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Wilde Stories 2015: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction
Wilde Stories showcases the previous year's best offerings in short gay fantasy, horror, weird, and science fiction. This volume offers readers the secret missives of Roman emperors, an ungrateful ghost haunting her father's lover, werewolves, possible vampires, and more tales of the strange and eerie blended with bit of loss and passion. Editor Steve Berman has been collecting the finest stories in the field for nearly a decade. The authors included are Steve Berman, Tom Cardamone, Andrew Warburton, Sonya Taaffe, Katharine E.K. Duckett, Sunny Moraine, Chaz Brenchley, Alex Jeffers, Patrick Pink, Paul Tremblay, Craig Laurance Gidney, Damien Kelly, Maggie Clark
ebook
First published January 1, 2015
About the author
Steve Berman
108 books132 followersSome tidbits about me...
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 traveling companion disappeared soon after wanting to attend a pig roast.
I've slept with one minor porn star and with a guy who later became one.
And I happen to have written some fanfic that inspired the memorable holodeck scene in Star Trek: Hidden Frontiers episode "Vigil"
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 traveling companion disappeared soon after wanting to attend a pig roast.
I've slept with one minor porn star and with a guy who later became one.
And I happen to have written some fanfic that inspired the memorable holodeck scene in Star Trek: Hidden Frontiers episode "Vigil"
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 29, 2015
My thoughts on the stories in this year's volume:
THE LOVE OF THE EMPEROR IS DIVINE by Tom Cardamone. An epistolary story told in several letters from the Roman emporer to his hold friend and loyal servant/spy Publius, living in exile. Publius is tasked with uncovering a conspiracy, while the Emporer reminisces about their childhood, his own father, and a long-lost lost friend. The Emporer's voice is full of ego and self-congratulation, yet still pulls you in, wanting to know how the conspiracy will be uncovered and how the past connects to the present. Cardamone's story combines the fantasy, horror and mystery genres with each and grace and strong characterization.
THE VAMPIRE OF XANTHOS by Andrew Warburton. A modern dating site introduces the narrator to a man he knows only as VioletLove. They share a number of interests, including Egyptian history, and the signs start to point early on to VioletLove not being who he claims to be and perhaps knowing more about the past than he should. But is he really the titular vampire, or is it all in the narrator's imagination. The narrator's voice alternates between naivete and paranoia, which leaves the reader to do the real thinking. A really effective combination of modern life and ancient myth.
THE TRUE ALCHEMIST by Sonya Taaffe. Not quite another epistolary story, but the main character directly addresses his boyfriend Seth, telling him about the odd sounds and smells occurring in their backyard since an odd couple came asking about the gas meter and buried something in the backyard instead. The beauty of the story is what Taaffe leaves unsaid: we never see the burial, never see clearly see whatever is in the backyard, but we do see the effect it has (growing paranoia) on the main character.
THE MORTUARIES by Katherine E.K. Duckett. Young Teme has had a long-term obsession with the two major mortuaries in town: the respected Brixton's and the poorly-regarded Morton's. He visits the perfectly-taxidermied, diorama-ed relatives in Brixton's frequently, but is never allowed as a child to enter Morton's. In adult, his whole life gets turned upside. The mystery of Morton's is so key to the story that I don't want to even hint at what the difference is between the two mortuaries. The story is deeply emotional as well, mingling anger and sadness of personal loss with curiosity and respect for the past.
WHAT GLISTENS BACK by Sunny Moraine. I loved this story when I read it in Lightspeed magazine in November 2104, and loved it as much rereading it now. I still struggle with "direct address" stories (where the reader is the character the omniscient narrator is addressing) but here the style really works for me, manipulating me into the claustrophobic freefall of the main character in a way any other tense/POV might not have. (The main character is freefalling towards an alien planet after the breakup of his lander. His husband is the comms officer on the ship in orbit that the main character launched from. In what little time is left them, they communicate as best they can, and his life flashes before his eyes.)
PASSION, LIKE A VOICE THAT BUDS by Steve Berman. The narrator, an older AIDS patient, gets frequent visits from a young, hot aid worker named Kearny. Kearny delivers food every week and slowly wheedles the narrator's story from him. Passion does slowly ignite, but is it fleeting? Berman hints there's more going than meets the eye with the illness and Kearny's interest in the narrator. The first-person narration perfectly captures the loneliness of living alone, sequestering yourself from the world in general and your own tribe in particular.
