This is the special full colour edition that contains:
Sarge, F.I.S.T.S. #1 Sometimes it’s just about being in the right place at the right time… with the right person. Sarge is the short story of a burgeoning D/s relationship between two Space Marines stationed on an alien planet where an endless war drags on. Sergeant Wilkes is a hard man with a long, celebrated military career. Brawny, tattooed, and utterly submissive, Murphy is just an interesting diversion… until Sarge realizes he has found something truly rare.
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Murphy, F.I.S.T.S. #2 Sometimes when it seems like it’s too late, the right person comes along and opens your eyes… Murphy is the continuing story of a D/s relationship between two Space Marines who found each other in the midst of hopelessness and misfortune. Sarge and his newly minted squad travel across the galaxy on a top-secret mission that could help win the war. However, to Murphy something about the mission stinks, and it’s not just the planet they’ve landed on.
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Bonus content: The Missing Reel - Short deleted scene between Andrew Murphy and Sergeant Wilkes.
Artist, dog lover, and writer of very queer, very adult fiction.
Bey lives in Montréal, Canada where he spends most of his time writing, doing graphic work, painting portraits, speaking French, cooking tasty vegetarian eats, or watching more movies than is good for him. If you’re the curious type, www.beydeckard.com is where you’ll find art and free stories by Bey as well as information on his published works.
OK it’s official, I’m a Bey Deckard fan. I read Max several months ago and was hella impressed, and this one felt about 180 degrees from that one but I am just as impressed. It’s always lovely to find out that an author has such range.
I loved the juxtaposition between these two men’s relationship and their environment. The sharp edges and hard, unforgiving world they lived in made the tender glimpses of their emotions that much more impactful.
It took precious little time for the author to make me fall for Murphy and Sarge, and I could have read about them for another couple hundred pages, easily. As it was, the plot wasn’t incredibly well fleshed out, but the characters’ relationship was the point of the story, and that was worth every word.
Oh, my. Rumor had it that this is smoking hot, and rumor was correct. Also, it's half-price on Smashwords till March 9, so if you're in need of a (very) kinky one-handed read, you might want to see about that.
Rounding up because, while I would’ve liked a more organic progression instead of this collage of scenes, it still worked well with these characters and story. I loved Murphy, Sarge took me a little more time to warm up to, but some of his thoughts and lines could’ve made the whole book worth it all by themselves. Sometimes I felt like a bit more insight, details, interactions, something would’ve made it perfect, but it was still pretty good. And the deleted scene at the end made up for a lot of that “bit more” that wasn’t there.
I reread this series because after listening to Nick J. Russo narrate Sargeawesome I ended up buying this edition with both books together and there is an extra chapter at the end of Murphy that I don't think was in the original book... a missing chapter when Murph gets his 'good boy' award.
I actually liked reading it last (as it is presented in this edition, with a note from BD explaining he left it out so there would be more ambiguity over their relationship...). The thing I find most compelling about this series is the way the author gets the nuances of the relationship across through the advancement of the story and switching the POVs. I love seeing how Sarge's love for Murphy grows over these two books and there are so many places where I have to use my imagination to fill in the blanks (oh yeah, thank for for that BD!).
Love how Murphy's character grows also - it's just a really fantastic story with excellent characters and a very interesting plot. win/win
Better worldbuilding in this spare but surprisingly affecting D/s novella than pretty much every overstuffed romantasy book I've read. And hot. Sooooo hot. What's not to like?
Space Soldiers Someone gifted this to me wanting to know if it would be something they might like...in a word, yes! I found the writing style worked with this horrifying war torn world the author chose to set these two characters in. The world building was slight but again it worked in favor of the story. Sarge & Murphy were able to survive in a microcosm of their own making and we were able to peek in at various intervals in their lives. A solid 4 1/2 stars for me. I love when two people with intense kinks find their other half.
I freaking LOVED this book!!!!! It was a short read but I stretched this sucker out because I didn't want it to end. I adore Bey's writing but the alien planet aspect threw me off, which is why I hesitated reading this initially. Huge mistake on my part. Good grief, throw in D/s and M/M lovin' and I'm sold not to mention the glorious artwork. Holy hell this was a hot story! Oh, it's so going on the favorites shelf. Bey Deckard is one of those writers who always keeps you guessing with his depth. Reading F.I.S.T.S. was time well spent. #totalfangirl #noshame
I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I think this is the first real sci-fi I've read in a MM book. I was afraid of PWP in space but this was far from that. The author packed a pretty complete story in each of these two short novella type stories. The MC's were distinctly career soldiers and the military action was realistic, allowing for alien landscapes, high-tech weapons and replaceable body parts. The D/s was good, not overdone and the connection between them was conveyed well.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 9/10
PROS: - This comes closer to depicting a true Leather relationship than most BDSM m/m novels I’ve read. I wouldn’t be surprised if I learned that the author has some first-hand experience with the Leather community. - Deckard does an excellent job of illustrating his characters’ growing attachment without their ever communicating outright to each other how they feel. There’s no “I love you” here on the part of either man, but I could see the love clear as day. - The sci-fi setting allows for an interesting backdrop for the developing relationship (perilous situations that force the men to face their growing feelings), and the military angle provides for a convenient vehicle to move the relationship along without seeming contrived (naturally soldiers on foreign assignment have to spend a lot of time together).
