Strange Fortune

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: David Lazarus

Valentine Strange, late of his Majesty's 21st Benhali Lancers, needs money. Happily, the wealthy Holy Orders of Harappu are desperate to retrieve the diadem of the Goddess Purya from an ancient temple deep in the mountainous jungle-an area Strange knows well from his days quelling rebellions. The pay is too good and the job seems too easy for Strange to refuse. But when Master Aleister Grimshaw, a dangerous witch from a traitorous lineage, joins the expedition, Strange begins to suspect that more is at stake than the retrieval of a mere relic.

Grimshaw knows an ancient evil surrounds the diadem - the same evil once hunted him and still haunts his mind. However, experience has taught him to keep his suspicions to himself or risk being denounced as a madman. Again.

Harried by curses, bandits and unnatural creatures, Strange and Grimshaw plunge onward. But when a demonic power wakes and the civilized world descends into revolution, their tenuous friendship is threatened as each man must face the destruction of the life he has known.

©2010 Blind Eye Books (P)2013 Josh Lanyon

Narration

The stutter like way of speaking the narrator used for Strange bothered me through the whole story. I pushed through it and enjoyed the story, but it was very grating.

Fantasy romance

I'm not sure why people say this isn't a m4m romance. I believe it's because there is no explicit description of sex. no there are no sex scenes, but there is an underlying romance. the story is exciting and the narrator is amazing. mutiny and death gods, what's not to like.

I wouldn’t mind a sequel

There are a lot of great elements to this novel and the narration was excellent. I, like other reviewers, had a challenging time keeping up with the change in character perspectives with the audio version. Which probably was fine if you read the physical book, but with the audiobook if you didn’t listen carefully you could miss that the story had switched to the other protagonist’s view. I think if the author had separated chapters to align with character perspective transitions, it would have been more seamless. There were some parts to the storyline that spiraled too long in my opinion, but other than that I think this was an adventurous and engaging tale. I don’t understand reviewers saying that this isn’t romance, because it’s definitely a love story between two men, amid a fantasy/adventure plot. If there was a sequel maybe we’d get a little more exposure to the world building aspect of the fantasy. I recommend not multitasking when listening to this. I’m thinking about relistening to it because I probably missed some things.

A World Builder

This author and narrator team is magic. Befitting this story of ancient magic and a different world. An AI could never have read this with any of the gruff brightness and charm of David Lazarus, I'm so glad this narration exists. The story is Josh Lanyon at her best. Fearful and damaged fighting for in the same body as an ancient ghost the Witch Alister was perfect as the foil for Valentine Strange's learned practicality and military training. 5stars across the board.

Good story, very little romance

I think my disappointment with this book is primarily due to the fact that this is not really a MM romance book. It is a MM fantasy/adventure book and the MCs happen to be gay and bi. Mr. Lanyon's books are usually great relationship books with a great mystery woven into the background. In this book, the relationship is ancillary at best, just adding an interesting layer in the story. Maybe it is just the opening book to a series, I'm not sure, but he definitely does not focus on the relationship. That is not to say it is not a good story, it is, just not what I was looking for. The story is loosely based on colonialized India under English rule. It has witches, demigods, crazy monks, etc. I enjoyed the story and the writing is beautiful as always. The narrator was excellent. I just like my MM romance with a lot more romance.

Adventure and Magic

Strange Fortune was a mixture of fantasy and high adventure with a dash of romance. It reminded me of an Indiana Jones adventure with two fascinating men. The romance was there, but it was very light and the attention was mostly on the plot. I enjoyed the story and thought it was fun and exciting.

David Lazarus was the narrator. He has a very nice voice that was pleasant to listen to. The only issue I had with the audiobook was that sometimes it was difficult to follow the transitions between point of views from one main character to another. Other than that, I enjoyed the story and the narrator’s performance.

Jungle quest with magic and shooting

While I liked having a story set in a jungle, it felt weird to have such an aggressively white cast of main characters. It was “the East India Co but muddle it up with magic”. Every time a new light eyed or ginger haired person was introduced I wondered why. I also found it difficult to ground myself in the story. I don’t know if that was due to the writing, the narration, or my intake thereof. I kept listening and finally figured out which was Alistair (the witch) and which was Strange (the mercenary). But it took me rather a while.

Things started to coalesce for me while the guys got near the hidden temple, so I kept listening. The story was ok but, spoiler alert, nearly everyone dies because Strange shoots them. This may be more reasonable than letting themselves be overtaken, but it was startling to me how cavalier with lives the story was. If you want a quest story with a little magic, some good horses, and lots of shooting while white people run around an Indian jungle, give this a shot.

Steam: Low. This was billed as a romance along with the adventure, but the romance occurred in brief fragments and was incidental. Despite dual POV, neither one thought much about the other in a romantic way. The romance didn’t interact with the story in any necessary way. These guys could have been good friends and made the same choices. It’s fine that the romance, such as it was, was included but it also would have been fine without it.

Narration. While clear and easy to listen to, I found the words kind pf sliding by, somehow, and it was hard to pay attention to for a while. It was a long time before I sorted out who was who. It’s not bad, it just didn’t help me as much as I’d have preferred.

Wonderful story, excellent narration

What made the experience of listening to Strange Fortune the most enjoyable?

I love the book, and David Lazarus' narration is perfect! It has a certain cadence that really fits in well with this fantasy story, the adventure, the quest, the characters. I felt like someone was really telling me a story, and not just narrating the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Aleister Grimshaw for complexity, and Valentine Strange for optimism :-)

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene where they stop for a swim is one of my favorites, very sweet. Then there are some funny scenes, which make me smile every time i remember them, there's a long scene which made me appreciate Strange's character, and there's a particularly suspenseful one towards the end of the book.

If you could take any character from Strange Fortune out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Lady Hyde, so she can tell me all about her magic.

Wonderful M/M Romance! I am so glad I bought it!

I absolutely love it! What an amazing journey and adventure it was! I am unsure why the other reviews are saying this is not an M/M romance or that there is no sex scene. It IS a fantasy M/M romance WITH sex scenes. It is not explicit but there are sex scenes as well as romantic scenes. I love Josh Lanyon's work which is usually m/m mystery. This is kind of a mystery fantasy M/M novel. Just like other works by Josh Lanyon, the focus of the story is usually not the romance itself but the mystery. Josh weave the two together so beautifully well. The narration is great. I am glad I decided to give it a try.

Exceptional Gem!

I've been listening and enjoying Josh Lanyon's stories for many years, but for some reason had overlooked this gem of a tale! Lanyon wrote this over 10 years ago yet I'm incredibly WOWED. Strange Fortune is fresh, interesting, and really well written . Josh Lanyon features a dashing, intelligent, and experienced soldier (Valentine Strange) and a talented, beautiful, strong and tormented wizard (Aleister Grimshaw) in a world gleaned from historical British empire Imperial Forces upon a magical Egyptian-like country. Tombs are being excavated, and ancient cursed mythology is resurrected.The Holy Order pays Strange to take Grimshaw on an expedition to retrieve an artifact believed held in a long abandoned temple. The way to retrieve the artifact, and the dangerous paths Strange and Grimshaw end up following is a fantastical, imaginative and exciting adventure.
David Lazarus performed with great skill, and as you know, the narrator can make or break an audio version of a book.