BOOKLIFE.COM 107MEMOIR
My Epidemic
Andrew M. Faulk | Culbertson
240 pages, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-
73342-911-5
Faulk’s debut is a reflective
memoir of life as a gay, HIV-positive
doctor in the early part of the AIDS
epidemic, working with HIV-
positive patients in Los Angeles
and tending several through their
last moments. He gently lifts up a
piece of 1980s gay history from a
middle-class demographic that has
gotten less recent attention than the ballroom and activist
communities. Chronological vignettes touch on the vagaries of
working in the medical environment, personal and profes-
sional relationships, survivor’s guilt, and Faulk’s “certain
amount of regret” about his choice to stay closeted and hide
his infection for the sake of his career.
Faulk recounts the “individual histories... rich in solace and
hope” of patients and friends. His portraits shine with unmiti-
gated warmth and a savvy encapsulation of personalities. His
writing pulls together most strongly in its externally focused
recurring threads: dinner party friends returning as partners
in shared grief; sweet reminiscences of his first husband, Jack;
and stories of lavish “goodbye parties” for those choosing self-
euthanasia. Faulk’s detailed but measured narratives about
caring for the dying never lean in to the sensational or voy-
euristic urge. The chapters can be choppy, but the prose is
meticulous even as Faulk writes about the emotional and
cognitive problems caused by
his HIV encephalopathy.
Negative, isolated chapters
calling out an embezzling
receptionist, lamenting ACT
UP’s angry tactics, or dispar-
aging the philosophy of Louise
Hay detour distractingly away
from the larger message.
Retrospective passages that
unburden the author of guilt
and self-reproach are heavy
and awkwardly distancing, as
if Faulk is unsure how to invite
readers into that emotional
space. Notwithstanding the
personal framing, the book
serves best as an insider’s
cultural history of the insular
middle-class, urban gay
community taking care of
itself through a devastating
crisis.SF/FANTASY/HORROR
Eve of Snows
L. James Rice | L. James Rice
500 pages, e-book, $5.99, ISBN 978-1-73240-
830-2
It’s been centuries since the
gods were sundered from the
world, but now a sect of priests
plans to bring them back in Rice’s
gripping epic fantasy debut. When
violent shadows escape from a
hidden shrine, warrior monk
Tokodin flees toward Istinjoln
Monastery, only to be captured by
the primitive, bearlike Colok people. Eliles, a postulant with a
secret, faces her final trial before achieving priesthood. Ivin,
pious nephew of Clan Choerkin’s lord, seeks aid after a mine
collapse. Meris, a 95-year-old oracular priestess, is sent on a
baffling errand. Sailor Solineus washes ashore with holes in
his memory. All their paths lead to Istinjoln, where time is
running out. In 17 days, the stars will align and the sect will
summon the gods.
Rice handles a large cast of characters with the skill and flair
of a fire juggler. The romance between Eliles and Ivin feels a
little obligatory and contrived, but notes such as Eliles’s
tender relationship with her mentor, Tokodin’s jealousy of his
betters, and Ivin’s commanding officer occasionally feeding
him jerky to politely silence him all round out the characters
with believable personalities and motivations. There’s a fun
element of tension through the middle as the characters first
meet one another or narrowly
miss introductions.
Gripping action scenes,
evocative writing, and steady
story momentum make the
pages fly. The shadows bring a
genuine chill with every
appearance. The mystery
surrounding the banished
gods sparks curiosity, and Rice
draws a fine line between feral
magic and answered prayers.
The plot is marked with plenty
of surprising twists as Eliles
and Ivin confront shadows and
the conspiracy within Istinjoln.
There is a solid conclusion, but
Rice leaves enough unan-
swered questions and ambi-
guity to have readers theo-
rizing possibilities and itching
for the next installment. This
extremely impressive series
launch is guaranteed to earn
die-hard fans.
Readers curious
about the experience
of living through the
1980s AIDS crisis
will find this memoir
enlightening and
affecting.Production grades
Cover: A
Design & typography: A
Illustrations: –
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Production grades:
Cover: A+
Design & typography: A
Illustrations: –
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: B+The high-stakes plot,
fast pacing, and
convincing charac-
ters will hook epic
fantasy readers on
this impressive
debut.
PAID REVIEWSGreat for fans of
George R.R. Martin’s
Song of Ice and Fire
series, R. Scott
Bakker’s Prince of
Nothing series.Great for fans of
Randy Shilts’s And the
Band Played On, Larry
Kramer’s Reports from
the Holocaust.