(pb; 2013: BDSM/erotica anthology)
Overall review:
Yes, Sir is an entertaining, impressively varied and thoughtful anthology for mainstream-ish BDSM readers and aficionados. All the pieces have something to recommend them, though a few triggered my squicks - personal dislikes that cause someone to instinctively recoil - and didn't grab me as much as they might have otherwise.
Squicks aside, I, as a reader and an editor, could see why Bussel chose these pieces for this anthology. Great, mainstream-leaning BDSM work, worth owning.
Standout stories:
1.) "The Art of Darkness" - Alison Tyler: A woman conquers her primordial terror.
2.) "Sitting on Ice Cream" - Lisette Ashton: Fun read about a theater manager who dominates his workplace in more ways than one.
3.) "Pink is the Enemy" - Jocelyn Bringas: Quirky, humorous bent in this piece - these elements made "Pink" stand out.
4.) "Running Wild" - Shanna Germain: There was an especially good end-line to this one.
5.) "In the Corner" - Sommer Marsden: In the midst of a boring date with a new man, a woman encounters a brazen ex, who's not afraid to immediately reclaim her. Dirty, nastily delectable work. One of the best entries in this anthology.
6.) "The Power of No" - Teresa Noelle Roberts: The heartfelt and carnal intimacy of a bottom and her Dom is effectively shown.
7.) "The Day I Came In Public" - D.L. King: A woman, fresh to BDSM, learns to grow - as an overall person - within this milieu.
8.) "Ribbons" - Kathryn O'Halloran: Effective, sensual, restrained piece.
9.) "Make Me" - Rachel Kramer Bussel: A woman's bratty streak sparks an exercise trainer's more focused attentions. Playful, laugh-out-loud finish.
10.) "The Editor" - Amanda Earl: A writer's frustrations with a difficult editor open a door to more emotionally satisfying assignments. Good, palpable sense of build-up in this story.
11.) "Under His Hand, I Blossom" - Nikki Magennis: A BDSM session stirs up memories for a bottom. Crisp, waste-no-words writing.
Other stories:
"Dear Professor Pervert" - Donna George Storey; "A Necessary Correction" - Debra Hyde; "Lunch" - Elizabeth Coldwell; "When Penny Met Harry" - Stan Kent; "Stuck at Work and Late for a Date" - Chelsea Summers; "Body Electric" - Lisabet Sarai; "Reclaiming the Sofa" - Maddy Stuart; "How Bad Do You Want It?" - Gwen Masters
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Missing Ink, by Karen E. Olson
(pb; 2009: first book in the Tattoo Shop Mystery series)
From the back cover:
"When a girl makes an appointment to get devotion ink with the name of her
fiancé embedded in a heart, Brett takes the job, but the girl never shows. The next thing Brett knows, the police are looking for her mysterious client. . . and the name this woman wanted on the tattoo isn't her fiancé's.
"An alliance with an unlikely partner leads Brett to a dead body, a suave Englishman, and an Elvis karaoke bar. And who is the tattooed stranger stalking her? Brett draws lines between the clues, unwittingly putting herself in danger. But she intends to see justice done, since death, like a tattoo, is permanent."
Review
Entertaining read, with engaging characters and a plot that moves along at an smart pace. I figured out most of the who-did-what elements of the book long before Olson reveals the bad guy(s) - I read a lot of mysteries - but I still enjoyed Missing, a promising start to what may be an interesting, subculture-based series.
Worth reading, this.
Followed by Pretty in Ink.
From the back cover:
"When a girl makes an appointment to get devotion ink with the name of her
fiancé embedded in a heart, Brett takes the job, but the girl never shows. The next thing Brett knows, the police are looking for her mysterious client. . . and the name this woman wanted on the tattoo isn't her fiancé's.
"An alliance with an unlikely partner leads Brett to a dead body, a suave Englishman, and an Elvis karaoke bar. And who is the tattooed stranger stalking her? Brett draws lines between the clues, unwittingly putting herself in danger. But she intends to see justice done, since death, like a tattoo, is permanent."
