Showing posts with label Speculative Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Speculative Fiction. Show all posts

Friday, May 13, 2016

Want to Read: Romance, Fantasy, LGBT Spec Fic, UF

I am trying to keep it real these days when it comes to purchasing new books to read. Why? My Kindles are overloaded and my reading time is not what it used to be. So, in May, while some other new releases have been placed in my wish list for later consideration, I am looking forward to reading the following:

ONLY BELOVED by Mary Balogh
The Survivor's Club Series, Book 7
Publisher: Signet
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Category: Historical Romance
From the legendary New York Times bestselling author of Only a Kiss and Only a Promise comes the final book in the rapturous Survivor’s Club series—as the future of one man lies within the heart of a lost but never-forgotten love...

For the first time since the death of his wife, the Duke of Stanbrook is considering remarrying and finally embracing happiness for himself. With that thought comes the treasured image of a woman he met briefly a year ago and never saw again.

Dora Debbins relinquished all hope to marry when a family scandal left her in charge of her younger sister. Earning a modest living as a music teacher, she’s left with only an unfulfilled dream. Then one afternoon, an unexpected visitor makes it come true.

For both George and Dora that brief first encounter was as fleeting as it was unforgettable. Now is the time for a second chance. And while even true love comes with a risk, who are two dreamers to argue with destiny?

THE SUMMER DRAGON by Todd Lockwood
Evertide Trilogy, Book 1
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Category: Fantasy
Maia and her family raise dragons for the political war machine. As she comes of age, she anticipates a dragon of her own to add to the stable of breeding parents. Her peaceful life is shattered when the Summer Dragon--one of the rare and mythical High Dragons--makes an appearance in her quiet valley. Political factions vie for control of the implied message, threatening her aspirations, her aerie, her entire way of life.

The bond between dragons and their riders is deep and life-long, and Maia's desire for a dragon of her own to train, ride, fly, and love drives her to take a risk that puts her life at stake. She is swept into an adventure that pits her against the deathless Horrors, thralls of the enemy, and a faceless creature drawn from her fear. In her fight to preserve everything she knows and loves, she exposes a conspiracy, unearths an ancient civilization, and challenges her understanding of her world--and of herself.


TRIAD BLOOD by 'Nathan Burgoine
Publisher: Bold Stroke Books
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Category: Speculative Fiction, LGBT
The law of three is unbroken: three vampires form a coterie, three demons make a pack, and three wizards are a coven. That is how it has always been, and how it was always to be.

But Luc, Anders, and Curtis—vampire, demon, and wizard—have cheated tradition. Their bond is not coterie, pack, or coven, but something else. Thrust into the supernatural politics ruling Ottawa from behind the shadows, they face Renard, a powerful vampire who harbors deadly secrets of his own and wishes to end their threat. The enemy they know conjures fire and death at every turn. The enemies they don’t know are worse.

Blood, soul, and magic gave them freedom. Now they need to survive it.

ALL FIXED UP by Linda Grimes
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: May 24, 2016
Category: Urban Fantasy
The hilarious adventures of human chameleon Ciel Halligan continue in the fourth installment of this original urban fantasy series from Linda Grimes, All Fixed Up.

Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire, has a lot of experience filling in for her clients--as them. A rare genetic quirk gives her the ability to absorb human energy and project it back out in a flawless imitation. She's hard at work, posing as a well-known and celebrated astronaut, about to make a stunning announcement on behalf of the space program...when the photographer documenting the job sees right through her aura. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that he not only knows Ciel’s not who she's supposed to be, but means her harm.

When Ciel's elderly Aunt Helen―also an aura adaptor―is murdered in Central Park, and the same photographer shows up at the funeral, Ciel starts to feel even more exposed. Then more adaptors are killed in the same way, and she becomes terrified her friends and family are being systematically exterminated ... and it's starting to look like she's the ultimate target. She turns to Billy Doyle, her best-friend-turned-boyfriend, for help, but when an unexpected crisis causes him to take off without a word, she's left to rely on her not-so-former crush, CIA agent Mark Fielding.

Staying alive, keeping control of her romantic life, and unraveling the mystery of why adaptors are being pursued becomes a harder balancing act than ever in this new Ciel Halligan adventure from Linda Grimes.

SLEEPLESS IN MANHATTAN by Sarah Morgan
Publisher: HQN Books
Kindle Ed. Release Date: May 31, 2016
Category: Contemporary Romance
USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan introduces From Manhattan with Love, a sparkling new trilogy about three best friends embracing life—and love—in New York

Cool, calm and competent, events planner Paige Walker loves a challenge. After a childhood spent in and out of hospitals, she's now determined to prove herself—and where better to take the world by storm than Manhattan? But when Paige loses the job she loves, she must face her biggest challenge of all—going it alone.

Except launching her own events company is nothing compared to hiding her outrageous crush on Jake Romano—her brother's best friend, New York's most in-demand date and the only man to break her heart. When Jake offers Paige's fledgling company a big chance, their still-sizzling chemistry starts giving her sleepless nights. But can she convince the man who trusts no one to take a chance on forever?

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Wilde Stories 2014: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction ed. Steve Berman

The Wilde Stories anthology series edited by Steve Berman features gay themed speculative fiction short stories published during the previous year. This year all the short works included in Steve Berman's 2014 Wilde Stories: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction are written by new contributors. The collection begins with an introduction by Berman, an interesting one at that, however today I am concentrating on a long review that includes all the stories.

The anthology begins with three very good stories that quickly engage the reader, particularly with the short but highly effective contemporary piece "Grindr" by Clayton Littlewood in which text messaging, infused with edgy horror, is utilized as the spec fic element. In "The Ghosts of Emerhad" by Nghi Vo ghosts play a role in a fantasy setting with eerie atmosphere, yet it is not a chilling read, instead this is the redeeming war tale of a man coming to terms with personal loses. And with "How to Dress an American Table" by J. E. Robinson, the collection shifts to a contemporary tale with an unsettling "human monster" at its center, the kind that is often more disturbing than stories about fictional monsters hiding under the bed.

"Caress" by Eli Easton is just an excellent, complete steampunk sff romance piece filled with outstanding details, world-building and "graphic novel" atmosphere. I visualized a graphic novella while reading this romance between a young man with a clockwork heart whose genius and skills save a soldier from a fate worse than death. Following is another excellent story. "57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides" by Sam J. Miller strongly stands out with a unique format that flows effortlessly, and memorable young adult characters, outstanding speculative fiction elements, gay theme, and a plot focused on friendship, bullying, revenge and betrayal.

The collection continues the young adult theme with "Happy Birthday, Numskull" by Robert Smith, a piece that is so freaking interesting because the spec fic elements come from a sensitive, imaginative child’s perceived horrors as he experiences the adult world surrounding him. Everything changes with "Right There in Kansas City" by Casey Hannan, the only story in the anthology that veers into the realm of the weird with dense speculative fiction elements that hit the reader from its inception. There is an obvious sub-text to the story, but take it from me this one is very good and out there.

"The Water that Falls from Nowhere" by John Chu won the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. A reread, this story stands out for the subtle approach with which Chu uses rain as the speculative fiction element while the main thrust of the story is focused on a committed gay couple attempting to gain understanding and acceptance from the narrator’s traditional Chinese family. I have enjoyed Damon Shaw’s work in the past, and he did it again with "Seven Lovers and the Sea." This is a story I loved for its unique twist on both vampiric and seafaring mythical tales.

Although "The Brokenness of Summertime" by R. W. Clinger may be considered a contemporary horror tale by some or perhaps contemporary with a rather sharp edge (pun intended) after all it depicts ye ole green-eyed monster at its best, my totally warped sense of humor turned it into a highly amusing, insane, demented sort of read -- so, so enjoyable! It was then surprising that "Lacuna" by Matthew Cheney gutted me with its ending and not necessarily with the speculative fiction details. Let me explain, in this story there is a running narrative by a writer as he creates a speculative fiction piece. So, there are two stories at once, one interrupting the other's flow and ending in the writer's reality with a shocking revelation and the reasons why "words are not magic." I must be particularly susceptible at the moment because after this story I stopped reading the anthology for a bit before picking it up again. That's a good thing, it means that the story made a strong impact.

"Super Bass" by Kai Ashante Wilson is a fantastic tale with magical aspects of ancient African religions utilized as the root for the speculative fiction elements. In his story, Ashante Wilson amplifies those magical aspects within a high religious ceremony in which two lovers participate, with one transforming into the Most High Summer King and the other giving him strength through loving. The islanders traditionally marry in threes -- two men, one woman -- creating an organic same-gender, gender-mixed society. This aspect of the world-building is not deeply explored. Rather, it is an organic part of its creation and left open to the reader for further thought and speculation.

The last piece with young adults as central characters is a mythology-based story by Cory Skerry, "Midnight at the Feet of the Caryatides," that focuses on a arrogant click of students that choose to abuse the weak and different. I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere and gargoyles, but for me the most memorable aspect of the story is the combination of darkness and tenderness found in the narrative. And the anthology ends with "The Revenge of Oscar Wilde" by Sean Eads, a zombie story with Oscar playing the forceful and introspective knight avenging his lover Bosie's honor to the horrifying, bittersweet end. This is a short story worth reading for its beautiful writing and excellent alternate perspective into Wilde's last days in Paris. . . and on. "If there is a god to them now, he walks this earth and his name is Oscar Wilde."

This anthology ebbs and flows with short works that include contemporary, fantasy, steampunk, magical, and mythology-based speculative fiction – some action-filled, others quieter and more introspective, going from dark to light, and darker yet. Horror-based speculative fiction tales reign supreme with some excellent otherworldly pieces and plenty of stand outs. Personally, I found quite a few favorites as I made my way through this year's edition of Wilde Stories.

Category: LGBT/ Gay/ Speculative Fiction / Anthology
Series: Wilde Stories Anthologies
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/August 2014 - Kindle ed.
Grade: B+

Series:
Wilde Stories 2011
Wilde Stories 2012
Wilde Stories 2013

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Review: Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas

Butcher's Road is an atmospheric mystery thriller with supernatural elements, set in the violent 1932 gangster-ruled streets of Chicago and the spiritual world of a rainy New Orleans.

The story revolves around Butch Cardinal whose lifetime decisions led him from success on the wrestling mats to working as enforcer and errand boy for a Chicago Irish mobster. Unfortunately for Butch, he is sent to pick up a package from an Impellitari henchman and ends up smack in the middle of a hit. Butch escapes with the package and is framed for the murder, becoming a haunted man and the target of Italian Chicago mob-boss Marco Impellitari, dirty Chicago cops, a psychopath hit man, and the Alchemi, a secret organization of powerful magicians who collect, utilize, and protect arcane artifacts composed of "thinking" steel. With help from friend and ex-coach Rory Sullivan, Butch flees to New Orleans where he discovers that the ugly necklace in the package is an old mythical relic, and unexpectedly finds refuge in the arms of ex-wrestler and club owner Hollis Rossington.

Butcher's Road has been described as a "blend of gangster noir and supernatural horror." I agree. The story is dark. Lee Thomas incorporates the deep sense of hopelessness permeating the 1930's into plot, characterization, and atmosphere. His Chicago gangsters are unsophisticated, non-charismatic and resort to bloody violence without a second thought, and neither gangsters nor cops are glamorized in this novel. This is best exemplified by Thomas's characterization of Detective Curt Conrad whose portrayal as a physically and personally repulsive self-serving man without an iota of scruples symbolizes the police department's corruption in all its glory. Contrasting heavily is Thomas’s subtle characterization of Detective Lennon as an ambivalent man whose bouts of conscience make him a no-less self-serving or corrupt cop.

The supernatural aspects of the story are well established. Serving as an introduction to this theme, Thomas utilizes Butch's search for the truth surrounding the object he unwittingly possesses, leading to the discovery of magical objects and personal mystical powers, while further expanding on this theme with more explicit, if somewhat obscure, revelations through the Alchemi's hot pursuit and eventual contact with Butch.

While the occult plays a key, central role throughout and to end of this thriller, for me, it is Thomas' masterful portrayal of the incremental escalation and eventual loss of control of psychopathic killer Paul Rabin that provides the real horror. Rabin's role begins with a whisper in what seems like an innocuous scene, slowly progressing with coldly executed blood-letting, and escalating until all that is left are the amped-up internal screams of an out-of-control killer and the horror-filled vicious scenes he leaves behind.

Thomas portrays Butch as an honest man who never learns to play the "game" and whose harsh life lessons, beginning with an abusive father and ending with a fixed match that led to his present situation, taught him not to expect a fair fight. The odds are against Butch's survival and he becomes resigned to losing, but what I love most about him is his refusal to go down without a fight. His relationship with Hollis is unexpected, specifically because Butch is initially shocked by proof of Hollis's sexuality and tells him so with frankness. However while hiding at Hollis's home, Butch remembers past experiences that trigger a growing sexual attraction for Hollis, a giving man he already likes and respects. Eventually Butch makes the first move, beginning what becomes a peaceful, joyful period for both men.

Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas has a relentless quick-pace with the few moments of allowed reprieve filled with relevant information used to drive the story forward. It is an exciting thriller -- darkly violent and bloody -- that offers highly effective contrasts between warm and horrifyingly chilling moments and a surprising twist at the end. Highly recommended.

Category: LGBT - Spec Fic/Mystery Thriller
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/May 1, 2014 - Kindle Ed.
Grade: A-

Other recommended reads by Lee Thomas:
The German
Torn

Thursday, July 3, 2014

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

"Melanie was new herself, once, but that's hard to remember because it was a long time ago. It was before there were any words; there were just things without names, and things without names don't stay in your mind. They fall out, and then they're gone.

Now she's ten years old, and she has skin like a princess in a fairy tale; skin as white as snow. So she knows that when she grows up she'll be beautiful, with princes falling over themselves to climb her tower and rescue her."
I first read the extended free version sample(10 chapters) of The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey in May and was absolutely taken in by the author's fresh approach to what are basically the makings of an old horror tale. I had such a positive response to the short version that I actually became anxious to read the entire novel. The novel lived up to my expectations. There are different reasons behind that:

1) The relationship between the two main characters.
The growing attachment between ten-year-old Melanie and her teacher Ms. Justineau is central to the story. Although Melanie is confused as to whom or what she is, her IQ is also off the charts, and she is strong-willed and tenaciously protective of Ms. Justineau, just as Ms. Justineau is protective of Melanie. Yet, I believe that what makes this very tense, fast-paced action, horror thriller a particularly effective read is the heavy contrast between the unexpected poignancy that stems from Melanie's unconditional love for her teacher, and the dangerous situations and dark revelations unfolding around her.

In the beginning, Melanie thinks she's a normal little girl. She lives in a cell, just like the other children, and is only allowed out when Sergeant and his men strap her on a wheelchair and take her to eat or to classes for the day. Her best days are Ms. Justineau days! Until one chaotic day everything changes, and every day is a Ms. Justineau day. Helen Justineau knows what Melanie is and why she's in that cell, and although she's part of a team and understands the dangers that go with her position, she disregards warnings and dangers and comes to see Melanie as 'just a child.’ Protecting Melanie, helping her navigate dangers inside and outside the compound where they both live, becomes her mission.

