Author: Claire Davis & Al Stewart
Title: The Invasion of Tork
Publication Date: December 1, 2014 (Beaten Track Publishing)
Length: 82 pages
Categories: Gay fiction
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23308282-the-invasion-of-tork
Title: The Invasion of Adam
Publication Date: December 1, 2015 (Beaten Track Publishing)
Length: 75 pages
Categories: Gay fiction
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27914324-the-invasion-of-adam
The Invasion of Tork
Adam is cool, intelligent and drop-dead gorgeous – all the guys tell him so! When he is forced to start voluntary work at the local homeless shelter, all he worries about is keeping the clients well away from him and finishing the placement as soon as possible. Until he meets Tork.
Tork is clever and funny. He makes origami models and reads Dickens. Tork has green hair and makes Adam’s heart race with longing. But Tork is homeless and not at all impressed with Adam’s attitude.
Can Adam see past his fear and arrogance? Can Tork give Adam a chance?
Can two such different men turn the world upside down and find out what really matters? Read to find out their story.
The Invasion of Adam
College life, fun nights out, guys everywhere—Adam thought his life was perfect…
Until he met Tork.
Green-haired Tork creates origami models and reads Dickens. He lives in supported housing, and he is absolutely not impressed by money.
Adam and Tork come from opposite worlds, but even as Adam fights it, the attraction stays strong.
Will Tork win the battle to understand his past and be well? Is there another Adam beneath that polished surface? Can they overcome their differences, and will there be dancing at midnight?
Find out what happens in a year of Adam, Tork, and Dickens the cat.
The Invasion of Tork
I have yet to find a book by Claire Davis and Al Stewart that I didn’t love, so my first thought on reading this was, “Why haven’t I already read this?” It’s pitch-perfect from beginning to end.
First, there’s Tork. He’s homeless, and he lives by the rules he’s given himself to ensure his survival. Slowly, he begins to break the rules, sometimes with good results and sometimes not. He’s easy to love, but he never devolves into someone to merely pity. It’s easy to see how one thing can lead to another, and someone like Tork can end up on the streets. But survive he does, and he proves over and over that he is stronger than he thinks he is. What I love is that he isn’t a cliche, and he’s not meant to represent the “worthy” homeless person. He isn’t perfect, and he is still capable of messing things up and sabotaging his own best interests. But he is, in his own way, a hero.
Then there’s Adam. Oh, my word, I hated him at first. He’s so awful and arrogant and just plain mean at times. And yet he can’t help the effect meeting Tork has on him. Adam does grow as a person, even if he still harbors some judgmental views. He still worries about his image and who he’s impressing, but it’s clear so much of it is a cover for his own doubts. He says and does a whole lot of cringe-inducing things all the way through, but underneath it all, he does in fact have a heart.
This is a quick read, so we don’t get to delve deeply into the histories of Tork or Adam. I found myself wondering what could have happened to both of them to create the people they’ve become by the time we meet them. I particularly wondered what had made Adam so insecure that he has to constantly remind himself how fantastic he is.
Along the way, there’s a lot of humor as well as frustration, sadness, and a good dash of hope. For such a brief glimpse into their lives, Adam and Tork give us a lot to think about.
This is more than a nice little story with a too-cute happily ever after. And how could it be, with everything they’ve been through? This is some serious social commentary. It’s not merely the idea that we don’t know what a homeless person may have been through or a note on how and why a person finds themselves in such a position. It certainly isn’t some self-righteous preaching about the wise homeless person humbling the arrogant fool. For me, it was a little bit about how all of us need to reconcile our inner Tork with our inner Adam. How many of us have ever really confronted the pain we run away from or avoid or bleed out like Tork? And how many of us have confronted the biases we hold, the opinions of people we consider inferior? But when we do, and we let those parts of ourselves communicate, we get the beauty that Adam and Tork are together.
If what you’re looking for is a gritty street drama or an angsty, romantic love connection, you might get a little of that here. Or you might be disappointed that it’s not more of either of those. This isn’t a “love heals all” tale or a passionate affair. Instead, it’s a plea to look at ourselves and each other with different eyes.
For solid social themes, sensitive treatment of difficult subject matter, and a satisfying conclusion, this gets 10 fountain pens.
The Invasion of Adam
This is a delightful follow-up to The Invasion of Tork. It works well enough as a stand-alone, but I think it’s probably helpful to read the first one.
I loved this story, although I think not as much as its predecessor. While I’m not always a fan of first person narration, in this case, I missed it. I liked hearing Tork and Adam speaking directly. The other thing I think lost just a little for me was that it felt like it wasn’t strictly necessary. For me, the first book was complete. We didn’t get every detail, but I liked that. It left a bit of mystery. This one felt more like filling in the gaps. I understand why some people want that, so this is more my own preference. I think in giving it more shape, it lost some of the literary quality I loved so much about the first one.
That said, this is still very good. There’s plenty here to warm even the coldest heart, and there’s plenty of humor (often at Adam’s expense because really, he needs to be taken down a notch or three). What I loved is that when insecurity rears its ugly head for one or both of them, they don’t run from each other. They don’t waste pages and pages (and precious readers’ minutes) angsting and refusing to communicate. Instead, they look for each other and look to each other. When Adam has a crucial moment where he needs Tork but can’t find him, he doesn’t leave in anger or create more drama; he goes to find out why Tork isn’t there.
Now having read about them twice, I think I could happily read about them forever. The two of them together speak volumes about what it really means to love and be loved wholly for who we are.
For outstanding characters, commentary on the human condition, and a full range of emotions, this gets 9/10 fountain pens.
The Invasion of Tork
The Invasion of Adam
Al Stewart and Claire Davis write about people who are not perfect. Claire embraces the dark side, and Al the good side of the force. Their work is there for a fusion of both, mixed often with kink and humour.
Contact and Media
Website: http://astewartcdavisbook.wix.com/author
Goodreads:
goodreads.com/author/show/8328423.Claire_Davis
goodreads.com/author/show/8510218.Al_Stewart
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Claire-Davis-and-Al-Stewart/764501920298271
Beaten Track: beatentrackpublishing.com/clairedavisandalstewart
