The Salvation Mongers

Rating:
Summary: A must read! Another winner by Donaghe.
Review: This is a story that you do not want to read but you have to read. Ronald Donaghe gives us Kelly O'Kelly who is enrolled in a camp to "convert" him from homosexual to heterosexual. Donaghe pulls no punches when you learn what happens when people act in the name of God. There are many instances in history when people have invoked God's name to explain or give validity to the work they are doing, this "ministry" is yet another one of those. The instances that happen on the ranch to Michael, Larry, Leo and Kelly will haunt you but will hopefully be as a reminder to what happens or what could happen to people who do not do things the way the majority does things. Are there people who do not like the fact that they are gay? Yes! Are there people who like the fact that they are gay? Another Yes. This novel tells the stories of both. Of course you have a guest appearance by Tom and Joel from Common Sons and Blind Season. You also have to deal with the sneaky and conniving Paul Romaine again. I can't wait for book four which is promised to debut in 2002.

Rating:
Summary: Killer Cults
Review: This novel will be uncomfortable reading for anybody who believes that conservative Christianity always makes people do good. For many gay people, its unrelenting dissection of how far homophobia can go will come as no great surprise. Author Ronald Donaghe returns to the Southwest desert haunts so familiar to fans of his "Common Sons" to give us this dark chronicle of life in a remote boot camp designed to turn gay men into ex-gays. Narrator Kelly is there undercover in Lion's Mouth Christian Ranch, trying to find out why his partner William committed suicide after going through the camp's program. Little by little Kelly begins to see the behind-the scenes abuses, then the hints of murder. Donaghe does a great job of showing how judgmental religion can create a slippery slope of cult violence. Omnipresent in the story is the brooding beauty of the desert -- harsh, yet far less cruel than the humans who try to hide their inhuman deeds there.