Interesting and heartfelt popular-academia book on the intersections of queer identities and folklore (monsters, shapeshifting, gender-bending, storytInteresting and heartfelt popular-academia book on the intersections of queer identities and folklore (monsters, shapeshifting, gender-bending, storytelling, the sense of something not fitting in the 'normal' world). It's a well thought-through thesis with a wide range of examples that bends over backwards to be inclusive and non appropriative. The relatively informal style makes it highly readable, in fact I could have done with fewer exclmation marks, but then I always could.
Thoughtful and passionate; anyone with an interest in folklore or queer fantastical stories would get something from this. Great chapter illustrations, too.
Merged review:
Interesting and heartfelt popular-academia book on the intersections of queer identities and folklore (monsters, shapeshifting, gender-bending, storytelling, the sense of something not fitting in the 'normal' world). It's a well thought-through thesis with a wide range of examples that bends over backwards to be inclusive and non appropriative. The relatively informal style makes it highly readable, in fact I could have done with fewer exclmation marks, but then I always could.
Thoughtful and passionate; anyone with an interest in folklore or queer fantastical stories would get something from this. Great chapter illustrations, too....more
A very sweet friends to lovers story firmly grounded in reality. Evan and Jane are old friends who are both painfully lonely during lockdown, and makeA very sweet friends to lovers story firmly grounded in reality. Evan and Jane are old friends who are both painfully lonely during lockdown, and make a pact to marry if they can't find partners by the time Jane is 33. They go for it because neither of them has a successful love life: Jane is a reserved homebody on the asexual spectrum, Evan has depression, they're both fairly insecure after a variety of rejections in life. It's a very interior story, in that both characters are struggling with what's in their own heads rather than with anything the other does.
Living together proves to be what they both need, and one of the sweetest things about this is the way they lift each other up. Jane's issues with sex means she actually likes the things Evan struggles with (smaller penis, low libido because of medication); Evan helps her expand her comfort zone. An enjoyable, warm read about people whose awkward edges turn out to fit together perfectly. ...more
An absolutely outstanding collection, with a theme of diaspora, loss, home, and longing, beautifully delineated, with a wistful quality that never becAn absolutely outstanding collection, with a theme of diaspora, loss, home, and longing, beautifully delineated, with a wistful quality that never becomes mawkish.
The collection is bookended with two stories featuring the same characters on what you might call parallel timelines--the first is a very silly and charming SF poke at a lot of romance tropes, the second is a painful story of love, trauma, and survival. There's another Penhallow story (a character from the author's first collection Not For Use In Navigation: Thirteen Stories, who sticks in the mind).
Really extremely strong. It's a collection with thematic unity but tonal variation and beautiful writing throughout and I read it in a sitting. I got an ARC from the author; you're going to want to buy this. That includes people who aren't big short story fans, because each of these really feels like its own little pocket universe. A pleasure....more
A really excellent and comprehensive anthology focusing on queer men in London post war to the end of the 50s. Includes extracts from newspapers, lettA really excellent and comprehensive anthology focusing on queer men in London post war to the end of the 50s. Includes extracts from newspapers, letters, diaries, novels, plays, and quite a bit from the censors of plays. Many queer voices.
Obviously a lot of it is homophobic, and some of it really vile stuff. The last extract of the book is, jawdroppingly, a court report about a young man accused of sexual assaults on two women. The accused had had homosexual encounters before, and a psychologist literally described his attempted rapes *in court* as "a step in the right direction". I mean...fucking hell. Fuck.
A lot of this makes one feel, as one might feel now, that the British press en masse needs to be shot at dawn. However, there are also lots of non-awful pieces--loving, thoughtful, atmospheric, defiant, humane, and often very funny. I shall cherish Noel Coward's remark on seeing a poster of Michael Redgrave and Dirk Bogarde in The Sea Shall Not Have Them: "Why not? Everybody else has."
Brief but very useful annotations from the anthologist. This includes, in the biographical notes, a comment that one individual's book Come Cruising "disappointingly turns out to be about yachting".
