Absinthe of Malice (Audible Audio Edition) Rhys Ford Tristan James Dreamspinner Press LLC Books
Download As PDF : Absinthe of Malice (Audible Audio Edition) Rhys Ford Tristan James Dreamspinner Press LLC Books
"We're getting the band back together."
Those six words send a chill down Miki St. John's spine, especially when they're spoken with a nearly religious fervor by his brother-in-all-but-blood, Damien Mitchell. However, those words were nothing compared to what Damien says next.
"And we're going on tour."
When Crossroads Gin hits the road, Damien hopes it will draw them closer together. There's something magical about being on tour, especially when traveling in a van with no roadies, managers, or lovers to act as a buffer. The band is already close, but Damien knows they can be more brothers of sorts, bound not only by familial ties but by their intense love for music.
As they travel from gig to gig, the band is haunted by past mistakes and personal demons, but they forge on. For Miki, Damie, Forest, and Rafe, the stage is where they all truly come alive, and the music they play is as important to them as the air they breathe.
But those demons and troubles won't leave them alone, and with every mile under their belts, the band faces its greatest challenge overcoming their deepest flaws and not killing one another along the way.
Absinthe of Malice (Audible Audio Edition) Rhys Ford Tristan James Dreamspinner Press LLC Books
I’ve been a fan of Rhys Ford’s books for years. In this fifth, but not final, episode we have the band going on the road for the first time. Crossroads Gin is comprised of the two survivors of the original Sinner’s Gin band: Miki St. John and Damien Mitchell, whose resurrections occupied the first two books in the series. Then we have the two new members of the cast, whose stories were told in the next two books: Forest Ackerman and Rafael Andrade. Romantically paired with these four gay rockers and their various psychological problems are three of the redoubtable Morgan clan; Kane, Connor and Quinn, along with a cousin of theirs, Sionn Murphy.A precis of half the band appears early in the book: “They stood should to shoulder, a patchwork cobble of a broken band resurrected by Damien’s dream, a fallen bassist who’d lost everything and found himself again in his life’s ashes, and a session drummer who’d never imagined he’d leave the safe confines of the recording studio he’d inherited from the old musician who’d taken him in.”
It’s almost as if the four earlier books have been an elaborate set-up to the big road trip of book five. The fact that this book left me sort of unsatisfied is a disappointment. In spite of the fact that the band covers a massive tour of the United States, rocking the house in various clapped-out venues in every corner of the nation, nothing much seems to happen. Sure, we learn how they love their music—and that is vividly painted with Ford’s over-the-top writing and passionately described visuals. And there is an ongoing mystery woven into the storyline, with attacks by mysterious strangers that seem somehow to be linked to the past in ways as yet undiscovered. But most of the book seems to be intense, angsty, neurotic interactions between the various band members and their lovers. Although Ford is eloquent and ardent in her presentation of the guys’ emotional turmoil, it’s getting a little old after five books’ worth. Her repetitive themes of fear and self-doubt remind me of the tumultuous over-thinking that is also a trademark of T.J. Klune’s “Otter and Bear” novels.
And the Morgan clan are here in full force —including the patriarch and matriarch, Donal and Brigid—relentless in their love of these broken rockers. There are moments of intense sweetness that come out of the Morgan family’s particular pushiness; but between the endless angst and aggressive affection I found it all rather exhausting.
And now I have to confess, I found myself becoming impatient with the series’ refusal to discuss the pink elephant in the room: homophobia in the rock world. Crossroads Gin, and Sinner’s Gin before it, were hard-rock bands. No bubble-gum popsters or boy-band cuties; these guys are hardcore rock musicians. And they’re doing a 6000 mile road trip as an all-gay rock band, members of the most homophobic part of the music industry, known for its loud physical excess and relentless hetero posturing. So, not a single slur, not a whisper of the raging homophobia that must exist in at least SOME of the scores of back-alley venues they visit? Really? Is the fact that they’re gay not known at all (which in itself would be a problem for me—a closeted gay rock band, which is not the way they’re presented). Seems to me, after all of this at-home growth and emotional development, the road trip would be where Crossroads Gin would face the realities of the world they’re going back into.
I was just tired when I finished this book. I actually cringed a little when Edie, the band’s manager, walked in on the last page and dropped the cliff-hanger bomb that opened the door to the next book. I know I’m going to buy it and read it, because I’m a faithful fan and an obsessive completer-of-series. But for the first time, I’m not sure how much I’m looking forward to book 6.
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Absinthe of Malice (Audible Audio Edition) Rhys Ford Tristan James Dreamspinner Press LLC Books Reviews
Due to issues with eye-strain and depression I put off reading this till I was in a good headspace to thoroughly enjoy... and I did.
I'm very much a character centric reader and I fell hard for Miki and Kane... The fact that Miki holds a central thread to all the sinners books is one of the reasons I so love the series. That is keeps getting better is just an added bonus brought to us by Rhys' rather formidable talent. Add Tristan James as audible narrator and the swooning soon follows.
Watching the band gel as they travel is a delight. These are four very string individuals with Rafe and Forrest having to navigate, within the band, the almost symbiotic link between Damien and Miki... A bond that Kane, too, is still learning to navigate.
The bombshell dropped at the end only added to the whole... though it started another round of bibliophile's problem #1... When is the NEXT one coming.
Excellent story. Miki's voice is as vivid and unique as always, and we get to visit with each of the Crossroads boys.
There is a bit of a 'middle book' feel, clearly the story arc is building up to something that doesn't happen here. But the growth of much loved characters, and the colorful descriptions, keep the story engaging.
If you haven't read this series before, do yourself a favor and start at the beginning. If you already love the series, this book has plenty of everyone's favorite feral rock god, so what more could you want?
Of all the Moegans and the one Murphy -Finnegan hooking up with our musicians, the only couple I've had issues wirh (and found I still am not excited about) would be Forest and Connor. Their book was so full of inconsistencies and far-fetched situations and outcomes I couldn't get past that I also couldn't reconcile them as an acceptable, gay couple. Sorry - Connors whole persona is wrong for Forest; they don't MATCH in my head. Forest is uneducated, unworldly, and inexperienced while Connor is quite a bit older than him, a S.W.A.T.Lieutenant which means he's highly intelligent, physical, and has experienced considerably more, and we're to accept that he's going to be content with someone like Forest the rest of his life? In reality, marriages between couples having such diverse backgrounds & personalities don't last. Physical attraction, while important, isn't enough once there's down time. There's no common interest, intelligence level - nice fairytale though.
Rafes's scenes of pain and struggle were on point and well written, as were Damien and Miki's internal conflicts. Miki, Damien and Forest (this still makes me gag) got lively, romantic, got sexy scenes. But Rafe and Quinn did not. ???
All in all, not a horrible book that I would enjoyed more, even perhaps have loved, had Connor and Forest not been featured so much. Two and a half stars.
I can't tell you how much I love these characters. I actually thought this series had wrapped and I am so glad to see Rhys Ford moving along with it. The story itself is almost like a threaded series of vignettes held together by an over arching mystery. Which is a somewhat dangerous ploy for a writer to try this far into a series but it works really well, mostly because it enhances the sense of wandering dIsconnect bands experience on tour. It also allows the story to highlight the private moments of all the characters without it being disjointed or forced.
So, another gem by Rhys Ford. This one definitely can't stand alone very well, however. You'll want to start with Book 1, Sinner's Gin. They are all great, so you may as well.
I’ve been a fan of Rhys Ford’s books for years. In this fifth, but not final, episode we have the band going on the road for the first time. Crossroads Gin is comprised of the two survivors of the original Sinner’s Gin band Miki St. John and Damien Mitchell, whose resurrections occupied the first two books in the series. Then we have the two new members of the cast, whose stories were told in the next two books Forest Ackerman and Rafael Andrade. Romantically paired with these four gay rockers and their various psychological problems are three of the redoubtable Morgan clan; Kane, Connor and Quinn, along with a cousin of theirs, Sionn Murphy.
A precis of half the band appears early in the book “They stood should to shoulder, a patchwork cobble of a broken band resurrected by Damien’s dream, a fallen bassist who’d lost everything and found himself again in his life’s ashes, and a session drummer who’d never imagined he’d leave the safe confines of the recording studio he’d inherited from the old musician who’d taken him in.”
It’s almost as if the four earlier books have been an elaborate set-up to the big road trip of book five. The fact that this book left me sort of unsatisfied is a disappointment. In spite of the fact that the band covers a massive tour of the United States, rocking the house in various clapped-out venues in every corner of the nation, nothing much seems to happen. Sure, we learn how they love their music—and that is vividly painted with Ford’s over-the-top writing and passionately described visuals. And there is an ongoing mystery woven into the storyline, with attacks by mysterious strangers that seem somehow to be linked to the past in ways as yet undiscovered. But most of the book seems to be intense, angsty, neurotic interactions between the various band members and their lovers. Although Ford is eloquent and ardent in her presentation of the guys’ emotional turmoil, it’s getting a little old after five books’ worth. Her repetitive themes of fear and self-doubt remind me of the tumultuous over-thinking that is also a trademark of T.J. Klune’s “Otter and Bear” novels.
And the Morgan clan are here in full force —including the patriarch and matriarch, Donal and Brigid—relentless in their love of these broken rockers. There are moments of intense sweetness that come out of the Morgan family’s particular pushiness; but between the endless angst and aggressive affection I found it all rather exhausting.
And now I have to confess, I found myself becoming impatient with the series’ refusal to discuss the pink elephant in the room homophobia in the rock world. Crossroads Gin, and Sinner’s Gin before it, were hard-rock bands. No bubble-gum popsters or boy-band cuties; these guys are hardcore rock musicians. And they’re doing a 6000 mile road trip as an all-gay rock band, members of the most homophobic part of the music industry, known for its loud physical excess and relentless hetero posturing. So, not a single slur, not a whisper of the raging homophobia that must exist in at least SOME of the scores of back-alley venues they visit? Really? Is the fact that they’re gay not known at all (which in itself would be a problem for me—a closeted gay rock band, which is not the way they’re presented). Seems to me, after all of this at-home growth and emotional development, the road trip would be where Crossroads Gin would face the realities of the world they’re going back into.
I was just tired when I finished this book. I actually cringed a little when Edie, the band’s manager, walked in on the last page and dropped the cliff-hanger bomb that opened the door to the next book. I know I’m going to buy it and read it, because I’m a faithful fan and an obsessive completer-of-series. But for the first time, I’m not sure how much I’m looking forward to book 6.
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