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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Title could have been "Pick a fantasy man...", February 10, 2004
This review is from: Man Of My Dreams (Paperback)
The title of this compilation of four "mini-novels" is apt, as they revolve around various fantasies gay men might have about their "dream" man. The four stories are by authors well known in the field of gay fiction. My personal favorite in the collection is "Sex and the Single Rock Star" by Jon Jeffrey. We meet freelance journalist Grant Browder, recoiling from a break-up with his boyfriend, who gets his dream assignment to write about Ronan, a bisexual Irish rock-star with a reputation for sex, drugs and heavy partying. As you might guess, much of the interview is conducted in bed, and Grant wonders if he can keep pace with rock's bad party-boy. The story also includes some rather colorful additional characters. "Out of Bounds" by Dave Benbow visits the standard fantasy of a nerdy (didn't know it yet but was) gay high school student having a crush on the school's football star, taking it into the next decade when the not-so-nerdy-anymore Wade is a successful realtor. The now-NFL star, Colton Jennings, supposedly looks up Wade for some advice on buying a house, but it soon becomes clear that the feelings that Wade had for Colton in their youth were more than mutual, a revelation that Colton now feels ready to deal with. Very realistic depiction of the problems facing gay pro athletes, in an engaging sweet story. In Ben Tyler's "Spanish Eyes", out-of-work Brad decides to bum around Europe a while and see if he can find his dream love. He is aided at first by a somewhat unusual matchmaker, than sets off on his own to Seville to look for someone whom he can imagine spending the rest of his life with. Last but not least, Sean Wolfe's "Bad Boy Dreams" explores the common fantasy of a gay man being attracted to older men, in this case Enrique has the hots for the divorced father of his college roommmate, with whom he ends up driving cross country. Interleaved with flashback passages (in italics, but still a bit distracting from the flow of the story) relating his feelings to his childhood growing up with his grandmother as surrogate caregiver, the story suggests the reasons for his attaction to older men, as well as the role parents and guardians may have in guiding a young man in later life. A quick beach or airplane read you will enjoy.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bang Bang and More Bang, February 25, 2004
This review is from: Man Of My Dreams (Paperback)
Once again, Kensington Publishing gives us four novellas centered on one basic theme, in this instance the ideal man. Of course what is an ideal man for, if not to have tons and tons of sex with, and this book certainly does not slouch on that score. Each one of the four stories has its fair share of graphically described banging. Sometimes it fits integrally with the plot but more often than not, it is simply gratuitous. Mind you, I have no problem with gratuitous sex, especially when it is well written, but I do think it behooves a reviewer to point it out. This collection is defiantly not for the pornographically-challenged. OUT OF BOUNDS by Dave Benbow, in my opinion, is far and away the best of the four novellas. This is a beautifully told tale of an old desire finally fulfilled. Of all the stories, I think this is the one most easily related to. Wade was an over-weight teen geek with a massive crush on Colton Jennings, the star quarterback. It's twenty years later and Wade has blossomed into a very successful real-estate selling hunk, all set to show his former school chum Colt, the professional football player, a few houses to consider buying. But is a house the only thing the recently divorced grid-iron star is shopping for? The sex here is by far the most erotic because it plays a very real part in the love story. Also, the issues involved in coming out as a gay athlete are extremely well handled. In my opinion this wonderful novella sends a strongly needed message to gay men. Happy endings are possible, and we have every right to want and expect them. Bravo to Dave Benbow for having the courage, in the face of the kind of gay cynicism we see every day, to deliver this message. I would give this story 5 stars by itself
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy Men Run Amuck, March 2, 2004
This review is from: Man Of My Dreams (Paperback)
Who of us doesn't enjoy fantasizing about meeting, falling in love, and spending our lives with the Man of Our Dreams? This collection of short stories by 4 terrific authors indulges those fantasies and helps us believe, if only for a short while, that they can become reality. "Out of Bounds" by Dave Benbow deals with the sports hero fantasy. An old childhood friend who now happens to be the biggest NFL star of the day reenters Wade Smith's life and changes it forever as the two old friends discover they have held torches for one another for the last 20 years. Wade is as out as one can be, and Colton is just discovering his real sexuality. Obviously coming out for a big NFL star is no easy task, and Benbow does a good job of showing the struggles he faces. Not as much sex as some of the other stories, but the sex that is there is well written. "Sex and the Single Rock Star" by Jon Jeffrey explores the common rock star fantasy, of course. This is my least favorite of the bunch, not becuase it's badly written, but for several other reasons: 1) It doesn't really deal with the man of the main character's dreams, but more accurately with the man of his ex's dreams, and he is only extracting revenge on the ex; 2) Not much sex at all, but only allusions to sex; and 3) This story was already told, and much better, in the movie Almost Famous. "Spanish Eyes" by Ben Tyler is a very good piece, and I enjoyed it very much. It follows Brad as he bounces all around Europe searching for the love of his life. Along the way he meets, temporarily falls in love with, and has incredible sex with a few Mr.-Not-So-Rights that provide temporary comfort from the pain of being dumped by his ex-lover back home. Then he encounters Marco De la Vega in Spain and his dreams become reality. Very well-written and very sexy. My favorite piece, though, is Sean Wolfe's "Bad Boy Dreams". Not that it's any better or worsely written than any of the others, but because Wolfe was courageous enough to step out of the typical gay man's dream mold of younger, gorgeous twinks as the object of our lust, and acknowledged the sexiness of the more mature generation. Plagued (or blessed) by what his repressive grandmother calls "Bad Boy Dreams" about naked and sexually active older men, Erique finds himself unable to hold back his desires for the sexy older man as they cross the country together. Wolfe's descriptions of Erique's dreams of the older man are among the best erotica I've read, and I love the highly supernatural element he uses in these scenes. I don't want to give too much away, but if you're a fan of erotica, you MUST read this story. It will stimulate your ... um ... imagination. It's well written, imaginative, very sexy, and most of all, bold because it steps outside the box just a little. All of these stories are well-written and fun to read. If you want to escape the humdrum of your real life and indulge in a little fantasy...this is the place to start.
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