Customer Reviews

Queer Fear: Gay Horror Fiction

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really liked this book, even though I'm not a big fan of the horror genre. It's an elaborate, wide-ranging collection of stories, many of which use their "queerness" as a metaphor for their estrangement from mainstream society -- hence, the "fear." Even if you're not a horror fan per se, it's a great and often fascinating read.

As another reviewer noted, I've been waiting for this sort of collection for years. With authors new and others familiar, this book, edited by Rowe, is a marvelous addition to any horror fan's shelf, gay or straight. I will admit that there are a few stories that seem out of place or are outright vapid, but overall I enjoyed this collection, especially since it introduced me to new writers whom I've not read. One story is about lesbians, but the majority contain gay men. From eroticism to terror to magical realism, this collection runs the gamut of horror fiction, offering up a smorgasbord of dark delights.

A collection of stories that range from bearable to wonderful. All have some connection to homosexuality, most because the main character is gay, but those that are effective would have been equally so with straight characters.

My short synopsis and rating (* to ***** stars):

The Nightguard (C. Mark Umland) - a prisoner in a hellish lockup deals with a sadistically strange guard. ****
Piercing Men (Douglas Clegg) - outwardly normal and straight suburban men play S&M games that get out of control. ****
The Siege (Michael Marano) - not sure what this was about. *
Bear Shirt (Gemma Files) - modern day skinhead obsesses over bear powers **
Little Holocausts (Brian Hodge) - a man collects souls ***
The Sound of Weeping (Thomas S. Roche) - a morgue worker has a strange attraction to the corpse of a beautiful young man ****
Hey Fairy (Edo Van Belkom) - a gay man is attacked by some thugs but manages to get the best of them. *****
The Spark (William J. Mann) - deaths in a neighborhood seem connected with a strange boy. ****
Spindleshanks (Caitlin R. Kiernan) - use of a ouija board at a party seems to work too well for one of the hosts. ****
The Perpetual (David Quinn) - a screenwriter takes to his motorcycle after a spat with his lover and seems to meet characters he was writing about. **
Genius Loci (Becky N. Southwell) - An old man recounts an encounter with a ghost at a boys camp many years before. *****
Goodbye (Michael Thomas Ford) - a young boy collects butterflies as a way to remember -- and maybe communicate with -- his dead grandmother. *****
Tabula Rasa (Robert Boyczuk) - a group of gay men at a snowbound cabin in the woods play a cruel game with unexpected consequences. *****
You Can't Always Get What You Want (T.L. Bryers) - a young hustler sets his sights on a beautiful creature he thinks is a vampire. **
The Bird Feeders (David Nickle) - A homeless young gay man survives being passed around amongst old, wealthy men until he meets a Hungarian restauranteur who takes him away for a weekend. *****
No Silent Scream (Nancy Kilpatrick) - a man loses it after a string of events he feels confirms his view of humanity and its poor state. **
Nestle's Revenge (Ron Oliver) - after moving from West Hollywood to a small desert town with his lover and his lover's dog, a man finds nothing to do until a series of events involving the dog spiral out of control. *****
Second Shadow (Joseph O'Brien) - Following the death of his lover a man gives up all his possessions to find a legendary lost land. ****

Of the ***** stories, I most enjoyed Nestle's Revenge, due to the writing (as well as the unexpected twists.)

The Arsenal Pulp Press edition has an introduction by Michael Rowe and includes short bios on each author.

One of the best horror anthologies I have ever come across. Really well-chosen, well-written stories. Starts off with a bang with NIGHTGUARD and keeps getting better. HEY, FAIRY! is a great story. Real imagination here, all through the book. Can't wait for the sequel!

