9/6/97 -- Presentation (Solstice); The Barber Chair (Saucy Wench); When Morning Comes (Joe Parsons); Vampire Love Story (Aurora); Girl Crazy (Candy Kane)
9/13/97 -- Master SExxx (Susan White); Brooklyn Street Boy (David McMann); The Storyteller (Eve Feral); The Rise of God, Parts 1 and 2 (Rass Senip); Jaycee (Vickie Tern); Cutters and Keepers (Cbowman932)
9/15/97 "The Law of Averages" -- Lady Sarah's Erotic Fantasy (Lady Sarah); Story: First Session (Part 1) (revised) (EBodhrain); Story1 (DeadAim33); photo shoot fantasy (PX125); Three's Company All Cats are... (Uncle Mike); Andy, Garter and Lace (Andy Rhonstadt)
9/22/97 "Gay Fiction" -- A Story for Jack (Markjo342); Website Review: Markjo342; The Strong, Silent Type (Textboy); Blues Brothers (Mazer114); Leather (Ziggy); Deductible (Felix Lance Falkon); Afternoon (Starwalkin)
9/29/97 "Dr. Who -- Is Nothing Sacred?" -- A Day at the Art Institute (David); Miya's Ride (Senor Rojo); You Might be a Sex Maniac If... (Frank McCoy); Alyssa (Brother Cadfael); Nympho (Edward Miller); Movie Notes: Wigstock
In one of my last Reviews I mentioned some pointers about protecting your web site, if you have one, from minors. Here is another one. There are a number of companies that offer a screening service for parents, and by registering with them your site will be rendered accessible from those households. At least, that's how I think it works. At any rate, it might be good idea for you to check these folks out:
Safe Surf: www.safsurf.com
Surf Watch: www.surfwatch.com
Cyber Patrol www.cyberpatrol.com
On to the stories.
Presentation [A+]
When received: 8/31/97
Author: Solstice
Address: solstice@frontiernet.net
The author sent me this one, with a note indicating it will be posted the first week of September. NOTE: If you haven't posted it yet, please hurry. It was very good.
A businessman about to make an important presentation to his client's board of directors falls under the hypnotic spell of the firm's CEO. She hypnotizes him to commit all sorts of sexual acts with her and her secretary, and he is only too eager to continue. Anticipating similar treatment from the company's board, he strips, lubes and butt-plugs himself, then walks into the conference room with head and penis high...but read for yourself what happens next.
This story was a good variation on mind-control ones, with the hypnotism handled plausibly and realistically. Those of us who work for large companies where viewfoil presentations are routine will note the creative, but ineffective, use of those stiff 8 x 10 sheets of plastic towards the end of the story. It left me with a WLG (wicked little giggle) on my face. On the whole, a lark and an intelligent read.
The Barber Chair [A]
When posted: 8/31/97
Where posted: ASS
Author: Saucy Wench
Address: wenchsaucy@aol.com
I've noticed that traditionally feminine settings such as spas, lingerie shops, and, in this story, a hair salon, lend themselves very well to lesbian sex fantasies. I guess it's the lingering aroma of estrogen and what is generally referred to in ASS stories as "juices."
In this story by Saucy Wench (love that name) the narrator goes to a hair salon after closing for a special appointment she is apprehensive about. She has reason to be, as the stylist straps her to the chair, puts those pointy beautician's hair clips to good use on several body parts, then shaves and spritzes her pussy. Then come other delights of the dom-sub variety. The story was breezily told and ended in a cliffhanger...a nice fantasy to reflect on the next time you're getting a haircut from a female stylist.
When Morning Comes [A+]
When posted: 8/28/97
Where posted: ASS
Author: Joe Parsons
Address: Unknown
Reposter: http://www.porn-king.com/
The plot of this story was fairly simple: a beautiful woman, unsatisfied with the "nice guy" nature of her current lover, dreams of someone more explorative and dangerous. She gets her wish when he pays her a visit one morning as she's still floating in out of her dreams. They have tons of sex. He tells her things like "I will make love to you now, Ellen, but you must do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" Even though people in the real world don't phrase things like this, here the Mr. Data talk is most arousing and lets us know an intricate dance of romantic submission and dominance will be played. In fact, the whole piece was very female-oriented, soft focus but fairly explicit, and I recommend it as a good introduction for women who would normally be horrified at reading any kind of porn. (Of course, any women reading the Annex probably won't need this kind of introduction.) For men, this story is a good one to give to your porn-hating girlfriend or wife. On a fresh, virginal diskette with a pink ribbon around it.
The story also brings up some points I want to make about POV, or point of view. The most arousing stories, I've found, are ones where you can put yourself in the place of the characters (as a woman might do with the protagonist in this story) yet simultaneously see it in your head as if you were watching a movie (the voyeur factor.) So many writers mangle this element badly, so I recommend all writers read this story to see how it should be done.
In sum, this one's a keeper. The only criticism I have is the line "Ellen did not normally care to have her pussy licked." Huh? What planet is she from?
Vampire Love Story [B-]
When posted: 8/1/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Aurora
Address: claudia@hom.net
Anne Rice is the best-selling author of "The Vampire Chronicles" and "The Witches of Mayfair" series, which deal with the supernatural world of vampires, witches, ghosts, and other boggles. This story, obviously written by a fan, was inspired by Rice's world and depicts sex between a leather-clad vampire and the leather-corsetted sweet young thing he's captured.
Although I like Rice's work, there was nothing special about this story; it didn't capture the melodramatic, gothic nature of her work. The story didn't bring to mind Rice's erotic fiction, either. To be fair, though, I imagine it might be entertaining for someone who hasn't read Rice's work, and has a yen for the Dark Side.
Girl Crazy [B]
When posted: 9/5/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: CANDY KANE
Address: GQKZ45C@prodigy.com
This was one of series of stories posted by this author. The others include "Girlfriends" "Girls on Girls" "Heather and Sarah" and "Lez be Friends." Guess what they're about.
As sex stories go, these were basic: minimal characterization, minimal plot, minimal description. Just fucking, and basic fucking at that. I'd guess you'd call them meat n' potatoes. There were a few mispellings: "Necture" for "nectar" but nothing major.
There was one interesting line in here: "Go fish." I guess this is a common sex game for lesbians, as it was the title of an indie lesbian film released a few years ago.
Some of you out there have been sending me information concerning
your websites. Great! I will be posting them in a special "It's New" section
on my webpage for approximately one month, after which they'll be
moved to a permanent links page. If anyone else wants to send theirs in,
go ahead...noncommercial or semicommercial sites only, please. (A
semicommercial site is one that has ads on it or is trying to sell
something, but also offers plenty of free stuff.) . I ask only that you
reciprocate with a listing for me (http://users.aol.com/ladycyrrh).
Also, the date on the last Reviews I posted is wrong; it should have been 9/6/97, not 9/9/97. A case of dyslexia, obviously.
This week's stories:
Master SExxx [B+/B]
When posted: 9/11/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Susan White?
Address: greenfish@hotmail.com (Susan White)
The BDSM genre of sex stories lends itself to an elegant, ceremonial tone, something which this story has captured for the most part. As far as plot goes, it was "Just the sex, ma'am." A sub female pleasures her dom and a stranger with oral sex, then both men pleasure her. The author must have wanted to draw a deep relationship to mythic archetypes because the characters were simply called "The Girl" "The Master" and "The Stranger." Capitalized like that. This lent the proceedings an aura of dignity, in spite of the rather sensationalistic connotations of the title. If you're in a silly mood, the story also lends itself to extremes of camp, for example reading it out loud at a party with a group of inebriated friends.
I did enjoy reading this, but I know, that as far as B/D stories go, there've been better, and there will be better. But for the few minute's pleasure it gave me, I'm not going to be too critical.
Brooklyn Street Boy [A]
When posted: 9/6/97
Where posted: ASSG
Author: David McMann
Poster: Jerry Gaither
Address: jerryg@pacbell.net
A young man living in an East Coast, ethnic, working-class neighborhood meets a neighbor of his, a young Pole, and is immediately attracted. He invites him up to his apartment, which is over a strip club. (This is Brooklyn.) They have sex.
This story was unusual for its evocation of a distinct setting--New York-- something that's lacking in most ASS fiction. It also doesn't end too happily, with the pickup ripping off the guy and later revealing himself as a het, or at least bi. But the narrator gets a revenge of sorts--he keeps the pickup's snazzy jacket, which he's left behind in his escape--and the implication is he's learned his lesson. This story sounds like it really happened to someone.
The Storyteller [A-]
When posted: 9/9/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Eve Feral
Address: eveferal@mailanon.com
Poster: Slowhand Luke
Address: slowhand@dial.pipex.com
A woman, left alone by her lover's departure, fantasizes about him as she lies in bed one morning. He leaves stories for her, you see, and these erotic transcripts start her fingers dancing. In the midst of her masturbation, he returns (having missed his morning flight) and they fuck. The story ends with the comment that watching one's lover masturbate while reading one's stories is a worthy substitute for sexual intercourse.
This was one of the hottest female masturbation fantasies I've seen so far; I half expected the woman to spontaneously combust. I have the feeling it also reflects a common practice, or perhaps a common practice that is fantasized about by many ASS posters. It didn't have anything unique to add, but what it said, it said well, save for a few overly purple phrases here and there.
The Rise of a God, Parts 1 and 2 [B/B-]
When posted: 9/2/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Rass Senip
Address: rass_senip@usa.net
The author called this one "a Roman mind control story." Plerto, a 13- year-old slave boy, stumbles into a mysterious cavern one day, a temple of sorts, and is possessed by a force that allows him to control the thoughts and actions of others. He lets his 15-year-old friend in on the secret, and soon they are taking over their master's slave-trading business and having fun with the merchandise. This first leg of the novel was left unfinished, though the author states that Plerto will later "[grow] up with the power to control minds, obtaining greater understanding of his powers and becoming more corrupt as time progressed. At some point he would destroy everything he loved to obtain his ultimate goal of becoming a god, which he does. But because he had no one to love and share it with, he begins to relearn the lessons of life and becomes a man of fairness who worked for the common good."
