The Thorn Boy & Other Dreams of Dark Desire

by Storm Constantine

Darien is the king's favorite--cool, aloof and quick to conspire. Akaten is warm, sensuous and full of life--and a captive of war. Darien is driven by desire, Akaten by love. This is the story of their passion--and what happens when the king chooses a new favorite.

The Thorn Boy is but one tale in this unique, new collection from Storm Constantine. These are stories of triumph and tragedy; voluptuous fantasies and erotic fairy tales. As Poppy Brite says, "Storm's love for her characters, their love and lust for one another, and her celebration of their beauty fairly drips from her pages."

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

232 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 2002

About the author

Storm Constantine was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series.

Since the late 1980s she wrote more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is featured in the Goth Bible and is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy; many of her novels include same-sex relationships or hermaphrodites or other twists of gender. Magic, mysticism and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works.

In 2003 she launched Immanion Press, based out of Stafford, England. The publishing company publishes not only her own works but those of new writers, as well as well-known genre writers, mainly from the UK.

Reviews

[Lindsey]

Do NOT judge this book by it's cover. Seriously. It's beautifully written, erotic and a page-turner (I didn't want to put it down). I was very pleasantly surprised and I'd definitely recommend it.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prose within these pages is sheer poetry. Fairytales and legends are reborn with a unique flavor in the fantasy world of The Chronicles of Magravandias amidst age-old bonds of desire, treachery, and self-interest, mingled with love gathered together in this volume. Some characters appear in more than one story to face the consequences of their choices in a previous tale. Some I just hope to meet again in future tales. Everything in this volume is engaging, sensual, and a deep, heavy, satisfying draught of the essence of a richly developed fantasy world where the very elemental forces that move their mortal pawns take on human flesh and play a dramatic part of the legends they entangle others within. This is the sort of fantasy I hunger to read and aspire to write. If you enjoy rich, heavy-layered folklore flavored with a delightful touch of rainbow sauce, don’t miss this.

[Aggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of fantasy stories which deals with desire and yearnings in a dark, magical manner. I stumbled upon this author while browsing the Barnes & Noble website and will most definitely seek out more of her works.