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Liar's Waltz
Firmly-closeted Lieutenant Greg Matthews takes a transfer to space station Saira to make a fresh start. But a rogue military intelligence officer has discovered Greg’s secret and forces him to spy on Karl Webster, the owner of the last gay bar on Saira. The disapproving military authorities want Karl’s bar closed, too, and he’s feeling the heat. He thinks his gorgeous new lover is an ally in his fight, but Greg is reporting back all of Karl’s plans to save the bar. As the campaign against Karl escalates Greg becomes ever more reluctant to deceive the man he’s falling in love with.
Despite his fear Greg is too jittery and unstable to bother with, Karl wants him too much to give him up. He can’t guess the real reason behind Greg’s anxiety -- constant fear of what will happen when Karl discovers his deception. The inevitable revelation shatters their relationship and their lives as the blackmailer takes drastic action to silence Karl. Greg must sacrifice everything he’s been trying to protect to undo the damage and save Karl.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, violence.
Despite his fear Greg is too jittery and unstable to bother with, Karl wants him too much to give him up. He can’t guess the real reason behind Greg’s anxiety -- constant fear of what will happen when Karl discovers his deception. The inevitable revelation shatters their relationship and their lives as the blackmailer takes drastic action to silence Karl. Greg must sacrifice everything he’s been trying to protect to undo the damage and save Karl.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, violence.
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 4, 2011
*4.5 stars*
A tense tale of blackmail, spying and homophobia set on a space station, Liar’s Waltz hooked me in with a high tension premise and didn’t let go! It tells the story of closeted military officer Greg, reassigned to Saira station in an effort to try and avoid the sexual temptation that would destroy not only his career, but also those of his family members. Unfortunately Greg finds himself targeted by a rogue military intelligence officer who knows of Greg’s sexual orientation, and blackmails him to seduce the owner of the last gay bar on the station in an effort to gather intelligence that would help get Eternity closed. Of course, Greg is insanely attracted to Eternity’s owner, Karl, and his angst about the situation escalates as he starts to fall for the man.
This is definitely one of those no-win situations for the unfortunate Greg, when anything he does will harm someone he cares about – and will probably end up harming all of them, including himself. Angst fans will enjoy it, and there’s a great chemistry between the two men. Karl himself, who shares the narrative point of view, is a fascinating figure: ex-military himself - but a man of principles who would not turn anyone else in when given his dishonourable discharge - he wants to help Greg adjust to civilian life (Greg is posing as ex-military), and at the same time finds himself reluctantly becoming a community leader for the station’s GLBT population. The sex scenes are steamy, but also full of poignant emotion from Greg, who begins to unlearn the habits formed by years of furtive encounters.
The only thing that really struck me as odd about this story, was the lack of worldbuilding. Most sci-fi has almost too much of it, but here there is such a close focus on the romantic relationship that there is very little background worldbuilding. I had many unanswered questions about the fictional world, such as the date, whether humankind had encountered aliens yet, who they were at war with, what society as a whole was like, and so on. I know that Becky Black has more stories set in this universe coming out soon, so hopefully some of these questions will be answered in those. I also found some of the technology to be peculiarly anachronistic for a futuristic story – it was as if, bar the spaceships, technology hadn’t advanced beyond our own. The characters still use condoms, have glass windows and carry ID cards rather than have biometric scans. Okay, they have pocket “link” computers and video phones, but we have those in the real world already! It was almost like a sci-fi that had been written in a previous decade, when these things would have been futuristic.
I don’t necessarily think this aspect will be a problem to many readers – indeed, the fact that it reads just like a contemporary story, but set in space, should give it a wider appeal to those who aren’t sci-fi fans. You won’t need to wrap your head around any bizarre concepts or different social orders – it’s all surprisingly familiar. In short, Liar’s Waltz is a well-written and gripping tale that should appeal regardless of whether you normally enjoy sci-fi.
