I’m a huge fan of Geoffrey Knight’s Fathom’s Five series of adventure novels. I’ve finally read another of his series: Drive Shaft and Drive Shaft 2: Between A Rock and A Hard Place. I’m now a fan of Hutch and Jensen too.
In Drive Shaft, which is short story sized, we meet Jensen as he arrives at Clyde’s Body Shop. He’s come to Clyde’s seeking to get away from his family who don’t approve of him. Here he meets Dean “Hutch” Hutchinson, whose been working at Clyde’s for a while and has some person baggage going on. As you can tell from the covers, these guys are hot and they come with awesome wheels too. Jensen’s got a fiery red Ducati and Hutch drives a cool blue Dodge Viper.
Hutch’s baggage sets him and Jensen at odds immediately, despite the fact the two are attracted to each other. This short basically takes place over three nights. The first two nights, the prize is winning dominance over the loser. The third night, the stakes are raised well beyond that.
Knight does a great job in Drive Shaft not only introducing the characters, but also writing some terrific race sequences. The races take place through some tough locations and the speed and action are written with the same greatness that the adventure sequences are in the Fathom’s books. Also on display here is his ability to write scorching hot erotic scenes.
Jumping into Drive Shaft 2, there’s a lot more action. Clyde’s Body Shop is in trouble because Clyde owes tens of thousands of dollars to the mob. It’s time to pay or face the consequences. This story also finds Hutch and Jensen living together and settling into a good routine. As soon as the boys find out Clyde’s in trouble, they decide the way to get the needed money is to take on a dangerous race across the desert–The Reaper’s Rally. Unfortunately, the mobsters get involved in the rally and take the reaper’s part seriously. There’s also a wonderful subplot here as Clyde finally finds some love for himself in the form of a Russian woman who rolls into his shop in a pink Cadalliac.
The race is treacherous and, as he did with the first story, Knight writes it great making the reader feel the speed of the driving as well as the danger involved in getting the race’s markers from a pit of rattlesnakes, a graveyard, and abandoned mine. The mine sequence in particular was a wild ride that was both fun and tense.
Drive Shaft 2, of course, also has a couple of great sexy scenes between Hutch and Jensen. While there’s not as as in the first one, what’s here makes for a very good read.
According to the end of the book, a Drive Shaft 3 is one the way. This time everyone is off to Russia as Clyde and Annie get married. From the blurb it sounds like there will be lots of intrigue so I’m looking forward to reading it.
