade the library for some time. When she does catch them, she doesn't seem that mad. On top of that, they steal a few books, figuring it's all right if the owners don't catch them. I know I said this in a review for Host, but no wonder why Mary Sues are rampant.

For the most part, I didn't mind Lady Jaye's backstory. It was just the carnivorous horses part. I imagine that horses do eat some meat because, plants can't produce all the amino acids needed for life. However, horses that made meat their main diet? The thought makes me think ,"That's one reason why I hate fantasy at times." I'm aware that any story can suffer this pitfall, but I've seen a lot of fantasy authors discard facts for the sake of a 'good story'. I don't think that a story should be considered good if the audience is left questioning it.

I didn't feel sorry for Eleanor at all. I know that she had a bad life, but I didn't know her that long. In fact, before her past was revealed in parts, I knew her as a doll. However, I felt sorry for her dad. Even though there was little to no evidence, he still got convicted and executed.
2847435
I wanted something and wasn't sure but the story surprised me in a good way
3450735
Here it is. I really like this story, even though the writing can be uneven story. The author takes the approach of using new main characters for each novel, moving on like life with the new generation.
3225599
I REALLY, REALLY, liked this story.  I think it is really more a 4.5 story, but again we don't get that option.

It's hard to not like this story.  The story line is one of menage, but it is a step up from most of that particular gene's offering.

Usually, I find that menage stories make me feel a bit naughty and sometimes a little squimish about reading them. This one, however, was so beatifully written and with such love and respect for Carrie, The Precious Sun, that I felt completely content and happy to be previledge to be sharing it with her.  All of the love scenes felt natural and unsullied by the usual smut factor.

I, also, thought it was a novel and new idea for a story plot and one that I could really get into.  I sincerely enjoyed every minute of it and I think that others will too.
3012874
I like stories like this. I enjoyed it a lot
3562545
The books in the Empires at War series is really my cup of tea to begin with so it is perhaps not so surprising that I liked this book. However, just because a story itself aligns itself well with my favorite type of stories does not mean that it is a good story. In this case, as have been the case with the other books in this series, it is indeed a good story. Actually, as far as I am concerned it is a great story.

When I saw the name of this book I was a bit hesitant. I thought it would be somewhat of a side story focusing on some limited (limited compared to the big picture at least) conflict confined to the surface of some planet. The book can be considered as a bit of a side story but apart from that, wow was I wrong. Actually, having read it I am not sure whether there is more dirt side action or more space action. Since I have a preference for the latter I kind of notice that more than the other. It is definitely a good mix and whether your preference is for one or the other you will not be disappointed.

The nasty Cacas are getting quite a bit of a pounding in this book. I remember a few books back when I started to get a bit weary of the humans getting clobbered all the time. Well the last couple of books have rather made up for that little gripe. It is not exactly like the Empire is effortlessly wiping the floor with the Cacas (that would be rather unrealistic would it not?) but they are certainly getting a fair share of surprises and a good clobbering.

At this point of this post I would say that it would be somewhat superfluous to write that the book is well written but I will write it anyway. The book is really well written! The characters are as enjoyable to follow as ever. The action (combat) is really well done and quite realistic (within the realms of science fiction of course).

Are there any snakes in this paradise then? Well there is. There is a particularly nasty, self centred, egoistic bastard politician. Luckily said politicians is kept on a short leash (for now) but there are a few hints that this <censored> will cause future problems and, as anyone who has read more of my reviews knows, I just hate politician garbage. Having vented that piece of frustration I have to say that, luckily, these parts of the story are fairly brief (for now) and do not distract too much from the overall picture.

The book ends in a generally satisfactory way although Mr Dandridge does throw in a bit of a vague cliffhanger at the end. I hate it when a story ends in mid leap and happily this is not the case here. Said cliffhanger is more of a teaser bone for the next instalment. I am afraid that he succeeded. Now I am dying to know what these people fighting the Cacas on the other end of the Caca empire actually are.

Many book series that drag on for half a dozen or more episode have a tendency to get stale after a while. Let me, with emphasize, state that this is not the case with this one. Right now I am hoping that this series will never end. That is of course quite unrealistic since, at some point in time, the series will have outstayed its welcome if it does not advance towards some conclusion but today this is how I feel.
2808223
I was actually partway into this story before I twigged it was a true story. This simply made it better for me. I even did a big of a google search and was happy to see things were still going well for the characters. Such an uplifting story as I'm sure a few of us have 'what if' people in our past.
2507987
I read all the reviews and almost didn't buy this book, but I didn't have anything new on my kindle so thought I would take a chance. Boy am I glad I did. I really, truly enjoyed this story. The characters were very easy to like and it was good to see that not every character in every story has an iron constitution. I would like to think that I would be tough as nails in the same situation, but I am a softy at heart and would probably react as Malc did. He may have started out weak, but he did what he needed to do to keep his family safe.
This is a solid 5 star story, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope you do too.
4207350
Yeah, so I was so nose-deep in this one that I almost sailed past my train stop.  Dammit.

What makes it good?  For me, it's the strong dialogue, coupled with likable characters.  The premise of the book is a pleasant mix of different ideas brought together in a cogent whole.  It's not *just* about a virus.  It's not *just* about star ships.  It's not *just* about politics and racism.  It's all of those, bound up together against a huddle of people who are just trying to get by.

Like many believable heroes, they struggle against being in the wrong (or right) place at the wrong time.  They each respond to the call differently.  The Butcher of Anderson Station is quite a different man from Detective Miller, but they're both really just trying to save life as we know it.  I can get behind that.

I mentioned dialogue before, and it's a strong point worth raising again.  It's not just that the people in here are individuals with their own motivations, but that the langauge and way they speak is different.  The Belter dialect is superb, mixing language in a way you can almost feel.  I've no clue what it's supposed to mean but it fits well with the story and the people who use it.  I hesitate to mention it, but I'm an author too: it's this kind of realism that I tried for in my book Night's Favour, because it rides right to the core of the reader and makes it real.

What I really like is the happy ending isn't saccarine and trite.  Not everyone can make it out alive in a situation like this, and it's not happily ever after.  But it *is* happy, and the right things happen to the right people, in kinda the right ways.  The story had so many moving parts I wasn't sure if it could be closed so readily, but the authors nailed it.  Nice work.

...I've just fired the rest of "Corey's" works to my Kindle.  I can't wait to see what the authors do next.
3162905
...and in some ways better. Provides enough science to make me happily suspend my disbelief and tells an engrossing story. Love it.
1645492
I enjoyed almost every page of this great story. I would have to comment that the alternating chapters for each main character was not a technique I would recommend for many stories, but for this one, it works. Since Nate and Jake are such a match, it was interesting to discover the sometimes subtle differences in their viewpoints. I don't think I would try to do this with other couples, as it could get very tedious, but once I got used to it, it was an acceptable device for this story.  I look forward to other titles from this author.
4587490
I will admit, I didn't expect this story to entertain me like it did. I found myself wondering what direction this story will take if it continues. I hope we get another one.
  Yes it is short, yes there are errors in it, but also it is a pretty good read. I really like the way the story is told to you by the main character. Ava is easy to relate to. Easy to like her attitude ... Kind of a " like it or not , this is me" attitude.
Although, she likes Poison (who the hell likes C.C.?) , every character has a fault right?
  Read this story, and hopfuly there will be more of Ava's adventures as a Ghoul to read about. For $.99 you can't go wrong.
  Funny, gross, and enjoyable!
2462937
I'm new to this genre, but I really enjoyed the story.
663155
I'm actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this. At first I thought "this is going to be a story of some wealthy women who get into trouble because they think they are entitled to whatever they want." Instead, I discovered a story about friendship, unexpected challenges, facing grief with grace, and moving forward even when life throws roadblocks in your way.  While some elements of their lives seem far-fetched to middle-class me, the emotional stuff and the struggles hit home in a personal way. At the same time, this is fun, flirty and romantic. I enjoy that there are characters I like, characters I hate, and characters that I feel for even if I don't agree with them--that's what makes a story real.

Looking forward to reading the next book.