Erotic Fantastic: The Best of Circlet Press 1992-2002 Book

With the proliferation of 'Best of' anthologies glutting the market, these days, it's hard to find one that truly lives up to the title. Many times, a purported 'Best of' anthology is really just a collection of short stories, included because they fit a particular theme. The quality, however, tends to be hit or miss. I know I'm not the only reader who feels this way. That's why it's so refreshing to find an anthology that stays true to the mark, despite the uninspired title on the cover. Erotic Fantastic? C'mon, Cecilia, you've proven yourself much more creative than that. The title of the book being my only beef, however, what lies between the covers is pure magic.

Of course, one of the nice things about having ten years worth of deliciously original collected works to draw from, the resulting anthology can, under the right editorial direction, truly be the best of the best. In that respect, Cecilia Tan is unquestionably a master of her trade. Every story within Erotic Fantastic's 339 pages is worth the reading time. Some are obviously better than others, but none can be considered duds and that's saying a hell of a lot in this genre. The fact that the anthology plays with themes all along the spectrum, and crosses genres without preamble, doesn't in any way diminish the power each story holds as a separate entity. Another testament to the whole and a very welcome change from more linearly focused offerings.

The stories in Erotic Fantastic run the gamut from the tender contemporary coming-of-age opening entry by Francesca Lia Block, entitled Milagro, to outrageously fantastic smut like the closing tale, Soul Of Light, which gives a tantalizing glimpse into the amazingly complex sci-fi universe of the Skolian Sagas. This last tale, for all that it is merely a sampling of the wonders novelist Catherine Asaro has produced, also stands alone as a lovely interlude of sexual interplay between two warriors'one male, the other female'and the beautiful artist they both desire.

Then there are those tales in which the fantasy elements are so integral to the story, that they transcend the genre completely. In Gary Bowen's Heir Apparent, a prince of distinction, from a far away land, is wooed by a mighty hero, only to discover that the 'man' who has conquered him isn't at all what he expected. Shariann Lewitt's Pipe Dreams is an electrifying tale of love and loss across the centuries, between a desperate rock star and his otherworldly muse, the mother of modern horror fiction. Mason Powell's Consumption is a vampiric tale of love, sex and ownership, in a showdown between a creature of the night, his bullying master and his one true mortal love. Outstanding in this grouping is Robert Knippenberg's For The Mortal Among Us, a magical peek into the world of sexual dysfunction and Faerie charm from a relatively new voice with years of promise ahead of him.

All are immensely satisfying, both as titillating erotica and as finely-crafted food for the imagination. The same can be said for the rest of the stories in Erotic Fantastic. Worlds are introduced, albeit briefly, which are at once strange and fascinating, hinting at far more than has been revealed and, hopefully, sending the reader scrambling for more works by the authors represented within these pages. That, to me, is the sign of a truly great anthology.