“The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps”, a novella by Kai Ashante Wilson, is one of those books where you’ll want to linger on some of the turns of phrase.  It is almost a slice of life of Demane, the main character, a sorcerer who is descended from a god and who works for a merchant caravan as a guard.  He is also the secret lover of the captain of the guardsmen, another god touched man.  It switches between formal and casual registers as the cultures of each of the characters intersect.  It’s beautiful and by turns melancholy and hopeful and colorful.   It has passion and an appreciation for life and culture.  It is very worth a read.

Kai Ashante Wilson:  “One insidious idea that holds true for African Americans especially is that only sweet and unblemished innocence has any worth, and that any flaw or instance of wrong-doing merits all the hardship and retribution that ever comes your way. [...] My thinking was, Fuck that noise. Guys who are ‘no angel’ deserve heroes looking out for them too.”

Kai Ashante Wilson (he/him) is a Black queer man.  He was born in Toledo, Ohio and lives in New York City.  He began to look for male queer characters in genre fiction at age 12.  He was a techno-optimist until recently.