Celeste's Top 20 - July, 1998
Note: Even though guest reviewers write the posted reviews of some of
these stories, I read any that I think may be likely to win a
monthly or annual award. I personally take responsibility {and blame}
for these lists. If someone else wants to publish an alternate list of
awards, that's fine with me.
Second Note: Since many readers would like to read the top for each month, I have suggested that authors might like to repost as
many of these as possible. In addition, I am posting LINKS with each in the Top 20 List. By pasting these into the
appropriate line of your web browser, you should be able to go
straight to that story. Please give me your feedback regarding the
effectiveness of this procedure.
Third Note: I have also had great success finding these on
the World Wide Web by using the DejaNews Server (www.dejanews.com).
In addition, most of these have been posted and archived
through alt.sex.stories.moderated. You can even find past issues of
my reviews through these services.
Final Note: Ordinarily, to be eligible for my Top 20 List for any
month, I have to have read the for the first time that month and
reviewed it in CR. Therefore, reposted whose reviews I
repost are not eligible (unless they are substantially revised), but
an "old" that comes to my attention and is reviewed for the
first time would be eligible. If anyone else wants to post a "rival"
Top 20 list, feel free to do so. You can even include my reviews, if
you don't want to write your own.
- Celeste
=====================
This month's Number One Story: "A Matter of Need" by (llxzt@hotmail.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13034.txt
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13035.txt
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13036.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386277
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386285
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386299
This one is a romantic tear-jerker. From an analytic viewpoint what
makes a like this work so well is the contrast between the
sadness of the first wife's death and the joy of the new relationship.
For reasons that I think I won't discuss right now, this hit
home close to me. Sven has already reviewed the story, and so I won't
repeat that process. Let me just say it's realistic: things really do
happen this way sometimes.
============================
Here's this month's Top 20 List:
============================
1. "A Matter of Need" by (deep emotions)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13034.txt
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13035.txt
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13036.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386277
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386285
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386299
2. "Janey in Bloom" by Bitbard (hot romantic tryst)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12703.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=368726214
3. "Rampant" by Uther Pendragon (historical romance)
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=369771028
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370092228
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370456042
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370656430
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370903265
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371236054
4. "Janey's June" by Janey (quickie in a non-sex bookshop)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13273.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=373877144
5. "Chosen" by Crimson Dragon (mysterious sex)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12619.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=367470276
6. "Lake Jeptha" by Mat Twassel (Comfortable Sex)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12871.txt
7. "Keeping Warm in the Arctic Circle" by Gordie D (tundra love).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12739.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=368726373
8. "A Most Unusual Afternoon" by Crimson Dragon (unusual bdsm)
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=372063151
9. "That Mardi Gras Spirit" by DG (Jazzy Sex)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12778.txt
10. "Inside-out" by Taria (self-exploration)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12870.txt
11. "Office Affair" by Mat Twassel (sexual rejuvenation)
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371380694
12. "Mandala" by Oscar Paco (ASS sex)
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=361379946
13. "A View of Alcatraz" by Anne Arbor (threesome)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12821.txt
14. "Cheenagurl" by Sista Shakespeare (self-reflection).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=373866758
15. "Porch" by Crimson Dragon (ff romance)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12213.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363256015
16. "And the Lady Danced 'till Dawn" by Sven The Elder
(strip slub sex)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12742.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=368726378
17. "Private Dancer" by Steven A. Black (sex with a stripper).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13179.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=373022527
18. "Wraith" by BitBard (ghostly romance)
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=369322510
19. "The Wild Hare" by Will Blake (voyeurism & exhibitionism)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13273.txt
20. "Toys" by Sista Shakespeare (sex toys)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12881.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370017290
=============================================
Here are the original reviews in alphabetical order:
=============================================
"And the Lady Danced 'till Dawn" by Sven The Elder (10,9,10). Guest
Review by tooshoes.
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12742.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=368726378
I have visited several strip clubs, and unlike Celeste, I have grown
quite fond of a few of them. Some have a very nice bar atmosphere,
where hang out, and the dancers intermingle during breaks.
