Bitter Waters

The average adult male is approximately 60% water. Blood tastes salty as more than two thirds of the sodium circulating throughout your body is carried in arteries and veins. Which means that your heart is like a miniature ocean within your chest. Chaz Brenchley has not only been awarded the British Fantasy Society's August Derleth Award but knows all too well the storms and dangers of the the lofty desires, the grieving nadirs, the tempest of love. In Bitter Watters, his first short story collection devoted to gay readers, Brenchley offers men fantastical instances to effleurer, to break for taller timber, to drown in emotions. And while not every tale in this breathtaking collection involves the sea, tears and bloodshed still need to be navigated. Winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBT Fantasy/Horror/Science Fiction!

"This clever and subtle collection, Brenchley’s first since 1996’s Blood Waters, visits 17 unforgettable ports of call." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"British Fantasy Society August Derleth Award–winner Brenchley provides deft sketches in a range of styles and settings—from age-of-sail adventure to modern urban realism, always with splashes of the supernatural and the macabre.... A fine collection that imbues fantasy, action and horror with real literary depth." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The characters in Brenchley's collection navigate the rough waters and sudden calms of past, present and futures cut short with varying degrees of success, and the reader drawn along on these voyages with varying degrees of peace and discomfort." - Anthony Cardno for Strange Horizons

"One would not think it possible, but this small collection provides an excellent representation of Brenchley’s wide-ranging output, as he casts his all encompassing net far and wide—this collection contains stories that read like historical fiction or realistic fiction, fantasy, horror, and may even include elements of mystery and romance." - Keith Glaeske for Lambda Literary