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Oct 29, 2011

Lauraadriana rated it:

This first part of this book started off with a seriously good foot, the world was intriguing, the imagery was awesome, it was moving fast. I wanted that big thing that was going to happen, to happen NOW NOW NOW! It did...And then not much else happened for like a third of the book.

Runt lives in some sort of far off island, he is working the land that he will eventually partly own. One day he received a provisions box and inside he gets not only a ton of stuff for his daily life. He More...

26 comments like (12 people liked it)

Nov 05, 2011

Tom rated it:

Runnan (Runt) is a terraformer - sharecropper/indentured servant/corporate slave to a galactic mega-corporation that transforms uninhabitable planets into new frontiers. In exchange for his 7+ year commitment, Runt will spend his life hammering out an existence while assisting the newly formed planet into growth. At his side, his cloned mate...only she didn't make it to the planet alive, and the corporation has left him alone to struggle.

When Runt's supply shipment lands unexpected More...

7 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2012

Audrey rated it:

Really really good sci-fi m/m story between a highly unlikely duo. I absolutely loved Ox and his gentle giant ways. Runt, who is the narrator of the story, also grew on me and was endearing in his insecurities and doubt over the motives of his oversized partner. Although Ox is mute, his actions are so sweet and loving, and I just wanted to give him a huge bear hug because he was so adorable. He just goes to show that you really don't need words to show your love - actions speak clearly enough.
More...

12 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 04, 2012

Jess rated it:

Re-Read Jan 2012

I will now rate this 4.5 Stars after rereading the story. I enjoyed it even more then the first time and I didnt think that possible. While I stand by my original review I can now state that this is a story that you can keep reading over again and finding more to love.

This book is hard to review.

In some ways I really love it but in other ways I thought it didnt live up to full potential.

I loved the world building, at first it was a littl More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2011

Emme rated it:

Well, Damon Suede is now on my must-read list. Grown Men was exquisitely descriptive. I was totally drawn into the world Suede has created-- it felt both highly inventive and plausible, and that doesn't always come together in works like this. The world-building seemed effortless.

What really got me on board, though, was the use of language. I love when authors create their own lexicon to support a work-- and you kinda need to take that liberty when you are created alternative worlds, r More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2012

Dee rated it:

4.5 stars rounded to 5.

One of the things I love about sci-fi is you can always expect the unexpected. It's a grand stage for something new and different. And that's what I liked most about this story.

The world-building is nicely done, and the characters grow on you quickly with Runt named for his small stature and Ox his enormous height and brawn. And if you're curious about Ox, yes THAT too is enormous.

The relationship builds slowly as Runt was expecting a wi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

Jordi rated it:

If you're looking for a story that provides a vivid world along with a good narrative, this is something I recommend picking up for a lazy Sunday.

While it might not be for everyone, the characterizations of both Runt and Ox are well written and provide great depth. The world that Suede draws the reader in provides such a brilliant backdrop to the story of the two main characters and lets you fully immerse yourself in this book.

The story, however, does feel a little rushed More...

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Dec 07, 2011

Violetta rated it:

After reading Hot Head, I was excited to read more of Damon Suede. I read "Seedy Business", the free short that serves as a sort of prequel to Grown Men, and I really enjoyed it, even though most of it was gross (on purpose). I mean, SPERM PIRATES. The sense of humor and the language-play were absolutely fantastic, and the cyberpunk-type world it took place in was fascinating. Have you ever seen that section of Ice Pirates where the heroes get strapped to an assembly line and animated More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2011

Amy rated it:

So I set on this journey of reading Seedy Business & Grown Men when the free read came out before Gayromlit. I had to read seedy business because Damon had written it and I adored hothead. It is only natural to want to read other work from him.
What I read made me sit and have to actually think after reading it. It was so different from things that I normally read. I realized after about 20 minutes how much I enjoyed not only the different world, but that it wasn’t a cliché story. That is w More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2011

Elisa added it

Upon finishing this novel, is someone is wondering like me why it was so short, well you can console yourself with that “first transmission” in the title, meaning that I think the author has more in storage for these “grown men” of his.

Runt is already wondering if he did the right choice when he signed for being a colonist on Andromeda; there is nothing resembling home in this land and the promised cloned wife didn’t survive the landing. So Runt is not only hungry of food he is also More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Laddie rated it:

Runt is a small and scrappy terraformer toiling away on a corporately owned island. After seven years he'll own part of the place and be a stockholder. When a shipment of provisions drops onto Runt's island there's a big surprise hiding inside. Ox is a mysterious giant. Runt is left to find out why he's been sent a mute behemoth of a man instead of a clone wife.