The author has also penned the "Tim, the teenage MC" series, and like that one (which I've read only parts of) the tone is very juvenile. At 19,000 words, it's also pretty long. Though the author has an ambitious story to tell, with a fairly detailed setting, a well-developed system of thought control (rather like computer programming, with flashing symbols whirling around everyone's heads), some attempt at historical detail, and a plot that moves well, the juvenile style made it a chore for me to read. It reminded me of Raymond Fiests's (a fantasy author popular with teens) Riftwar books, but with sex. In fact, the sex stuck out like a hardon in a Speedo; it was very incongruous, and wasn't all that erotic either. The protagonists of the story even justified their MC actions by seeing it as a sort of sex therapy. 'Scuse me? We read slave stories for many reasons, but one of them is not to see the slaves become happy, fulfilled human beings.
It's clear that the author has put a lot of thought and time into this fantasy, but it just wasn't very adult, and wouldn't be interesting to adults. I found it more entertaining for what it says about the author, who sounds like a horny, rather frustrated teenage boy who may imagine the only way he can get fulfilling sex is with a mind-controlled partner. Now, I do admit it's sometimes fun to read one of these stories, especially when the victims become total sex fiends and are given new names like Nipples and Cumsy, but, like most of these fantasies, the premise is still an extremely silly one, so I can't say I liked this or recommend it. But I give the author a B for reaching beyond his grasp.
JayCee [A-]
Author: Vicki Tern
Address: VickieTern@aol.com
Website: http://library.gaycafe.com/nifty/transgender/by_authors/Vickie_Tern
(This story may be available at the site above, but if it isn't, I'm sure
Vickie can repost it.)
Vicki Tern sent me this story back in August in response to a comment I made about the characters in her stories smirking and sounding like drunk drag queens. She has informed me that her characters *do not* smirk, though she admits they are smug. By the drag queen comment, I think what I meant to say was that her short-shorts *shade*--that is, try to out-vie each other in the level of outrageousness they attain. Shading is the way drag queens (or TGs, or he-shes, etc.) try to verbally one-up each other, a sort of battle of words that is designed to make themselves look good and their opponents look bad. For a definition better than the one I can give, check out the excellent documentary "Paris is Burning" the next time you go to a video store.
The story details the adventures of a teenage girl who learns to subjugate and feminize men and makes them enjoy it at the same time. The first part of the story could be taken as a female rebuttal to the Roman MC story above, where the two teenage boys make their teen girl-slaves fuck and suck them and, that staple of many MC situations, 69 each other for their masters' enjoyment. In Vicki's story the heroine dominates two male classmates by sheer force of will, not MC, and, moreover, talks them into having sex with each other...and they come to happy realization that they're gay, and in fact like having a female persuade them to such acts.
The remainder of the story concerns Jaycee's friendship with the son of a new neighbor. The son, who's around Jaycee's own age, is being fed female hormones by his mom in preparation for his eventual "coming- out" as a girl, the reason being that, due to some bad experiences in her past, Mom's long decided that men are such cruds that she can't subject her son to such a fate. She enlists Jaycee to help her condition her son to his eventual fate, but things don't go exactly as planned. The main fault I found with this story was that is was very long--about 40,000 words--and that events could have been presented more compactly. But it did bring up some interesting points about gender and gender roles. I don't quite buy it as realism, but, as I believe the purpose of the story was to push a certain philosophy and energize different points of view, this was OK. Sex stories are very similar to the speculative worlds of science fiction; they both compel us to think of things in a new light. In some ways the views presented here reminded me of Camille Paglia's, particularly the relationship between gay men and strong women. (Check out http://users.aol.com/spectaclum/paglia.html for more information.)
In summation, I do want to point out that everyone knows women are physiologically superior to men. This is a fact. Women are healthier, sturdier, smarter, and psychologically tougher. In fact, in the early 60s when astronauts were being recruited for the space program NASA tested some female pilots and found they came out ahead of the male candidates in every way. This being the early 60s, however, they went with the men...and an older female friend, an electrical engineer turned tech writer, informs me that when the male astronauts went to speak at high schools in the wake of Gemini and Mercury programs, the girls weren't even permitted to attend. So, we've come a long way.
Cutters and Keepers [B+]
When posted: 9/4/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Cbowman932
Address: cbowman932@aol.com
This story would be an interesting one to read after the Vicki Tern one. It's the future, and women have become the dominant sex. Males are reduced to slaves, becoming "cutters" (guess which body part is removed) or "keepers" (guess how they maintain the population.) It was very short, but very effective, following a classic femdom plot that also happens to be one widely used by science fiction writers.
Me, I liked the cleverness of the idea, but I think balls should stay on men's bodies, where they belong. Guess I'm too kind-hearted for the brave new world of 2017.
I've decided to do something a little different for this edition of the Reviews, which follows hot on the heels of the last. Usually I spent three or four hours a week wading through the newsgroups, picking out stories that look interesting and unusual. But this time, I selected them more or less at random, concentrating on what was posted in the past two days.
Judge for yourself what this says about the average quality of sex stories.
Lady Sarah's Erotic Fantasy [C]
When posted: 9/13/97
Where posted: ASS
Author: Lady Sarah
Posted by: Paul
Address: Paul@nospam.azeroth.demon.co.uk
Boy was this story dumb. One of the dumbest I've seen in a while, rivaling the Spice Girls story I did a review on a while back. It begins by stating "My name is Lady Sarah, I would like to welcome you to my secret dairy of erotic fantasy, that exist purely for my pleasure alone." Woah! A secret "dairy." I'll take two gallons of buttermilk, please.
Lady Sarah takes a shower and masturbates with her fingers in her pussy. She's also rather detached from herself, commenting on "the creamy white flesh" and "the pointed pleasure button" of her body...I least I think the flesh and pleasure button were hers, as no other women were in the shower stall with her. After that, "Closing my eyes, I sagged against the cold glass of the cubical, subcoming to my own pleasure." I believe she means "succumbing" here, though if she's a sub, and is currently coming, this strange word could make sense.
But alas, her reverie is broken when Alex, the brother-in-law with the manly torso, climbs into the shower with her. He says, "Don't try and act coy with me Sarah. I know the sort of woman you are, you want me as much as I lust over that slender body of yours" in stilted romance novel speech. Making the most of an embarrassing situation, Lady Sarah sucks his cock. He responds, " 'God yes, suck it you bitch.' He gasped from above, then. 'I'm going to come. I want to shower it all over you face and tits.' until his showered my face and tits with his hot, creamy spunk." After that he fucks her against the glass wall of the showerstall. Miraculously, they aren't sliced n' diced when it shatters under the strain of two copulating bodies.
Compared to "The Storyteller" which I posted in my previous Reviews, and which was also a female masturbation fantasy, this story falls flat. You can tell a woman didn't write it, chiefly by the way Lady Sarah immediately latches onto the guy's cock and the heroic description of sperm as "hot creamy spunk" rather than the nondescript, snotlike fluid it actually is. Yeah, yeah, this is porn, we have to ignore certain laws of nature. But a neutral word like "cum" or "semen" would sound a lot less ridiculous. Oh, and then there's that tender, romantic "bitch."
Although it stinks, I was actually pretty entertained by the story. It's so bad, it's good. And it was fun to write this review, too.
Story: First Session (Part 1) (revised) [C+]
When posted: 9/14/97
Where posted: ASS
Author: ebodhrain@aol.com (EBodhrain)
Posted by: ebodhrain@aol.com
This posting crossed a variety of genres: BDSM, medical exam, enema, and chubby. I can't really call it a story. It's more of a private fantasy told in annoying second person voice ("With clean, firm hands I begin your gynecological exam") to you-the-victim, this imaginary person being a "Queen-sized" woman the narrator's met through email and talked into playing dom-sub/doctor games with him in his motel room.
Though it doesn't succeed as a story, I found the fantasy interesting for the insight it gives into the mind of someone who is turned on by playing kinky games with large-sized women. Sort of like reading an X- rated confession.
Story1 [B]
When posted: 9/13/97
Where posted: ASS
Author: DeadAim33
Posted by: deadaim33@aol.com
This one was another female masturbation fantasy, but told from the man's point of view this time, also in that #&$*%#&@!!! second person voice. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with second person voice. It's just that the tone forces the reader to play-act the role of the unseen, nameless "you" when they'd rather be reading along as readers usually like to do.
That said, this story wasn't bad, and reading it was like reading a combination of the previous two stories. The narrator is in his home office reading his woman's sexy stories and masturbating when she barges in on him. The sight pleases her, and it pleases her even more to diddle herself for him. Then she asks him to come on her tits.
Reality check here. #1. I don't get why any woman would go bonkers for a man's cum on her tits. Jeez, you'd get a better effect from a can of whipped cream. #2. If a couple has been sexually intimate with each other, why are they so embarrassed about masturbating in front of each other?
But this author does write competently, and I did find the story sexy. Just get rid of the second person voice!
photo shoot fantasy [C]
When posted: 9/14/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: px125@aol.com (PX125)
Posted by: px125@aol.com
This one's just as dumb as "Lady Sarah's Erotic Fantasy" but in a different way.
A 20-year-old model with "large and pendulous yet conical shaped breasts" (Isn't this a contradiction in terms?) goes into a photographer's studio for a shoot. I imagine he's one of those amateur photogs who does it for the girls. After a few hot poses, he says, "I want your pussy so bad I can't stand it" and she readily agrees to fuck him. Just like that. Then she obeys all his other commands, such as spreading her legs on demand.
After that, " 'Suck my dick Holly!!' I yelled along with other random obscenities as I reached down to fondle her tits and ass." Gee, and she didn't even sign a model release form.
Sorry, but we need a plot, story structure, and characters here.
Three's Company All Cats are... [B-]
When posted: 9/13/97
Where posted: ASS
Author: Uncle Mike
Posted by: who@why.not
This story was one of many posted by the same person, who@whynot. I skimmed a few others, and they all seemed to be about fairly conventional heterosexual encounters spiced with a few lesbian ones. They weren't bad enough to be amusing or good enough to be memorable. The author of this story was "Uncle Mike." I don't think this is a referral to Mike Hunt, as the styles were very different.
"Three's Company" was a TV show popular about twenty years ago about a horny guy named Jack who shares his apartment with two female roommates, Chrissie and Janet. The landlord doesn't approve of this so Jack pretends he's gay. (In retrospect, the landlord was actually a gay rights champion who was ahead of his time, given his approval of homosexuality but not of heterosexual relations.) It was a dumb show, and this is a dumb story.
