review of Liquid Longing
Liquid Longing: An Erotic Anthology of the Sacred and Profane by Annabeth Leong (Forbidden Fiction, 2015).
- reviewed by Jean Roberta
Annabeth Leong is a mistress of the bittersweet fantasy with the unpredictable conclusion. When her characters get what they want, it usually costs them more than they could foresee. Although many of the characters in this collection are supernatural beings from ancient myths, their behavior rings true. All genders and several sexual orientations are represented.
Several of these stories are based on ancient Greek myths, and Leong manages to make them fresh. In “Hunting Artemis,” the narrator is sent to become a chaste follower of the goddess at the age of ten. An old mentor tells her: “We run so hard and shoot so sure, Nikia, not only for love of the goddess and the hunt, but also because we must take revenge for all we sacrifice.” At the time, Nikia doesn’t understand how much she will have to give up to remain a perpetual virgin in the service of Artemis. Ten years later, however, a handsome young man comes to pay his respects to the goddess, and Nikia craves his touch as much as he craves that of the goddess he worships.
“Icarus Bleeds” is an even more wrenching story, this time set in a vaguely post-apocalyptic city in which backstreet doctors actually implant wings into the shoulder-blades of those who want to fly - for a hefty price. The operation is dangerous and not always successful, but a man who calls himself Daedalus - the “daddy” of Icarus - is willing to help the young man achieve his desire. As the narrator, Daedalus is surprised to realize that what began as a hookup can rise above the sordid, even in a context of furtive business deals and constant danger.
“The Snake and the Lyre” is an intense retelling of the myth of Eurydice, the woman who loves the musician Orpheus, although he pays more attention to his lyre than to her. After she is killed, he tries to lure her back from the Underworld, but someone there is determined to keep her.
“Andromache’s Prize” is a stunning spin on The Trojan Women, Euripides’ tragic play about the aftermath of the Athenian conquest of Troy in The Iliad. In Leong’s version, the Trojan princess Andromache offers another defeated woman a reason to continue living. (I couldn’t help imagining the Andromache in this story as British actress Vanessa Redgrave, who plays her in a movie of Euripides’ play.)
The plots of these stories have such a logical momentum that it takes the reader awhile to realize that several of them fit into currently-popular erotic themes. There is a “tentacle porn” story, a wickedly funny story about zombies in Hollywood, and a “bucket list” story about a woman who consents to one last fling with a man who can sense her impending death. There is also a fairy tale story, “The Three Wives of Bluebeard;” in this version, the murdered wives of a rich man are able to comfort and seduce the current wife as she wanders the castle alone in her husband’s absence. There is even a story dealing with heavenly (not demonic) erotic activity in an eighteenth-century convent, “The Miracles of Dorothea of Andrine.” The bewildered churchman who confesses his crisis of faith to his superior is the best possible narrator.
“In the Death of Winter” evokes the unequal relationship between vulnerable human flesh and the merciless cold of a northern climate; the gender-changing winter deity in this story is as powerful as the Snow Queen in the Hans Christian Anderson story. Another story which seems to take place in an imaginary culture is “Fires of Edo,” in which a veteran fire-fighter, on the verge of retirement, meets his supernatural protector.
Each of these stories is so good that picking a favorite is impossible. The brief summary at the beginning of each story seems unnecessary, and so does the sexual labelling (m/f, f/f, m/m), which seems to reduce each story to a masturbation fantasy. This collection is far beyond that, and the pleasure of reading it is beyond a momentary tingle.
- reviewed by Jean Roberta
Annabeth Leong is a mistress of the bittersweet fantasy with the unpredictable conclusion. When her characters get what they want, it usually costs them more than they could foresee. Although many of the characters in this collection are supernatural beings from ancient myths, their behavior rings true. All genders and several sexual orientations are represented.
Several of these stories are based on ancient Greek myths, and Leong manages to make them fresh. In “Hunting Artemis,” the narrator is sent to become a chaste follower of the goddess at the age of ten. An old mentor tells her: “We run so hard and shoot so sure, Nikia, not only for love of the goddess and the hunt, but also because we must take revenge for all we sacrifice.” At the time, Nikia doesn’t understand how much she will have to give up to remain a perpetual virgin in the service of Artemis. Ten years later, however, a handsome young man comes to pay his respects to the goddess, and Nikia craves his touch as much as he craves that of the goddess he worships.
“Icarus Bleeds” is an even more wrenching story, this time set in a vaguely post-apocalyptic city in which backstreet doctors actually implant wings into the shoulder-blades of those who want to fly - for a hefty price. The operation is dangerous and not always successful, but a man who calls himself Daedalus - the “daddy” of Icarus - is willing to help the young man achieve his desire. As the narrator, Daedalus is surprised to realize that what began as a hookup can rise above the sordid, even in a context of furtive business deals and constant danger.
“The Snake and the Lyre” is an intense retelling of the myth of Eurydice, the woman who loves the musician Orpheus, although he pays more attention to his lyre than to her. After she is killed, he tries to lure her back from the Underworld, but someone there is determined to keep her.
“Andromache’s Prize” is a stunning spin on The Trojan Women, Euripides’ tragic play about the aftermath of the Athenian conquest of Troy in The Iliad. In Leong’s version, the Trojan princess Andromache offers another defeated woman a reason to continue living. (I couldn’t help imagining the Andromache in this story as British actress Vanessa Redgrave, who plays her in a movie of Euripides’ play.)
The plots of these stories have such a logical momentum that it takes the reader awhile to realize that several of them fit into currently-popular erotic themes. There is a “tentacle porn” story, a wickedly funny story about zombies in Hollywood, and a “bucket list” story about a woman who consents to one last fling with a man who can sense her impending death. There is also a fairy tale story, “The Three Wives of Bluebeard;” in this version, the murdered wives of a rich man are able to comfort and seduce the current wife as she wanders the castle alone in her husband’s absence. There is even a story dealing with heavenly (not demonic) erotic activity in an eighteenth-century convent, “The Miracles of Dorothea of Andrine.” The bewildered churchman who confesses his crisis of faith to his superior is the best possible narrator.
“In the Death of Winter” evokes the unequal relationship between vulnerable human flesh and the merciless cold of a northern climate; the gender-changing winter deity in this story is as powerful as the Snow Queen in the Hans Christian Anderson story. Another story which seems to take place in an imaginary culture is “Fires of Edo,” in which a veteran fire-fighter, on the verge of retirement, meets his supernatural protector.
Each of these stories is so good that picking a favorite is impossible. The brief summary at the beginning of each story seems unnecessary, and so does the sexual labelling (m/f, f/f, m/m), which seems to reduce each story to a masturbation fantasy. This collection is far beyond that, and the pleasure of reading it is beyond a momentary tingle.