Brute: Stories of Dark Desire, Masculinity, & Rough Trade

by Steve Berman, Elton Skelter, Nick Mamatas

What happens when we go looking for trouble? Delights or dismay? Many horror stories and films, as do plenty of hook-ups, begin with this premise. When you can't sleep and begin browsing Grindr or Scruff, why not invite the guy without a face pic who has been taunting you to come over? Dancing at the club? The fierce-looking man gesturing with a shake of his head to the back alley door seems promising. How about picking up a hitchhiker late at night on a lonely road? The allure of trouble is the forbidden fruit at the finale and the pleasure of abandoning good judgment for this win. And one of the more enticing pursuits for us sodomites is rough trade, those men, young and old, who could answer one wrong move on your part with violence. The stories in Brute are a collection of some things old, some things new, somethings scary, and somethings to leave you black and blue. Edited by Lamda Literary Award winner Steve Berman.

Genres: Fiction

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 5, 2023

About the author

Some tidbits about me...

I turned down a scholarship to Miskatonic University because I heard of the high rate of incidents against the student population.

I briefly worked for Omni Consumer Products in their Marketing Department. Great benefits, nice cafeteria, sadly too prone to executive whim.

Last year I stayed at the noted Mauna Pele resort in Hawaii. The accommodations were impressive but my traveling companion disappeared soon after wanting to attend a pig roast.

I've slept with one minor porn star and with a guy who later became one.

And I happen to have written some fanfic that inspired the memorable holodeck scene in Star Trek: Hidden Frontiers episode "Vigil"

Reviews

[Shrike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps you'll recognize a sliver of your darkest thoughts within these pages...

I cannot overstate how these stories weighed on my mind for days, each for different reasons. They are gut-wrenchingly disturbing, but they are also so much more. Each tale uses shock and horror to provoke deeper, often conflicting emotions.

Brute is a wondrous and eclectic thing. There are brand new stories, loving remixes of classics, and even a 1948 throwback. All perfectly on-theme.

I have so many authors to check out! Although I received a digital copy, I ordered a print copy by the halfway mark. Brute will have a place of honor on my shelf!

Thank you for the chance to read this book for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

[Linda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compilation of 19 M/M stories with diverse plots
What an interesting group of stories which ranged from outrageous and bizarre to quirkily humorous and weirdly poignant. Honestly, some I never could ascertain the gist of it but I read on. Others were quite enjoyable if not a little strange and then others I understood and liked. There are nineteen individual stories written by different authors with each ranging in length from 7 pages to 37 pages. Some appeared to be paranormal whereas others were more contemporary with mafia and/or illegality involved. Many I would describe as raw depictions of gay life. I would say that this is a good way to sample an author’s work. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through BookSirens. I would like to add that the editing was done well. There were very few or no grammatical errors.

[L.A. Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of dirty devils, horror, and humor, great stuff. I was especially captivated by the story-within-a-story aspect of "The Boy Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was" by L.C. von Hessen — the grisly huntsman fantasy sections were my favorite part.

[Cherry Nox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it… TBC