by Abby (link)
Genre cest, drama/angst
Pairings Taylor/OMC, Zac/OFC, Zac/OMC, Zaylor
Length 89 chapters
Status Completed
If you try to judge a fic by its title, you might be pretty confused by this one, even if you’re familiar with the song the title comes from. Possibly especially if you’re familiar with it. Based on Abby’s notes, In Praise of the Vulnerable Man went through a few changes during its writing, but the end result is quit cohesive considering it may not have been at all what Abby planned.
I have a theory that every Zaylor author has to write their take on a couple tropes at some point. Abby employs two of them in this fic–the story is not set in Tulsa, and the brothers have been forced apart due to their parents’ homophobia. Zac himself is rather homophobic and generally a shitty person as well, which is a trope in and of itself, I suppose. It’s a little difficult to re-read some of his worst behavior now, even knowing how the story ends. He’s a character that almost needs to come with a disclaimer.
All that said, I do enjoy this fic immensely. Zac is deliciously twisted, which makes for some fantastic scenes when he gets Taylor to let loose and show his dirty side as well. There is a plot binding together all the hot sex scenes, though, and it’s a surprisingly dark and dramatic one considering the fact that this feels like a light, smutty read.
The fact that Abby manages to blend all of that together so well is a testament to how great her writing was. There was talk of a sequel to In Praise, but from where I sit, it’s not necessary. You know a story is good when it feels so perfectly self contained that you don’t eve want a sequel.
Review by Bethany (website)