Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Vol. 4

Readers looking for some quick, blazing-hot reads will enjoy this sizzling, high-energy anthology. All the stories fall into one of three genres: comic, speculative, and literary. However, with a wide array of time periods, settings, and characters who run the gamut of desires, emotions, and experiences, these categories never feel constricting or exclusionary. Highlights include Clare London’s “Open Up,” a quirky after-hours power play in a dental surgery, and Richard Michaels’s “Forward into the Past,” which uses a hard-boiled noir feel to tell the story of a private detective and the client he just can’t resist. Sublime sexual encounters form the natural focus of each story; unfortunately, attempts to insert plot and character developments often fall flat, resulting in some confusing and discordant elements, especially in the paranormal tales, which allude to much larger worldbuilding projects without delivering critical details. Gregory L. Norris’s “Foursome” is a noteworthy exception, blending the heat of polyamorous attraction with some warmhearted camaraderie among its characters. This anthology generally delivers on its promises of heat, kink, and escapist fun. (Dec.)