| Title | : | Isolation Play |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1936689006 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781936689002 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 420 |
| Publication | : | First published January 14, 2011 |
All's fair in love and war--and this is both.
Isolation Play is the eagerly awaited sequel to the best-selling novel Out of Position and picks up Dev and Lee's story about five minutes after the end of the first book. Well over a year and a half in the making, Isolation Play is the longest work Kyell Gold has released.
Isolation Play Reviews
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Isolation Play is the second novel in the chronicle of Dev and Lee, the tiger and the fox. We first read about them in Out of Position, the review of which can be seen here. This second installation in the series begins directly after the first ends — with Dev coming out in a press conference. Having been blackmailed by Brian, Lee’s former best friend, Dev felt cornered, and he and Lee both knew that the speculation in the press around his sexuality was only going to get worse. So, in somewhat of a surprise move to Lee, Dev announces to the world that he is indeed gay, all during a press conference set up to dispute the charges of public opinion and fight the demands that Brian had made on him to reveal his sexuality and pave the way for future gay athletes to come out of the closet. The only problem, is that Brian doesn’t understand the world of professional sports in the way that Lee and Dev do. Though they hope it will help others in time, Dev and Lee are extremely skeptical that Brian’s idealism can stand up to the pressures that gay athletes face. And that is only if Dev survives. Will he be traded? Will he be targeted by other athletes on the field, open to physical attack to injure him and force him out of the small window he has gotten as a starting player? Is his career over already?
These are some of the questions that Dev faces as he does everything he can to remain the same, humble person he was — only now he is both hated and loved by many as the world’s first openly gay professional football player. There are new groupies and gay groups offering sponsorship and endorsements. At the same time, there are those on the field, in the stands, and in his own locker room that will do what they can to isolate him from playing the sport he loves. If all of this gets to him and he loses the focus he needs to play well, then his chance as a starting player is gone. More than anytime before, he is starting to understand the sport as a mental game — one that he will have to conquer in order to keep what he has worked so hard for.
On the other hand, Lee has found himself in the last place he ever expected — the one that Dev used to be in. Lee is a scout for another professional team, and having been forced back into the closet for his new job because of his relationship with Dev, he now finds himself stuck there. If the League finds out that Dev was drafted for the Dragons at the same time that Lee was working for the Dragons as a scout, Lee could be fired and Dev could lose the merit he has gained working his way up through the ranks. So they both find themselves in a strange situation — the out activist is back in the closet, and the closeted jock has just been forced out of the door. But, more than anything, what will this do to Dev and Lee’s families? Dev has not told his parents that he is gay, and they are forced to find out on national television. This will lead to an enormous hometown showdown, pitting Dev’s father against his own boyfriend in the battle to win Dev’s affections. And it seems that Dev will have to choose one over the other.
I actually liked Isolation Play better than I did Out of Position. I felt that because the things that Dev and Lee have gone through, they have been given a chance to do one of two things: turn on one another, or come together. And though in many ways they remained loyal to the characters that we got to know previously, they have both undergone a change because of those things they went through. They have started to realize that what they have with each other is special and important and worth dealing with the hate and bigotry of thousands. Because of this, both Dev and Lee mature a great deal between the end of the first book and the end of the second, and in their maturity, they put to rest many of the immature games that they played at the behest of one another. The title of this novel displays this overall progression well. The iso play is employed by the offensive line of another team and is described by Dev thusly:Their O-line is different from Millenport’s. For one thing, it’s smaller and quicker, designed to push people out of the way rather than stop them cold. So they have a pair of Dall sheep on the line, blockers who’ll go low and use their horns to force our tackles to go a particular direction. Pike and Brick can handle them, I’ve no doubt, but then they have a pretty good fullback, an elk who uses his antlers to clear out running lanes. So they run the iso—isolation play—a lot, sending the elk to block me or Gerrard while Bixon lowers his head and sends his compact, muscled form through the lane.
The isolation play is a metaphor for the new direction that their relationship is taking — hunkering down, waiting for the attack, and when it comes being driven apart, isolated from one another. This theme crops up over and over during the novel, with family and the media, and it forces Dev and Lee to look forward instead of always watching their backs. This brings me to the writing, which I also thought had matured. Because Dev and Lee are now able to look towards their future, they have a direction in which to go. This streamlined the plot and characterizations as well, which ultimately gave me hope that their relationship would continue to grow and nourish, because any more directionless floundering in their lives and their relationship would have turned in upon itself and imploded from the force of two such strong personalities.
For the full review, please visit
Reviews by Jessewave. -
2011 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
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As with the first book about Lee and Dev, the story is key. I am not a football fan at all and yet Kyell made it interesting and enjoyable. I actually think I could enjoy a game now. But the real meat is the relationship of the guys. Having a long distance love is very hard as I know from experience. Kyell got it right. He also gets how guys think and act and speak. What they hold back from their partner, how they screw up what they say, how they try to tell only part of the truth but then get busted for it. This was a rough read for me due to the difficulties in dealing with parents and coming out at work.
I hope Kyell will write another sequel and make this into a series.
