Rating: 
Summary: Are you mental?!
Review: Okay so the newest hot place to meet attractive gay men is a MENTAL HOSPITAL?! I don't care how cute he is there are bound to be some issues there, and ones I would prefer not to know about -- everything about this book is unbelievable. It is obvious that Moore considers himself to be witty, and thought provoking -- I don't, and I don't see how anyone else does. This book was transparent, and cliche to the point where I could guess what was going to happen on the next page. Should Mr Moore make another attempt at writing, I do hope he offers us something a little better, this book belonged in the litter box.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a debut novel? I want more!
Review: The author is the child Oscar Wilde and Dorothy Parker never had together. I haven't read anything this witty in years. THE CONCRETE SKY made me laugh, it made me mad, it made me think, it got under my skin. I was rooting for Chad and Jonathan and I wanted to slap them both too. I couldn't put this one down. It made me late for work because I stayed up late reading. This is a debut novel? What's he going to write next?
Rating:
Summary: interesting concept, but poor execution
Review: The storyline certainly has some resonance and was my incentive to purchase the novel. However, the interaction between the lead characters was unrealistic. Their dialogue is trite and contrived, which often left me shaking my head in disbelief as I read. Moore attempts to give his three core characters a kind of shorthand in their conversations with one another, but only succeeds in making them seem shallow and superficial. And the author's repetitive use of "comical" insults with sexually explicit names and innuendos between these characters, smacks of High School Creative Writing.
I had hoped that the book would have a satisifying conclusion to the mounting muddle that the protagnist faces throughout the novel, but that is not the case. The last 30 pages race toward an ending that neither satisfies the reader nor the author's ability. It is as if Moore couldn't find an acceptable conclusion for his characters, and instead opted for an unoriginal ending that doesn't do the original storyline any justice.
A terrible disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story, well told
Review: This is one of the best books with a gay theme I've read in the last few years. The characters are believable and well-drawn; the plot has twists and unexpected turns that make it exciting right to the last page.Chad, the principal character, has had a string of misfortunes and is now in a mental ward, put there by....(you need to read the book!) He encouters another temporary resident of the ward, Jonathan, a trust-fund teen with the wisdom and skills of someone much older, who is under suspicion for murder. I loved Jonathan. He is one of the most memorable characters I've ever met in gay fiction. They get to know each other slowly and believably. We see their hesitations and doubts. They start to help each other with their various predicaments - they're in a mental ward, after all. And then we find that is just the beginning of their troubles. All hell breaks loose, and soon we are rooting for them and wishing we could be a character ourselves so we could know them in person. Marshall Moore is an excellent writer and I hope he writes many more like The Concete Sky.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated, overwrought
Review: This tale suffers from an unsympathetic central character, implausible actions performed by law enforcement officials and attorneys, and a too-neat ending.
Rating:
Summary: Was just so-so
Review: This wasn't a bad book just several times throughout the text I find my attention drifting and I had to struggle to finish the book. The romance seemed a bit forced and rushed. Also the evil brother made me think melodrama! I guess that was what the author was seeking but for me it just made me wince when I read his sections. Not sure if I would read more by the author. Maybe.
Rating: 
Summary: A dark, rollercoaster romance
Review: When Chad slips from a balcony at a party, he finds out just how much worse his life can become, especially as his manipulative brother Martin convinces everyone it's a suicide attempt. He's confined at the hospital, pending evaluation, and meets the young and attractive Jonathan. Sparks fly between the two, and Chad has reason to hope, but just what is Jonathan's connection to recent deaths at the hospital? And is Jonathan's story of how his parents died the truth? After the two young men are released from the hospital, they continue their romance, but Chad still has questions, although his life spirals even further out of his grasp before he can figure out who Jonathan really is. Martin is stalking Chad, their estranged mother is dying, Chad really needs to find a job, and danger is lurking just around the corner. "The Concrete Sky" is a high velocity romance with a bodycount that grabs the reader and doesn't let go until the final pages. The plot does stretch believability and everything isn't explained to a reader's satisfaction, but overall the novel thrills and entertains. It reminded me a bit of such works as "Brain and Body" by Richard Frost, "Through It Came Bright Colors" by Trebor Healey, and "Prozac Highway" by Persimmon Blackbridge, but with a much happier ending.
Rating:
Summary: Relentless bad attitude
Review: While well-crafted in terms of the prose, the main character of this novel, Chad, is one of the most unlikable protagonists I've come across in years. His attitude is so snide and condescending that I had trouble rooting for him or caring about what happened to him in the end. (And the end, by the way is also a disappointment -- the book is nicely plotted until it totally skids out in the last 50 pages or so). I'm in my late 20s and I think Chad is the kind of character that gives 'twentysomethings' a bad name; he's relentlessly cynical and critical of everything around him. I don't mind some campiness or bitchiness in a character, but this book is just ceaselessly mean and unpleasant. Had it not already been taken by a classic, THE MISANTHROPE would have been a great alternate title for this one.
Rating: 
Summary: When gimmicks aren't enough...
Review: You can tell after only the first chapter that author Marshall Moore spent a great deal of time polishing his prose; I would never have guess this book to be a first novel if I did not know better. One of the traits of Moore I truly enjoy is his ability to convey emotion by setting. We feel a sense of desperation, of angst, that really drives home the interactions of the various characters. But just when you feel the tension of Chad's life in a mental hospital rising to a breaking point, you come across a bit of hilarious dialogue that doesn't break the mood but compliments it well. I would not hesitate reading anything else by Moore, whether short story or next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Eager for his next...
Review: You can tell after only the first chapter that author Marshall Moore spent a great deal of time polishing his prose; I would never have guess this book to be a first novel if I did not know better. One of the traits of Moore I truly enjoy is his ability to convey emotion by setting. We feel a sense of desperation, of angst, that really drives home the interactions of the various characters. But just when you feel the tension of Chad's life in a mental hospital rising to a breaking point, you come across a bit of hilarious dialogue that doesn't break the mood but compliments it well. I would not hesitate reading anything else by Moore, whether short story or next novel.
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