[.ca] Bourbon Street Blues (ISBN 0758202121)

Scotty Go Go:
Having just been to New Orleans the storyline of the book captured my attention. Heren has created a great character with Scotty Bradley and made me feel like the city was a character as well. The plot seems to tie up quickly and I felt a little robbed of some unfinished parts but over all I did enjoy this novel. I guess maybe I wanted more and will have to wait for the next installment of Scotty "Milton" Bradley and his personal trainer/GoGo boy exploits. Thanks Greg for a great read!

Iffy Premise... But Great Read:
I was attracted to this book for one reason, mainly, outside of the gay theme.. and what was it's setting: Modern Day New Orleans, Louisianna. I live not to far from New Orleans and spent many a night, and Decadence (a Labor Day Holiday in New Orleans, when this story is set), in New Orleans in the very clubs he talks about. That's right, his clubs and their locations are far from fictional. If you've been to New Orleans, you know the Oz, and directly accross from it the Bourbon Pub the Parade Upstairs, the Hit Parade Across the street where you can buy all sorts of clothing in emergency situations, and next door the Bourbon Orleans (A Hotel Popular with the Gay Crowd in New Orleans, especially during holidays), all on the corner of St. Ann and the infamous Bourbon Strees, just a few blocks from Jackson Square. This story is about a Personal Trainer/Go-Go Dancer at the Bourbon Pub who gets into a situation that may be a little over his head. (BTW, if The front cover is the Bourbon Pub, the artist had obviously never been there.. ther are no short tables and chairs it's all bar tables, bar, and barstools, and Men on the bar shaking their stuff) (www.bourbonpub.com www.ozneworleans.com) This author MUST Live in New Orleans because the most exiting thing for me was sayin "I Know where that is!" which isn't often for me that I can do that. But aside from the setting, the story is told very well. I could not put the book down. The actual story took a minute or two before actually getting started. It took a little while to set up, but once it did.. you were hooked. I did find a few of the lines written into the Story a little corny, as well as the overall premise (that is, once you learn what is REALLY going on)... however, getting over the few corny elements. This book was a true treasure. The Author demonstrated his knowlege of Gay life in New Orleans very well (you can tell he's been there himself, for sure). I have ordered the second book, in hopes that it will follow along just as well. I hope we get a good series of Scotty and his NOLA Adventures. Greg Herren just got a fan... Keep us interested, and keep writing to keep us reading! I'm ready.

Flat and uninspired:
Though some of the visuals were fun, overall I found the writing so flat and the plotline so hackneyed that I didn't even finish the book. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I don't want to read good writing. I was very disappointed in this book.

Feeble First Effort:
This is not a raunchy novel, though it well could have been. And, for being written in the first-person, it is convincingly told. It's about gay life (or a gay person) in the gay mecca of New Orleans. He's a go-go dancer who becomes an unwilling sleuth and catalyst to uncover a plot to destroy Sin City. He has visions through which the Goddess tells him advance events (really!). And so, a story that starts with the dancer and a trick ends up involving the FBI, the Religious Reich, pot head parents, a friend's killing, and a house burning. The story is often redundant, with the litany "tight ass, smooth legs, and muscularly toned chest" added twice a page or so for good measure. Those expecting a steamy sex scene will be sorely disappointed. The plot is exceedingly thin, and the bulk of it is told in fewer than twenty pages. A good first effort, but not enough to recommend reading. Still a page turner all in all.

Did we read the same book?:
As I look over some of the other reviews, I can't help but wonder if I read the same book. This novel failed to hold my attention past the first 30 pages or so. I live in New Orleans and thought it might be fun to read this, but I was mistaken. Though Herren captures the, er, quirky aspects of our fair city, he fails to master the art of storytelling. Worse yet, though, is the sloppy editing and the truly clunky writing style. I don't think this could even qualify as "beach reading."