BENDING THE LANDSCAPE: Original Gay and Lesbian Writing - Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror

Griffith, Nicola and Stephen Pagel (Editors)

ISBN 10: 1565048369 / ISBN 13: 9781565048362

Published by Borealis and Overlook Press, Clarkston, Georgia and Woodstock, New York, 2001

About this Item

First edition, first printings. The groundbreaking series of LGBT-themed anthologies of short speculative fiction. Winner of World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, two Lambda Literary Awards, and two Gaylactic Spectrum Awards. The first volume (Fantasy) is signed by the editors and seven contributors: Carolyn Ives Gilman, Mark W. Tiedmann, Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Robin Wayne Bailey, Tanya Huff, and Richard Bowes. The second volume (Science Fiction) is signed by the editors and eight contributors: Keith Hartman, Ellen Klages, Stephen Baxter, Allen Steele, L. Timmel Duchamp, Nancy Kress, Shariann Lewitt, and Mark W. Tiedemann. The third volume (Horror) is signed by the editors and seven contributors: Cynthia Ward, Ellen Klages, James Van Pelt, Alexis Glynn Latner, Barbara Hambly, Keith Hartman, and Mark W. Tiedemann. Octavo, three volumes. Typical mild toning to the contents in the second volume. Mild bumping to the tips, with some very light edgewear to the dust jacket. Near fine. Seller Inventory # 72053

Bibliographic Details

Title: BENDING THE LANDSCAPE: Original Gay and ...

Publisher: Borealis and Overlook Press, Clarkston, Georgia and Woodstock, New York

Publication Date: 2001

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Near fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: First Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

They are extraordinary characters living outside the bounds of reality. But you will recognize them... It's about being gay, being straight, falling in love, sorrowful partings, death, and fantastic circumstances. Bending the Landscape stretches the standard fantasy genre. In the groundbreaking anthology, queer writers write fantasy for the first time, and genre writers explore queer characters. But don't expect the usual fantasy backdrops-these stories will give you a frisson, a thrill, as they fizz off the page.

Review:

Bending the Landscape will be a series of anthologies focused on homosexual issues in genre fiction, but this one isn't so neatly pigeonholed as all that. Gayness, or someone's discovery of his or her gayness, is indeed a common motif to all the stories, but in some it is central; in others, it's just a quality a character has--they happen to be having or have had a relationship with someone of the same sex. It's generous in size, 22 stories, and generous in its embrace, ranging in tone from sitcom-like light entertainment ("In Mysterious Ways," by Tanya Huff, and "Magicked Tricks" by K. L Berac), to realism ("Gestures Too Late on a Gravel Road" by Mark W. Tiedemann, and "Full Moon and Empty Arms" by M. W. Keiper), to realistic horror ("The House of the Man in the Moon" by Richard Bowes). Mythic fantasy, fairy tales, and ghost stories are all here too, so this is more like reading a survey than a tightly thematic anthology. The variety is appropriate. Neither fantasy nor sex comes in just one flavor. If you're at all interested in anything besides vanilla, sample this.