An Arrow's Flight * Mark Merlis

In a brilliant, surreal mashup of ancient mythology and contemporary urban grit, the beautiful go-go dancer son of the fallen warrior Achilles must choose between his comfortable life as a big-city hustler and a dark, state-mandated destiny requiring him to sail to Troy to break a ten-year military stalemate.

The Story: Written by prominent gay literature icon and Lambda Literary Award winner Mark Merlis, this critically acclaimed 1998 masterpiece stands as an audacious, beautifully subversive landmark in contemporary queer fiction. The narrative completely steps past the predictable patterns of traditional mythological fantasies or low-friction adventure retellings. Instead, Merlis constructs an exceptionally deep, atmospheric landscape where ancient headlines seamlessly merge with twentieth-century gay culture, creating a substantial commentary on straight power, systemic societal pressures, and the devastating impact of the mid-century AIDS epidemic.

The plot follows Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus), a gorgeous but fiercely independent young man who has spent years putting his godlike form to profitable use as a rent boy and go-go dancer in a sprawling, modern metropolis. His chaotic routine takes a sharp turn when an oracle tells the stalled Greek army that victory in Troy requires Achilles’ biological heir. Rather than rushing to strap on a suit of hand-me-down armor, Pyrrhus initially resists the draft, preferring his hard-bought freedom to a corporate war run by manipulative lawyers like Odysseus.

The journey transitions smoothly into an emotional and physical odyssey of self-discovery when Pyrrhus is drawn out to sea. Along an unscheduled detour, he must navigate an intricate maze of relationships, seducing the abandoned, disease-ridden pariah Philoctetes to secure a magical prophecy. Moving from neon-lit urban underbellies where legendary figures place explicit personal ads to raw battlefield confrontations, the story functions as an incredibly moving meditation on what it truly means to be a man. Published as a premium first-edition hardcover by St. Martin's Press, this highly decorated, 376-page chart-topper keeps its emotional stakes at an absolute boil.

Perfect For: Fans of subversive mythological retellings, classic LGBTQ+ fiction, and highly stylized literary masterpieces; readers who appreciate the genre-bending, lyrical prose of authors like Mary Renault, Madeline Miller, or Andrew Holleran; and book clubs exploring identity, power dynamics, and queer history.

Stonewall Book Award Nominee for Literature (1999), Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction (1998).

Published 1998 by St Martins Press.

Fiction / Classics / LGBTQ+ Fiction / Historical & Mythological Retellings / Fantasy & Queer Noir / Lambda Literary Winners / Modernist Sagas