Jason Gurley on Manic Monday Book Review

Some of you might be wondering why an erotica blog is reviewing a sci-fi author who deals primarily with space exploration and post-apocalyptic scenarios.

Explanation: If a badly written book can turn you off, then a beautifully written book can make the synapses running along your neural pathways sing and arch their little synapse-y backs in delight. And the author turning me on today is Jason Gurley. Although he’s in no way related to the “active romance” genre, good writing demands to be recognized, and Gurley’s writing is precise, lyrical, and filled with those strange, almost surreal situations that delight me as a reader on an almost cellular level.

While Gurley is primarily known for cover design, his books seem to be gaining traction. His latest release, Eleanor, is even available in hard copy at Powell Books in Oregon.

The Offspring and I read grownup books quite often, and today we finished Deep Breath Hold Tight. So far we’ve made our way through The Last Rail-Rider short story and The Settlers (Movement #1), though I read Eleanor on my own. It was killer to read The Settlers (Movement #1) out loud every night, painstakingly making our way through it, since I wanted to gobble it all down greedily. But the richness of language is so wonderful in this, and all of Gurley’s books, that I’m very glad we’re taking the time to read it all through slowly. Reading out loud has given me even greater appreciation for Gurley’s storytelling ability. He never over-explains, always has his characters act in realistic ways, has people talk to one another the way that people actually would. (You would not believe the number of books where this is not the case.) I’m not a sci-fi fan, but his characters are so well-crafted, the language so wonderful, the pacing just right, that it creates the mysterious alchemy of all: compelling a reader to read on.

There’s just so much richness here, so much depth and complexity of character, skilled use of language, just so much to admire. Hearing Gurley interviewed on the Self-Publishing Podcast, he said he has an image of a giraffe hiding in every cover that he designs. It might not be discernible to the naked eye, but it’s there, somewhere, in the background. I feel this way when reading his books as well, that there’s this wonderful polish and overlay to the whole thing, more going on than meets the eye, making the work standout and shine.

This is one of those authors that no matter what your genre kink may be, he’s more than worth the read. While there’s no such thing as an author for everybody, he’s definitely an author for who’s earned my fan-dom.