TRUE NORTH by Chaz Brenchley. The story starts with a rumination on what might be missing from the classic compass rose (a quarter or point at an angle to everything else) and on the loneliness of cities, setting up the main narrative: the narrator's estrangement from his long-time companion after the disappearance of the man's teenage daughter, who had been caught between her father and her mother in their divorce. The story is also sprinkled with flashbacks to the development of the narrator's relationship with his companion, adding depth to the intriguing developing mystery of the daughter's whereabouts. This story is also available in Brenchley's excellent collection Bitter Waters, which I reviewed in this community last year.
THE OILY MAN by Alex Jeffers. An interesting fantasy world setting based, it seems, on the British colonial relationship with southeast Asia. The youngest, gay, son of an influential family is sent in disgrace to another country where he might still serve the family's interests by becoming a plaything of that country's female leader. There he encounters an incubus-style creature called the Oily Man, and the encounter changes his life path. I felt the story meandered a little near the end, but the main characters (the narrator, his sister, and a trans* woman who knows how the Oily Man works and what his job is) are well-drawn and interesting. The Oily Man himself is frightening and sensual.
WEREWOLVES OF NORTHLAND by Patrick Pink. Whiro is a lonely, packless teen werewolf who also happens to be wheel-chair-bound and stuck in a small town where no-one knows his secrets. Then another wolf moves to town, and Whiro to figure out whether "Junior" is really a wolf and whether he'll be sticking around. They bond over astronomy/constellation stories. The story has a real sense of longing, unrequited love, and need -- not just the need for love/sex, but the need to be able to be yourself openly.
NOTES FOR "THE BARN IN THE WILD" by Paul Tremblay. Presented as a transcription of a hand-written notebook, the story tracks reporter Nick Brach as he investigates the strange death of Tommy Hovespian in a remote part of Canada. Brach's notes toward a possible book are written in these journals, but footnotes and asides have been added in a different handwriting. Tremplay layers multiple mysteries about Brach, Hovespian, the barn and more into a wonderfully creepy story that especially hits home to someone who has spent a lot of time in the woods.
CONJURING SHADOWS by Craig Laurence Gidney. A classic story-within-a-story structure. The framing device is about a collector of Harlem Renaissance artifacts, including an intriguing sculpture created by an artist named Courtney Vaughn, who wrote one short story in his career: "Temple Cats," the story within the story. The frame and story inflect each other, implying a much deeper supernatural world than either portion reveals individually.
THE GOD WITHIN by Damien Kelly. The love of court philosopher/teacher Jinzan for his adult student Lord Toyofusa creates political and philosophical waves across the country of Tosa. Flashbacks revealing how the relationship developed are juxtaposed with the present where a fiery attack has burned sections of the city. Kelly really drives home the dichotomy of loving someone unconditionally and thinking they might be capable of doing great evil. I'd love to see this world, and these characters, developed more.
A GIFT IN TIME by Maggie Clark. Mouse Musset discovers the ability to time travel, and uses it to impress his boss as well as the mid-level functionary Mouse has developed a crush on. I liked the way Clark spools out the the time travel and unrequited crush threads, using each to add depth and resonance to the other. Musset's voice is so clear that I found myself really hating the other two men for the way they treat him.
THE LOVE OF THE EMPEROR IS DIVINE by Tom Cardamone. An epistolary story told in several letters from the Roman emporer to his hold friend and loyal servant/spy Publius, living in exile. Publius is tasked with uncovering a conspiracy, while the Emporer reminisces about their childhood, his own father, and a long-lost lost friend. The Emporer's voice is full of ego and self-congratulation, yet still pulls you in, wanting to know how the conspiracy will be uncovered and how the past connects to the present. Cardamone's story combines the fantasy, horror and mystery genres with each and grace and strong characterization.
THE VAMPIRE OF XANTHOS by Andrew Warburton. A modern dating site introduces the narrator to a man he knows only as VioletLove. They share a number of interests, including Egyptian history, and the signs start to point early on to VioletLove not being who he claims to be and perhaps knowing more about the past than he should. But is he really the titular vampire, or is it all in the narrator's imagination. The narrator's voice alternates between naivete and paranoia, which leaves the reader to do the real thinking. A really effective combination of modern life and ancient myth.
THE TRUE ALCHEMIST by Sonya Taaffe. Not quite another epistolary story, but the main character directly addresses his boyfriend Seth, telling him about the odd sounds and smells occurring in their backyard since an odd couple came asking about the gas meter and buried something in the backyard instead. The beauty of the story is what Taaffe leaves unsaid: we never see the burial, never see clearly see whatever is in the backyard, but we do see the effect it has (growing paranoia) on the main character.
THE MORTUARIES by Katherine E.K. Duckett. Young Teme has had a long-term obsession with the two major mortuaries in town: the respected Brixton's and the poorly-regarded Morton's. He visits the perfectly-taxidermied, diorama-ed relatives in Brixton's frequently, but is never allowed as a child to enter Morton's. In adult, his whole life gets turned upside. The mystery of Morton's is so key to the story that I don't want to even hint at what the difference is between the two mortuaries. The story is deeply emotional as well, mingling anger and sadness of personal loss with curiosity and respect for the past.
WHAT GLISTENS BACK by Sunny Moraine. I loved this story when I read it in Lightspeed magazine in November 2104, and loved it as much rereading it now. I still struggle with "direct address" stories (where the reader is the character the omniscient narrator is addressing) but here the style really works for me, manipulating me into the claustrophobic freefall of the main character in a way any other tense/POV might not have. (The main character is freefalling towards an alien planet after the breakup of his lander. His husband is the comms officer on the ship in orbit that the main character launched from. In what little time is left them, they communicate as best they can, and his life flashes before his eyes.)
PASSION, LIKE A VOICE THAT BUDS by Steve Berman. The narrator, an older AIDS patient, gets frequent visits from a young, hot aid worker named Kearny. Kearny delivers food every week and slowly wheedles the narrator's story from him. Passion does slowly ignite, but is it fleeting? Berman hints there's more going than meets the eye with the illness and Kearny's interest in the narrator. The first-person narration perfectly captures the loneliness of living alone, sequestering yourself from the world in general and your own tribe in particular.
TRUE NORTH by Chaz Brenchley. The story starts with a rumination on what might be missing from the classic compass rose (a quarter or point at an angle to everything else) and on the loneliness of cities, setting up the main narrative: the narrator's estrangement from his long-time companion after the disappearance of the man's teenage daughter, who had been caught between her father and her mother in their divorce. The story is also sprinkled with flashbacks to the development of the narrator's relationship with his companion, adding depth to the intriguing developing mystery of the daughter's whereabouts. This story is also available in Brenchley's excellent collection Bitter Waters, which I reviewed in this community last year.
THE OILY MAN by Alex Jeffers. An interesting fantasy world setting based, it seems, on the British colonial relationship with southeast Asia. The youngest, gay, son of an influential family is sent in disgrace to another country where he might still serve the family's interests by becoming a plaything of that country's female leader. There he encounters an incubus-style creature called the Oily Man, and the encounter changes his life path. I felt the story meandered a little near the end, but the main characters (the narrator, his sister, and a trans* woman who knows how the Oily Man works and what his job is) are well-drawn and interesting. The Oily Man himself is frightening and sensual.
WEREWOLVES OF NORTHLAND by Patrick Pink. Whiro is a lonely, packless teen werewolf who also happens to be wheel-chair-bound and stuck in a small town where no-one knows his secrets. Then another wolf moves to town, and Whiro to figure out whether "Junior" is really a wolf and whether he'll be sticking around. They bond over astronomy/constellation stories. The story has a real sense of longing, unrequited love, and need -- not just the need for love/sex, but the need to be able to be yourself openly.
NOTES FOR "THE BARN IN THE WILD" by Paul Tremblay. Presented as a transcription of a hand-written notebook, the story tracks reporter Nick Brach as he investigates the strange death of Tommy Hovespian in a remote part of Canada. Brach's notes toward a possible book are written in these journals, but footnotes and asides have been added in a different handwriting. Tremplay layers multiple mysteries about Brach, Hovespian, the barn and more into a wonderfully creepy story that especially hits home to someone who has spent a lot of time in the woods.
CONJURING SHADOWS by Craig Laurence Gidney. A classic story-within-a-story structure. The framing device is about a collector of Harlem Renaissance artifacts, including an intriguing sculpture created by an artist named Courtney Vaughn, who wrote one short story in his career: "Temple Cats," the story within the story. The frame and story inflect each other, implying a much deeper supernatural world than either portion reveals individually.
THE GOD WITHIN by Damien Kelly. The love of court philosopher/teacher Jinzan for his adult student Lord Toyofusa creates political and philosophical waves across the country of Tosa. Flashbacks revealing how the relationship developed are juxtaposed with the present where a fiery attack has burned sections of the city. Kelly really drives home the dichotomy of loving someone unconditionally and thinking they might be capable of doing great evil. I'd love to see this world, and these characters, developed more.
A GIFT IN TIME by Maggie Clark. Mouse Musset discovers the ability to time travel, and uses it to impress his boss as well as the mid-level functionary Mouse has developed a crush on. I liked the way Clark spools out the the time travel and unrequited crush threads, using each to add depth and resonance to the other. Musset's voice is so clear that I found myself really hating the other two men for the way they treat him.
July 24, 2015
While there were some good stories captured here, this is the first time i've felt a little bit "let-down" from this series.
April 16, 2016
If the cover image does not give the reader the creeps, then the number of stories this anthology has just might, thirteen. It's unlucky for some, but not for Steve Berman who has been a collector of stories for Lethe Press for almost a decade. It is a time where short gay fantasy has been at its most creative.
As Oscar Wilde once said, "we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities," and like Wilde, for which this anthology is named there are several stories of nearly every explored genre; vampires, werewolves, Roman emperors, ghosts, and the general weird. And to prove that Steve Berman likes to take part, his Passion, Like a Voice - That Buds is included among such writers as Chaz Brenchley, Tom Cardamore, Sonya Taafe, Alex Jeffers and Darren Kelly who have their own contributor's profiles at the back.
Berman in his introduction goes on to mention that it is hard to find interesting new gay fiction in an era where there is an abundance of it. Discovering the sort of stories that stand out take time, and Berman has, it seems found thirteen of the best authors who have made a point of having their work stand out. He gets the mix right too of both long and short fiction that take the reader through the story in such a way that the reader enjoyed losing the time. Some of the shorter ones leave a message in them that stays in the mind.
In Tom Cardamore's The Love of the Emperor is Divine, Publius, a life-long friend of the emperor receives letters from him about how Publius has helped quash the assassination attempts on his life. What happens next isn't what one would expect, but ends a tale of steamy romance, Roman style.
Sonya Taafe's The True Alchemist is a nice short about a friend who needs Seth to come and help him. Taafe's style is almost poetic, rambling and thoroughly Greek and haunting. Seth might look like he wants to, but it remains to be seen as to whether he will.
Sunny Moraine's What Glistens Back, takes readers to sci-fi territory with Sean and Eric who are desperate to find each other after a long absence. Moraine shows us what it is like to feel the loss of being with a partner who made them feel alive and loved, but who they might not see again.
Steve Berman's Passion, Like a Voice - That Buds has a guy trying to brave a heated summer where he could do nothing but keep himself cool. Due to his HIV positive status, he stays alone, but a visit from a delivery boy with his food one day gives him some good company and someone to share his life with. He does hope for more, but doesn't expect such a close encounter. This, like the previous stories has a sense of time and place and they are like little doorways into other people's worlds, their lives for such brief moments.
In Werewolves of Northland by Patrick Pink, Whiro thinks he is the only werewolf in his town. For years he had been alone, then he begins to smell the scent of another of his kind. He felt certain another werewolf lived around him and knows he is breaking protocol with his father by going to find him. This might be bad from his father's point of view, but for Whiro, his need to know he is no longer alone means a lot. This is a werewolf story with a difference as Whiro is confined to a wheelchair after an accident, the only time he ever feels completely whole is when the moon is full and he can change in order to get the full use of his legs. Werewolves of Northland is a tale that not only is about there being someone for everyone, but a wolf mate for a wolf. As is noted by this story, no one is ever truly alone.
Wilde Stories 2015 has an eerie cover, a quote from Oscar Wilde and some of the best writings in Lethe Press's history with almost every genre covered in one slimline book.
As Oscar Wilde once said, "we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities," and like Wilde, for which this anthology is named there are several stories of nearly every explored genre; vampires, werewolves, Roman emperors, ghosts, and the general weird. And to prove that Steve Berman likes to take part, his Passion, Like a Voice - That Buds is included among such writers as Chaz Brenchley, Tom Cardamore, Sonya Taafe, Alex Jeffers and Darren Kelly who have their own contributor's profiles at the back.
Berman in his introduction goes on to mention that it is hard to find interesting new gay fiction in an era where there is an abundance of it. Discovering the sort of stories that stand out take time, and Berman has, it seems found thirteen of the best authors who have made a point of having their work stand out. He gets the mix right too of both long and short fiction that take the reader through the story in such a way that the reader enjoyed losing the time. Some of the shorter ones leave a message in them that stays in the mind.
In Tom Cardamore's The Love of the Emperor is Divine, Publius, a life-long friend of the emperor receives letters from him about how Publius has helped quash the assassination attempts on his life. What happens next isn't what one would expect, but ends a tale of steamy romance, Roman style.
