Product Description

When Travis inherits the title to a large tract of unspoiled woodlands from his estranged father, he travels there and meets Cembran, a solitary figure who had been driven from his home. But the handsome man who captivates Travis is much more than he seems - he is a magical being, a satyr, and he awakens in Travis realistic, erotic dreams the like of which he has never experienced. What Travis and Cembran don't expect is for the dreams to bind them together and warn them of danger - threats against the magical woodlands from developers, against Cembran's heritage and life with his people, and against Travis and Cembran's growing love for one another. It's the hand of Bacchus himself that leads them into a life with one another: building a family, establishing a home, and battling old demons. And when the dreams return to foretell another threat to their happiness, it will take Cembran, Travis, and all those they love to save not only the satyr community and its lands, but the permanent future Travis and Cembran hope to live together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #486556 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 308 pages

Customer Reviews

Children of Bacchus by Andrew Grey
The book tells the story of Cembran, a mixed blood Satyr... yes, you heard well, a Satyr, those mythical creatures with horns, tail and goat legs... well told in this way, Cembran seems not to be an handsome guy and instead... well he has very little horns and a very little tail and his legs are human, so he only inherited the better part from his satyr father... and no, I will not tell you what it is.

Anyway Cembran as half satyr is more long-lived than human, and at 300 years old he lives in America now; he left his home in Switzerland when he refused to marry a woman and procreate little satyrs, and he manages to build a small farm in an almost wild estate. The man who owned the land knew about Cembran and when he died he left a will in which he forbad to sell it and now, three generations later, the land is owned by Travis.

Travis used to visit the land when he was a young teenager with sexual insecurities... from a very strict family, he knew that when he would come out he would also loose his family support, and so he searched shelter in the wild land. In one of his visit he sees Cembran from afar and then another time he briefly meets the man. From that day on, Cembran is in his dreams and he actually can't find a man to share his life. Finally as an adult he decides to visit again the land and this time he meets Cembran as a man, and as a man he "seduces" the half satyr. This is the particularity of this novel: Travis should be the naivee one, the young human without experience, and instead he is the seducer. Cembran is a free spirit, a son of nature, a man who lives hundreds of years back in time: for him, in his little farm, the time stopped.

When Travis approaches him, he could be the destruction of this paradise, and instead he becomes the protector of all this, the knight in shining armor who will rescue not only Cembran, but also all the other satyrs who gather around them. Indeed the book is really two books: the first one is all about Travis and Cembran, how they met and loved, and it's somewhat in an undertone; even if it's when there are most of the revelations of the story, the first part flows placid, without shocks, even the sex is almost "innocent" and in second line. The second part instead has all another rhythm: it's almost like the satyrs are now free to express themself; this part is lighter, funnier and sexier. You can clearly read two different moods, the first brooding, the second sparlinkg.

Another things I noticed is that, even if the book is written by a man, it's sweet and romantic, sometime almost too much... sometime Cembran behaves more like a woman than a man! And this is a compliment, since it's made by a woman!

Significant editing issues, but the story far outweighs them
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 8/10

PROS:
- Loved the story(ies), especially toward the end of the book. The book has a beautiful, satisfying conclusion.
- Very good depiction of a progression over several years' worth of time. I LOVED the sense of community at the end of the book...not only are the two main characters happy and together forever, but they're also surrounded by a network of friends and family whose interactions are heartwarming and lovely.
- Story shows 3 different romances in varying degrees of depth, and I enjoyed them all. The book follows Travis and Cembran's romance in great depth, and then we're shown Brock and Steven to a lesser degree, and we get to hear about and see external evidence of Gathod and Doug's relationship.

CONS:
- One of the conflicts--there are 2, one in each part (originally written and published as separate novellas, perhaps?)--is rushed and a bit unnecessary. I felt like the story was fine as an exploration of family and community and didn't need a more traditional "bad guy"-related problem.
- Difficult to keep up with what's happening because of editing issues, particularly the way dialog and exposition are intermingled. Some paragraphs convey the actions and words of multiple characters and use "he/him" instead of names so that it's unclear who's doing and saying what.
- Repetitive sex scenes. There is a lot of sex, as is appropriate in a story about satyrs, and nothing about it is anything other than vanilla. But the sex is emotional, so overall I liked it.
- Some unnecessary repetition of ideas and dialog, as though the stories were originally published in serial sections and each piece needed to provide background information for readers who weren't familiar with the earlier parts.

Overall comments: If you enjoy emotional romance, particularly as it's shown over a period of several years, this is a great read.

Magical Love
This is a brilliant, beautiful story of love with clear magical qualities. And not just because one of the lovers is a satyr. It's as much due to the way the characters are described and how they interact as it is due to the magical dreams that first connect, and then bind the two lovers together.

Travis has been unhappy and estranged from his father when he inherits the woodlands where he spent many happy hours when he was an insecure teenager. Meeting Cembran, who had been driven from his home and family centuries ago, opens up a new way of looking at the world for Travis. The erotic dreams he soon experiences are very vivid and swept me into a world of tender and very erotic love.

I was so drawn into the characters' lives that I got really upset about the developers who soon intrude on the growing love and peace Travis and Cembran have found in the quiet woodlands. Thankfully Bacchus himself intervenes and helps them build a family and an existence that manages to resist the evil developers!

Absolutely brilliant, escapist and totally magical fantasy of the best kind!