Sunday Shorts: Three Gay Romance novellas

I love short fiction, and Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it. Posts will range from flash to novellas. At some point, I might delve into individual stories/episodes of anthology formats in other media, like television and comics, but for the time being, I’m sticking to prose in print and audio.

In the past month I’ve read a trio of m/m romance novellas that really warmed my heart, so with Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought this Sunday would be a good time to tell you a little bit about them.

The Christmas Accomplice by Hank Edwards

The set-up: Welton Monroe, notedly not a winter sports enthusiast, ends up on vacation at a ski lodge after his break-up with former boyfriend Dean leaves them having to decide who gets to keep the vacation. On his arrival at the resort, Welton has an awkward meet-cute with Reece Donaghy, a front desk employee in the process of vying for a promotion to assistant activities director. Of course, Dean shows up even though he’s not supposed to, throwing a wrench in Welton and Reece’s attempts to get to know each other better. This novella clicks on all cylinders: likeable and relatable lead characters who you really want to see get together for either a HFN or HEA (look, guys, I’m learning romance fiction acronyms!), just enough stumbling blocks in the path of the couple we’re rooting for to cause complications (the ex-boyfriend’s presence, the workplace promotion tests) without slowing the story down or adding too many layers of angst, and just enough sub-plot for the equally likeable (except for that one guy, because there’s always one – and this time it’s not the trope-y ex-boyfriend!) supporting cast. Bonus points for the “week before Christmas” time frame (we all know that I’m a sucker for stories set at Christmas and New Year’s).

By the Way, I Love You by Seth King

Speaking of New Year’s Eve…  The set-up: college student Evan Ruiz is waiting for his roommate Tom to return from a holiday visit to family so that Evan can reveal a secret that’s been torturing him almost since they were assigned to live together: that Evan, despite thinking himself straight all his life, has fallen for Tom. Most of the story is narrated by Evan, revealing the history of their relationship while at the same time ratcheting up the drama of how Tom will react. I found Evan’s self-awareness regarding his history of little moments that might have indicated he wasn’t as straight as he thought he was to be pretty realistic as the heart of the story. This is not one of those “I’m gay but only for you” type stories (which I find pretty offensive; bi/demi/pan-sexual erasure is a real thing and I don’t tolerate it). Most of what we learn about Tom is through Evan’s perceptions of him, but we do get a little bit of Tom first-person narrative eventually, fleshing out his personality and his own insecurities. The New Year’s Eve setting works mostly as metaphor (new beginnings and all that), since most of the book takes place in flashback.

Defensive Play by Jamie Deacon

The set-up: Seventeen-year-old British soccer player Davey is deeply in the closet, aware that while his family would support him there’s a very real possibility his teammates would not. Then, at a multi-school tournament, he lays eyes on Adam and is captivated and terrified in even measure – especially when he hears his teammates talking about the “poofter” on the other team. Of course, since Davey is a defenseman and Adam is a striker, they end up face to face on the pitch, with disastrous results. But that’s just the start of the story. I seem to have developed a “thing” for m/m sports romances, and this one scratched that itch very well. Both Evan’s fear of coming out and losing the one steady thing in his high school career (saddled with crippling social anxiety, he doesn’t have many friends outside of the team) and Adam’s hurt when that closet door locks him out at a key moment were both recognizable. Deacon’s writing in those moments is emotional without being manipulative. Because this is a coming out story, there is of course at least one homophobic team-mate to put that outside stumbling block in the way of Evan and Adam’s relationship developing. I also thought Deacon’s descriptions of Evan’s social anxiety and Adam’s experiences with coming out were touching.

Reading Round-Up: January 2021

The first monthly summary of what I’ve been reading and listening to in 2021!

BOOKS

To keep my numbers consistent with what I have listed on Goodreads, I count completed magazine issues as “books.” I read 12 books in January: 3 in print, 8.5 in e-book format, and .5 in audio format I started We Are Totally Normal in audio but finished it in e-book). They were:

1.       Lightspeed Magazine #128 (January 2021 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were Anjali Sachdeva’s “The Incorruptible World,” An Owomoyela’s “The Hard Spot in the Glacier,” Maria Dhavana Headley’s “The Orange Tree,” and P H Lee’s “Frost’s Boy.”

2.       By the Way, I Love You by Seth King. Cute New Year’s Day romance novella in which a college boy who has always thought he was straight falls for his out-and-effeminate new roommate. King gives the characters depth and personality.

3.       Lumberjanes Volume 16: Mind Over Mettle by Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh (writers), AnneMarie Rogers (artist), Maarta Laiho (colors), Aubrey Aiese (letters) and Sophie Philips-Roberts (Editor). Mal’s attempt to overcome her fear, which she thinks is a detriment to the other ‘Janes, lands her in dinosaur land again – but things have changed there, and the Janes must not only rescue their friend but all the dinosaurs. Another fun adventure with great character advancement for several of the main cast.

4.       The Christmas Accomplice by Hank Edwards. A gay holiday romance novella. Socially awkward geek Welton winds up on vacation at a ski resort after breaking up with his boyfriend, and immediately has an awkward meet-cute with resort employee Reece. Complications ensue (the arrival of the ex-boyfriend, nosy co-workers, and Reece’s challenges to earn a possible promotion) but there’s a HEA ending. The characters are endearing, the stumbling-blocks not insurmountable. Highly recommended.

5.       The Warrior’s Pilgrimage by Frank Schildiner. Schildiner takes on, in novella form, one of his favorite genres: the “sword and sandal” movies, and he nails it. His new take on the legend of Romulus and Remus focuses on the forgotten brother. FULL REVIEW HERE.

6.       The Final Decree by Jeffrey Ricker. All Bill Templeton wants is to marry his fiancée – but first he needs a divorce from Travis, the smuggler he left behind for a different life. To get it, Bill must travel to a city under siege by corporate armed forces. This is a really fun adventure story (light on the romance, although it underpins everything that happens) and I hope Ricker writes more novellas set in this universe with these characters.

7.       Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor. A girl with strange powers travels Ghana in search of explanations and the seed that gave her her abilities, while legends grow around her. Once again, Okorafor blends magic and science with strong characters to give us a fantastic novella. FULL REVIEW HERE.

8.       We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia. A YA novel about coming out and coming to understand yourself. The main character, Nandan, is highly confused about his attractions and spends a good portion of the book contradicting himself in terms of what he wants and what he believes. There are scenes in which he’s even pretty unlikeable and manipulative. His friends seem to understand him a lot better than he does. I started this one in audio form, but finished in e-book partially because I just wasn’t driving long distances enough to make progress with the book, and partially because I found the narrator’s character voices irritating/grating (as this is the only thing I’ve heard this particular narrator on, I can’t judge whether it’s the narrator overall or just these particular voices).

