Saturday, June 15, 2013

CHECK MATE by Rob Rosen



Publisher: Torquere Press
Date published: 5/1/13
ISBN: NA
Erotic MM, Contemporary
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Obtained via publisher



On a very hot day Dan’s car dies in the middle of nowhere. He strips off his clothes in an effort to cool down, and comes across Patrick. All Patrick wants is a game of chess. As his former chess club’s president, Dan agrees. But well, he was naked and…

This is a short, cute, little off-the-wall story, of a man driven slightly crazy by the heat, who meets a man who’s more than prepared to play along with him.
The language of the story is just a little different, and the two men are by no means your average hero, or even your non-average hero, but the craziness is all part of the charm of this story. Puns, clichés, and weird sayings, lead the men deeper and deeper into the game of chess, which in itself becomes the perfect analogy for what happens next.

In some ways this short story reminded me of Russian political allegories I read years ago. There’s the same other-worldly feel about it. Yet on another level it’s just a simple man meets man story. All of which is very clever indeed, and very likely only possible to achieve because of its short length.

If you like to think when you read, this is the perfect short story for you. It’ll stay in your mind all day revealing its deeper layer to you. On the other hand, you can just enjoy it and laugh at the weirdness that might happen in the extreme heat.


This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.



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