Stories to Sing in the Dark

by Matthew Bright

The speculative shines bright in the dark with these stories by Matthew Bright: a boy with a secret begins work at a strange library housing all the books never written; Dorian Gray's love of beauty struggles in the face of AIDs-era San Francisco and the Castro; the tomb of the Empress is adrift in space and hungry for the concubines aboard her; two men in an old film finally realize that they are trapped but still they seek the means for finally declaring their love for each other. These and other tales of the queer fantastic should be the perfect bedtime read.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Anthologies, Collections

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2019

Reviews

[charlotte, · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rep: achillean mcs, sapphic mcs

CWs: homophobia, homophobic abuse, torture

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get to preview this book in ARC format. Stories to Sing in the Dark is a heady—and welcome—mix of the dark, the twisted, the strange, and most importantly the queer, but the tune it offers works to perfection: it doesn’t overwhelm, doesn’t leave the reader hopeless, and hooks you back for more after each tale. Nothing is safe from Bright’s distortive lens: holiday classics, childhood tales, literary greats, and thank all the gods for that. Between retellings and new tales, Bright’s threads of the other—be they spirit, steam, or futuristic—have crafted tales well worthy of their addition to the speculative fiction canon, and I for one couldn’t wait any longer to cheer their arrival.

If you'd like to read a full review, head on over to Out in Print for the longer version of what amounts to "trust me, go get this."

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Longer review will probably appear on the blog at some point. Quite a strong collection, with a rather unified thematic feel for me, one wrapped around history and sorrow. There's a lot of stories about reclaiming the past, pushing back against the erasure that has systematically removed queerness from the past it has always inhabited. For all that it pushes back, though, it doesn't come through without some wounds. The stories are often grim and center themes of death, oppression, and hiding. Characters are able to rise, to escape, but normally at a high cost. But that's life at times, and for all that it means the collection isn't light-hearted, it's still beautiful and real and Good. Definitely give it a read!

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote the introduction to this debut collection of short stories, which really do sing, as indicated by the title. They are fantastical, wry and witty, sometimes silly, and always loving and warm.

[Stella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just got too mad, I couldn't spend more time on this. It was fine. I'm sure there's a group of people who need the Lonely Edgy College White Dude But Gay This Time perspective, but I'm not part of that group. If this book had come out like a decade-ish ago it might have been a good addition, but now it just feels way behind the times, and frankly, I read enough stories like this in my college creative writing classes, and they also made me want to tear my hair out then. (Oh, yeah - that was, notably, a decade-ish ago...)

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's clear from this collection that Matthew Bright has a very powerful imagination and a strong sense of playfulness, and that comes through in many of these stories. I thought "Golden Hair, Red Lips" was a really spectacular piece, and then the rest of them had interesting ideas with executions that didn't satisfy me fully. Still worth reading, I think, just for how committed it is to exploring queerness.

3/5

[Katelin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, each short story had a little nugget of something that I absolutely adored. I wasn't sure what to expect--something branded as "speculative fiction" has always been a bit of a confusing spot for me, even though I know that's the point...but regardless, I'd like to add this book of short stories to my own personal collection of books.

[Lio Frey · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot to love in this anthology. I'm a huge fan of works that take existing media and turn them entirely on their heads, and this dark literary fantasy is all about that. Some stories shine brighter than others, but overall it's a lovely ode to gay mythology.


My top five favourite stories (in the order they appear):

Content warnings in this anthology are not to be taken lightly. The stories touch on cannibalism, AIDS, conversion therapy, death, monsters, unhealthy relationship dynamics, murder, homophobia, torture, hauntings, trauma. It's not a light read.

Golden Hair, Red Lips - An incredibly dark retelling of Dorian Grey set during the AIDS crisis. It's horror at its best, with a morally protagonist I couldn't help but feel for even as I watched him get darker and more obsessive on each page.

Croak Toad - I just thought this was hilarious and the tone really worked for me.

Director's Cut - The literary writing was stunning here, and I love any story that confronts the ways that media use and abuse gay characters and narratives.

The Concubine's Heart - I loved the world building here and the way everything built on each other. Stories that combine genres in interesting ways always appeal to me and putting everything together at the end was a real pleasure.

The Last Drag Show on Earth - "They aren't ready for me yet".

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful collection of darkly queer and queerly dark tales! From the infiltration of a magical library to Dorian Grey in the Castro, to a mother/daughter team of adventurers to A Christmas Carol with a twist, each story showcases Bright's ability to weave a narrative combining queer history and literature. And then there's "No Sleep in Bethlehem" which is a novella in its own right. I absolutely love a good haunted house story, and this one did not disappoint. The unnamed narrator accompanies his lover, Hans, to pre-WW2 Germany after Hans' mother passes. But they cannot sleep, and neither will the secrets buried in the house. The ghostly mystery had me riveted by the end. If I have one criticism, it's that the book as a whole would have benefited from a different editor, as there were a decent amount of errors that should have been caught, but this does not affect the beautiful stories within. I would highly recommend this collection to anyone who wants more queer sci-fi/horror in their lives!

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

☁️Magical Readathon: Conjuration☁️

Library of Lost Things: 4⭐️
In Search of Stars: 2⭐️
Golden Hair. Red Lips: 3⭐️
Croak Toad: 3⭐️
Nothing to Worry About: 3⭐️
Directors Cut: 5 ⭐️
Concubines Heart: 3⭐️
Antonia & Cleopatra: 3⭐️
By Chance, in the Dark: 3⭐️
The Last Drag Show on Earth:3.5⭐️
No Sleep in Bethlehem: 3⭐️

[Lethe Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelous and inventive collection of queer and fantastical fiction. Bright takes some classic tropes (and characters) and uses them to tell new and passionate experience of love and loss. I am not surprised it is a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.