Escaping into the fantasy of his books when he’s not working in the general store, Ethan Keller has lived a sheltered life in his mother’s boarding house. One day, an enigmatic cowboy passing through the small Texas town takes an immediate liking to the shy seventeen–year–old. Ethan is intrigued by the attention, and the cowboy eventually charms him into signing on to a 900–mile cattle drive. Ethan soon finds that his feelings for this cowboy run deeper than just friendship. He never knew that this kind of love even existed; and now for the two of them to make a life together in the untamed west, they must face nearly insurmountable odds if they are to survive.
Mark R. Probst has been a life–long fan of the Hollywood western. In his first novel, a contemporary take on his favorite genre, he decided to pay homage to the films he so fondly remembered.
Though gay cowboys certainly played a small part in the Old West, history has conveniently misplaced their existence. The Filly tells what could have been one of those forgotten stories.
Review
The Filly, by Mark R. Probst, is a great novel. The story is about a shy young man who meets an interesting and handsome nomadic cowboy, Travis, who moves from job to job. After Travis gets a job at a local ranch, he and Ethan connect as friends. Travis senses that there is something hidden beneath the shy, bookworm exterior, and begins a quest to uncover all of Ethan’s secrets.
This is a fresh story, written with clarity and designed to keep the reader engaged in the story. While I am in no way offended by the inclusion of hot sweaty, steamy sex scenes in Male/Male literature, it was refreshing to have that left to my imagination. I could make happen what I wanted to happen between Ethan and Travis. And while there were hints at drama, I had no idea of what would be coming later in the book. The plot twist only ensured that I was more rapt, more engaged until finished the story. I was not disappointed.
Probst does a nice job of making the characters the focus of the story, not the sex, not the physical connection. His attention to detail and ability to capture the reader’s imagination lends itself to the success of the book. A great read, and I suggest that you will not be disappointed!
Travis is a handsome cowboy who passes though a small town in Texas. While visiting the general store, he meets Ethan, a sheltered seventeen year old “nerd”. Travis becomes immediately enchanted with Ethan and Ethan finds Travis’ attention intriguing. Travis cajoles Ethan into signing on to a cattle drive and on their way there. Ethan gets a peek of Travis bathing in the river and he becomes aroused at the sight of Travis’ naked body. Ethan realizes that he feels more than friendship for Travis and the two men begin to build a relationship, a life together in the West and they are forced into facing problems and dealing with them if their love is to survive.
Mark Probst has given us wonderful characters in Travis and Ethan and he develops them with a sublime flair. I especially fell in love with Ethan, the innocent young man who has his feelings awakened by cowboy Travis. As the relationship between the two men is developed. Probst brings the reader into the narrative as he uses sensitive and simple language. I actually anticipated some hot sex scenes and was surprised that the sex is implied rather than outwardly erotic. The book charmed me and kept me well entertained. I am not particularly into the whole gay cowboy subculture and would prefer not to watch cowboy movies so I must admit that I was fairly sure that this book would not appeal to me. Then I started to read it and found myself being a “homo on the range”.
I must say that I was surprised that a first novel could keep me interested for the entire book and if this is a sign of what is to come from Mark Probst, then we should be getting some more wonderful writing from him. For me, at least, he gave a whole new aspect to the West and I wonder if I should think about exploring being a cowboy a little more deeply.
