Wayne Mansfield

Alex delivers mail and packages in the small town of Grasspatch, where things are relatively quiet and nothing too exciting happens. But one day when he delivers a package to the Christian O'Neill, the mysterious man who lives in an equally mysterious mansion on the edge of town, all of that changes. Christian introduces Alex to a whole world he never knew existed and the power to bring anything he desires into existence. When Alex finds himself to be a quick study and one of his first wishes comes true, he even more quickly learns that one really must be careful when it comes to translating what one wants into reality.

I feel like the concept for this story had some great potential. There was mystery and what seemed like magic at the beginning and the early dynamic between Alex and Christian definitely piqued my interest. That said, there was just too much going on here that was farfetched - even for a fantasy story - and it caused the story to get a bit muddled. The way things suddenly turn out for Alex, the random alternate reality he ends up in, and even the ending - it just didn't really seem to come together for me.… (lisätietoja)

Hm, what to say about this one? It was an interesting idea, a god becomig human to experience human emotions. Started out hopeful - and then disappointed me with a very sad ending.

I should have probably expected this not to end well - but throughout the first pages it sounded very hopeful. Even up to the last few paragraphs - and then - bang! - I was confronted with human reality. I had expected a godlike being to be able to do something about the situation - but no.

So, unfortunately, I can't say that I liked this one. If you're not bothered by a somewhat tragic ending, this is an interesting story for you to read and mull over.
… (lisätietoja)

This short story has the feel of a fairytale, told from an omniscient point of view. It is less about the characters’ emotions than about relating the story of how this king, Seronisis, came to find the boy, Pan, he was looking for. A little bit of mystery remains around the prophesy that foretold Pan’s existence, as well as what his exact role is. Other than warming the king’s bed, of course. In a way it is a gay version of ‘poor boy gets noticed by the king’.

This is definitely an unusual read. Heavy on the erotica (including the ‘use’ of slaves and an orgy), it is also a curious mix of sci-fi and barbaric customs. There are guards ‘bred for strength’ and a planetary ruler on a planet that is clearly not Earth; said ruler is all-powerful and commands people to be his slaves. If you are ready for an experiment, curious, and prefer your stories on the erotic side rather than heavy on plot, you may like this story.



NOTE: This book was provided by JMS Books for the purpose of a review on Queer Magazine Online.… (lisätietoja)