Stevie‘s review of Cold Fusion by Harper Fox
Contemporary Gay Romance published by Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 05 Jan 16
It’s been far too long since I read anything by Harper Fox, and I really can’t think of a reason why, beyond the vast size of my To Read pile. So having one of her books show up for review was a great prompt to correct my omission, and find out if her stories are as excellent as I remember.
I wasn’t disappointed. This book deals with big themes – I was concerned that the author was attempting too much on that account, but my fears proved unfounded – and has a pair of flawed heroes who grab the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go until long after the end of the story. Keir comes from a long line of fishermen in a remote Scottish village, but escapes his abusive family situation in favour of joining an environmental direct-action group. An attempt to disrupt a whaling expedition goes horrifically wrong, and Keir returns home in disgrace, hoping to make some sort of recompense to the parents of one of his lost crew.
Finding himself unwelcomed by his family and the villagers, Keir flees to the one place he felt secure growing up – a community of artists that sprang up in an abandoned group of holiday chalets. The artists are all gone, however; following the death of the old laird who gave them shelter, his heir wants to bulldoze the place and sell the land to be developed as an oil refinery. The only person left is the laird’s son but not his heir, Vivian, who claims to have developed a cold fusion reactor capable of supplying power to the whole complex and which could potentially make oil refineries a thing of the past well before the earth’s reserves run out.
Keir is sceptical about Vivian’s work, but has a lot of sympathy for the man, who seems to have been abandoned by everyone except an old family retainer who leaves shopping for him at the end of the lane. Vivian has a lot of problems, both in relating to other people and as a consequence of a rare medical condition, but he seems able to deal with Keir far more easily than he copes with most of the outside world.
It seems that the two might be able to find peace with each other and recover from everything their respective families have thrown at them, but then the outside world interferes, partly as a result of Keir’s well-meaning but misguided attempt to share Vivian’s discovery with others who could make use of it. Forced to go on the run, the two discover much about themselves, about each other, and about the more distant family members who hadn’t forgotten them, no matter what they had each assumed.
I love this book, and all the glimpses we got of the people around the two central characters, who weren’t ever alone or abandoned, no matter how much it seemed that way at times. There were points when I could see no way that things could go right for our heroes, then an unexpected solution would turn up, only to be superseded by yet another apparently insurmountable problem. And there was one particular unexpected saviour whom I was particularly delighted in meeting, but it would be far too spoilery for me to say who that might be.
I definitely need to make inroads into that To Read pile now. This book is one I’ll be rereading a time or three as well. Highly, highly recommended.
Grade: A
Summary:
Their love is the catalyst that could save the planet…or cost their lives.
As an environmental activist for Peace Warrior, Kier Mallory never hesitated to throw himself into dangerous situations. Until his hotheadedness costs the lives of two fellow crewmembers on an anti-whaling mission.
He finds no refuge in his hometown on Scotland’s north coast, where everyone knows what this son of a broken fisherman has done. Effectively homeless, Mal returns to one of his favorite places—Spindrift, a rustic colony of artist and crafter huts.
Spindrift is dilapidated and empty, save for a lone resident. Vivian Calder, a brilliant but emotionally detached scientist who appears to have done the impossible—mastered cold fusion. A clean, free, limitless source of power.
Despite Viv’s aversion to contact, a fragile bond forms between them, seemingly one atom at a time. Until Mal, determined to redeem himself by revealing Viv’s accomplishment to the world, brings down the wrath of an oil-dependent establishment, risking not only their love, but Viv’s life.
Warning: Contains a disgraced environmentalist and an autistic genius who go from strangers to lovers-for-life in thirteen days. Don’t believe in miracles? We’ll make you.
Read an excerpt.