9.       Kill the Man by Steve Orlando and Philip Kennedy Johnson (writers), Al Morgan (art and colors), Jim Kennedy (letters), Mike Marts (editor). Up and coming Mixed Martial Arts star James Bellyi watched his father be killed in the ring by a contender who happened to be gay, so he keeps his own sexuality quiet – until he’s publicly outed by the current MMA champ. This is a story not just of coming out in a notoriously homophobic sport, but also of finding peace with your past. Fantastic character work is accompanied by Morgan’s moody detailed artwork, and the limited black-white-red color palette increases the sense of claustrophobia, of being “in your own head.” Content Warning for homophobic language and physical violence.

10.   Calculated Risks (InCryptid #10) by Seanan McGuire. McGuire’s latest entry in her InCryptid series picks up immediately where the cliffhanger ending of the previous installment, Imaginary Numbers, left off. I read an e-ARC obtained through NetGalley, so a full review is forthcoming.

11.   Defensive Play (a Boys on the Brink novella) by Jamie Deacon. I do seem to have developed an interest in gay sports romances over the past year or so. In this one, a closeted British teen who suffers from social anxiety and panic attacks but who is a fantastic soccer defenseman finally meets the boy of his dreams – a striker for a rival team who is very openly gay. I loved the way this one develops both characters (without bouncing POVs, as so many romances seem to) and doesn’t let the roadblocks to their happy-for-now ending linger. I also thought the author took a realistic view of modern high school social dynamics.

12.   Poisoning for Profit: The Mafia and Toxic Waste in America by Alan A Block and Frank R. Scarpitti. The first of my non-fiction To Be Read challenge titles has been sitting on my work bookshelf for a long time. It’s an interesting, if now somewhat outdated, look at the links between organized crime and the waste disposal industry as it developed in New York and New Jersey in the late 70s and early 80s. A bit dry and repetitive in places, but still a solid read.

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “The Incorruptible World” by Anjeli Sachdeva, from Lightspeed Magazine #128 (January 2021 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “The Hard Spot in the Glacier” by An Owomoyela

3.       “The Memory Plague” by D. Thomas Minton

4.       “On the Fringes of the Fractal” by Greg Van Eekhout

5.       “The Orange Tree” by Maria Dhavana Headley

6.       “Answering the Questions You May Have About the Kharbat” by Adam-Troy Castro

7.       “The Mushroom Queen” by Elizabeth Zienska

8.       “Frost’s Boy” by P H Lee

9.       “Things to Bring, Things to Burn, Things Best Left Behind” by C.G. McGill, from Fantasy Magazine #63 (January 2021), edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg

10.   “Incense” by Megan Chee

11.   “10 Steps to a Whole New You” by Tonya Liburd

12.   “The Billionaire Shapeshifters’ Ex-Wives Club” by Kristiana Willsey

13.    “What You Build” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.

14.   “Let All the Children Boogie” by Sam J. Miller, from Tor.com, edited by Jonathan Strahan

15.   “A Fairy Tale for the Little Acorn” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, on the author’s website

16.   “Goal Invariances Under Radical Self-Modification” by Julie Nováková from Future Science Fiction Digest #6 (March 2020), edited by Alex Schvartsman

17.   “Our Lady of the Golems” by Irene Punti

18.   “Vic From Planet Earth” by Yevgeny Lukin (translated by Mike Olivson)

19.   “Sankofa” by Nnedi Okorafor, from Decision Points, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt

20.   “The Van Etten House” by Carrie Laben, from The Dark #68 (January 2021), edited by Sean Wallace

21.   “Love for Ashes” by Frances Ogamba

22.   “There, in the Woods” by Clara Madrigano

23.   “Each Night an Adaptation” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu

24.   “Singing the Comic-Con Blues” by Seanan McGuire, novella included in the paperback of her InCryptid novel Calculated Risks

25.   “Wild Geese” by Lavie Tidhar, from F&SF January/February 2021, edited by C.C. Finlay

26.   “How to Break into a Hotel Room” by Stephen Graham Jones, from Nightmare Magazine #100, edited by John Joseph Adams and Wendy N. Wagner.

So that’s 26 short stories in January. A bit less than “1 per day.” (January 31st was, of course, the 31st day of 2021.)

Summary of Reading Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 1 of 24 main titles read. (0 of 4 alternate titles read)

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  26 read; YTD: 26 of 365 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 2 read; YTD: 2 of 52 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 12 read; YTD: 12 of 125 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 1 of 24 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 0 book read; YTD: 0 of 14 read.

                                                          Series fully completed: 0 of 4 planned

Monthly Special Challenge:  I didn’t set a specific “mini challenge” for January, other than to work on staying on track or getting ahead on the yearly challenges. I didn’t really get ahead on any, but at least I made partial progress on the graphic novel challenge (Kill the Man and Lumberjanes Volume 16), the non-fiction challenge (Poisoning for Profit), the “To Be Read” Challenge (Poisoning for Profit), and the 365 Short Stories and Goodreads Challenges. No progress on the Read/Watch or Complete the Series Challenges this time out.

February is Black History Month and Women in Horror Month, so my challenge, as usual, is to read as many Black authors as I can and as many women horror writers as I can, and hopefully a few who overlap.

Book Review: The Warrior's Pilgrimage

TITLE: The Warrior’s Pilgrimage (The Adventures of Remus, Book 1)

AUTHOR: Frank Schildiner

103 pages, Frank Schildiner (publisher), ASIN B08RZDG9K6 (Kindle, print release forthcoming)

DESCRIPTION: (from Goodreads): In the days before the rise of Rome, two mighty champions of mankind appeared among the ancient tribes of Latinium. Their names: Romulus and Remus. Only half of their story remains. The true tale of the forgotten twin, Remus, is one of power, slavery, horror, and heroism. Remus shall battle warriors, horrors from the days of ancient myths, and a giant from the mysterious lands of the East. THE WARRIOR'S PILGRIMAGE tells the first story of Remus, the lost brother of King Romulus of Rome. All profits from this book shall St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the treatment of pediatric cancer.

MY RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

MY THOUGHTS: Frank Schildiner’s love of the sword-and-sandal genre is clearly on display in the first book of this planned series focusing on the exploits of Remus, the oft-forgotten twin brother of the founder of Rome. Schildiner has crafted a loving tribute to the Italian Peplum film genre of the 1950s and 1960s (personified by Steve Reeves), the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion fantasy films of the 1970s and 1980s, and the Roman mythology upon which those films were based.

As a novella, this “origin” story for Schildiner’s version of Remus is action-packed, moving from one fight to another, from one minor menace to another, with the speed of the movies it is emulating. The fight scenes are wonderfully written and varied in length and in adversaries. But the book isn’t all fights. There is plenty of time for Remus to be introspective, questioning why his personality and goals differ so from his older twin and what his role in the world is if not to be co-ruler of a new nation.

Remus is guided on his path, in the very best Harryhausen tradition, by representatives of the gods – in this case primarily priestesses of Athena and Hecate. The priestesses have abilities granted to them by their patrons but are also constrained in what they can accomplish themselves, which is where Remus comes in. And of course, there’s always the question of whether the priestesses’ agendas match what their patron deities want.

The classic elements of the Romulus and Remus myth are all here: a pre-birth prophecy about their greatness sentences them to death by abandonment. They are rescued by a shepherd, raised unaware of their regal origins. Remus is taken as a prisoner by the local king the brothers are destined to overthrow, is rescued by his brother, and then the brothers fight, and Remus is killed.

But Schildiner tweaks the classic elements to fit the type of story he’s telling. Instead of being suckled by a she-wolf before being rescued and raised by shepherds, the twins are rescued quickly and adopted by a human community separated into animal clans that include wolves and horses. Romulus and Remus are trained in different philosophies within the same community, leading to Remus being more peaceful and thoughtful (but not a pacifist) and Romulus being more confrontational and emotional. It’s no surprise that their differing personalities, along with the prompting of gods and adopted parents, lead to a parting of the ways.

Schildiner spends a fair amount of time showing us Remus’ gladiatorial enslavement before confronting the biggest problem with making Remus the hero of his own story. The classic Romulus and Remus myth usually ends with the brothers disagreeing about how Rome will be ruled and Romulus killing (in some cases, “sacrificing”) his brother for the good of the Empire (or just because he’s an egotistical, controlling ass). Schildiner’s inventive twist on this moment occurs about halfway through the novella, allowing his Remus to continue beyond the traditional myth and hopefully have many more adventures through the growing Latin world and beyond.

During his enslavement, Remus is trained by a group of women warriors with ties to the Amazons of legend. They sadly disappear from the story once Romulus rescues Remus from the arena. I really hope we’ll see them again and learn more of their history in future installments. Or maybe they’ll get a novella or two of their own. The priestesses are equally intriguing, their agendas pushing Remus towards being something greater than he could have imagined.

Through the priestesses, Schildiner makes it clear that while Remus has the potential to be a force for good in the world, there’s no whiff of Destiny to be smelled. Schildiner neatly challenges the “chosen one” trope: Remus isn’t the only tool in the gods’ arsenal, and if he falls there will be someone else to do what needs to be done to judge the world towards safety and away from chaos. It’s a refreshing twist on an over-used trope.

Schildiner’s Remus combines the larger-than-life physicality of Peplum-era Hercules, Maciste, Ursus, and Goliath, with the thoughtful leadership of Harryhausen’s Jason, Perseus, and Sinbad. His supporting cast of strong women and comical sidekicks, series of brutish controlling antagonists, and intermittently involved gods enhance the story.

In short, A Warrior’s Pilgrimage is a great start to a hopefully long series of adventures set in the classical world, perfect for lovers of Roman mythology, Peplum or Harryhausen movies, or solid adventure tales with supernatural elements.

Book Review: Remote Control

TITLE: Remote Control

AUTHOR: Nnedi Okorafor

160 pages, TorDotCom, ISBN 9781250772800 (hardcover, also available in e-book and audiobook)

DESCRIPTION: (from the back cover): “She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own.” The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From here on in she would be known as Sankofa­­―a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks―alone, except for her fox companion―searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: I remember reading Nnedi Okorafor’s short story “Sankofa” in the anthology Decision Points (edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt) several years ago. I immediately wanted to know more about the title character, intrigued by her mysterious background, her ability to kill seemingly with a thought and how she chose to use/not use that power. I particularly loved the way Okorafor kept the reader wondering through most of the story as to how the legend of Sankofa (“adopted daughter of Death”) matched her truth.

I am happy to say that Okorafor’s new novella Remote Control expands the original short story in ways that answer most of my questions without sacrificing that intricate dance between the main character’s legend and her reality, all while introducing new questions about Sankofa’s origin, her abilities, and the near-future world she lives in.

The future Ghana of this novella is distant enough from our own that technology has made some advances (“jelli-tellies” that can be stretched to fit the available space on a wall, and which sound a bit more environmentally friendly than even our current flat-screens; robotic “cops” that control traffic at dangerous intersections) but not so far distant as to render the world unrecognizable. The advance tech is not the focus of the novel but is more than just window-dressing. It’s different enough to lend the book an undercurrent of “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” People still queue up outside electronics stores when they hear the latest items are due to arrive (although in this future, the line-up is due as much to the odds that new electronics shipments will be intercepted by roving pirates as it is to excitement about a new product), and people still place status on belongings (cars, paintings).

And people still “other” what they don’t understand. Sankofa, the girl who can kill living beings with a thought and technology with a touch, is subject to side-eye glances, gestures against the evil eye, and occasionally more violent reactions. In the first chapter, she has a gun fired at her; later, she is punched and kicked and run out of town by an angry mob. People (with a few exceptions) grudgingly accept the legend that has grown up around her – but they’d still rather not encounter her at all. Interestingly, the characters who attack her physically are almost all riled up because of the effect she has on the technology they rely on. In this near future, superstition and othering are still palpable forces as much as mob mentality and the “me first” mindset. Before this starts to sound too dismal, I should mention that not everyone Sankofa encounters is afraid of her or angry at her. There are kindly shopkeepers, farmers, and an Imam’s wife who all either accept Sankofa without question or who try to understand her role and want to help her out of her predicament.

Sankofa herself is unsure of why she has the abilities she has and what she’s meant to do, other than that it all started with a seed that fell from the sky and which has since been stolen from her. The personal history she has partially forgotten (including her birth name) is imparted to the reader in early chapters. We get to see the seed from which her power and her legend grew and the tragedy that drove her to partial amnesia and a nomadic lifestyle. She is dependent on the power of her legend to entice people to feed her, clothe her, and provide her with reading material, but she never abuses those who provide her what she needs. In the first chapter, realizing she needs food and new clothes, Sankofa bypasses the poorer houses of the village she is passing through and goes directly to the richest house in the neighborhood. And even then, she asks only for a good meal, her favorite drink (orange Fanta, room temperature), and a new set of clothes in her people’s native style. Sated and clothed, she leaves without doing anyone any harm. Sankofa also doesn’t abuse her actual power, other than killing mosquitoes who get too close. She only kills when someone who is terminally ill asks her to do so, or when it’s in self-defense (and even then, notably, she tries not to kill if she can avoid it). In other hands, this power could have been used to gain more power or control over a town or a region or more. Instead, it is somehow in the hands of a young woman who just wants to locate the lost seed that calls to her across great distances. She’s lonely and she’s tired of traveling. She loves animals, tries to see the best in people. She wants peace and privacy and a return to normalcy. They get denied to her at almost every turn, but she never loses hope that someday she’ll understand everything and have a quiet life.

Remote Control is a wonderful new entry under the “Afrofuturism” genre umbrella, science fiction fully immersed in African society, tradition, and history. I have no idea if Okorafor plans to continue Sankofa’s story. This novella has a satisfying ending that brings things full circle, but there are some questions I think are still lingering that could drive further stories.

Book Review: ACROSS THE GREEN GRASS FIELDS

TITLE: Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children, Book Six)

AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire

176 pages, TorDotCom, ISBN 9781250213594 (hardcover), also available in e-book and audiobook.

