Crossing the Border: Tales of Erotic Ambiguity

by Lisa Tuttle (Editor), Poppy Z. Brite (Contributor), Michael Blumlein (Contributor)

Genres: Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Erotica

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 1998

About the author

(Wife of Colin Murray) aka Maria Palmer (house pseudonym).

Lisa Tuttle taught a science fiction course at the City Lit College, part of London University, and has tutored on the Arvon courses. She was residential tutor at the Clarion West SF writing workshop in Seattle, USA. She has published six novels and two short story collections. Many of her books have been translated into French and German editions.

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crossing the Border: Tales of Erotic Ambiguity is a book of 22 short stories by 22 authors, edited by Lisa Tuttle. Some have been published previously, others are new. The stories vary in length from 8 pages to 30 pages. They also vary markedly in quality. There are some outstanding ones, but the majority are rather mediocre. Some are decidedly bizarre, while others are so vague that it’s hard to know what they are about. And some are, frankly, boring. The worst are utter rubbish. Subjects include online sexual partners meeting, the god Zeus taking female form, crossdressers, a sculptor who uses a very unconventional material, and a cancer cure with strange side effects, among others.

Those worth reading are: the extract from Yann Martel’s novel, Self; Ruth Rendell’s The New Girlfriend; Lisa Tuttle’s A Dress; Melanie Fletcher’s Hermaphrodite; and Neil Gaiman’s Changes. And as these represent only 80 pages of 378 pages, just over 20% of the book, one star is a generous rating. A mixed bag.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any collection of short stories has to be mixed as far as personal taste is involved but this was really a much better than average selñection which didn't stray too far into one genre or another. Highly recommended for people prepared to think outside the box or not care whether a box actually exists or matters. More tan erotica, it's imagination - but isn't that the firsat requirement anyway?

[Bethnoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

A challenging and unusual selection of stories, I was pleasantly surprised at how different they were despite a shared theme. Some were better than others, predictably my favourites included Neil Gaiman and Lisa Tuttle, but I enjoyed Paul Magrs and Angela Carter too. A few a bit too explicit for me, but it's to be expected considering the subject matter. All were interesting and thought provoking though. Pleased to have got hold of this book.