Celestial Reviews 201 - July 23, 1997
Note: I recently posted my Celestial Summaries. There are four
of these - two segments arranged by title and two arranged by
author. If you notice any corrections, I would appreciate knowing
about them. If there are enough corrections, I'll repost a
corrected version. Otherwise, I'll incorporate the corrections
into Celestial Summaries 300 next year.
Second note: A reader (Mat Twassel) responded to my 200th issue by
interviewing me through cyberspace. Here are his questions and my
answers. Enjoy!
Q1. What story (or kinds of story) have you found most difficult
to review? Why?
A1. If by the most difficult stories to review you mean which do
I dislike reviewing the most, the answer is long ones that don't
make sense. A very close second is the story that initially
appears to be complete but turns out to be unfinished. If I can
realize these problems ahead of time, I simply decline to review
the story.
If by the most difficult you mean the most challenging, then the
answer would be those with complex plots that focus on concepts
that I don't fully understand. I thought TG stories would fall
into this category, but the TG stories I have reviewed have been
surprisingly good - probably because they were written by people
like Stephanie and Vickie Tern. Well-written D&s stories are
sometimes a real challenge for me, because I have no interest in
D&s in my own life. When I review these stories I often have
trouble ascertaining how realistic they are.
Q2. Do you ever read stories and then decide not to review them?
If so, for what reasons?
A2. In general, once I read a story all the way through, I go
ahead and write a review of it. If I didn't like it, I try to
find a polite way to say so. However, I DO stop reading some
stories if they appear to be pitifully bad after the first several
paragraphs. The reason I give so many high ratings is because (1)
I look for stories by good authors and (2) I stop reading stories
that are obviously bad, and so they simply do not get rated.
Q3. What in sex stories almost inevitably turns you on? What
most turns you off?
A3. I get turned on by descriptions that are just plain sexy and
by situations that are carefully developed to combine sex with
something else that interests me. The "something else" can be
humor, a historical context, a relationship, or any of the
numerous devices that good authors use even in non-sex literature
to invent good plots - the chase, crime, exotic places, people
learning about themselves, etc. Stories that claim to be "true"
are not necessarily good stories; but stories about interesting
topics that come across as both sexy and true are often real turn-
ons.
I get especially turned off by stories that stupidly describe neat
ways to torture women and insinuate that the victims like this
treatment. I have enjoyed rape and even torture stories, but
those written by simple-minded people often evoke pity for the
authors rather than sexual excitement. I also get turned off by
incest for the sake of incest. Some incest stories can actually
be interesting and even sexy {for example, stories about kids
exploring one another's bodies), but when moms and dads just think
it's swell to have sex with their nine-year-olds, I get turned
off. Finally, while I honestly have learned to see the fun in
some well-written watersport stories, I still get turned off by
stories that wallow in excrement.
Q4. What led to your decision to begin reviewing sex stories?
What particular goals or objectives did you have? How have your
objectives changed over the last two years?
A4. I started because it was fun. Another person whose name I
forget had written a few reviews, and I decided to give it a try.
He stopped, and here I am 200 issues later.
Aside from the fun, I think it is a challenge to try to help
upgrade the quality of erotic literature. I believe I am a moral
and responsible person, but I think that sex is good and that
stories about sex can be fun and even beneficial to the people who
read and write them. Philosophically, I believe that truth will
win out if given a chance; and so I think that by helping people
express themselves clearly and effectively, maybe I can do my
little bit to help the world become a better place. If not, at
least I can help a few thousand people have a better time in the
sack.
I'm not really a hedonist myself; that is, I not believe that it's
correct to evaluate moral behavior by the slogan, "If it feels
good, do it." However, I do think integrating sexual pleasure and
eroticism into one's lifestyle is adaptive; and I think it's even
good to fantasize about things that one will never - and should
never - do.
If I can help provide a forum in which authors and readers can
have good clean fun with sex stories, that's something I'd like to
contribute to society.
Finally, as time has gone by, I have developed a genuine
friendship with many people in this virtual community. I think in
the long run that has become my main motivation. We have a group
of good people who share a common interest, and I can help these
people share their interest more effectively. That gives me a
nice feeling.
