So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction [Paperback]

Steve Berman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2007

The legends of Fairyland tell that one should never taste the food or sip the drink, or else risk being caught there forever. But the tempting morsels in So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction are irresistible! Lambda Award-nominated editor Steve Berman brings together acclaimed fantasy writers with some of the brightest names in LGBT fiction to create tales that are moving and magical. These stories of romance and grief, adolescence and identity, struggle and hope will enchant readers who long for a fantastic escape—and a wonderful twist! One sample of this bewitching treat is sure to trap you in its pages!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite its provocative title and aggressive opening vignette, sex and sexuality fade into the background of Berman's quiet compilation of fantasy tales. The modern urban and suburban settings that dominate the anthology may be partly responsible. Two of the 22 stories feature New York backdrops, and a number of others occur in unnamed cities that might as well be the Big Apple. Most tales also feature classic Shakespearean or Celtic-inspired faerie folk, though Eugie Foster's Year of the Fox and Craig Laurance Gidney's A Bird of Ice draw effectively on Asian motifs, and Christopher Barzak nods toward Egyptian myth in Isis in Darkness. The tone is mostly light, often with more than a touch of ironic humor, as in Elspeth Potter's Detox; hauntingly tragic romances from Kenneth D. Woods (The Kings of Oak and Holly) and Laurie J. Marks (How the Ocean Loved Margie) provide some ballast. Neither pornographic (despite a handful of explicit sex scenes) nor militant, this anthology is wholly readable and likely to engage general readers as well as its target audience. (Nov.)
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Review

Explores both meanings of the word fairy, using the age-old themes of folklore to tell stories relevant to gay and lesbian life today. . . . The 22 authors in this book have taken the threads of old folk tales and woven them into modern adult fairy stories about men who love men, women who love women, and mortals who love creatures of magic. The stories range from light to dark, whimsical to disturbing, introspective to erotic. Berman has mixed tales by talented newcomers with those by long-established, award-winning authors. A few stories are set in fairyland, or take us back in history, but most of the tales unfold in towns, cities, and suburbs much like our own, in places where fairy magic casts its glow on modern life. These are stories for all readers who have ever loved or desired what they've been told that they must not--whether that's men, or women, or stories of fairies long after childhood is done. -- Terri Windling, editor of The Faery Reel

Something more than a collection of short stories. Perhaps it's the connection with the faeries of folklore that causes this particular anthology to take on a little more depth, a little more meaning, a little more richness than are apparent at first glance. . . . Berman deserves congratulations, and if he wants to do another volume, it will find a ready audience here. -- Green Man Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Haworth Positronic Press (September 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156023590X
• ISBN-13: 978-1560235903
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,249,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Delicious Sampler, September 6, 2010

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A (SPOTSYLVANIA, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction (Perfect Paperback)

I really enjoyed this collection. Some of the stories were quite original while others were contemporary takes on the Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin legends. Holly Black's "Coat of Stars" was a standout - how have I never read any Holly Black? Laurie Marks' "How the Ocean Loved Margie" was creepy and disturbing in a very good way, while Christopher Barzak's "Iris in Darkness" had a deliciously Bordertown feel to it. (And I see that he'll have a story in the upcoming Welcome to Bordertown book - hooray!)

The thing I love about anthologies is how they provide tasty samples of wonderful writers' works for me to try. I definitely hit the jackpot here.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction, August 6, 2010

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benito (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction (Paperback)

I was so excited when this book came in the mail! I've been a long time fan of the Fairy Tale anthologies put out by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling, including their similar offerings in the Young Adult market. The way those authors took the old fairy tales and reinvented them in each volume was always so satisfying to me, every story was a jewel.

Steve Berman's SO FEY reminds me very much of those anthologies and is now high on my list of fairy tale retellings. For me, as a gay man, it was truly wonderful to see fairy stories and queer fiction woven together to create shining, new takes on the old familiar themes. I thought this was an outstanding collection and want to congratulate Berman and all the authors on their beautiful work.

Here are some of my favorite stories from the collection:


"A Faun's Tale" by Tom Cardamone is a short but sensual story about a faun's romp in New York's Central Park...

"A Bird Of Ice" by Craig Laurance Gidney, where a spirit falls in love with a mortal...

"Three Letters From The Queen Of Elfland" by Sarah Monette, where a woman is torn between her duty to her husband and her attraction to Nyx, the Queen...

"Detox" by Elspeth Potter is a hilarious story where a brownie turns the tables on his mistress...

"The Coat Of Stars" by Holly Black has a gay, Latino man returning home to find his long lost love...

"Year Of The Fox" by Eugie Foster is a beautiful story of a princess in exile who turns hate into love...

and "Ever So Much More Than Twenty" by Joshua Lewis features a gay man who travels with his daughter back to the cabin of his youth, and the memories of his fairy lover...

Again, I thought this was a great collection of stories and I hope Mr. Berman will bring us another volume some day. It is a must read for lovers of fairy stories and for fans of gay fiction.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting mix, March 13, 2011

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octobercountry (the Land of Trees and Heroes) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction (Paperback)

There's been a substantial body of literature published about the Fair Folk in recent years, in both the high fantasy and urban fantasy genres. But I've not come across much material which deals with the subject matter from a gay perspective, so this collection helps fill in the gap. As with any anthology (most particularly those anthologies in which each story is written by a different author), the results can be a bit of a hit-and-miss proposition. There are bound to be some stories which really "speak" to the reader, and others that aren't particularly liked. The batting average for this collection was decent enough for me---I'd say that I enjoyed about 75% of the stories here (or at least found them to be of interest). The remaining 25% I took a dislike to or was indifferent to, for one reason or another, with one or two stories leaving me scratching my head in puzzlement.

The mix here is about evenly divided between tales written from a male perspective, and those written with women in mind. I don't suppose it's any surprise to know that I was automatically most interested in the entries written about gay men---the lesbian-oriented material, while at times quite good, simply didn't grab my attention to a great degree (go figure---heh).

Anyone familiar with the genre will recognise elements from many classic folk tales that have been explored in some interesting new ways---for instance, the book contains at least two or three variations on the well-known Tam Lin story.

As one of the reviews above states, there is a mix of tales here---some quite serious, some sad, some happy, some comedic. Overall I'll call this a "pleasant diversion." While the greater portion of the book was diverting, only a handful of tales really made a great impression on me. My favourites would have to include "The Kings of Oak and Holly" by Kenneth D. Woods, "Ever So Much More Than Twenty" by Joshua Lewis, and (most particularly) "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black (perhaps best known for her "Spiderwick Chronicles"). Two of these three stories have happy endings, and one a tragic finish. Upon a re-read, I'm now wondering if one of the three tales can in fact be viewed as an allegory---if that is the case, I'm not sure I'm very happy about what the author is really trying to say. But hey---perhaps it's all in my imagination...

So, I'll recommend the book for those generally interested in the genre. Does anyone have other books to recommend, containing subject matter in the same vein?