John
Charles, one of IGW's editors (also a writer, but don't tell him I told
you), reviews another offering from Changeling Press: Black Leather Night and Other Tales
by Willa Okati
Contact John Charles direct if you have a book you would like to have reviewed
Black Leather Night and Other Talesby Willa Okati
Changeling Press LLC
ISBN 1-59596-079-1
An eBook available in HTML, Adobe PDF, MobiPocket and Microsoft Reader
This trio of short stories has two threads running through them common to all; they’re all works of gay erotica with a vampire as the central character. They’re all engaging, tightly focused and well written. Okati’s flair for writing gay erotica is evident with all three stories, and her vampires insinuate themselves nicely within.
As with all three, Black Leather Night takes place in a setting that isn’t well defined. It’s clear that it isn’t Earth, but beyond that, the reader isn’t clear on where it is. This can be slightly disorienting at first, but something that one soon becomes accustomed to. In the limited space given to each story—they’re all short, quick reads—the brevity in description of place only frees up more time for Okati to devote to the heart of the story. In the end, not knowing exactly where we are doesn’t detract from the narrative. Told through the eyes of Robhain, a vampire overseeing an import facility and lusting after one of his clerks, we watch him as he tries to hide his hunger, then deny it and finally yield to it. The object of his desire is Byrne, who we are led to believe doesn’t welcome Robhain’s interest. Okati efficiently takes us from a brief introduction of the characters, and then immediately into the play between Robhain and his hidden need, and then Robhain and Byrne. Okati’s ability to cut to the chase, so to speak, serves her well. These stories of vampiric erotica don’t have any spare flesh on their bones beyond what serves those two things. She takes us to a quick conclusion and then begins her next story.
Into The Shadows is her second of three, also quick, spare, highly erotic, and vampiric. Told from Donal’s point of view, we know that he’s a human living somewhere other than Earth; again, we aren’t clear on where. He’s employed as a ‘money-changer,’ and again, we’re only given a brief description of what that is, but we’re told all we need to know. He’s fearful of something, but we’re not told exactly what it is. Invited to accompany his co-workers on a night out at a local tavern, he accepts. Once there, he meets the object of his fear, and as we soon learn, also the object of his desire; a vampire named Kyreion. The bar scene that follows is highly charged, highly erotic but is just a tease before the story’s satisfying end.
Third and last is The Hunter. The elements are all the same, a vaguely established setting, a vampire’s hunger, and the pursuit of his prey. As in the first two, his victim is a willing one, although in this last offering, Seth is a little less willing than the others. This only whets Ronan’s appetite. Lacking some of the tension built and then satisfied in the first two, this story certainly won’t disappoint.
For those who have read and enjoyed other books of gay erotica with vampires as their central characters—and Changeling Press has others—these will also be most satisfying for those with an appetite and who enjoy sinking their teeth into such things; all three of these stories are good to the last drop.