Another such club has pool tables, and the mingle with the while playing pool. In other places, the dancers will mingle in a more
private space. The important thing is to mingle, to make personal
contact. will pay a dollar to see bare flesh, but they'll pay
much more for female companionship.
Sven's does a good job capturing the feel of such a club and the
way dancers interact with customers, until the line between reality
and erotica blurs. In other words, this is about sex, not
voyourism or frustration. Like most patrons, Mike goes into a strip
club looking for some friendly conversation and a good eye show. Maybe
a lap dance or two. Unlike most patrons, Mike is gonna get very lucky.
I've seen a number of along the same idea (a guy gets lucky at
a strip club), but "The Lady Danced" is more thoughtful than most with
believable characters. Overall, a satisfying read, though the ending
was a little unclear.
=====================
"Chosen" by Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12619.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=367470276
Usually it's bad when the reader can't figure out what is really
happening in a story. But sometimes it's good, because the author is
being deliberately mysterious or ambiguous; and the ambiguity is still
enjoyable, even when the reader reaches the end of the and still
isn't really sure what happened.
This is one of the good ones. You'll read back over it not muttering,
"What the hell is he talking about?" but rather, "Hey! That's neat!"
The begins with a primitive sexual ritual - coming of age among
the Sioux Indians or Medieval Belgians or some other group. Then
suddenly we find ourselves in modern times with some people on a
camping trip, and the woman is confused about her relationship
with the she hopes to bed that for the first time that night; and
we begin to wonder what the first has to do with the second.
And then it all comes together in the end - but not quite the way we
expected.
This wasn't my favorite story, but that's because I think most
reincarnation are simplistic and a bit silly. The fact that I
liked this at all means that the author has done a pretty good
job of making his case. For a different viewpoint, see Mat Twassel's
review of this same later in this issue of CR.
==================
"Chosen" by Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com). Guest review by Mat
Twassel
This is a nice story. It's long, about 16 pages, and it has a few
problems, but it has rewards, too.
The opens with the chieftain's only daughter, twenty year Fawn of the Moonlight Rising, about to make a rare appearance at a
tribal dance. The woman knows that this night she will pick her
soul mate. Actually, a sacred stone she has will make the selection
for her.
Following the opening paragraph, the shifts to a more modern
day: Bree is about to go camping with her boyfriend of about three
weeks, Dave. She's thinking about sleeping with him for the first
time on this one-night camping trip, but she's concerned because she's
knows she's a noisy lover, and another couple will being sharing the
campsite: her friend and protector, Chet, whom she's known since early
grade school, and Chet's new friend, Natasha, whom Bree has never
met. Maybe she and Dave won't make love after all.
Riding up to the camp with Dave, Bree comes down with more than a
touch of car sickness. Chet, who had arrived earlier, decides to carry
Bree off to her tent for some rest, but on the way he stops, Bree in
his arms, to introduce her to his new friend, Natasha:
Bree looked up. Instead of taking her to the
tent, Chet had borne her to the small campfire.
Bree took a deep breath, wishing she wasn't in
Chet's arms for this, and extended her hand.
Natasha looked a little nonplused about the
introduction and Bree couldn't blame her. She'd
be pissed off if Dave had introduced Natasha to
her cradled in his arms. Natasha extended her
hand and lightly gripped Bree's offered hand.
Natasha's hand was cool and soft to the touch,
imparting a certain strength. She didn't seem to
be as upset as Bree would have been, had the
positions been reversed. A strange tingle crossed
into Bree's senses, almost like a spark from
static electricity, as she released Natasha's
fingers.
This passage perhaps illustrates some of Crimson Dragon's writing
strengths and weaknesses: plenty of information, a casual style, yet
slightly less than perfect flow. While serviceable, the prose could
be smoother, more polished, with better rhythms or phrasing or
(occasionally) word choices, and that makes a difference in a long
story. As I got deeper into the I found myself trying to hurry
my reading, trying to get the information without having to deal with
the prose. Maybe this won't bother you as much as it bothered me.
A few brief (probably unnecessary) shifts in point of view disturbed
me, too, but all-in-all this isn't a bad read. If you're looking for
scads of scalding sex, however, try something else--though for what
it's worth, I think this would have been more erotic had more of
the penultimate scene been left to my imagination. Despite some
shortcomings, this left me with a hint of tears in my eyes.
That's pretty high praise.
==================
"Inside-out" by Taria (tariat@hotmail.com). Guest review by Stephen
Peters
(sxjames@aol.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12870.txt
One of the most enjoyable things about alt.sex.stories is that the
writers here are free to experiment. Do you want to write a letter to
a friend and put it in the form of an overheard telephone
conversation? Go ahead. In fact, one does not even have to write a
sex to be posted on a.s.s.. And this is not a sex story.
At least, not in the sense of describing sexual activity. It doesn't
even attempt to be erotic. Instead, the author has taken this
opportunity to write a essay/meditation on identity, the public and
private self, internal growth, and the strain of taking something as
deeply personal as one's sexuality and putting it on display for all
to see. This is about turning oneself 'inside-out'.
This is really a remarkable read, both is presentation and substance.
Technically, the author does a superb job of structuring the
narrative; ideas flow from one to another such that the reader
automatically fills in the other side of the conversation. The
narrator's voice itself is smooth but animated, full of strong
inflections. As has been noted by others Taria's writing has a rhythm
to it, and this time it's the rhythm (poetry?) of everyday language.
Remarkable too is the way the narrator draws the reader into the
conversation -- starting with the ordinary and casual (but in Taria's
hands interesting) details of everyday life, then moving to the more
personal. However, it's the substance of the essay that held this
readers attention. The author's struggle between her 'computer
persona' and the real 'her' is something that every one who has
written a (sex or otherwise) has had to deal with, at least to
some extent. There are some hard questions asked her, with few
definitive answers. Sort of like life...which is what the author so
vividly portrays. The difference between love and sex, the public and
private selves - these are questions that each individual, at some
point in there life, has to answer. Starting by reading this
wonderfully beautiful 'transcript' is not a bad idea.
=====================
"Janey in Bloom" by Bitbard (The Artist Formerly Known as Sandman)
(bitbard@newsguy.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12703.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=368726214
This is a about Sandman and Janey meeting for a day of passion
beginning at Dallas Love Airport. That's it's real name.
Ya learn something new everyday. I didn't know that the Dallas
airport had little rooms (called Conference Booths) that people could
reserve with a credit card and which were big enough for airport
quickies.
Let me explain how I know that. Through simple deductions derived
from their and postings to these newsgroups, I had concluded
that both Bitbard (formerly Sandman) and Janey would be in Dallas on
exactly the same day that my husband and I would be in that city for
our annual visit to the Dollhouse Museum of the Southwest and to check
out some books at the Dallas Textbook Depository. We decided to go
out to Love Field and see if we could spot the happy couple and
possibly eavesdrop on their rendezvous.
After several hours of staking out incoming flights from New England,
my husband nudged me and pointed to a middle-aged with an obvious
bulge in his pants doing a tongue duel with a woman about four inches
taller than me. "This is a wicked huge airport," I heard the woman
say, as she paused for breath.
At just that moment, a child standing between us and the couple said,
"Look mommy! They're all mushy!" The glanced contemptuously
at the lovers, and then turned away in a huff. Since the and
child were going to run us over, and since my husband's boner was by
now even bigger than Sandman's, we turned away to avoid further
scandalizing the and child. By the time they passed and we
turned back around, the couple had disappeared.
"Shall we look for them?" I asked.
"No, I have a better idea," my husband said. Then he led me to a pair
of small chambers with signs that said "conference booth."
Fortunately, one of them was unoccupied, and he dragged me inside.
* * * *
By the time we were finished, we knew it would be impossible to find
the happy couple again, and so we rejoined our hosts - my husband's
former roommate and his wife. He was Randy; and so was she,
as we described the events in the airport while we drove toward their
house. Randy was a police officer, and my husband and I were seated in
the back seat of the cruiser while the braless wonder snuggled up next
to Officer Friendly in the front seat.
As we drove down the highway, a Porsche zoomed past us. The woman in
the shotgun position had her eyes closed and was moaning with delight.
It was the couple from the airport, and she was obviously having an
orgasm right there on Route 35E!
"That's dangerous!" said Randy, as he flipped on his flashing lights
and "initiated pursuit." His responded by whipping off her tee
shirt, leaning over toward her husband, and saying, "I think it's sexy
as hell!" My husband's cock responded by rising faster than a tachyon
on steroids.
Randy was holding his binoculars, gazing after the car, which had
begun to accelerate, even while it continued to swerve on the highway.
"She's plucking his chicken!" Randy exclaimed.
"Like this?" asked his wife.
"Oh, fuck 'em!" Randy muttered, as he slowed down, turned off his
flashing lights, and pulled off the highway.
And they did.
"Can I borrow your handcuffs?" were the last words my husband
addressed to his friend until after Beth and I both came in
discrete but roaring and simultaneous orgasms.
* * * *
Having definitively lost track of the target couple, I decided to make
the best of my trip by checking up on Deirdre over in Sulphur Springs.
However, when we got there, we discovered that the Hopkins County
Dairy Festival Parade was in progress. Moreover, two teenage in
Daisy Dukes who were hanging on the arms of Beavis and Butthead told
us that the parade would be followed by Southwest Homemade Ice Cream
Contest. {This is all absolutely true. You can find it in on page
116 of the 1997 edition of the Triple A TourBook.} We figured that it
would be easy to find Deirdre at the contest, and we smiled as we
wondered what extremes she would go to in order to win.
To kill time, we wandered off into a field behind the Dairy Queen out
on the four-lane leading to the Interstate. The field was full of
bluebonnets. I fell asleep with my head on my husband's lap, as he
reclined against a large oak tree. I was awakened by the sound of a
melodious male voice singing on the other side of the grove
"I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you..."
It was just about the best mood music I could imagine. As the song
ended, we saw a guitar being cast aside on the other side of the
grove, and pieces of clothing soon began to pile up on top of the
discarded instrument.
"What a wonderful world," I heard a female voice say, repeating a
line from her lover's song. "Are you seducing me?"
"I give up--I'm yours," I said to my husband. Two couples could play
this game as well as one.
My radio quietly blared away at my side with a sexy southern twang.
"They're too crazy about each other to even care about the show."
"Would you look at that woman's ass!" murmur my husband, as he gazed
over my shoulder while he fondled my ass. As I turned my husband
around and began to pay lip service to his cock, I heard the woman
say, "Don't stop! Don't ever stop!"
"Listen to the lady," said my husband.
"Which lady?" I asked.
"Both of them."
* * * *
Well, we never did catch up with Janey and Sandman. It probably
wouldn't have been all that exciting, since they just make up all that
crap in their anyway. And it looks like I'm not going to have
time to review this either.
=====================
"Janey's June" by Janey (Janey98@hotmail.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13273.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=373877144
And now for something completely different - different for Janey, that
is.
As you may have noticed, Janey experiments not only with her plots but
also with her style. After her first two or so stories, she has tried
to write in a different style in each subsequent story. I still like
her original - spontaneously sexy - style the best; but this one was
amazing in its own way.
Janey's June installment comes to us through the eyes of a bookseller.
We never do find out how he is or many other details about him.
What we do know is that he is a decent guy who has admired Janey from
afar. And so when she expresses a need to be consoled, he consoles
her; and when she expresses a need to make love to him, he acquiesces.
Had I not known that this was Janey's story, I would never have
guessed the authorship. This is another excellent story.
=====================
"Lake Jeptha" by Mat Twassel (Mmtwassel@aol.com). Guest Review by
BillyG
(hayden@mindless.com).
Mat Twassel's story, "Lake Jeptha" wrung my heart with the sweet
poignancy of a long-ago memory - soft nights and loving and aching
desire. It touched that place of vulnerable remembrance when
once, almost a fleeting flash, we were hopelessly in love.
And then, inevitably there comes yet again the tender of a memory
so indelibly etched, unspoken, unacknowledged for years, but still
there, so terribly real and terribly fresh. We see once more that
time is not a dimension recognized by the subconscious. Mat Twassel's
siren call pulled me back to that bittersweet recollection as if it
were just yesterday.
Read this. It's a rare, rare treat.
=====================
"Mandala" by Oscar Paco (oscarpaco@aol.com). Guest reviewed by Poison
Ivan.
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=361379946
If I understand it correctly, a mandala is a visual object used as a
meditation aid. The meditation aid in this particular is
Mandala Winter's asshole. The narrator of this arrives at
Mandala's house, where Miss Winter does several shocking things.
Before he knows it, he has his tongue buried between her ass cheeks.
This is a very short story, but Oscar Paco packs a lot into just a few
words. I got a clear view of the surroundings and of Mandala herself.
And there is a very nice sense of the narrator being over-run by an
overwhelming woman.
I highly recommend this story. If you're not squicked by oral-anal
contact, check it out.
=====================
"A Matter of Need" by (llxzt@hotmail.com). Review by Sven the
Elder,
who may be contacted at Sven@brass-neck.demon.co.uk
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13034.txt
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13035.txt
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13036.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386277
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386285
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371386299
This is a simple one - it deals with the trauma of a devoted
married couple, one of whom dies, and the subsequent trials and
tribulations the surviving partner goes through as his friends attempt
his rehabilitation.
Now consider that the above synopsis is like saying that either St
Paul's Cathedral in London and the Capitol in Washington are just
buildings. This is a tear jerker - I don't mind admitting that
at the end I cried - sentimental fool that I am! Using colours
to describe the changing mood and turmoil in the mind of the main
character is a masterpiece of writing. It portrays what is almost an
exorcism superbly. There are others who can probably vouch for the
accuracy of the mood swings and feelings, better than I. Without
actually having undergone the sort of agony portrayed, I can only
imagine the situation - Watcher, for me has captured those feelings
with total clarity of description.
I have been deliberately a little cagey in the depictions and
synopsis; saying too much would detract from the itself, that I
most certainly do not wish to do.
Finally I feel that I just read *my* of '98. It will be a
remarkable one that comes along to displace this from *my* number one.
It *should* be in the top ten for the year at the very least. If you
read no other from this set of reviews, this has to be the
one.
As to the ratings - this is the first I have read that I
genuinely feel is outside the rating structure, it is that good.
However to comply:-
=====================
"A Most Unusual Afternoon" by Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=372063151
When I labeled this "unusual bdsm," I didn't mean "really kinky
bdsm." What I meant was that this was a bondage that is just not
your usual sort of bondage story.
Darlene and Darren are twin siblings who are seniors in high school.
Darlene has asked her to do a favor for her, a favor that he
only reluctantly grants. Through the first half of the the
author tantalizes us while we try to figure out what the favor is.
Then we find Darlene bound naked in her bed, and we still don't ever
really know what's going to happen.
I got all the way to the end of the story, and almost none of the
things that I expected to happen had occurred in this story. And I'm
glad they didn't. Some of those things would have made a good story,
but this one was just fine too.
==================
"Office Affair" by Mat Twassel (Mmtwassel@aol.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371380694
The narrator's love life with his has been mediocre up till now.
He'd like more sex, but she's passive at best. But suddenly she
becomes a veritable sexual dynamo. She suggests that maybe the
secretary on the tenth floor would like to boink him, and then she
demonstrates just how that lady would perform the act. The next
morning she sends him off to the office with the best quickie he's had
in years.
Why would a woman change that way?
Hmmm... Just thinking about the answer to that question gives me a
pleasant feeling in a nice place.
==================
"Porch" by Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12213.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363256015
This author has written several very good recently. You can
add this one to that list.
Michelle and Lara are professional women. Michelle is on the verge of
becoming a partner in her law firm, but she sees life as devoid of the
beauty and enthusiasm it should have. Lara has just broken up with
her boyfriend. While comforting her friend, Michelle spontaneously
expresses her love for her and scares her off. The main focus of the
story is on the fear and other emotions that go through Michelle's
mind as she tries to make sense out of this dangerous but beautiful
new relationship. The scene in which they first consummate their love
is extremely sexy and touching.
==================
"Private Dancer" by Steven A. Black (sblack@mail.coin.missouri.edu).
Guest review by BitBard (bitbard@newsguy.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=373022527
In "Private Dancer" a salesman loses his job and live-in girlfriend on
the same day. He moves back to his hometown and mopes around a bit
until he visits a strip joint. There he meets Sasha, a dancer at the
club who is not only very beautiful but also very interested in our
hero. It's obvious that these two need to get together, and they do.
He gives her his address, she comes over and you can guess what
happens then. Fade out. Five years pass. Fade in. They get hitched.
I feel safe in telling you all that because it's really not giving
anything away. There are no surprise twists and turns here. The
reader can see what's cumming a mile away. Well maybe not the five
years later part but there's a reason I'm including that in the
summary.
Within this rather predictable plot, the reader will discover a most
excellently written story. The author does a great job creating and
setting moods as well as settings and character. When the author
applies these skills to the sex scenes the explodes in vivid
erotic imagery. The author takes a predictable plot and through sheer
talent makes the interesting and compelling.
Yet it is that very same talent that proves to be the bane of this
story. In creating the mood and background for the narrator's
character the author touches upon subjects like the dangers of "open"
relationships, the need for honesty in a relationship, and even the
ups and downs of life itself. These touches create a fantastic
opening mood.
The problem is that these are very powerful subjects and this really doesn't explore the issues it brings up. Granted this is a sex
story and granted too this is a short and whole books could be
written about any one of those subjects; but I think the author missed
the chance to really bind these issues together and say something
beyond sex with a beautiful stripper is orgasmically good.
In a way the sets itself up to compare and contrast two
relationships but then doesn't do either. We know why the first
relationship failed; but beyond the fact that Sasha is a gorgeous babe
and a really hot fuck, why did the second one work? The reader never
has a chance to find out, because any answers the may have are
lost in the five year transition between their first fuck and their
vows.
Despite my disappointment with the plot, this remains an
extraordinarily well written with compelling writing and even
more compelling sex. I *ENJOYED* this story. But I'm still left
wondering how much better it could have been if only we had been
allowed to peek into that five year gap.
=====================
"Rampant" by Uther Pendragon (anon584c@nyx.net).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=369771028
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370092228
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370456042
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370656430
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370903265
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=371236054
Those of us who are imbued with the spirit of romantic love often
forget that the notion of a woman falling in love and marrying the of her dreams is a modern innovation. We are reminded of that fact in
this historical short story, in which Elizabeth is assigned in
marriage at the age of sixteen to the son of a neighboring nobleman.
The explores Elizabeth's thoughts and feelings as she goes
through her sexual awakening in the thirteenth century.
The author seems to know his history, and so I am going to assume that
the events are historically plausible. {Heck, I'm even going to
assume that I learned some history while reading this story!}
Elizabeth is a naive virgin on the night of her wedding, and her
husband is a kind and gentle lover. The six chapters of this describe the beginnings of their life together, with a heavy emphasis
on their growth in sexual intimacy.
Authors rarely explain their titles. That would ruin their mystique.
The title word appears only twice in the story, both time in the
phrase, "Argent, second quarter griffin rampant, gules." These are
terms from heraldry. They summarize as concisely as possible the
symbols emblazoned on a knight's shield. By reading this label, an
observer could classify a knight as friend or foe and even narrow him
down to a specific family. The term "rampant" refers to an pictured on the shield as standing erect on one hind leg. I'll let you
figure out the significance of the title, if you wish to do so.
If you have followed the work of this author, you know that his
previous masterwork is a series about Bob and Jeanette Brennan. If
you are familiar with that story, you'll see some similarities to this
one. All the in the Brennan saga can be identified by the
letters f-o-r at the beginning of their titles. Let me go on record
right now as predicting that the Elizabeth and Karl series will
include three more stories, entitled "Passant," "Couchant," and
"Dormant." Don't ask me how I know - it's part of my mystique.
==================
"That Mardi Gras Spirit" by DG (dionysian1@hotmail.com). Guest review
by the
reclusive Mike Ink.
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12778.txt
Obligation is a compelling thing. I've enjoyed ASSD for awhile,
reclusively. Then I send an email to Celeste, grammar goddess of
erotic writing, bemoaning great writers who can't spell, and she pairs
me up with the Sandman. He transmogrifies into the BitBard, Celeste's
hard drive takes a long sleep, and suddenly I'm drafted to do a guest
review. I worry about whether I'll be too critical, obsessed with
missing commas and tense changes, missing the tense scenes. In other
words, this is my first guest review.