A fantastic bit of work bringing the queer London 1950s to life. Highly readable and invaluable. I shall get the 1960s volume....more
A collection of memoirs by a wide range of queer Arab writers, touching on a lot of issues from within and outside their communities. As with all anthA collection of memoirs by a wide range of queer Arab writers, touching on a lot of issues from within and outside their communities. As with all anthologies a couple of pieces didn't land for me but there's a lot of heartfelt, honest, important writing here with some really powerful reflections on intersectionality, bigotry, shame, and pride. ...more
1920s New York-set queer fantasy/romance/political crime thriller set in the world of organised crime and boxing, with tattoo magic. Really it's about1920s New York-set queer fantasy/romance/political crime thriller set in the world of organised crime and boxing, with tattoo magic. Really it's about love and hope and solidarity - among Jews, queer people, women, workers, all the marginalised - and the difference it make when you stand together. Highly readable, inspiring, and vividly written....more
An entertaining if meandering tale of a Russian/Maori/Catalan family in New Zealand, mostly from the point of view of queer neurodivergent siblings GrAn entertaining if meandering tale of a Russian/Maori/Catalan family in New Zealand, mostly from the point of view of queer neurodivergent siblings Greta and Valdin. It's a very pleasant read with likeable characters flailing to find themselves and their happiness, and everyone behaving in an extremely over the top manner.
The decision to give quite so many characters either identical or extremely similar names was, let's call it whimsical.
I did find myself hoping there would be more of a point or direction to it. I didn't realise "no plot all vibes" was a thing in litfic as well as romance and fantasy, but apparently it's spreading like Japanese knotweed for genres. However, if you're satisfied with warmth and vibes and inclusiveness, you'll love this.
Epistolary novel set in a super-queer magical alt-Regency when only birth order matters, not gender, and sexuality is not an issue. I absolutely lovedEpistolary novel set in a super-queer magical alt-Regency when only birth order matters, not gender, and sexuality is not an issue. I absolutely loved there was a third title for nonbinary aristos (Dukex) and how the order of 'Lord and Lady X' was inverted if she was the more highborn: that's the kind of attention to detail that shows a really talented worldbuilder.
It's a very sweet story about a man about town courting an innocent young gentleman of low self esteen and retiring nature. It's super low stakes, very much at the cosy end, with not a lot of plot, so everything depends on enjoying the characters and the world, which I did very much. ...more
Novel set in Nigeria, about a world of abusive men and the women (children) they abuse, as wives, servants, or just available sexual outlets. It's preNovel set in Nigeria, about a world of abusive men and the women (children) they abuse, as wives, servants, or just available sexual outlets. It's pretty brutal to read, and the female and queer defiance is welcome but kind of brutal too.
It's not polished--kind of jumpy--but there's a huge amount of energy and anger and feeling, and we need to know what happens. It namechecks The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives and there is definitely a similar vibe, although this book brings in gods.
However, the Cipher Press ebook edition doesn't work *at all* on my Kobo. All the accented characters come out as weird blocks, and since that's mostly names of all the crucial characters, it made for a near-impossible reading experience. Really poor from the publisher there. ...more
A spy novel / super slow burn m/m romance / philosophical SF.
This starts absolutely spectacularly, and gave me the kind of tingles you get when you tA spy novel / super slow burn m/m romance / philosophical SF.
This starts absolutely spectacularly, and gave me the kind of tingles you get when you think you're about to read something utterly epic. It didn't quite fulfil that.
Part of the problem is, the plotting isn't up to the concept: for me, not enough happens. It's extremely static from about 40% on, in both the SF and the romance plots, and we don't ever really delve into either the relationship or the deeper meaning of Prophet. There's a lot of talking. Regrettably this exposes an authorial habit of all the characters addressing each other by name in close to 50% of the dialogue lines, which becomes incredibly obtrusive very fast. ("Is that right, Adam?" / "Yes it is, Rao" when they are the only people in the room.) Editor fail.
Eh. I loved the start so much I may have been over picky, but for me, the second half really needed a lot more development to live up to its huge potential. Clearly the authors were revelling in the super slow burn romance, but tbh I didn't find it as compelling as the Prophet storyline, and it gave me that vaguely uncomfortable feeling I was reading fanfic of something. Still definitely worth reading, with some truly lovely writing, and a line about how the world will end with people clutching toys that gave me chills. ...more
It's the story of Harley, a young gay black Brit in Kent struggling with anxiety and depression and a hWhat an absolutely lovely book. I adored this.
It's the story of Harley, a young gay black Brit in Kent struggling with anxiety and depression and a homophobic father and an awful hookup situation, and a summer that changes things after he drops out of university, with friendships and a burgeoning super slow burn romance with Muddy, a Mancunian lad (deeply kind hearted, very open and generous). It's more bildungsroman than romance but no romance reader will be disappointed; it's also the best depiction of a certain kind of masculinity I've ever read.
This is in Finlay, Muddy's friend, a loud rugby-playing heavy-drinking Archbishop of Banterbury constantly saying stupid offensive things. Finlay is a twat; everyone agrees he's a twat. We've all met him. He's a twat. He's also the kind of person who'll cross London for someone he barely knows, who'll tell you how much he loves you when he's had enough to drink and mean it, who'll be devastated if you actually lose it on his annoying arse because he truly thought you were friends. Who is, in fact, crippled by the stupid demands of performative masculinity and can't get out. There's a note perfect scene where he tells Harley how he intends to propose, and Harley literally has to say, "you're planning to spend the entire day deliberately annoying the shit out of her as a build up to asking her to spend her life with you, can you just think about that?" And, you know, *then* Finlay sees it. But 'bantz' is so poisonously ingrained in him as the way you approach emotion, or relationships.
I've met lots of men like this, haven't we all, and the relentless facade-maintenance and constant 'wahey, homophobic remark, sexist remark, I've got a big cock, beers!' stuff is so fucking tiresome that (as I once specifically said of a friend's best mate) I don't care if he's a great guy underneath, because what I see pisses me off. Thus this is a spectacular portrayal, because Finlay is written clearsightedly but with so much love that he actually becomes a kind of magnificently tragic figure. Albeit that his fatal flaw is being a twat.
It's not Finlay's book though. It's got a lot to say about dealing with depression and anxiety, cultural restrictions (both Ghanaian and working class British), the relentless wearing of casual racism and queerphobia on self esteem. It's very much a book about communication, about the need to give of yourself to people who love you--not sacrificially, but trusting them with your truth. Muddy's openness helps Harley save himself. Harley's horrible situationship and his father stand as people who can't confront their own truths and are grossly warped by it. Finlay...yes well.
Not perfect, I found the two women in the friend group perhaps not as strong characters, but overall this is spectacular character work, and a really great portrayal of kinds of friendship, kinds of people, kinds of love.
A hugely involving take on Frankenstein, in which Mary (descendant of Victor) and her husband attempt to recreate the famous experiment, only they're A hugely involving take on Frankenstein, in which Mary (descendant of Victor) and her husband attempt to recreate the famous experiment, only they're palaeontologists, so this time they're trying to make a pleiosaur. Frankenstein meets Jurassic Park. Amazing. (It's not really that, I'm just astonished the publishers didn't slap on that tagline.)
Really, it's very much about: being a woman scientist in the Victorian period, being a woman scientist at all, being a woman, with the expectations of motherhood and wifeness, being pleasant, always pleasant, smoothing over situations, self effacement, never having anger or pride. And very much about the endless capacity of men to be a massive selfish disappointment and then be completely baffled when called out for what they did. Mary is a ferociously angry, bitter woman choking on the injustice of it all, and this makes for a pretty emotional, cathartic read. With hand-stitched dinosaur. Plus the author tackles endemic racism inclusing 'scientific' racism, chronic pain, and child loss, and there's a low-key sapphic romance starting, so there is a lot going on here.
I enjoyed it very much. The writing is great and has a strong period feel, Mary is a fascinating character, making no effort to be 'likeable', and Henry depressingly plausible in that he's not even a villain, just a typical selfish man. It starts a little bit slowly, with a lot of childhood, in the way of Victorian novels, but stick with it: it's a really entertaining tale. ...more
A classic detective novel in a classic fantasy setting. In all honestly, the combination made this a bit hard to get into (although I was also coming A classic detective novel in a classic fantasy setting. In all honestly, the combination made this a bit hard to get into (although I was also coming down with a lurgy, so possibly my brain doesn't work right now). Lots of fantasy novel names, lot of world building, also a lot of who-was-where-when-and-why detail to set up the murder. It took a little while to click with me. But, when it did, it sang, and I galloped through the last half with absolute glee. Terrific resolution, lots of thought behind the world to give it moral heft, great concepts and even the tiniest smidge of romance. I shall grab the next. ...more
A very interesting collection of essays around queerness in the Western occult tradition (including the parts of practice taken from other traditions A very interesting collection of essays around queerness in the Western occult tradition (including the parts of practice taken from other traditions eg Tantra). I am in no way informed on that so can't comment: I came here for Dion Fortune and Crowley era stuff, and found that really in-depth and informative. There's also a marvellous piece on gender and sexual fluidity in the Norse traditions, and a note-perfect Round the Horne parody (no, I didn't see that coming either) called Bona Shamans, which mad props if you like me are a Julian and Sandy devotee. (Bona Law: "we have a criminal practice that takes up most of our time". I will never stop laughing.)
Niche, obv, but should you be into the historical occult it is super interesting, and immensely readable. I wish everyone in this area (or any academic area) could write with this level of humour and clarity. ...more
Very enjoyable urban fantasy starring a curmudgeonly vampire taking on a zombie attack. Withrow is not a standard vampire, being 350lbs and no ChristoVery enjoyable urban fantasy starring a curmudgeonly vampire taking on a zombie attack. Withrow is not a standard vampire, being 350lbs and no Christopher Lee, still less Lestat, and very definitely no sparkles, but he does have a bit of a heart all the same. Very cutting satire of US life (as much of the horror is located there as in the zombies), entertaining writing, fun horror. I'll read more of these. ...more
A terrific short story collection full of strangeness, magic, SF, and hurt. It's immensely queer and achingly sad and angry and brave and defiant, witA terrific short story collection full of strangeness, magic, SF, and hurt. It's immensely queer and achingly sad and angry and brave and defiant, with characters who have the courage to reach for joy in a world that tells them they have no right to exist. Really excellent writing and immense imagination, but it's the purity of its anger, pain and joy that stays with you.
Currently part of the Pride Storybundle (June 2023) and worth the price of admission on its own....more
Novella set in Kenya, about a family whose 19 year old son has just killed himself, and whose sister is tantalised by the possibility of turning back Novella set in Kenya, about a family whose 19 year old son has just killed himself, and whose sister is tantalised by the possibility of turning back time to save him. The magical element is there but really it's a meditation on grief, loss, family, memory. And the importance of showing kindness now, not putting 'what people will think' or other priorities first, because there may not be more chances later. Lovely writing.
Merged review:
Novella set in Kenya, about a family whose 19 year old son has just killed himself, and whose sister is tantalised by the possibility of turning back time to save him. The magical element is there but really it's a meditation on grief, loss, family, memory. And the importance of showing kindness now, not putting 'what people will think' or other priorities first, because there may not be more chances later. Lovely writing....more
This was a sheer delight from beginning to end. I adored it.
Absolutely charming story of a job-drained intern in One Wizard, a READ IT. READ IT NOW.
This was a sheer delight from beginning to end. I adored it.
Absolutely charming story of a job-drained intern in One Wizard, a corporate magic company with strong US healthcare vibes, whose urge to help a young man with strange symbols on his wall plunges us into a story of demonic possession, found family, courage, queerness, love, and clinging to kindness in a unkind world, also the many-layered bureaucracy of Hell (which is still better than US healthcare).
It's an absolute pleasure to read, with wonderfully assured, evocative writing. In fact it was such a pleasure that it's written in second person present tense and I didn't even mind, which deserves some kind of award.
Honestly, this has Murderbot levels of 'inexplicably comforting read despite the potentially terrifying content' going on. An utter delight that has gone straight into my favourites folder. You would be a pillock to miss this. Don't be a pillock.
An absolute delight of a novella. Our narrator Stacy is a necromancer working for the body that investigates airplane crashes (genius premise), haunteAn absolute delight of a novella. Our narrator Stacy is a necromancer working for the body that investigates airplane crashes (genius premise), haunted by a ghost of a captain who died in a mysterious crash, and drawn in to an escalating series of mysterious incidents. The plot is lovely and just the right level of complexity for the length with everything nicely woven in, the atmosphere is beautifully done, the writing cinematic, and the concept elegantly developed and proper scary. Terrific. If I had a quibble, I'd have liked the super-understated romance to be just a tad more stated, but that's really because I liked the characters so much, I wanted more. Very highly recommended. ...more
Historical fiction with strong romantic elements, probably, rather than a romance per se, although the story is very much about love and sex, not neceHistorical fiction with strong romantic elements, probably, rather than a romance per se, although the story is very much about love and sex, not necessarily at the same time.
It's Georgian-set, the story of Billy, thief turned prostitute turned a marquess's kept boy, now eighteen and ageing out of the work, purveyor of incredibly poor and selfish decisions, and looking for someone to take care of him because he's got no other skills and has burned every bridge he's ever crossed.
Which is all pretty bleak, but that's the Georgian period for you, and fiction of the time is just as clear on the endless rapacious exploitation and the struggle to survive. This is very much written in a Georgian novel pastiche style, and works terrifically with just a couple of false notes (which I checked anyway because it's amazing how frequently terms come up much earlier than you think, but sex worker is definitely 1980s). Overall, it's a marvellous exercise in the use of language and historical detail, terrifically grounded, very vivid and real-feeling. As noted, it's a grim reality, and Billy is a pretty unlovable person for much of the book, though given his mother sold him to a brothel at the age of 13 we can cut him some slack.
Really it's a bildungsroman: Billy discovering a conscience, and responsibility, and his capacity for love and friendship growing along with those, all of which is highly satisfying. The plot is mostly more a succession of events (again, very much in the Georgian style the author is working in) but we build to a nice dramatic peak and a satisfactory ending, or new beginning, for Billy and his love interest.
I enjoyed this a lot, and I am a really big fan of what this author is doing with queer historical writing and the very strong research and language. ...more
Loading...