2) World-building:
The Girl With All the Gifts is a post apocalyptic piece set in the UK, however, it is clear that years earlier the Breakdown was a global event that devastated civilization when the majority humans were infected by the “hungry” pathogen. There are pockets of isolated humans restricted to living in small towns and a few cities such as Beacon, and “Junkers,” gangs of humans who go about freely throughout the countryside and cities looting for hardware and goods in order to survive. But communication is down to the old basics and no one really knows who or what is left out there.

The basis for the world-building may sound familiar, however, Carey’s book strikes me as distinctive in that he doesn’t take unnecessary shortcuts. Carey uses science by incorporating biological details that explain how the hungry pathogen derived from Cordyceps works and evolves, adding scientific methodology used to study mutations, as the logical steps to arrive at the beginning point of the story, and later to its logical conclusion. He does so without sacrificing high level tension by weaving those excellent details with the fast-paced action and horror aspects found in the novel.

3) Secondary Characters:
Speaking of horror, I was more horrified by a human character's actions than the natural reaction of the infected "hungries." The ‘human monster’ is a familiar character whose motivations are usually portrayed as black and white because, no matter the consequences, they are always able to rationalize their actions. Although the ‘moral’ question is sometimes introduced, as was the case here, for the ‘human monster’ the conclusion is almost always the same: the end justifies the means. However, there's also a redemptive quality to another central secondary character that turned out to be an unexpected bonus.

Melanie is a child and as such she dreams of princes rescuing her from her tower. Her little life turns out to be much different from how she imagined it would be once she gets out of her cell and discovers the reality of her world. But like Pandora's box when it is opened, once brilliant, courageous Melanie emerges, good or bad, the world will never be same.

“Growing up and growing old. Playing. Exploring. Like Pooh and Piglet. And then like the Famous Five. And then like Heidi and Anne of Green Gables. And then like Pandora, opening the great big box of the world and not being afraid, not even caring whether what’s inside is good or bad. Because it’s both. Everything is always both.

But you have to open it to find that out.”

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Short Stories: M.R. Carey, John Chu, Justin Torres

I read countless short stories yearly but I rarely feature them on their own. Today I'm highlighting three single shorts that are not only excellent reads, but also free downloads. Check it out.

"Melanie was new herself, once, but that's hard to remember because it was a long time ago. It was before there were any words; there were just things without names, and things without names don't stay in your mind. They fall out, and then they're gone.

Now she's ten years old, and she has skin like a princess in a fairy tale; skin as white as snow. So she knows that when she grows up she'll be beautiful, with princes falling over themselves to climb her tower and rescue her.

Assuming, of course, that she has a tower."
I read the extended free preview of "The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey" (9 chapters!), and it turned out to be an absolutely fabulous speculative fiction read! I'm not saying much more about the story at this point because I believe it should be approached from a fresh perspective, but know this: if you give this book a try the main narrator and central character, a ten-year old whose name is Melanie, will snare you into reading the whole thing.

I am salivating to continue reading but have to wait until the whole novel releases on June 10th! I have high expectations for the rest of the book. As a teaser this preview is the perfect hook, but it also works really well as a short story. It gets an A- from me ONLY because I know there's more to come. Highly recommended.


In the near future water falls from the sky whenever someone lies (either a mist or a torrential flood depending on the intensity of the lie). This makes life difficult for Matt as he maneuvers the marriage question with his lover and how best to "come out" to his traditional Chinese parents.

I strongly recommend John Chu's The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere, a short piece nominated this year for a Hugo Award. I think what needs to be said about this piece has already been said. But personally what I like most about the story is how effectively, albeit sparingly, Chu uses the falling water. I like how this device affects the characters and plot which main focus is on family, love, and relationships. The writing style is both beautiful and concise, making this SF short story a personal favorite.

This story is also included in Some of the Best From Tor.com, 2013 Edition: A Tor.Com Original. Also available as a free download.


Reverting to the Wild State by Justin Torres was published in The New Yorker Magazine, August 1, 2011, but I just read it this past week.

Justin Torres is a fabulous writer whose 2011 novel We the Animals was acknowledged widely and garnered positive attention and reviews. This short piece gives the reader a taste of his writing style and a different sort of story.

Reverting to the Wild State is not much more than a broad sketch of a relationship that is related in reverse by the author. That first step as the story goes back in time is confusing but quickly becomes clear. This piece is unique, sad, and rather haunting, and leaves the reader wanting more. Free online read

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Review: Scruffians! by Hal Duncan

---I was born under a bad signpost, says Foxtrot Wainscot Hottentot III.
---I was stolen from bypasses, says Puckerscruff of the urchins.
---I was raised by werewolves, says Flashjack of the hellions.
---I ran away from the circus, says Joey Picaroni.
---I bought me soul from the Devil, says Nuffinmuch O'Anyfink, king of the tinkers.
---I was a teenage virgin mum, says Bananastasia Roamin-hopper, rightful Princess of Russia (allegedly).
---I took the King's shilling and died in all his wars, says Ratatat Dan. But not for the likes of you.
---You see, says Gob, a Scruffian's story needs a hook.
I fell in love with Hal Duncan's collection, Scruffians! as soon as I read the first story. How can that be? Well, as Gob would say, that one story is the hook. It got me to read the whole book in one sitting.

Hal Duncan's work can be dense, non-linear, and highly imaginative along with extraordinary writing skills that always impress. With the addition of his homoerotic fantasy-based Scruffian stories, mythology-based fairies and pirates, and other fun adventures found in this short story speculative fiction collection, readers get a well-defined sense of what makes Duncan such a fine story teller and weaver of dreams.

The Scruffian pieces are connected primarily through world-building and recurring characters. In "How a Scruffian Starts Their Story," "How a Scruffian Gets Their Name," "Scruffian's Stamp," "An Amfabetcha of Scruffian's Names," and "Jack Scalliwag," Duncan weaves fantasy stories of lost boys and girls, some very young and others older, that after having been used or abused through the ages, gained semi-immortality and banded together in order to survive. Duncan's Scruffians are outsiders, rough and tough fighters and survivors who stand up for one another, and others, when nobody else will. In "Behold of the Eye," a recurring character, this time appearing as a fairy, inhabits the eye of a boy and experiences from the inside the changes, anguish, and terrors that take place as the boy grows into a teenager and realizes he is gay. This is a coming of age fairy tale like you've never read before.
Orphans, foundlings, latchkey kids.
Urchins, changelings, live-by-wits.
Rascals, scallywags, ruffians, scamps.
Scoundrels, hellions, Scruffians STAMP!
The characters alone make these stories stand out, but what really captures the attention is how Duncan mixes fantasy with raw reality and urban contemporary language. It is a rough reality that he depicts in the guise of fantasy. However, Duncan's boys, sodomites or not, are sexy, sly, and playful, and his stories are also filled with a high dose of fun, as well as homoeroticism, adventure, quests, and strong underlying emotions.

The collection slowly shifts to other speculative fiction pieces such as "The Disappearance of James H---," a twist on Peter Pan and Captain Hook, "The Island of the Pirate Gods," a fun, mythology-based piece with two pirates and Oberon's fairies that is filled with adventure and a fantastic narrative, and "The Shoulder of Pelops," another twist, based on the Tantalus and Pelops myth. There are also three unique pieces, the art-focused "The Bizarre Cubiques," the western-style "Sons of the Law," and my favorites in this group "The Angel of Gamblers," a story that I loved for its excellent pacing and suspenseful narrative about a gambler who sells his soul to an angel and then attempts to gain it back.

I previously read three stories included in this collection, all chosen as favorites in years past. "Sic Him, Hellhound! Kill! Kill!" I absolutely loved for its unique, fun, first person narrative from the hellhound's perspective, but for me, "Oneirica" and "The Nature of the Fiend" stand out for the distinct ways in which Duncan takes characters and readers from one plane to another. In "Oneirica," Duncan lulls the reader by using smooth dreamlike sequences that begin when a man looks into a grain of sand and travels through the ages experiencing the evolution of man and civilizations, while in "The Nature of the Fiend," the changes are surprising, abrupt, and a shock to the reader, as time evolves and a boy's recurring losses and cumulative grief bring out the darkness in him. This is a simplistic way of summarizing these stories because with their complexity and beauty they both garner strong reactions from the reader and are worth a reread or two.

To date, Scruffians! is one of my favorite single-author collections of the year -- I've already read it twice. It is the first compilation of Hal Duncan's short works and includes 15 previously published speculative fiction pieces. They are all of the upmost quality, bearing the distinct Duncan signature: a mixture of mythology and urban contemporary, fantasy and raw reality, as well as beautiful, often complex and thought-provoking plotting and characters. I find that Duncan's short works leave me gasping with excitement or reaching for better understanding, and always wanting more. Highly recommended.

Category: LGBT/Speculative Fiction
Series: None - Single Author Collection
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/April 19, 2014
Grade: A

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ADDITIONAL INFO: Lethe Press is offering a Deluxe edition of Duncan's first short story collection. Hardcover, with dust jacket, full color art and text on heavy stock paper. Scandalous cover, too. This edition has an original story not to be found in the regular edition as well as over 40 photographs that complement the homoerotic tales. Click here for more details.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Book/Author Highlight: Scruffians! Stories of Better Sodomites by Hal Duncan

Are you prepared to enter acclaimed author Hal Duncan's world of scruffians and scamps and sodomites? Beware, for it is filled with the gay pirate gods of Love and Death, immortal scoundrels, and young men who find themselves forced to become villains. But who amongst us does not adore a gamin antihero? These fantastical tales from the fringes of an imaginative realm of supernatural fairies and human fey will captivate the reader. Light a smoke, raise a cup of whiskey, and seek a careful spot to cruise the Scruffians!
About the Author: Scottish author Hal Duncan's debut novel, Vellum, garnered nominations for the Crawford, Locus, BFS and World Fantasy awards, and won the Gaylactic Spectrum, Kurd Lasswitz and Tähtivaeltaja awards. He's since published the sequel, Ink, the novella Escape from Hell!, various short stories, a poetry collection, Songs for the Devil and Death, and two chapbooks, The A-Z of the Fantastic City from Small Beer Press and the self-published Errata.

LGBT
Speculative Fiction
Releasing: April 18, 2014
Publisher: Lethe Press
Pages: 201


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Mini-Impressions: Annihilation (Southern Reach Trilogy #1) by Jeff VanderMeer


Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.

Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.
Science fiction? The "new weird"? Speculative fiction horror twisted into the "new weird"? Whatever the label, Jeff VanderMeer hit the spot with this book. The first book in the Southern Reach Trilogy, Annihilation is a great example of a Lovecratian-based, fungi infected (or is it colonized?) piece. With its distant, disconnected narration, heavy atmosphere, tense horror-filled moments, and excellent prose, it is one of the most memorable books I've read this year so far. Yet, the story is not finished. . . this is just the beginning of what promises to be a fantastic trip (read) when fully realized since obviously the overall story arc has a long way to go. Annihilation leaves the reader, at least it left me, haunted as the progression of events occurring in Area X affect the unnamed biologist and her three companions. Highly recommended.

Trilogy:
Annihilation (Southern Reach #1)
Authority (Southern Reach #2) Releasing May 6, 2014
Acceptance (Southern Reach #3) Releasing September, 2014

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Red Caps: New Fairy Tales for Out of the Ordinary Readers by Steve Berman

Do you know what I love about Steve Berman's young adult stories? His characters always come across as young adults, neither too young nor too old. And, whether his short stories are strictly contemporary, speculative fiction or fairy tales, the core of the queer themes have weight and meaning, and there's always a sense of fun to be found in them -- creepy, adventurous, romantic, weird, fun. Their endings vary from the happy to the memorable, to the twisty weird, but as a whole they usually have a positive message.

That's what you will find in Red Caps: New Fairy Tales for Out of the Ordinary Readers. Thirteen stories where today's queer youth face contemporary issues, except that in most of them there's a sprinkle of magic, a dose of the unexplained, encounters with ghosts and/or mythological beings, loads of imagination, a bit of horror here and there, and plenty of atmosphere to reel the reader in. Add fifty original illustrations contributed by thirteen different artists and you have a stand out collection that any young adult (or lover of LGBT YA literature) would be proud to own.

All of Berman's stories have something to offer. For example, "The Harvestbuck" has an ambiguous ending, yet it is one of the most atmospheric, hair-raising yarns in this collection. "Three on a Match," on the other hand becomes riveting due to the plot's evolution and ending. "Worse than Alligators" is a horror piece that begins with a fun, relaxed atmosphere that evolves into a nightmare. And "Gomorrahs of the Deep, a Musical Coming Someday to Off-Broadway" is Berman's musical! Yes, he wrote a musical about Melville and Moby Dick that is both creative and amusing.

"Texting in Bed" from Cruel Movember
Illustration by Plunderpuss*
There are also two fantasy fairy tales, for girls, "Thimbleriggery and Fledlings" the wizard's daughter finds freedom through self-confidence and is infused with magic. And in "Steeped in Debt to the Chimney-pots," a quasi-Victorian piece, an ex-chimney boy steals from the fairy folk and falls for one of them. I was swept away into the world of this fairy tale, and loved the illustrations that fit this piece to perfection.

With one exception, all the stories in this collection have been previously published in anthologies and/or magazines. The only original piece, "A Calenture of the Jungle" begins with two young Jewish girls, one with too much imagination and the other with none, falling into a sort of frantic attraction fueled by role play, and evolves into an adventure with a twisty role-reversal, ending in a feverish dream-like madness where the narrator's imagination overtakes reality.

I do have particular favorites, one of them is "Cruel Movember," the only strictly contemporary young adult piece included. In this great piece boyfriends Beau and Easton learn the importance of communication in a relationship and how to lend support and understanding during rough times when during the month of November, Easton participates in the Movember mustache-wearing charity, causing havoc in school and embarrassing Beau.

From Bittersweet
Illustration by Kimball Davis**
In "Persimmon, Teeth and Boys," another favorite, Cecil, a nerdy black high school kid who has dealt with labels throughout high school, seeks help from a twisted tooth sprite and gains clarity about those labels and awareness about the attraction he feels for bright, brave, out and proud Bergen. "Bittersweet," another contemporary young adult piece with just a hint of magic, highlights relationships and confidence-building through two boys dealing with health problems as one goes into surgery and both suffer from fear and doubts.

I previously read and loved the following three stories and that still holds. I still believe "All Smiles" is a fantastic young adult speculative fiction piece with a hint of horror, great action and a wonderful ending. "Most Likely," a contemporary romance-based story with a speculative fiction flavor is memorable for the great sibling relationship and sweet ending.

And, the collection ends with the magnificently spun "Only Lost Boys are Found." Beautifully illustrated by Brian Britigan, this is a rescue adventure that takes the reader through a winding world of closets, where kids may hide or find a door to freedom while encountering pirates, ninjas, remorseful siblings, friends or boyfriends, and where reality and fantasy are seamlessly woven into my very favorite short story by Steve Berman. Recommended.

Category: LGBT Young Adult Speculative Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/February 14, 2014
Source: eARC from Publisher/Purchased print book
Grade: B+

Visit Lethe Press here.

Illustrations posted with permission from the publisher. © 2014 Lethe Press, Plunderpuss*  © 2014 Lethe Press, Kimball Davis**

Friday, November 15, 2013

Six Minis: Fabulous Erotica, Tales of Queer Villainy, A Tilted World & Murder

Now or Never (A Last Chance Romance #1) by Logan Belle (Moxie Books, 2013) Grade: A

Claire goes to the YMCA to attend a support group after having been diagnosed with breast cancer, instead she ends up at a group for erotica writers -- this is a fabulous beginning! She meets Justin, a younger man who tells her he's there attending the AA group, not because he's an alcoholic, but to pick up women. Claire is a 40 year-old, divorced woman who dedicated her whole life to raising her son Max who just left for college. She never made time for sex or herself, and now that she's ready to begin, feels that her body has betrayed her. Justin convinces Claire that before she goes through surgery, she needs to make a wish list of sexual fantasies and go through with it, ergo the "Now or Never List" is born. Now, let's get this straight, Justin doesn't plan on being part of Claire's sexual explorations, he is to be her wingman. He plans and helps with fantasies, and in the process they become friends.

Now or Never is short, but what a fantastic short it is! I've previously enjoyed Logan Belle's works, but this is different, it's more a combination of contemporary fiction with erotica than straight up erotica. There is depth in Claire's story, a 40 year woman who has been a "mother" for so long she has forgotten what it is to be a woman. She comes off as a woman with real fears, doubts and lacking in confidence -- all of this resonated with me, like part of a normal stage that women go through at some point in their lives. Justin is the mystery here. The male who you want to throttle one moment, but really makes you think the next. I cannot wait to see what happens next in Now and Forever (A Last Chance Romance, Part 2) coming out January 2014. Thanks to Wendy for the heads up on this one!

Crack Shot by Dale Chase (Bold Strokes Books, 2013) Grade: A-

When it comes to writing gay western erotica and Dale Chase the expression  "she ain't no daisy, she ain't no daisy at all" doesn't apply. In her hands, the American West comes alive as she mixes fine details and gritty characters with raw and downright dirty erotica. Crack Shot is one of Chase's latest releases (she has released a few new books lately), and in this collection I enjoyed all five stories: Brazen, Thyself a Man, Gandy Dancer, Crack Shot, and Picture Show. Favorites: "Gandy Dancer," and "Crack Shot."

Out of Dale's new releases, I'm in the process of reading Takedown (Bold Strokes Books, 2013) an erotic prison tale filled with outlaws and violence. So far it's an interesting read due mostly to Dale's exquisite research which makes the prison and men come alive for the reader. In October, I also read Lonely as God (self-published, 2013), a short story about two men who click on the trail through poetry, but don't get "at each other" until they reach the end of the trail at which time they ride off together. This story is hot, Chase style, a bit less raw than her usual pieces, but just as solid. (Grade B)

The Silent Hustler by Sean Meriwether (Lethe Press,2009) Grade: A-

I've had The Silent Hustler, a collection of twenty-six stories, in my TBR for a long, long time. I can't tell you how fantastic this collection is! It begins with two gorgeous stories about fathers and sons "Things I Can't Tell My Father," and "Ice Water." These two contemporary/lit fiction stories are brilliantly written with intimacy of thought and emotion. The collection is then divided into three sections: Frankenstein, Alone in the Country, Boys in the City, and Sax and Violins. Each section contains stories that take young gay men from early sexual discovery, through young adulthood and the discovery of the gay lifestyle, and on to adulthood.

There is nothing conventional or pedestrian about Meriwether's writing skills or the edgy, erotic, and emotional stories in this collection. Meriwether hooked me with the first two stories, but he kept me reading to the end by way of his talents, and by challenging comfort zones while making it all seem easy and fresh. A fantastic read (and a gorgeous, gorgeous cover)!

The Lavender Menace: Tales of Queer Villainy! ed. by Tom Cardamone (Northwest Press, 2013) Grade: B+

I enjoyed the stories in this anthology -- after all, it contains a favorite tale of queer villainy, Hal Duncan's "The Origin of the Fiend" -- but can I just say how much I absolutely loved the introduction by Tom Cardamone? We don't say enough about introductions and how they affect a reader (the "hook" they become), or what they mean to a collection or anthology. So to give you an idea of what this great collection is about, I will quote Cardamone:
"Queer kids identify with the monsters in the movies, empowered outcasts, bogeymen bursting out off the closet; villains are cool. They wear their shadows well and if you're going to be expelled into the darkness, you might as well flaunt it."

"We can't just be heroes and victims -- that would create a fictitious reality, one where we are more vigilant in our denials than in our quest for equality."
So yes, as an editor, Cardamone reached his goal in choosing writers with just the right tales of "queer villainy" for this collection.

The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly (William Morrow, 2013) Grade: B

I picked up The Tilted World because of the setting and time period. The whole story takes place during the "Great Mississippi Flood of 1927" in the fictional town of Hobnob, by Greenville, Mississippi. It's really a love story (a romance with a happy ending) that takes place between a bootlegger and the government man who came to town to make an arrest. There's murder, betrayal, saboteurs, an orphaned baby, and a flood that would change the course of history.

What I loved and remember the most are the historical fiction details in this book. There were also times when I enjoyed the suspense and different characters, plus the joint writing by Franklin and Fennelly is quite good. However, there was a lack of plausibility to the story as a whole that kept it from becoming more than a solid read for me. On the other hand, the romance, for some reason, worked for me. It is one of those warm love stories that seem to fit with time and place. I recommend it if you're looking for something different that will keep you reading. I read it in one sitting. :)

Still Life With Murder by P.B. Ryan (Berkley, 2003) Grade: B

The first book in the Nell Sweeney historical mystery series turned out to be really good! I know I'm giving it a B (or solid), but that's only because well... it's the first of a series and I don't usually give first books higher grades unless they are fantabulous. Nell is an Irish governess working for a wealthy Bostonian family. The time is just after the American Civil War has ended and the mystery? Nell's employers, Augustus and Viola Hewitt are shocked and appalled when they are informed that one of two sons, William Hewitt, declared dead at Andersonville, is not only alive and in Boston, but is accused of committing a violent murder while under the influence of opium. While August wants Will to hang, Viola asks Nell to help Will in any way she can. The investigation takes Nell from Irish slums to Chinese opium dens, and worse. But, is Will really innocent? And will Nell be able to hold on to her job after all this is over?

I love the setting and time period for this mystery. Nell is a wonderful main character and Will and Detective Cook both serve as great foils for her. Ryan takes a chance with this series, I think, as she begins to build a series with a woman who has a bit of a mysterious, but checkered past, and includes the beginning of a romance (?) with someone who is a long way from perfect. There is less of the "upstairs/downstairs" atmosphere to this first novel than I expected, but there is a marked difference between the clean, wealthy life that Nell leads with the Hewitts, and the life of those she encounters while investigating the murder. Ryan's descriptions of life in the impoverished sides of Boston are riveting. I can't wait for more. The end to the mystery was a total surprise for me and I really loved how it turned out. And yes, I bought the second book to the series, Murder in a Mill Town, as soon as I finished this one. :) Thanks to Li for the recommendation.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
A dark fairy tale for adults, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a short piece by Neil Gaiman that nevertheless leaves the reader thinking hard about those childhood memories we all take for granted. Gaiman infuses this fairy tale with magic, realism, and enough terror to make an adult tremble, never mind a child.

The magical aspects of this fairy tale are gorgeous, absorbing and scary: there is an Oracle-like trio of women who live at the end of the lane from the boy's home, at a place called the Hempstock's farmhouse -- the crone, the mother, the maiden -- or Old Mrs. Hempstock, Ginnie Hempstock (Lettie's mother), and eleven year-old Lettie who becomes the boy's friend and protector. Oh, Lettie and the boy visit a magical and dangerous place with an orange sky and the farmhouse is warm and safe with a a magical pond, a beautiful kitten, delicious pies, cream and milk where he finds a deep, abiding friendship. But, don't be deceived because there are also terrifying monsters, danger, betrayal, loss, and the question of survival.

Gaiman's fairy tale is narrated by a seven year-old boy as events are remembered by the man he becomes. It's interesting because we all know how childhood memories can fade and events can become distorted with time and our narrator is middle aged -- divorced with grown children with established lives of their own. Magic, however, factors into the "distortion of memory" issue, which I believe is a creative approach by Gaiman.

Children often blame themselves for what happens around them, to them, to their parents, as a result of their actions, but most times through no fault of their own. They can also erase and/or rearrange memories, particularly bad ones, to fit their lives and make them more acceptable. In Gaiman's fairy tale, the unnamed protagonist placed those memories in a tight little box and closed the lid. The memories only came into play when he went through changes in his life, but were those memories accurate or was he still placing the blame where it did not belong? After the funeral when our story begins, are the memories closer to being accurate? This adult fairy tale is a magnificent way of telling a story that deals with the consequences of childhood trauma and factors in memory.

The summary of the book above is quite accurate in detail, but lacks spoilers. It is in fact the perfect summary for this short novel by Gaiman. However, it would help to clarify that forty years earlier means 1960, and that has to be kept in mind when reading the seven year-old boy's narrative, particularly his feelings about adults and his reactions to them.

Grown-ups and Monsters:
"Grownups and Monsters aren't scared of things. "

"Oh, monsters are scared," said Lettie. "That's why they're monsters. And as for grown-ups. . . "
As terrifyingly beautiful and creative as the fairy tale turns out to be, this story is about growing up. There is little subtlety in the way Gaiman portrays the death of innocence or the depth of terror or fear felt by the boy as he narrates his experiences. But there is no question that I wouldn't have missed walking in the boy's shoes or missing out in those experiences.

I think what I love about The Ocean at the End of the Lane is that it can be read and enjoyed in different ways, as a magical fairy tale or as more. Although it has children as protagonists at its core and family is part of the story, this is not a warm, children's fairy tale like The Graveyard Book. It has a much darker atmosphere, and deeper and much more complex plot that makes this an adult fairy tale. This is my interpretation of what I found at the core of the fairy tale. I'm sure we all have different thoughts about it... and of course, that is the beauty that comes from reading this piece by Gaiman.  Highly recommended.
----------
Favorite quote:
I liked myths. They weren't adult stories and they weren't children's stories. They were better than that. They just were.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Review: Best Gay Stories 2013 ed. by Steve Berman


Best Gay Stories 2013 edited by Steve Berman is Lethe Press's yearly collection of twenty of last year's best gay stories. This year's edition is focused on different and highly relevant gay themes.

Berman chose a wide variety of stories written by well-known authors as well as new talent. The authors' writing styles are as diverse as their approach to the stories, and by the time I finished reading this collection it became obvious to me why each story and writer was chosen. The themes vary from young to adult love, and from fear of aging to committed partnership and cheating issues, but there is much more.

There is Irrespective of the Storm by Mark Ameen, a fantastic story about 1980's gay lifestyle and hookups. Farewell to Wise's by William Sterling Walker explores complacency and the need to move on, and Steve Berman's "Bottom of the Menu" manages the question of aging with great wit and eroticism. Also included, there are two must read favorites, Next Year at Sonny's by Eddy Sarfaty, an excellent essay exploring family, friends and modern gay lifestyle, and an essay I've dubbed "body beautiful" by Peter Knegt, "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Have Sex in Gay Art Porn."

As in all collections of this size, there are pieces that stand out and there is always the question of preference, however, I firmly believe that within the twenty stories included in Best Gay Stories 2013 there are plenty of meaningful, excellent pieces to satisfy the most discerning reader. This is certainly a winning collection of gay themed stories for me.

Category: LGBT/ Gay Fiction
Series: Best Gay Stories
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/June 1, 2013
Grade: B+

※※※※※※※※

This collection has 20 stories and B+ is a high grade, indeed, for such a large collection. As always when grading a collection, I take into consideration writing, content, and the editor's contribution. As an added bonus and because these stories deserve to be highlighted, below I'm including my brief impressions of the whole collection:

"Wheat, Barley, Lettuce, Fennel, Salt for Sorrow, Blood for Joy" by Alex Jeffers
Young Adult. This excellent and well-written mythology-based romance between two young men transports the reader to another time and place where youthful lusty thoughts and yearning abound.

"Two Variations on the Theme of Envy" by Matthew R. Loney
Looks don't make the man. "Dancing, I saw a man nearby whose face my gut said ugly to instinctively. [...] Thinking back, I may have even said unlovable." Two highly relevant shorts: one focuses on those often wrong superficial judgments based on outward appearance, and the other on the sad consequences that come from attempting to find and maintain modern man's idea of perfect beauty.

"What Comes Around" by Jameson Currier
That birthday. "Forty is looming. You are approaching a time zone of trauma." Excellent short  rationalizing the pros, cons, and insecurities that come along with aging while alone.

"I Will Forget the Sound of His Voice" by Thomas Kearnes
Drugs & Sex. "Tweak makes you ambitious." "Curtis will likely shift, like a pianist from key to key, over to a new man. There will be no anger, no tears. I've survived the party scene over seven years. A simple rule: nothing lasts[...]" Excellent and pertinent short highlighting the party scene, drugs, sex and passing relationships.

"East Tenth Street, 1999" by Nicholas Boggs
Independence. A rather truncated short focused on a young man whose sole goal is to gain independence from his family when he finally gets that coveted apartment inherited from his uncle in the City. Excellent writing style, but it left me wanting more.

"Don't Tell Me" by Chip Livingston
The Breakup. A good but very short story about the heartbreak that comes as the result of a breakup, as seen from the perspective of the one left behind.

"Body and Mind" by Eric Sasson
Commitment & Cheating. "Why did affection have to be the death knell of lust? What is it about hugging Hunter that makes Andy's dick limp? Or rather, not limp, but awake for the briefest spell, like a bear that peeks out of his cave only to decide his winter isn't over." Does affection kill a relationship? A very good piece that effectively explores the subject of cheating when sex life turns stale between committed partners.

"Boy, A History" by Saeed Jones
Sexual Discovery & Identity from African American perspective. A complete short with an excellent rhythmic writing style where the author depicts violence and abuse as his character goes through the process of sexual discovery and a search for identity.

"Irrespective of the Storm" by Mark Ameen
1980's Gay Lifestyle & AIDS. "Irrespective of the storm, the soul struck by lightning time and again, throughout the abominable Eighties there they were: compact, beautiful men spreading the cheeks of their asses on beds of gently rushing water." An excellent retrospective highlighting the gay lifestyle in New York City during the 1980's. The author focuses on lifestyle, places, relationships, and hookups, ending with the AIDS epidemic. I loved this one.

"This is Love" by Stephen Graham Jones
Gay Bashing. The speculative fiction version of gay bashing, this story is haunting and ohhh so sad!

"Villainelle" by Chaz Brenchley
Home. "Home. For some people, it's where they end up, where they settle. For some of us, it's where you start. Where you run away from. Where you leave. For some of us, coming back would never be a choice. Only ever a thing we did because we had to." I like Chaz Brenchley's style and really enjoyed his fantasy take on this theme.

"The Origin of a Fiend" by Hal Duncan
Killing the Secret. "You'll never forgive the fact that the world's first homo superhero is no sooner out than he's suffering and dying. You'll never forgive, never forget, never. . . " A rather complex comic book-based story with much to offer. This is the brilliant Hal Duncan we're talking about so I may have to read this story again. Enough said.

"The Bloated Woman" by Jonathan Harper
Dangerous Liaisons. A young man goes to a coast town to take care of an old professor and hooks up with an older, local man. I have read Harper's story twice now and it left me wanting to read it again. It is certainly memorable!

"Cinema Love" by Aaron Chan
Looking for common ground. I have one word for this romantic love story: sweet!

"Ghost Water" by Casey Hannan
The Closet. I absolutely love the atmosphere and setting, and the excellent way in which the author gets to the point of his story with few words.

"The Theater of the Floating World" by Simon Jacobs
Obsession. "I wasn't much better off. I was here to pay for sex. I was as desperate as anyone else." I loved the setting and found the Asian focus quite interesting. There is an air of desperation and obsession that makes this a disturbing, memorable read.

"Farewell to Wise's" by William Sterling Walker
Moving On. "There's nothing for you in this city anymore. No opportunity. No more turkey, girlfriend. The buffet is closed. You need to move on to something else. Save yourself. Get out while you can. You've been too complacent. You need to see the world. You've been on the party jag too long." Lord, did I love Farewell to Wise's! I love the atmosphere. The relationship between the characters is so marvelous that they came alive for me, and the way the author makes his point is excellent. What more can I say?

"Bottom of the Menu" by Steve Berman
The unexpected and always welcomed "meal." "Hustlers must go to school for etiquette now. I shall have to revise my view of the twenty-first century.""Fresh pound cake w/confiture de lait. My mouth has grown dry as my mother's pound cake. And how much the faygele am I to be thinking about my mother while on my knees before a crotch?" Berman's contribution is sexy, erotic, and funny. So enjoyable. I kept getting a visual while reading this story, which says a lot about the writing. A favorite among Berman's shorts.

"Next Year at Sonny's" by Eddy Sarfaty
Family, Friends, Lifestyle. "You're a good kid." "I'm forty-six." "You'll always be a kid to me," she says as she pats my cheek." Sarfaty writes a funny, heartwarming, and thought provoking essay using what has become a traditional Passover with "the boys" at Eddy's mother's home in Long Island as a setting. A must read.

"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Have Sex in Gay Art Porn" by Peter Knegt
Body Beautiful. "I spent a lot of my adult life so far feeling threatened by my own body and by my own sexuality," I said. "But I think I've come pretty far in that regard." "[...] I thought about how life had brought me from being a gay little boy in a small town dancing to "Under The Sea" in his living room to a gay little man rapidly drinking pints of beer in a gross San Francisco gay bar awaiting his debut as a pornographic actor. I felt oddly proud of this progression." I was touched by the intimacy of thought and truthfulness in Mr. Knegt's essay. I love both the progression and the end of this essay!


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Review: Wilde Stories 2013: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction edited by Steve Berman


Every year editor Steve Berman publishes one special collection after gathering the best of previously published gay speculative fiction stories written by a wide variety of authors. I've loved Berman's collections in past years and Wilde Stories 2013 is no exception. This year's volume, however, is memorable for the different and interesting young adult speculative fiction short stories included. They provide this volume with adventure, a touch of whimsy, and yes, an edge that I really enjoyed.

Breakwater in the Summer Park by L Lark is a light and fun summer camp story with a mysterious monster in the lake whose presence inadvertently helps two boys whose lives are full of insecurities and personal fears about the future. I enjoyed this story in the Boys of Summer* anthology and although it is one of the lightest stories in this collection, it definitely belongs. The Keets Variation by K.M. Ferebee on the other hand has young adults as main characters, yet the dense narrative and heavy subject matter give this story edge and weight. Tatooed Love Boys by Alex Jeffers is queer fantasy at its best. With a plot that shifts and curves, this story takes the characters and the reader on a wonderful ride.

I initially read Wave Boys by Vincent Kovar in The Touch of the Sea* anthology and loved it so much that it made my 2012 short story "best of" list. This dystopian young adult story is memorable for its fantastic world-building, great adventure, and characters that I feel should be further explored -- it was a pleasure re-reading it again! Another young adult story with excellent world-building is Next Door by Rahul Kanakia. This is an action and anxiety driven futuristic science fiction short set in a society where technology trumps humanity.

Then there's the fantastic and unforgettable story about a boy and his wolf, Sic Him, Hellhound! Kill! Kill! by Hal Duncan. I've never read anything like it. There are some rather ironic references to those dreaded sparkly vampires and the girls who admire them, but what can I say? This story cracked me up, particularly since it is narrated from the dog/wolf's point of view!
---Hello hello hello hello! I love you!
---Yes, I know, I love you too.
---But I really love you! I missed you so much!
---And I missed you too. Yes. I did! Oh yes I did! Now, down you go.
---But I missed you!
From the adult speculative fiction short stories, Wetside Story by Steve Vernon is memorable and the most irreverent in this collection. This fun, creative piece has some crass humor that won't quit. I appreciated it from beginning to end. Imagine a sexy gay squid in love with another squid who has a radioactive smile. Yeah...
Bucky grinned me back a picket fence full of pleasure. The toxic waste that riddled his cavities gave them a wonderfully fluorescent neon gleam. His scales glittered as prettily as those of the dead mackerel had.

My heart went thump. 
Changing gears, in Laird Barron's A Strange Form of Life his talents are displayed in all their glory and can be fully appreciated as, in short order, he weaves a fantastic Lovecraftian horror piece. Grierson at the Pain Clinic by Richard Bowes is such a gripping and unique story, about a man and his rather disturbing Shadow, that I couldn't stop thinking about it. And the fantasy, myth-based, whaling adventure Keep the Aspidochelone Floating by Chaz Brechley is another  story from The Touch of the Sea anthology that made my 2012 "best of" list. Re-reading this well-written, detailed piece full of action, pirates, and a love story between a mariner and his boy was a pleasure.

I had a tough time choosing favorites in this volume of the Wilde Stories series. Steve Berman included a wide range of stories and gay themes, as well as an excellent mixture of writing styles in Wilde Stories 2013. Combining young adult and adult speculative fiction not only added a creative edge but a unique touch to this collection.

Category: LGBT/ Gay Speculative Fiction
Series: Wilde Stories: The Year's Best Speculative Fiction Anthologies
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/June 15, 2013
Source: eARC from publisher
Grade: B+

*See my reviews of:
The Touch of the Sea ed. by Steve Berman
Boys of Summer ed. by Steve Berman

Find this and all speculative fiction titles mentioned above here.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Highlighting: The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Doctor Spencer Black by E.B. Hudspeth


Philadelphia. The late 1870s. A city of cobblestone sidewalks and horse-drawn carriages. Home to the famous anatomist and surgeon Dr. Spencer Black. The son of a “resurrectionist” (aka grave robber), Dr. Black studied at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs— were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind?

The Resurrectionist offers two extraordinary books in one. The first is a fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black, from his humble beginnings to the mysterious disappearance at the end of his life. The second book is Black’s magnum opus:
The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy for mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed black-and-white anatomical illustrations. You need only look at these images to realize they are the work of a madman. The Resurrectionist tells his story.

E. B. HUDSPETH is an artist and author living in New Jersey. This is his first book.
resurrectionist n (14c) 1. an exhumer and stealer of corpses; a resurrection man 2. one who revives or brings to light again [f. RESURRECTION sb. + -IST. Hence F. resurrectionniste.]
The Resurrectionist is such a gorgeous book! When I first received the print copy all I wanted to do was pet it. It is the size of a coffee table book, and an excellent conversation piece as I quickly found out. The fantastic illustrations rendered by the author E.B. Hudspeth, The Codex Extinct Animalia, that make up the second section of this book steal the show. Of course, there is a story to go along with all those gorgeous illustrations and the aesthetically pleasing package.

