Buy it now direct from Seventh Window or from our Amazon.com store – Dutch’s Boy
People who know me well, know that I’m not a big fan of
cowboys, or Westerns. Call me silly, but
the whole cowboy fetish thing just never worked for me. Perhaps it was the
Westerns I grew up with that tainted my taste. John Wayne was over-the-top and
arrogant. Everything about his various characters just seemed fake and
exaggerated to me. Dutch’s Boy the latest short story by Xavier Axelson may
just change my mind about these men.
Dutch Reynolds is a famous rodeo rider who doesn’t want his
son, Harry to leave the ranch to follow his own dreams of being in the rodeo.
Harry has finally had enough and leaves home unexpectedly while his father is
away. Through chance encounters, the support of his lifelong friend Reb, and a
few unexpected twists, Harry learns what following your dream really means.
This is the third story I’ve read by Xavier, and I have to
say he isn’t letting up. Dutch’s Boy is a powerful and sexy story about a young
man searching for a way to live his dream, a dream his father doesn’t think
he’s ready for. The emotions Xavier puts onto the pages are heartfelt, intense,
and familiar. Anyone who has ever had a dream that they struggled obtaining due
to family pressure will immediately relate to Harry’s story.
The sex in Dutch’s Boy lives up to what we’ve come to expect
from Xavier’s writing. It’s hot, raw, and most of all – believable. Dutch’s Boy
is only eight-eight pages, but it’s packed full of tight writing, and stronger
characters.
Now if I could have had a cowboy like Harry when I was
growing up, things would have been quite different for me.
Reviewed by William Holden
Out in Print: Queer Book Reviews 