Customer Reviews

Haunted Hearths & Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the title indicates, this is an analogy of lesbian ghost stories. Not erotica -- one or two of the stories might edge up as far as an R rating, but otherwise it's solidly PG-13 and under. It's from Lethe Press, edited by Catherine Lundoff.

The very first story was what hooked me in, and I still consider it one of the strongest: "Spirit Horse Ranch" by Sacchi Green, a mystery tale with a twist at the end I would never have suspected. A few others I particularly liked were "Some Old Lover's Ghost" by Dayle A. Dermatis, which I could picture myself reading in a mainstream magazine just by changing the gender of the viewpoint character; "Ostraca" by Brenta Blevins, a hilarious send-up of pompous academic silverbacks; and "The Oath" by Lynne Jamneck, which made me want to read more stories about that set of characters (hint, hint!).

But don't think that I disliked the stories I didn't single out. In fact, this anthology has no "Waste of Ink" award; even the stories I considered less strong were still pretty good. They range in style from humor to horror, and have a diverse, interesting set of protagonists. My one real criticism is that "Meeting Mr. Krenshaw" by Ka Vang might have worked better at novelette length -- anti-gay bigotry, anti-Asian bigotry, culture clash, family drama, and a relationship beset by communication issues is an awful lot of conflict to resolve in one short story, and I'd have liked to see a bit more time taken to explore at least the latter two topics.

Overall, I would rate this book at 4 stars, "above average", and recommend it to anyone who likes love stories and supernatural elements.

This collection of lesbian ghost stories includes a nice mix of serious and sweet, with a few tales that really tug on the heartstrings, and a dash of silliness. The anthology doesn't go overboard with the creepy overdone ghostly tropes. These are not horror film offerings (thank goodness), but thoroughly enjoyable romantic tales.

Editor Catherine Lundoff (Crave: Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing) deserves high praise for bringing together under one cover such a myriad collection of short stories. While each has lesbian themes and sensibilities, the tales range from the chilling to the humorous to the sensual. These are ghosts that haunt, that protect, that warn, and guide richly portrayed women who face more than supernatural crises - these women are torn by the commonplace worries and angst of new love,broken hearts, and growing old.

Lesbianism has, to those who are willing to analyze closely, has always been a part of classic stories. "Haunted Hearths & Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories" is a collection of ghost stories focusing on this particular paranormal phenomena. The concept, while odd at first glance, grows on readers fast with a unique approach to story telling which is engaging on anyone's measure. "Haunted Hearths & Sapphic Shades" is a story compilation to be considered, with the pens of seventeen solid Lesbian writers.