Last Gasp by Charlie Cochrane, Chris Smith, Erastes, Jordan Taylor

Title: Last Gasp
Author: Charlie Cochrane, Chris Smith, Erastes, Jordan Taylor
Publisher: Noble Romance
Length: Anthology / 230 pages
Buy the book: Publisher

Blurb:

Tributary by Erastes

It’s 1936 and a generation of disaffected youth waits in the space between a war that destroyed many of their friends and family, and a war they know is bound to come. Guy Mason wanders through Italy, bored and restless for reasons he can’t even name, and stops at the Hotel Vista, high in the mountains of Lombardy. There, he meets scientist James Calloway and his secretary, Louis Chambers, and it’s there that the meandering stream of Guy’s life changes course forever.

The White Empire by Chris Smith

Edgar Vaughan sincerely believes that six-thousand miles is enough to give him a fresh start. Escaping in 1838 from the drawing rooms of Belgravia and the constraints of his landed family, he takes up missionary work in the trading post of Hong Kong. On arrival, he finds the region on the cusp of war; the Chinese Emperor has outlawed the importation of opium — the key link in the trade of the East India Company. Between Edgar’s sense of isolation, the sight of the puling opium addicts, and one memorable encounter with a man in a peacock waistcoat, Edgar finds himself embroiled in the very marrow of the British Empire’s machinations. He finds himself torn between espousing the expeditious whilst protecting his new acquaintance, and doing what is right and risking the wrath of the British Empire.

Sand by Charlie Cochrane

People come to Syria for many reasons; tourism, archaeology, or because they need to leave Edwardian England to escape potential disgrace. Andrew Parks is one of those, burying past heartache and scandal among the tombs.

Charles Cusiter has travelled here as well, as chaperone to a friend whose fondness for the opposite sex gets him into too much trouble at home. Out in the desert there aren’t any women to turn Bernard’s head – just the ubiquitous sand.

The desert works its magic on Charles, softening his heart and drawing him towards Andrew. Not even a potentially fatal scorpion sting can overcome the power this strange land exerts.

The Ninth Language by Jordan Taylor

Thousands of outsiders descend on Canada’s Yukon Territory during the 1898 gold rush, wreaking havoc on the landscape and the indigenous people who live there. Amid the backdrop of this once pristine land, a man struggling against the destruction of his home and culture finds himself indebted to one of the men causing it. These two strangers discover solace and wholeness where they least expect it: each other.

Review:

This is a collection of four historical short stories and the individual blurbs are available on the buy site. These stories are universally well written, authentic, and make use of the time periods extraordinarily well. The authors embrace the historical aspects instead of fighting against them as often historical stories seem to. The details feel natural and honest, using the time frames to the stories’ advantage. Several of these are on the cusp of great coming change so the emotion is already increased. The stories each feel different with their own merits and flaws, but come together to offer a solid, interesting collection.

The lead off story is Tributary by Erastes about a wandering Englishman Guy in the late 1930’s who settles at an Italian Inn. Once there he encounters a professor and his assistant. Guy is immediately drawn to the assistant Louis, but everyone is keeping secrets. This initially reads like an intriguing love triangle with Louis as the fulcrum. Guy wants Louis and the Professor wants Louis. What Louis wants though is the question up to the very end of the story. The intrigue is low key but nice, keeping you guessing how the story will end. It has a nice ending that I didn’t anticipate but appreciated. While the writing is smooth and engaging, the characters feel stiff and distant. Louis’ mystery starts to wear and soon makes me wonder if a happy ending is possible. The characters also feel very muted and their emotions disconnected. Guy’s lack of motivation and action is translated beautifully but almost too much as I failed to connect and really care about any of them or their outcomes. I preferred the descriptions and details afforded from the sounds and scents to lingering warmth of sheets. These small delights really made this story for me even as the characters failed to make me care about them.

The next story is The White Empire by Chris Smith. This story is less of a short story and more of a novella as it offers the longest length and the most character development and plot. The setting is 1838 Orient and the opium trade is the lingering sub plot. Edgar, a priest, has decided to flee England to get away from his homosexual tendencies and ends up halfway around the world in Hong Kong. While there he meets an eclectic group of people at the missionary and becomes embroiled in a dangerous game with the Trade Advisor. The longer length makes this story one of the more interesting of the group, as it takes time to introduce and mature the various members of the cast. Edgar is a total snob, the second son of a wealthy man, and used to indulging his every whim. Edgar’s slow maturation is interesting to watch as his experiences humble him somewhat; however the subtext of Edgar wanting to deny his sexuality is completely forgotten once he arrives in Hong Kong. The mystery aspect is interesting and I liked that Edgar does not arrive with his prejudices and save the day with his morals. He’s compromised and questioned and that makes his redemption (such as it is) with Runford compelling. The entire cast swings from depraved to indulgent and the writing is kind of comical during the sex scenes.

After that lengthy selection, is the much shorter and most romantic offering Sand by Charlie Cochrane. Here the main character Charles is accompanying a friend to Syria for an archeological dig. Charlie is trying to keep his friend out of trouble and away from women but can’t help his own fascination with the man in charge of the dig. Andrew and Charles are rather typical characters of the author and her writing style feels familiar and comfortable. This is a light hearted, easy read after the absorbing complexity of the last and a good change of pace. The characters are enjoyable with quick, recognizable banter that works for the story. They fall in love almost instantly, planning a future and ignoring any problems with an ease that is somewhat mind boggling but this does help make up for a distinct lack of romance to the collection. The only qualm I had is that the references to sand being everywhere, which I can imagine and sympathize with, ended making me question the sex scenes. I couldn’t get the image of sand in bad places out of my head and thought “ouch” the entire time. However, like the previous offerings this is another engaging, interesting story with a nice dose of romance fans will appreciate.

The final story is The Ninth Language by Jordan Taylor. Keeping with the tradition of foreigners in strange lands, American linguist Troy travels to Canada to study and interact with indigenous tribes. He meets a native Mistrii and the two begin an odd companionship. This story is beautiful, savage, disturbing and lingers long after the last words. I hesitate to call this my favorite but it’s the most memorable for me of the group. The vivid landscape is stunningly portrayed and beautifully captured in the descriptions. The wildlife and their unique language is a reminder of nature in the starkest form. Mistrii and Troy feel like exaggerations of their environment to some extent. Mistrii willing to be killed than explain himself while Troy fumbles in his ignorance. It’s meant as a look at human behavior as well and it succeeds in that, if perhaps a bit too much. Some of the subtly is lost in the extremes. However the connection between Troy and Mistrii is enjoyable and absorbing. I actually read this last story the fastest and appreciated the ending. It whitewashes the problems too much but I didn’t mind for the sake of the characters.

Overall this is a very good anthology that can easily be read in one sitting. The stories are engaging historicals, which is not always an easy feat, and feel true to their time periods. The details afforded each story are some of the best aspects and bring vivid descriptions alive with flourish. The romance is lacking in the stories and the endings feel temporary at best but not enough to diminish your enjoyment. If you’re a historical fan, I imagine you can’t do much better than tasting these authors in this collection.