The fun begins when Jack surprises Janet humping on top of a stud in her bedroom. She's nude but for her high stiletto pumps. (Gee, why aren't her buttocks pierced by the high heels?) Jack assumes the guy's raping her and pulls him away. The boyfriend leaves, insulted, but Janet soon decides to fuck Jack instead. In the time-honored tradition, she immediately sucks his cock, then obligingly receives his cum all over her tits, face and hair. Jeez, I am so sick of this particular fantasy. Will someone please tell me what the appeal of it is for women?
After that, Jack licks her pussy, with the obligatory finger up the ass, and she screams, "Yeah, baby! Yeah! I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna... I'm... Aieeeeee!" I know this is a spoof, but there are good spoofs, and there are bad spoofs, and the fact is "Three's Company" doesn't lend itself to spoofing at all, because the premise of it was so campy and loaded with smirks in the first place. TV parodies only work when explicit sex would be totally out of place in the shows they spoof. The show is also too old for a TV parody, unless they've been showing it on Nick at Night or something.
To be fair the rest of the story was amusing, with Jack going bonkers for the comparatively plain Janet instead of sex-bomb Chrissie. He eventually fucks Chrissie up the ass as she retrieves something from under the bed, mistaking her for Janet from the waist down, and then Janet turns into a dominatrix who makes Chrissie lick her pussy as Jack fucks her, and then there's the oh-so-original female 69 scene.
In conclusion, the writer did an OK job of recreating the stupid gags and pitfalls of the original show, and the writing was OK for the most part. But the many cliches were still annoying.
Andy, Garter and Lace [B]
When posted: 9/13/97
Where posted: ASSG
Author: Andy Rhonstadt
Address: andyron@hotmail.com
This story could have been a companion piece to Vickie Tern's "Jaycee" which I reviewed last week, told from the viewpoint of the teenage boy. It purports to be written by an actual gay, nellie 17-year-old, who says "For those of you who are wondering, some parts of this are true, but it is a compilation of many events." Okay, I'll take your word for it.
Part fantasy, part narrative, the story concerns an outstanding sexual adventure of the young hero, who is employed as an artist's model at a special school where male artists go to ogle young, smooth, hermaphroditic-looking boys. One guy becomes a special friend of the narrator and gives him a powder-blue satin maid's costume to wear, with a garter belt and glitter. This turns the narrator on, and that night, he agrees to bondage games at a party his older friend throws. Trussed in a sling, on exhibition, blindfolded, he enjoys himself immensely...and receives many flattering compliments on his good looks.
Although this wasn't the greatest writing in the world, the story was interesting, and it was a relief to read about a main character who acts and thinks like a real human being instead of a cliche. He says flat-out he liked the sex and isn't exploited or abused. He wasn't called a "bitch." He told the story in a believable first person voice, with a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion. And no one came on anyone's tits.
Random Notes:
I received some interesting feedback about the randomly selected stories I posted in the 9/15/97 Reviews. Some thought it was funny, others weren't so amused. A quote from one of the former: "Please, please spare the readers from random reviews."
I would much rather review A stories, as it makes my job more pleasant, but I also want to give everyone a general idea of the kind of stuff that's available, and also to acknowledge the writers who may be pushed out of getting reviewed because of their subject matter or simply because they're a new writer and get lost in the shuffle. These stories can be good, awful, or average, depending on the luck of the draw. I probably won't be repeating this experiment in the future, but there will always be an occasional random selection in what I review. It makes life interesting.
Second, for those who don't know already know it, there is a newsgroup called soc.sexuality.spanking that is SPAM-FREE and contains lots of high quality fiction relating to you-know-what. They've had a big contest over the summer, sort of like Celeste's recent short-short (500 word or less) story competition, but with hundreds more entries. These entries are all still available for voting and/or viewing at http://www.geh.com, so load up your shopping cart.
Thirdly, I am still collecting website addresses of writers, archivers, or collectors, so if you have one you'd like me to list, please drop me a line. It will stay in the "It's New!" section of my website (http://users.aol.com/ladycyrrh) for approximately one month, after which it will go to the Links page. I'm also looking for the *current* website addresses for the following writers and archivers: Ole Joe, Eli the Bearded, Mike Hunt, Taria, SlowHand Luke, BronwenSM, red dragon, Ann Douglas, Seurat, Anne018bi.
Now that all that is out of the way, I'd like to say that the 9/22/97 Reviews is devoted to gay fiction. It didn't choose to be that way. It was born that way.
:-)
I will also be doing a dyke issue in the future, probably sometime in October, so if anyone has any lesbian or bi women fiction they would like me to review send it along to -- ladycyrrh@aol.com.
Next week I'll return to "regular" reviews.
A Story for Jack [A]
When received: 9/19/97
Author: Mark jo342
Address: Markjo342@aol.com
Website: http://members.aol.com/markjo342/mark.htm
The story was sent to me by the author, described by him as a M/M mind control story. He says, "This story contains episodes of homosexual sex...barely. Just like me, all characterization and plot and almost zero cocksucking."
