Rating: 
Summary: A Superb Revision of A Very Fine Novel
Review: "The Soccer Field Is Empty"is a very successful elaboration of Mark Roeder's shorter novel "Ancient Prejudice: Break to New Mutiny..." Whereas "Ancient Prejudice" is narrated by only one of te two major characters, "The Soccer Field" gives us this magnificent story incorporating the thoughts and feelings of both major characters, Mark and Taylor.It is like reading the personal diaries of both characters.This new technique of alterating narrators, which Roeder refers to as "dual first person" makes it possible for the author to go into more depth and thus more fully develop the personalities of his major characters. I have read both novels and although I really liked "Ancient Prejudice," I have to admit that telling that beautiful, emotional and haunting story from both major characters' points of view enriches the effect that this important story has on the reader...."The Soccer Field" is a great choice for the opening novel of the "Chronicles." Mark Roeder knows so well the thoughts and feelings of the gay teenage athlete. The expressions of prejudice found in this book so apply describe what all gays, especially teenage gays, have experienced. This is one novel that you will be not put down until you come to that tremendously emotional ending. I wonder if anyone could read this novel without at least tears. The story is captivating and easy to follow...I truly loved this book.I wish more people, gay or straight, could be exposed to Mark Roeders novels...It is powerful.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best!
Review: I couldn't believe how this book made me feel. It was like the author somehow got inside my head. I felt like the characters were my friends. I laughed and cried and never wanted it to end. I can only guess that the few negative reviews there are of this book were written by those who are anti-gay in an attempt to keep readers away. This book is absolutely awesome! Buy it, read it, and then give it to a friend!
Rating: 
Summary: A little disappointed
Review: I had read "A Better Place" first and I totally enjoyed it, Mark Roeder has definetly improved since Soccer Field. I was a little disturbed by the violence in this book, it is a little unbelievable since this had taken place in 1980. Its hard to swallow that an entire school turned their backs on these 2 youths. No one intervened, not even the police, the mother's coldness towards her son who was literally half dead in the hospital was a bit hard to believe. Nothing was ever mentioned about the fact that it was the father's fault that all of this homophobia started in the first place. How many fathers do you know would call up the school coach and tell him that his Son is gay??? The storyline is good, yes I did get a bit emotional at the ending but it was very hard to get to like Taylor and Mark since we never really delved into who they are and what they were all about. This could have been an excellent book if it had been thought out in a better way. You must read it though in order to move on to the other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Insipid doesn't begin to describe this book
Review: I have never been so disappointed in a book in my life. The premise is great, but the execution was beyond horrible. The characters are one-dimensional, the writing is bland, and you never get to know these people beyond the "I'm a gay teenage jock in a small town." There was a real opportunity to show gay people as REAL people, and sadly, the opportunity was missed. I can only hope Roeder's writing improves in the ensuing novels.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Re-telling of a Classic Gay Love Story!!!
Review: Mark Roeder, the Author, has taken his original book, 'Ancient Prejudice: Break to New Mutiny', and greatly enhanced it to come up with 'The Soccer Field is Empty'. This is still the story of Mark and Taylor and how they meet and fall in love, and the tragedy's that can come from that. However, the Author has enhanced this book to look more at the couple from Taylor's view. The previous book (Ancient Prejudice) was written mostly from Mark's point of view. What has evolved is one incredible story. The story, although basically the same, has so much more to it. By adding so much insight from Taylor's point of view, you fully understand much more of what occurred in the original book. If you have read the original book, I HIGHLY recommend you read this book! Although the same story, it is like reading a new story. I hope the 'Gay Youth Chronicles' are not finished with this story. For those that have not read any of Mark Roeder's work, there are 6/7 books in the 'Gay Youth Chronicles'. They are: Ancient Prejudice: Break to New Mutiny/The Soccer Field is Empty, Someone is Watching, A Better Place, Someone is Killing the Gay Boy's of Verona, Do You Know that I Love You, and Keeper Of Secrets! I HIGHLY recommend you read these books in the order listed above... they will make great sense and be a very enjoyable read if you do, although each book does stand on its own.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Re-telling of a Classic Gay Love Story!!!
Review: Mark Roeder, the Author, has taken his original book, `Ancient Prejudice: Break to New Mutiny', and greatly enhanced it to come up with `The Soccer Field is Empty'. This is still the story of Mark and Taylor and how they meet and fall in love, and the tragedy's that can come from that. However, the Author has enhanced this book to look more at the couple from Taylor's view. The previous book (Ancient Prejudice) was written mostly from Mark's point of view. What has evolved is one incredible story. The story, although basically the same, has so much more to it. By adding so much insight from Taylor's point of view, you fully understand much more of what occurred in the original book. If you have read the original book, I HIGHLY recommend you read this book! Although the same story, it is like reading a new story. I hope the `Gay Youth Chronicles' are not finished with this story. For those that have not read any of Mark Roeder's work, there are 6/7 books in the `Gay Youth Chronicles'. They are: Ancient Prejudice: Break to New Mutiny/The Soccer Field is Empty, Someone is Watching, A Better Place, Someone is Killing the Gay Boy's of Verona, Do You Know that I Love You, and Keeper Of Secrets! I HIGHLY recommend you read these books in the order listed above... they will make great sense and be a very enjoyable read if you do, although each book does stand on its own.
