Dragon’s Kiss by Ally Blue

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Dragon's Kiss was a previously released short story in a Band of Thebes theme anthology. So the main focus of the story is the relationship between fellow soldiers, on manlove relationships bring on more on an almost friendship basis than real love.

In a futuristic world, a mix of Apocalypse Now and Back to the Future, Bear is one of the survivors from a natural disaster that destroyed the Earth as we know her. People now live among the ruin of the past world, but they are back to an almost medieval era. Bear is born generations after the catastrophe, and so he has not knowledge of the world as it was before, and he lives in a closed community, lead by a Council that considers all past things evil. There is acceptance for the homosexual relationships, more, they are encouraged, but only among the members of the pack. The ostracism now is no more for who is "different", but for who is "stranger". People who dare to cross the pack borders are most likely killed and also who wants to go away.

Bear and his fellow soldier Lynx are sent by their Council leader to capture a trespasser; they find the man, Dragon, a member of a near pack who was banished from his people to be an heretic: he doesn't believe that all the past was evil, he wants to know, he wants something forbidden, the knowledge. Bear knows that, if they bring back Dragon to their pack, the man would be probably killed, and Bear fears this event since the same sin Dragon committed, is haunting his mind.

This is only a short story, so apart set the place and give the chance to the characters to meet, there is nothing much more. But the most interesting thing is how the prejudice is still present: it shifted from the people to the society, the ignorant crowd no more fear the single man, the different (race, sexuality, rank...), they know fear an entire society, past or stranger, everything is outside their community is evil. And the leaders know that, to preserve their powers, they have to maintain the crow ignorant.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/dragon-s-kiss

Amazon Kindle: Dragon's Kiss: A Mother Earth story.

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain

Comments

[yachay.livejournal.com]

I wasn't going to read this, as I am not really a fan of Ally Blue's stories, and short stories usually either bore me or leave me needing for more, but then I saw the word "prejudice" and got interested.
I don't know why, but I (usually) love to read stories where the couple has to fight against prejudice, or it's in the story in some other way.
Maybe it's because my love for angst is beyond sick, and facing prejudice usually leads to angst. Or maybe because I feel it just makes their relationship stronger along the story.
It also makes it seem like their happy ending would be almost impossible, but when(..or if) they finally do get it, it feels even more right and deserved. :)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Well yes, there is all of that in the story, even if in only 40 pages ;-) Elisa

[kirby-crow.livejournal.com]

I haven't read this yet, but WOW what a cover!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Anne Cain is always very good :-) Elisa