Write on Both Sides of the Paper started off with a burglary at a paper mill. Then we shift focus to a young journalist/writer in Brighton planning a trip, then we shift to the POV of a salesman connected with the mill. 

Then I got completely lost as to what the plot was, because we have characters pondering about politics in South America, guerrilla ops, spend a whole lot of time watching a character recover from some sort of fever, and, in the end, I am not even sure that there was a real solution to whatever plot there was. 

At some point, however, we have a discussion between characters about whether politics can be inherited. At this point also, the book also gave me flashbacks to Agatha Christie's Passenger to Frankfurt. (Passenger was published in 1970. This book was published in 1969. I wonder if there had been something in the water...)

And, this was the point where I lost faith in this book. 

The book never managed to re-connect with me after that.

I absolutely loved this book and while I have to admit there are a lot of books that I can say this about for many reasons. I mean let's face it, I'm probably not the hardest sell around when it comes to books. So chances are...if you give me characters that I can truly love or even hate with a passion, good dialogue, settings that are richly described, a story that holds my interest...well, chances are your books are going to be in the 'I loved it' category and if it's an audio book add in a well delivered narration and that makes you golden in my world. 

Before I begin I'd also just like to ask that you please forgive any spelling mistakes I may make as this is the one downside of audio books you can't check your spelling on words specific to a story.

Much to my surprise and delight "To See the Sun" has fallen very solidly into the 'I love it' category for me. Kelly Jensen has given us a complex and interesting world first in the planet Zimosen, a planet where much of the population lives below the surface never able to see the sun, just to dream of it as they struggle to survive. We first meet Gael as he in caught in a situation that no matter how it ends...won't end well for him and could possibly be even more disastrous than he's able to anticipate and when things go sideways Gael does what any reasonably intelligent person would do...he runs and he runs for his life.

It's as these events transpire and we are following Gael on his flight through the lower levels of Zimosen that the author also creates the world Gael survives in. Things are frantic and terrifying for Gael as he struggles to stay ahead of the law and find a way out. It's during this struggle to survive that Gael is offered the chance to escape to another planet via what is essentially a mail-order-bride program and with little to no hesitation he takes the opportunity and this is how he meets Abraham (Bram) Bauer and finds himself on an journey to an outer colony on the planet Alkirak to become Bram's companion.

I loved Gael and Bram together. They so easily filled the spaces in each other that had been empty, although this was not done without some hesitation, effort and a bit of miscommunication on the part of both men and I honestly would have been surprised if there'd been none considering they started out literally thousands and then some miles apart. These men weren't different worlds, they were from worlds that were vastly different. 

While there were a number of secondary characters that we saw glimpses of. There were really only 4 other characters who played prominent roles in this story and they were Price who turned out to be a better friend than Gael had realized, Aavi a sweet and precocious young girl with secrets that could be dangerous for everyone, Maia who a close friend of Bram's and ultimately Gael's as well and Maia's brother Orfeo, mayor of Alkirak and Bram's use to be friend with benefits. While I really enjoyed the depth and extra that other characters added to this story it was these four who helped to support the foundation of events that transpired and to keep things flowing at an enjoyable pace.

As for the steam and sex in this one it was  slow burn that felt right and worked well with both the character of these two men and the circumstances of their meeting and coming together. 

TJ Clark was the narrator for this story and while he's not quite a new to me author this was only my second audio book narrated by him and so far TJ's a definite win for me. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him as he took me on this amazing adventure with Gael, Bram and their friends. 

Putting this one off like I did was definitely not one of my better ideas but finally getting down to it has proven to be a decision that I'm really glad I made. I'm planning a return trip to Zimosen and Alkirak in the near future because as with any good story...this one's worth enjoying again and possibly again.  Definitely recommended.

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An audio book of "To See the Sun" was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I need some distraction from the more demanding reads I have going on at the moment, and this Mary Kelly offering has been calling to me from the shelves - even tho I know nothing about the book. 

Interestingly, I could not find a description of what the book is about on GR or when doing a quick internet search - the book clearly exists but seems to have otherwise grown obscure.

So, this is the first paragraph of what the book jacket has to offer:

"Crime in the night was no concern of William and Hannah. They were daylight people. But chance took William and Hannah to Scotland and made them meet on the morning after a paper mill had been robbed. The mill belonged to the Treece-Allard group, William's employers."

Unfortunately, the rest of the jacket blurb seems to go into details of the plot that follows...and I hate these kinds of spoilers, so I stopped reading.

It sounds kind of similar to the setting of Dead Corse, and I hope it is just as good.

In the end the calls and reports and questions were done. The foreman sent for a car to take me home. I was too shaken to drive.

He'd brought it on himself. Had he? Where does the blaming start or stop, if it ever does?

Clive, Morley, Mrs Vere, Allie, Skipton - whatever is brought on them they bring on others and have it brought back on themselves. Blame becomes meaningless. Everyone deserves it, or no one. 

It may be that the book benefited from my reading the bulk of it on the heels of a very unsatisfactory read, but I thought this book was fantastic. 

Yes, some parts of the plot were predictable, but overall I was not bored for one instance with this story, I really got to care for the characters, and the social commentary on a number of topics, not just one of the issues at the heart of the book, was well thought out and quite out there for a book penned in 1966. 

The first of Kelly's books that I read was The Christmas Egg, which is pretty much a straight mystery. A short glance on Wikipedia tells me that Kelly was known as a crime and mystery writer. 

Dead Corse does not really fall into either category, even if there is a mystery to set the book off and there is a crime at the heart of the story. 

At first, I thought of Kelly's style being comparable to that of some the "angry young men" - Silitoe and Barstow came to mind - but this is not where the book was at. Kelly took in a much wider angle in her description of a smallish community that is based around a steelworks, and that is dependent on the steelworks, and this is at the same time in a state of change away from that still somewhat Victorian industrial setting. 

I very much enjoyed the book for this aspect alone. And yet, there is a lot more to the book and to the characters. I much prefer Kelly's style in Dead Corse to that of many other books penned in the same decade - it's honest without being self-righteous, and it's smart without trying to actually come off as clever. 

I already look forward to reading her other books.  

Well, this got twisted fast.

One of the twists I expected when Mrs Vere took a turn. 

The other not so much. It's still quite an edgy topic for a book penned in 1966. And for it to have been handled quite well so far, too. Interesting.