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A review by quietkat
Fatal Shadows by Josh Lanyon
Not quite sure on this one…
While I liked the mystery, I was deeply uncomfortable with the rampant and extremely prevalent use of the F word for gay men. Not only were the cops and other homophobes throwing it around like candy, so were some of the gay men. I recognize that this book was first published in 2007 but I wouldn’t have liked it any better back then.
That’s not the only thing though. When asked by his mother if he wears dresses, Adrien responds, “I’m not a transvestite, no.” I don’t know, that may seem like a little thing to some people but the term is outdated and considered derogatory at this point. Even if it would have been considered inoffensive in 2007, which I question anyway, you’d think Lanyon would update more recent editions to something like, “I don’t cross dress, no.” or simply “No.” I guess if you’re going for period offensiveness, she nailed it.
Still, there’s more. When Adrien passes out because of his heart condition, he thinks to himself, “I sort of think if (God forbid) I had HIV or AIDS it would be more acceptable. If you’re gay and ill people half expect that anyway. But this … I can’t expect another guy to have patience with it. I don’t have patience with it myself.” 😬😒 Really? 😑 Beyond the ‘God forbid, but at least if I had AIDS, it’d be socially acceptable to pass out’, 🙄 the idea that people would be intolerant and impatient that your health condition causes you to pass out, is also problematic and toxic. And yeah, again, we’re talking about 2007, but I’m 2023 Kat and it just didn’t sit right with me.
As all that was percolating in my brain and I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, it occurred to me to consult my Authors to Avoid list of problematic authors which was complied with 2 close M/M Book Twitter friends back before we all kind of faded off Twitter after 2016 and the Scamtino controversy. Welp, guess whose name popped up on that list? Josh Lanyon. I didn’t have a note about why we added Lanyon and couldn’t remember so I googled ‘Josh Lanyon controversy’ and got hits that flipped my memory switch💡 The first was a GR thread that begins to get interesting at message 9. I only vaguely remembered the controversy from Twitter and GR back in 2015 but posts like those written by gay authors Marshall Thornton (here) and Brad Vance (here)left an impression on me at the time. Between those voices, others like them and my own gut, I was highly suspect of Lanyon as a voice I could trust. This book only adds to the feeling of skepticism and distrust.
No judgment no matter where others fall on the subject. Lanyon may have been well intended all along. She may have apologized. She may have changed. I don’t know. What I do know is that her voice in this story feels problematic to me. She doesn’t feel like an ally; to me, she feels like a cis straight female author fetishizing and profiting off the queer community while at the time, passing herself off as part of the community she was exploiting. It’s not so much in the story itself as in the details and the micro aggressions. Are they even micro? The discomfort started on page one with one of the cops being described as having a neo-Nazi haircutand continued throughout in the ways I’ve described as well as others.
That’s my queer 2 cents 🤷🏻♀️ It’s less about the story and more about the teller and the unease I feel with her.
PS Side note to my dear friend: 😳😅😆 I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t let this one stop or scare you from making recommendations in the future! I love your taste in books and appreciate the rec even though this one didn’t work out for me 😘💛
While I liked the mystery, I was deeply uncomfortable with the rampant and extremely prevalent use of the F word for gay men. Not only were the cops and other homophobes throwing it around like candy, so were some of the gay men. I recognize that this book was first published in 2007 but I wouldn’t have liked it any better back then.
That’s not the only thing though. When asked by his mother if he wears dresses, Adrien responds, “I’m not a transvestite, no.” I don’t know, that may seem like a little thing to some people but the term is outdated and considered derogatory at this point. Even if it would have been considered inoffensive in 2007, which I question anyway, you’d think Lanyon would update more recent editions to something like, “I don’t cross dress, no.” or simply “No.” I guess if you’re going for period offensiveness, she nailed it.
Still, there’s more. When Adrien passes out because of his heart condition, he thinks to himself, “I sort of think if (God forbid) I had HIV or AIDS it would be more acceptable. If you’re gay and ill people half expect that anyway. But this … I can’t expect another guy to have patience with it. I don’t have patience with it myself.” 😬😒 Really? 😑 Beyond the ‘God forbid, but at least if I had AIDS, it’d be socially acceptable to pass out’, 🙄 the idea that people would be intolerant and impatient that your health condition causes you to pass out, is also problematic and toxic. And yeah, again, we’re talking about 2007, but I’m 2023 Kat and it just didn’t sit right with me.
As all that was percolating in my brain and I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, it occurred to me to consult my Authors to Avoid list of problematic authors which was complied with 2 close M/M Book Twitter friends back before we all kind of faded off Twitter after 2016 and the Scamtino controversy. Welp, guess whose name popped up on that list? Josh Lanyon. I didn’t have a note about why we added Lanyon and couldn’t remember so I googled ‘Josh Lanyon controversy’ and got hits that flipped my memory switch💡 The first was a GR thread that begins to get interesting at message 9. I only vaguely remembered the controversy from Twitter and GR back in 2015 but posts like those written by gay authors Marshall Thornton (here) and Brad Vance (here)left an impression on me at the time. Between those voices, others like them and my own gut, I was highly suspect of Lanyon as a voice I could trust. This book only adds to the feeling of skepticism and distrust.
No judgment no matter where others fall on the subject. Lanyon may have been well intended all along. She may have apologized. She may have changed. I don’t know. What I do know is that her voice in this story feels problematic to me. She doesn’t feel like an ally; to me, she feels like a cis straight female author fetishizing and profiting off the queer community while at the time, passing herself off as part of the community she was exploiting. It’s not so much in the story itself as in the details and the micro aggressions. Are they even micro? The discomfort started on page one with one of the cops being described as having a neo-Nazi haircutand continued throughout in the ways I’ve described as well as others.
That’s my queer 2 cents 🤷🏻♀️ It’s less about the story and more about the teller and the unease I feel with her.
PS Side note to my dear friend: 😳😅😆 I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t let this one stop or scare you from making recommendations in the future! I love your taste in books and appreciate the rec even though this one didn’t work out for me 😘💛