reviews_and_ramblings | Live Action Hero by Mary Winter

Mission: Carnal by Mary Winter

When former Vietnam soldier reborn as action figure died a second time also in his toy life, he thinks that this time will be forever. Instead the Toymaker has other idea in mind for him. But this time he has not a war mission but a love ones: he needs to teach to love again to Adrian, the shop owner who bought him as a broken action figure and that repaired him.

After an initial perplexity, Adrian is ready to enjoy his new toy, the muscular and strong Mack, who hides inside a gentle soul. Adrian usually is not easy to let people near him, but maybe, since Mack is an extraordinary man, means that he is not real, it's more simple for Adrian to let go; all in all, maybe he thinks that this is still a dream.

This is the first in the Live Action Man series by Mary Winter; it's not so short, almost 70 pages, but the plot is pretty simple: the story is a funny sexy romp with a lot of sex, even if sometime it edges on the emotion when Mack remembers his time as a soldier.

Mission: Raw (Live Action Hero 2) by Mary Winter

The second story in the Live Action Hero series is a bit more sad and with more elements to link it to reality.

Sawyer, like Mack, was a former soldier. He fought in the late '70 and when killed in action, he became a Live Action Figure, a toy for a kid along with other three former soldier. In life Sawyer was a Native American man with a penchant for adventures and men. As a toy he was an hell of a fighter, but obviously sex was his last thought. When also his "second" life come to an end, the Toymaker gives him another chance: to be again a man and to fulfill the need of love of Dean.

Dean is Adrian's colleague (Adrian was the main character in the previous book, now Mack's lover). Outside Dean is an happy-go-lucky man, always ready to a new adventure, both in life than in sex, but in reality he is a wounded man, who fears to love again. Probably only a strange and unreal situation like this could push Dean to let go his fear so soon.

As I said, this second book is a bit "more" real: there are a bit more information on Sawyer's past, and since the "surprise" of Sawyer being a toy is not so new, the reader maybe is more open to accept the story. And it's also a bit more "sad" since we know something about Sawyer's former life, and about how he, maybe, regrets of having lost his family.

Still remain a mystery why at first these men became toys and why turn back human... It's obvious that the series will end only when all the four former soldier will find their match. I believe that, to enjoy this series, you need to try to forget your rational mind, and start again to play with toys.

Mission: Possession (Live Action Hero 3) by Mary Winter

The third live action hero is ready to find his man. In the previous two books, the two real life men who find their lovers in a action figure comes to live, didn't know what was expecting them. In the third book, Hugh instead knows that his two friends found love with a paranormal help from the Toymaker, and he is torn between hope and reality. When he repairs his own action figure, Talon, deeply inside he is hoping for it to come alive, and so when it happens, he is not so surprised.

Talon was a soldier during the Desert Storm in 1990; where his fellow soldiers didn't realize that after their death they were turned in action figure, Talon knew that and in a way he was right with it: before enlisting in the army he was a model, and so, from playing in front of the camera, to play for a child, things weren't changed much. But one thing he missed, having sex. So when he comes alive again, he has only one though in mind, and Hugh is more than willing to help him. But after that, what will be Talon's role in real life? Will he be always only a "toy", a pretty face no one care really for? This time Talon wants something more, and maybe Hugh is not the man for giving him that.

First of all, let me remind you that this series is pure fun, so we haven't to find deeply meaning in it; but said that, the third chapter in the series has a bit more meaning than the others: maybe since both characters are aware that they are living something magic, and even if they don't know how all it happens, they are more prepared than their friends.

Mission: Touchdown (Live Action Hero 4) by Mary Winter

With Touchdown, the series about the action figures come alive ends: Brice, the last of the toy squad, has his own mission to accomplish. Brice was a soldier in the Balkan war, this was quite a recurrent characteristic for all the previous stories, all of them were soldiers in different war time, and story by story the period was always more recent, first Vietnam, second Uganda, third Desert Storm and last Balkan territory. Another current characteristic was that the companion they found in their third life (from human to toy and again from toy to human), is similar to them in ambition and life. Brice's partner is the last of the friends who own The Fantastic Five, a comic book shop; but Van's expectation in life is to come back to law school and become a lawyer; same as Brice wanted to do, before enlisting in the Army. So when Brice comes back to the world, it's only natural that their expectations correspond and their paths become one.

Since Van was the man that in the previous books supplied fake identities to his friends' lovers, he is not surprise for him to find out that the last action figure is now a fully man. He has also no problem to benefit of the sexual favors Brice is more than willing to give him. His only problem is that he feels guilty for his desire to come back to school and let his friends down with the shop: a very common problem in a very uncommon and fantasy situation. Nice contrast for the plot.

As I said in the past, the Live Action Hero series is pure fan, you haven't to find deep meaning and neither try to find all the reasons (how Van can supply fake identities to four men without any apparently problems, why all these men don't try to contact their family, even if they are dead for the world, at least to know how they are doing...). They are all little enjoyable escapades from reality.

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Live Action Hero by Mary Winter

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