DESCRIPTION: (from Goodreads): “Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”

Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to "Be Sure" before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…

MY RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

MY THOUGHTS: For those unfamiliar with Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series, a little background: the students at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children have all been through their own portals to strange fantasy realms and have returned to the world of their birth changed and unable to fit back into “normal” society. The books in the series alternate between “present day” adventures set at (or at least, starting at) the school and stand-alone portal fantasies. This latest volume is a portal fantasy installment (as are all the even numbered titles) and as such can be read independently of the rest of the series. Across the Green Grass Fields has been described as an excellent “jumping on” place for new readers, because unlike the previous portal fantasy installments (Down Among the Sticks and Bones and In an Absent Dream) this book introduces a whole new character not yet seen in the “present day” installments (Every Heart a Doorway; Beneath the Sugar Sky; Come Tumbling Down). Across the Green Grass Fields gives readers new to the series a chance to get a feel for what McGuire is doing without having to worry about how the events connect to characters and settings we’ve already met.

The setting for this installment is the Hooflands, a fantasy world full of every equine and part-equine creature from legend and mythology, whether terrestrial, arboreal, or aquatic: centaurs, unicorns, satyrs, minotaurs, perytons, kelpies, and more. If it has hooves, it exists in the Hooflands – except for the mundane horses, donkeys, cows, and goats we know. Long time fans of Seanan McGuire were not surprised that she created a fantasy world based around magical horses, given her life-long love of My Little Pony, but the Hooflands are no simple MLP pastiche. McGuire has filled this world with all the hierarchies, prejudices, misunderstandings and unfairnesses that exist in our non-magical, non-fantasy human world. These issues are not evident when Regan first arrives in the Hooflands but reveal themselves slowly first through conversations and asides and then through Regan’s encounters with the species she’s been told are dangerous. I loved the way this portal world mirrors our own in a more direct way than the other worlds we’ve encountered so far. Those other portal worlds have been populated with creatures more human in appearance, but the denizens of the Hooflands are more like us in emotion and action. In some ways, the society of the Hooflands might the most fully explained of the portal worlds we’ve visited. (This in no way means I don’t want Seanan to revisit the Hooflands in future volumes – there’s still plenty of world to explore, especially regarding what may have happened after the end of this book.)

The cast of the Wayward Children books is one of the most diverse you’re likely to find anywhere, because McGuire knows how much representation matters. For LGBTQ kids and non-white kids, seeing themselves having the types of adventures usually populated with straight white kids (looking at you, Pevensies, Gales, Darlings, and you lot) is empowering. Our new addition to the cast, Regan, gives another marginalized population a chance at the spotlight: intersex kids. Regan’s journey to the Hooflands starts when she begins questioning her parents about why she’s not growing and hitting puberty at the same rate as her female classmates. Being a girl, being the “right kind” of girl to stay in her best friend’s good graces, has been important to Regan for as long as she can remember. Finding out she is intersex is hard, even with parents who have been prepared to have this conversation for a long time and know exactly what they think they should say. But the reaction of the best friend sets her directly on the path through the door to the Hooflands, and thus puts Regan’s sense of self at the center of the story. That scene is not easy for anyone with a shred of compassion to read; it had me in angry/upset tears that made me put the book down to regain composure. But it’s also a necessary scene. Because kids can be cruel to anyone who is even slightly different, and because it sets Regan not only on the physical path to the Hooflands but also on the emotional path to being more empathic when she encounters others who are mistreated because they are perceived to be different. And that makes all the difference in the way the story plays out.

Some portal stories are simple adventures, and some come with the burden of Destiny (or, at least, Perceived Destiny). The Hooflands has traditions about what it means for a Human to arrive and what is expected of them. McGuire dissects and re-stitches the “destined one” trope beautifully, looking at it not just from Regan’s point-of-view but also from her adopted centaur family and some of the other species as well. I really, really don’t want to spoil the best part of this subversion, but I have to say that it was both unexpected and inevitable and I may have gasped out loud when the big reveal happened.

I am looking forward to learning how Regan arrives at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children, and what effect she will have on the kids we’ve come to know and care about from previous installments. And like all the kids at the school, I find myself hoping that somehow, Regan’s door to the Hooflands will open for her again someday. Because we all deserve to live where we’re happiest and where we can be our authentic selves.

Reading Round-Up: December 2020

The final monthly summaries of what I’ve been reading and listening to for 2020!

BOOKS

To keep my numbers consistent with what I have listed on Goodreads, I count completed magazine issues as “books.” I read or listened to 24 books in December: 17 in print, 6 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       Lightspeed Magazine #127 (December 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were Andrew Dana Hudson and C.Y. Ballard’s “Your Mind Is the Superfund Site,” Jennifer Marie Brissett’s “The Executioner,” Maurice Broaddus’s “Ah Been Buked,” and P H Lee’s “Ann-of-Rags.”

2.       State v. Claus by P. Jo Anne Burgh. Connecticut lawyer Meg Riley finds herself defending a man accused of Christmas Eve home invasion, who claims to be the son of Santa Claus. Romance with a HFN ending combined with courtroom drama and a look at how the Claus operation really works = a magical story. FULL REVIEW HERE.

3.       Handmade Holidays by ‘Nathan Burgoine. A gay holiday “missed cues” romance novella. Nick builds new holidays traditions around his LGBTQ found family when his birth family disowns him and finds love along the way. FULL REVIEW HERE.

4.       Faux Ho Ho by ‘Nathan Burgoine. A gay holiday “fake boyfriend” romance novella. Openly gay Silas will do just about anything to avoid spending time with his rich Conservative family, including pretending his platonic roommate is his boyfriend – until they get invited as a couple to Silas’ sister’s wedding. Told in alternating past/present chapters that show the growth of Silas and Dino’s friendship/relationship. FULL REVIEW HERE.

5.       Dracula, Motherf*cker by Alex DeCampi, Erica Henderson. Dracula rises again in 1974 Los Angeles, and crime scene photographer Quincy Harker is caught in the middle of a battle between the vampire lord and his three brides. A quite different take on the nature of Dracula, the stylistic art and dark coloring make a good story that much better.

6.       The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Read by Jennifer Saunders. The halls of Penlyon Place have been absent the sounds of children since the Lord of the manor’s daughters died/were disowned by him (respectively). A family friend and the old man’s niece suggest hiring some children to make the most of the season, but there’s clearly more going on. A beautiful story narrated wonderfully by the great Jennifer Saunders.

7.       Love Beneath the Christmas Tree by Jae. A lesbian holiday novella. Three short stories over the span of three Christmases tell the story of the growth of a relationship between a mall cop and a fast-food worker, and the boy who brings them together.

8.       Rear Admiral by ‘Nathan Burgoine. A gay erotic/romance novella. After finding out he’s going to meet a former porn star at a mutual friends’ wine-tasting, Russ decides to challenge himself to use the exceptionally large sex toy the man modelled for. What follows is an awkward meet-cute, sweet romance, and some extremely hot sex.

