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* "Magic" by D.A. Ignatius (romance & adventure) 10, 10, 10
* "Magic" by D.A. Ignatius (jash@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu). This is another in the "DarkNites" series of reposts. The story takes place in an undefined place - it could be in a galaxy far away; it could be in mythological times; it could be somewhere in the world right now. The reader starts out with the awareness that something very vivid and very erotic is happening, but having no idea what is really going on. As I started to decipher the story, I thought maybe we had a warrior queen who had been captured by a warrior king and now must pay the price by mating with him. But as new information became available I had to adjust my perceptions. It was ambiguous to me, for example, whether Lorelei was being raped or whether she was getting what she wanted. It was hard to determine who was in control. Sometimes ambiguity is bad, but sometimes it's good. In this case the ambiguity is deliberate, and it is good. When I reached the end of the story, part of my reaction was, "What was that all about?" Often this reaction is a sign of indignation or frustration, but this time it was evidence of fascination. I had to reread and rethink earlier events in terms of what I learned from later events. This is an interesting approach if it is carried off effectively; and - even though I think there is room for improvement - I think this author did a good job. I recall reviewing one of Elf Sternberg's stories, in which he used what I'll call a random-journal approach - that is, the story started on a page from the narrator's fictitious journal and assumed that the reader knew what lay behind the events described in that journal entry. When using this approach, the author knows perfectly well that the readers won't be able to meet this assumption; readers will discover later in the journal entry (or even in subsequent stories that purport to be previous or subsequent entries) information that will make events in a particular story make better sense. Because I stated that some readers would be agitated by the ambiguity of Elf's style, some readers thought that I was saying that the story was badly written in this respect. Not true. If the author implements this technique effectively, the reader experiences a sensation of "Oh, so now I get it" that contributes to the enjoyment of the story. I have digressed. You can enjoy this story even if you don't care about the literary criticism stuff that I described in the preceding paragraph. That paragraph tries to tell you *why* you'll enjoy the story; it's quite likely that you may not care *why*, as long as you *do* enjoy the story. The plot focuses on the first-time sexual encounter of a woman who is used to being self-confident and dominant with a man who is now in charge but wants the experience to be beautiful for her. This encounter evokes images and emotions that generate the sexual tension that permeates story. You'll probably enjoy it even if you don't know (or care) why. However, the story is designed to be part of a longer story; and although it is enjoyable even in its present form, it would be more enjoyable if it could be read in its final context. Ratings for "Magic" Athena (technical quality): 10 Venus (plot & character): 9.5 Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9.5 |