A Solid Core of Alpha

By: Amy Lane

Narrated by: Paul Morey

In an act of heroism and self-sacrifice, Anderson Rawn's sister saved him from the destruction of their tiny mining colony, but her actions condemned the 13-year-old to 10 years of crushing loneliness on the hyperspace journey to a new home. Using electronics and desperation, Anderson creates a family to keep him company, but family isn't always a blessing. When Anderson finally arrives, C.J. Poulson greets him with curiosity and awe, because anyone who can survive a holocaust and reinvent holo-science is going to be a legend and right up C.J.'s alley. But the more C.J. investigates how Anderson endured the last 10 years, the deeper he is drawn into a truly dangerous fantasy, one that offers the key to Anderson's salvation - and his destruction.

In spite of his best intentions, C.J. can’t resist the terribly seductive Anderson. Their attraction threatens to destroy them, because the heart of a man who can survive the destruction of his people and retain his sense of self holds a solid core of alpha male that will not be denied.

©2011 Amy Lane (P)2012 Amy Lane

Excellent story with a few hitches in the reading

I've learned that audiobooks are a good thing with my past few purchases, and I was very pleased with 'A Solid Core of Alpha.' The characters were interesting, the story was engaging, and the romance was touching.

The only criticism I have is with the reading. There were a few, I guess I'd call them hitches, as though the narrator forgot to completely rewind over his reading mistake before re-recording. It didn't detract from the story, but it was a little jarring to experience.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a solid, gay romance in the sci-fi genre.

Another Solid Story from Amy...

Amy Lane continues to be at the top of her game. The trials of Anderson and the dedication of CJ are just the topping to this great story. Family, survival, love, pain, joy, sadness...it's all here. Highly recommend...

I liked, but eh!

I did like... but is it a re-listen... probably not. Don't get me wrong...definitely worth the listen, just not worth the re-listen. Good story, plot and end and everything. Just... took to long for the romance I guess. 17 chapter long... that is just far too many for me...

Morey does great narration in the m/m selections. Whenever I hear him I always think of Jorey Hardcourt though from Mary Calmes Bulletproof!

Credit... do not buy

Angst galore

Very well written by an excellent author and voiced by a highly talented narrator, too much angst and pathos really for me to give it 5 stars.

Excellent!!

One of the best books I've listened to in quite a while. Lots of great story and fantastic ideas. I found it so good that I listened to the whole 11 hour story with only a short break. Kept me interested right to the end, and was able to evoke a very emotional reaction...both by story and the way it was narrated...unusual in today's writings. The narrator, Paul Morey, was superb! I will look for other books with this narrator!

Mind Trip

3.5 rounded up b/c the narrator was great. This is not what I thought it would be. It's not really a "space" story, but outer space is the background for the total mind f**k Amy Lane does in this story. It is really a story of how far a young boy's mind will go in order for him to survive. The only negative thing was I didn't really "feel" the romance part with CJ. It was almost an insta love thing. The rest of the story is good, but the romance is sort of the weakest aspect, which is disappointing in an Amy Lane book.

Incredible!

Wow. This was far from the cheesy but sweet sci-fi story I thought I was getting. Instead, this was an enthralling story of survival, identity, recovery, love, and growth. There were so many layers and complexities within this story – especially when it comes to identity and sense of self. Anderson was thirteen years old when he was pushed into an escape shuttle by his sister and saved from instant death when his mining colony exploded. Left alone for ten years, Anderson does what he must to survive until he finally finds civilization. Now, a 23 year old man, he must heal from the traumatic experience, but healing his psyche is not as simple as he wishes.

I could not put this book down. Anderson’s vulnerabilities and loss of self was so heart wrenching. C.J.’s devotion and love was inspiring. The characters were so well written, including the hologram characters, although I did think some of the characterization of Cassidy and C.J. were a bit too lackadaisical when it came to their professional lives. They felt more like college students rather than high ranking professionals. Overall, this was such a fascinating and wonderful read.

God I love Amy Lane!

I was skeptical about this book and didn't buy it for a long time - the description and genre did not appeal to me even though Amy Lane is one of my favorite MM authors. I am glad I finally got around to this one though. It has become one of my favorites.

Paul Morey is a kind of hit-or-miss narrator for me. For some books I really love him, and in others I struggle with his pronunciation and inflections. He was a really good fit for this book though and I enjoyed the life he breathed into this cast of characters.

I really just don't have the words - the blurb didn't do it for me, but I honestly couldn't write anything that would do the book any more justice. Amy Lane just has *so* much talent in creating 3 dimensional characters so real that you feel like you "know" them, and love them and empathize with them ...

This book is no exception. Don't judge this book by it's cover (or blurb). Just buy it, listen to it, love it.

A lot more plot than I am used

The plot was really good. The narrator was also pretty good. I found the pauses to be fairly long in the beginning so I sped up the narration speed. That took care of the problem and I was able to enjoy the book.

More layers Than you Think at first

I listen to this story the first time as just a good story - which it really is. But when i listened to it the second time i put On a different set of glasses so to speak and listened while thinking of the splitning of ones personallity the Way Anderson did to create the friends he needed in the ten years he was all alone. The story became something Else and even better - Amy Lane did an amazing job with this story and it has become one of my top ten. Narrator is - as he allways is - very good. Absolutely worth your time if you like m/m romance and especially if you like your stories a little more Than meets the eye. Allthough is is kind of sad too because your heart will break repeatedly for the little lonely and very smart boy Who breaks into pieces.