A tense tale of blackmail, spying and homophobia set on a space station, Liar’s Waltz hooked me in with a high tension premise and didn’t let go! It tells the story of closeted military officer Greg, reassigned to Saira station in an effort to try and avoid the sexual temptation that would destroy not only his career, but also those of his family members. Unfortunately Greg finds himself targeted by a rogue military intelligence officer who knows of Greg’s sexual orientation, and blackmails him to seduce the owner of the last gay bar on the station in an effort to gather intelligence that would help get Eternity closed. Of course, Greg is insanely attracted to Eternity’s owner, Karl, and his angst about the situation escalates as he starts to fall for the man.
This is definitely one of those no-win situations for the unfortunate Greg, when anything he does will harm someone he cares about – and will probably end up harming all of them, including himself. Angst fans will enjoy it, and there’s a great chemistry between the two men. Karl himself, who shares the narrative point of view, is a fascinating figure: ex-military himself - but a man of principles who would not turn anyone else in when given his dishonourable discharge - he wants to help Greg adjust to civilian life (Greg is posing as ex-military), and at the same time finds himself reluctantly becoming a community leader for the station’s GLBT population. The sex scenes are steamy, but also full of poignant emotion from Greg, who begins to unlearn the habits formed by years of furtive encounters.
The only thing that really struck me as odd about this story, was the lack of worldbuilding. Most sci-fi has almost too much of it, but here there is such a close focus on the romantic relationship that there is very little background worldbuilding. I had many unanswered questions about the fictional world, such as the date, whether humankind had encountered aliens yet, who they were at war with, what society as a whole was like, and so on. I know that Becky Black has more stories set in this universe coming out soon, so hopefully some of these questions will be answered in those. I also found some of the technology to be peculiarly anachronistic for a futuristic story – it was as if, bar the spaceships, technology hadn’t advanced beyond our own. The characters still use condoms, have glass windows and carry ID cards rather than have biometric scans. Okay, they have pocket “link” computers and video phones, but we have those in the real world already! It was almost like a sci-fi that had been written in a previous decade, when these things would have been futuristic.
I don’t necessarily think this aspect will be a problem to many readers – indeed, the fact that it reads just like a contemporary story, but set in space, should give it a wider appeal to those who aren’t sci-fi fans. You won’t need to wrap your head around any bizarre concepts or different social orders – it’s all surprisingly familiar. In short, Liar’s Waltz is a well-written and gripping tale that should appeal regardless of whether you normally enjoy sci-fi.
October 4, 2021
A tale of blackmail, spying, and falling in love with the target. A very predictable plot. I really didn’t care all that much for Greg. It took the entire book before he every found the backbone stand up to his blackmailer and admitting he betrayed the one he loved. But all’s well that ends well.
September 16, 2012
Not gonna lie. I loved that this had very little 'space stuff' in it. I prefer contemporary fiction and this worked just fine for me (although I can see scifi fans being disappointed).
February 4, 2011
This is a familiar story with a few good twists. The writing didn’t always work for me and often that more than anything else ruined my enjoyment but the characters, setting, and plot are engaging. As a debut novel, I think the author shows a lot of potential and readers will find the themes used familiar and comforting with good tension.
Greg Matthews is an officer in a new assignment and determined to do things right this time. He’s not going to get distracted by yearnings for another man and instead plans to work hard and advance his military career. Greg’s plans are thwarted however when a scheming upper officer blackmails Greg into spying on gay bar owner Karl. Greg is supposed to seduce Karl and find a way to shut down the last gay bar in the area. Yet complications predictably arise when Greg’s emotions are involved.
The plot is very conventional and one readers will instantly recognize. Greg is the officer caught between his family and career and trying not to hurt an innocent man, Karl. The confusion and dichotomy is well crafted and Greg truly struggles with this conflict for the majority of the story. Greg’s personality develops and shows his angst and turmoil between his duty and his heart. This is a common theme but it’s well used and offers a good source of constant tension and drama.
Both Karl and Greg are sympathetic characters with their own struggles and flaws. Karl is surprisingly likable, considering he has casual sex with a hustler named Ryan several times in the book but yet none of these take away from the connection between Karl and Greg. If anything they cement Karl’s feelings towards Greg and that’s a real credit to the story to be able to pull that off in a positive way. Greg’s struggles highlight his weaknesses and flaws as well, often dithering and taking the easy way out most of the time instead of facing his fears and problems. Yet this doesn’t make him a bad character or unlikable, instead he comes across as relatable and human. He makes the bad choices an average person would make, perhaps not the popular strong choices but the honest ones.