Set primarily in Philadelphia in the late 1800's, the first section of the story is the fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black. Although it is written in a biographical style narrative with journal entries by Dr. Spencer Black and occasional entries by his brother Bernard, the story soon takes a twist into dark fantasy as Spencer comes to believe that mythological creatures are the true ancestors of humans. At age twenty-one, Black is known around the world as a medical prodigy, but as his research grows into an obsession that takes him away from his brilliant works as a surgeon working with operable birth defects and into an entirely different direction, his credibility with the medical community is irrevocably damaged and his mental health rapidly deteriorates.

This section of the book is rather short, at times providing gruesome details of Black's experiments, while at others it leaves blank or unknown details up to the reader's imagination. Black's experiments and descent into obsessive darkness fascinated me to no end and left me disturbed. That is until I looked at those gorgeous illustrations again.

The Codex Extinct Animalia, or second section of the book, is dedicated to those fantastic illustrations I mention above. I wish I could show you instead of telling you about it. There is a page describing each mythological creature, another page with Dr. Black's notes about the creature, and a page dedicated to different illustration plates enumerating bones, muscles, internal organs, and the final sample of said creature. My favorites are the amazing illustrations of the Harpy Erinyes. But as beautiful as the illustrations are, they become deeply disturbing when placed in context with the story or Black's obsession. It is through these that the reader comes to realize the depth of the doctor's madness and realizes just how far he goes with his experimentation. A rather macabre thought...

Now, take the disturbing dark fantasy narrated in biographical style and put it together with illustrations that take the story up a notch into the macabre and you have a winning combination. For readers like me who love a taste of the unique and different, the aesthetically beautiful journey into the dark mind of a madman in The Resurrectionist will most certainly do.

Book Dimensions: 7½ x 10½
Also available as an ebook
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: May 21, 2013

Visit the author's website or for more information go here.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Summer Releases: UF/PNR/SCI-FI/LGBT & More!

There are SO many books I'm looking forward to reading this summer! Here are just a few of the books I can't wait to get my hands on! I mean look at that list of books, authors/editor: Singh's latest Psy/Changeling novel which has everyone on pins and needles; the last book of Corey's thrilling Expanse trilogy; a couple of Berman's excellent anthologies (I'm highlighting one below, but I am also reading Best Gay Stories 2013, releasing June 1, 2013); Gaiman's Fairy Tale; Hart's latest addition to her contemporary fiction works; the last (?) book of the Kate Daniels series by the Andrews writing team (booo); the last (?) book of the Guardian Series by Brook (another booo); and the first book of a new series by Armstrong (yes!), plus a debut (magic realism) novel by a new author. I can't wait!

Heart of Obsidian (Psy/Changeling) by Nalini Singh
Release Date: June 4, 2013
A dangerous, volatile rebel, hands stained bloodred.

A woman whose very existence has been erased.

A love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.

A deadly price that must be paid.

The day of reckoning is here.

From "the alpha author of paranormal romance" (Booklist) comes the most highly anticipated novel of her career--one that blurs the line between madness and genius, between subjugation and liberation, between the living and the dead.
Abaddon's Gate (The Expanse #3) by James S.A. Corey
Release Date: June 4, 2013
For generations, the solar system — Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt — was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has appeared in Uranus's orbit, where it has built a massive gate that leads to a starless dark.

Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artifact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them.

The House of Impossible Loves by Cristina Lopez Barrios
Release Date: June 4, 2013
An “exuberant” (El Mundo) debut novel of a family bound by searing passions, an earthy magic, and a very unusual curse

The Laguna women suffer from an odd affliction: each generation is condemned to tragic love affairs and to give birth only to girls who are unable to escape the cruel fate of their mothers. One fateful hunting season in their small Castilian town, a young landowner arrives and begins a passionate affair with Clara Laguna, the latest in the family line, daughter of a one-eyed woman known as “the Laguna witch.” He leaves her pregnant with yet another daughter, but the seeds of change are sown. Eventually the long-awaited son—Santiago, the great-great grandson of Clara—is born. A window of hope is opened, but is the curse truly over?

Introducing a cast of memorable, eccentric characters from a bearded, mute female cook to the local do-gooding priest and the indelible Laguna women themselves, The House of Impossible Loves is a feat of imaginative storytelling that marks the arrival of a talented new novelist.

Wilde Stories 2013: Best Gay Speculative Fiction ed. by Steve Berman
Release Date: June 15, 2013*
The solid latest volume in this annual collection of gay speculative fiction includes a dozen stories from 2012, chosen by editor and publisher Berman (Boys of Summer) from various sources. While the only criterion is that each story must have a gay character or theme, a seductive undercurrent involving the sea or water symbolically connects many of the stories. Quality and satisfaction vary, with a few true standouts. Alex Jeffers’s “Tattooed Love Boys” is a powerful, provocative look at fluid sexuality and gender identification, while Vincent Kovar’s “Wave Boys” conjures up a captivatingly strange, futuristic society populated by tribes of semi-feral young men, like so many ocean-dwelling Lost Boys. L Lark’s “Breakwater in the Summer Dark” has a haunting coming-of-age quality, set against the backdrop of a summer camp plagued by sea monsters, and Rahul Kanakia’s “Next Door” is a surprisingly optimistic dystopian piece. With many genres, tones, and styles represented, there’s a little something for everyone.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Release Date: June 18, 2013
A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home and is drawn to the farm at the end of the road where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl and her mother and grandmother. As he sits by the pond ­behind the ramshackle old house, the unremembered past comes flooding back—a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

A groundbreaking work as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out.

The Favor by Megan Hart
Release Date: June 25, 2013*
With characteristic compassion and searing honesty, MEGAN HART weaves a shattering small-town story about what can turn brother against brother, and the kinds of secrets that cannot remain untold.

Janelle Decker has happy childhood memories of her grandma's house, and even lived there through high school. Now she's back with her twelve-year-old son to look after her ailing Nan, and hardly anything seems to have changed, not even the Tierney boys next door.

Gabriel Tierney, local bad boy. The twins, Michael and Andrew. After everything that happened between the four of them, Janelle is shocked that Gabe still lives in St. Mary's. And he isn't trying very hard to convince Janelle he's changed from the moody teenage boy she once knew. If anything, he seems bent on making sure she has no intentions of rekindling their past.

To this day, though there might've been a lot of speculation about her relationship with Gabe, nobody else knows she was there in the woods that day, …the day a devastating accident tore the Tierney brothers apart and drove Janelle away. But there are things that even Janelle doesn't know, and as she and Gabe revisit their interrupted romance, she begins to uncover the truth denied to her when she ran away all those years ago.

Magic Rises (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shape-shifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shape-shifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap.

Guardian Demon (Guardian Series) by Meljean Brooks
Release Date: August 6, 2013
After a terrifying encounter in Hell destroys her trust in Michael, the Guardians’ powerful leader, former detective Andromeda Taylor is ready to call it quits as one of the angelic warriors and resume her human life again. But when demonic forces threaten her closest friends and she uncovers a terrifying plot devised by Lucifer, Taylor is thrown straight into Michael’s path again…

To defeat Lucifer, Michael needs every Guardian by his side—and he needs Taylor more than any other. The detective is the key to keeping his own demonic side at bay, and Michael will do anything to protect her and keep her close. And when Taylor manifests a deadly power, her Gift might tip the scales in the endless war between Heaven and Hell… or it might destroy them both with a single touch.

Omens: A Cainsville Novel (Omens &Shadows) by Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: August 20, 2013
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong begins her new series with Omens, featuring a compelling new heroine thrust into a decades-old murder case and the dark mysteries surrounding her strange new home. Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens. Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.
*NOTE: Books read, upcoming reviews.

I'm scheduled to go on vacation this upcoming Sunday for a little over a week. I'm taking books with me this time around and will be reading just so I can make room for all the books I want to read in June! How about you? Do you have a long list of books you want to read this summer?