Celestial Reviews 185 - May 28, 1997
Note: It's been a busy week. Since there were two Supergirl stories in
the postings recently, I have reposted my reviews of several similar
stories. I hope these authors will repost those stories.
Second Note: I noticed that Dafney DeWitt is reposting a large number
of stories this week. I don't have time to dig up all the reviews, but
these are invariably good stories that are worth downloading and
reading.
Third Note: Remember the Third Annual Celestial Writing Contest.
{Several people have poinited out to me that this is actually my Fourth
- not Third -Contest. No one has yet pointed out to me that I have only
been writing these reviews for about two years; so how can I have had so
many ANNUAL contests?} The rules are that the story must in some way be
about sex and must be restricted to 500 words or less. In addition, the
story should include some sort of unusual twist. If you wish, you can
submit several super-short stories together (as Vickie Tern has now done
on two occasions), or you can post them separately under separate
titles. However, I'll give first prize to the best STORY, not to the
best collection. The deadline for submissions will be June 3, which my
calendar tells me is the date on which the Catholic Church will
celebrate the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions.
Fourth Note: Remember: even though someone else may be posting my
reviews for me, my e-mail address is still Celeste801@aol.com.
- Celeste
"HypnoTV: Baywatch" by MAW (mind control) 9, 8, 7
"The Big Bet" by Pec (fraternity orgy) 6, 6, 5
"A Summer with Amber" by Nigel (child molesting) 7, 6, 5
"Blood Prey" by Tooshoes (supergirl & vampire sex) 9, 10, 10
"Supergirl: Dark Half" by PJ (superhero sex & violence) 8, 6, 5
* "What Are Supergirls Made Of?" by Tooshoes (Superhero
romance) 9, 8, 8
* "A Supergirl Arises From The Abyss" by Tooshoes
(sci fi romance) 10, 9, 9.5
* "My Heart Of Steel Is Like Putty In Your Hands" by
Tooshoes (action adventure) 10, 9, 9
* "Supergirl Breaks the Mold" by Tooshoes (action
adventure) 10, 9, 9
* "Frisking The Cat" by Tooshoes (superhero sex) 10,10,10
* "Supergirl" by Ann Douglas (superhero sex) 9, 10, 10
* "Supergirl and X" by M D James (superhero rape & sex) 9, 9, 9
* = Repost of a previous review (because the story has
recently been reposted)
"HypnoTV: Baywatch" by MAW (MS4EVER321@aol.com). Baywatch is a show
whose artistic and dramatic qualities elude me. My husband seems to
enjoy the show, but he must see something in it that I fail to see.
It's sort of like what somebody said to me at a party over the weekend:
"I see," said the blind man who pissed against the wind. "It's all
coming back to me." Which reminds me of a joke: Down in Florida, two
widows were talking and one asked the other, "Do you ever get to
feeling horny?"
"Yes," her friend replied.
"What do you do about it?"
"I usually suck on a Lifesaver."
After a moment of stunned silence her friend asked, "Well, what beach do
you go to?"
Which brings us back to this story. Frank wants to be admitted to Alpha
Beta Thi, which is the hottest fraternity on campus. The initiation
committee has decreed that he can get in only if he can bring proof that
he has made love with the four hottest lifeguards (lifesavers, in the
previous joke) on the beach, all on the same day. Fortunately, Frank
has been taking a psych course; and the textbook has a chapter that
describes how to hypnotize people. Equally fortunately, the female
Baywatch lifeguards have not yet taken that course in their doctoral
programs, or at least have not read that chapter, or at the very least
have not understood it very well - or maybe they just like to fuck.
Anyway, Frank nails all four of them, and I suppose he gains membership
in I Felta Thi.
This was a cute little story. It really needed a little more plot
development, and the sex scenes were numerous but brief. In other
words, if my husband likes this show so much, there MUST be more to a
typical Baywatch story than this. I asked him, and he said the show
depends very heavily on the T&A (technical and aesthetic, I suppose)
abilities of the actresses, and he suggested that perhaps this is
difficult to convey in the non-visual media. He may have a point there.
Ratings for "HypnoTV: Baywatch"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 7
"The Big Bet" by Pec (pec@richmond.infi.net). If you think it's easy to
write a sexy story about a fraternity wager, you should look at this
one. The narrator and his friend are put in charge of the fraternity's
charity program for the fall. Well, these girl's from 38DD are likewise
in charge of their sorority's charity program. I'll bet you can see
where this is going! The guys challenge the girls to a Big Bet. If the
guys raise more money, the girls will have to streak past the frat
house; but if the girls win, then the guys will have to do whatever the
girls want for a whole day. These guys weren't rocket scientists: they
think this is an even bet. The guys lose and they have to sexually
service all 22 girls. They take their loss well. The narrator is the
last to cum, and so he is despondent, until he realizes that this is a
religious sorority or something and the girls like the guy that comes
last and make him the first on their list.
Ratings for "The Big Bet"
Athena (technical quality): 6
Venus (plot & character): 6
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 5
"A Summer with Amber" by Nigel (bclinton@whitehouse.gov). The
narrator's girlfriend has her 12-year-old niece come for a visit. The
niece becomes interested in sex, and the narrator becomes interested in
the niece. I guess if one seriously wants to avoid sex with pre-
adolescents, one shouldn't let them sit on one's lap during a 45-minute
drive or take a shower with them. Because if one does, soon one will be
nibbling on their breasts, and then things are likely to get out of
hand.
The author requests that readers not offer any literary commentary, and
so I won't mention the story's slow development, choppy plot, or
fundamental lack of realism. I'll deal with the author's knowledge of
psychology, since he introduces that topic in a sort of epilogue. He
says the fact that Amber initiated their encounter "is comforting in
regard to cognitive dissonance." I don't think the author knows squat
about cognitive dissonance; I think he means he has a lax conscience
that was mollified by the fact that he could transfer the guilt to the
child. He says he makes no attempt to defend his actions with Amber,
and he adds that both he and Amber "knew the consequences of their
acts." This being said, he tells us to feel free to post any discussion
as appropriate. Since he seems to want advice with regard to "real
life," my suggestion is to seek counseling if he thinks there's a chance
he might repeat this kind of dysfunctional behavior. The story may be
mildly interesting, but I really don't think that guys who act like this
are likely to help young girls grow up to be healthy and happy.
Ratings for "A Summer with Amber"
Athena (technical quality): 7
Venus (plot & character): 6
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 5
"Blood Prey" by Tooshoes (tooshoes@cris.com). As we have learned in
previous stories by this author, because of Supergirl's origins and
super powers, she has trouble dealing with her femininity. She solves
part of her problem by working under an assumed identity as a stripper
at a sleazy bar, while she also works during her free time as a
superhero to promote truth, justice, and the American Way. In this
story she encounters a vampire. My knowledge of vampires is so weak
that I had forgotten that they need fresh human blood in order to
survive and that the people from whom vampires draw this blood
immediately die, since they have no more blood of their own. However,
now that I think about it, I suppose that makes sense. Naturally, when
the first vampire shows up in Supergirl's city, there's bound to be a
conflict. The vampire at first wants to suck blood from Supergirl, but
the superhero's insatiable sexual urges make her extremely attractive to
him, and it the vampire falls in love with Supergirl. Therefore, he has
a conflict: should he be with her and run the risk of killing her or
withdraw from the one he loves and let her live? You'll have to read
the story to find the answer.
This particular version of Supergirl has begun to grow on me. This is
the sixth Supergirl story that the author has posted, and I find it
enjoyable to watch the way the author handles authentic, hypothetical
problems that might arise for a young woman who has super powers like
these.
Ratings for "Blood Prey"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
"Supergirl: Dark Half" by PJ (pjurado@aol.com). Apparently in a
previous episode Dr. Doom created a Supergirl named Mirabelle who
somehow escaped his control and fell in with Wonder Woman. Now his
associate Dr. Fokler has created a new Superbeing named Vivienne, alias
Dark Angel. Dr. Fokler seems to have two goals in creating his
creatures: getting great sex from them and ruling the world. Since he
is a demented arch-villain, he seems to give priority to the latter
goal. In addition, as a Mad Scientist, he also seems driven by the
simple desire to make really neat things.
The Supergirls of this story are essentially creatures like Godzilla,
who fight for dominance in the streets of major cities; only they are
women, who can also have major orgasms. Anyway, Dark Angel uses her
pheromone ability (which Fokler had given to her but not to the first
Supergirl clone) to subdue Mirabelle. Will Supergirl be diverted to
illicit purposes? Will Wonder Woman damage the integrity of Dr. Fokler's
dimensional vessel? Will the world as we know it survive? If you
really want to know, you're going to have to read the story.
This story is not as good as the preceding one. This one has a
disjointed plot: the author simply wants to let us see neat things (like
explosive orgasms) happen. He is not really interested in pursuing the
logical consequences of interesting ideas, which is what good science
fiction does.
I am not a super science fiction fan, and so the following criticism may
be off track. The author says that Supergirl was "cloned" from
Superman. My understanding is that cloning would result in a male
Superman.
In short, with this story I did not have the impression that I was
reading either excellent science or excellent fiction. Some other
Supergirl stories posted with this newsgroup have done a much better
job, and I'll repost my reviews of those stories. Perhaps the authors
of those stories will repost them.
The Supergirl erotic literature is rapidly becoming fairly complex. As
I have pointed out, Tooshoes has now posted six Supergirl stories. Her
Supergirl is essentially the same as the one in Ann Douglas's story,
although their earthly names are different and the two authors have made
no attempt to make their story lines avoid contradictions. This
Tooshoes/Douglas Supergirl appeared in the older DC Comics but was
killed off in the comics several years ago and was replaced by a newer
Supergirl with very different powers. This second Supergirl appears in
"Supergirl and X" by MD James, which was written with the most up-to-
date comic-book readers in mind and included numerous inside references.
The Supergirl in the present story is somewhere in between. She has
genes that originated on Krypton, but she has been created as an
essentially distinct entity by Dr. Fokler. I honestly don't know
whether she has a fictional existence outside this story.
I have reviewed these stories as essentially an outsider with just a
little bit of inside information that has been supplied to me by
readers. It is possible that a Supergirl comic-book aficionado might
get an entirely different impression. However, I find it interesting
that an outsider like myself can enjoy these stories when they are
carefully developed.
Ratings for "Supergirl: Dark Half"
Athena (technical quality): 8
Venus (plot & character): 6
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 5
* "What Are Supergirls Made Of?" by Tooshoes (tooshoes@ix.netcom.com).
Supergirl shows up just in time to stop a guy from raping an innocent
young woman. The hero sends the young woman on her way with a proper
word of warning and then turns to deal with the villain, who cons
Supergirl out of punishing him. It turns out Supergirl has an identity
crisis. Because of her origins and super powers, she has trouble with
her femininity. She solves part of her problem by working under an
assumed identity as a stripper at a sleazy bar. I don't want to tell
you any more, since part of the fun of reading this story is seeing what
happens.
I was surprised at how good this story was. I had skipped past it
several times in the postings until someone called it to my attention.
It's a bit like a high-class comic book or cartoon. When I was in
college I used to sneak off and watch "The Incredible Hulk" and wonder
how David Banner would solve his dilemma of radioactive contamination
that caused him to undergo metamorphosis - when all the kids in the
country were watching the same show so that they could imitate him when
they would "hulk out" and scare the shit out of their friends.
Something similar happened with this story: I began to wonder about the
sexual feelings of a comic book hero. The story wasn't exactly great;
but I think that may be because all I could find was one out of four
episodes. Taken in its full context, this might be an even better
story. These stories usually begin with SG in the postings. You may
want to look for them.
Ratings for "What Are Supergirls Made Of?"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8
* "A Supergirl Arises From The Abyss" by Tooshoes
(tooshoes@ix.netcom.com). Kara was sent to earth as a survivor from her
planet (actually an asteroid) at the moment her culture and all her
friends disintegrated. She was greeted on earth and taken under wing by
none other than Clark Kent, who had made a similar odyssey several years
earlier. Enrolled as Linda Lee as a student at Metropolis University,
she is having trouble getting along on earth.
To mask the effect of her unfamiliarity with American culture, Clark
advises Kara to pass herself off as Hungarian - an idea plagiarized, no
doubt, from either George Bernard Shaw or Henry Higgins. The story is
quite interesting; sort of like a high quality comic book with sexual
activities as a natural part of the plot. This is the first of four
connected stories - four that I know of; there may be others. The plot
has obvious possibilities: what sort of things - both emotional and
physical - will happen to a woman with super powers who approaches an
American college campus as a foreign culture. This series has the
potential to be really good, but I'm going to save a really high rating
until I've seen more.
Ratings for "A Supergirl Arises From The Abyss"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9.5
* "My Heart Of Steel Is Like Putty In Your Hands" by Tooshoes
(tooshoes@ix.netcom.com). Linda Lee is a supergirl from the same planet
and with similar powers as Clark Kent. In the opening scene of this
episode she becomes caught up in a violent hostage scene and falls in
love with one of the participants. She lives with the guy for a while
and frequently has sex with him, but she realizes that sexual attraction
affects her powers and that the guy is no good for her. This episode is
an attempt to insert some really complex emotions into a simplistic
story line, and it succeeds fairly well. Kara as Linda Lee comes across
as one thoroughly confused young lady; and by the end of the chapter I
was wondering how she might get her act together in future episodes.
Ratings for "My Heart Of Steel Is Like Putty In Your Hands"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9
* "Supergirl Breaks The Mold" by Tooshoes (tooshoes@ix.netcom.com).
This episode of the Supergirl Saga begins with a focus on two pieces of
information: (1) Supergirl has become interested in the plight of some
downtrodden Cuban refugees, and (2) Supergirl has become involved in a
slightly kinky lesbian relationship with a female reporter from the
Daily Planet. The first piece of information is not surprising; the
second is explained in terms of her need to be passive during sex, in
order to avoid doing serious harm to her partner. In addition, we
discover that Supergirl is under surveillance by agents of the American
government and that her freedom and powers are limited. In short, this
story is an interesting blend of somewhat kinky lesbian sex and
political philosophy.
Ratings for "Supergirl Breaks The Mold"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9
* "Frisking The Cat" by Tooshoes (tooshoes@concentric.net). Our story
begins with Supergirl feeling lonely and horny on a late-night subway
train. She has group sex with some strangers on the train; but when
they depart, she realizes that they have taken her purse, which contains
her superhero uniform.
After this introduction we learn that Supergirl is having trouble making
ends meet in her dual identity persona. Since she majored in Liberal
Arts, she can't get a good job; but her platonic acquaintance, Andrew,
hires her as a sort of roving agent for the SSA (Superhero Surveillance
Agency). He first assignment is to apprehend Catwoman, a cat burglar
who doubles as a sort of Robin Hood vigilante.
Oh, there are a few details I forgot to mention - Supergirl has a libido
that won't quit. She also is a transmitter (but not a receiver) of ESP
messages. And Catwoman has this problem of getting to the point of a
huge orgasm and then just quitting. Somehow all this comes together
into an interesting plot.
Ratings for "Frisking The Cat"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
* "Supergirl" by Ann Douglas (AnnD55@Pipeline.Com). This is a nice,
romantic story about the budding relationship between the Woman of Steel
and Susan Wienczorkowski, an officer on the Metropolis Special Crimes
Unit. Through a flashback we learn that Kara (Supergirl) had been in
love with a young man on her planet before it was destroyed and she
alone escaped to earth. Kryptonians made no clear distinction between
straight and gay sexual behavior; and it now seemed reasonable and
extremely pleasant to fall in love with the police officer.
At first I had a tendency to look for anomalies in the story. For
example, when Susan took Kara out for dinner, nobody in the restaurant
recognized Kara as Supergirl. These people, I said to myself, must have
an amazing figure-ground problem. Maybe Kara wore glasses to the
restaurant - the glasses always kept Lois Lane from figuring out that
Clark Kent was Superman. However, as I got more involved in the story I
found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable romantic story. I strongly
recommend it.
Ratings for "Supergirl
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
* "Supergirl and X" by M D James (dmatthew@ix.netcom.com). At the
beginning of the story we learn that Supergirl has been infatuated with
Lex Luthor. Can this be true? Isn't Lex Luthor an evil person? Holy
Ambivalence.... Ooops! That's the wrong superhero.
In the present episode Supergirl pursues Luthor, but he tortures her
with his Orgasmatron. Then Lex Luthor fucks Supergirl - well, not
really Lex Luthor - actually X Luthor, one of those X-Men, of comic book
fame, who has taken on the appearance of Lex. In some weird sense,
Supergirl is even X's mother.
I have to admit that I am not up to date on my comic book literature.
This story was full of allusions to people I knew not of. I felt like I
was in a comic book version of one of T.S. Eliot's poems.
Ratings for "Supergirl and X"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9