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Goodbye, My Lover
Twenty-year-old Dennis Eastman has a choice to make: either enter the U.S. Naval Academy, or find some other course in life. He decides to spend his final month of freedom in Los Angeles with his old mentor and lover, Lincoln Gardner, hoping to find some answers. But Linc fails to meet him at the airport, and when Dennis enters his friend's apartment in Beverly Hills, he's promptly confronted by the police: Gardner has been brutally murdered! Dennis must now search for vindication through the sleazy underground bars and gay nightclubs of Southern California, while a vile killer begins looking for young, new prey!
- GenresLGBT
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
2 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Victor J. Banis
138 books214 followersVictor J. Banis is a writer. http://www.vjbanisauthor.com/
Victor Jerome Banis (May 25, 1937 – February 22, 2019) was an American author, often associated with the first wave of west coast gay writing. For his contributions he has been called "the godfather of modern popular gay fiction
Victor Jerome Banis (May 25, 1937 – February 22, 2019) was an American author, often associated with the first wave of west coast gay writing. For his contributions he has been called "the godfather of modern popular gay fiction
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 18, 2021
Historically significant gay murder mystery! Today Goodbye, My Lover merely reads like the campy whodunit that it is, but when it was originally published in 1966 it must've been a life-changing experience for gay readers seeking evidence that they deserve a place in the world.
The characters are happily gay and living their best life—even as they navigate an intricate murder plot. Rather than resent their sexuality or commit suicide by the end, they are more reaffirmed than ever to have long-term gay relationships in their future. Homophobia is largely absent and certainly not dwelled upon. Possibly because the novel takes place in Los Angeles, which was fantastically more liberated than the rest of the country, but queer pulp fiction at large seems eager to explore a post-homophobic fantasy world where gay men are free from oppression.
The pulp fantasy is typically created through the total absence of heterosexual characters. Cops, colleagues, bosses, parents, even siblings and religious figures—any potential antagonist to the gay man—are neutralized by also being gay. In Goodbye, My Lover we see something similar. There's the real-life consequences of being gay in the '60s, in that military careers could be ruined and social scandal could arise by coming out, but these issues are the vague rationales of a murder ploy. The villains are also gay, further eliminating the problem of "society" from the equation. Social anxieties exist, of course, but for 150 pages these authors decided they didn't matter. At least not much.
We can appreciate the significance of queer pulp thanks to hindsight, but I highly doubt these writers designed their novels for social impact. All evidence suggests they were merely tired of how LGBT persons were depicted in art and chose to write their own stories. If the heteros got upset, too bad. This wasn't for them. It seems like a low bar now, but these books provided much-needed justification for gay existence by showing a normal—if highly romanticized—world where they could be themselves. It's almost impossible to imagine the Stonewall riots happening when it did without the underground popularity of paperbacks such as this one.
History aside, the book is a blast. It’s set up for erotic delights with Dennis sleuthing out leather bars to find out who might have killed his prior lover. Willing to go the extra mile for justice, he beds the more attractive suspects to get the information he needs. A small cast of characters allows for easy reading, a relatively small list of potential murderers, and the twists are good enough to surprise. If you want a slice of LGBT history with your mystery adventures, and don’t mind a few tasteful bedroom scenes, this is where it’s at. Highly recommended!
Availability…
Gay pulp fiction from the 1960’s and ‘70s is almost all out-of-print and nearly impossible to find today. Fortunately, this book has been re-printed under Banis’ name. Now you can even find it on your e-reader or as an audiobook. The first edition published under one of Banis’ many pseudonyms, J.X. Williams, is scarce and potentially worth a pretty penny.
**UPDATE** I learned that there is a difference between the original publication and Victor J. Banis' 2007 reprint. The original includes two sex scenes that were written by the publisher and added without his consent. He removed them for the new edition to restore the novel to his original vision.
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The characters are happily gay and living their best life—even as they navigate an intricate murder plot. Rather than resent their sexuality or commit suicide by the end, they are more reaffirmed than ever to have long-term gay relationships in their future. Homophobia is largely absent and certainly not dwelled upon. Possibly because the novel takes place in Los Angeles, which was fantastically more liberated than the rest of the country, but queer pulp fiction at large seems eager to explore a post-homophobic fantasy world where gay men are free from oppression.
