Review First, Catch-Up Later

I spent the day yesterday herding cats -- actually, I was tapped to chaperone again for a field trip with Mason's class to the Minnesota Zoo. I'll write about that later today or, perhaps, that failing, tomorrow. In the meantime, I leave you with this:

I just finished reading LIKE HEAVEN AND HELL: EROTIC TALES OF ANGELS AND DEMONS (edited by Tabitha Dulla and Cecilia Tan). If there were a book written more expressly for fans of slash of my universe, I don't know what it is.

All the stories in the collection are fascinating explorations of the sacred and profane – plus the bonus of tons of hot queer sex. Not all of the tales deal with creatures traditionally found in Judeo-Christian angelology; there are appearances from Japanese fox demons, as well as half-breed angel/humans existing in a world wholly (and amazingly) imagined. Each, however, is well-written and engaging. Normally, there are at least one or two stories in an anthology like this that make me say "meh," but I found something to like in each one.

Thus endith the official review (So Sayith the Lord!) Under the cut, I'm going to go through my in-depth impressions of the six stories in the anthology. Some parts may be a bit spoilery and others completely tangential, and all of it will be a reflection of my own personal experience with the angelology/theology/world-building presented by each author. Assume that I found the sex hot, because I did. Please note as well that the review is totally safe for work, because the stuff that gets me the most hot and bothered is all the theological stuff. I just put it under the cut because it's long and potentially a bit spoilery.

In my universe, angels are multi-gendered in nature (like God), but when they come to Earth they get bound into a flesh template that's male. In KJ Kabza's "Switch" the angels have true freewill in this regard. Our hero/ine, Corusc has been sneaking down to Earth in order to experience its multitude of sensational delights – including sex. S/he has been passing as a demon, but s/he has a secret desire in heaven, another angel named Nix.

A couple of things intrigued me in this story. There's an appearance of Metratron (the voice of God), which, of course, makes me happy because I always envision Metratron as Alan Rickman, thanks to his role in "Dogma." But, I also really kind of liked the fact that whenever a person invokes the name of God, angels appear ready to defend, etc. This seems like an awesome story concept for all sorts of follow-up stories, including humorous ones where angels flash into existence at drunken frat parties because people keep saying "God help me" or whatever. I enjoyed the fact that Nix comes so rarely to Earth that s/he doesn't quite "do" gender correctly, and Kabza's take on heaven with its golden chastity belt-like "reminders" is fairly awesome. "Switch" is probably one of the most romantic story in the collection.

"Give and Take" by Karen Cobb takes on another one of my favorite ideas, one that Neil Gaiman introduced me to in "Sandman: Seasons of Mist," which is that angels are, in point of fact, in charge of Hell. The point of view character in "Give and Take" is exhausted and drained from his time punishing the damned and needs the kind of redemption that can only be found in utter surrender to a higher power, as it were. Who the two angels turn out to be is kind of a mystery, but I guessed, at least, the identity of Hell's angel, and the other one was a surprise that made perfect sense.

Tanya Ashbury's "Messengers" is the first story to step slightly outside the Judeo-Christian mythos in that the main character is Huli Jing, a fox demon for the Jade Emperor on a mission to try to uncover the secrets of the new temple being built in the village. Who is this new god with child-brides? One day, she spies a beautiful woman with wings that remind her of a stork. Though Huli Jing is usually the seducer in her fox form, something about this woman awakens a deep passion. It becomes obvious to the reader that the stork-woman is actually an angel of God. The cross-cultural exchange between to the two lovers is really fairly Unitarian. I especially enjoyed that of all the angel/demon love affairs in this book, this one is only star-crossed because the two lovers have jobs with different gods and can't contrive to meet but once a year. YWWH is actually decent in this story; that's awesome.

The angelic trope of "Breathing Brimstone" by Theodorian D. Graves is the eternal warring between angels and demons -- another one of my favorites. I've always loved the whole militaristic aspect of that, and the main character, Hael, is a battalion commander who spared the life of a demon the last time they met and now he's facing the consequences. I think this story also has one of the more visual transformations in it that's lovely to read.

Then we have "Seduced" by Kate Vassar, which is a fun romp between a very Morningstar-like Sammael and Gabriel. Of course, this is one of my favorites as all of the things I love about Satan are explored here – his longing for heaven, his profanity/irreverence, and all of that. Gabriel, too, is nicely realized as a religious poet-inspiring Muse.

The final contribution to the anthology is "At the Crossroads" by Monique Poirier. It is the only story that takes place in a completely original fantasy universe. There are angels and demons and references to "The One Who Is," but what that means here is not contingent on any specific Judeo-Christian myths. In fact, at one point the half-angel main character Makhamir refers to his job as a demon-slaying soldier as an "Archon" and I looked it up on Wikipedia because I wondered if it was an actual theological reference that I wasn't familiar with. It's not. And I think that's cool. I was utterly intrigued and captivated by the Gray City's sprawling brothel and the city and universe implied beyond. I found myself hoping that the author might return to this world for any number of stories, erotic or not. Despite being the least "traditional," in terms of its presentation of angels and demons, I think "At the Crossroads" ended up being my number one favorite (which is saying a lot since I enjoyed all the stories in the collection tremendously.)

Thus endith the rambling observations. Hopefully, they weren't too spoilery and you will go forth and purchase a copy for your own enjoyment.