SciFi and More from Duane Simolke

Book review: SS Mann Hunt by William Maltese

William Maltese, best known for hugely popular gay novels like Summer Sweat, When Summer Comes, and the Stud Draqual Mystery Series, offers a gay adventure novel, SS Mann Hunt.

Actually, this first-person narrative seamlessly combines adventure, romance, and erotica. The erotica takes over at times, and even some of the narrator’s descriptions of physical surroundings become intensely sexual.

With Brad Lexly and Kurt Mann searching a South American jungle to learn what happened to their fathers, they constantly encounter danger, and have constant encounters with each other. Some might call it pulp fiction, but from an inventive author who can turn phrases in brilliant ways and keep readers turning pages.

Adding to the tension, it looks like Kurt’s father—the renowned scientist Sebastian S. Mann—might have been a Nazi war criminal. Twists and turns occur often, but Maltese holds off on the biggest revelations until late in the novel.

Maltese’s life sounds like an adventure, so it’s no surprise that he excels at writing adventure. Besides authoring over a hundred novels under various names, he has served in the U.S. Army, traveled the globe, and worked with a vast array of publishers. Book lovers will doubtlessly keep hearing his name(s) during talks of many different genres, and I look forward to discovering more of his writing.