The Bard took pity on me, and assigned what he thought was the best
story in the batch to me. Having not seen the others, I yield to his
judgment. This one is very nice, in a quiet, very realistic fashion.
DG does not fall into a grainy exposition of pounding cocks and
spurting cum, dripping from the ceiling. Instead, this is an account
of a rainy day in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, as two couples grow
closer. I found myself saying, "been there" several times (and
wishing I'd been there other times). The plot is believable, the
words are all spelled right, and the action warms right up. There are
some great vignettes (I especially liked the bartering for ice cubes).
There are many wonderful one-liners; "Just keep an eye on the
lovebirds on the balcony, and go about half an inch lower."
DG gives credit to The Bear and Kim for proofreading; they obviously
did their jobs well.
While this stands alone very nicely, DG mentions at the end,
"This is the third featuring the adventures of DG and Cindy.
The other two are called "The Call of Desire" and "Banana Split" and
can be found, along with all my other stories, on my web page:
http://www.io.com/~thebear/dgidx.htm"
I intend to cruise on over and read the others too. To paraphrase the
Celestial Lady, "Good sex, good times, good grammar. What more could
you ask for?"
==================
"Toys" by Sista Shakespeare (sista_shakespeare@my-dejanews.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12881.txt
---
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370017290
This has several annoying grammatical glitches; but the style is
so overwhelming interesting that I found myself ignoring the mistakes
and simply enjoying the story. It takes a pretty good to do
that to a veteran English teacher. As I got further into the story, I
realized that the apparent glitches were actually a fairly successful
attempt at dialect.
The narrator's lover has bought her a new sex toy, which he plans to
try out on her in a public place. We then lapse into a series of
flashbacks where we hear about this couple's previous kinky escapades.
The alphabet soup on the title line contained the word "odd," but it's
odd in a delightful way - uniquely sexy.
I won't tell you any more about it, but I suggest you take a look at
this unusual story.
==================
"A View of Alcatraz" by Anne Arbor (AnneArbor@hotmail.com). Reviewed
by Baird Allen (thebear@io.com)
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12821.txt
When BitBard send me this to review, I worried at first that my
sweet Kim might flame me to mere ashes if I gave it less than
perfect 10s. As soon as I started to read the story, those worries
faded rapidly.
This is set "back in the 70's, in that decade of post-Pill and
pre-HIV," a time that many readers may remember with some fondness.
The narrator, Annie, is a student at Berkeley who lives with and then
marries Jed, a professor at that school. They augment their marital
sex life with frequent threesomes, always with women selected by Jed.
Annie enjoys having the women in their bed, but after a couple of
years decides that she'd like to invite another to join them. The
final half of the details Annie's first time being shared
between her husband and another man, and presents that event in a
narrative that is light-years beyond any description that I've ever
seen of similar activity in any story, the reader deeply into
Annie's thoughts and feelings.
The writing is excellent, the characters real, the narrative detailed
and moving. This fully earned its perfect 10s.
==================
"The Wild Hare" by Will Blake (willblake@yahoo.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13273.txt
This is a solicitation. The author is a mature, educated male
searching for intelligent female to trade and ideas for
stories. You can write to him at his address. If you are a naughty
naked eager for buckets of cum, you can probably just go
ahead and send him your picture.
As I started to read this story, I figured this author was an
eleven-year-old trying to make it big with the ladies. Well, if
my hunch was right, this is one heckuva bright prepubescent kid. It
would be worthwhile to keep this kid around and wait for him to grow
up!
The nicely combines outdoor sex with exhibitionism and
voyeurism. The author even throws in a blindfold, so that the husband
can't see the wild hare with the who is making eye contact with
his while he joins the husband in a simultaneous climax.
==================
"Wraith" by BitBard (bitbard@newsguy.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=369322510
Gail is a blind woman who has lived a miserable existence under
her bitchy aunt's supervision while working at a telemarketing job
that she despised. Then she finds herself in touch with a mysterious
spirit, who gives her feelings that let her feel good about herself.
Exactly how this leads to sexual and emotional fulfillment I'll let
you discover for yourself.
It was a very good story. Even if you don't believe in ghosts.
<end>
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