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Slashed and Mashed: Seven Gayly Subverted Stories
What really happened when Theseus met the Minotaur? How did demon-slaying Momotarō come to be raised by two daddies? Will Scheherazade’s hapless Ma’aruf ever find love and prosperity after his freeloading boyfriend kicks him out on the street? Classic lore gets a bold remodeling with stories from light-hearted and absurd, earnestly romantic, daring and adventurous, to darkly surreal.
The collection includes: Theseus and the Minotaur, Károly, Who Kept a Secret, The Peach Boy, The Vain Prince, The Jaguar of the Backward Glance, Ma’aruf the Street Vendor, and A Rabbit Grows in Brooklyn.
Award-winning fantasy author Andrew J. Peters (The City of Seven Gods) takes on classical mythology, Hungarian folklore, Japanese legend, The Arabian Nights, and more, in a collection of gayly subverted stories from around the world.
The collection includes: Theseus and the Minotaur, Károly, Who Kept a Secret, The Peach Boy, The Vain Prince, The Jaguar of the Backward Glance, Ma’aruf the Street Vendor, and A Rabbit Grows in Brooklyn.
Award-winning fantasy author Andrew J. Peters (The City of Seven Gods) takes on classical mythology, Hungarian folklore, Japanese legend, The Arabian Nights, and more, in a collection of gayly subverted stories from around the world.
ebook
Published November 11, 2019
22 people want to read
About the author
Andrew J. Peters
19 books106 followersAndrew J. Peters is an author, an educator, and an activist. His books have won the Silver Falchion award and been a finalist at the Foreword INDIES (The City of Seven Gods), as well as a Readers' Choice pick at The Romance Reviews (the Werecat series). He has written two fantasy books for young adults (The Seventh Pleiade, Banished Sons of Poseidon), and he is the author of the adult novel Poseidon and Cleito.
His latest novel Irresistible is a gay rom-com based on the oldest extant romance novel in the world.
Andrew grew up in Amherst, New York, studied psychology at Cornell University, and has spent most of his career as a social worker and an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.
Most of Andrew’s work takes inspiration from mythological themes, but as a young writer, he adored Agatha Christie. At Smallwood Elementary School, he was briefly a literary celebrity when his school principal invited him to read from his novel Murder at Moosewood Mansion over the P.A. system at lunch.
In the 90s, Andrew founded a ‘Coffeehouse’ in suburban Long Island to provide a safe place for LGBT teens to make friends, express themselves through the creative arts, and get help if they needed it. While he writes about fantasy worlds, his work tends to feature LGBT characters, and he is proud to write gay fiction for readers of all ages.
Andrew lives in New York City with his husband Genaro and their cat Chloë. Outside of writing, he is an administrator and an adjunct professor at Adelphi University School of Social Work.
Andrew is also on Patreon where you can climb aboard his ship on his journey across the rollicking sea of authorhood.
His latest novel Irresistible is a gay rom-com based on the oldest extant romance novel in the world.
Andrew grew up in Amherst, New York, studied psychology at Cornell University, and has spent most of his career as a social worker and an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.
Most of Andrew’s work takes inspiration from mythological themes, but as a young writer, he adored Agatha Christie. At Smallwood Elementary School, he was briefly a literary celebrity when his school principal invited him to read from his novel Murder at Moosewood Mansion over the P.A. system at lunch.
In the 90s, Andrew founded a ‘Coffeehouse’ in suburban Long Island to provide a safe place for LGBT teens to make friends, express themselves through the creative arts, and get help if they needed it. While he writes about fantasy worlds, his work tends to feature LGBT characters, and he is proud to write gay fiction for readers of all ages.
Andrew lives in New York City with his husband Genaro and their cat Chloë. Outside of writing, he is an administrator and an adjunct professor at Adelphi University School of Social Work.
Andrew is also on Patreon where you can climb aboard his ship on his journey across the rollicking sea of authorhood.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 5, 2020
My second book by Andrew J. Peters and I'm anxiously awaiting whatever this wonderful author sends us next. The stories in Slashed and Mashed are creative retellings of some classics, and makes a terrific anthology.
a copy of Slashed and Mashed: Seven Gayly Subverted Stories was provided to me by NetGalley for the purpose of my honest and unbiased review
a copy of Slashed and Mashed: Seven Gayly Subverted Stories was provided to me by NetGalley for the purpose of my honest and unbiased review
November 21, 2019
I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley
After reading so many complete sub-par anthologies lately it's nice to finally find a good one! I liked that there was a lot of variety in this one in terms of where and when the stories were set as well as the source material that they were based on. The only story I was actually familiar with was Theseus and the minotaur but I didn't feel that I was ever really lost with the other ones and still enjoyed all of them. Well, the last one did seem to end a bit abruptly so that was weird, but it was still an interesting story and I would still say I liked it. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for M/M retellings of classic stories or just some interesting M/M short stories.