A guy cruising the bar scene notices a nondescript leatherman. His friend tries to warn him away--seems Mr. Leather has a strange effect on his dates--but the guy leaves with the leatherman anyway. Later that night he discovers, belatedly, what his pickup's secret power is. He can hypnotize gay men without their knowledge or consent, turning them into the smoothest, best cut, most obedient slave boy studmuffins you've ever seen...and the next day he parades his latest conquest around the same bar on a leash.
As a gay mc fantasy this was hot. It bore a distant relationship to Dierdre's "House" which I reviewed a few issues back, dwelling less on the sex and mind control mechanics and more on the otherwordly master/slave aspect of the situation. Like the former story, it had a distinct Twilight Zone flavor...just enough to give you the willies without detracting from the overall turn-on nature of the story. You should post more often, Mark. The only problem I had was that the point of view wasn't consistent, switching between the leatherman and his victim at will, but being as this is easily fixed, I didn't let it drag the grade down.
I also visited the writer's website, and a review follows.
Click here to see Website Review: Markjo's Home Page
The Strong, Silent Type [A-/B+]
When posted: 9/14/97
Where posted: ASSG
Author: Textboy
Address: textboy@aol.com
Website: http://members.aol.com/textboy/
This story gets double affirmative action rights: as a gay story AND as one featuring someone who is hearing-impaired (deaf.)
The tone of this one was very sweet. Sorry for being sentimental, but that's what it was. Sweet. A young man at college is attracted to a new student in his English class. It turns out the blonde, blue-eyed stud is deaf. He volunteers to take notes for the guy and reads an essay he's written about how he lost his hearing. Touched by his response, the guy invites him to lift weights with him. In the locker room afterward, they have an erotic encounter.
Though the staples of gay fiction were here--young men, locker rooms, showers, etc. -- the author got a lot of mileage from them. There was an element of friendship and caring here you see only rarely in M/F sex stories. I don't know if it's because the participants are gay, or young, or what. I suspect it's because no one's wearing those old, tired masks of male/female sex roles.
The only thing I could say to the author is watch your spelling...particularly one of the characters having a "Mt. Dew" soda.
Blues Brothers [A-/B+]
When posted: 9/21/97
Where posted: ASSG
Author: mazer114@aol.com
Address: Mazer114
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers seem to be a popular target for amateur erotica writers. HypnoTV has tackled them, and so has Cheryl Roberts. Now comes this one, which is part of a series of gay Power Rangers stories by the same author. I remember skimming the first ones when they came out, and there has definitely been an improvement in writing on the part of this author. It's nice to track an upward curve.
I have only a basic understanding of the show, so I don't know for sure the various incarnations of the Rangers and their friends in cute little Angel Grove, California. But the story concerns the new 13-year-old Blue Ranger, Justin (this seems to be the most popular name for young boys in ASSG fiction) who realizes his attraction to Nico, a Hispanic friend of his. Not a Ranger, but someone who I guess fulfills the role of Nell in the Dudley Do-right cartoons...someone who gets kidnapped, then rescued, week after week. After one such week, Justin goes home with Nico, and they act on their attraction to each other with mutual blowjobs.
The sex here was pretty good, and seemed true to life; the writing here was much stronger than the beginning (non-sex) section, which was only average at best. The author also had something very interesting to say in the preface: "...my major regret in life is that I wasn't sexually active earlier in life. Know all that stuff Adults tell you about waiting till you're old enough? Bullshit, go with your heart. Don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable, But if you don't act out of fear, I can virtually guarantee you'll regret it later in life." Well said. The affair between the two boys was, I hate to use these words again, very sweet, with a level of caring I haven't seen a lot of in straight fiction.
Leather [B+/B]
When posted: 9/18/97
Where posted: ASSG
Author: Ziggy
Address: ziggy001@btinternet.com
Posted by: Rock
Address: rock@stephenj.demon.co.uk
A gay man in the UK joins a motorcycling club (club, not gang) that is traveling to France. Dressed in leathers, he shares a tent with another cyclist...who turns out to be gay, too. They go to a nude beach, which also turns out to be gay...and then the whole motorcycle club turns out to be gay. Coincedance, eh?
That said, this was an interesting slice-of-life about a seductive hobby usually seen as the province of straight men. Some problems here with spelling, but nothing major.
Deductible [A]
When posted: 9/14/97
Where posted: ASSG
Author: Felix Lance Falkon
Posted by: WooF
Address: owlswick@netaxs.com
A gay porn writer hires a straight young accountant to do his taxes one year. He finds a number of business account write-offs from a guy named Jake. When questioned about it, the writer vaguely explains they are connected to his "research." The accountant soon finds out for himself what line of work the very gay, very built Jake is in when he pays a personal visit to the house. Hint: It's the world's oldest profession.
This was a humorous, plausible, rape fantasy, and the dialogue was snappy, too. Actually, "rape" is too severe a term for what happens here, so perhaps "enjoyably overpowered" is better. That's just what happens to the accountant, and of course he comes to like it. The story ends with the writer hinting he'd like in on the scene. With a change in the sex acts and genders, the story could also work very well as a het fantasy.
Afternoon [A-/B+]
When received: 9/17/97
Author: Starwalkin
Address: starwalkin@aol.com
This story was bi in orientation rather than gay, but the sex act in it was gay. The author sent me this one, so hopefully he'll repost it.
An otherwise happily married man meets a co-worker of his wife's one day as he's working on his yard. They have sex, and it later transpires that his wife suggested the encounter to the co-worker as a "surprise gift" for her husband. This is a pretty rare scenario for an ASS story; most of the time, it's the husband that gives license to his wife's extramarital affairs (as long as he can watch, that is.) The sex here was raunchier than the previous stories...of course the participants are older...and it even had the feel of a fur story in some places.
For the record, Lady Cyrrh won't mind if her future husband has some cock every once in while...as long as he takes the proper precautions.
In the last issue I mentioned a moderated, spam-free newsgroup called
soc.sexuality.spanking that carried a lot of stories popular with the bare-
bottom set. Here's another moderated newsgroup, for BDSM aficiondos
this time: soc.subculture.bondage-bdsm. The story ratio is lower than on
SSS, but there are interesting postings and information and it is, of
course, spam-free. In the future, I will be getting some of the stories I
review from these newsgroups, so bug your servers if they don't carry
them. I can only hope that other ASS newsgroups will soon make the
transition into moderated turf.
It was on SSBB, in fact, that I came across this interesting post (from someone named KingDiaper) that reconfirms what I always have known about the close ties between science fiction, fantasy, and pornography. (Tongue in cheek here)
Note: Tom Baker was one of the actors who played "Dr. Who" in the popular BBC science fiction series...the best one after Jon Pertwee, IMO. He also starred in "Life and Loves of a She-Devil" as a lustful priest with a foot fetish and played the role of Puddleglum in the BBC adaption of CS Lewis's Narnia book "The Silver Chair."
"After signing the BBC contract, things hotted up. From all directions
chaps wanted to discuss projects, and girls looked at me in a meaningful
way. Plenty did more than flirt. Once I accepted an invitation for coffee
in someone's hotel room. She seemed so proper and serious when she
asked
me up. Several large gins later I entered her room for that coffee,
which
became a green chartreuse.
"After a couple of sips and with a few clothes left on, I noticed a Bible
on the bedside table with a whip laid across it. These scenes scared me a
bit. I didn't like the whipping to be too fierce and I cheated on the
bondage, always making sure I wasn't too tightly bound.
"Several of these women wanted to whip or cane me. For most it was
probably a punishment for my performance, so I couldn't complain too
much.
But when it was my turn to be the spanker, my passion faded a bit."
This is apparently reproduced from "Who On Earth Is Tom Baker", his
autobiography, which is published (in the UK) by HarperCollins on
October 6
at #16.99. The article in the Daily Mail contained the following
statement: Copyright (c) Tom Baker 1997. I respect that copyright and
acknowledge Tom Baker as the author of the above-quoted passages.
KD.
I received a note from Mazer114 about the story "Blues Brothers" that
appeared in the 9/22/97 Reviews in which he states it's his first story
and that he hasn't posted any Power Rangers fiction previous to this.
Sorry for the mistake.
Also it has come to my attention that some of you may not like having
your stories ctritiqued or reviewed, and if such is the case, it's probably
wise to preface them with "NOT FOR CRITIQUE OR REVIEW" or a similar
phrase. Or "Fuck off, critics" which will work just fine.
I am still on the lookout for website addresses. Thanks to everyone who
sent theirs in or sent me the addresses of others. I still need: Ann
Douglas, Seurat, Mark Aster. Someone named Viperman sent me the URL
for a new archive site, but I've lost it. Viperman, if you're reading this,
please send me the info (ladycyrrh@aol.com)
The links page on my website (http://users.aol.com/ladycyrrh) isn't up
yet, but will be shortly.
A man plays hooky from work to hang out at the Chicago Art Institute.
While perusing the Titians and Tintorettos (so I guess from descriptions
of the paintings) he sees a young woman who is masturbating in front of
them. She gestures for him to follow. If this was a real-life incident, the
big question is, why does the narrator follow a young woman who's
mentally disturbed enough to masturbate in public? But this is fantasy,
and such things don't matter. The two then proceed to have oral sex in a
lonely part of the museum.
The writing here had problems...mispellings, comma splices, sentence
fragments that were just fragments and not stylistic conventions, and it
could have used more originality. But the author drew some nice
parallels between Woman in art and Woman as reality, which made the
sex here respectful rather than exploitive. And he or she catches a little
bit of the sensuality of fine art, too.
Haven't read anything by Senor Rojo yet, so this story was a pleasure, an
interacial threesome with two American guys "playing sandwich" with a
cute little Japanese girl cutting out from the Tokyo corporate rat race for
the night, the shenanigans aided by a couple shots of Kahlua. I know
some men who will only date Japanese girls, and this is one of the
reasons why. I wouldn't mind being Miya for a night. The sex was steamy
yet humorous, and cliche-free for the most part. The authentic Japanese
setting also added to my enjoyment of the story.
The only odd note was the substitution of < and > for quotation marks in
some places...were they supposed to be subtitles, Senor?...but overall this
one was very, very nice. Big grin here. Can't say much more except
"domo arigato."
Frank McCoy sends us this funny list of incest-related identifiers, similar
in tone to Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if..." series of jokes.
Samples:
"...your wife, your mortgage-payment, your mistress, and your two
daughters are all late."
"...your idea of getting "dressed up" does not involve more than 8 ounces
of clothing."
