TEST
I decided to read My Man Michael because the recent controversy made me curious. The idea of mixed martial arts fighters as heroes still strikes me as a cool idea. However, while I like futuristics, in this case, the futuristic element didn’t work for me. I’m also annoyed to find yet another futuristic with a puritanical regime and, of course, a virginal heroine.
My Man Michael starts after Michael “Mallet” Manchester has been badly injured in a car accident. His fighting career is over, and he isn’t interested in a future where he can’t be a fighter. Then Kayli Raine literally appears in his hospital room and offers him a chance. He can be healed if he agrees to travel into the future with her. Even though he’s certain she’s a hallucination, he agrees. Before he knows it, Mallet is on a colony in the far future – and healed.
Mallet finds himself in a world that is topsy-turvy. The colony is a matriarchy, headed by Kayli’s mother. The macho Mallet can’t believe that the men stay at home (raising families and building things) while the women go off to fight. He’s even more startled to learn that they brought him here to breed. It’s Kayli he wants, but as a fighter, she’s not allowed to have a mate. Besides, Mallet wants to fight. In particular, he wants to protect Kayli – and the others – from a mysterious enemy that takes women from the colony. Meanwhile, Kayli’s mother is protecting a secret about her past. Like much of the book, the revelations are frustrating. It seems that in the far future, there are still stupid big misunderstandings and big secrets.
As you might expect from a fighter, Mallet comes across as solid, not just in appearance. He’s a protective, take-charge sort of man, but not in a chest-thumping way. Sure, he’s sometimes too stubborn for his own good, and he’s also innovative and flexible. Also, while everyone else expects him to be attracted to Kayli’s lovely (and delicate) sisters, he thinks that the physically fit Kayli is the most beautiful woman there. He learns to appreciate her fighting skills over time, and even learns to cooperate in the defense of the colony.
Like Mallet, Kayli is a leader, heading the defense forces on the colony. For all that, her closest companion is her computer, Hauk. Unfortunately, although she has the most powerful computer in the colony, Kayli is as sheltered as a Regency miss. She’s a fighter, and she doesn’t even know that men are vulnerable to being hit in the groin. Her knowledge about sexuality is even worse, and for some reason, Hauk can’t help her here. At one point, Mallet finds her looking at clinical illustrations that sound like something out of the high school health book I read in the 1970s. Surely the woman who controls the most powerful computer in the colony could have accessed better images, no matter how strict her mother was.
Still, Hauk was the most interesting secondary character, and often more believable than the humans. Kayli’s mother, Raemay, is too severe. She’s tied to her secrets for reasons that turn out to be contrived. Most of Raemay’s other daughters make goo-goo eyes at Mallet, while Kayli does important work and gets little respect – except from Mallet, of course. Once we meet the leader of the raiders, he’s not at all what you’d expect, but that makes the whole subplot about the raids seem even more flimsy.
Flimsy is the word of the day. In futuristic romances, the setting is vital. Unfortunately, much of the time, I felt as if the world would fall apart if a strong wind blew. Much of it was too hard to believe. We’re supposed to accept that the men in the future are physically weaker than modern man, yet they still build things. Have you seen that many frail construction workers? This far in the future, no one uses weapons. That sounds peaceful and wonderful, doesn’t it? But what would happen if another colony that did believe in using weapons invaded them? (It’s a good thing the invaders have the same belief system!) Mallet is introduced to lots of cool inventions. Yet at the same time, it was hard to visualize this setting.
Despite the flimsy world, it’s fun to see Mallet interact with the future – especially with Kayli and Hauk. Mallet is just the kick in the pants this stodgy colony needs. But if this is the future, I’d rather stick to the previous books in this series, which are all contemporaries.
Grade: C-
Book Type: Futuristic Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 30/03/09
Publication Date: 2009
I buy too many books, too many weird heavy metal albums, and too many pulp novel reprints.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.