Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction

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Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction (Wilde Stories)

by Steve Berman (Editor), Laird Barron, Hal Duncan, Jeffrey Ricker (Goodreads Author), Richard Bowes, Peter Dubé, Joel Lane, Jeremy C. Shipp (Goodreads Author) , more…

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 25 ratings · 11 reviews

Celebrate a decade of gay speculative fiction with Wilde Stories 2011! This expanded volume from Lethe Press brings stories of undead lovers, stranded astronauts, ghosts and phantom reflections, men lost in an inhospitable wilderness, and fiends who hide under handsome veneers, all written by award-winning authors (Laird Barron, Richard Bowes and Joel Lane) and fresh voice...more

Hardcover, 289 pages

Published August 20th 2011 by Lethe Press (first published May 20th 2011)

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Nov 06, 2011 Kate O'Hanlon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbt, science-fiction, fantasy, horror, anthology

This is an absolutely cracking collection.
All interest in gay fiction aside it deserves to be read and appreciated by all fans of speculative fiction, though some will find the collection too heavy on horror, it's time to throw our hands up and admit that horror is on the ascendant and will eclipse both fantasy and scifi for the next few years. All we can do is seek out the good stuff.

Reviews of individual stories, as I can be bothers to add them, are below the spoiler cut

(view spoiler)...more

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May 27, 2012 Clay Scott Brown rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started reading this series of best short stories from a male gay perspective in the 2010 edition. I've come to this one late as 2012's edition is coming soon... in July I believe.

http://www.amazon.com/Wilde-Stories-2...

Generally I was glad to have read these stories. Editor Steve Berman is to be credited with putting together a well thought out and perceptive collection of a very unique genre.

Most of the stories this year did have a Horror cast and I think that the work should be about twice...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Krista Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Generally good, though I found myself skimming a great deal- the first half of the book especially. 'How to Make Friends in Seventh Grade was excellent and 'Beach Blanket Spaceship' was lovely- both are tremendously sad and poignant. Most of the stories in this book didn't interest me, unfortunately.

None of the stories in this collection are poorly written; they are all well-done, technically sound, and solid examples of creative writing. Subjectively, my enjoyment was a wavering thing.

I found...more Generally good, though I found myself skimming a great deal- the first half of the book especially. 'How to Make Friends in Seventh Grade was excellent and 'Beach Blanket Spaceship' was lovely- both are tremendously sad and poignant. Most of the stories in this book didn't interest me, unfortunately.

None of the stories in this collection are poorly written; they are all well-done, technically sound, and solid examples of creative writing. Subjectively, my enjoyment was a wavering thing.

I found "Love Will Tear Us Apart" to be awful and skimmed much of it. "Map of Seventeen" bored me and I in fact had forgotten it till this review. Again, "How to Make Friends in Seventh Grade" was delightful- sad in the best way- and a clever spin on the usual.

"Mortis Persona" was something I simply *could not* get into, despite an effort. "Mysterium Tremendum" might be a good story, but I'll never know because the opening paragraphs gave me sleep-eyes and I had to skim over it- one day I'd like to give it another shot, though.

"Oneirica" is one I just don't remember- didn't stick at all. "Lifeblood" was a nice spin on vamp fiction, but the author was at times heavy-handed with their themes and didn't always make things as clear as they ought to have been. "Waiting for the Phone to Ring" is one I need to try reading again in the future; as it is, it also gave me sleep-eyes.

"Blazon" was quite good; the first paragraph is a little heavy, but once it's rolling, it's fun. "All the Shadows" was immensely fascinating and that's all I'll say. I found "The Noise" to be confusing; it may be that I am dense. "How to Make a Clown" was also something of a struggle to 'understand,' but I enjoyed it.

"Beach Blanket Spaceship" is wonderful, just excellent. Great characters and imagery. "Hothouse Flowers" was all right, but I didn't enjoy the style very much- another vamp story, that one, with a great image at the end.

Overall, a worthwhile collection, but at the end, the only stories that stuck were "How to Make Friends in Seventh Grade" and "Beach Blanket Spaceship." (Blazon, in a way, too.) I'll be sure to keep an eye on the authors of those stories, and be glad I rented the full collection, which, while solid and well-compiled by Stever Berman, was not wholly my cup of tea.(less)

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Jul 28, 2011 Anthony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbt, short-story-collections, halloween-reads

I'm lucky enough to have an ARC of Wilde Stories 2011, and I'm making my way through it so I can have a review up before the August 2011 publication date.

* * * * *

WILDE STORIES 2011 is the fourth installment in editor and publisher Steve Berman's annual collection of the best gay speculative fiction. This time he's drawn from a variety of anthologies and magazines to compile 14 stories with strong gay characters at the center of the action. The stories skew heavily to the fantasy and horror qua...more I'm lucky enough to have an ARC of Wilde Stories 2011, and I'm making my way through it so I can have a review up before the August 2011 publication date.

* * * * *

WILDE STORIES 2011 is the fourth installment in editor and publisher Steve Berman's annual collection of the best gay speculative fiction. This time he's drawn from a variety of anthologies and magazines to compile 14 stories with strong gay characters at the center of the action. The stories skew heavily to the fantasy and horror quadrants of the speculative fiction map; possibly there were just not that as many hard-sf stories with gay characters to choose from.

I was already familiar with two of the entries: Christopher Barzak's "Map of Seventeen" from its appearance in THE BEASTLY BRIDE, and with Jeremy C. Shipp's "How To Make A Clown" from his FUNGUS OF THE HEART collection. I liked both stories the first time I read them, and liked them equally as well reading them again. Barzak's tale is great YA fiction with a straight female narrator talking about her older gay brother and his new boyfriend; Shipp's story is classic bizarro fiction that makes my brain hurt in a good way.

Possibly my favorite story in the collection was Laird Barron's "Mysterium Tremendum." I described it in a tweet as "Lovecraft meets Danielewski." I'd like to expand on that a bit: Barron, in his own style, evokes the best of Lovecraft's stories -- the focus on human characters chancing upon physical manifestations of the great unknown -- but the tone and pace of the story put me almost immediately in mind of Mark Z. Danielewski's THE HOUSE OF LEAVES. That novel is not perfect, but what lingers with me years after reading it is the sense of what I can only call "claustroagoraphobia." Barron's story (and Danielewski's) makes me feel tense because spaces that shouldn't be vast and endless (say, a cave hidden in a hillside) suddenly are, and spaces that should feel wide open (hiking trails in the Pacific Northwest) feel tight and threatening. For this story alone, pick up this collection.

I also really enjoyed Nick Poniatkowski's "How To Make Friends in Seventh Grade." It's not quite hard-sf, but that's okay -- a coming-of-age drama set against an "alien invaders are watching us" backdrop, it works very well because of the authenticity of the narrator. Sandra McDonald's "Beach Blanket Spaceship" is closer to hard-sf and feels reminiscent of the scenes from 2001 where Dave is alone with HAL and he knows something is not right but can't put his finger on what.

Barbara A. Barnett's "Mortis Persona" is also moving, a tale of love cut short by death and how both the departed and the left behind deal with it. There's a tinge of horror that is highly effective, but again it's the human emotions that make the story.

I'm a fan of pulp and Victorian sleuths, so I also really enjoyed Chaz Brenchley's "Hothouse Flowers, Or the Discreet Boys of Dr. Barnabas." It is an homage to Stoker and Doyle in style but is also entirely Brenchley's own. I'd enjoy further adventures of Messrs. Furnival and Alshott investigating the outre.

I'll admit I struggled with Hal Duncan's "Oneirica." There were portions of it I liked, but I think I might have missed the point in it somewhere along the line. But even this story I can't say was "bad," just that it didn't work for me as well as most of the others. Likewise Alayna Dawn Johnson's "Love Will Tear Us Apart," Peter Dube's "Blazon," and Richard Larson's "The Noise." All GOOD stories, but for me not GREAT.

Joel Lane's "All The Shadows" was moving and didn't end the way I expected (that's a compliment). Jeffrey A. Ricker's "Lifeblood" shares some ground with Alayna Dawn Johnson's tale without sharing any plot points. Richard Bowes' "Waiting For the Phone To Ring" feels like it wants to be a novel but works in the shorter form.

Overall, a book well worth picking up when it hits stands in August. Of course, as with any multi-author collection, the stories I enjoyed the most may be the ones you enjoy the least -- but don't let that stop you from checking the book out and experiencing some authors you've never read before.(less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Hilcia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, lgbt-books, speculative-fiction, 2011-read

As we all know, speculative fiction stories are tough to categorize. That is particularly evident in the Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction collection of 14 stories gathered and edited by Steve Berman, where you will find horror intertwined with weird fantasy, weird fantasy love stories, and even a mix of science fiction and pop culture.

It is also true that often within fantastical, horror-based and science fiction tales, the reader will find underlying pertinent social...more As we all know, speculative fiction stories are tough to categorize. That is particularly evident in the Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction collection of 14 stories gathered and edited by Steve Berman, where you will find horror intertwined with weird fantasy, weird fantasy love stories, and even a mix of science fiction and pop culture.

It is also true that often within fantastical, horror-based and science fiction tales, the reader will find underlying pertinent social commentary. There’s no question that weather it is the subject of acceptance of the gay lifestyle by loved ones or society, bullying, child abuse or neglect, loneliness, love or loss, those social commentaries can be found in this collection. However, also present is the subject of love. Gay love or related themes are there for the reader to find in most of the stories, entwined with the fantasy, horror and science fiction.

I love my science fiction and there's nothing like weird fantasy, however horror is not usually the first choice in my reading agenda. Which is why it came as a total surprise when some of the stories I enjoyed the most fell under the horror-based category. Horror-based stories and weird fantasy rule the day in this collection with science fiction coming a distant last with only two contributors -- my one small niggle because of personal preference. However, there’s quantity and then there’s quality and those two science fiction stories are excellent!

With Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction, Steve Berman gathered a collection that encompasses everything I've come to expect from LGBTQ speculative fiction. There are the thrilling and chilling moments that come from horror, the confusion and sudden realizations that go hand in hand with weird fantasy and that incredible sense of wonder that I never cease to experience when reading science-fiction, all of it successfully combined with pertinent gay themes and wonderful characters. However, none of the above would happen without successful execution by the authors, and Berman included some of the best along with fresh new talent in this collection. I loved it and recommend that the collection be read slowly for better enjoyment. Highly recommended.

Grade: A-

Full review at Impressions of a Reader (less)

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May 07, 2013 D rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbtq, anthologies

Probably one of the strongest anthologies I've ever read in a really long time. I literally have no idea who the writers are (well, I know Hal Duncan, but that's about it), but I must look out for their work in the future.

"Mysterium Tremendum" by Laird Barron is actually one of my favourites: I can't even tell you how it works, but it reminds me a bit of M.R. James's stories (except gay, and with a lot of violence). I slept with the lights on, I'm not even ashamed to admit. :P

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Mar 02, 2012 Bradley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, lgbt-books

This is a collection of gay fiction that delves more into the fantasy/supernatural side of things. I really enjoyed Christopher Barzak's "Map Of Seventeen", Jeffrey A. Ricker's "Lifeblood", Richard Larson's "The Noise" and Sandra McDonald's "Beach Blanket Spaceship".

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Aug 06, 2012 Joan rated it 4 of 5 stars

These are hauntingly beautiful and intricately detailed stories with a twist. Each story is engaging and unexpected. The byte-size stories also make for a quick read.

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Jan 05, 2012 Nick Poniatowski rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: written

I suppose since I'm listed as one of the authors, that I should add this to my shelf. :)

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Jan 24, 2012 Sheila rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2012

Man, it's so hard to rate story collections!

I will say that my favorites were "How to Make Friends in Seventh Grade" by Nick Poniatowski, "Lifeblood" by Jeffrey A. Ricker, and "Beach Blanket Spaceship" by Sandra McDonald. The longest story, "Mysterium Tremendum" by Laird Barron, did not work for me at all. And if you have sexual assault trigger issues, I would skip "The Noise" by Richard Larson, or at least read with care.

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Mar 14, 2012 Josiah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbt-interest, fiction

On the whole, a pretty great and often creepy collection. A few that stuck out like sore thumbs, one a particularly long and particularly sore one right in the middle, but tucked around it a selection of pretty fantastic queer spec fic that was a pleasure to read. Loses a star though because of that one long slog through the middle.

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Feb 14, 2013 Vivek rated it 5 of 5 stars

Feb 13, 2013 Volker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jan 12, 2013 Barbara marked it as to-read · (Review from the author)

Shelves: fiction, sf-fantasy-horror

Jan 01, 2013 Kat marked it as to-read

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Dec 25, 2012 J. Allen Nelson marked it as to-read

Shelves: science-fiction-glbt, science-fiction-anthology, not-in-collection

Nov 11, 2012 Blaize rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About Steve Berman

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I turned down a scholarship to Miskatonic University because I heard of the high rate of incidents against the student population.

I briefly worked for Omni Consumer Products in their Marketing Department. Great benefits, nice cafeteria, sadly too prone to executive whim.

Last year I stayed at the noted Mauna Pele resort in Hawaii. The accommodations were impressive but my tr...more

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