Apex Magazine, August 2009
The August issue of Apex Magazine starts with “Kenny 149” by Brad Becraft, a fairly quick, definitely science fiction tale of war and humanity. It’s a solid Apex tale, of a soldier battling against an overwhelming number of alien invaders without straying into heavier territory.
“Pimp My Airship” by Maurice Broaddus decides to tackle all black-American issues at once by taking them to, not quite an extreme, but an advanced state (we hope). In Broaddus’s story the whole of America is enslaved by an alien race and blacks have been forced underground, literally, and are encouraged and able to dope themselves into passivity. In this world Knowledge Allah tries, with much scorn and difficulty, to get Sleepy, the lead character, to step up and stand up for himself, his race and the world. The language used to tell this potentially coarse and inflaming tale, is high brow and heavier than needed, which serves to make a point about Sleepy, the Every-black-man of the tale.
Eugie Foster’s novelette “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest;Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” rounds out the August issue. A gorgeous, dark and unexpectedly creepy story, Foster spins a world where everyone plays certain roles, enforced physically by the daily donning of masks. With this tale Foster questions not just societal roles, but those of relationships, gender and caste as well. A highly recommended read.
This issue also features essays and columns from Jason Sizemore and Monica Valetinelli, as well as an interview with Gene O’Neill.
Apex Magazine, September 2009
“Fungal Gardens” by Ekaterina Sedia is the first story in the September issue of Apex Magazine. This tale is ripped straight out of an issue of Discovery, with creepy, insect “bad guys” with a very real origin. This tale is really a scientific mystery story, but makes for an interesting SF tale nonetheless.
“Advertising at the End of the World” by Keffy R.M. Kehrli is a metaphorical zombie tale, featuring a woman who might be the last survivor the human race living in a secluded cabin in the woods until a flock of mindless, shuffling creatures show up and mess things up. Only these critters aren’t the traditional undead. They are machines created by companies, technologically advanced door-to-door salesmen, more annoying and sad than fearsome. Kehrli’s story is subtle, creepy and sad, and a great read.
Last of the fiction features is “The Girl in the Basement” by Matthew Kressel, a tale that amps up the creepiness in the previous tale, and poses more questions than answers as it tells a story of the kind of marks abuse leaves on a child’s soul.
All together the September issue is stellar. Also included is an interview with Elizabeth Engstrom and essays by Monica Valentinelli and Jeff VanderMeer.
Season 8: Book 4
ISBN: 9787595823106
Despite the last three volumes having different writers they’ve all held deliciously true to the Buffy-verse while not letting the storyline becoming dull or repetitive. With this addition the story moves the focus back to Buffy and to the large story arc, Buffy vs the mysterious Twilight. Except it moves at this plot from a side arc rather than straight forward.
It cannot be coincidence that a temporal anomaly sucks Buffy into the future right when Twilight has been trying to convince her of the futility of her spell to make all the Potentials into genuine Slayers. Whoever Twilight is, they are fighting to kill Buffy, to destroy the spell so the balance between good and evil will be restored.
So whether the anomaly and Buffy being present is due to Twilight’s interference or not, Buffy landing in a future words where a Slayer is at war with her twin, who has been turned into a vampire, seems only to reinforce Twilight’s attacks on Buffy’s resolve.
But the main player in this tale doesn’t appear to be either the strange, lonely Slayer, her vampire twin with the Slayer’s memory, or Twilight. Instead the direct story behind Buffy’s time trip is sadder and closer to home than Buffy could guess.
While ultimately a sad volume, so much is left undone, unexplained, unseen or heard that it takes from the depth of the final scene. Readers can only hope that the Buffy-verse continues its habit of baiting, teasing and most of all, delivering.
Season 8 Book 3
ISBN: 9781595827652
Likely my favorite volume of Buffy so far, Book Three starts off with Buffy finding out about the major plot from the last volume, the lingering number of Slayers who have escaped her tutelage and have become something other than the first line of defense against evil.
But before Buffy and the gang have time to assess this new threat their castle is attacked by a group of vampires, unlike any other, who can shape shift to mist, and wolves and bats. They’re after the Slayer’s Ultimate Weapon and when they get it Buffy and the Slayers and Scoobies have to go on a quest to get it back before something really bad happens.
Joining them in their quest is the immortal, and bored, Dracula, whose powers the vampires used to get past the Slayers in the first place. What results is a hilarious, offensive, dark romp through the Buffy-verse that could rival the infamous Puppet Cancer episode of Angel.
This plot is a side aspect of the overall arc for this “season” but the events and character building in this volume is no less important to the texture and depth of the world itself. This is how one entertains and creates a complex, vivid world with a scope every bit as varied as our own.
17
Sep
Full Disclosure: I read this book as a judge for the 2008 EPPIE Awards. As such this won’t be a traditional review. However, even a year later I haven’t been able to get this book out of my mind. It’s because of a recent flare up of the GLBTQ inclusion debate that I feel the need to “go public”, as it were, and recommend this book.
Body Parts by Adrianna Dane is an erotic, gender-fluid re-telling of Frankenstein. It is paranormal horror and it features explicit sex between male and female and male and male.
Body Parts is about Athan, a creature created from a marriage of science and magic. After the tragic death of his creators Athan has to live alone with his secrets, taking lovers for the energy they bring to him that keeps him alive.
Body Parts is a love story, but with the exact same strength it is a story of corruption and human failure as well as being a re-telling of Frankenstein. On the romance side it deals with attraction and raw sexuality that doesn’t have a clear target. Athan is bisexual, seeking out the best providers of energy, and furthermore he truly enjoys the act of sex no matter which gender he is with. He has the same passion for men as he does for women.
I think it’s important to note here that out of all the GLBTQ books I read for the EPPIES (which was not many, so please do not assume this is an accurate representation of the available fiction out there) Body Parts is the ONLY one that did not involve 1) A borderline or completely abusive m/m relationship or 2) a straight man falling for a gay/bisexual man (which almost always feels stodgy and forced to me as a reader). Dane’s handling of Athan’s sexuality and sex itself is masterful, never forced, and completely organic.
Likewise the horror aspects are just as well handled, making the erotic portions no more important than the themes of human jealous and self-sabotage.
As Athan develops feelings for Korrie, the scientist studying the research materials and journals of the scientists who created Athan, and Korrie becomes enamored of him as well, Korrie’s selfish, jealous coworker plots to tear everything of value from both of them with no idea what exactly that entails.
Subtle and manipulating, the story comes together beautifully at the end, making an even bigger point than the themes of sex, sexuality, sexual identity, human nature and science threaded before it. I can’t say too much without ruining a very good execution, but I strongly feel that this book has great value as part of GLBTQ fiction and horror fiction.
Dane can write the pants off quite a few horror writers I’ve read, despite that Body Parts and Dane likely aren’t even known by the horror community. Body Parts is in my top three GLBTQ works that I feel interested readers should read and is available in ebook form from Loose ID.
Season 8: Book 2
ISBN: 9781593079635
If Buffy, the petite pop-modern vampire slayer wasn’t enough for you this second volume from Joss Whedon’s “Season Eight” of Buffy brings tortured, anti-heroine slayer Faith back into play in a role even more suited to her than vampire and demon slaying.
Part of the draw of the Buffy-verse is the balance of darkness and good. Every character has had their dips into evil, from Xander’s flirtations with all manner of monsters to Willow’s grief-induced stint as the Big Bad. But some characters start out from deeper in the evil well. Giles and Faith are two of the darkest, Faith representing the out of control youth, caught in a cycle of violence from a young age and carrying on the chaos in her own life in a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Giles’ history, merely glanced upon in the TV series feels more like a betrayal, when you come to love this patient, always-trying man only to discover he has a hard core of frightening ruthlessness.
Buffy, Xander and even Willow are the Superman and the Spidermans of the Buffy-verse, but Faith and Giles are the Punishers.
This analogy is proven hard and fast from the first few pages when Giles calls on Faith to do what the other Slayers can’t, walk into the house of a single mother who was turned into a vampire and slay the kids she turned. After this trying scene Giles meets back up with Faith at her apartment and asks her to handle a special case for him, one he doesn’t even want Buffy, Xander, Willow and the other Slayers to know about. It stands to reason that not all the Potentials who are now endowed with Slayer powers would turn out good, especially as other creatures of power find and foster them since Buffy’s operation is busy with the new threats from the mysterious “Twilight” and the good old U.S. Government.
Assassinating a Slayer, even if she is evil is not an easy task, as this volume proves.
Furthermore, “No Future for You” also proves that the switch to comics was an excellent move for Whedon and the Buffy-verse as the format allows a lot more playing, and a hyperfocus on characters otherwise glanced over in the series. Many plots dealt with Faith and her waffling between the forces of good and evil, but the glimpses we see of her past in these pages are heart breaking and enlightening at the same time.
One could easily argue, after this addition to Season Eight, that Faith might make a better lead, if the audience can handle a grittier, darker, less reliable narrator.
*Also, this volume features the cameo of my publisher’s wife, Robin, which I was very glad to finally get to read.
The Queer Wolf collection kicks off with “Wolf Strap” by Naomi Clark. Ayla gave up a lot to be a lesbian, like her entire family, who raised her to believe her role was to get married and pop out a lot more werewolves for the good of the species. But when a child, a member of her family pack, is killed she and her partner Shannon head back to her childhood home. Its clear that things have changed since she left, but how much have they changed in this city where the human and wolves used to live in peace? The only flaw in “Wolf Strap” is that it’s too short. The plot and setting could have held a full novel and while the pacing doesn’t feel rushed it’s hard not to want more of everything Clark has to offer.
“Moon Sing” by Laramie Dean is a beautiful love story between a wolf and a witch. Acting as a metaphor for being queer in a straight world, even Drew’s pack can’t accept him falling for someone not of the Breed. It doesn’t have much plot outside the romance, but that alone is taken to a haunting, yearning level that’s purely magnificent.
“Wolf Lover” by Michael Itig is a cruder, more raw, sex-centered tale of fetishism and, of course, werewolves. Nige is an impatient, sex-charged gay man with a passion, shall we say, for werewolves. So much so that he lures them to his home and tricks them into shape shifting during sex. But the man he meets at a club for those trolling for werewolf hook ups turns out to be something else altogether. “Wolf Lover”gives readers a more raw look at the psyche of a gay man, but doesn’t feel cliché, preachy or stereotypical in the end.
“Shy Hunter” by Ginn Hale centers on David, scent dog and queer man, and not sure how to balance the two. Until he falls for a man who is being stalked by the monster who attacked David and turned him into a werewolf. This is another excellent tale, with equal parts action, emotion and mystery.
Anel Viz’s “The Stray” is the lightest tale of the book so far, making nearly every canine joke and pun, without being completely cheesy as it tells the story of a couple making a major commitment to each other.
“New Beginnings” by Cari Z focuses on the only pack that accepts gay wolves in this paranormal world and a bitter curmudgeon of a wolf, Michael, who finds himself attracted to and depended on by their newest rescue. But exile wasn’t enough for Tori’s family. They want him dead and Michael must keep him safe in this action-adventure-romance.
Jerome Stueart’s “Where the Sled Dogs Run” is another lighter tale, focusing less on the romance angle and more on creating a sweet sense of wonder. In this story the werewolves are a group of shamans, immortal, reluctant and shy, who want to reconnect with the world around them rather than hide from it, but they don’t know how. It fits the anthology, but it could have been found in a number of other fantasy-themed magazines just as easily.
“Pavlov’s Dog” by Andi Lee shifts straight back to hardcore erotica, and is nothing but. This tale is all set up, Josh and Caleb have just been approved to start their own pack and decide to celebrate. It’s not bad, there just isn’t much story to it.
Charlie Cochrane’s “Wolves of the West” is the most civilized story of the book, a tale of a pack that meets in an English museum for what is far from a mess of drooling, carnivorous monsters. Here Rory and George, who put the pack together and have run it for quite some time, work to create a haven for both their fellow queers and werewolves and must work to keep certain indiscretions from public light. It’s an amusing, but meaningful addition to the collection’s theme.
“Family Matters” by Moondancer Drake is another example of a solid piece, featuring a lynx and wolf lesbian family and pack, that feels less like a short story and more like an opening to a book. This piece could easily be stretched and expanded, in fact there are fight scenes that are glanced over and while werebadgers, lynxes, Fae and witches are all mentioned they aren’t very fleshed out. Drake is a good writer though, so one can only hope more than this story comes from her world.
In “Wrong Turn” by Stephen Osborne a young gay man finds more than he bargained for when he stops at a bar for directions and a drink and ends up smack in the middle of a werewolf tift. This falling in love story is simple and sweet, with a wrap up that seems to come too soon.
“Leader of the Pack” by Robert Saldarini is a historical werewolf tale, told by flashback, about a pair of men who survived World War II. Being steeped in the time period adds a weight of interest and credibility, but again, the tale’s flaw is its brevity.
“War of the Wolves” by Charles Long is the first to include (by a brief mention) an intersexual character. This tale also takes a more fantasy-angled approach, embedding a strong sense of the surreal into a story of people coming together, not just trying to find their place in the world, but willing to fight for it.
Lucas Johnson’s “Flip City”is a more traditional horror take on werewolves, a cliched take, unfortunately. The first real hiccup in the book the lead is not gay, so much as a borderline rapist and killer. Luckily the speed of this one is stuck on fast forward, burning through the story with little depth.
In “Night Swimming” by RJ Bradshaw, Joseph is indulging in a secret night swim when a wild-living werewolf finds him. They catch scents and Todd, the wild-wolf insists that he can smell that they are meant to be lifemates, and also proposes that they begin their life together by spending half the year in the city and winter helping Todd’s pack in the woods. After some thought Joseph agrees, they hash out the details, and unfortunately that’s all there is to this tale.
“In the Seeonee Hills” by Erica Hildebrand leads with a lesbian who contracted lycanthopy from a lover who got a bit too rough in bed. Claire is new to the paranormal world and caught between two packs who want to use her for ill means. It’s part Romeo & Juliet and part something all it’s own. Like some of the other tales there is room for more expansion, but it doesn’t feel unfinished or sped up for the sake of the short story form.
“A Wolf’s Moon” by Quinn Smythwood is certainly different. But three pages in I had no real clue what was going on or what the characters were hinting at, which left me feeling completely disconnected from the story and the characters. A depressingly weak end to this collection of tales.
Overall, there is a lot of good in Queer Wolf. It manages to represent the scope of urban fantasy, from a queer angle, though it leans heavily toward m/m paranormal romance. I really would have liked to see more f/f or even a transgender or bisexual story or two. From a genre point of view I’d have liked to see more mystery, traditional fantasy and even horror-based tales. But that’s what second volumes are for.
Trade Paperback: 9780982253014, $17.95- A patchwork collection of genre standbys, Blood Bar by Norm Applegate features an S&M loving Madame-with-a-heart-of-gold/detective/vampire called to aid her friend Rose Nichols (or possibly Nicholls), whose boyfriend Drach, a role-playing vampire, is killed in Chapter One by a cute, but psycho woman named Erin who is on the warpath against real vampires who killed her dad. Despite being busy living a life of booze and “night games” (and running an incredibly successful brothel) Kim Bennett drops everything to help Rose prove her innocence and find Drach’s killer.
- But the pair are in deeper than they thought since the killer, working for a vampire herself, is after the legendary Black Testament, a sacred vampire document written by Jack the Ripper (who supposedly lived in Manhattan and founded the wickedest blood bar in town).
- Spiked with crazy sex addicted women, a confusing array of vampires, random scenes of Truth or Dare between the two female leads and a need for tighter editing Blood Bar is a tale for hardcore vampire fans or horror fans. Readers beware though, the women in this book know the facial expressions of the people they are on the phone with, believe intelligence is an ugly trait and are very willing to throw plot and everything else aside for random sexual thoughts and acts.
Click to buy
Season Eight: Part One
Graphic Novel: 9781593078225, $15.95
The Long Way Home doesn’t start exactly where the last television season of Buffy left off, instead it starts a little past that, after Buffy and her crew have restarted their lives. In some ways, things are very different, but in others, they’re exactly the same. Each character seems to have taken a level of bad ass as they push forward in the fight against evil in their own ways.
Training the new slayers for a fight that’s longer and more eventful than the epic big bad battle season seven kissed viewers goodbye with, Buffy still has issues, and still has a ton of problems, including; Andrew, Willow’s sometimes tenuous hold on her personal darkness, Dawn’s feelings of uselessness and need for attention, Xander’s everlasting support that might just be more than friendly and a cadre of teen girls to wrangle, train and keep alive.
On a part-training mission, Buffy and some of her trainees interrupt a demon ritual and discover the human prey all have the same strange symbol carved into their chest. More than just a casual encounter, the crew get to work trying to unravel the larger plot only to be distracted by a series of villains, who like good antagonists, never seem to go away completely. So between high school rivals, still bent on revenge, the military declaring Buffy’s operation a terrorist sect, giant sized little sisters and a mass zombie attack The Long Way Home doesn’t skip a beat, thrusting beloved characters right back where fans love to see them, with the same humor and mix of horror and fantasy that Buffy is famous for.
There couldn’t be a better continuation of the Buffy-verse and with such a There couldn’t be a better continuation of the Buffy-verse and with such a die-hard audience we can hope this new, more affordable, and in some ways more flexible, series will continue for a long time to come.