These seem to be books you either love or hate. I loved 'em!

Strictly speaking they're not gay at all because the heroes are hermaphroditic, but to me they seemed far more masculine than feminine - just like very pretty young men. And they have sex with each other. Sooooo, sounds pretty gay to me.

The writing is brilliant but what I'd call untidy - there are times you long to get out the red pen and give them a really good edit. But the ideas are original, the characters fresh and the language poetic.

I have to admit I've not read the more recent volumes, only the original three. I've heard that the second trilogy is tidier but has lost some of its cutting edge and spends too long explaining things rather than just telling the story....