Sand and Ruin and Gold (Ruin, #1) in Riptide Publishing

Nov 06, 2014 Kaje Harper rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, scifi, short-story, paranormal, bittersweet

This is a little short story, an unsastisfyingly perfect slice of a dystopian future with possible fantasy elements, or possibly gene engineering... you don't ever really find out what's going on. This book is a long moment, between two not-quite-human MCs, as they connect in a very deep and yet very limited way. The tone is dark, almost bitter, with humans present in a bread-and-circuses atmosphere. Our POV MC and the merman, Nerites, don't have conversations. They connect on a level of flashin ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2014 Dee Wy rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, short-story, m-m-paranormal

Bittersweet, but so heartfelt. The way the Mer were portrayed in the story reminded me of the killer whales at Sea World. Beautiful and dangerous at the same time - sad and acting out with the frustration of their captivity. Lovely, unusual read.

7 likes · Like · see review

Nov 16, 2014 BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, short-story, mermaids, requested-reviewed

Mermaid lovers, this is a little teaser story for you. For those used to lengthy meaty novels by talented Mr. Hall, this one may blindside you. In Sand and Ruin and Gold, this is a book to be read as a bedtime story. It's a short fairy-tale like story about unrequited love. The love a father possesses for a child is rejected. The love or perhaps lust for a special creature is brutally rejected.

Mr. Hall pulls back the magic from a circus and exposes the dark side. The wonderment an overindulged ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2014 Adara rated it it was amazing

This was a beautifully written and yet painfully tragic story of hope and despair. I would not call this a romance--I'm not sure it even qualifies as a love story. There's beauty and naivete and shame and guilt and determination, all rolled into a very unconventional merperson story. It's not completely tragic, and also not completely happy. But it is exceptionally moving and well written. Easily one of the best stories of the year. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2015 Molli B. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: genre-spec-sf-sn-fant, genre-m-m, length-short-story, 2015-shelved, 2015-read, format-epub

Oh my goodness, this was sad. Like...I won't be crying myself to sleep tonight, but it definitely left me a little teary and frowny and contemplative. :( Poor mermaids!! Poor narrator dude.

The story is very atmospheric, like everything of Alexis Hall's, and there's just enough world-building to set the scene for the story we're given. I don't usually go much into a book's actual story in my reviews, because other reviewers do that about 100x better than i could, but in the story, merpeople are k ...more

1 like · Like · see review