Sonya Taafe's The True Alchemist is a nice short about a friend who needs Seth to come and help him. Taafe's style is almost poetic, rambling and thoroughly Greek and haunting. Seth might look like he wants to, but it remains to be seen as to whether he will.
Sunny Moraine's What Glistens Back, takes readers to sci-fi territory with Sean and Eric who are desperate to find each other after a long absence. Moraine shows us what it is like to feel the loss of being with a partner who made them feel alive and loved, but who they might not see again.
Steve Berman's Passion, Like a Voice - That Buds has a guy trying to brave a heated summer where he could do nothing but keep himself cool. Due to his HIV positive status, he stays alone, but a visit from a delivery boy with his food one day gives him some good company and someone to share his life with. He does hope for more, but doesn't expect such a close encounter. This, like the previous stories has a sense of time and place and they are like little doorways into other people's worlds, their lives for such brief moments.
In Werewolves of Northland by Patrick Pink, Whiro thinks he is the only werewolf in his town. For years he had been alone, then he begins to smell the scent of another of his kind. He felt certain another werewolf lived around him and knows he is breaking protocol with his father by going to find him. This might be bad from his father's point of view, but for Whiro, his need to know he is no longer alone means a lot. This is a werewolf story with a difference as Whiro is confined to a wheelchair after an accident, the only time he ever feels completely whole is when the moon is full and he can change in order to get the full use of his legs. Werewolves of Northland is a tale that not only is about there being someone for everyone, but a wolf mate for a wolf. As is noted by this story, no one is ever truly alone.
Wilde Stories 2015 has an eerie cover, a quote from Oscar Wilde and some of the best writings in Lethe Press's history with almost every genre covered in one slimline book.
October 6, 2015
Looking for a captivating anthology of gay-themed fiction filled with lust and dynamic plots while maintaining your interest from one story to the next? Well... keep looking because you're not going to find it here.
For those of you--like me--who were drawn by the subtitle "The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction," let me save you the time and effort: it is misleading. Originally, I imagined that the subtitle indicated a collection of short stories that were cutting-edge, stories with a deeper, significant meaning. Steve Bergman's Wilde Stories 2015 leaves much of that to be desired; rather it is a collection of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and odd tales.
Now, I'm not belittling the book. There's actually a short story that I particularly liked: "What Glistens Back" by Sunny Moraine (p. 171-184), an astronaut named Sean who communicates with his husband, Eric, as he crashes onto a planet. Throughout these terrifying moments, which Sean remains relatively calm if not comical, he experiences flash-backs about his life and his relationship with Eric. What I liked about this short story is how it uses the "entirely arbitrary concepts of up and down." It is an entirely arbitrary, but how Moraine uses the concept of down with Sean crashing towards an unknown planet while looking up and communicating with Eric, makes the story that much more interesting.
In general I was rather disappointed with Wilde Stories 2015. In case it hasn't become apparently obvious I rather prefer gay-themed anthologies that are more realistic. If you're interested in vampires, werewolves, Roman emperors, alchemists, and astronauts then this might be the book for you, but it clearly is NOT the book for me.
For those of you--like me--who were drawn by the subtitle "The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction," let me save you the time and effort: it is misleading. Originally, I imagined that the subtitle indicated a collection of short stories that were cutting-edge, stories with a deeper, significant meaning. Steve Bergman's Wilde Stories 2015 leaves much of that to be desired; rather it is a collection of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and odd tales.
Now, I'm not belittling the book. There's actually a short story that I particularly liked: "What Glistens Back" by Sunny Moraine (p. 171-184), an astronaut named Sean who communicates with his husband, Eric, as he crashes onto a planet. Throughout these terrifying moments, which Sean remains relatively calm if not comical, he experiences flash-backs about his life and his relationship with Eric. What I liked about this short story is how it uses the "entirely arbitrary concepts of up and down." It is an entirely arbitrary, but how Moraine uses the concept of down with Sean crashing towards an unknown planet while looking up and communicating with Eric, makes the story that much more interesting.
In general I was rather disappointed with Wilde Stories 2015. In case it hasn't become apparently obvious I rather prefer gay-themed anthologies that are more realistic. If you're interested in vampires, werewolves, Roman emperors, alchemists, and astronauts then this might be the book for you, but it clearly is NOT the book for me.
May 22, 2025
It was decent. Some stories were good, and others I didn't like as much but that's expected in any anthology. My favorite story by far was "The Vampire of Xanthos'.
Did Not Finish
October 2, 2017DNF
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