"The Scrolls of Icaria" and other stories

[Neil]

I am glad to learn that "The Scrolls of Icaria" is back. I had followed it religiously and eagerly awaited the coming of a new chapter. It has been awhile since the last chapter. Initially, I thought that Jamie might have been busy. Then as time passsed, I got anxious to the extent that I was tempted to write to him to find out what was going on -- perhaps even wanting to know how he was doing. I wanted to tell him also that I enjoyed his story, and hope to encourage him to continue.

In the end, my reticence -- and not wanting to invade his privacy -- prevailed.

I do read a lot of online and printed gay stories. I consider "The Scrolls of Icaria" one of my favorites in terms of the story telling -- plot, development of holistic characters and the breath and depth of issues covered.

"The Scrolls of Icaria" appeals to the boy in me who is fascinated about the clash between good and evil -- the eternal wish that good shall triumph. But, for this to happen, we must heed Tolstoy:

"... That if all vicious men are bound together and constitute a force, then all honorable men ought to do the same ..." -- Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace)

I would be a hypocrite if I do not admit to being an avid reader of the "written porn", which I prefer sometimes more than their visual counterparts. However, it is welcome to find gay stories online where you are made aware about the "birds and the bees" and their importance in our existence and as part of our daily lives. "The Scrolls of Icaria" provides glimpses of this physical aspect of love of its main characters but in a narrative that contribute to the development of the story but at the same time does not consume and detract in the story telling.

Among those available online, others that come to mind include those of Josh Aterovis (too bad his personal website was down the last time I visited and only a few are available online, although some of them are now in print). The William Carter Saga of Christopher Lydon is another good set of well-paced and compelling storytelling. Lydon also has epic SciFi stories under the The Falcon Banner Saga. Mike Arram may be more explicit in his Peacher Stories and The Crown of Tassilo series. And the same is true with Dan Kirk's SciFi -- Dreams of Humanity, Dreams of a Father and some others.

There are more stories of authors that I would like to share but I do hope you get the picture if you read the aforementioned examples. I cited the above stories also because the narration may be long (some epic) but not tedious to read. Jamie, like the authors cited, achieved their goal by dividing the narrative into books, saga or sections with defined resolution at the end of its major section.

As important, "The Scrolls of Icaria" -- like many of the other stories cited above -- portrays us, as part of a larger community rather than living in a "ghetto" or a gentrified world. The physical aspect of our sexuality are apparent, but more important the focus of the characters are the issues that we encounter in our day-to-day lives and the roles of the characters as part of a larger community. Unfortunately, many online stories regarding our community or those portrayed on television, in print or in other multimedia tend to be hedonistic and gentrified.

I am sure you have some stories you would consider sharing that fit the criteria enumerated above. And I hope you will share them in response to this post.

Neil

N.B.

Some of the stories cited above are found in AD, gayauthors.org, crvboy.org and iomfats.org. I read quite a few of them also in the personal websites of the authors. Unfortunately, many of these personal websites have disappeared. There are quite a few gems also in Nifty but the quest is akin to finding diamonds in the riverbed.

[Trab]

Many, to most, of the Grasshopper stories are worthy of accolades and recommendation in the same vein. It is nice, Neil, to see your first post on AD is such a marvellously detailed and thoughtful one. I wish it hadn't taken so long to have you join in, nevertheless, welcome.