Grab Bag 17 provides a dozen new eclectic-themed gay male standalone stories written by habu during the summer and fall of 2018. In keeping with the previous sixteen anthologies in this series, these are varied themed and setting short stories laid out in chronological order to provide insight into the author’s activities and thought patterns during a set period. In contrast to several of the other Grab Bag anthologies, nearly all of these stories are set in the present—one, though, “Duped in D.C.,” is set in Washington, D.C., after the 1968 race riots. Also, in what is unusual for this anthology series, only one of them, “India Assignment.” is set outside the United States. The stories range in location from the Mid-Atlantic States on the East Coast, including “Flat to Let,” “Finding a Niche,” “Confirmation Glitch,” “Homeless Haven,” and down to Florida (“A Bit too Clever”) and New Orleans (“Virginity for Sale”), to San Francisco (“One Night in San Francisco”) on the West Coast, with intervening stops in Denver (“Hotel-Side Assistance” and “Failed Connections”) and Chicago (“Release Retreat”).Included are stories that involve everything gay from crossdressing to whipping, including gay sex in Denver and gay virgins.