Review
Entertaining read, with engaging characters and a plot that moves along at an smart pace. I figured out most of the who-did-what elements of the book long before Olson reveals the bad guy(s) - I read a lot of mysteries - but I still enjoyed Missing, a promising start to what may be an interesting, subculture-based series.
Worth reading, this.
Followed by Pretty in Ink.
Monday, May 13, 2013
**Peter Baltensperger's Ethereal Differentiations was published in Pink Litter
Peter Baltensperger, whose Nocturnal Tableaux graced the Microstory A Week site in October 2012, has had another story published: Ethereal Differentiations, in the fifth issue of Pink Litter.
It should be noted that this story, as well as this site, are for "mature readers" only - meaning: adults, eighteen years old and older.
Check this story out!
It should be noted that this story, as well as this site, are for "mature readers" only - meaning: adults, eighteen years old and older.
Check this story out!
Dead Ever After, by Charlaine Harris
(hb; 2013: fourteenth/"final" entry in the Sookie Stackhouse series)
From the inside flap:
"After the terrible events of the past weeks, both Sookie and Sam are finding it hard to concentrate on Merlotte's - and the bar is suffering for it. But Sookie finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed.
"Sookie's relationship with Eric Northman is in limbo. He and his vampires are keeping their distance. . . and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.
"Then Arlene is found murdered, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.
"But the evidence against her is weak, and Sookie makes bail. Helped by her assortment of friends, living and undead, she must discover the truth about Arlene's death to clear herself of suspicion. All she knows is that two mysterious men were somehow involved. As to whom they might be - Sookie will soon learn that she has more than one enemy waiting to get vengeance for the past.
"Nothing is ever clear-cut in Bon Temps. What passes for truth is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough."
Review:
Fun, blast-through, series-overview read - not a murder mystery, but, rather, an effective (if brisk) character and story wrap-up of Harris's Sookieverse that occasionally dips into Sookie-based melodrama, but otherwise made this reader chuckle and sometimes feel warm and fuzzy.
My expectations were relatively low for Harris's books (in comparison to those of many Sookie fans), so I was appreciative that Dead Ever After [DEA] is a solid read. Is it great? No, because the series has been hit-and-miss since All Together Dead, the seventh book, published in 2007. (That said, I've found something to enjoy in each of the books, no matter how much or little I recommended them.)
Borrow DEA from the library before buying it; this caveat goes for especially passionate fans of the Sookie novels.
From the inside flap:
"After the terrible events of the past weeks, both Sookie and Sam are finding it hard to concentrate on Merlotte's - and the bar is suffering for it. But Sookie finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed.
"Sookie's relationship with Eric Northman is in limbo. He and his vampires are keeping their distance. . . and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.
"Then Arlene is found murdered, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.
"But the evidence against her is weak, and Sookie makes bail. Helped by her assortment of friends, living and undead, she must discover the truth about Arlene's death to clear herself of suspicion. All she knows is that two mysterious men were somehow involved. As to whom they might be - Sookie will soon learn that she has more than one enemy waiting to get vengeance for the past.
"Nothing is ever clear-cut in Bon Temps. What passes for truth is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough."
Review:
Fun, blast-through, series-overview read - not a murder mystery, but, rather, an effective (if brisk) character and story wrap-up of Harris's Sookieverse that occasionally dips into Sookie-based melodrama, but otherwise made this reader chuckle and sometimes feel warm and fuzzy.
My expectations were relatively low for Harris's books (in comparison to those of many Sookie fans), so I was appreciative that Dead Ever After [DEA] is a solid read. Is it great? No, because the series has been hit-and-miss since All Together Dead, the seventh book, published in 2007. (That said, I've found something to enjoy in each of the books, no matter how much or little I recommended them.)
Borrow DEA from the library before buying it; this caveat goes for especially passionate fans of the Sookie novels.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
NOS4A2, by Joe Hill
(hb; 2013)
From the inside flap:
"Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
"Charles Talent Manx has a gift of his own. He likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Roll-Royce Wraith with the vanity plate NOS4A2. In the Wraith, he and his innocent guests can slip out of the everyday world and onto hidden roads that lead to an astonishing playground of amusements he calls Christmasland. Mile by mile, the journey across the highway of Charlie's twisted imagination transforms his precious passengers, leaving them as terrifying and unstoppable as their benefactor.
