"Tie Fighter" by Walter Slaven (walters@ix.netcom.com). This story is an addition to the Star Wars saga - told from the perspective of a tie fighter captain - that is, from the perspective of one of the enemies of Luke and Han and Leia. As I said in an earlier review, this is a well written, enthralling story, well worth downloading and reading - if you enjoy a heavy dose of action, adventure, and science fiction with your sex. The sex is exotic and hot, but it's almost a stretch to call this a sex story. I would describe it more accurately as real good science fiction that incorporates sexual activity as a natural part of the story line. At the present time the author has posted five lengthy chapters; and I cannnot predict how many more are yet to come.

The author has obviously given careful thought to the plot and has taken pains to make it a reasonable extension of the original Star Wars trilogy. As an adult watching Star Wars with my children, I remember being amused to think that the evil Darth Vader and his cronies would capture Princess Leia and treat her like a princess while they held her in captivity. The Bad Guys would blow up an entire planet to make her talk; but they wouldn't think of deflowering the virgin princess. In the present chapter we hear J'Una recount (with appropriate disgust) a more realistic version of what happened to Princess Leia. Before all you perverts rush to your word processors and start searching for "Leia" so that you can find the "good parts," I should add that while the violence against Leia is described realistically, it is not graphic or titillating. On the other hand, the hot, consensual sex among the protagonists IS often graphic and titillating. I like that focus.

As the story has progressed, the personalities of the major characters have begun to evolve. We discover that things are not dichotomized into black and white in the Empire - we see shades of gray and many other colors. The Tie Fighter pilots and even higher ranking officials like J'Una actually have consciences and wonder whether they might be making a mistake to slavishly implement the will of the emperor. In many ways Vel, Kao, and J'Una resemble American soldiers in Vietnam, who began to question their country's actions when they witnessed some of the atrocities committed in the name of "freedom," even while they continued to perform their duties faithfully and professionally.

As in earlier chapters, the protagonists continue to have raucous sex, and the threesome action with Vel, J'Una, and Kao in chapter 5 is especially hot. But we see emotional attachments as well. In addition, midway through chapter 5 we learn that the Empire is rife with political dissent. Toward the end of chapter 5 this dissent and these emotions start to combine to lead to the eventual resolution of the plot. All these elements make the story more complex and more worthwhile.

I think if I had my choice, I would just wait until this entire story was finished and then download and read it. It really is a little confusing to relate, for example, the events in chapter 5 to something that I read three months ago in chapter 2. (However, the author does conscientiously offer appropriate cross references to earlier chapters.) Normally, when I read or watch a story, I do so in one sitting or at least as quickly as possible. Having to wait adds inconvenience and confusion; but that's just the way authors work on a.s.s. (Incidentally, this is also the way Charles Dickens published most of his major novels. No, he didn't post them on a.s.s.; but he did serialize them in the London newspaper.) I'm getting the story for free; so who am I to complain? If you haven't downloaded this story yet, I encourage you to do so.