After reading so many complete sub-par anthologies lately it's nice to finally find a good one! I liked that there was a lot of variety in this one in terms of where and when the stories were set as well as the source material that they were based on. The only story I was actually familiar with was Theseus and the minotaur but I didn't feel that I was ever really lost with the other ones and still enjoyed all of them. Well, the last one did seem to end a bit abruptly so that was weird, but it was still an interesting story and I would still say I liked it. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for M/M retellings of classic stories or just some interesting M/M short stories.
November 30, 2019
A Great Gay Take on Modern and Classic Tales!
This book is very well-written and I absolutely love the modification to classic fairy tales around the world! I would gladly read more from this author!
This book is very well-written and I absolutely love the modification to classic fairy tales around the world! I would gladly read more from this author!
March 30, 2020
Slashed and Mashed (Seven Gayly subverted tales)
By Andrew J. Peters
NineStarPress, 2019
Four stars
I am not a short story kinda guy, so when Andrew Peters alerted me to his new anthology, I was anxious. As it turns out, however, I got totally captivated by this group of seven disparate, but somehow thematically linked, stories, each one drawn from a different tradition of storytelling. Other than the obvious link of having gay central characters, these stories also focus on personal integrity and inner goodness. Some of them have recognizable links to familiar folk or fairy tales (“The Vain Prince,” or “The Peach Boy,”) while others are more thinly tied to their sources. There are happy endings, but not always – but there are never tragic endings. What struck me most was that, while Peters’s sometimes eccentric language is always there, the tone and style of the stories vary rather more than I expected – and thus each chapter offers the reader a very different experience.
“Theseus and the Minotaur” picks up on Peters’s long-established love for classical mythology, but the story is fascinatingly detailed and twisted so as to subvert (remember the title?) the purpose of the original myth. Honestly, the Greek pantheon was nothing but a bunch of spoiled teenagers, petty and vengeful, so it is lovely to see Theseus be something other than a pawn of the gods.
“Karoly, Who Kept a Secret” is a clear homage to the Grimm fairy tale genre, with a specific Hungarian (Magyar) slant, which I found endearing because of the nature of Karoly himself. When all around him are being selfish and cruel, his core goodness shines like a beacon. This story is followed by an update of the classic Japanese tale of “The Peach Boy” (and why I know that story so well I can’t tell you). It feels timeless and weirdly modern at the same time, as an older male couple deal with a magical surprise.
“The Vain Prince,” another fairy-tale based story, was maybe my least favorite – but I still enjoyed its dark mash-up of all sorts of normative moralizing to make a story that Disney wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. On the other hand, “The Jaguar of the Backward Glance” was a fascinating historical horror story, set in the late 17th century. Peters’s careful research offers this macabre story of European explorers confronting isolated South American tribespeople an eerie sense of authenticity. The gay identity of the main character – a Belgian secretary running away from his fear of bourgeois conformity only to fall into a nightmare of a different kind – is almost tangential, but ultimately places this interesting young man into a logical sort of moral limbo. Both this and the last story, “A Rabbit Grows in Brooklyn,” use mythology drawn from non-European culture, and both have equivocal endings that were neither sad nor happy. Sometimes, self-discovery is a painful journey, but one worth taking nonetheless.
My favorite story was “Ma’aruf the Street Vendor.” It’s a tale right out of the Arabian Nights, except that it features a forty-something Egyptian immigrant, trying to make a living selling falafel from a street cart in New York. Innocent and a little naïve, Ma’aruf is both gentle and believably good. He has fled his homeland and family in the hopes of making a new life (and having the chance to find a boyfriend). What he finds is betrayal and prejudice, until a fantastical moment changes everything. This one brought tears to my eyes.
All in all, a really interesting and worthy collection of stories.
