One glorious result of the boom in gay fiction is that gay and lesbian writers can now produce rich, far-ranging stories on any subject matter--from acid rain to witch burning. But why not throw in a little sex anyway? The latest offering in the His series lives up to its predecessors in presenting the sweaty and steamy beside the thoughtful and heartfelt. Rick Sandford's "Manifest White," Gary Bowen's "Barrel Racer," and Micheal Skeef's "Blood Brothers" are graphic accounts of pickups, though both Skeef's and Bowen's stories gradually unfold other possibilities. Lawrence Reilly's "1984" recounts a high school boy's sexual conquest of a country club tennis pro. In Reginald M. Harris Jr.'s "Haram," a young Arab immigrant maintains a wary interest in a "BlackAmerican" who rides his train each day. The simultaneous publication of His and its lesbian counterpart, Hers, begs a comparison between lesbian and gay fiction (at least as reflected in the choices of editors Robert Drake and Terry Wolverton) that warrants more space than we have here. Suffice it to say that sex is the common ground. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly
Amid the current crowd of gay-themed anthologies, this uneven but worthwhile set of 20 stories (third in an annual series) largely fails to deliver the "brilliance" it promises, but offers some interesting and provocative fiction. Two standouts, Robert Ordona's "World Without End" and David A. Newman's "Good News and Bad News," look at how new treatments for HIV infection are forcing gay men and their loved ones to recreate lives they'd thought were ending. Drake (The Gay Canon; The Man) and Wolverton (Bailey's Beads) also offer some competent tales that promise more from their authors. "Dann," Michael Anthony Gold's youthful, boozy narrator, poignantly relates his crush on a straight male friend. Reginald Harris's "Haram" imagines the life of Samir, an immigrant from the Arab world, whose exposure to contemporary gay urban culture allows him to articulate, and then to reject, his nascent same-sex desires. There's exceptional humor in "Home Improvement," Scott A. Berg's tale of a Skokie housewife's sudden friendship with a TV show host and his lover. Heart-wrenching pathos emerges from Declan Meade's brief "Lost Time," a snapshot of a man who dedicates his life to caring for his incapacitated grandmother. In between are several all-too-typical coming-out/coming-of-age tales. And celebrated poet Reginald Shepherd's effort disappoints; his story about a campus love affair reads like notes for a personal essay. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Story collections using the word "best" or, in this case, "brilliant"Ain the title tend to be underwhelming, but this third volume of Drake and Wolverton's Lambda Literary Award-winning "His" series (e.g., LJ 9/1/96) is a pleasant surprise. Gathering material published here for the first time, the collection explores a wide range of gay themes. There seems to be a little bit of everything: life, death, love, family, age, and fidelity explored from gay, straight, bisexual, and transsexual points of view. As with any collection there are weaknesses, but those few do not take away from the overall high quality. Robert Ordo?a, Philip Gambone, Scott Allan Bowles, and David Watmough contribute the standouts. Recommended for all public libraries.ATheodore R. Salvadori, Margaret E. Heggan Free P.L., Hurffville, NJ Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
The third volume of the lambda literary award-winning series of gay fiction. Gary Bowen teaches us to be a rodeo "Barrel Racer." Mary, Rhoda, and monogamy limn a moral fable in David Pratt's "Series." Longtime lovers and those who've just met, sea turtles and closeted TV stars, straight boys and bankers crowd the pages of His 3. In this eclectic collection, stories by established writers such as Philip Gambone, Drew Limsky, Reginald Shepherd, and David Watmough nestle up against stories by new talent, including Alex Chee, Reginald M. Harris, Declan Meade, and Robert Ordoa, to produce an anthology that doesn't establish the state of the gay imagination at the fin de sicle but provokes it.

About the Author
Robert Drake has edited seven volumes of gay and lesbian fiction, including the Lambda Literary Award-winning series His and Hers. He is the author of The Gay Canon: Great Books Every Gay Man Should Read and a novel, The Man: A Hero for Our Time.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The third volume of the lambda literary award-winning series of gay fiction.

Gary Bowen teaches us to be a rodeo "Barrel Racer." Mary, Rhoda, and monogamy limn a moral fable in David Pratt's "Series." Longtime lovers and those who've just met, sea turtles and closeted TV stars, straight boys and bankers crowd the pages of His 3. In this eclectic collection, stories by established writers such as Philip Gambone, Drew Limsky, Reginald Shepherd, and David Watmough nestle up against stories by new talent, including Alex Chee, Reginald M. Harris, Declan Meade, and Robert Ordoa, to produce an anthology that doesn't establish the state of the gay imagination at the fin de sicle but provokes it.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Amid the current crowd of gay-themed anthologies, this uneven but worthwhile set of 20 stories (third in an annual series) largely fails to deliver the "brilliance" it promises, but offers some interesting and provocative fiction. Two standouts, Robert Ordona's "World Without End" and David A. Newman's "Good News and Bad News," look at how new treatments for HIV infection are forcing gay men and their loved ones to recreate lives they'd thought were ending. Drake (The Gay Canon; The Man) and Wolverton (Bailey's Beads) also offer some competent tales that promise more from their authors. "Dann," Michael Anthony Gold's youthful, boozy narrator, poignantly relates his crush on a straight male friend. Reginald Harris's "Haram" imagines the life of Samir, an immigrant from the Arab world, whose exposure to contemporary gay urban culture allows him to articulate, and then to reject, his nascent same-sex desires. There's exceptional humor in "Home Improvement," Scott A. Berg's tale of a Skokie housewife's sudden friendship with a TV show host and his lover. Heart-wrenching pathos emerges from Declan Meade's brief "Lost Time," a snapshot of a man who dedicates his life to caring for his incapacitated grandmother. In between are several all-too-typical coming-out/coming-of-age tales. And celebrated poet Reginald Shepherd's effort disappoints; his story about a campus love affair reads like notes for a personal essay. (July) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal