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Review

Of a consistently higher quality than many other anthologies of gay-themed stories, Riding Double: a Dreamspinner Press Anthology, edited by Anne Regan, is well worth reading. All of the 12 stories, almost of them written by women, share a cowboy theme with some taking place in the Old West and some in the current day. None of them can be called brief and a few are rather long, taking their time to develop reasonably believable plot and characters. They all successfully maintain the reader’s interest. In the first lengthy story “Trial by Fire” two former lovers meet again under dangerous circumstances and rekindle their romance. In another, “Courtin’ Trouble,” a hyper-masculine ranch foreman falls hard for a very young, somewhat effeminate part-Asian drifter. The amusing, and amusingly titled, “Rode Hard and Put Away Wet,” portrays two rodeo competitors who turn out to share more than just an interest in bulldogging and horses. “Hitting the Trail,” which takes place immediately after the Civil War, is particularly good. Perhaps because they were written by women the stories tend to focus on romance more than raw sex, but when sex scenes occur they are generally satisfyingly hot. There has long been speculation that many 19th century cowboys were either gay or were tempted into man-on-man sex during those long months out on the range without female companionship. This anthology makes a convincing case that the speculation is all too true.

 -- Roy Liebman