"And then comes the day when Vic goes looking for trouble. . . and finds her way, inevitably, to Charlie.
"That was a lifetime ago. Now, the only kid ever to escape Charlie's unmitigated evil is all grown up and desperate to forget.
"But Charlie Manx hasn't stopped thinking about the exceptional Victoria McQueen. On the road again, he won't slow down until he's taken his revenge. He's after something very special - something Vic can never replace.
"As a life-and-death battle of wills builds - her magic pitted against his - Vic McQueen prepares to destroy Charlie once and for all. . . or die trying."
Review
Estimable, fantastical and fun horror novel that gripped this reader from the git-go, and didn't let go until the last page.
Worth owning, this.
From the inside flap:
"Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
"Charles Talent Manx has a gift of his own. He likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Roll-Royce Wraith with the vanity plate NOS4A2. In the Wraith, he and his innocent guests can slip out of the everyday world and onto hidden roads that lead to an astonishing playground of amusements he calls Christmasland. Mile by mile, the journey across the highway of Charlie's twisted imagination transforms his precious passengers, leaving them as terrifying and unstoppable as their benefactor.
"And then comes the day when Vic goes looking for trouble. . . and finds her way, inevitably, to Charlie.
"That was a lifetime ago. Now, the only kid ever to escape Charlie's unmitigated evil is all grown up and desperate to forget.
"But Charlie Manx hasn't stopped thinking about the exceptional Victoria McQueen. On the road again, he won't slow down until he's taken his revenge. He's after something very special - something Vic can never replace.
"As a life-and-death battle of wills builds - her magic pitted against his - Vic McQueen prepares to destroy Charlie once and for all. . . or die trying."
Review
Estimable, fantastical and fun horror novel that gripped this reader from the git-go, and didn't let go until the last page.
Worth owning, this.
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Best Sex Writing 2013: The State of Today's Sexual Culture, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel
(pb; 2013: sex essay/nonfiction anthology. Foreword by Carol Queen, PhD)
Overall review:
Best Sex Writing 2013 is a choice anthology of essays centered around the current vibe of our Western culture, carnal and (sometimes) beyond it. This is one of my favorite anthologies Bussel has edited, as well as one of my all-time favorite sexual anthologies, for its scope and (mostly) bullstuff-free take on what's going on in our world.
Only one of the essays didn't grab me because it was long-winded (Jonathan Lethem's "Live Nude Models"). Lethem's verbiage was occasionally clever, but ultimately not worthy of his essay's supposed pay-offs.
Lethem's work aside, this is an exceptional collection of works - one worth owning.
Standout essays:
1.) "Sex By Numbers" - Rachel Swan: Excellent piece about polyamorous relationships.
2.) "Very Legal: Sex and Love in Retirement" - Alex Morris: The title says it all. Especially good read.
3.) "Notes From a Unicorn" - Seth Fischer: A bisexual man details his evolution as a person and a sexual being. Emotionally engaging, exceptional essay.
4.) "Rest Stop Confidential" - Conner Habib: The mindset of rest stop cruising is explored.
5.) "When on Fire Island. . . A Polyamorous Disaster" - Nicholas Garnett: The joys and pitfalls of polyamory play out in affecting and tragic fashion. One of the best entries in this collection.
6.) "Cherry Picking" - Julia Serano: Wonderful, thoughtful piece about a transgender woman and her series of sexualized "firsts".
7.) "Baby Talk" - Rachel Kramer Bussel: A lover's predilection for 'age play' leads the author to consider her own predilections, carnal and otherwise.
8.) "Dear John" - Lori Selke: A woman parts ways with the traditional power dynamics of leather culture.
9.) "Christian Conservatives vs. Sex: The Long War Over Reproductive Freedom" - Rob Boston: The author outlines the history of birth control and religious/political interference; more importantly, he tells why we, as advanced cultures, must fight to defend our reproductive rights. Excellent, a must-read entry.
10.) "Porn Defends the Money Shot" - Dennis Romero: Another exemplary essay. In a shifting world, porndom finds itself having to change - or else face a tumbledown in their revenue streams.
11.) "Lost Boys" - Kristen Hinman: Overblown governmental budgets, social denial, corruption and other factors - some of them surprising - contribute to the misreporting and exacerbation of underage prostitution across the United States. Illuminating call-to-action, this - and easily one of the best entries in this anthology.
Other essays:
"The Original Blonde" - Neal Gabler; "Happy Hookers" - Melissa Gira Grant; "Ghosts: All My Men are Dead" - Carol Queen; "Enhancing Masochism: How to Expand Limits and Increase Desire" - Patrick Califia; "Sex By Any Other Name" - Insiya Ansari; "Holy F**k: The Fourth-and-Long Virgin" - Jon Pressick; "Can a Better Vibrator Inspire an Age of Great American Sex?" - Andy Isaacson; "Submissive: A Personal Manifesto" - Madison Young
Overall review:
Best Sex Writing 2013 is a choice anthology of essays centered around the current vibe of our Western culture, carnal and (sometimes) beyond it. This is one of my favorite anthologies Bussel has edited, as well as one of my all-time favorite sexual anthologies, for its scope and (mostly) bullstuff-free take on what's going on in our world.
Only one of the essays didn't grab me because it was long-winded (Jonathan Lethem's "Live Nude Models"). Lethem's verbiage was occasionally clever, but ultimately not worthy of his essay's supposed pay-offs.
Lethem's work aside, this is an exceptional collection of works - one worth owning.
Standout essays:
1.) "Sex By Numbers" - Rachel Swan: Excellent piece about polyamorous relationships.
2.) "Very Legal: Sex and Love in Retirement" - Alex Morris: The title says it all. Especially good read.
3.) "Notes From a Unicorn" - Seth Fischer: A bisexual man details his evolution as a person and a sexual being. Emotionally engaging, exceptional essay.
4.) "Rest Stop Confidential" - Conner Habib: The mindset of rest stop cruising is explored.
5.) "When on Fire Island. . . A Polyamorous Disaster" - Nicholas Garnett: The joys and pitfalls of polyamory play out in affecting and tragic fashion. One of the best entries in this collection.
6.) "Cherry Picking" - Julia Serano: Wonderful, thoughtful piece about a transgender woman and her series of sexualized "firsts".
7.) "Baby Talk" - Rachel Kramer Bussel: A lover's predilection for 'age play' leads the author to consider her own predilections, carnal and otherwise.
8.) "Dear John" - Lori Selke: A woman parts ways with the traditional power dynamics of leather culture.
9.) "Christian Conservatives vs. Sex: The Long War Over Reproductive Freedom" - Rob Boston: The author outlines the history of birth control and religious/political interference; more importantly, he tells why we, as advanced cultures, must fight to defend our reproductive rights. Excellent, a must-read entry.
10.) "Porn Defends the Money Shot" - Dennis Romero: Another exemplary essay. In a shifting world, porndom finds itself having to change - or else face a tumbledown in their revenue streams.
11.) "Lost Boys" - Kristen Hinman: Overblown governmental budgets, social denial, corruption and other factors - some of them surprising - contribute to the misreporting and exacerbation of underage prostitution across the United States. Illuminating call-to-action, this - and easily one of the best entries in this anthology.
Other essays:
"The Original Blonde" - Neal Gabler; "Happy Hookers" - Melissa Gira Grant; "Ghosts: All My Men are Dead" - Carol Queen; "Enhancing Masochism: How to Expand Limits and Increase Desire" - Patrick Califia; "Sex By Any Other Name" - Insiya Ansari; "Holy F**k: The Fourth-and-Long Virgin" - Jon Pressick; "Can a Better Vibrator Inspire an Age of Great American Sex?" - Andy Isaacson; "Submissive: A Personal Manifesto" - Madison Young
Monday, May 06, 2013
**Erotica Readers & Writers Association's May-June flasher gallery is up
Erotica Readers & Writers Association's May-June microstory - aka "flasher" - gallery is up. It is the fourth microstory gallery I have had the honor to select, as ERWA's flasher editor. If you have a few minutes, check out these stories, which will appear on the site until June 30, 2013:
john e's "Ex-Stripper" and "Not Home"
Daddy X's "Finally, The Last Straw"
Damian Bloodstone's "First Confusion"
Valentine Bonnaire's "F**king Technology" and "Happiness was his warm gun"
Robert Buckley's "P-Town P.C.: The Consecration"
Rose B. Thorny's "Verdict"
Ian D Smith's "What Sauce?"