This book starts out strong. Damon Suede writes some amazing imagery. 3D movies and holovids, double suns in the sky, swea More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2011

Jenre rated it:

Before I read this book I read the freebie short Seedy Business which is a prequel to this story. I'm glad I did because it gave me a lot of much needed information about the character of Ox. If I hadn't read Seedy Business then I think I would have found this story a whole lot more frustrating than I did.

Grown Men is a futuristic sci fi story set on a far away planet. It tells of Runt who's a farmer/pioneer on the planet having been placed there by the intergalactic company HardCel More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Alan rated it:

Due to my ignorance, I read Grown Men before reading Seedy Business... Thankfully, it worked out for the best as I was forced to see Ox through Runt's eyes. Not having any background info on Ox made me appreciate Runt's thoughts and questions regarding the gentle behemoth.

I really recommend reading Grown Men, before Seedy Business. I think it really affects the feel of the series for the better.

Now for the Review.

Despite it's short length, Grown Men gives a s More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 21, 2011

Ren rated it:

Terrafarmer Runt is working off a seven year contract on a newly-formed planet. Alone and desperate, he is eagerly awaiting a long over-due cargo package. When the crate finally arrives, Runt is beyond thankful at the amount of provisions inside. Where he had hoped to find his new clone-wife (the previous Mrs. Runt disintegrated enroute) he is astonished to find a rather overly-large male, staring up at him.

What got me was the first smile the new arrival offered Runt. Not a sinister More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2012

Chad rated it:

The cover of this novella really puts me in the mindset of old-school science fiction; it simply screams pulp fiction! While pulp fiction covers are always intriguing, many a story contained between those covers falls short of extraordinary, or even decent for that matter. I guess this set me up for low expectations regarding the content of Grown Men. I'm happy to report, though, that my expectations were blown out of the water.

First and foremost, quality world building and the crea More...

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Dec 24, 2011

♆ Bookaddict rated it:

What just happened? I like this type of story where it's a futuristic pioneer story. I'm always geeked about people trying to cultivate and "seed" the land. I'm not sure why this is so alluring. In this one, Runt, is a small guy who's waiting for a clone wife to be his helpmate. He's totally fallen behind on his producing of foods to send back to the "company". Ox who doesn't speak is sent instead. He's huge, strong and able to out do Runt in just about everything. Ru More...

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Jan 03, 2012

Fonzie rated it:

I got to know the author when I read Hot Head. (I was prompted to vote it for best romance. So I had to read it first before voting.) I wasn't too into it, not in the beginning, but boy, am I happy I stuck with it.

Because this book - aside from the very weird sex scene (no offense) - is my new favourite. It has everything I usually look for in a book: a decent plot, believable characters and good writing. The world building was superb and the main character's, Runt's wry sense of humor More...

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Dec 20, 2011

Cryselle rated it:

Woefully underskilled for the task he's taken on in terraforming, Runt is starving in the midst of plenty. Maybe he's streetsmart from his upbringing in spaceport alleys, but when he intercepts a big crab trying to carry off a mealpack, he eats the mealpack, not the crab. He's not TSTL, he just doesn't have the necessary skill set, and the clone wife who didn't survive the landing may or may not have been able to make up the deficiencies in wildlife recognition and machinery repair, but we'll ne More...

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Oct 28, 2011

Kate rated it:

Sweet story. This is a follow on to Seedy Business, but doesn't have the same down and dirty feel to it.

I liked the world building and the opening, with the obvious difficulties facing ornery, limited Runt and the new farming partner who's been foisted on him. Huge, capable Ox who can't talk but tries to make himself as non-threatening as possible. All good. Some of the visual imagery was pure magic. Really compelling. I'd have to say the first quarter of the book was my favori More...

12 comments like (7 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Lasha rated it:

I truly enjoyed the prequel to this book, the short story, Seedy Business, which introduced Beirn, Ox’s brother and his back-story. In Grown Men, Damon Suede gives us Ox’s story and with his usual wit, style and clever dialogue takes us literally to another planet to discover Runt and his terra-forming farm. With Ox’s arrival on the planet, things begin to turn around for Runt and despite the fact that Ox doesn’t speak the two men start a friendship that keeps them both sane and happy.

More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 17, 2011

BD Whitney rated it:

This story of survival, hope, and friendship is more than just a good read. It is worth reading twice, I believe, because not only has Mr. Suede given us memorable characters, he has created a world with a very three-dimensional, realistic feel to it. This is a fascinating, detailed, and perhaps even believable universe controlled by corporation and commerce, where human life is worth less than corporate profit.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Grown Men and thought it to be imaginative and More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2012

Liz rated it:

“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly"~Sam Keen~

This won’t be every romance reader’s cup-of-tea but it is brilliant SciFi &, at the culmination of superb character crafting, the erotic bang at the end certainly rivals the Big One. Sculpting an alternative future then presenting it successfully in a novella is a wordsmith’s version of creating fine art. That Grown Men is also unequivocally a fine love story is a pièc More...

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Nov 19, 2011

Jayhjay rated it:

This review was originally posted on my blog Joyfully Jay

Runt has been alone on a deserted island for over a year, sent there by the HardCell conglomerate to terraform a remote planet. If he successfully completes his seven years of servitude, Runt will one day own a piece of the farm and become a HardCell shareholder, a hard won victory in a difficult world. Runt was supposed to have a partner, a clone wife who would help him work the farm and start a family. However, the clone wife More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2011

Saritza rated it:

I've always enjoyed sci-fi and when there's a chance to read it in the m/m world, I consider it an indulgent treat. There's just not enough of it with a romance attached to it. I had a few issues with this one in that I should have finished it rather quickly but found myself re-reading passages to better understand what was being said. When the writing is good without being overly clinical, it makes for a more enjoyable read for me (especially since I read for pleasure not insight). Found myself More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2011

Anne rated it:

The newest addition to the HardCell world really took me by surprise. I think I expected something gritty and slightly twisted (see Seedy Business). Instead, Grown Men is a tender, moving love story about two very different men who slowly learn to depend on one another, become friends, and eventually realize that their true home is with each other.

One of the aspects of the novella that I truly enjoyed is how well Runt develops over the course of the narrative. Runt initially comes o More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Emanuela ~plastic duck~ rated it:

I read the short Seedy Business first, which centers around something which happened to Ox - one of the protagonist - before we meet him in this book, even if he is just mentioned,and I still don't know if I was happy for having read it or not, so I can't give you any meaningful advice. On one hand it helped me understand a little bit of Ox's mystery, but on the other hand I would have enjoyed to discover Ox's secrets little by little like Runt does.

I also agree with other reviewers wh More...

6 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2011

Fangtasia rated it:

Fans of author Damon Suede’s wild and luscious creativity are in for another wonderful experience with this novella.

The world building is excellent, the real-life setting accurate within the science fiction one. I live in a tropical island, have bathed in a soupy warm ocean, sat on the cool sand at night and gazed at the starry sky, enjoyed falling asleep to the lullaby of the warm breeze rustling the palm trees and the ocean waves washing onto the shore in the inexorable rhythm of More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2011

orannia rated it:

What can I say, I like the renovation trope :) This was very different, but I really liked Damon Suede's writing style. The story flowed. The setting was fascinating, the characters interesting and...I hope we get more :)

Note: I did actually finish this book this morning, which is 1 January 2012 here at the bottom of the planet, but it appears GoodReads has yet to include 2012 on its list of years so...31 January 2011 it is (because it is still that somewhere :)

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Oct 29, 2011

Poppy rated it:

I'm kind of at a loss for words. I'd like to gush about how wonderful this story is, but I can't figure out where to start. The world building is some of the most clever and dynamic I've ever read, and how you can take a book with only two characters and have one of them mute, and make it work...boggles my mind. But it did work. Beautifully.

It was interesting seeing the HardCell world from Runt's point of view. In fact, I liked Runt more and more as the story progressed. And Ox, the bi More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 20, 2011

Brita rated it:

I was drawn to Grown Men on the strength of my love for Hot Head, though I'm not a huge sci-fi fan. Mr. Suede didn't disappoint. I love the premise of this story and the imagery in the description of the two characters. Ox intrigued me and Runt drew me in front the start.

The sci-fi premise was well done, but not too done so as to make a non-sci-fi fan skim over those parts. It all works.

I'm a huge Damon Suede fan, an autobuy for me always.

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