By Andrew J. Peters
NineStarPress, 2019
Four stars
I am not a short story kinda guy, so when Andrew Peters alerted me to his new anthology, I was anxious. As it turns out, however, I got totally captivated by this group of seven disparate, but somehow thematically linked, stories, each one drawn from a different tradition of storytelling. Other than the obvious link of having gay central characters, these stories also focus on personal integrity and inner goodness. Some of them have recognizable links to familiar folk or fairy tales (“The Vain Prince,” or “The Peach Boy,”) while others are more thinly tied to their sources. There are happy endings, but not always – but there are never tragic endings. What struck me most was that, while Peters’s sometimes eccentric language is always there, the tone and style of the stories vary rather more than I expected – and thus each chapter offers the reader a very different experience.
“Theseus and the Minotaur” picks up on Peters’s long-established love for classical mythology, but the story is fascinatingly detailed and twisted so as to subvert (remember the title?) the purpose of the original myth. Honestly, the Greek pantheon was nothing but a bunch of spoiled teenagers, petty and vengeful, so it is lovely to see Theseus be something other than a pawn of the gods.
“Karoly, Who Kept a Secret” is a clear homage to the Grimm fairy tale genre, with a specific Hungarian (Magyar) slant, which I found endearing because of the nature of Karoly himself. When all around him are being selfish and cruel, his core goodness shines like a beacon. This story is followed by an update of the classic Japanese tale of “The Peach Boy” (and why I know that story so well I can’t tell you). It feels timeless and weirdly modern at the same time, as an older male couple deal with a magical surprise.
“The Vain Prince,” another fairy-tale based story, was maybe my least favorite – but I still enjoyed its dark mash-up of all sorts of normative moralizing to make a story that Disney wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. On the other hand, “The Jaguar of the Backward Glance” was a fascinating historical horror story, set in the late 17th century. Peters’s careful research offers this macabre story of European explorers confronting isolated South American tribespeople an eerie sense of authenticity. The gay identity of the main character – a Belgian secretary running away from his fear of bourgeois conformity only to fall into a nightmare of a different kind – is almost tangential, but ultimately places this interesting young man into a logical sort of moral limbo. Both this and the last story, “A Rabbit Grows in Brooklyn,” use mythology drawn from non-European culture, and both have equivocal endings that were neither sad nor happy. Sometimes, self-discovery is a painful journey, but one worth taking nonetheless.
My favorite story was “Ma’aruf the Street Vendor.” It’s a tale right out of the Arabian Nights, except that it features a forty-something Egyptian immigrant, trying to make a living selling falafel from a street cart in New York. Innocent and a little naïve, Ma’aruf is both gentle and believably good. He has fled his homeland and family in the hopes of making a new life (and having the chance to find a boyfriend). What he finds is betrayal and prejudice, until a fantastical moment changes everything. This one brought tears to my eyes.
All in all, a really interesting and worthy collection of stories.
December 14, 2019
Received from Netgalley. A collection of seven stories.
First story Theseus and the Minotaur. To the point, sweet and a little innocent. 3 stars.
Karoly was probably the most fairytale I’ve ever read. It was interesting but the guy was either a saint or an idiot. 3.5 stars.
Peach boy wasn’t quite what I was expecting and had the least going on. 3 stars.
The vain prince was my favourite at this point. Reads like a short fairytale. 4 stars.
I didn’t like the fifth story. The characters were okay but it was a pretty miserable one. 2 stars.
Sixth story made me rage. I felt sorry for the guy. The amount of people I liked in this one can be counted on one hand. 4 stars.
Final story packed a bit of a punch. Felt sorry for the mc. 4 stars.
First story Theseus and the Minotaur. To the point, sweet and a little innocent. 3 stars.
Karoly was probably the most fairytale I’ve ever read. It was interesting but the guy was either a saint or an idiot. 3.5 stars.
Peach boy wasn’t quite what I was expecting and had the least going on. 3 stars.
The vain prince was my favourite at this point. Reads like a short fairytale. 4 stars.
I didn’t like the fifth story. The characters were okay but it was a pretty miserable one. 2 stars.
Sixth story made me rage. I felt sorry for the guy. The amount of people I liked in this one can be counted on one hand. 4 stars.
Final story packed a bit of a punch. Felt sorry for the mc. 4 stars.
November 16, 2019
This is a collection of seven retellings. The only story I was familiar with was Theseus and the Minotaur and I have to say I did like how that story was subverted. They are all really enjoyable reads and I recommend it.
I really enjoyed how this was written and it reminded me of reading fairytales for the first time. If you want a short story collection which have gay characters in then this is the collection for you. I enjoyed seeing the diversity in the book and how the stories were different to what I expected.
My top three stories Theseus and the Minotaur - The tale starts like the original and then Theseus meets the Minotaur and doesn't kills him, instead he hears his story. I liked how it changed from the original tale and I think I prefer this version. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Károly, Who kept a secret - This is a story about a boys journey to become king by keeping a secret. It has heartbreak, betrayal, magic and more. I really enjoyed this story and I liked the relationship Károly had with others in the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The vain prince - I really enjoyed this one, it sort of reminded me of beauty and the beast with a little red riding hood mixed in. A spoilt young prince looks for his true love but doesn't find it. Magic is used and he finds the one for him. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The others I rated The Peach Boy - There wasn't much to this story but I still liked it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Jaguar of the Backward Glance - i couldn't get into this one. ⭐️⭐️ Ma'aruf the Street Vendor - Egyptian man in America who wants a man to love and finds a Jinn ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 A Rabbit Grows in Brooklyn - I thought this was okay. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My top three stories Theseus and the Minotaur - The tale starts like the original and then Theseus meets the Minotaur and doesn't kills him, instead he hears his story. I liked how it changed from the original tale and I think I prefer this version. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Károly, Who kept a secret - This is a story about a boys journey to become king by keeping a secret. It has heartbreak, betrayal, magic and more. I really enjoyed this story and I liked the relationship Károly had with others in the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The vain prince - I really enjoyed this one, it sort of reminded me of beauty and the beast with a little red riding hood mixed in. A spoilt young prince looks for his true love but doesn't find it. Magic is used and he finds the one for him. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The others I rated The Peach Boy - There wasn't much to this story but I still liked it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Jaguar of the Backward Glance - i couldn't get into this one. ⭐️⭐️ Ma'aruf the Street Vendor - Egyptian man in America who wants a man to love and finds a Jinn ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 A Rabbit Grows in Brooklyn - I thought this was okay. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 5, 2019
(Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review -- thank you!)
I'm not familiar with the original stories (save for Momotarou) but I love these subversions! The list is available in the summary, so I won't write them all out. They're all super enjoyable reads!
My favourite was surely poor Károly's story. He suffered so much betrayal but it worked out -- HAPPY ENDING ALERT!
I'm trying not to spoil anything just in case what I thought was in the originals is actually a twist in the new ones. Oof writing reviews is hard.
I adore the writing style; it's very once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-prince-y and took me back to the time I devoured Hans Christian Andersen's work, except my copy of the book was geared towards children and didn't have the allusions to sex that this book does.
I heartily recommend this collection of (lovely) stories! I'll be coming back to it a few months later, I'm sure.
I'm not familiar with the original stories (save for Momotarou) but I love these subversions! The list is available in the summary, so I won't write them all out. They're all super enjoyable reads!
My favourite was surely poor Károly's story. He suffered so much betrayal but it worked out -- HAPPY ENDING ALERT!
I'm trying not to spoil anything just in case what I thought was in the originals is actually a twist in the new ones. Oof writing reviews is hard.
I adore the writing style; it's very once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-prince-y and took me back to the time I devoured Hans Christian Andersen's work, except my copy of the book was geared towards children and didn't have the allusions to sex that this book does.
I heartily recommend this collection of (lovely) stories! I'll be coming back to it a few months later, I'm sure.
November 17, 2019
This had all of the components necessary to be a hit for me, but it fell a little short. Overall, I really enjoyed it. The theme, the way the premises were set up, etc. Some of the stories seemed to end extremely abruptly, though. I was left confused and sometimes wondered if knowing the fairy tale it was based on was necessary to really enjoy the book. None of these are ones the general public is normally familiar with, though some elements are more known than others. The last story left me particularly perplexed so that is the feeling I carried out of the book most. Maybe if that had been a middle story and something less confusing at the end I would think differently?
November 20, 2019
I received a copy of Slashed and Mashed by Andrew J.Peters via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review. I have been a fan of queer fairy tales ever since the first one I read, a gay retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Peters has gone much further in this collection of seven stories. My favorite is Theseus and the Minotaur partly because I have a classics background, but mostly for its wonderful subversion of not only the Minotaur but Ariadne as well. These are truly fables for the non-hetero and allies among us!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews