Elf Child

by David M. Pierce

Russ, a twentysomething-looking gay man, is searching for his true identity while he struggles with keeping an otherworldly secret. Russ is a changeling...a shape-shifter who will never age, and who, perhaps, will never die. Living a carefree beach life in San Diego, he uses his uncanny abilities to feed his desire for men of all shapes and sizes - but something important is missing. This novel unfolds as Russ realizes that his obsession with image has become empty and that what he really needs is a relationship with another man that will encompass more than the satisfaction of his sexual needs.
David M. Pierce uses Russ's supernatural abilities to underscore Elf Child's true-to-life the search for identity, personal growth and transformation, and being the "outsider" - which are all central to the struggles of those of us who have grown up gay in a straight world.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Gay, LGBT, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal Romance

259 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Born 1958

Reviews

[Akiva ꙮ]

I tried! The dialogue is bad and it's bugging me. I don't know how I feel about the terms the fat best friend is described in, is the book being humanizing but extremely blunt about the fetish subculture he's part of, or is he just there to offset/lampshade how *extremely* hot and fit and beautiful the main character and love interest are? Guess I'm not going to find out.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

SlashReaders: I read this book a goodly number of years ago and remember loving it. I had always hoped that David M. Pierce might publish another book; however, over the years I haven't seen anything else from him. Which is sad because I have many fond memories of this novel.

My original review of this book said the following: Fantastic book, a lovely mix of fantasy and everything else. I loved this book and I look forward to reading it again as well. The characters are just lovable and realistic, and the fantasy is believable at least to a point anyway... It's a lot of fun, the relationships between people especially between the mothers and their sons is very well done. It adds and the way their stories tie in together at the end is nice. It's not as shallow as it seems in the write up, it's actually much deeper.

What I remember most about this novel is the magical realism. I would not persay call this a fantasy novel thought it might fall into what is now considered 'urban fantasy' at that time, there really wasn't such a thing. I was reading this book at a point in time when I was really discovering how much I loved magical realism. :)

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could feel comfortable giving this book a higher rating, I really do. The premise seemed so promising. Unfortunately the writing style was just not compelling enough forme. All the characters seemed to speak with the same tone and idioms and the actual narrative was, at least for me, stiff and unspontaneous. For a story that should have felt magical and embued with touches of another world, this work was surprisingly staid and earthbound. While I did enjoy the story, I just felt that perhaps the author was trying too hard to evoke a sense of magical realism, and instead it just came off a bit too pretentious, at least for me.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Russ, is a gay man, a changeling, a shapeshifter and possibly... an immortal.

He will never age and is able to have any man he desires - whenever he desires. Unfortunately, our sexy, gorgeous ever-young man is tired of the game and wants a real relationship and true love.

Another interesting character is Russ's mother. She is a little off beat and very sexy. You will have to read the book. It's not easy being young forever, I guess!

I enjoyed this off-beat story. The reader doesn't know where it will lead.
sexy, erotic,shocking

[Grey853 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hated the writing style of the book. It was just so poorly written it was difficult to care about the characters. The dialogue had no flow and just didn't work for me. It's a shame, too, because the premise of having a gay changling had promise.

I really can't recommend this book to anyone.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be one of my favorite books that I've read in the last year. It adds a nice twist to the reality that we know but still gives it the basic concepts that we can all relate to. It's a beautifully written novel, and I will definitely read it again and again.

[Devynn emory]

so far, a horribly written gay elvin erotica..hangin in there

[Roclaf Alter -Ego · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good lite read. Fun.