After reading some of the other reviews I felt compelled to throw in my 2 cents. The various reviewers are all over the map from "LOVED IT ALL" to "IT SUCKED" - which is to be expected in any collection of short stories, and while there were some that I thought should have been omitted, there are others that more than make up for it. I am a fan of the horror genre, and gay which of course means I'm the core audience for this book and probably a little biased - that said, I truly enjoyed most of the stories in this collection... Notably - Genus Loci, Bear Shirt, The Spark and Piercing Men. I also enjoyed The Goodbye, though it was far from Queer Fear and many would argue should not have been included, it was a nice "palatte cleanser" in the mix.

I'm not gay, but I'm a true horror fan, and this book was wonderful. It was very thought provoking, of high literary quality, and best of all, scary as hell. I had read Michael Rowe's two vampire books ("Sons of Darkness" and "Brothers of the Night") which were great, but too "goth-romance" for my taste. "Queer Fear" on the other hand is horror at its best. Rowe's taste as an editor is amazing, and he chose some of the best horror writers in the biz for this book--like Douglas Clegg, Michael Marano, and Gemma Files--and guided them to the most boundary-pushing, sophisticated horror antho for a long time. Some newcomers here, too: C. Mark Umland's story "The Nightguard" was just unbelievably terrifying, and brilliantly written. Edo van Belkom's story was also great--very satisfying ending, which I won't reveal! I could have done without Caitlin R. Kiernan's story, which rambles on and on and on, in a very "precious" style (pretentious)like she hadn't been edited which is too bad, because she's sometimes her work is good. Still, every other story is awesome. This book is not just for gays, but for anyone who appreciates truly fine literature with a horrific twist. All in all, I think this is the best horror anthology of the year. Well done, Mister Rowe!...

okay, so as if being gay in George Dubya's America isn't scary enough, these stories - which veer away from politics completely - will keep you turning pages all the way. While the prose can get pretty purple sometimes, the tales are quirky and dark, with lots of gore, scares and even some humor scattered throughout. A previous reviewer wrote that one of the book's flaws is that "faeries" don't possess people - uh, get a life, dude....it's all makebelieve anyway, and these are almost all great fun and an excellent way to kill a couple hours on the beach.

As a fan of horror fiction and and as a gay man, I've been waiting for a book like this, and I wasn't disappointed: this book contains an amazing array of gay horror stories, some by well-known writers, others by first-time authors. Michael Rowe has done a great job collecting these stories. I highly recommend it!

I loved this book! The stories were first-rate, including work by some of the best-known and accomplished horror writers in the field, including Michael Marano, Douglas Clegg, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and Brian Hodge. The stories ran the gamut from vampires and werewolves and ghosts, to more eclectic supernatural slitherings. The advantage of being the first book of this kind ever ("Bending The Landscape" is also good, though it came later than "Queer Fear") is that it breaks the ground and claims it as its own. This book, after all, was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards and a Spectrum Award. On the downside, there's something about a book like this that seems to exacerbate homophobia and jealousy in some readers, some of whom have reviewed it online (proving that if you can't write or edit yourself--or are a bigot--you can always diss a book online). I advise readers to that (...) and get to "Queer Fear," post-haste. I only wish editor Michael Rowe (who also edited the vampire books "Sons of Darkness" and "Brothers of the Night") had contributed some of his own work. I've read his non-fiction in "Fangoria" and "Rue Morgue," and his fiction in the "Northern Frights" series. It rocks! Oh, well...maybe next time...hope there's a sequel!

Too many of the short stories in this collection pander to the worst of the horror genre. Which is a shame, because this could have been an important anthology. Generally, the mix of gay sex and scares falls flat and, by and large, the writing waffles between mediocrity and badness. Most of Queer Fear seems determined to remind us why "gay fiction" is so lamentable. There are a couple of notable exceptions, especially Caitlin R. Kiernan's "Spindleshanks." Kiernan's always a joy, but this is a particularly finely-crafted tale, a refreshingly-quiet story that comes across like the best of Shirley Jackson or Joyce Carol Oates. So, the book's probably worth cover price for that story alone.