Les Tucker – Nympho Librarian (1970)

January 18, 2025 Justin Tate

Oh no! Zeta, the AC/DC librarian, isn’t just strict on overdue books. She’s an archivist who does close-up photography of every ding dong and ho ho she encounters — and that’s a lot. She might need the whole Library of Congress to house her naughty special collection.

Nympho Librarian is the vintage novel with viral cover art and a holy grail title among paperback collectors. For obvious reasons, it’s intrigued a lot of readers who want to support their local library—in more ways than one.

Unfortunately the book is very out-of-print and nearly impossible to find. Most people probably assume the cover is a fake Photoshop job. Well, it is a real book and I traced down a copy. Naturally, I got right to reading, eager to find out if the story would be as exquisite as the cover by Parisian-trained (but Toledo-based) painter Isaac Paul Rader (1906-1986).

John Dexter – Swap Safari (1970)

January 5, 2025January 5, 2025 Justin Tate

Despite egregious false advertising and plenty of awkward sex scenes, Swap Safari ends up being a decent tale of erotic espionage.

Scott Newton is a government agent with international assignments of the deadliest nature. As he describes himself, “I’m a guy who hangs around unlikely corners of the world clearing up messes.” Currently he fronts as a vacation coordinator for luxury resorts in Nairobi. Secretly he works for the CIA—or maybe FBI? This is never explained clearly—and awaits the arrival of wealthy American swap couples.

After meeting Scott, the ladies admire his impressive physique and urge him to be included in their name-drawing ceremony. This is where they decide which man is paired with which woman for the day. They don’t have to twist his arm. After all, his work requires him to get close with these people. How much closer can you get?

John Harrison – Hip Pocket Sleaze (2011)

November 27, 2022November 27, 2022 Justin Tate

Pulp paperbacks were the wild wild west of publishing. I’ll never tire of learning about these books, authors, cover artists, and the barrage of taboo subjects explored during this time of sexual awakening in American history. It was a time that tested the limits of free speech, with many publishers having to defend their books all the way up to the Supreme Court. These books also became an outlet of self-expression to marginalized communities. For better and for worse, admittedly.

I believe the literary quality of pulp fiction is higher than most would expect, but that’s not to say there aren’t clunkers in the mix. For every pretty good book, you have to sift through ten that are terrible. There’s something visceral, deeply subconscious, and a little terrifying about even the worst-written pulps though.

George Sylvester Viereck – Men Into Beasts (1952)

October 22, 2021March 30, 2023 Justin Tate

A fascinating memoir of the American prison system in the 1940s, amid peak WWII fervor. Extremely problematic given its author, but well-composed and surprisingly gripping. The “story” spans the 4.5 years that Viereck was imprisoned and examines everything from the court system to wormy food to prison politics to character studies of murderers and thieves. The most shocking details—at least for its 1952 audience—involve semi-explicit accounts of “situational homosexuality.” Or, in other words, when “straight” men bang each other because there’s no women around.

Julian Francis – Bunny Bitch (1969)

October 15, 2021October 16, 2021 Justin Tate

This 1969 gay pulp novel got labeled as “Adult Only” entertainment when it was published, but it’s much more about true love than naughty exploits.

Steve Saville is the “head of computer division” for a big corporation. He’s 34, lonely, socially awkward, self-conscious, and carries baggage from painful past relationships. Thinking that he’s not meant for happiness, he is just confident enough to dance with attractive Ben “Bunny” Farrow at a party only because he’s rumored to be a hustler.

Frederick Raborg – Gay Vigilante (1972)

October 15, 2021October 15, 2021 Justin Tate

Circa 1972, this western-themed pulp delivers all the gay cowboy imagery a boy could want, but also explores intriguing literary topics such as the disconnect between external and internal masculinity, the basic human need for love, and what amounts to a critique of polyamory.

Set in Sacramento Valley during the 1849 gold rush, we learn that Holt Dykes is on the run. He’s a blue-eyed desperado who’s more sensitive than his rough exterior reveals. He’s thirsty, dirty, and trying to outpace the man who wants him dead.

J.X. Williams – Goodbye, My Lover (1966)

August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 Justin Tate

Historically significant gay murder mystery! Today Goodbye, My Lover merely reads like the campy whodunit that it is, but when it was originally published in 1966 it must’ve been a life-changing experience for gay readers seeking evidence that they deserve a place in the world.

The characters are happily gay and living their best life—even as they navigate an intricate murder plot. Rather than resent their sexuality or commit suicide by the end, they are more reaffirmed than ever to have long-term gay relationships in their future. Homophobia is largely absent and certainly not dwelled upon. Possibly because the novel takes place in Los Angeles, which was fantastically more liberated than the rest of the country, but generally queer pulp fiction was eager to explore a post-homophobic fantasy world where gay men were free from oppression.

Sebastian Lamb – The Slasher (1977)

January 30, 2021July 22, 2024 Justin TateLeave a comment

This rare 1977 horror novel occasionally pops up in academic discussions around gay representation in literature. Drewey Wayne Gunn, a leading academic on such topics, describes The Slasher as a “credible attempt to explain a killer’s mentality” and praises its “touching portrait of a relationship between two police officers and their friendship with the medical examiner.” He goes on to lament that the author’s actual identity remains a mystery, since Sebastian Lamb, like most headliners of pulp fiction, is a pseudonym.

Gunn’s praise is generous, but he’s not wrong. If you glaze over the overindulgent sex and generally poor writing, it’s possible to enjoy a story of semi-closeted detectives attempting to bring a killer to justice. Both victims and murderer are also gay, making this a story 100% by, for, and about gay men. A few lines of social commentary imply these grisly murders might go unchecked if the detectives were straight. The media, at least, aren’t interested in reporting on “faggot deaths” until one of the victims turns out to be a young, emerging actor.

Kym Allyson – Gay Circus (1970)

January 15, 2021July 21, 2024 Justin Tate

If you’ve ever checked out Pennywise and thought “I’d hit that,” you might be like Terry Adams, the nineteen year-old farm boy from St. Paul and newest recruit at the Gay Circus.

Terry’s life ambition is to become a clown himself. With his big ears “like sugar bowl handles” and theatrical eyes that spontaneously “alternate between happiness and sadness,” it’s like he was made for it. Everyone says he has the face of a clown, “even without makeup.” Being double-jointed is just the cream pie on top.

William J. Lambert, III – Demon’s Coronation (1971) + Interview

January 13, 2021July 21, 2024 Justin TateLeave a comment

A survey of 1960’s and ’70s gay pulp fiction reveals that sequels were scarce. Many of these books had impressive print runs (over 100,000) but rarely did any one title warrant a narrative continuation. The plots and characters weren’t exactly designed for posterity. Instead, their pleasures were often of a disposable nature, to the level of being tossed out with garbage upon reaching aphrodisiacal fulfillment. The idea that people might read, collect and obsess over pulp fifty years later probably sounded laughable at the time.

Nevertheless, there were fan favorites and landmark publications among this ocean of cheap, sleazy paperbacks. Some titles generated multi-book series, spin-offs, parodies and, of course, sequels. Notable examples of the era include the 2069 trilogy (1969-1970) by Larry Townsend, The Man from C.A.M.P. series (1966-1968) by Don Holliday, and Richard Amory’s bestselling Song of the Loon trilogy (1966-1968). Amory’s books sold in the millions and even had a movie adaptation.

Demon’s Coronation (1971) by William J. Lambert, III, is another example, being the dramatic second half of Demon’s Stalk (1970). If you’ve read my review of the first book, you know I’m a fan and would consider it not only a fabulous example of queer pulp, but also the horror genre at large.