"...a nearby naval base starts up a shuttle service to and from your
house."
And more, in the same vein. Some of the tamer ones might be fun to tack
up around the office coffee machine.
Brother Cadfael is an elderly, studious, detective monk, the hero of a
series of Medieval mystery books. This young man, for whatever reason,
has taken that name as his own.
This is a true story, and a rather emotional one, so out of consideration
for the author I'm not going to grade it. He details his teenage affair with
a young woman slightly older than himself but already married with a
child, and the toll it took on him.
I found the story interesting for a number of reasons. I am not the most
social person in the world, but in my experience I know of two other
young men who have fallen into a codependent trap like this. Things
ended badly for all concerned in those other two cases, so I feel it's safe
to conclude that it's not a good idea for young men to become sexually
and emotionally involved with women who are 1. married or
married/separated and have a young child; 2. utterly dependent on the
man in their lives for personal validation or financial support; and 3.
bisexual, and that it is the kiss of death for such a relationship to allow
another young woman to join in.
I couldn't help feeling the woman in this story is the sort of woman who
gives women a bad name...my apologies, Cadfael, but I've seen enough
pain not to keep my mouth shut about it.
This story read like a cross between "Tammi" (8/31/97 Reviews) and some
of Marlissa's work.
As femdom covers a lot of ground, so does transgender. Sometimes these
stories are written as actual or imagined transvestite experiences. Some
belong in male humiliation territory; some are written to examine
gender roles.
One of the problems with writing them, however, is that the average
American reading such fiction is more likely to snicker than become
aroused. I call it the Monty Python syndrome. The writer has to work
very hard to overcome the handicap of men looking funny in dresses to
inject a measure of weight and authority in the story...that is, to make
the reader suspend disbelief and take the ideas, and sex, contained
therein seriously and not as a cheap laugh. Many TG stories wind up
being fuckfests with only the barest excuses for characters, plot, and
motivation, and that's what happened to this story. It was a fuckfest, but
more literate than most.
A young man is kidnapped on his first day of college and injected with
drugs that turn him into a very sexy female with a craving for cum...the
more he gets the more he wants, and each dose makes him more
"feminine" (read: like a porno mag model) with enormous tits, wide hips,
shaved pussy, etc. This is a very common fantasy, actually, for both men
and women, and while there's no way it could happen in real life, being
nympho-ized a hot thing to think about. It's probably the same principle
behind MC stories: the freedom to indulge in sex without thinking of the
consequences or responsibilities.
Anyway, first he fucks his female roomate, who's conveniently bi, then
some of the male students next door. Various combinations of other sex
acts follow. At the end of the story, he realizes his sexy roomate is the
one who created the serum, so he forces her to return him to normal.
This makes the plot sound richer and more detailed than it actually was;
most of the story was taken up with fucking, sucking, masturbating, or
admiring one's hot new body and thinking about how sexy it is.
It's always interesting to speculate on the fantasies that drive the writer
to put ink to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and in this case, I think it's
the male fascination with lesbians and bi women. It's a sort of clit envy.
There's a pleasure in putting on the flesh of the opposite sex and
imagining their sexual sensations...the supposition being it's just as cool
to have tits and ass as it is to ogle tits and ass. When you think about it,
women are "allowed" in this society to be very slutty and sexual in a way
that men are not. Men are sexual, to be sure, but society has conditioned
them to concentrate on the chase...sensuality isn't encouraged, nor is the
appetite for *sex* as opposed to that for aggressive *conquest.* So
lesbian fantasies may be a way for many men to admit they are sexual
and sensual, and that's perfectly normal.
Psychology aside, this story was better than most others of its type. It
could have been shorter than what it was...there were too many sex acts
crammed into the plot, making it feel as overstuffed as the
hero/heroine's bra (he gets up to a size O--that's the letter O--by the end
of the story) and because of this my interest wandered about a third of
the way through. One of my criteria for grading these stories highly is
that if you take out the sex, you'll still have a good story by merit of its
style, plot, or characters. But that's me, and who's to argue if someone
feels like eating potato chips one night instead of a steak dinner.
Movie notes: This story reminded me of one of the happiest movies I've
seen in a long time. It is called "Wigstock" and is a documentary about
the annual drag queen concert/festival held in New York. All the old
East Village guard were there...Tabboo, even Lypsinka. Loads of gorgeous costumes,
Vegas-style production numbers, and wigs in every color of the rainbow.
I don't recall what it was rated, but I feel it's OK for kids 12 and over to
watch. You do see a queen's penis briefly at one point (ah hah! sorry for
the pun) but it's very inoffensive.
A Day at the Art Institute... [B/B-]
When posted: 9/15/97
Where posted: ASS
Author: David
Address: david@innercite.com
Miya's Ride [A+]
When posted: 9/15/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Senor Rojo
Address: senor_rojo@bigfoot.com
You MIGHT be a sex-maniac if... [not rated]
When posted: 9/12/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Frank McCoy
Address: mccoyf@millcomm.com
Alyssa [not rated]
When posted: 9/16/97
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: Brother Cadfael
Address: Brother_Cadfael@earthcorp.com
Nympho [B+]
When posted: 9/22/97
Where posted: ASSM
Author: Edward Miller
Address: zxcvbnm21@hotmail.com