9.       Superman Vs. Wonder Woman by Gerry Conway, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Dan Adkins, Gaspar Saladino, Jerry Serpe and Joe Orlando. Hardcover reprint of a 1970’s DC Comics “treasury edition.” One of my childhood favorites. FULL REVIEW HERE.

10.   Bad Blood: A Life Without Consequence by David B. Roundsley. The author details his search for the truth about his birth parents, which leads to learning just how bad a man his birth father was. FULL REVIEW HERE.

11.   No Longer at Ease (The Africa Trilogy #3) by Chinua Achebe. Achebe’s trilogy about societal change in Nigeria comes to a close with a story about a good man who slowly gets overwhelmed and goes wrong. A stunningly told story, and perhaps my favorite book in the trilogy. I should be writing a Complete the Series post about The Africa Trilogy soon.

12.   The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. The author’s graphic novel memoir about growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, including several years out of the country as a student. An engrossing story.

13.   Lumberjanes: Campfire Songs edited by Jeanine Schaefer and Sophie Phillips-Roberts. Another graphic novel collection of one-shot Lumberjanes tales published outside of the main run. I enjoyed all 5 of the stories herein, but my favorites were probably Seanan McGuire and Alexa Bosy’s “Somewhere That’s Green” and Nicole Adelfinger and Maddi Gonzalez’ “A Midsummer Night’s Scheme.”

14.   A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. My annual “one chapter per night until Christmas Day” reread in the paperback edition I have signed by Dickens’ great-great-grandson was accompanied by listening to the audiobook narrated by Tim Curry for the first time. I enjoyed Curry’s slightly more downbeat narration (compared to the infectiously enthusiastic narration of Tom Baker that I listened to last year and also enjoyed).

15.   Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. I’m glad that I have finally read this icon of 1970s gay literature, about the residents of a boarding house at 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco. A great look at the various strata of society in SF in that era, and very soap-opera-ish in intensity.

16.   Excalibur (2019-) Volume 1 by Tini Howard, Marcus To, and others. A new version of the UK-based Marvel mutant super-team accompanies the new Captain Britain on a quest to Otherworld, with mixed success. This is the only current X-Title I read in monthly format, and it’s very rocky. I think the overall story in this and the following volume suffer from having to tie so intricately into the overall X-Men storyline. (And it still bothers me that a title named after King Arthur’s sword features only one British character in a lead role and one in a supporting role. But that bothered me about the classic line-up as well.)

17.   Once & Future Volume 1: The King is Undead by Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora, and others. Possibly my favorite new monthly comic of the past year-ish. Duncan, a nice guy but awkward, has a date interrupted and he and his possibly-girlfriend become embroiled in Duncan’s grandmother’s “family business.” Which turns out to be fighting legends and stories so they don’t overwhelm the modern world – including the return of a maniacal King Arthur. I’m not normally a fan of stories where Arthur is the bad guy, but this one really works for me as a treatise on the nature of stories and storytelling.

18.   Legion of Super-Heroes (2019-) Volume 1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ryan Sook, and others. Bendis and Sook’s revival of the classic futuristic super-tea gets off to a needlessly crowded, complicated and slow-moving start, but by the end of this volume there’s at least a sense of where the creators intend to go.

19.   Once & Future Volume 2: Old English by Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora, and others. Already dealing with family betrayals and Arthur’s attempts to cross into the modern world and rid England of all non-Brits, Duncan and Co must face off against a revived Beowulf. And where Beowulf is, you know Grendel and his mother can’t be far behind. Volume 2 delivers on the promise of the first volume and continues to expand/build the world Duncan and his team operate in.

20.   Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6) by Seanan McGuire. The sixth Wayward Children volume is another past-times portal fantasy, and the first in which we meet a child we haven’t seen in the present-day School volumes (the odd-numbered entries). Regan, an intersex child, goes through a portal to the Hooflands, where every hoofed legendary species co-exists (but not peacefully). Full Review to Come.

21.   Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World Book 1) by Rebecca Roanhorse. Roanhorse’s post-apocalyptic Navajo nation series gets off to a bang with monster hunter Maggie Hoskie reeling from abandonment by her mentor and thrust into fighting a new type of monster alongside the charismatic grandson of a friend. I found Roanhorse’s portrayal of Maggie’s post-traumatic stress particularly affecting, wound within a full-on adventure tale with plenty of twists.

22.   Excalibur (2019-) Volume 2 by Trini Howard, Marcus To, and others. I basically have the same complaints about this volume as the first: interestingly story and character moments are interrupted for the latest X-book line-wide crossover. But I will say I particularly like the way Howard portrays the dynamic among the Braddock siblings, and the development of Rictor’s connection to the Earth and Druids.

23.   A Diet of Treacle by Lawrence Block. A classic noir in which a “good” girl from uptown becomes involved with a troubled war vet and his drug-dealing roommate in Greenwich Village. Block’s knack for fast-paced narrative and quippy dialogue is on full display. Anita and Joe are characters you want to root for as much as you want to shake them and say “wake up and get yourself out of this before things go bad…” which of course they do. The first half of the book is an interestingly look at a certain early-60s lifestyle, while the second half is a bloody crime spree. Both parts work well together.

24.   Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Another classic SF novella I should have read long since. The setting is a dystopian future where no one is allowed to live past the age of 21. If you don’t turn yourself into to be put to Sleep (killed), you get hunted by Sandmen. Logan-3 is one such Sandman, who gets clues towards the Sanctuary people who run from Sleep are trying to reach. But what will he do as he gets closer to finding it? This one will be the subject of an upcoming Page to Screen post.

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 366 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this year (366 because it’s a Leap Year). Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “Your Mind Is the Superfund Site” by Andrew Dana Hudson and C.Y. Ballard, from Lightspeed Magazine #127 (December 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “The Executioner” by Jennifer Marie Brissett

3.       “Party Time!” by Ben H. Winters

4.       “The Woman Who Destroyed Us” by S.L. Huang

5.       “Ah Been Buked” by Maurice Broaddus

6.       “The Salt Warrior” by Kali Wallace

7.       “An Account of the Land of Witches” by Sofia Samatar

8.       “Ann-of-Rags” by P H Lee

9.       “An Indefinite Number of Birds” by Kurt Hunt, from Fantasy Magazine #62 (December 2020), edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg

10.   “If These Walls Whispered What Would We Hear?” by Aynjel Kaye

11.   “Umami” by Aya Ow

12.   “Tiny House Living” by Kristiana Willsey

13.    “Our Trial Patience” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.

14.   “The Ones Who Got Away” by Stephen Graham Jones from Nightmare Magazine #99 (December 2020), edited by Wendy N. Wagner

15.   “The Doors of Penlyon” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from the author’s website

16.   “A Day (or Two) Ago” by ‘Nathan Burgoine

17.   “The Good People” by Jim Butcher, from the author’s website

So that’s 17 short stories in December. Once again, a bit less than “1 per day.” But I finished the year ahead of where I should be. (December 31st was the 366th day of 2020.)

