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Captain Harding Series by Elliot Mackle
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Ah the incomparable Elliot Mackle. Like you - I will buy and read anything by this author and I'm thrilled to meet another Mackle fan out there.Some notable discussions were had over the Captain Harding books happened way back in the AfterElton book forums. At one stage - Cpt Harding's Six Day War became unavailable for purchase and I spent several frustrating months searching everywhere for a second hand copy to no avail. It remained high on my Amazon wishlist and you could've heard my "squueeeeee" from the moon when Lethe Press finally re-published it ... Jax was just as glad to get her hands on a copy as well, if I recall correctly.
Thanks for posting this up for further comments and reviews ... I'll have to locate where mine are. Oh and THANK YOU for the update on when his next Capt Harding release might be.
PaperMoon wrote: Some notable discussions were had over the Captain Harding books happened way back in the AfterElton book forums.
I didn't read the book discussions at AfterElton, only dipping into them occasionally, so I hope I don't repeat too many here. I'd love to read what everyone thought about these stories, if people don't mind going back over them.
I've looked high and low and can I find where I've filed/saved my long ramble to Jax on AE as to why I feel Captain Harding as a character learnt several important life lessons by the end of the Six Day War book - nope. Humph. I wonder if Jax can recall parts of that discussion thread.In fact ... my review of the Six Day War title seems to have gone AWOL as well!
But for now - here's my thoughts written last year on Captain Harding And His Men:
Having narrowly averted a major international political crisis less than a year before, US Air Force Captain Joe Harding is endeavouring to stay away from trouble (in both his work-life as well as love-life). The book setting is ensconced in the 1960's and any hint of homosexual scandal spells disaster for any armed forces personnel.
Joe's problem is that he's a bit of a trouble-magnet. Trouble comes to him through his work buddies, his ranked superiors and inferiors - harassment, bullying, verbal abuse, power-plays, etc. On the private and personal level, further troubles loom for Joe when continues clandestine M-M relations with guys both on as well as off Wheelus Air Base, strategically located in pre-Gaddafi Libya. Even more trouble when Joe finds that himself losing his resolve to keep away from attractive and barely seventeen year old Cotton (son of the US Ambassador).
Murder, mystery and intrigue abound in this Mackle sequel to Capt Harding's Six Day War - the apparent suicide of a car-pool officer in downtown Tripoli may or may not have anything to do with the deaths resulting from a runway crash of a military transport plane. Joe is reluctantly drawn into a growing maelstrom of evidence cover-ups - mysterious consignments of supplies being couriered off-base using military transport, doctored flight records. Immediate superiors as well as higher up powers seem to quickly clamp down on any efforts on Joe's part to elucidate the truth. And when he's caught in a hotel room with the under-aged Cotton by the latter's father - will this play into the hands of those who want Joe silenced / removed forever?
Mackle does not disappoint his fans - this book has great plot, fast action, violent deaths, bad-guys in high up places within the US forces and CIA. My initial disappointment that this sequel is merely 173 pages long was alleviated upon reading the actual content found with the pages. Joe's pragmatism, emotional struggles and ethical dilemmas are vividly realistic. Despite being published by Lethe Press under their gay romance banner, and there are some aspects of romance, this is not really a gay romance plot IMO. I was of course keenly interested to discover how Joe and Cotton would navigate their growing relationship through the minefields of under-aged love, social class difference, and the oppressive anti-gay culture of the US armed services.
I was hooked from page one and read it through in one sitting. This was a thoroughly satisfying reading experience and I hope not to wait too long for Mackle's next Captain Harding title.
Thanks for posting this, PaperMoon, it made good reading.Let's hope the time passes quickly until we get the next book in this series.
I'm as keen as you Aussie54 to get my hands on the next title in the series.Now the good news is that I managed to find my long ramble concerning the redemption of Capt Harding's character at the end of the first book in the series.
So for those who're interested (beware lots of spoilers):
(view spoiler)
Would you believe I've only just discovered what the Wheelus Air Base and the officer's club looks like - on the author's website (scrapbook): http://www.elliottmacklebooks.com/dis... All this time I'd just been imagining what Capt Harding and his guys are romping around in - my imaginations have proved totally dissimilar to the reality of course LOL!
Now if only someone can get us a looksee into the single officers accoms ... I have a purely prurient interest in seeing the shared bathroom layout between Joe and Jeff Masters rooms!
Also came across the following snippet of info from:
http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews...
I’ll pick it up once I get Harding 3 in print, hopefully next summer…The next and possibly final Harding story begins when Joe returns after 18 months in Vietnam.” He says, “Because I never had my boots on the ground in Vietnam,” a PTSD-afflicted Joe will re-visit the war scenes in flashbacks.
Oh, and the 'it' Mackle is referring to above is the next book in the Bud and Dan mysteries series. Wheeee!
PaperMoon wrote: "Would you believe I've only just discovered what the Wheelus Air Base and the officer's club looks like - on the author's website (scrapbook): http://www.elliottmacklebooks.com/dis... All this..."
Thanks for the link to that interview, Papermoon. That was very interesting. Now we're waiting for two new books! Wheee indeed!
