From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Gyrfalcon (Taking Shield, #1)

Anna Butler

Start date: September 1, 2018

Finish date: October 1, 2018

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Discussion leader: Jordan Lombard

Why we're reading this: This is our September 2018 read!
[close] This is our September 2018 read!

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Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Aug 29, 2018 Chris, the Dalek King rated it really liked it

Shelves: mc-pairing-mm, uniforms-and-private-dicks, bi-bi-bi, favorites, owned-ebook-or-audio, stars-and-ships, kindle-to-lend, pilots-and-planes

This was a good story but boy was it a bit longer than it needed to be. I loved the scifi (especially the aliens) in this story, and the whole father/son problem was handled really well. I though it was going to be really pushy of one side, but it didn't end up being. Both of them had made mistakes (Bennet's father, probably more than his fair share) but you really get to know why the shit went down the way it did over the course of the entire story. The romance between Flynn and Bennet was bit ...more

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Aug 04, 2015 Kirsten rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 18, 2017 Anne Barwell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook, wish-list-print-copy, m-m

I’d heard good things about Taking Shield by Anna Butler and as a long time SF reader, wondered if the hype was well founded. It is! A couple of pages into this story, and I was hooked. The world building is wonderful, and I felt like I was walking into a world with a rich history, and yet I had no problems in jumping in at the point this story takes place within it. The story starts with a fast pace action scene which grabbed my attention immediately. The technical aspect of the series is obvio I’d heard good things about Taking Shield by Anna Butler and as a long time SF reader, wondered if the hype was well founded. It is! A couple of pages into this story, and I was hooked. The world building is wonderful, and I felt like I was walking into a world with a rich history, and yet I had no problems in jumping in at the point this story takes place within it. The story starts with a fast pace action scene which grabbed my attention immediately. The technical aspect of the series is obviously well researched, but didn’t bog down the story either. I loved the way the author approached the aliens in this story—the reader learns about them alongside the characters, and I reacted in the same way Bennet did when he discovers—sorry, spoiler—which reflects how engrossed I was in the story.

Bennet and Flynn are very different characters, but they complement each other so well. There is a lot standing between them and their HEA, which makes a lot of sense considering everything else going on. I would have been disappointed if their relationship had gone smoothly, even though their romance is not the focus of the story. Although this story includes a romance, it is so much more than that, and I felt the romance was secondary to the plot. This is a SF story in which the characters are gay, rather than vice versa, and it works perfectly.

The supporting cast are well fleshed out too, and have their own motivations. I did find though, that as soon as I’d read the final words in this story, I had to keep going and read the next one...and the next one... so expect a few reviews while I play catch up.

Gyrfalcon reminds me of why I love SF, and I’d highly recommend the book—and the series—to readers who enjoy military SF with fabulous world building, complex characters, and a story that leaves you wanting more. Gyrfalcon is up there with one of the best books I’ve read this year. I don’t buy many hardcopy books because of the cost of postage etc to NZ, but there are a few I have on my wish list. This series definitely is. ...more

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