Summary of Reading Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 4 read; YTD: 11 of 12 read. (No alternates read)

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  17 read; YTD: 374 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 9 read; YTD: 37 of 52 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 24 read; YTD: 154 of 125 read. (CHALLENGE ACCOMPLISHED!)

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 2 read; YTD: 12 of 24 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 2 read/watched.

Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 1 book read; YTD: 9 of 16 read.

                                                          Series fully completed: 2 of 4 planned

Monthly Special Challenge:  December’s mini challenge was Christmas/Winter Holiday tales, naturally, with a secondary goal of completing one or two of the year’s Challenges (motivated by finishing one of the Complete the Series Challenges, the Philip Marlowe books). On the Christmas/Winter Challenge, I did decently, with 6 holiday books and 3 independent holiday short stories (two by ‘Nathan Burgoine, one by Jim Butcher). On the “Complete a Challenge” front, I managed to complete The Africa Trilogy, which marked one more “complete the series” series off the list, and I got darn close to finishing the TBR Challenge!

The full annual review of what I read and watched in 2020 be up sometime this week!

Sunday Shorts: Two Fairy Tales by P H Lee

I love short fiction, and Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it. Posts will range from flash to novellas. At some point, I might delve into individual stories/episodes of anthology formats in other media, like television and comics, but for the time being, I’m sticking to prose in print and audio.

Author P H Lee has begun an intriguing series of “secondary world fairy tales” under the umbrella title of Tales from the Great Sweet Sea. I have no idea how many of these Lee is intending to write, but the two that have appeared so far (in the December 2020 and January 2021 issues of Lightspeed) have captured my interest and have me yearning for more. Mostly because these two stories are just that good, but also partly because I want to learn more about this secondary world the stories and their framing device are set in.

The narrator of both tales is a traveling storyteller named Dusty Boots, who hails from the valley of Erwhile and who is in love with a girl they can never have. In introducing each tale, Dusty Boots tells us that in the tale-spinners’ guild, half of the tale-spinner are pledged to never tell the truth and the other half to never tell a lie … and that Dusty Boots is one of those sworn to the Truth. So, each of these fairy tales he tells must be the truth, right?

One of the things I loved about both stories was the way Dusty Boots has of including other versions of the story, or other possible outcomes that follow the story, without breaking the vow to tell only the Truth. While Dusty Boots is not a participant in the stories they tell, they are also not complete cyphers. Bits and pieces of their history and personality filter through. And one wonders if, somewhere down the line, we’ll learn more about how and Dusty Boots became a tale-spinner (and why they swore to the Truth and not Lies).

“Ann-of-Rags” appeared in the December 2020 Lightspeed and is a reworking in part of Hansel and Gretel, with a few other tales filtered in in part. (And for this reader, at least, the name of the titular doll conjured images of Raggedy Ann, adding another layer to the story.) In “Ann-of-Rags,” a young girl wanders into the woods and gets lost. As night falls and goes on, her doll Ann offers several solutions to their predicament, encouraging the girl to follow the doll’s animal friends out of the woods. But to a young child, wild animals are scary, and so she refuses their help but accepts the help of an elderly woman wandering the woods at night because she looks kindly. One of the classic morals of fairy tales (especially “Hansel and Gretel”) is that appearances are often deceiving, and Lee illustrates that so well in this story. But that’s not all the story is about. Once in Bone Grandmother’s clutches, the story takes an even darker turn and started to remind me a little bit of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree: to get the young girl to safety, Ann-of-Rags offers to sacrifice more and more of herself. Thus, the story is also a heart-breaking look at how children don’t always realize, or even remember, the sacrifices loved ones are willing to make on their behalf. I don’t want to spoil the end of the story for anyone who might venture over to Lightspeed to read it (Here’s the Direct Link to the story), but I will say that it brought tears to my eyes.

“Frost’s Boy” is already available if you subscribe to the e-book edition of Lightspeed Magazine and have received the January 2021 issue. If you don’t subscribe, the story will be live on the Lightspeed website on January 28th. Dusty Boots is back to tell us another story, this one combining aspects of many “child left for dead in the woods gets adopted by someone else” tales. Except in this case, the adopting parent isn’t a human woodsman or lonely couple but rather a personification of a seasonal attribute: Frost itself. Naturally, the child grows up cold, controlling, basically heartless. Parts of this story may not be an easy read for some folks as the titular character is essentially a serial killer preying on young women – young women especially who have heard the legends and know they should just run away but somehow believe they will be the one to break the string and thaw Frost Boy’s heart. Eventually we are introduced to the girl who may very well succeed, with the help of her parents. Frost’s Boy reminds me a bit of Rumpelstiltskin: selfish, egotistical, and manipulative, a being who thinks he is so far beyond the mortals he’s dealing with that there’s no way they can get the better of him. And like the farmer’s daughter in Rumple’s tale, the farmer’s daughter in “Frost’s Boy” is the person we really end up rooting for. In a neat bit of subversion to the standard tale, we don’t meet Frost Boy’s farm girl until halfway through the story, where in so many other tales we meet the girl first. Again, I don’t want to ruin anything about the way the story plays out, but I can say that second half of the story is suspenseful in the way of fairy tales (using repeated phrases by the characters and by the talespinner, Dusty Boots) and I was satisfied with the way the whole thing ends.

Linking the tales together is a mention of Bone Grandmother, who here seems a bit more like a personification than the actual person we saw in “Ann-of-Rags.” I found this to be really effective in reminding us that these tales have been told and retold in this secondary world we are learning about, and that Dusty Boots’ versions are the True Versions insofar as the talespinner believes they are.

I’m really looking forward to reading more of these fairy tales by P H Lee, and I highly recommend seeking these two out via Lightspeed as soon as possible.

Book Review: Up from the Bottomless Pit

TITLE: Up from The Bottomless Pit

AUTHOR: Philip José Farmer

251 pages, Meteor House Press, ISBN 9781945427176 (paperback)

DESCRIPTION: (from the back cover): Philip José Farmer’s Up from the Bottomless Pit, originally written in the late 1970s with the working title The Dragon’s Breath, is a near-mainstream novel about the ultimate ecological nightmare. Set in an alternate/near future 1970s, Up from the Bottomless Pit tells of a world so ravenous in its desire for oil that it has thrown caution to the wind. Using an experimental deep-water laser drill off the California coast, humankind burns a hole through the ocean floor only to unleash a deadly torrent that initially threatens the greater Los Angeles area, but quickly escalates to a catastrophe of worldwide proportions with the potential to wipe out all life on the planet. Published for the first time in an affordable standalone edition, Up from the Bottomless Pit does an amazing job predicting both the government’s and citizens’ reactions to large-scale crises such as Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Strap in for an edge-of-your-seat adventure.

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5.

