Disadvantage Line by Ron Davis published on Kindle books at Amazon.com

When I met Ron Davis the other day, he told me that he had always wanted to find the time to see if he could really write.  Life had kept him rather busy, but he had found time to do a writing course.  He has since then taken the opportunity afforded by the internet and self published his book Disadvantage Line online.  And can he write?  Yes.  Ron has written the book he knew he had in him.  He has not allowed himself to be hindered by any genre limitations.  This at times one handed read is a well crafted thriller with a love story about rugby player Ryan and our nation’s favourite game at its heart.

Ryan takes us into the heart of his world when we meet him at his first game as an All Black.  During the first game at the big new Christchurch rugby stadium in 2014 he realizes he knows the Lions player kicking the conversion in a way that he doesn’t want to share with any of his team mates.  Ryan then takes us back a few years to when he first realised he had a chance at serious rugby and also when he realised he could get turned on by guys more than girls.  His urges then lead us into a story of sport and lust as this young guy copes with a life of turmoil.   Ryan’s strict father has kicked him out and he is living with his best mate Ethan, whose family is both Maori and devoutly Christian.  Ryan’s team plays rugby in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom, while he lives with his secret desires.  The action does flow well and the plot is well developed.  I mostly enjoyed sharing Ryan’s world.

This book has a strong teen/ young adult protagonist.  In many ways this could have been a book that qualified as helpful reading for a young guy figuring out his sexuality.  However I personally have misgivings about some of the morally repugnant violence in the book, that lacks serious consequences.  This readership group should be offered some guidance if reading this book.

Davis says he will look at other e-publication outlets, so if you don’t like Kindle other formats may soon be available.  If you want to contact Ron you can search “disadvantage line” on Facebook. I was pleased to see that on his facebook page “Ryan” shows some regret for his actions.