Q5. Does your husband read sex stories? Does he comment on your
reviews? Does he ever substantially disagree with your judgments?
Does he ever influence your judgments?
A5. My husband does not read many sex stories. If he spent as
much time reading sex stories as I do, we'd never get anything
done around this house! He knows what I am doing and has no
problem with it. I'm pretty sure he is proud of me. He reads at
least some of my reviews, but I have no idea how many. Since he
is a normal human being with active sex drives, I presume that
like most people with access to a.s.s., he reads each issue of my
reviews and selects stories to read based on my recommendation. He
likes it when I act out a part of a story with him; and some of
the things he does with me are either deja view experiences or
ideas derived from these stories.
My husband never disagrees with my judgments. Why would he do
that?
He certainly does influence my judgments. Sometimes I directly
ask him for a man's point of view on a story. Sometimes I say,
"How would you feel if I did this...?" More often, I just know
him real well and already know what he would tell me.
Q6. If your daughter spent as much time reading sex stories as
you do, would you be upset?
A6. I have both an older and a younger teenage daughter. The
older one can read as many sex stories as she wants. The younger
one should not be reading some of the stories that appear here.
Some of them would give her a distorted perception of human
sexuality. I'm sure she'll come across stories like these anyway.
Maybe if I do a good job, she'll read my reviews and select good
stories. I have no intention of telling my children that I write
these reviews. I don't think they could keep the secret. If they
ever find out, I'll talk to them about it, and I assume they'll be
proud of me.
Q7. In a typical week, how many stories do you read, how much
time does this take you, and how much time do you spend writing
the reviews?
A7. I probably spend about two hours a day reading stories and
writing reviews. Maybe it's closer to three. I think I usually
read about 20 stories a week. It has become my major non-athletic
recreation. I simply don't watch television very much or read the
comics and the recreational parts of the newspaper.
My estimate of time spent on this newsgroup does not include the
time it took to respond to this interview.
Q8. Have you ever posted a review you've regretted? In your
judgment, what (if any) have been your biggest mistakes?
A8. Sure, I have regretted reviews. Sometimes I make a smart-ass
remark that I think is funny, and it hurts somebody's feelings. I
don't want to go into specifics.
Q9. Would you give us a quickie definition of pornography? Of
erotica?
A9. As briefly as possible - erotica includes anything that makes
explicit mention of sex. Some pretty boring things can be
classified as erotica. Pornography, on the other hand, is
designed specifically to arouse the prurient interests of the
people reading it. I think both erotica and pornography are
morally neutral. That is, it is possible to do either good or bad
things with them. {In a similar way, religious writings can be
the basis for either morally good or morally bad actions.}
The censorship people use a different definition. They say
pornography is sexually explicit stuff that demeans women. By
that definition a lot of really sexy stories on this newsgroup are
certainly not pornography - unless you really stretch the meaning
of "demean."
Q10. If a sex story is to be successful for you, how important is
it that the story arouse you sexually? Have you ever reviewed
stories which have been completely successful at arousing you but
which did not rate perfect scores?
A10. Arousal can be an important part of one good story and a
negligible part of another. It depends on the purpose of the
story. It just like poetry or movies. I like poems that depict
beauty and positive emotions, but poems that make me sad can also
be great poems. I like action movies, comedies, and romances; but
I also acknowledge that dead serious movies can be excellent
movies. It's the same way with sex stories. I enjoy stories that
turn me on; but a story that honestly depicts the brutality of
sexual behavior (such as Dafney Dewitt's "Spare Change," which
almost made me gag). I might add that the naturalistic, brutal
stories are much more difficult to write: lots of authors write
torture stories that are juvenile rather than intellectually and
emotionally honest or creative.
And yes, I have reached full orgasm reading stories that have not
received straight 10's. You have to realize that sometimes I
integrate my reading with other activities and fantasies.
Q11. Do you think reading sex stories can be dangerous or
damaging to young people?
A11. Yes. Reading sex stories can definitely be dangerous and
damaging to young people; but reading religious tracts written by
misguided idiots can probably be even more destructive. It
depends on the contents of the story or tract and the context in
which the young people live and read the material. I do not doubt
at all that some people live screwed up lives because they imitate
what they see on TV soaps, in the movies, or on MTV. I am even
more certain that simplistic religious beliefs have screwed up
people's lives to an extraordinary extent. On the other hand, I
think both religion and sex are good things if approached
properly.
The best way to deal with the dangers is to approach the topics
intelligently and honestly. I think parents have a responsibility
to help their children deal with life - including sex, religion,
and other elements that I have not mentioned in this interview.
Some young children simply are not ready to handle certain
religious or sexual concepts, and I don't think parents are
engaging in improper censorship when they take steps to keep their
children away from these ideas until they are ready.
Probably the best way to discuss erotic literature with young
people would be to introduce them to the List of Credulous
Assumptions that I posted in CR 199. Or maybe not.
This has been a simplistic answer to a complex question. I'm sure
it would be easy to poke holes in my response.
Q12. Have you ever been so engrossed in a sex story that you've
declined sex?
A12. Yes. But postponed would be a better word.
Q13. What one piece of advice would you offer to someone who
wants to write a sex story?
A13. There is no one piece of advice. There are actually Three
Celestial Rules:
1. Have an angle - a focus that will make the story interesting
to someone other than yourself. Actually, you can have more than
one focus, but resist the temptation to think that a thought will
be interesting to others just because it turns you on.
2. When you read somebody else's good story, ask yourself "what
if" questions. Then write your own story that answers these
questions. Don't just change single ideas: come up with genuine
answers and put the story into a completely different context, if
necessary. My own "Virtuous Reality" got its start when I asked,
"What if the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future had
focused on Scrooge's sex life?" and "What if in 'It's a Wonderful
Life' bells rang when people had orgasms instead of when angels
got their wings?" The eventual result really resembled neither of
these stories very closely - largely because I stumbled onto the
idea of doing a Madonna sex-parody of Abbot and Costello's "Who's
on First?", which eventually became the major focus of the story.
By asking and answering enough questions, you can come up with a
story that is genuinely your own.
3. Get feedback from intelligent readers BEFORE you post the
story. At the very least, finish the story and set it aside for
two days. Then reread it and make corrections before you post it.
Q14. What advice would you give someone who wants to review sex
stories?
A14. If you want to review stories, contact me and I'll suggest
one for you.
I guess that's not what the question meant. When you review a
story, first read it and react to it honestly. Then try to write
a brief essay that shares your reaction with the people who will
read your review. Try to make your comments constructive, so that
both the author and readers can use them to write better stories
in the future. If you're reviewing for CR, it's OK (but not
mandatory) to have fun with your review. Celestial Reviews are
not strictly speaking pure reviews. It's OK to make references to
your own life and related sexual activities. However, you should
resist the urge to have fun at the author's expense - unless, of
course, the author is the sort of person who deserves or likes to
have fun made at his/her expense.
If you write more than a single review, then you'll have more of a
chance to develop a relationship with the readers. In this case
it's a good idea to focus a little more on your own background and
insights. But you should still keep the main focus on the story
you are reviewing - unless you are an underpaid sex goddess, in
which case you can write whatever you want.
Final note: Remember: even though someone else may be posting my
reviews for me, my e-mail address is still Celeste801@aol.com.
- Celeste
"Rape on a Diamond" by Sabrina (rape) 4, 3, 3
"Art Class" by Mike Hunt (small group study session)
10, 10, 10
"Lesbian Pedophile Nuns" by Xan (nun pedophile sex)
4, 3, 2
"Walls Have Ears" by Taria (emerging adolescence)
10, 10, 10
"Being Taught a Lesson" by Anonymous (orgy) 10, 10, 10
Guest Reviews:
"Campus Tour" by Twelve (ff sex on campus) 10, 8, 5
"As the Paige Turns" by Hawk Richards (humor and sex)
10, 10, 10
Martina" by BillyG (anal sex) 10, 10, 10
"Escape from Mars" by Hawk Richards (sci fi) 5, 4, 4
Reposted Reviews (because the stories have recently been
reposted):
* "The Black Knight: An Erotic Adventure" by Alan Barclay
(chivalry, bdsm & humor) 10, 10, 10
* "Snarl" by Uther Pendragon (playful sex) 10, 8, 9
* "The Addams Family: Eddie Comes to Visit" by Shelby Bush
(sitcom parody) 10, 9.5, 9.5
* "Tripping the Lights Fantastic" by NetWanderer (mind
control) 9, 8, 9
"Rape on a Diamond" by Sabrina (Kristen's collection). This story
was listed as "baseball.txt." Sabrina wrote this story because
someone dared her to write a rape story and she's a good ball
player. Linda is pitching a ballgame and gets hit - by a line
drive, I suppose. Everybody rushes to the mound and proceeds to
give her comfort. Actually, the other players gang-rape her right
there on the pitcher's mound. This explains where the missing
player was in the famous Abbott and Costello dialogue - he was
humping the pitcher!