Thanks to the above authors for their excellent work, and thanks to those readers who have supported our endeavors, as authors and editors!
john e's "Ex-Stripper" and "Not Home"
Daddy X's "Finally, The Last Straw"
Damian Bloodstone's "First Confusion"
Valentine Bonnaire's "F**king Technology" and "Happiness was his warm gun"
Robert Buckley's "P-Town P.C.: The Consecration"
Rose B. Thorny's "Verdict"
Ian D Smith's "What Sauce?"
Thanks to the above authors for their excellent work, and thanks to those readers who have supported our endeavors, as authors and editors!
**One of my microstories, Desire's retreat, was published on the Erotica Readers & Writers Association website
One of my microstories, Desire's retreat, was published on the Erotica Readers & Writers Association (ERWA) website.
Desire's retreat, by-lined under the nom de plume Nikki Isaak, is a sentimental and mainstream piece about a cabbie, his wife and a popular Seventies sex club. It will appear on the site until June 30, 2013. Check it out!
Desire's retreat, by-lined under the nom de plume Nikki Isaak, is a sentimental and mainstream piece about a cabbie, his wife and a popular Seventies sex club. It will appear on the site until June 30, 2013. Check it out!
Black Friday Coming Down, by David Hunter
(pb; 1990, 1992: true crime)
From the back cover:
"Every day, cops encounter a world more bizarre, more dangerous and more outrageous than most people ever imagine. In Black Friday Coming Down, David Hunter blasts away at the stereotypes - and exposes the real experience of being a cop. . . as only a real cop could tell it."
Review:
Hunter has a natural flair for telling level-headed, reads-like-real-life yet entertaining stories about what it's like to be a cop. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes scary and always interesting, this is one of the best true crime books I've read in a long while.
Worth owning, this.
From the back cover:
"Every day, cops encounter a world more bizarre, more dangerous and more outrageous than most people ever imagine. In Black Friday Coming Down, David Hunter blasts away at the stereotypes - and exposes the real experience of being a cop. . . as only a real cop could tell it."
Review:
Hunter has a natural flair for telling level-headed, reads-like-real-life yet entertaining stories about what it's like to be a cop. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes scary and always interesting, this is one of the best true crime books I've read in a long while.
Worth owning, this.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Flesh, by Richard Laymon
(pb; 1987)
From the back cover:
"No one in town has ever seen anything like it before: a slimy, mobile tube of glistening yellow flesh with dull, staring eyes and an obscene, probing mouth. But the real horror is not what it looks like, or even what it does to you when it invades your flesh - but what it makes you do to others. . ."
Review:
Solid, fun horror read, with plenty of cheesy sex, grue and violence. While Laymon didn't provide a lot of information about the strange yellow creature's past, he provided enough for me to enjoy Flesh as a short, sharp and sometimes nasty genre work.
Worth checking out, this.
From the back cover:
"No one in town has ever seen anything like it before: a slimy, mobile tube of glistening yellow flesh with dull, staring eyes and an obscene, probing mouth. But the real horror is not what it looks like, or even what it does to you when it invades your flesh - but what it makes you do to others. . ."
Review:
Solid, fun horror read, with plenty of cheesy sex, grue and violence. While Laymon didn't provide a lot of information about the strange yellow creature's past, he provided enough for me to enjoy Flesh as a short, sharp and sometimes nasty genre work.
Worth checking out, this.
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- Steve Isaak
- Steve Isaak has published two hundred stories and poems, and is the author of three anthologies: Behind the wheel: selected poems, Shinjuku sex cheese holocaust: poems and the forthcoming Horrorsex County: stories (which are, or will be, available at Lulu and Amazon).
