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zetasyanthis's review
2.0
Well written and pretty steamy, but ultimately it just didn't grab my attention. Not sure why.
anhedral's review
4.0
Kyell Gold's 'Out Of Position' series seemed to have reached a natural conclusion at the end of novel number 5, 'Over Time'. That book definitely had a feeling of finality to it, and it provided satisfying conclusions to the character arcs of UFL player Dev and his activist boyfriend Lee. Therefore, my reaction to news that the series was to be continued was a mixture of surprise, delight, and huge curiosity. Where next to take two well-developed and well-loved characters, while keeping the storytelling fresh? Quite the challenge.
The author's answer is to leap ahead in time. Eight years ahead, in fact. For many young men in their early 20s – which is where we left Dev and Lee previously – eight years probably feels as impossibly remote as eighty. But in the world of professional American football, eight years might as well be a millennium.
Kyell ages his characters realistically, but with subtlety. Dev's not the youngster looking to prove himself anymore; now he's the veteran, the mentor, the one that younger players look up to. We sense bittersweet emotions for Dev as he relives his earlier years through their eyes; in any other line of work 32 would not be 'old', yet here he is, contemplating the end of his time in a game he loves while nursing niggling injuries that take longer and longer to heal. Lee, meanwhile, has found that professional advancement has brought new challenges that he's ill-prepared for, despite his own maturing years.
The Forester world itself is as richly conjured as ever, full of vividly described settings and packed with anthropomorphic species from across the globe. It's often the little things that bring the scenes to life: a whisper that only foxes can hear, a plate of food so beautifully depicted it practically melts in the reader's mouth. And if you're a coyote and wearing a skirt, just how should you carry your tail? Demurely tucked beneath, or brazenly, out in the open, using the handy slit provided at the waistband?
And yet, for all of the amazing details, it's relationships that really take centre stage. Kyell gently shows us that tolerance, acceptance, and enduring love can be found pretty much anywhere – in couples gay and straight, same-species and cross-species, in a polyamorous threesome that's been rock-solid for eight long years. Conveying this message so effectively is the real triumph of 'Titles'; and if the work occasionally feels like an overt reaction to the xenophobia and division of today's America, well, that's perhaps inevitable, and something I for one find impossible to classify as a fault.
Existing aficionados of the Forester world will need little encouragement to jump right back in with 'Titles'. Newcomers will find a wealth of character introspection and heartfelt emotion in a world of anthropomorphic animals who manage to be exquisitely, even painfully, human.
The author's answer is to leap ahead in time. Eight years ahead, in fact. For many young men in their early 20s – which is where we left Dev and Lee previously – eight years probably feels as impossibly remote as eighty. But in the world of professional American football, eight years might as well be a millennium.
Kyell ages his characters realistically, but with subtlety. Dev's not the youngster looking to prove himself anymore; now he's the veteran, the mentor, the one that younger players look up to. We sense bittersweet emotions for Dev as he relives his earlier years through their eyes; in any other line of work 32 would not be 'old', yet here he is, contemplating the end of his time in a game he loves while nursing niggling injuries that take longer and longer to heal. Lee, meanwhile, has found that professional advancement has brought new challenges that he's ill-prepared for, despite his own maturing years.
The Forester world itself is as richly conjured as ever, full of vividly described settings and packed with anthropomorphic species from across the globe. It's often the little things that bring the scenes to life: a whisper that only foxes can hear, a plate of food so beautifully depicted it practically melts in the reader's mouth. And if you're a coyote and wearing a skirt, just how should you carry your tail? Demurely tucked beneath, or brazenly, out in the open, using the handy slit provided at the waistband?
And yet, for all of the amazing details, it's relationships that really take centre stage. Kyell gently shows us that tolerance, acceptance, and enduring love can be found pretty much anywhere – in couples gay and straight, same-species and cross-species, in a polyamorous threesome that's been rock-solid for eight long years. Conveying this message so effectively is the real triumph of 'Titles'; and if the work occasionally feels like an overt reaction to the xenophobia and division of today's America, well, that's perhaps inevitable, and something I for one find impossible to classify as a fault.
Existing aficionados of the Forester world will need little encouragement to jump right back in with 'Titles'. Newcomers will find a wealth of character introspection and heartfelt emotion in a world of anthropomorphic animals who manage to be exquisitely, even painfully, human.
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