This is actually a pretty lame story.
As the author points out in an epilogue, when a woman says no, she
invariably means it. Well, that may not actually be true, but
that theory will hold up in a court of law. The author reminds us
that rape, date rape, or forced sex with a non-consenting woman -
even with a baseball bat as the phallic instrument - can bring
dire consequences. The author says that the average prison term
for rape in the U.S. is 25 years. This story "was fantasy and
should be considered as unusual entertainment only." The author
says we should treat all women with respect; they are the fairer
sex!
Ratings for "Rape on a Diamond"
Athena (technical quality): 4
Venus (plot & character): 3
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 3
"Art Class" by Mike Hunt (MrM1ke@aol.com). Roberta is the lady
who is the most fun in the art class. One day she bets Mike Hunt
that she can give the male model an erection by standing close to
him and letting him look down her cleavage - and she loses. To
avoid another loss, she agrees to share a solo nearly-nude
modeling session with Mike Hunt, who demonstrates the value of
unilateral disarmament. As you may have surmised by now,
sometimes it's hard to describe the plots of this author's stories
without giving away too many details. Let's just say that some of
the things art students have to draw are hard.
This story is more cute and seductive than outright sexy. I like
that sort of thing once in a while.
Incidentally, you'll notice that the author has a new name. It
seems that AOL has a person whose job it is to look for obscene
names - just as most states have a person who looks for and
eliminates obscene license plates. I guess Mike had them fooled
for a while with that number 1 in his name, but AOL finally
figured out that there was a hidden meaning behind M1keHunt.
Ratings for "Art Class"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
"Lesbian Pedophile Nuns" by Xan (Mr. Double Repost). Have you
ever wondered why girls in boarding schools "ran by nuns" bathe
only twice a week? It's because when the nuns personally wash
them on those two occasions, they have to get them really clean;
and the girls' little cunnies tingle while the nuns wear special
habits with which they sit on the edge of the tub and masturbate
while they rock back and forth on the thingy that's inside the
habit. I wouldn't believe some of this, except that the story is
labeled True Ff. When the girls tell their sins to the mother
superior in the confessional, she asks leading questions and
really gets herself off while telling them that God wants them to
let women but not men touch their pussies.
I dunno. There's something fishy about this story. If you want
to read a good story about nun sex, try "Conventional Sex" by
GreatxIam, which I reviewed in CR 199. The things that happen in
that story are likewise pure fabrications, but at least they seem
to be interesting.
{Technical note: Mother superiors don't hear confessions. An
author writing a "true story" that has mother superiors doing this
will probably lie about other things as well.}
Ratings for "Lesbian Pedophile Nuns"
Athena (technical quality): 4
Venus (plot & character): 3
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 2
"Walls Have Ears" by Taria (Taria29c@aol.com). The teenage boy is
spending an evening alone with his hormones. After an hour or so
of no hard luck, so to speak, he accidentally hears the young
couple next door making love. He carefully eavesdrops, and in no
time at all his little feller is raging and shooting cum. Then
his mother tells him to bring that couple some mail that was
accidentally delivered to his apartment by mistake....
What's a short refractory period?
The story was very well written. I enjoyed it and recommend it to
those of you interested in understanding or reviewing the workings
of the male adolescent mind under hormonal stress.
