Bending the Landscape: Fantasy

The ""bending"" is sexual as well as physical in this collection of 23 all-original fantasy stories with gay and lesbian content. Never gratuitous, the emphasis on homosexuality ranges from heavy (explicit erotica) to light (tales whose protagonists' sexuality is almost incidental to the plot). Editors Griffith (Ammonite) and Pagel (owner of a small SF press) have included fantasy adventure (""In Mysterious Ways,"" by Tanya Huff), stories of relationships and magic (""Fall of the Kings,"" by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman) and tales with a contemporary spin (Mark Shepherd's ""Gary in the Shadows"" and Kim Antieau's ""Desire""). There are even fables or folktales (""The King's Folly,"" by James A. Moore, and Jessica Amanda Salmonson's delightful ""Young Lady Who Loved Caterpillars""). No story is less than worthwhile, and some are far better than that; notably lacking is the pseudo-archaism of much high fantasy. It's only readers who object to gay subject matter who won't enjoy being bent by this provocative volume. (Mar.) FYI: Further Bending the Landscape volumes will cover SF and horror.