I highly recommend this book. Very good storytelling! -
Still loving this series.
But, seriously, -
I love when books allow you to connect with the characters in a way that make you feel like you're not just watching their story unfold, you're experiencing life with them!
Isolation Play is definitely one of those books! I fell in love with Dev and Lee in
Out of Position and really got to know them in this one.
In this second book in the series,
Kyell Gold did a fantastic job in humanizing these anthropormphic characters without taking away their animal tendencies. It's brilliant!
I'm now eagerly awaiting the next in the series! -
I am simply in love with this story. I used to tell people to read "Out of Position". I still tell them that, but I also tell them that the best thing about reading "Out of Position" is that you get to read "Isolation Play" after it.
Albeit it in the rather specific genre of gay furry romance, "Isolation Play" is, at its core, a story about relationships: all the different relationships we cultivate in life. If you've ever had a coworker, teammate, friend, parent, or lover, I'm sure the story of Dev and Lee will capture your imagination. -
Although this is officially a continuation of the story in Out of Position, author Kyell Gold notes that the story is self-contained and enjoyable on its own in a foreword. As in the prior book in the Dev and Lee series, there’s explanation about the sport of American football, with Gold explaining it in an animalian perspective, with certain species specializing in certain roles. Also like in the book’s predecessor, there’s a map of the United States showing where the fictitious cities of the “Forester Universe” would be in the United States, although as in Out of Position, rare references to American politics and religion somewhat break the story’s fantastical nature.
Despite that, the book actually isn’t half-bad, and picks up where the first left off (though this somewhat mars its being a “standalone” story), with tiger football player Dev having come out on national television as homosexual. His vulpine boyfriend Lee consequentially ponders coming out at work, and Dev receives assurance that if he continues playing on the level he has been, he’ll be welcome on his team, the Firebirds. Dev wants to introduce Lee to his parents, although his father believes the fox has no place in his family, even threatening to disown his own son.
Certain events result in Lee’s brief hospitalization, and while Dev sometimes receives teasing from his teammates, they seem more accepting of his sexuality than his father, and even invite the couple to watch a football game with them. Dev continues to try to convince his father to accept him, although they have another fallout, which just strengthens the bond between the football player and his boyfriend. Lee tries to reach back out to Dev’s father, whilst tabloids hinder the relationship between the gay couple. Lee actually thinks about going back to college, and attempts one final reaching out.
Several reversals terminate the sequel, with the hook for future books that Dev and Lee’s relationship is just beginning. Overall, this was an enjoyable follow-up to Out of Position, and despite the aforementioned real-life references sometimes marring the escapist disposition that one would expect from a book of its caliber, it’s probably an improvement, with good moral themes. Furries in particular will probably appreciate this book the most, and it’s definitely for adults only, given the maturity of some of the illustration, sexual content, and language, and those who enjoyed the first will most likely enjoy the first sequel. -
I wanted to give this a higher rating - I hold Kyell Gold's writing in high esteem and have enjoyed several of his other works. While I have some other criticisms about this novel that would hold it back from getting a 5-star rating from me, I'm giving it 2 because there is some content in this book that genuinely upset me.
I'll add that I wouldn't have written this review if I had seen this raised by other readers on here - if I don't like a book, I'll generally just keep it to myself and move on. But for Isolation Play, there is a specific scene near the middle of the book that honestly deserves a content warning and could have been handled with much more sensitivity. I will spoiler tag it below, as it contains a description of a troubling sexual encounter.
In summary, I can't recommend Isolation Play and will not be reading further entries in the series. If you can look past this, there is an enjoyable book in here. I can't. -
Loved this second book in the lives of Dev and Lee. After coming out, Dev has to contend with family issues, few homophobic team mates and a useless agent who is there to create more problems.
Kyell Gold's writing is always top notch and you can't help sinking into their story. Definitely a favourite author. -
A well-done second installment. One thing that stood out to me: Gold does an excellent job in portraying the relationship between Lee and his Father, that redefining of a father/son relationship is something that I've found difficult to nail myself. Can't wait to read more!
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In a second book Dev's & Lee's romance get true some uncomfortable events and so there relationships has tu go true some changes. Even so at the end they are more closer to be an unit or rather a couple then they where at the start.
Its a good book. -
DNF at about 48% - life is too short to read awful books.
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3.5 pretty good
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One of the strongest books in the entire OoP series.
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2nd book in this series that i have shamefully spent $40 and counting on. I can't remember what happens in this one but Dev kinda sounds like a hunk so it's getting 5 stars from me
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Isolation play is so far my favourite book in the series; The plot is great, the drama was gripping, and I loved seeing the characters act and react around each other. I love the introduction of Lee's dad as an actual supporting character, he really reminds me of someone who's getting up in age and is used to dealing with Lee's schemes.
I am not a fan of football, and, like it's predecessor, Out of Position, this book has not convinced me to pick up the game any time soon. The football was a bit more distracting in this story than it was in OoP, but it also had a more gripping plot and enjoyable scenes to make up for it, so I still recommend it to even non-sports fans like myself.