The pulp fantasy is typically created through the total absence of heterosexual characters. Cops, colleagues, bosses, parents, even siblings and religious figures—any potential antagonist to the gay man—are neutralized by also being gay. In Goodbye, My Lover we see something similar. There's the real-life consequences of being gay in the '60s, in that military careers could be ruined and social scandal could arise by coming out, but these issues are the vague rationales of a murder ploy. The villains are also gay, further eliminating the problem of "society" from the equation. Social anxieties exist, of course, but for 150 pages these authors decided they didn't matter. At least not much.
We can appreciate the significance of queer pulp thanks to hindsight, but I highly doubt these writers designed their novels for social impact. All evidence suggests they were merely tired of how LGBT persons were depicted in art and chose to write their own stories. If the heteros got upset, too bad. This wasn't for them. It seems like a low bar now, but these books provided much-needed justification for gay existence by showing a normal—if highly romanticized—world where they could be themselves. It's almost impossible to imagine the Stonewall riots happening when it did without the underground popularity of paperbacks such as this one.
History aside, the book is a blast. It’s set up for erotic delights with Dennis sleuthing out leather bars to find out who might have killed his prior lover. Willing to go the extra mile for justice, he beds the more attractive suspects to get the information he needs. A small cast of characters allows for easy reading, a relatively small list of potential murderers, and the twists are good enough to surprise. If you want a slice of LGBT history with your mystery adventures, and don’t mind a few tasteful bedroom scenes, this is where it’s at. Highly recommended!
Availability…
Gay pulp fiction from the 1960’s and ‘70s is almost all out-of-print and nearly impossible to find today. Fortunately, this book has been re-printed under Banis’ name. Now you can even find it on your e-reader or as an audiobook. The first edition published under one of Banis’ many pseudonyms, J.X. Williams, is scarce and potentially worth a pretty penny.
**UPDATE** I learned that there is a difference between the original publication and Victor J. Banis' 2007 reprint. The original includes two sex scenes that were written by the publisher and added without his consent. He removed them for the new edition to restore the novel to his original vision.
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January 13, 2015
This was a sweet good if predictable mystery. The romance was in the background and not enough, for my taste. Still, like all the rest of VB's books, it was well written and fun.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
April 12, 2024
Back in the 60s gay pulp novels were rare. You'd find them in specialty bookshops in the Village or someplace not mainstream. Today they are very hard to find and most are all out of print. The reason probably for this occurrence is that many of these books were published by lesser-known publishers and many authors are dead, or the copyright laws are probably hard to track who has the right to something where the author is dead and the publisher doesn't exist. Or maybe it's more like "Who wants to read them?" This guy does, that's who!
Goodbye, My Lover was written in the 1960s, and its author, Victor J. Banis lived long enough to re-release them on paperback and e-book before he died. I had such a blast reading this novel. Okay, yes, it's so campy by today's standards, but hear me out. Based on the fact that we don't have a lot of these old gay pulp books around anymore, this book offers a rare view into the kinds of stories that were being written back before marriage equality, before Pride, before Stonewallbefore a lot of things we might take advantage of. This gem of a book has historical significance, even if Banis did tweak it a little for republication.
It's the story of a young twenty-year-old named Dennis who is preparing to go into the navy, but before he does he flies out to LA to visit his lover, an older man, who he hasn't seen in a year. When he arrives he discovers his lover has been murdered. The police don't know who, but everything leads to this seedy gay bar in town. Dennis is determined to find out who killed his lover, but playing detective turns into a deadly game. There's a killer on the loose and he's ready to strike again and again unless Dennis can discover the truth before he's next on the killer's hit list.
Again, this book reads pretty campy, but that's actually why I loved it. No, it's not classy writing, and yes, I knew who it was pretty early on, and yes, some of the dialogue is laughable. But these things didn't stop me from enjoying the read. There are some pretty heavy sex scenes, but what I enjoyed about it was how I felt stepping back in time and getting a taste of what the kinds of gay pulps from the 60s must have been like. I have to say that they were fast-paced, and slightly poorly written, but fun and culturally significant. It was a fun read and there's nothing like it today, which makes it unique and a standout. My rating - 5/5
Goodbye, My Lover was written in the 1960s, and its author, Victor J. Banis lived long enough to re-release them on paperback and e-book before he died. I had such a blast reading this novel. Okay, yes, it's so campy by today's standards, but hear me out. Based on the fact that we don't have a lot of these old gay pulp books around anymore, this book offers a rare view into the kinds of stories that were being written back before marriage equality, before Pride, before Stonewallbefore a lot of things we might take advantage of. This gem of a book has historical significance, even if Banis did tweak it a little for republication.
It's the story of a young twenty-year-old named Dennis who is preparing to go into the navy, but before he does he flies out to LA to visit his lover, an older man, who he hasn't seen in a year. When he arrives he discovers his lover has been murdered. The police don't know who, but everything leads to this seedy gay bar in town. Dennis is determined to find out who killed his lover, but playing detective turns into a deadly game. There's a killer on the loose and he's ready to strike again and again unless Dennis can discover the truth before he's next on the killer's hit list.
Again, this book reads pretty campy, but that's actually why I loved it. No, it's not classy writing, and yes, I knew who it was pretty early on, and yes, some of the dialogue is laughable. But these things didn't stop me from enjoying the read. There are some pretty heavy sex scenes, but what I enjoyed about it was how I felt stepping back in time and getting a taste of what the kinds of gay pulps from the 60s must have been like. I have to say that they were fast-paced, and slightly poorly written, but fun and culturally significant. It was a fun read and there's nothing like it today, which makes it unique and a standout. My rating - 5/5
December 22, 2020
This is a good story in the sense that you can keep up with it and the characters are interesting but that's about it.
It's your typical "gay love story" young guy falls for much older man and add a murder to the mix. A story we have seen many times. And not sure when it was written because the protagonist is. very "innocent " in the way of the gay culture. Very I'm not sure what I want but I'll take everything from everywhere.
The story was a bit weak but I see this in many places, where you have a character that loves someone they die and then they move on but still think of the other person. I do don't know how close this is to reality it might be a you have to live thru it to understand it moment. I never have.
The other thing about this story is that everyone except the main character didn't know who did it. I believe by chapter two its very clear who did it. I kinda wish something else was thrown into the mix.
Many things in this story feel like that, almost incomplete like it had to end but rushed.
I still enjoyed it, it wasn't horrible but it could use a little more.
It's your typical "gay love story" young guy falls for much older man and add a murder to the mix. A story we have seen many times. And not sure when it was written because the protagonist is. very "innocent " in the way of the gay culture. Very I'm not sure what I want but I'll take everything from everywhere.
The story was a bit weak but I see this in many places, where you have a character that loves someone they die and then they move on but still think of the other person. I do don't know how close this is to reality it might be a you have to live thru it to understand it moment. I never have.
The other thing about this story is that everyone except the main character didn't know who did it. I believe by chapter two its very clear who did it. I kinda wish something else was thrown into the mix.
Many things in this story feel like that, almost incomplete like it had to end but rushed.
I still enjoyed it, it wasn't horrible but it could use a little more.
March 11, 2015
Great book, very well written and fun. It would be nice if this was a series, part one started in 1966 and part two in 2015? Maybe. I wish more of Banis' pulps were reissued.
The mystery part of the story was very well put together with a lot of little plot details that all came together in the exposition at the end. The only slight negative is there were only three characters in the book and two of them were guilty, so it wasn't hard to figure out who did it. Some effort was made to hide it but not much.
Still the best reason to read the book is the writing style flows so easily with Banis you'll be through it in no time and have had an enjoyable journey. Also the time it was written was interesting, the hero Dennis thought he was under arrest just for being gay at the start of the book. The times have changed. But the S&M leather bars apparently have not...
The mystery part of the story was very well put together with a lot of little plot details that all came together in the exposition at the end. The only slight negative is there were only three characters in the book and two of them were guilty, so it wasn't hard to figure out who did it. Some effort was made to hide it but not much.
Still the best reason to read the book is the writing style flows so easily with Banis you'll be through it in no time and have had an enjoyable journey. Also the time it was written was interesting, the hero Dennis thought he was under arrest just for being gay at the start of the book. The times have changed. But the S&M leather bars apparently have not...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews