Reviews for The mammoth book of gay erotica

The average rating for The mammoth book of gay erotica based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-04-20 00:00:00 Michael Self Ok - so honestly I found this book at a used book store and bought it as a laugh. Ha-ha, I'll leave it on my coffee table or in the guest room to scandalize visitors. However, during covid quarrantine, having read through much of everything else in the house (including some cook books) I picked this up, dusted it off, and dove in. First - let me tell you, despite the name in big, 42pt font - there isn't much in this collection of stories that is really sleazy, tawdry, or frivolous. Sure - some stories are the sort of "his rock-hard abs and engorged etc." you'd expect - but very few are. Some make little mention of sex, or make it a minor plot point to frame the story. Instead, what you'll find is some excellent short fiction. While the offerings are somewhat uneven, even some of the "bad" stuff is still interesting if only in its' weirdness. And the good stuff is REALLY good. "The Robber Bridegroom" by James Ireland Baker is one of the most suspenseful page-turner's I have ever had the pleasure to read. "Learning How to Crawl" by Tony Ayres presents two characters who are completely unique, real, and authentic. Other stories present aspects of gay life in stark, honest terms. It really is a shame about the title. Sure, there is some stuff in here that would qualify as "erotica" - but so much more is just really good "gay fiction", though the best stuff I'd hesitate to even define that narrowly. And, as with short story collections and scrolling through Grindr - you can read the stuff you like, and merrily skip the stuff you don't.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-13 00:00:00 Terry Henrichs I give up. It's a very hefty book, but I made it through only the first 5 stories. In the introduction, L. Schimel says that porn and erotica are the same thing, only marketed differently. I'd have to disagree. The content of this book is definitely porn. Either that, or men and women mean very different things, when they say "erotica". The "erotic" fantasies in this stories are not elaborate, but plain, straightforward, and boring. Here are my impressions of the stories I struggled through: Billy Crow by Philip Ridley: A very short story that can be even shorter: "Hi, I'm your neighbor, let's f*ck." "Ok." By the numbers by W.J. Mann: A porn with a moral that goes something like this - "You only live as long as you f*ck, and if you don't f*ck random people every day, in a week you become too aggressive to reason with." Bodily fluids by K. Bashford: Well, that at least was a peculiar fantasy. Still boring. Adonis by D. Shewey: That was just terrible. Peter and... hm. I'd rather stop. Just nope. Never again.