MY THOUGHTS: The back-cover text does not lie when it calls this book an edge-of-your-seat adventure. Had it been published in the 1970s, I can easily imagine it being filmed by Irwin Allen with an “all-star cast.” If it were to be filmed now, the lead character, James Cable, would likely be portrayed by Dwayne Johnson. It has everything such a movie needs: massive fires, riots, lots of gunshots.

But to describe Up from the Bottomless Pit as just an edge-of-your-seat adventure is to undercut the real marvel of the novel: that in the 1970s, Philip José Farmer didn’t just write a disaster novel but rather a novel which uses that disaster to comment on social strata, disaster relief, corporate greed, government overreach, and religious fanaticism. I would like to hope any movie adaptation would retain these headier, more introspective qualities. (But let’s be honest, I’d probably be wrong.)

James Cable is the project lead for a cutting-edge new oil drill that uses lasers and therefore can cut through the rock under the seabed faster: saving money for his employers, Cal-Pax, and getting oil to the masses faster. Just before the novel opens, there’s been an earthquake near the drill site that resulted in cracks releasing oil into the ocean. Cable’s team has capably stoppered those cracks, and the drilling continues. Cable, as much as he hates it, has been tasked with bringing a news crew out to the platform for a feature about the new technology and how safe it is.

Of course, just before they arrive, there’s a breach, followed by a massive gusher and the platform going up in flames. There are equal odds the disaster was an accident or that there was sabotage by a religious group called The Soldiers of Jehovah. Cable and the news crew make it back to Los Angeles, where Cable’s job becomes stopping the largest-ever on-going oil spill from decimating the Pacific Ocean. That task is complicated by government officials who want someone to blame, corporate over-seers who are upset at the bad PR and loss of money, and the Soldiers of Jehovah who know a chance to foment religious rebellion when they see one. With each bad decision by the government and corporate, with each new attack by the Soldiers of Jehovah, the stakes get higher and the odds for survival slimmer.

It’s no surprise that Farmer expertly drives those stakes, and the tension, up by alternating massive disaster scenes with quieter moments. In the middle of a veritable riot in downtown LA, with people climbing over cars and other people to get to safety, Cable stops to help an injured old man. But by the time Cable gets the water the man needs the man has died. It’s a small moment, almost blink-and-you-miss-it, but it drives home the human cost of this mass exodus in a way the crowd scenes almost can’t. There are several moments like this in the center of the book that took my breath away; I could feel the noise of the riot fall away, could feel the space between breaths while Cable debates who to help and who he needs to be to survive.

Since the story is told through a tight POV on Cable, it’s a good thing he’s a complex character. He disdains his needy ex-wife, misses his estranged daughter, genuinely seems to like the challenges of his job. He’s willing to make hard decisions but isn’t a total heartless bastard (see the old man above, and several such moments, including a real heartbreaking one towards the end of the mass exodus, which is not the end of the novel). He’s also prone to judgement and doesn’t set aside his formed opinions of people easily, which sets up several bad decisions but also a couple of good ones. And of course, because this is a 1970s disaster novel after all, he falls in love with the intrepid reporter tasked initially with interviewing him and later with documenting everything he does to try to stop the worsening spill and its aftermath. (This is about the only real “trope-y” moment in the novel, and I think Farmer can be forgiven for it; thanks to novels like The Lovers and A Feast Unknown, he was almost expected to include a sex scene in every book he wrote, and romance on top of that.)

That tight POV means that we don’t get as deep a look into the motivations and actions of The Soldiers of Jehovah or the various government officials calling the shots. This allows for some surprises in the narrative. I find it amazingly prescient that Farmer predicted the rise of not just a Christian religious fanaticism within the United States, but also a well-organized and armed such group. I felt the echoes of today’s “local militias” in the moments where we encounter members of the Soldiers, and where we see the fruits of their labors. Cable spends more of his time in the company of the greedy upper management of Cal-Pax and the government “liaisons” telling him what to do and watching every move he and his team make. Again, in a bit of incredible foresight Farmer gives us a roadmap for how a government could restrict civil liberties and do away with normal rule-of-law under the guise of responding to a national disaster. In the 70s, audiences might have called this aspect of the novel far-fetched, but is it really?

Also in typical Farmer style, the author doesn’t tie everything up in a neat “happy ever after, the world is saved!” bow. There’s a “we’re safe for now” type of ending, but lots of work for the characters to do. The Soldiers of Jehovah are not totally routed; the government overreach isn’t immediately scaled back. I’m not going to spoil exactly how the characters who survive get to where they are at book’s end, but I felt like I needed to warn readers who don’t like loose ends that there are some. And that I’m sure Farmer did this totally on purpose.

I could probably write several essays on this book, but this review is getting lengthy. So: tl;dr: Up from the Bottomless Pit is indeed action-packed, and massively thought-provoking. One wonders what Phil Farmer would be saying if he were still here to see how truly he forecast the world we’re living in now.

Book Review: State v. Claus

TITLE: State v. Claus

AUTHOR: P. Jo Anne Burgh

380 pages, Tuxedo Cat Press, ISBN 9781735715704 (paperback, e-book)

DESCRIPTION: (from the back cover): As a partner in a small Connecticut law firm, Meg Riley assesses her clients’ cases based on logic, reason, and hard evidence. But Meg’s rational approach is tested when she is appointed to represent an attractive man who was arrested Christmas Eve for criminal trespass. His explanation for being in a stranger’s house in the middle of the night? He was delivering presents to a little boy – because he, Ralph Claus, is the son of Santa Claus. Or so he claims. From the courtroom to Santa’s workshop and back again, Meg’s efforts to win Ralph’s case are complicated by a variety of people with competing agendas. The little boy’s mother is determined to see Ralph convicted; a quest supported by a state senator who is running for Governor. Ralph’s mother is more concerned about protecting the secrets of Santa than the niceties of the legal system. Meg’s law partners are becoming concerned about her ability to balance Ralph’s case with her obligations to bigger clients – and they don’t even know about Meg’s romantic feelings for Ralph. After trial, an unexpected bombshell jeopardizes Meg’s career. Faced with the potential loss of both Ralph and her profession, Meg must decide once and for all what she truly believes – and what she is willing to sacrifice for that belief.

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: P. Jo Anne Burgh has woven a truly delightful Christmas romance (with a little bit of physical sizzle as well) out of her own familiarity with the legal system and the question of Santa Claus’ seeming immortality. This is a fun read (that I can easily see as a television movie – Netflix, are you listening?) that I hope will make it onto holiday-romance fans’ radar.

The main characters, Meg and Ralph, are endearing and frustrating in equal measure. I paused several times to say out loud (to the probable consternation of my upstairs neighbors) “NO MEG THAT’S A BAD DECISION” or “OH MY GOD RALPH COULD YOU BE ANY CUTER?” And vice versa; I don’t want to make it sound like Meg isn’t capable of being adorable or that Ralph doesn’t make bad decisions (in fact, it is a major bad decision on Ralph’s part that heightens the stakes of the story and propels the action of the second half). As someone who reads relatively little romance overall, and even less straight romance than gay romance, I count this in the book’s favor. Feeling that involved in the characters’ personalities and choices is a good thing.

I’m also not a big reader of legal fiction. I do know that television and movies often make it seem like the court system moves at a swift pace with cases investigated and resolved in just a few days. I appreciated that Burgh allows the action of the book to play out in what would be appropriate real time with a court case that starts out simple but quickly becomes complicated (and then even more complicated). Even a case involving Santa Claus is not necessarily going to move to the top of the court’s docket without good cause, and the acquisition of evidence and witnesses on top of courtroom scheduling can make even simple cases drag out. Burgh uses the real-life delays and setbacks to heighten the drama of the story and to tease out the romantic tension of the two leads.

The romance is neither delayed nor rushed. While the mutual attraction between Meg and Ralph is evident early on, the romance is a bit of a slow burn, taking a back seat in places to the complexities of Ralph’s case, and of course the Ralph-less trip to Santa’s workshop that Meg and her friend Holly take. The roadblocks in their way to a Happily-Ever-After (or at least a Happily-For-Now) ending are key to both the romantic and legal portions of the tale, and don’t just come from the other end of the courtroom; Ralph’s family and Meg’s co-workers have opinions and create problems as well. I also appreciated that neither Meg nor Ralph is a “give everything up for love” type of character. Not that they don’t consider it. But each truly wants to balance romance and work. For Ralph, it seems like this is the first time romance has threatened to interfere with his role in the family hierarchy, while Meg despite trying hasn’t found the right way to balance or the right guy to balance with. (I don’t know if Burgh is planning a sequel, but I can think of one way that Meg’s work and romantic life can come together peacefully and equally.)

There’s plenty of comedy in the book as well, including some well-delivered teenage snark from Ralph’s younger brother Mitch and an extremely cute case of “unrealized identity” that the reader catches on to long before Meg does. There are also cute animals: Meg’s office cat Lulu and a couple of reindeer.

The main supporting cast is well-developed. There are a few sub-plots I wish had gotten slightly more screen time (more of the friendship between Meg and Michael for instance), and two characters mentioned in the back-cover copy that I thought would be more important (the state senator running for governor and the bigger client Meg doesn’t lavish enough attention on) but who never really dovetail back into the main plot. But there’s only so much one can fit in a book of this length; the scenes we do get between Meg and Michael illustrate a loving friendship, and the state senator and rich jerk fulfill their functions as bumps in the road well enough.

I highly recommend State v. Claus … and you don’t have to wait until next Christmas to read and enjoy it, since most of the action takes place between holidays!

Book Review: Superman Vs. Wonder Woman

TITLE: Superman Vs. Wonder Woman (Tabloid Edition)

AUTHOR: Gerry Conway, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Dan Adkins, Gaspar Saladino, Jerry Serpe, Joe Orlando

73 pages, DC Comics, ISBN 9781779507204 (hardcover)

DESCRIPTION: Originally published as All-New Collectors’ Edition C-54 by DC Comics in 1977 as a part of their Tabloid-sized run of comics, Superman Vs. Wonder Woman is an “untold epic of World War Two,” pitting these two powerful friends and members of the Justice Society of America not only against each other in an ideological battle over the impending creation of the atomic bomb, but also against Axis super-humans Baron Blitzkrieg and Sumo the Samurai for possession of a prototype.

MY RATING: 4 stars out of 5.

MY THOUGHTS: I still own the original tabloid size comic edition of this (as well as Roy Thomas's 90s Young All-Stars retcon of how the story played out in a continuity in which there was no Superman or Wonder Woman during World War II, but that’s a topic for a different post entirely), but it had been over a decade since I'd last read it, and I'm a sucker for nice hardcover re-issues.

The brighter colors and more pristine paper of this re-issue makes the art really pop. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is one of those artists who pretty much defined my early love of DC Comics (along with Dick Dillin on Justice League of America, Kurt Schaffenberger on various Superman Family books and Shazam!, Jim Aparo on The Brave and the Bold, and Neal Adams on Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman among many others, but I digress), and this is one of my favorite stories drawn by him.

The story holds up well enough. The requirement that Supes and Wonder Woman had to fight first felt a bit forced to 11-year-old me and still does ... but it gives us a great set piece on the Moon that introduced a "lost city" I'm not sure anyone ever followed up on. The physical fight is thrilling, but there’s also the ideological battle between the adopted American who think the country that raised him can’t be in the wrong and the “princess of peace” who recognizes the full danger of atomic energy. That was heady stuff for an eleven-year-old to wrap his head around. Now fifty-four, I recognize that while the dialogue expressing the heroes’ viewpoints falls into the grandiose style of pronouncements that Conway, Roy Thomas, and others were known for in the 70s, the questions they struggle with (Superman’s almost-unquestioning faith in national leadership, Wonder Woman’s frustration at those same leaders ignoring the devastating uses to which scientific discoveries can be put, and when national pride supersedes common sense) are still with us today.

Baron Blitzkrieg has been one of my favorite villains since his first appearance. This was his second and was quite a few years before Roy Thomas further developed his origin and his history in All-Star Squadron. He personified the ego of the Nazi movement for me for a long time (as odds as he was with the completely ineffectual Nazis of Hogan’s Heroes, one of my favorite television shows as a kid) Sumo the Samurai debuted here and his sense of honor (misguided as it was being tied to his national pride) intrigued me. The fights between Superman, Wonder Woman, Baron Blitzkrieg and Sumo are the artistic highlight of the book for me, Garcia-Lopez’s layouts of large action shots and emotional close-ups keeping the action moving. And I always wished the fight between Blitzkrieg and Sumo had been given a little more room to breathe.

I had forgotten just how little Lois Lane and Steve Trevor are given to do in this one. Given this was 1977, with the Wonder Woman show on TV and the Superman movie about to come out, it feels odd that Lois and Steve are sidelined the way they are. Lois gets a few scenes, but they’re mostly for yelling at or about Clark, and Steve has only one, in which he essentially gaslights Diana over what she did/didn’t see. I also admit I’ve always been disappointed that despite the background art on the front cover, DC’s version of Uncle Sam never appears in the book.

There’s a small continuity mistake that probably didn’t bother eleven-year-old me, but which stands out now. The Earth-2 Clark and Lois would have been working at the Daily Star (not the Daily Planet) in 1941, under editor George Taylor (not Perry White). Not a huge deal, obviously, but one of those things someone at DC at the time (if not editor Orlando, then in-house continuity guru E. Nelson Bridwell at least) should have caught.

This really was a fun trip down nostalgia lane, and makes me want to re-read some of the other tabloid editions from the era (Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali was re-released in hardcover a few years ago, and Superman Vs. Shazam has been reprinted several times (but not in hardcover tabloid format as far as I know). I still own my original copies of Superman Vs. Shazam, Superman and Spider-Man, and Batman Vs. The Hulk. I should dig those out.

Here’s my actual original copy, discoloration and all: