Tag Archives: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers

Tastings by Neil Gaiman

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Overview
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Title: Tastings
Author: Neil Gaiman
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) & Smoke and Mirrors (Neil Gaiman)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Lust, Twisted romance
Dates read: 25th March 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: You’re very beautiful.

Synopsis

A male escort and a famous woman are spending one evening together. But what they want from each other is a little more than anticipated.

Thoughts

Any story that starts off talking about an escort and a famous woman is going to be a little interesting… especially when it’s in a collection such as Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers. Then you just know that there is going to be FAR more to this story that initially assumed… after all, it’s a collection about lust and romance in the shadier sides of the supernatural world.

As soon as I saw that this was a Neil Gaiman short story, I got quite excited. There is just something about his writing that I absolutely adore and it draws me in immediately. I didn’t expect the way that this story would go at all though. To start with a male escort who has the powers of mind reading and then switch that to the woman who then completely turns the tables on him… it was a very different approach. And one that I just completely lapped up. I was actually incredibly disappointed when it was all over. I wanted to keep reading about this incredibly weird sexual couple.

The use of a succubus was kind of expected for the collection that I read this in. But the double use of this power and the different ways in which it was manifested was something of a surprise. It was also intriguing when I’m fairly certain that one of the couple was killed at the end… it’s not outright stated. But that’s how I like to imagine the ending of this story.

<- A Wife of Acorn, Leaf, and RainThe Sweet of Bitter Bark and Burning Clove ->

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Bird Count by Jane Yolen

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: Bird Count
Author: Jane Yolen
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Lust, Twisted romance
Dates read: 10th March 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: The thing about Lewis was that even when we were together I was alone.

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Synopsis

She’s stuck in a dead end relationship. One that is just easy and comfortable. With absolutely no passion. Until she finds the man… no hawk… of her dreams.

Thoughts

This was a kind of intense story. Which, considering what Yolen’s work is like… I shouldn’t have been so surprised. Yet, it also struck kind of a great cord with me. After all, it was about finding your own happily ever after. Not the expected one, but one which actually makes you happy.

The single minded obsession of a scientist is one that I recognise. It is intense and kind of terrifying at times. At least, I find it a little terrifying how single minded I can be when I fall down the rabbit hole of something that I love. It was interesting reading a short story which talks about the flipside of that coin. The partner and person who loves such a man. Someone who is an extreme of the example… but still eerily familiar.

If you don’t take the “romance” in this story too literally, then it’s incredibly beautiful. If you take it a little more literally… it’s not as beautiful, but still quite potent. Definitely the kind of story that got me seriously thinking… and contemplating. Again and again and again. I look forward to rereading this one in the future.

<- In the Season of RainsA Wife of Acorn, Leaf, and Rain ->

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A Wife of Acorn, Leaf, and Rain by Dave Smeds

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: A Wife of Acorn, Leaf, and Rain
Author: Dave Smeds
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Death, Fae, Lust
Dates read: 18th March 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: But your word is enough as far as I’m concerned.

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Synopsis

He misses his wife, and a desperate attempt to get closure has him making a deal with The Outsiders. But will this beautiful doppleganger truly fill that whole in her heart?

Thoughts

I can’t imagine suddenly losing my other half. It’s actually what makes up my greatest fears – waking up one day to find out that he wasn’t part of my life anymore. So this story hit a little too close to home. And it took an interesting approach to getting over one’s grief. Hiring a fae doppelganger to take her place… it felt somewhat creepy.

Yet, as the story unfolded, I actually understood the man’s motivations WAY more than I would have liked. I can imagine wanting just one more moment with that one person that I love more than anybody else. I can understand needing just a few more moments to finally get that closure that you need.

As much as this story kind of started out creepy… it had a great sense of closure at the final conclusion. There was a sense of farewell and moving on that was healing and sweet. A great way to end a story that started out a little uncomfortably…

<- Bird CountTastings ->

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In the Season of Rains by Ellen Steiber

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: In the Season of Rains
Author: Ellen Steiber
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Lust
Dates read: 8th March 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: She reached a hand toward him and the scent of the datura became stronger.

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Synopsis

Enrique has always pushed women away. Always kept himself in control of the relationship. Until one dark night when the rain is thundering down on his garden… then everything changes.

Thoughts

This short story had a great… quality about it. There was the sense of another (non-Anglo Saxon) culture about it. Although, it was a little vague on exactly which culture was inspiring the mythical woman in this story. I also loved the imagery of the garden and the rain. There is nothing like having a beautiful garden. And the sound and scent of rain surrounding it? Also stunningly beautiful. It worked well with a random, half-dressed woman strolling through the plants.

I felt like I should have had a little more sympathy for Enrique. But, honestly, I felt like he kind of got his comeuppance. He constantly wanted to show that he was less caring than the women he bought home. So he kind of got his poetic justice for using people. Fine, he did tell them that he wasn’t into commitment… but honestly, that’s just a kind of insane way to approach any kind of intimacy.

Although this story had a slightly dark feel to it, it also had me smiling all throughout. Probably because I really appreciated the poetic justice in it. There was just something refreshing and enjoyable about the whole story. Kind of like standing in the garden after a fresh rain.

<- AttachmentsBird Count ->

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Attachments by Pat Murphy

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: Attachments
Author: Pat Murphy
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Romance, Twisted romance
Dates read: 5th March 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: She laughed as she tossed a corner of the blanket over his face to hide his staring eyes.

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Synopsis

They’ve always been attached to one another. But that’s not truly how they want to be. Especially when one brother loves the others’ wife… things tend to get a bit awkward there…

Thoughts

I’ve always wanted a twin. Never wanted a conjoined twin though. That’s just WAY too much closeness. I really wasn’t expecting to find a story about conjoined twins in a collection about daemon lovers though. And, it does kind of make sense – it’s a collection of romances between those who are different. But it was still far less mystical than I was expecting.

There’s kind of a bit of an incestual feel to this story… two conjoined brothers marry two sisters. One falls in love with the other brother’s wife (who is also HIS wife’s sister). It’s kind of sweet in that whole forbidden love way… but also just incredibly complex and… yeah, incestual.

I did absolutely love the ending of this story though. There was just something about it that kind of worked… in a weird and unexpected way. It wasn’t the happily ever after that I was expecting, but it was a great ending nonetheless.

<- No Human Hands to TouchIn the Season of Rains ->

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No Human Hands to Touch by Elizabeth E. Wein

Book Review, ,
Overview
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Title: No Human Hands to Touch
Author: Elizabeth E. Wein
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Twisted romance
Dates read: 13th February 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: I am the one who is imprisoned in this place.

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Synopsis

The son that she thought she’d lost has returned. And now, in her twisted way, she wants him back. But only to turn him against his father in the worst ways possible…

Thoughts

So this story is disgustingly sick and twisted. And so many levels of not okay. But it’s also kind of impossible to look away from. The way this is written is completely engaging and enthralling. Even when you are kind of totally hating the characters, you still don’t want to look away and forget about what you’re reading.

The main reason that this is impossible to put down is the horror of the storyline. Not only the manipulation that the two lovers keep doing to each other, but also the fact that they’re in an incestual relationship. It is completely disturbing and horrifying. Yet, I really, really liked the story. Very much an Oedipus kind of tale…

This is a wonderfully open-ended story. You’re not really sure whether or not her machinations worked. Whether the son is going to fight against the father. Whether there is going to be a future for the insane woman who drives this story… it is all very… well, open.

<- Midnight ExpressAttachments ->

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Midnight Express by Michael Swanwick

Book Review, ,
Overview
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Title: Midnight Express
Author: Michael Swanwick
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Lust
Dates read: 12th Februrary 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: Phew!

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Synopsis

His job is to travel across the fae dimensions to find and work with new clients. On his first trip out, he finds an intriguing fae female who manages to tick all of the right buttons.

Thoughts

The set up for this short story is brilliant. The entire thing is a two-way conversation between the would-be lovers. And then the lovers during the act. It’s not only able to describe what is going on between the characters, but also the world that is built up in this story. It’s amazing how such a unique structure creates a wonderful story that lingers long after you turn the final page.

Pretty sure that in this story, the female lover is a sphinx. Which is something I just don’t want to imagine… a sphinx and a human. It’s more than a little weird, and it’s definitely got a totally different “flavor” going on. It really doesn’t sound like a very fun romp in the sheets. Especially when she has to ask you a riddle each time… and that defines whether you live or die.

This short story is kind of insane and intense. In all of the best ways possible. But still kind of insane and intense. There is just something a little bit wow about it all. Taking a totally different approach, creating a storyline around it and just twisting all of your expectations. That is definitely what I would call an intense short story.

<- MirrorsNo Human Hands to Touch ->

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Mirrors by Garry Kilworth

Book Review, ,
Overview
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Title: Mirrors
Author: Garry Kilworth
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Lust
Dates read: 25th January 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: The world was not just moving.

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Synopsis

He’s stranded in a cit for the night, so he decides to go to a house of erotic fantasy. When he gets the extra special… well, it’s nothing like what he was expecting.

Thoughts

I really didn’t love the style of writing in this short story. But something about the tale really struck me. And lingered. For a long time afterwards. There was just something joyfully haunting and super weird about this tale that leaves it ingrained in my mind’s eye.

This is a super freaking weird, weird story. Which is why I didn’t actually mind it too much, once I got past the writing style. It was a little uncomfortable. But, considering I finished up 2019 by reading Alien Sex… it really wasn’t the uncomfortable. It also didn’t have that enlightening insight into the world that the Alien Sex stories tended to have. This was just a little bit lighter, and kind of good at making fun of people’s weird little bedroom perversions.

Sex is weird. I don’t think anyone can argue with that statement. The sex in this story, with prostitutes in some nameless Asian city… well, that just made it all that much weirder. Makes me glad that I’m sticking to my more vanilla sex…

<- Ashes on Her LipsMidnight Express ->

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Ashes on Her Lips by Edward Bryant

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: Ashes on Her Lips
Author: Edward Bryant
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Death, Romance
Dates read: 10th January 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: It always did.

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Synopsis

She lost the love of her life. But there’s a way to keep him with her… if she wants to do it.

Thoughts

I can’t imagine what I’d do if I lost the love of my life. Doing this though seems… well, uncomfortably wrong. Like seriously, uncomfortably wrong. But also impossible to stop reading. Kind of like a really horrific accident, you don’t want to see it, but you just can’t stop watching, or in this case, thinking about this.

This story really focuses on the dark side of the tragedy of loss. And gives a dark, twisted way to deal with it. Which is to use the ashes of a dead man… but I won’t explain how, because you just need to read the short story to discover this all for yourself. And be disturbed by the fact.

There is something both creepy and sweet about this story. I’m not entirely sure why I felt that this was so romantic. Normally tales like this would just completely freak me out. But we won’t think on this too deeply. Definitely worth a read this story.

<- WolfedMirrors ->

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Wolfed by Tanith Lee

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: Wolfed
Author: Tanith Lee
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) & Redder Than Blood (Tanith Lee)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Lust, Retellings
Dates read: 6th January 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: But then, anyway, the elevator was a private one and this was the penthouse suite, so it would be kind of unlikely he had taken the wrong route, or made any mistake at all.

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Synopsis

Wolf is a man of the night. Then he runs into Rose, a gorgeous young woman who just wants to buy her “grandmother” a present…

Thoughts

I’ve just finished reading Lee’s Red as Blood collection. So I was kind of expecting something much, much darker than this story. It was incredibly lustful and intense in some ways, but it definitely wasn’t something I would call dark. There was also a point at the end which hints that they could, in fact, live happily ever after.

Actually this story didn’t just have a hint about happy endings, it had multiple. And pushed the boundaries of what I enjoy in a romance. This is the second story I’ve read which features a threesome, but, unlike the first one, I found this non-confronting. Actually, I found it kind of cute, funny and sweet in moments. Which was a very interesting reaction.

This was a fantastic short story. One that I will probably revisit in the future. There is just something fun about it, even when it’s dealing with a lot of sexuality. Maybe it’s because I’m reading a collection that deals with sexuality, but not in the truly intense way of Alien Sex.

<- Broke Heart BluesAshes on Her Lips ->

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