When the CGM book club selected Triptych of Terror, there was no doubt which month it would be discussed in. I mean, who would want to read “chilling tales by the masters of gay horror” at the Valentine’s Day discussion? Who’d want “three times the fear” at Easter?
Sadly, like the back cover of most books, these claims are a little silly if not outright false. You won’t have bad dreams after you read this book. The tales are occasionally chilling, but such scenes might be better classified as “bad gay experiences” rather than terror.
Wikipedia defines a triptych as “a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into three carved panels which are hinged together. The central panel is the most important one, and this is flanked on either side by two lesser but related paintings.” My colleagues at the book club this month agreed that the central story, “In October” by Michael Rowe, was the best.
Rowe’s protagonist, the teenage Mikey Childress, dreams of the perfect man and admits that he would gladly die to achieve him. One of his classmates is a close fit of this ideal, but he’s also one of the ringleaders of bullies that terrorize Mikey. It is the gay-bashing in this story that is the most chilling...you will be uncomfortable. Mikey is finally bashed one too many times, and bolstered by acceptance and guidance from his gothic-Wiccan friend Wroxy, he performs a ceremony to call upon the dark side for help. Soon Mikey is caught up in the occult and has to make a choice between good and evil. Don’t think gay horror must have a happy ending. Indeed, this was a pretty good story.
The final story is “The Secret of the Fey” by David Thomas Lord. Tom Hogan has all the aches, pains, loneliness, and bitterness of a 63-year old widower who’s life is in a rut. But it all changes at New York Pride when Tom finds a little bar he didn’t notice before. Inside, he stumbles into a leprechaun and steals his clothes to force a wish. He then wishes that the redhead becomes his lover, forever. Will O’Gull warns him that he should be careful what he wishes for, but Tom is set.
Each time Will and Tom tryst, Tom’s age is reduced by 12 years. As aches and pains are replaced by hormones and desire, Tom gets caught up in his discovery of the fountain of youth. Equally compelling are the ways the supporting characters react to the changes. Although the story seems to be age-unfriendly, it ultimately shows how lonely a youth-centric gay culture really is. At times this reads like a gay Flowers for Algernon. Good stuff!
The opening story is the weakest, even though it provides the most amusing moments in the book. John Michael Curlovich’s “A Holy Time for All the Dead” has a distinctly amateurish feel to it. At some point Curlovich decided to swap the names of the main characters, but screwed it up. Also, the plot goes on too long. When you’ve guessed that the main character is going to be happily gay by the end of the story, there’s only so much “No, Dan”, “Stop it, Dan”, and “This is wrong, Dan” you can tolerate before you’re yelling at the book. Still, some amusements await you in this story, particularly when Jonny is in the presence of his father.
Overall, this was a decent book that was a quick read and will be a happy choice if your Halloween reading list lacks spice.