Victor J. Banis (1937–2019)

3 stars

Buck is newly joined to the Double H ranch in Texas. Les is the foreman. Buck is not picky about who he sleeps with; be it man or woman, he just wants to get laid. He has, however, taken an interest in Les, and this irritates Les to no end because he doesn't feel that way about men, and doesn't think it proper. Les knows that his crew does do that with each other, but Les never has. Les plans to get rid of Buck once they get back to the ranch after the roundup, but Buck can ride, rope, shoot, cook, and do it it better than almost anyone else.
Umm. Not quite sure how I feel about this one. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I would read it again. There were random POV thrown in from one person who was never heard from again, but most of the time it was focused on Red and Buck and Les. I'm not sure that Buck could keep it in his pants if he tried, but both Red and Les know that about him, and Les has settled on something that makes him happy. I enjoyed this little slice of life where the gay was all right, or accepted, on the ranch in a "we need relief" kind of way, but outside of the ranch, the fact that Buck was a half breed was a big deal, and he faced prejudice from that.… (meer)

Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

Vic Banis is a master storyteller from his days of writing some of the earliest gay pulp fiction to his works today. He is one of those few writers that actually has enough life experience to pour emotions into a story that stirs the reader whether it's a comedy or a western or a beautiful bittersweet short like this one. Mike Patterson and Adam Cooper were married in every real sense of the word. As soul mates they raised five children together, loved a passionately and completed each other. Adam died four days ago and with him most of old Mike died also. The grown children take turns keeping an eye on Daddy Mike but is Adam somehow watching over Mike too? I loved the character Mike and cried with him, felt his amazement at seeing the hawk and identified with his independent, crusty exterior. Not many people find that forever kind of love that Adam and Mike shared but those few of you who have found it definitely need to read this excellent story.… (meer)

Told from Mar's POV, this story just did not work for me at all. A mixture of flashbacks and the present, it just seemed to plod along slowly. I found the characters very one dimensional and boring. The beautiful, easy flow that is present in many on Mr. Banis' books was missing in this one for some reason. Kenny is a smart man and it is very difficult to se how he would have gotten involved so deeply with Ingrid. The final wrap up where Kenny explained everything felt very rushed and then bam the book was over.… (meer)