Victor J. Banis ~ Longhorns
From: Running Press

Original review here.

Their first time out, Les let Buck ride along with him as a “spotter,” so he could get himself a better idea of what the kid could do. Catching longhorns wasn’t a job for anyone didn’t know what he was doing, fancy roping or no, and he didn’t want no fool half breed getting himself hurt, and then they would have him to take care of.
They rode a ways in silence. Les wasn’t a talkative sort, but he was aware of the kid looking over at him often, and it made him feel a little uncomfortable, considering what he suspected might be on the boy’s mind. After a bit, thinking it would be safer, he stirred himself to make some conversation.
“Where’d you learn to ride the way you do?” he asked.
Buck shrugged. “Indian blood, I guess,” he said, and then added, “If I was to tell you the truth, it’s this here pony more than it is me. He is the smartest horse I ever did see.” He patted the pony’s long neck affectionately.
“He’s a good horse, I can see that,” Les said. One thing every cowboy respected was a man who knew his horses. For most cowboys, his horse was his best friend. “I reckon you know how to ride him well enough, though.”
Buck accepted the compliment with a nod and an embarrassed smile, but he was pleased by it. He did not figure
Les was a man given to flattery. “That’s a handsome palomino you got there, too,” he said.
“Yep. He is a pretty good one, old Silver.” Les glanced over and saw the boy looking at him funny like. “What are you thinking?” he asked, suspicious.
“I was just thinking, as long as we are comparing what we got, how about if…?”
“Don’t even finish saying it, boy,” Les said, frowning. He ought to have known, he thought, aggravated again.
“Wouldn’t bother me none, if that is what is worrying you,”
Buck said, “I mean, about your palomino being bigger than my pony, which I can plain see for myself.”
“Well, maybe he is, and maybe he ain’t,” Les said. “I don’t let nobody mess around with my stock, is the thing.”
A red tailed hawk had been circling above them, and now they watched him swoop down from the sky. There was a quick movement in the brush and a moment later he soared upward
again, a field mouse caught in his talons, and disappeared against the blaze of the sun.
Victor J. Banis ~ Longhorns

I love this book. As much as I love J.L. Langley ~ The Tin Star but in a different way because it has a harder, gruffer, deeply masculine feel to it like the leather of an old pair of boots. While reading it you are always aware the romantic intentions and the emotions are present but it gets coded under all this sweaty manly man type “dancing around the subject” that works for a Pulp Western story. The way the story is told reflects the men it is about and that is pure talent of the writer to make sure nothing is ever done out of character. You just are not going to get sudden declarations of TRU LURVE out of guys who just don’t talk like that. Hell, they barely act like that and they sure don’t live like that.

It’s become a comfort read for me. Something I pick up when I want to get lost in a certain feel of a wild bronco ride while also knowing everything will end just like I want with two burly cowboys in love even if they never ever admit to it. I have to say though this time around I definitely picked up a more noticeable ménage feel to the romance even though that does not get worked out in the book but it is apparent it will be happening afterward. So be aware the romance between the cow poke and the boss man has a right hand man on the sidelines waiting to join in.

I hope Victor gets back to writing pure Western Gay Romance like this again. I love his voice and his interpretation of the old west. I like the really smart idea of mixing the traditional Western Pulp style with a simply told Gay Romance thrown in to spice it all up like aftershave on a cold winter morning. The hard riding men of honor with the simple ideals and the big landscape sucks me in.

I need more comfort reads Victor!

Why is this thing only in Amazon Kindle format still? Running Press really needs to have other formats that other vendors can sell. Oh well, if you have Kindle for Windows go grab this one and enjoy.

Anthology ~ Esprit De Corps
From: MLR Press

Victor J. Banis
Josh Lanyon
Samantha Kane
George Seaton

Why does this sound like that pig is involved?
I can’t really review this anthology because I was sorta “involved”… but I do want to thank Laura Baumbach at MLR Press for letting me pitch this idea and contribute to helping make this book happen. I can honestly say this anthology represents some of my favorite Gay Romance Authors making magic about gay men serving in the military and I was so jazzed this actually came together and Anne Cain of course rocks the cover here. What a dream come true and simply top shelf all the way!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
I hope you like it as much as I do.

I say again: YOU SO HAVE TO GET THIS ONE!

I noticed you guys really liked seeing that old cover art so I decided maybe providing a few more classic covers to promote the subject of this wonderful textbook in which essay after essay provides rare glimpses at the real facts around the evolution of Gay Literature. Further promoting the festishizing of Gay Men and demeaning to Gay Men and focusing on Gay Sex and more sex and those Tighty Whitey covers. FOR SHAME YOU GAY FICTION WRITERS! Oh sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, because it’s common sense that sex sells and how better to make a buck than publishing about taboo subjects using relatively cheap printing technology. Welcome to the Internet, would you like a beverage with your porn?

Oh and by the way, Victor J. Banis provides his expert views in The Golden Age of Gay Fiction but there is another great article he wrote on Earl Kemp called Godfather Virgin that you can read while you wait.

Anyway, onto more reality, relevant facts about the genre and oh those classic covers…

Chef Lou Rand Hogan ~ The Gay Cookbook
From: Bell Publishing Company

Lance Lester ~ Cruising Horny Corners
From: Companion Book

Chris Davidson ~ Go Down Aaron
From: Ember Library Book

Lance Lester ~ Waco’s Boy
From: Pleasure Reader

Chris Davidson ~ Caves Of Iron
From: Green Leaf Classics

Victor J. Banis ~ Spine Intact, Some Creases
From: Borgo Press

If I was to look for the most “informed opinion” on the whole Lambda Literary Foundation wankfest. I think I would look to someone who is not only a gay writer but also a gay writer who actually lived the real world discrimination and the real world prejudice of the tough times. The real tough times, you know, like in the 50s and 60s when they could arbitrarily put a gay man in prison for simply writing what were considered by law offensive books about gay people. Such a person would almost certainly be someone I consider pretty dang clear headed and straight forward in their take on such things Gay Literary being that they helped contribute so much to the forming of that genre to begin with. They would also probably have some clue what the purpose of those LLF awards were supposed to be originally.

That person would be Victor J. Banis who just wrote about this matter.

My favorite part and one I can agree with whole heartedly…

Hmm. Just like the U.S. Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy. You can be queer and serve in our armed forces so long as you’re willing to pretend to be heterosexual. And, yes, you can be a heterosexual woman and submit to the Lammies, so long as we all understand that you are declaring yourself to be queer. And they wonder why folks don’t hold them in greater respect?

I do have to say Victor is someone I respect and admire and someone who had to handle far more fear and hate in our recent past than I have had to. Sure I faced ten years of discrimination while serving in our military but even I cannot begin to imagine walking in those Victor J. Banis shoes. They are mighty big, so ignore my new comer opinion all you want but give respect where it is due.

I know Lambda Literary will ignore Victor. They always have and most likely will continue to do so because they want to control what is considered Gay Lit and how it is narrowly defined by their insular politics. I don’t have to buy their opinion though and you don’t have to either because now there is the Internet and growing access to eBooks and with all that the freedom to read and hear what one of the Pioneers of our gay literary history actually has to say.

Oh and be sure to pick up Victor’s new biography.

Victor J. Banis ~ Longhorns
From: Running Press

One day while working the roundup Les, a 40 year old trail boss of the Double H Ranch, and his friend Red watch a young drifter, Buck, ride up. The cowboys have no clue how much their lives are about to change.

Their first time out, Les let Buck ride along with him as a “spotter,” so he could get himself a better idea of what the kid could do. Catching longhorns wasn’t a job for anyone didn’t know what he was doing, fancy roping or no, and he didn’t want no fool half breed getting himself hurt, and then they would have him to take care of.
They rode a ways in silence. Les wasn’t a talkative sort, but he was aware of the kid looking over at him often, and it made him feel a little uncomfortable, considering what he suspected might be on the boy’s mind. After a bit, thinking it would be safer, he stirred himself to make some conversation.
“Where’d you learn to ride the way you do?” he asked.
Buck shrugged. “Indian blood, I guess,” he said, and then added, “If I was to tell you the truth, it’s this here pony more than it is me. He is the smartest horse I ever did see.” He patted the pony’s long neck affectionately.
“He’s a good horse, I can see that,” Les said. One thing every cowboy respected was a man who knew his horses. For most cowboys, his horse was his best friend. “I reckon you know how to ride him well enough, though.”
Buck accepted the compliment with a nod and an embarrassed smile, but he was pleased by it. He did not figure
Les was a man given to flattery. “That’s a handsome palomino you got there, too,” he said.
“Yep. He is a pretty good one, old Silver.” Les glanced over and saw the boy looking at him funny like. “What are you thinking?” he asked, suspicious.
“I was just thinking, as long as we are comparing what we got, how about if…?”
“Don’t even finish saying it, boy,” Les said, frowning. He ought to have known, he thought, aggravated again.
“Wouldn’t bother me none, if that is what is worrying you,”
Buck said, “I mean, about your palomino being bigger than my pony, which I can plain see for myself.”
“Well, maybe he is, and maybe he ain’t,” Les said. “I don’t let nobody mess around with my stock, is the thing.”
A red tailed hawk had been circling above them, and now they watched him swoop down from the sky. There was a quick movement in the brush and a moment later he soared upward
again, a field mouse caught in his talons, and disappeared against the blaze of the sun.
Victor J. Banis ~ Longhorns

I always remember when reading Victor J. Banis that he came from a generation earlier and has a more pulp style of writing from during those bad hair days of the 60’s. I pay him about the same respects I give say a Zane Grey for founding the type of Gay Erotic Romance you read these days. Since his were some of the first books you could buy way back when. Now I myself don’t go that far back but I admit I was reading Victor’s books along with James Barr, Gordon Merrick and Patricia Nell Warren when I was in high school searching for Gay Lit at the local library.

I was surprised to see this one sitting on the shelf over at A Different Light here in San Francisco. I thought maybe they had started re-publishing his older works, which they have, but to my surprise this was actually written fairly recently.

I love it! We are not talking Brokeback Mountain here, this is more along the lines of say Gunsmoke or Big Valley with the whole TV serialized Western feel. It’s got more the rough and tumble, stoic type cowboys with less “Chris Owen” soap opera going on and more sweat and blood and flying fists. Which is always a bit more of a realistic approach since I for one do not think cowboys saw a lot of soap or opera or spent much time pouting over their love lives for that matter.

So Buck is the young whipper snapper hot after some older ranch boss ass in this story and he makes his lewd highly suggestive intentions pretty dang clear to the old cowboy early on. The constant remarks and innuendos do not let up and more than one scene has them playing verbal tennis with each other over when and where Les will finally give in and give Buck the ride he is gunning for. I can see that this might get a bit tiresome for some readers but that constant banter is the whole point. Buck is wearing down our stoic Les and working on getting himself into the mans bed roll one way or another.

Now Les does not take kindly to all this unwanted attention and they do come to physical blows over it all eventually. But that’s just real, and no one ever said real cowboy love is pretty. It’s not like they have douche kits and handi-wipes out there.

Excuse me as I ramble here… this morning in my hungover “Oscar Night” state I was watching Jeff Bezos showing off his brand new Kindle 2 on The Today Show. It’s coming out today for all you non-techies. Funny how no one talks about or even cares about Sony. I don’t think Sony is gonna win this battle of hype and marketing. Especially when people realize that with the Stanza Desktop Program (Yeah the same people who brought you that iPhone App) and a Mac you can instantly convert other NON-DRM eBook formats and load them right on your Kindle to your hearts content natively from your Mac. You won’t see Dear Author explaining that little Sony/PC Centric Killing App anytime soon now will you?

I noted Longhorns also just came out on the Amazon Kindle eBook Format ONLY and I just had to let you guys know about that one. Because I think we have a trend here. Small Traditional Indy Trade Pubs are going for the Kindle format and Whispernet to fulfill their eBook selling needs. Now there is something to keep an eye on.

I am not saying this is good or bad for eBooks or ePublishing, but for authors, I got to say it must be dang nice to have all your eBooks and your “traditionally published” paperbacks all listed and readily available in one nifty-neat sales list on the Kindle to be bought and downloaded in seconds. Convenience sales and a built in avid reading audience is dreamy.

Back to the book review at hand though… Longhorns is a cute story even if the sex scenes are not what I think of as perfect, much like Victor’s sex scenes he wrote in the 60’s. I do think in regards to the style of this being a Western it sort of works. Hey, you cannot always teach an old dog new tricks especially when they were more likely to put him in jail back then for getting too sexually descriptive and all that. I figure he might even loosen up a bit eventually.

But… this old dog sure knows how to write a big burly cowboy that just might give another cowboy a kiss and a whole lot more eventually in a heart warming yet very masculine way right after beating his brains out and leaving him there bleeding in the dirt, hell, he probably does not smell all that purty if you get too close either but that’s just real cowboy love again.

I’m giving Victor a solid B and hoping he writes another real quick like. Zane Grey spewed out something like 90 Pulp Westerns in his lifetime so I figure another 20 books about gay masculine cowboys of few words but deep passions and Victor will be golden and by then he might actually get the sex cooking at the right temperature.