Some of the problems for me though are in the world building, which is non-existent. The story is supposedly science fiction and set in a futuristic world but really the setting is contemporary with a few word changes. There is no real context and breadth that convey a new world and new attitudes. In fact these various characters and especially the military feel very contemporary. The “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is the backbone of the story as Greg must hide his sexuality to have a military career. So It’s unfortunate the science fiction aspect is even included since this would probably appeal to more readers as a contemporary military romance.
Furthermore not all of the plot twists make sense. The courtroom scene towards the end is melodramatic and slightly ridiculous; it of course wouldn’t happen like that. The resulting resolution feels too easy and too pat, considering all the legitimate tension and angst the story has built up between the two men. Their forgiveness and love, while nice and romantic, feels too fast and complacent. The biggest problem for me though is the writing style of using rhetorical questions to offer information. Greg, as the main third person narrator, questions every single thing. He can’t do any action it seems like without questioning all the alternatives first. I realize this is to offer more information to the reader and give insight into Greg’s thought process but it became incredibly annoying.
Some readers may not mind the question technique and the fact that this tends to tell rather than show action. Likewise some readers are likely to really enjoy the fact that this is more of a contemporary military romance than a science fiction/fantasy story. If so, then I’d easily recommend Liar’s Waltz as a fast, absorbing read with a lot of hot sex and nicely crafted main characters. I’m interested to see what the author does next and just hope the characters don’t question everything first.
Greg Matthews is an officer in a new assignment and determined to do things right this time. He’s not going to get distracted by yearnings for another man and instead plans to work hard and advance his military career. Greg’s plans are thwarted however when a scheming upper officer blackmails Greg into spying on gay bar owner Karl. Greg is supposed to seduce Karl and find a way to shut down the last gay bar in the area. Yet complications predictably arise when Greg’s emotions are involved.
The plot is very conventional and one readers will instantly recognize. Greg is the officer caught between his family and career and trying not to hurt an innocent man, Karl. The confusion and dichotomy is well crafted and Greg truly struggles with this conflict for the majority of the story. Greg’s personality develops and shows his angst and turmoil between his duty and his heart. This is a common theme but it’s well used and offers a good source of constant tension and drama.
Both Karl and Greg are sympathetic characters with their own struggles and flaws. Karl is surprisingly likable, considering he has casual sex with a hustler named Ryan several times in the book but yet none of these take away from the connection between Karl and Greg. If anything they cement Karl’s feelings towards Greg and that’s a real credit to the story to be able to pull that off in a positive way. Greg’s struggles highlight his weaknesses and flaws as well, often dithering and taking the easy way out most of the time instead of facing his fears and problems. Yet this doesn’t make him a bad character or unlikable, instead he comes across as relatable and human. He makes the bad choices an average person would make, perhaps not the popular strong choices but the honest ones.
Some of the problems for me though are in the world building, which is non-existent. The story is supposedly science fiction and set in a futuristic world but really the setting is contemporary with a few word changes. There is no real context and breadth that convey a new world and new attitudes. In fact these various characters and especially the military feel very contemporary. The “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is the backbone of the story as Greg must hide his sexuality to have a military career. So It’s unfortunate the science fiction aspect is even included since this would probably appeal to more readers as a contemporary military romance.
Furthermore not all of the plot twists make sense. The courtroom scene towards the end is melodramatic and slightly ridiculous; it of course wouldn’t happen like that. The resulting resolution feels too easy and too pat, considering all the legitimate tension and angst the story has built up between the two men. Their forgiveness and love, while nice and romantic, feels too fast and complacent. The biggest problem for me though is the writing style of using rhetorical questions to offer information. Greg, as the main third person narrator, questions every single thing. He can’t do any action it seems like without questioning all the alternatives first. I realize this is to offer more information to the reader and give insight into Greg’s thought process but it became incredibly annoying.
Some readers may not mind the question technique and the fact that this tends to tell rather than show action. Likewise some readers are likely to really enjoy the fact that this is more of a contemporary military romance than a science fiction/fantasy story. If so, then I’d easily recommend Liar’s Waltz as a fast, absorbing read with a lot of hot sex and nicely crafted main characters. I’m interested to see what the author does next and just hope the characters don’t question everything first.
July 3, 2012
Sci-fi noir exploration of a space-faring military man, Greg, who is blackmailed by a superior officer into helping shut down the last gay bar on this station. As sci fi, it's really just space opera. It could be a contemporary novel about shutting down the last gay bar in a town or a state just as easily. Greg comes across as foolish, weak, and a slave to his family expectations, especially his father's. It's obvious from the get-go that giving in to this blackmail cannot lead him anywhere good, and it doesn't. Greg is supposed to be a military officer, and he comes across as a sniveling and not-too-bright coward all the way through. There is attraction; it is a romance, and naturally it must be with the owner of that last gay bar. Since this is noir, Greg is stuck playing the no-good, helpless "dame" in distress role, which is a big turn-off trope for me, even in classic noir if the author tries to shoehorn romance in there. When you find yourself rooting for the actual hero, the bar owner, to dump this loser, rather than rooting for the romance, that's disappointing if it's supposed to be a romance.
February 7, 2011
Firstly, I'm not really a m/m romance reader - but Becky Black does know this - so I'm not sure if I'm the best person to review a m/m genre title.
But I do like a good romance, with plenty of conflicts, and this story gives us this.
I do agree with some of the reviews, there was a lack of the sci-fi world I know Becky can create. However, it has plenty of action in and out of the bedroom - and I'm not just taking about the sex!
It has great pace all the way through, and an ending that makes you want to keep turning the page (metaphorically as this is an ebook!) or scrolling.
It's an angsty, roller-coaster ride of emotions. I felt empathy for both Greg and Karl, and at one point I really did have a lump in my throat.
If you like fit men, in uniform, or out of it, (and you're into m/m romance) this is the book for you.
But I do like a good romance, with plenty of conflicts, and this story gives us this.
I do agree with some of the reviews, there was a lack of the sci-fi world I know Becky can create. However, it has plenty of action in and out of the bedroom - and I'm not just taking about the sex!
It has great pace all the way through, and an ending that makes you want to keep turning the page (metaphorically as this is an ebook!) or scrolling.
It's an angsty, roller-coaster ride of emotions. I felt empathy for both Greg and Karl, and at one point I really did have a lump in my throat.
If you like fit men, in uniform, or out of it, (and you're into m/m romance) this is the book for you.
February 11, 2013
The concept behind this book is interesting, but it's also a study in Becoming the Mask.
See link for more details. Pay especial attention to the paragraph beginning "Sometimes the friendship or relationship..."
I have no idea how to rate this. I think I'll go with 3 stars, which for me is a fairly neutral rating. To me, 3 stars is that "neither agree nor disagree" option you sometimes get in surveys, even though GR says 3 stars means you "liked it."
At the same time, I also really don't want to read any more of this series (I'm just not interested enough), so I suppose maybe it's more of a 2 star? Let's say 2.5, then, rounded up cuz I'm feeling amenable.
See link for more details. Pay especial attention to the paragraph beginning "Sometimes the friendship or relationship..."
I have no idea how to rate this. I think I'll go with 3 stars, which for me is a fairly neutral rating. To me, 3 stars is that "neither agree nor disagree" option you sometimes get in surveys, even though GR says 3 stars means you "liked it."
At the same time, I also really don't want to read any more of this series (I'm just not interested enough), so I suppose maybe it's more of a 2 star? Let's say 2.5, then, rounded up cuz I'm feeling amenable.
July 28, 2011
This story is set in a not-so-utopian future where the military influence the galaxy in a not-so-good way. The military disapproves of many things same-sex relationships is just one of them. A very detailed and well built world galaxy is a background to nicely rounded characters.
The struggle to conform and family pressure make life less than wonderful for Lieutenant Greg Matthews. Meeting Karl on his first day in a new base does not make things any easier. It is a long struggle to resolve Greg's problems and for him to face his desires.
The struggle to conform and family pressure make life less than wonderful for Lieutenant Greg Matthews. Meeting Karl on his first day in a new base does not make things any easier. It is a long struggle to resolve Greg's problems and for him to face his desires.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews