Review: A Really Enjoyable Short Story!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 8, 2011
I have yet to read anything by Josh Lanyon that I didn't like.  This was a short story, yes, but it didn't lower the high-quality writing you can expect from this author.  Even with the short length of this story, Josh was able to create three-dimensional characters I cared about.  The story pulls you in right away.  Colin is a man in his upper twenties, who is living in Paris and trying to be an artist on his own terms - without the help of his wealthy, powerful grandfather (who also raised him).  Thomas used to be Colin's bodyguard - from the time Colin was 14 (after a very traumatic kidnapping-for-ransom episode) until he left for college.  Thomas was everything Colin wanted, but didn't think he could have.  Now years later, Colin and Thomas meet again.You get a window into Colin's soul - his lingering fears, which he refuses to allow to rule his life anymore; his deep feelings for Thomas; both his love and his resentment for his grandfather; and his desire to make it or break it on his own (one of the keys to fulfillment and satisfaction in the human condition).  Thomas is more of an enigma, at first.  He gives some glimpses into how he feels, and where he's coming from as the story moves along.  He's someone who masks his own vulnerabilities quite well.As the reader, you're rooting for them from the get-go.  That's always a good sign.  This is a fun, engaging, moving, and yes, short story.  But it was the best $1.49 I've spend in a long while!