“Wilde Stories 2018” reviewed.
By Jeff Baker
Author’s note: My full-fledged, full-length review of “Wilde Stories 2018” will be appearing in Lambda Literary, so here is a truncated variation on the theme. ——jb
The final “Wilde Stories” is out, and is well worth the price. There are delights for LGBT readers, readers of gay-themed literature or just plain readers of speculative fiction. (Groups whose readership does not seem to overlap, laments editor Steve Berman in a reflective Afterward.)
The authors include names like Matthew Bright (whose stories appeared in “Wilde Stories” more than any other), Greg Egan, Karin Lowacher, A.C. Wise and others. Themes in the stories include love, ghosts, horror, sex, an off-the-wall version of a Western and plain old science fiction.
And as Editor Berman mentions, people of color are also represented in the book. “I’m pleased that I found greater diversity in whose stories were told and by whom.”
Oscar Wilde said: “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there’s no use in reading it at all.” This final Wilde Stories is eminently readable and is highly recommended.
We wish you all the best of Thanksgivings, and many reasons to be thankful all year ‘round.
ADDENDA: As this blog was being prepared we learned of the passing of Marvel Comics’ legendary Stan Lee, co-creator of The Hulk, The X-Men and m any others. His impact on our culture cannot be underrated, nor can we overlook his comic book’s portrayal of the underrepresented in our society, whether depicted as mutants, Inhumans or mere mortals. Openly LGBT characters are latecomers to the pantheon, but they are getting there. I cannot underestimate the influence on my nascent imagination comics made on me, especially in the 1970s and early ‘80s when my future did not always look that bright. Thanks, Stan.
Jeff Baker blogs about reading and writing sci-fi and horror and other sundry matters around the Thirteenth of every month He has been published most recently in the anthology “Spoon Knife 3; Incursions” from Autonomous Press. He appears on Facebook as Jeff Baker, Author and blogs and posts fiction at https://authorjeffbaker.com. He lives in Wichita, Kansas with his husband Darryl.