Rating: 
Summary: A Better Book than a Better Place...and more
Review: Praise the gods, Mark Roeder or his publisher finally hired a proofreader. This means that the 2002 version of this story is free of the annoying typos and spelling mistakes of all of the other works of this author (at least that I've read) and of the other stuff coming out of iUniverse. This particular story is an update of Roeder's first publication, which I have not read, but it shows superior advances in creativity and writing ability especially compared to the depressing "A Better Place" and the totally implausible "Do You Know That I Love You" which are all inter-connected in obscure and non-important ways. There are anachronisms in this book, set in 1980. Perhaps Mark does have a computer in his room, but, if so, it has to be connected to a Univac mainframe in the basement. Maybe people in rurual Indiana refer to "dudes", maybe not. The character names are a problem for the era, as well. If these guys are sixteen in 1980, it would be well ahead of the curve for their parents to name them Taylor, Devon, Brandon, et al, in 1964. Graymoor Mansion, itself a distraction, could not possibly stand for 100+ years with apparent unrestricted access with contents intact. Lastly as a criticism, Mark and Taylor, at 16, fall instantly and passionately in love on their first meeting, literally within seconds. . We wish! Still, Roeder delivers a moving, emotional, loving story. The tragic ending, while regretful, is part of that story. Having read some, but not all, of Roeder's youth chronicles, I sense that he is getting better, much, much, better, with each new work or update of his previous writing. This book is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Better Book than a Better Place...and more
Review: Praise the gods, Mark Roeder or his publisher finally hired a proofreader. This means that the 2002 version of this story is free of the annoying typos and spelling mistakes of all of the other works of this author (at least that I've read) and of the other stuff coming out of iUniverse. This particular story is an update of Roeder's first publication, which I have not read, but it shows superior advances in creativity and writing ability especially compared to the depressing "A Better Place" and the totally implausible "Do You Know That I Love You" which are all inter-connected in obscure and non-important ways. There are anachronisms in this book, set in 1980. Perhaps Mark does have a computer in his room, but, if so, it has to be connected to a Univac mainframe in the basement. Maybe people in rurual Indiana refer to "dudes", maybe not. The character names are a problem for the era, as well. If these guys are sixteen in 1980, it would be well ahead of the curve for their parents to name them Taylor, Devon, Brandon, et al, in 1964. Graymoor Mansion, itself a distraction, could not possibly stand for 100+ years with apparent unrestricted access with contents intact. Lastly as a criticism, Mark and Taylor, at 16, fall instantly and passionately in love on their first meeting, literally within seconds. . We wish! Still, Roeder delivers a moving, emotional, loving story. The tragic ending, while regretful, is part of that story. Having read some, but not all, of Roeder's youth chronicles, I sense that he is getting better, much, much, better, with each new work or update of his previous writing. This book is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A little disappointed
Review: This book is bad even for [alternate lifestyle] book standards. ...save your money for some real quality material by quality authors like Patricia Nell Warren. Mark and Taylor act like basically the same person (despite the author's descriptions of Taylor as the "sensitive" one and Mark as the "jock" one - which he repeats over and over and over again). The dialogue is flat and unrealistic. It doesn't sound anything like kids talk in real life. I also was very disturbed by the messages the author is sending kids: Taylor and Mark have [physical activity] without any protection, and Mark says something like, "I know violence shouldn't be the answer, but sometimes it just is!" This could have been a really good book because it had a great premise. And, because the basic storyline was stolen straight from Shakespeare, it also had a great basic storyline. But Roeder just didn't know what to do with the it all. He repeats himself constantly, grammatical and spelling errors run rampant (which I've found is usually to be expected from iUniverse authors), and the characters are all cardboard cutouts. These kids' parents barely even exist until they "discover" Mark and Taylor. What else can I say? Plain, lackluster prose. Unnecessary scenes that just drag the book's momentum down. And repetition. I've pointed out the author's repetition three times in this review, just to give you an idea of what reading this book is like. He ran his vampire analogy ... into the ground. And he showed almost every scene in the book from both Mark and Taylor's perspectives - even the scenes in which both of them had the same opinion of what happened! It's ridiculous and totally unneeded. If you're going to [use] Shakespeare's plot, at least make it passable.
Rating:
Summary: I know [alternate lifestyle] books can be cheesy, but this is downright awful.
Review: This book is bad even for [alternate lifestyle] book standards. ...save your money for some real quality material by quality authors like Patricia Nell Warren. Mark and Taylor act like basically the same person (despite the author's descriptions of Taylor as the "sensitive" one and Mark as the "jock" one - which he repeats over and over and over again). The dialogue is flat and unrealistic. It doesn't sound anything like kids talk in real life. I also was very disturbed by the messages the author is sending kids: Taylor and Mark have [physical activity] without any protection, and Mark says something like, "I know violence shouldn't be the answer, but sometimes it just is!" This could have been a really good book because it had a great premise. And, because the basic storyline was stolen straight from Shakespeare, it also had a great basic storyline. But Roeder just didn't know what to do with the it all. He repeats himself constantly, grammatical and spelling errors run rampant (which I've found is usually to be expected from iUniverse authors), and the characters are all cardboard cutouts. These kids' parents barely even exist until they "discover" Mark and Taylor. What else can I say? Plain, lackluster prose. Unnecessary scenes that just drag the book's momentum down. And repetition. I've pointed out the author's repetition three times in this review, just to give you an idea of what reading this book is like. He ran his vampire analogy ... into the ground. And he showed almost every scene in the book from both Mark and Taylor's perspectives - even the scenes in which both of them had the same opinion of what happened! It's ridiculous and totally unneeded. If you're going to [use] Shakespeare's plot, at least make it passable.
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