Woohoo! Just got notification on Amazon from Elliot Mackle that Welcome Home Captain Harding will be released on Sept 15! Can't wait.
PaperMoon wrote: "Woohoo! Just got notification on Amazon from Elliot Mackle that Welcome Home Captain Harding will be released on Sept 15! Can't wait."Thanks for this. I'm counting the days!
If anyone has any questions to ask Elliott Mackle, he'll be interviewed at JesseWaves Review site in September. You can leave your questions here: http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/201...
Aussie54 wrote: "If anyone has any questions to ask Elliott Mackle, he'll be interviewed at JesseWaves Review site in September. You can leave your questions here: http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/201......"
Thanks Aussie54. My first question will probably a complaint ... why end the series? Is it possible to develop US military plots from 1960s to 1980s - the cold war Gorbachov era, international espionage and murder, political assassinations, the Six-Day War and the middle east crisis, international terrorism and plane bombings ... there's a wealth of things which Captain Harding can get dragged into whilst still in the military. And I do so want to see what sort of man Cotton will grow up to become.
I have to admit I'm struggling to understand how the Captain Harding series can be labelled 'romance' by the publishing house and by others. Don't get me wrong ... they are fantastic reads but I feel any romantic elements are mixed in so well with other thread - violence and murder-mystery action, military-political shenanigans, the struggle to survive within an anti-gay war outfit, taking risks and walking the dangerous line in expressing a gay identity and yet keeping things secret, the psychological, emotional and relational toll this has etc ...
Yes they do have M-M action and men-loving-men themes but so do titles by Ethan Mordden, Michael Thomas Ford, Alan Chin, William J Mann etc ... and they are not merely 'romances' (Note: not casting aspersions of any kind on gay romances here - I love me a good romance read as well).
Less than a month to go!!!Except from Amazon:
"Returning to California after eighteen terrifying months in Vietnam, Captain Joe Harding is assigned a trio of duties: assisting his fatherly former commander at base operations, spying on misbehaving bomber pilots and organizing an air show designed to counter the anti-war fever sweeping the state. Meanwhile, his much younger tennis partner has enrolled at Cal Berkeley, enmeshed himself in pacifist politics and resumed his role as Joe's lover. When a playmate from Wheelus, a one-time fighter pilot now flying for TWA, shows up at Joe's house in Merced, the three men must navigate the joys and difficulties inherent in creating their own sort of ''welcome home.'' Continuing the adventures and misadventures begun in Elliott Mackle's acclaimed Captain Harding series Joe and his fellow officers and men are up against a hot-dogging, risk-taking aircraft commander, a pair of drug-abusing co-pilots and a married administrator with a taste for sexual blackmail. When a Broadway show causes a death in the family, a test flight goes terribly wrong and Joe's honor and patriotism are questioned, he must fight to clear his name and rebuild his imperiled career."
AND a front cover pic!
Can. Not. Wait.
I can't wait either! Is there going to be a threesome? I'm not sure about that, but maybe Elliot can convince me ...
Aussie54 wrote: "I can't wait either! Is there going to be a threesome? I'm not sure about that, but maybe Elliot can convince me ..."Yeah me too Aussie54 - I was a little surprised! Is it just me or is there more and more M-M-M scenarios appearing in recent published works?
I thought such a scenario was dashed with Hal's fate at the end of the previous book. My guess is that Duane is coming back into the picture ... and I did like Duane's character very much from book 1! Let's see what develops eh???
I haven't noticed more M-M-M scenarios, but I don't go looking for them, so maybe that's why they haven't bobbed up on my horizon. I'm happy to wait to see what develops. I'll re-read the first two books as well, just to make sure I remember what's happened. My memory's terrible lately.
Okay! I've read Welcome Home, Captain Harding, and enjoyed it. I'll need a while to absorb it, maybe do a re-read. I'm not sure about the m/m/m side of things; it didn't bother me too much, as most of the action was off-page, but since I'm an incurable romantic, I would've preferred Joe and Cotton to be monogamous. Yes I do live in fantasy land. :D
Ooo ... ooo ...I can't wait till mine arrives in the post! Glad that you enjoyed it. Does the book leave things open for another title in the series or is that the final curtain call for Joe and Cotton?
PaperMoon wrote: "Ooo ... ooo ...I can't wait till mine arrives in the post! Glad that you enjoyed it. Does the book leave things open for another title in the series or is that the final curtain call for Joe and C..."I'm pretty sure this is the last book in a trilogy. I would love the series to continue, but I guess the author feels the story's complete now.
Welcome Home Captain Harding, final installment of the Joe Harding series, brings the action up to the brink of the 1970s. Captain Harding is returned from a short desk-job stint in 'Nam and suffering some PTSD. His new role is located on US soil - Castle Air Force base, near San Francisco, CA.His primary task is to assist his previous boss Colonel Opstein in uncovering gross misconduct and negligent management on base. And he has to juggle such subterfuge with managing the logistics of staging a major US air-force whiz-bang open-day 'show and tell' for the local public, so as to raise positive PR to counter the increasing anti-war sentiments stemming from university campuses across the nation.
Apart from inveigling his way into flight pilots' excessive behavior, activities and outings (drugs, drink and wimmen), dodging potentially dangerous sexual advances from a superior officer, Joe has to re-establish his relationship with a now 19-year-old Cotton Boardman, who's enrolled in a nearby SF university. To further complicate this budding relationship, Joe discovers the danger of hidden cameras, photographic evidence which would derail his military career and possibly bring down relevant powers-that-be on his sexuality and relationship with an under-21 year old. And what to do when an old f__k-buddy turns up wanting to re-kindle the flames of half-forgotten prior passions?
The usual elements from previous books are present - corruption and favoritism, the tricky dance of deception for gay and bisexual members serving in the US armed forces prior to the liberating 1970s, veiled menace from CIA undercover operatives, the reality of death from flying powerful aircraft ... people are killed and Joe experiences personal loss as in previous books. Given the historical time-frame and settings, Mackle gives a good balance between patriotism and selfless action with the brutality, horrors and senseless violence of warfare.
Elliot Mackle is at his best when taking readers through the day-to-day political one-man-up-ships that occur in military (air-force) hierarchical systems. Our hero Joe Harding has lost none of his barely-suppressed sexual tension and drive ... his roving eye and occasional 'outing' to the baths bring relief and of course the consequent professional and personal-relationship complications. I felt the palpable tension and pull as Joe struggles to navigate relations with feisty, ebullient yet tenderly green Cotton as well as the magnetic, sexy, strong and fragile Sam Goldman. All this signifies a major milestone/crossroad for our hero Joe, who's always run from long-term commitments and deep meaningful relations in the past.
Where Joe, Cotton and Sam found themselves by the end of the book proved to be both unsurprising and yet startlingly honest; and one that will not sit comfortably with some readers. For me, it was a suitable and satisfactory ending. I do wish there had been some form of update on the fate of army nurse Duane (character from book one) who's my most favorite of the secondary characters introduced in this series. I would have been reassured knowing Duane came home from the war in one piece as well.
My heart's desire would be for more titles in this series but I am resigned to saying 'welcome home and goodbye' to Captain Harding. This series remains one of my most enjoyed reads of the past few years. Thank you, Mr Mackle.
http://www.elliottmacklebooks.com/ind...
Interview with Elliott Mackle: http://speakitsname.com/category/auth...
Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/series/90653...
Captain Harding’s Six Day War
Speak Its Name link: http://speakitsname.com/2011/09/20/re...
Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Blurb: When a loose-cannon colonel at the remote Wheelus Air Base in Libya attacks an Arab warship during the run-up to the 1967 war, handsome hunk Joe Harding must come out to his closest, straightest buddies in order to bring the pilots and their airplanes home safely.
My thoughts: Elliott Mackle is a top-knotch writer; his books are a joy to read. He writes this story from experience and it shows in every line. His writing reminds me very much of Lucius Parhelion’s, which is high praise from me. They’ve both become authors whose work I’ll buy immediately it’s released.
Captain Harding and His Men by Elliott Mackle
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
http://speakitsname.com/?s=Captain+Ha...
Blurb: When a C-130 bound for Southeast Asia explodes on takeoff at remote Wheelus Air Base, Libya, handsome, hard-charging Captain Joe Harding instinctively realizes that the cargo list—“medical supplies and radio tubes”—was faked. When Joe’s newly-married workout buddy does a swan dive off a fifth story balcony in downtown Tripoli, Joe refuses to accept the semi-official verdict: suicidal depression. And when Joe’s tennis partner, the son of the American ambassador, decides to celebrate his eighteenth birthday by appearing unannounced at Joe’s BOQ door, the potential difficulties of their love-match must be addressed––seriously and without delay.
Continuing the adventures and misadventures begun in Elliott Mackle’s award-winning “Captain Harding’s Six-Day War,” Joe and his fellow officers and airmen contend with a highly decorated but sexually abusive wing commander (who happens to be Joe’s boss), a closeted Pentagon official fighting to save his career, a CIA agent who may be an imposter, and shipments of British weapons that fall into the hands of anti-royalist rebels. When a kidnapping goes terribly wrong, Joe must fight for everything he holds dear: duty, honor, country and love.
My thoughts: (Maybe slight spoilers.)
I loved, loved, loved this sequel to Elliott’s earlier “Captain Harding and His Six Day War”. Sometimes I became a little lost in the story; I was occasionally confused with the different characters, and the Air force terminology. Sometimes I could’ve slapped Joe for letting his lust take over from his common sense. But all the time I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
There’s plenty of drama and Elliott doesn’t hold back when it comes to adrenalin pumping confrontations. He doesn’t take the easy way out – he puts his characters and readers though the wringer, but somehow manages to come up with a satisfying and hopeful ending.
I was very happy that Cotton and Joe’s love proved to be long lasting, rather than a crush.
I e-mailed Elliott, saying how much I enjoyed his story, and asked him if we could expect to see more of Cotton and Joe. He replied that, all being well, yes we can expect a new story this time next year. ***** 5 stars!