Ratings for "Walls Have Ears"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
"Being Taught a Lesson" by Anonymous. Julie is an 18-year-old who
gets caught by her mother having sex with her boyfriend while her
cousin Ann is slurping up her clitoris. The boyfriend gets sent
home, and the girls go to their rooms. Then Mom surprises them by
first giving them a sex questionnaire downloaded from
alt.sex.something and then taking them to an orgy house where the
two girls learn to have sex the right way. There's not much to
say about this story: it's a well-written, hot story about two
girls having a wild coming-out party.
Ratings for "Being Taught a Lesson"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
"Campus Tour" by Twelve (twelfth@psynet.net). Guest review by
Bookman.
A young woman from a lower-middle-class family has a work-study
job as a guide for new freshmen at an exclusive East Coast
college. She is assigned to a daunting, imposing woman and her
daughter. During the tour our heroine discovers that attributes
she once considered problematical come to her aid when she most
needs them, leveling out the power-play field at least a little.
The story is technically perfect; you'll find no misplaced commas
or homonym confusion to throw you off. The situation is
believable (considering we're dealing in what is basically a
fantasy medium), and the style is a nice tight Modern Laconic. I
found the characters, unfortunately, a bit cardboard, and would
have like to have seen them more fully fleshed out (you find that
contradictory? It's not.). The daughter, whose imminent campus
career is the impetus for the story, is little more than a walk-
on, and the mother, who provides most of the tension in this pas-
de-deux, changes gears a little too fast. But it is the
protagonist-narrator who needs it most. We see this story through
her eyes, and I would have liked it if she had allowed us to know
her better and share her experience more fully.
The sex, once we get to it, is quick, almost perfunctory. Much
more time could have been taken, savoring the event. As it was,
we're barely into it, and it's over.
I did like the final paragraph, the closer. Here the author's
laconic style pays off, and what the paragraph doesn't say, says a
lot.
Ratings for "Campus Tour"
Technical: 10
Appeal (personal): 8
Appeal (Eros): 5
"As the Paige Turns" by Hawk Richards (heminway@epix.net) Guest
review by Mike Hunt.
A week ago I wrote a review of Hawk Richards' "As the Paige
Turns." And I slammed it pretty good. I even noted that Celeste
had given him low marks on an earlier story and he had revised it
and gotten all 10's on the revision. That showed me that he cares
about his work, and I urged him to revise "Paige."
The sonofabitch went and did it. And he did it again. It's a great
story now, certainly worth 10's, and I highly recommend it.
The story still revolves around a lady psychiatrist who helps a
client through his modem fetish and along the line discloses her
own fascination with the stories in the <alt.sex.stories>
newsgroups. And while there's no graphic on-screen copulating or
masturbating or blowulating, it's still sexy; it's still a quick
read, and it's now quite worth your while. The typos are gone, the
logic is logical, the story is fun!
One reviewer's disclosure: he mentions me in the story. That's a
nice stroke, but I wouldn't change my opinion just for that.
Another disclosure: he's stealing my fucking format, and has added
closing remarks that dropped me to the floor with laughter.
Any author who can write a sexy story AND make you laugh at the
same time is, uh, probably a mope. Take it from me. But a funny
mope, and maybe one who shows a helluva lot of promise. Read "As
the Paige Turns (Revised)". It's a goodie.
Ratings for "As the Paige Turns" (Added by Celeste)
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
Martina" by BillyG (Hayden@mindless.com). Guest review by Fiddler.
The story opens in medias res. Billy is tickling Martina's
breasts with a feather. He goes on to tickle her fancy with a
story, or rather his description of a situation, which he
attributes to Nancy Friday.
When he has her mind and body sufficiently hot, he seduces her
into their first anal experience. The process is gentle, well
described, and the effect is quite hot.
BillyG, from a quick search of Dejanews, has a great interest in
the parts of a woman a few centimeters from the part that
interests me most. I don't particularly share that interest, but
this story overcame that barrier. It got me hot, and would
probably be even more effective for those who share his interests
in anal sex and urination.
This version had a few uneven lines and one typo ("by" for "be");
BillyG thinks that erect is an intransitive verb. That still
leaves this story in the 98th percentile of Usenet posts in
readability.
Ratings for "Martina"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Fiddler (appeal to this reviewer): 10
"Escape from Mars" by Hawk Richards (Heminway@epix.net ) Guest
Review by Sven the Elder.
Celeste asked very nicely - so I said 'yes' - to becoming a
reviewer, one of the panel, as it were. Now the difficult bit, a
sensible, useful critique that fills in the reader with
information. Well Celeste, you make it look easy.....
'Escape from Mars' is a difficult title for this piece; there is,
you see, no escape at this juncture. The author admitted in his
tailpiece that this is a 'first attempt at writing SF'. It is
good as far as it goes, but I have to prefer stories that have a
beginning, a middle eight, and a conclusion. This makes my task a
little difficult as this piece, as reviewed, consists of a just a
prologue. The story is promising, but all we have is perhaps 2
pages of a 75 page novella. Technically the start is a little
disjointed between the first and second paragraphs, and the reader
is left hanging at the end as the story simply stops in mid
stride.
I desperately wanted to be enthusiastic and encouraging, but in
the end I have to ask Hawk to take this back to the drawing board.
Look at the construction, the scene setting, and try and write it
within the context of the complete story that you intend this to
be the prologue of. (Damn a split infinitive - I think?). {No.
Just a dangling preposition. Sven probably should have said "...
the complete story of which you intend this to be the prologue." -
Celeste}
I am a fine one to talk, as I prefer the 'short story' as a genre.
I have yet to find the time to map out a larger, longer, more
rounded item. Unless you have a mind that can encompass a
complete entity and can be disciplined to write to that end, then
homework or preparation is needed to form the skeleton that you
wish to flesh out. Especially on a longer work.
Sorry Hawk - I wanted to be generous on this first review for CR
but I can't manage to be so. On my ratings a B- .
{Note from Celeste: I hesitated to ask Sven to review this one.
The problem he saw was the same one I saw: the author does not
have a complete story. Too many authors start out like Hawk does
here and then eventually get into a bind and then simply stop
their story - leaving their readers (if they have any) hanging.
Sven and I both want to be constructive here. Authors should
avoid "rushing to press" with just the first 2 pages of a possible
75-page novella. Other authors who write long stories - Ann
Douglas, Jim Fix, Vickie Tern, and Tooshoes, to name just a few -
wait till they're finished with the whole thing before posting
their stories, and readers really appreciate the notion that there
is actually an entire, carefully composed story for them to read.
A few authors - Mark Aster and Uther Pendragon are good examples -
publish longer works in fragments, but they do this in such a way
that each segment is actually a complete story in itself. My
constructive criticism to Hawk is to return to the drawing board
and write the good story that it right now only vaguely formed in
his mind.
As a final note, I might add that Sven himself - the person who
wrote this review - offers a good example of positive reaction to
criticism. His writing has improved significantly in his more
recent stories.}
Ratings for " Escape from Mars " (Added by Celeste)
Athena (technical quality): 5
Venus (plot & character): 4
Sven (appeal to reviewer): 4
* "The Black Knight: An Erotic Adventure" by Alan Barclay
(editor@spellbinder.bc.ca). Sir Englebert the Ungainly is in the
midst of a rather hectic adventure when he comes upon a naked
woman - I mean fair maiden - tied to a stake. The young lady is
the nearby village's offering to one of the great beasts of the
forest to persuade that monster to spare their homes from
destruction. If the dragon devours her, he cannot then in good
conscience attack the village. It was a sensible thing for the
villagers to do, and the good knight very nearly rides on by. But
there's something about the fragile beauty of a damsel in distress
with her naked body dangling like a misplaced modifier from a
stake so that her breasts....
This is the sort of story that really upsets me! It includes a
focus on sex slavery and a large amount of spanking - but that's
not what upsets me. After all, this is a story about chivalry,
and chivalry has specific Rules. For example, a chivalrous person
must always open doors for lady of rank equal to or higher than
his own, allow an opponent to be armed before he lops off his head
or blows his brains out, and accept sex slaves when they are
assigned to him and treat them as their status deserves. No,
that's not what bothers me. What upsets me is that at the time I
am reading this story, I already have TWENTY-ONE stories on my Top
15 List for this month; and here I am reading number TWENTY-TWO!
In today's mail I received the "J" story from Mark who does the
Alphabet series. I'm going to wait until December 4 to review it.
I can't stand any more really excellent stories this month!
The only significant problem with the story was this sentence: "I
told her that I labored under a curse; that I could not enjoy a
woman who was well and recently spanked." Actually, the opposite
was true: he could not enjoy a woman UNLESS she was well and
recently spanked. It's a big difference, but I figured the curse
correctly from the context. Since the story was otherwise so
good, I decided to forgive this one sin.
Anyway, this is a really excellent story. I don't want to ruin it
for you, but I'll advise you that it's meant to be funny. Thomas
Mallory and Alfred Tennyson may have taken knighthood seriously,
but more recent authors have discovered that knights were really
funny people.
This story was presented by Lust So Stories. Since it was a good
one, I might was well cite their web page:
http://spellbinder.bc.ca/lss/
Ratings for "The Black Knight"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
* "Snarl" by Uther Pendragon (anon584c@nyx10.nyx.net). This is an
interesting snippet that describes the playful sexual exchanges
between a husband and wife while he helps her get the snarls out
of her beautiful, long hair. I have given this author so many
perfect ratings recently that I feel compelled to find excuses for
giving ratings of less than 10. There's nothing wrong with this
story; it's just short a short chunk of the life of two people in
love rather than a complete story. But it's still very good.
Ratings for "Snarl"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9
* "The Addams Family: Eddie Comes to Visit" by Shelby Bush
(stbush@iglou.com). This story is actually a combination of "The
Munsters" and "The Addams Family." Eddie Munster comes to visit
the Addams children. After some enjoyable torture, Wednesday
Addams gives head to her brother Pugsley. Just as Eddie is about
to get the thrill of his life from Wednesday, the full moon takes
effect; and Eddie runs off to the bathroom, where he turns into a
werewolf - actually, a werewolf cub. Although she's a bit
distressed at Eddie's disappearance, Wednesday takes the cub to
her room.
Since this is a sitcom episode, Morticia and Gomez are engaging in
raucous sex in the background; and Uncle Fester is jerking off
somewhere in the shadows. Gomez has a French fetish. Morticia
speaks imperfect French. "Manger moi. Respondez s'il vous plait"
is close enough for Gomez; after all, this is a sex fetish, not a
French language lesson.
Meanwhile, Wednesday has taken Eddie the Werewolf to bed, thinking
he's a stray puppy. When she starts to masturbate, Eddie behaves
in a beastly manner.
Meanwhile, Cousin Itt joins Morticia and Gomez for a "menage
e'tois." I don't know if incest is a meaningful concept in a
family like this. What could be the logic behind an incest taboo
in a family that could only be improved by genetic mutations? Kay
Sarah Sarah, as the French say!
If you know absolutely nothing about the monster shows of the
1960's, you might get lost in this story. But I enjoyed it
immensely. And there's more to come!
Ratings for " Addams Family"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9.5
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9.5
* "Tripping the Lights Fantastic" by NetWanderer (Mr. Double
Repost). The narrator is a 26-year-old male who states at the
beginning of the story that he is a pedophile. He works part-time
at some sort of psychology lab and part-time with a gymnastics
class for young girls. While working in the psychology lab, he
accidentally discovers a way to use lights to hypnotize people.
He installs the light system at his gym, and soon he has the two
17-year-old assistants happily serving as his sex partners.
The story offers an interesting blend of mind control and
voluntary sexual behavior, of ethical and unethical behavior. He
uses hypnosis to make the girls predisposed to want to have sex
with him; but after that initial push, their sexual behavior is
voluntary. He is making the girls his sex toys, but he uses
condoms when he has sex with them. The behavior of the girls is
controlled, but a lot of what they do sexually is at their own
initiative.
I normally do not like pedophile stories; but I enjoyed this one -
except that I vaguely knew that it wasn't finished and that the
author would eventually try to rationalize some kind of sick
behavior with 10-year-olds as "normal." The author has a pretty
good story within the existing framework; I don't see why the
eventual pedophile behavior with younger children will be
necessary to the plot at all.
Ratings for "Tripping the Lights Fantastic"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9