Review: Lanyon reads Manga?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2013
Josh Lanyon in his several fantasy tales has led us through some mysterious and fantastical territory: the misty magic-suffused Western Isles of Scotland, or exotic Hindush, a spirit-filled fantasy analog of Colonial British India. But in this gritty police procedural, thoroughly grounded in contemporary gangland LA, Lanyon takes us to the equally strange (at least to readers of a certain age) universe of Yaoi Manga.The novella's themes touch on dominance, submission and obsession as well.Plus a heart pounding bullet-ridden action climax and of course, a romantic denoument.And it's all done with Lanyon's typical style, wit and the requisite cultural references. Been listening to a lot of Club Music recently, Josh?One of my favorite lines: Ryo, a detective, is reading the review of a wildly melodramatic manga series involving samurai, doomed lovers and ritual suicide in feudal Japan. He thinks, "Whatever happened to just writing about high school vampires?"Lanyon fans will have already devoured this story. The rest of you, go for it, and enjoy.