Advocate Bookshelf: Gay Baseball, Perverse Painters, and the Religious Right

Gabriel by Marten Weber (CreateSpace, $19.69)

This long-winded, 414-page epic follows a modern-day Australian angel who becomes an internationally famous supermodel. Attacked by jealous haters, he goes into hiding, then takes up with an older man who takes him on a trip to China, where Gabriel is wrongly accused of murder and winds up in prison, where he develops a deep emotional and physical relationship with an Australian diplomat who is hell-bent on proving Gabriel’s innocence. Although the story has engaging, vivid moments, some readers will struggle with the author’s decision not to use quotation marks, his omnipotent point of view, and the long-winded, pontificating characters (who sometimes have monologues continuing on for multiple pages). Weber could have used a more objective editor but fans of his previous works, including Shayno and the engaging Benedetto Casanova: The Memoirs, will still enjoy this one. (MartinWeber.com)