A criticism I have that follows from the first book are Lee's friends from college, or more specifically the lack thereof. The last book had a scene where all of Lee's friends were introduced as if they were going to be key supporting characters, but then were barely mentioned again with the exception of Brian and Salem, one of which was the antagonist. In this book that trend continues; Brian is mentioned a handful of times for good reasons, but Salem is called once, thought of twice, and then never heard about again, and none of Lee's other friends even get a passing mention. Lee feels like he has no past and no friends without Dev and it's only around the end of the book where he starts actually having his own social life, which starts in a very unhealthy way, I might add. Lee does seem to have a friend or two at his job, but they seem like passive co-worker buddies at best.
All in all, I still recommend this book. It's a great read, has a good plot, and the characters are fun to watch. -
No tan bueno como el primero, será porque los personajes de una manera u otra ya están cómodos el uno con el otro.
Sin embargo las situaciones que se presentan durante la historia los ponen en lugares por los que algunos ya habremos pasado, otros lo están pensando y otros tienen miedo de experimentar.
Lo que me pareció un poco tedioso de este libro es que los personajes piensan demasiado. Me gustan más las historias en donde la narrativa se mueve a través de la interacción entre personajes, y entre personajes y el medio que los rodea, en Isolation Play, hay monólogos muy largo, y aunque son interesantes porque te ofrecen una perspectiva de la psicología de cada personaje, hacen que la lectura sea tediosa porque al final, estás viendo el punto de vista de un personaje y no del todo que lo rodea.
A ver qué nos entrega Kyell en el 2013. -
Good Sequel
*possible spoilers for first book*
The second entry of Kyell Gold's Out of Position series begins almost immediately after the first entry ends, although he says it can be enjoyed on its own, and continues to insist it's not a football story despite featuring the sport prominently, and he gives notes on the sport before the action of the story commences. When the narrative itself starts, tiger football player Dev, one of the two narrators, has come out as homosexual, given his relationship with the vulpine Lee, with both struggling for acceptance by others such as their families, especially in Dev's case. The sequel is enjoyable for the most part in spite of occasional poorly-veiled real-world elements that distract from the writer's insistence that it doesn't occur in our universe. -
I honestly think this is one of the best novels Kyell written so far. Everything that happened in the story is believable. Teammates unsure of what to think about playing with a gay football player but most slowly come to terms with it, family not quite willing to accept their son and his boyfriend, prejudice and so forth. The one character I felt sorry for is Dev's mom. It felt like she wants to accept her son's lifestyle and his boyfriend, and wants to stick up for him, but she's also scared of what her husband might do to her. Out of all the stories I've read that's from the fandom, I can easily put this in the top three and I look forward into re-reading it.
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I'm really starting to like Furry Romances.
Devlin and Lee (Wiley)'s story continues in Isolation Play. I love how these two guys interact with each other, how they love each other, and this book shows how much they are willing to fight and sacrifice for each other... the first book (Out of Position) it seem one sided, that Dev is willing to give all for Lee... but after Isolation you know the love Lee has for Dev is just as strong.
I also loved how the family conflicts came about... that part of the story came about so good... and I loved how it was resolved. -
I didn't get as engrossed in this one as the first. A few pages or chapters (I don't remember anymore) into Out of Position I lost the ability to put it down, whereas I actually put Isolation Play down a few times and read a couple other books in the interim. I loved the story and character development, so I really have no idea why it didn't grab me in quite the same way; it could be as much to do with my headspace at the time as the book itself.
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I'll always have a place in my heart for anthropomorphic gay romance stories, but this book series gets it's own cathedral.
I have laughed, worried and shed a tear. I don't know how he does it, but Kyell Gold really can let the emotions flow from the book to the reader. It makes you drown in the story, the characters. Who are so well defined and feel so realistic it feels as if he's plucked them from real life and put him in the pages of this wonderful novel. -
Readers should definitely read the prequel and although perhaps not as great as Out of Position, this story continues the development of Dev and Lee's relationship in a way that keeps you wanting more. If you read Out of Position and got attached to Dev and Lee, I think you get an even greater love for them in Isolation Play. Recommended!
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Sometimes you just want to read a nice furry gay romance, and for those times there are now five Dev & Lee books. I say 'nice'; plenty of sad things happen in Isolation Play, from family fights to unwelcome press exposure. But whatever happens, and even when they're arguing, the football star tiger and his fox boyfriend are a team. And that's nice.
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I am enjoying this series which is more about relationships than furries. The illustrations are great and I wish my Kindle could show them in colour. I don't follow American football (prefer the All Blacks and rugby!) but Kyell has definitely improved my understanding of the game. A very well-written series.
4.5 stars -
Great continuation
So I Wanted to continue on with the storyline. And it had just enough angst to keep me engaged, while also having the love story and the struggles that Dev and Lee are both facing perfectly entwining. -
5 Stars A must read. Highly recommend. This is the first book, not downloaded, that I've bought in over a year. It was well worth it. Funny, sad, and touching. A great sequel to "Out Of Position."
