Robin Anderson Author Reviews

Amo Amas Amassive!

★ ★ ★ ★

"Robin Anderson is off and running again!"
Grady Harp - Amazon

Robin Anderson takes a million and one chances in this stingingly funny novel and his writing style is so
adept that he knows exactly how to balance camp with storyline. A little background: Anderson was born
in Scotland and educated in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and South Africa and while his novels have a
decidedly bent twist, is day job is that of an internationally respected interior designer. And in that field
he likely has encountered much of the classy fodder he molds into this book.

This current tale of the naughty realm of Anderson's purview can be summarized s follows: `What makes
Anders different? Could it be the mysterious cousin, the supposed second cousin - and more? And what
does the desperate message `Find Rory' mean? It takes Lars and Thorsteing, aided and abetted by Annie, along with Toby, David, and Varg to set matters in motion. The key to Anders' `difference' is conniving Elizabeth Gudmundsen and the avaricious Thinus van Rensburg. Add the relevance of a severed sheep's head plus a box of peppermeont cream and you'll still be none the wiser unless you read to the end.'

That synopsis (read `teaser') is supplied by the author and makes about as much sensible plot as can be found in this raucous tale. But that is what makes these on going tales by Anderson work so splendidly - it is not the story that matters as much as the hilarious chatter that tells it. Anderson is unafraid to dip into treacherous territory so reader beware. Oh, forget that! Reader enjoy - it is a zesty naughty absurdly ridiculous font of entertainment that awaits the reader of this AMO AMAS AMASSIVE - and for those who have enjoyed Robin Anderson's books before, the title's meaning will be patently obvious!

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"Who is Anders Gudmundsun?"
Amos Lassen

Robin Anderson has to be one of the most prolific writers of gay fiction around but I need to clarify that. There are many prolific writers around but their output is not always successful whereas Anderson never runs out of unique ideas. When you combine that with being a great storyteller, you always get a good read.

"Amo Amas Amassive!" is about Anders Gudmundsun and there is something very strange about him. His mother, Elizabeth, is very protective of her son so we know that there is a story there. Then there is his sister, Nicki, who lives in South Africa and was never mentioned before and she has a son named Toby that Anders knows nothing about and why should he? He did not even know he had a sister.

Elizabeth and Anders live at "The White House" in what Anderson calls "splendid isolation" yet they are not completely alone. With them is a ghost-like butler, Specter (great name), a doctor, Dr. Ludo Meyer (who says he is a doctor), Charles Harevy, a lawyer and Westfield who we really do not know what he does. Then there are the other people in Anders's ménage a trios, Nicki, his sister and Damien Hilsborough (whose name alone makes him sound quite sinister).

As can be expected with Robin Anderson, the cast of characters is epic and little by little we learn of each of them and of the plots and subplots that come together to give us such a good read.

Annie Corbett is desperate to find her missing boyfriend, Rory, has teamed up with Anders, Lars and Torstein and threesome are suddenly involved in a series of strange happenings that lead to the discovery of who Anders really is and why he is different. The mysteries abound and right at the center is Anders. Did he have anything to do with the death of his very rich billionaire father? What about the disappearance of Rory? What is the true story about his parents' honeymoon and why did Elizabeth stay in South Africa when her husband went to London?

As the questions grow in number so does the cast and Toby, a South African cousin and his friend David join the group and they eventually join Lars and Torstein to find out who is this Anders and why is he different. This is where I stop telling you about the plot and move on to Robin Anderson who most definitely should be better known in North America. With the help of Silver Publishing that is going to happen and take it from me—it only takes one Anderson book to pull you in and make you a fan. He even manages to make the sense of mystery in his books seem to be more mysterious. Rarely will you have such fun solving a mystery and that is because I am sure that Anderson has mapped it all out very carefully. It takes a special writer who has you laughing as you are puzzled about the plot and it really begins to bother you that we do not know who this Anders is. He is obviously unlike everyone else and is the main character yet we realize we really don't know he is. Even as some of the questions are answered, we are still not sure about him and what really makes this a unique read is that the other characters also do not know who he is.

On a more personal note, I am truly flattered that Robin Anderson has dedicated this book to me and even more interesting that during the month of February 2013, I have had the honor of having two books dedicated to me (and I am not planning on leaving this world anytime soon).

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