Slim and the Beast

Barrantes's debut novel is a bromance set in North Carolina, casting an unfocused eye on the relationship between Iraq veteran Slim, basketball player Hugh Dawton-Fields, known as The Beast, and their mutual stalker, Sgt. Chandler Dykes. A repressed Dykes denies his homosexual feelings even as he ogles naked pictures of his male prey in private. As Slim and the Beast seek shelter in a bar from both their stalker and the approach of Hurricane Beverly%E2%80%94and the bulk of the story features the two sharing stories and drinks with the proprietor, Carl Lockhart, ultimately confronting their pasts. They decide to make burgers to pass the time, and Barrantes interlaces descriptions of their manly culinary skills with their declarations of what great lovers they are (with women, they constantly emphasize). Lockhart's wife, Jane, makes a cameo appearance, but otherwise this is all about masculinity, and akin to eavesdropping on a conversation held by earnest, drunken frat boys. (Feb.)