Disco Witches of Fire Island
Blair Fell. Alcove, $19.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 979-8-89242-034-1
A group of emotionally wounded queer men cobble together a found family amid supernatural threats and the pall of the AIDS crisis in this impressively drawn romance from Fell (The Sign for Home). Joe Agabian arrives on Fire Island in 1989 to discover his best friend, himbo Ronnie Kaminski, does not actually have jobs or housing lined up for them. Fortunately, two eccentric year-round residents, house cleaners Howie Fishbein and Lenny D’Amico, offer Joe a room. Despite Ronnie warning him that association with them might tarnish his reputation, Joe accepts and takes a job slinging drinks at a rundown bar owned by one of their friends. Unbeknownst to Joe, the older men are secretly members of a disco witch coven, whose magical dancing rituals can protect against the Great Darkness, a malevolent force that lures people to suicide. Joe, still reeling from the death of his boyfriend from AIDS two years prior, is at high risk. As the coven rallies around him, Joe’s self-destructive sadness also repeatedly pulls Fergal, a strapping bisexual ferry worker, into the role of his protector. Fell adroitly blends camp, raw emotion, and nostalgia into a deeply felt ode to community. A frothy premise belies this romp’s immense heart and beauty. Agent: Doug Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)
Details
Reviewed on: 01/30/2025
Genre: Romance/Erotica
Hardcover - 352 pages - 979-8-89242-239-0