Gay Love to the Front in A Taste of Honey


In a fantasy world where gods and politicians face off, you might think the main character in A Tasteof Honey has bigger challenges than a romance. The rub in Kai Ashante Wilson’s otherworldly novella is that the love Aqib has for another man is bigger than any other threat.

Jumping in time between the possible present, another possible present, and many points in history, A Taste of Honey spends most of its pages exploring the days Aqib first met and fell in love with a soldier named Lucrio. Aqib is royalty in this world, son of the Beast Master, and goes against expectations when he falls for Lucrio.

While there are dragons in Wilson’s Daluça, there are also familial obligations and love, and those steal focus here. While a fantasy fan might come for the battles, Wilson wants them to stay for the romance. Aqib and Lucrio are reminiscent of many literary couples meant to be kept separate, who can’t help their desire to be together. They make a powerful couple as they physically and mentally work as one to ward off any naysayers, including their own inner-saboteurs.

Wilson has boldly taken a genre not often friendly to LGBT stories and given his characters a place in it. His short glimpse into Aqib and Lucrio’s life is engaging for the uniqueness of Daluça, and familiar for the hostility its heroes face because of their love. It is good to see gay men of color represented in the fantasy space; that it’s an engrossing read is all icing.

Thank you to the Boston Public Library for suggesting A Taste of Honey as part of its summer reading program.

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