CON: - This is something I always struggle with when the main characters share a dangerous profession and repeatedly find themselves in life-threatening situations: There’s a happy ending here, but I found it just a *little* bit difficult to buy into it because my brain kept saying, “Well sure, they’re happy. For now. Until one of them dies on their next mission…” This isn’t really a weakness of the book, though; it’s more a paranoia of mine.
Overall comments: The gay Leather scene is very different than the D/s relationships that are depicted in most m/m books, and the relationship here struck me as authentically Leather…only without the traditional trappings as we know them because the men are on an alien world the whole time. I loved the authenticity of it, but it might not be for everyone. Lovey-dovey the characters are not.
★★★★☆½ ~ 4.5 Stars This edition combines Sarge and Murphy along with a 'missing reel' and pics, oh my!
“You’re a good boy, Murph,” he says softly to me. “You get me home, get me patched up, and you’ll see what good boys get.” I swear to god, I have never made a sound like it before; half whimper, half gasp, it’s past my lips before I can stop it. Sarge sees the effect his words have on me, and he smiles.
Sarge is a war-roughened, no-nonsense military man and finds his 'good boy' in Murphy, a 6'8" gentle giant who is much more than he looks. With war as the backdrop, Sarge and Murphy find their other half. Sexy and beautiful. Really liked and more love for this author.
This couple of linked novellas works really well. In a remarkably short space of time, we get effective world-building (not overdone), strong characters, and a decent relationship. In spite of the harsh environment, harsh men and D/s elements, this is a tender (but not sappy) relationship. Off to see whether other Bey Deckard books are as satisfying.
This felt more like several mini stories than a normal book. The plot was a lot sometimes. But the romance between the two is adorable. Stand out was Murphy, sweet sweet tattooed giant.
There was a bit too much sci-fi for my personal taste but if you like sci-fi you will enjoy this very much.
Absolutely loved it. This is my favourite kind of setting, the characters were great, cool military and SF details, basically a perfect book if only it was longer.
My second Bey Deckard book--the first one I read, Better the Devil You Know was a three star read for me. Not because it wasn't good, but it was such a harsh book with a couple of scenes that were almost too much for me (and it takes a lot to hit my "too much" threshold).
F.I.S.T.S. was a really great story; succinct, raw, and rugged. But their was a poignancy to it that I loved, even if it was unexpected. Read the pb with the extra chapter, and actually liked the fact that although the extra chapter came at the end of the book, it actually ran concurrent to the second chapter of the first book.
Sarge and Murphy had such appeal for me. Sarge is a rough-edged, career Space Marine, with a wicked dominant streak. But beneath that gruff Dom exterior is a man with a touch of insecurity, and a heart that wants to love and be loved. Murphy, in the eyes of most, is a super-sized, handsome macho-man with below-average intelligence. Which couldn't be further from the truth. He's extremely smart, very well-read, loyal to his fellow Marines, and a natural submissive. And he is falling in love with Sarge, a man he would willingly give his life for. There was something beautiful in the burgeoning relationship between the two men, and I'm so glad I read this book. (Read it in about 2 hours, because I couldn't put it down) Think I'm going to buy the pb copy with the colored illustrations as a holiday gift for myself.
I enjoyed this erotic M/M book. Lots of action, good character growth and of course some hot sex scenes. The military stuff kept pulling me out of the book though. Sarge is MSgt and yet they kept saying things like the officer in charge and he gets to use the officer shower. So the fact that a MSgt isn't an officer and that's just not the way things work was weird. But If I look past all that it was enjoyable and I'd read another book by this author.
I love these men! Both Sarge and Murphy are men of few words, but the emotions are there. Murphy has looked up to Sarge for a while. He can't believe that Sarge has finally noticed him and wants more. Sarge is older and set in his ways. He respects and admires Murphy as a soldier, and is shocked that Murphy wants to start a sexual relationship with an old guy like himself.
The D/s relationship is so good-- exactly what both of them want. They fight for each other and stand up for each other. There are no "I love you's" but that's not who these men are. Their actions speak for themselves. Both of them are in it for the long haul.
Yes, I would like more of this world and these characters, please. Want a little kink with your gritty futuristic space marines? Look no further. Deckard is a late arrival to my "favorite authors of 2021" list, but his writing was absolutely worth the wait.