Celestial Reviews 213 - September 3, 1997
Note: It's been back-to-school lately. Times like this make me
grateful for the guest reviewers!
Final note: Remember: even though someone else may be posting my
reviews for me, my e-mail address is still Celeste801@aol.com.
- Celeste
"A Day in the Life of Suzy Jenkins" by Frank McCoy
(incestuous humor) 9.5,6, 6
"All Alone" by Unknown Author (masturbation) 9, 8, 8
"Caught Between the Scylla and Charibdes..." by Absinthe
(sexual cruelty) 6, 4, 2
"The Computer Flirt" by Taria (cyber-threesome) 10, 10, 10
"AOL Cybersex (with a Twist)" by FauxReal59 (humorous
cybersex) 10, 10, 10
Guest Reviews:
"Robin & the Catwoman" by Ann Douglas (superhero sex)
8, 8, 9
"A Night To Remember" by Saucy Wench (sex slavery)
9, 8, -
"Presentation" by Solstice (hypnosis) 10, 10, 9
"Connie Gets Tutored" by Connie (college sex) 9.5, 7, 7
Reposted Reviews:
* "A Matter Of Curiosity" by James Charles Lynn (threesome)
10, 9, 8
"A Day in the Life of Suzy Jenkins" by Frank McCoy
(mccoyf@millcomm.com). This is a satirical script (complete with
commercials) for a television show in which the young heroine is
eager to get pregnant by her father and Mom is helping the process
along. As the author himself admits, the humor is pretty heavy-
handed. I assume the humor is intended to carry an incest story
to the extreme in order to make the not-to-subtle point that
people who act this way would be really flaky.
A major problem is that the script doesn't really sound like a
real television show, nor do the commercials sound like real
commercials.
Ratings for "A Day in the Life of Suzy Jenkins"
Athena (technical quality): 9.5
Venus (plot & character): 6
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 6
"All Alone" by Unknown Author (cottoncandy65@hotmail.com). The
heroine of this story is home alone, ready to watch an x-rated
movie her brother Luke has loaned her. Normally she enjoys
watching guys fuck girls in the movies, but this time ole Luke has
left her an ff fuck flick. The movie turns her on, and so she
takes a sensuous bath, shaves her pussy, and just generally has a
good ole time.
The story is very short and has little character development, but
the atmosphere is really pretty sexy. This is essentially a
freebie that is part of an ad for other stories at the designated
website.
Ratings for "All Alone"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8
"Caught Between the Scylla and Charibdes..." by Absinthe
(vortex@mis.net). Last night I had a really interesting dream.
It was intense. It had something to do with sex, needing to have
my teeth fixed, riding a bus, and suddenly realizing that it was a
dream but not being able to wake up from the dream. As I said, it
was intense and interesting; but as I relate it to you right now,
I'm sure there must have been more to it than this, because what I
am telling you is boring and incoherent.
So it is with this story. The story's title is really what caught
my attention. However, after reading the story, I have no idea
why this title goes with this story. As far as I can see, the
author might have had five stories and five titles and matched
them at random.
The female narrator is either being raped or made love to.
Whichever, she enjoys it - especially when the guy uses the knife,
which draws blood, which (as far as I can see) evaporates
mysteriously. The author quotes Faust; but I suspect this was a
blind selection from Bartlett's - quotes, not pears, that is.
At first I thought the author was changing verb tenses for a
reason, but then I decided she just didn't care. In addition,
many of the thoughts simply don't make sense: "He slides his erect
cock into my pussy, which is bulging and really slick inside."
The next line says "she's really tight." I guess it is possible
that a pussy could be really bulging, but did the author really
mean to say that the cock was bulging? And exactly what was
really slick? And with all this bulging slickness, why was she so
really tight, especially since she was enjoying it so much?
I guess I can best summarize my reaction by saying that I'm pretty
sure I believe the author hoped that I would understand what I
thought she said, but I am not sure that she realizes that what I
read might not be what she meant. And believe me - that sentence
makes more sense than this story.
Ratings for "Caught Between the Scylla and Charibdes..."
Athena (technical quality): 6
Venus (plot & character): 4
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 2
"The Computer Flirt" by Taria (TariaT@aol.com). This is an
extremely creative and sexy story. It's about two ladies who
contact another lady online for cybersex. Kim gives Alicia and
Diana the instructions, and they do what they are told. A good
time is had by all - including the reader. I strongly recommend
this story.
Cybersex is an interesting topic. There are two reasons why I
myself don't cyber: (1) I would never really know who the person
is on the other end and (2) I don't like the idea of playing with
relationships . Three reasons actually - I'm also extremely happy
with what I've got.
The upside of cybersex is that it can be extremely safe. You can
engage in really exotic or kinky stuff without risk of STDs or
physical harm. You don't even have to know about bad breath or
middle-age bulges or any other physical features that might
interfere with more direct relationships. In addition, you are
limited only by your imagination; and as this story shows, you can
combine cybersex with actual sex.
But there can be some downsides. Please don't take this as a
sermon. Maybe I am being excessively cautious. My suggestion is
simply that you think before you pop your cybercherry.
First, I wouldn't really know who the other person is. It could
be a guy pretending to be a girl (or vice versa) or an eight-year-
old pretending to be twenty-eight. It could be a person on the
rebound from a shaky relationship who expects more from cybersex
than I am willing to give. Real, in-person, direct relationships
are risky; but online relationships are extremely open to
deception. You may not care, but at least sometimes the
possibility of deception would bother me.
Second, I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with my husband
by becoming really intimate with someone else. I know it's across
cyberspace, but intimacy is intimacy. I may start out being
frivolous and find things getting serious. Even more problematic
is the fact that I wouldn't really know the personality or state
of mind of the person I'm cybering with. For example, he may SAY
he wants to just have fun, but he may actually be lonely and
expect a lot more than I am willing to give.
So how does cybersex differ from sex stories? Well, sex stories
are clearly fiction and they are not interactive. No real
personalities are directly involved. For example, I can get all
hot and bothered about a story, but at least I know my
relationship to the author.
Quite likely lots and lots of you disagree with me, and I
sincerely hope you have fun with your cybersex. I merely suggest
that you think before you hump - er, jump. Meanwhile, be sure to
read this story - as well as the next one.
Ratings for "The Computer Flirt"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
"AOL Cybersex (with a Twist)" by FauxReal59 (posted by
modemac@tiac.net). I think I've seen this story before, but I
still enjoyed it. The man and woman are engaged in cybersex, but
the guy has trouble getting it up. Things keep going wrong -
unbelievable and funny things! This is an excellent little story.
Ratings "AOL Cybersex"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10
"Robin & the Catwoman" by Ann Douglas (AnnDouglas@aol.com). Guest
review by Tooshoes.
When the Internet first boomed three or four years ago, erotic
fan-fiction and parody was born. Free from censorship and
protected by anonymity, writers feverishly told stories dying to
be told -- stories that were once confined to underground
magazines and jokes told in private. They told of what Gilligan
did with Ginger behind the bushes. They told of what the Little
Mermaid did with the mer-men. And they told of what happened
between Batman and Catwoman during the commercial breaks.
Comic book superheroes were among the more popular subjects for
erotic fan fiction, especially the TV show Batman. Although this
subject matter is ostensibly for children, the comic books and TV
show dabble in erotic themes like bondage and sado-masochism. All
superheroes, male and female, wear skin tight, highly revealing
costumes, but the most erotic article of a hero's costume is their
mask. Losing one's secret identity is tantamount to losing one's
virginity.
So it's little wonder that the sexually charged superhero stories
spawned a genre of erotic literature.
Ann Douglas's "Robin and the Catwoman" was among the first such
stories widely read on the Internet. This story begins where the
TV show would normally end: Robin is captured and in great peril
at the hands of the Catwoman. The announcer would normally break
in about now, saying: "WHAT GHASTLY FATE AWAITS THE BOY WONDER?
CAN BATMAN STOP CATWOMAN IN TIME?"
What made these cliff-hangers exciting wasn't just the possibility
of death. It was the domination, and in the case of Catwoman, the
possibility of sexual play.
Of course, we were always disappointed when Batman & Robin escaped
untouched. Finally, with Ann Douglas' story, we got some
satisfaction -- as do our heroes.
Over the past few years, other stories have taken on the same
subject matter, making this story seem cliched in retrospect. Ann
Douglas herself has done better with "Batgirl & Robin" and
"Supergirl", creating totally original stories and adding depth to
the characters.
But "Robin and the Catwoman" has created a naughty little homage
to the familiar stories and characters. It may not seem as fresh
today as when she first wrote it, but it's still a must read for
anyone turned on by men in tights or women who purr.
Ratings for "Robin & the Catwoman"
Athena (technical quality): 8
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9
"A Night To Remember" by Saucy Wench (WenchSaucy@aol.com). Guest
review by Anne747.
Quick disclaimer before I start. I'm not fond of D/s stories, so
the personal opinions of this reviewer may be swayed by this fact.
How realistic should porn/erotica be? The way you feel about this
question will likely affect your enjoyment of it. I've written
some wildly unrealistic stories myself. The more I read and
write, I have to say that totally unrealistic pieces don't appeal
to me at all. I want to be able to see the possibility that
someone might actually do what the story suggests. I just don't
see that here.
The basic premise of this story is that two young women agree to
be "slaves for a night" to a dominant couple they barely know.
The story ends with them being tied together and being "suck
slaves" to ten or more people for over four hours. The binding of
the two women is covered in detail, which is probably the appeal
of this type of story. I don't know. The actual sex is only
covered in brief detail. I'm guessing this is because the author
knows that four hours of repetitive oral sex scenes just wouldn't
be enjoyable for the reader.
That's my problem with the piece. Even if a woman has submissive
fantasies, would she find this a fun evening? I'm guessing no. I
also have serious reservations about the line, "I trusted
Mistress. and Master." There isn't enough plot development to
support this statement. Some of the brief set-up and this other
lines are thrown in to make it consensual. A noble thought, but
maybe a more established relationship between dominant and
submissive would help.
The writing is fairly good. I'm just not sure it weaves a reliable
fantasy. Probably a good consensual submissive fantasy for men.
A quick spellcheck would have cleared up the very few errors, and
a proofreader could have picked up a few more typos, but these
were minor. Only one thing - the use of the word "cunny" seemed
out of place. I suppose this has something do with the "Saucy
Wench" theme. However the setting is modern, and this is the only
reference.
I'm going to cop out and not give this story an "appeal to
reviewer" number. A low number wouldn't really be fair to the
writer. And I've yet to find a submissive fantasy that I would
give more than a 5. Maybe that should be a challenge... to find
one that I would give a higher number (don't hold your breath
though).
Ratings for "A Night To Remember"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 8
Anne747 (appeal to reviewer): N/A
"Presentation" by Solstice. Guest review by Mike Hunt.
Beth is helping the gentleman prepare his presentation for her
board meeting tomorrow. A couple of sentences into the story she
asks "How'd you like to be hypnotized?" I knew right then that I
wouldn't enjoy this story, because I gave up on mind-control shit
when I was 14. It doesn't work. And it's silly. Who wants to fuck
a corpse, or a live body that has as much will? You might as well
go down to the dirty book store and buy a latex vagina. "Conquest"
implies "contest". You don't make General in the army by taking
unoccupied land.
Oops. I enjoyed the story a lot, but more because the writer is a
good writer than for the subject matter. The author walks slowly
through the hypnotic entry and makes the process interesting. None
of that "In a flash I was a zombie, unable to control a single
thought..." In "Presentation" the denouement is tempered somewhat,
and the entry of Beth's secretary extends the sex scene to a fine
and fitting climax.
The conclusion turns out not to be the end, and I always enjoy a
story with a couple of surprises along the way. Far better than
those "I came in buckets. THE END." things that litter the
landscape in these parts.
The author says it's his first effort. For an opener, it's a good
one.
Ratings for "Presentation"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Mikeus (appeal to reviewer): 9
"Connie Gets Tutored" by Connie (Posted as "The Student" by
kristen78@aol.com). Guest review by Anne747.
I have a serious question. Do women really write stories that give
their age and measurements in the first paragraph? I've never thought
so, but we'll ignore that for the basis of the review <grin>.
The title is misleading, possibly on purpose. This is a twist on the
classic D/s theme with teachers and students. Connie is a... well, let
me use her own words: "I'm a junior in college. I'm 20, blond, and five
feet six inches tall, quite pretty, and I have an athletic and very
attractive figure: 35-23-34. I have very shapely legs, a tight rear, and
my breasts, while not huge, are firm and ample for my body. Needless to
say, I have no trouble attracting men."
Her grades are above average, except for one class. Seems her English
professor has it in for her. A conference is arranged for an evening
meeting at the Professor's home. It turns out that not only is the
Professor a lesbian, but, oh-my-god, a repressed "first time" lesbian.
Who would have ever guessed?
The story turns into a D/s piece at this point, with Connie controlling
the professor. It's actually not a bad story, just incredibly
predictable, even with the twist of Connie being the aggressor. This
has to be a pitfall of some of the more common erotic plots. It can be
downright impossible to come up with something fresh.
There is actually very little sex in this story. Mostly it focuses on
verbal domination with some physical contact at the end. I keep trying
to think of a better "plot" for the piece, but I come up blank. Maybe a
little more agonized conflict might help. I mean, we don't even know
that Connie is bisexual or lesbian herself. Just that she comes up with
a great way to get an A. Maybe even two scenes: the first ending with
the professor throwing her out of the house, and perhaps a sex scene the
next day in the office when she can't deny her own desires.
In the end it's a fairly well written piece - probably better than the
opening paragraph promises. I like lesbian pieces, but I just couldn't
get into this one.
Ratings for "Connie Gets Tutored"
Athena (technical quality): 9.5
Venus (plot & character): 7
Anne747 (appeal to reviewer): 7 (only because it got me
thinking about hot office scenes)
* "A Matter Of Curiosity" by James Charles Lynn (THC Archives). The
story labeled "Heat" by Unknown Author was actually by James Charles
Lynn. Here is a review of another story by that author. Maybe he or
someone else will repost it.
Debi has been contemplating having sex with another woman, but she wants
John to come along as a sort of security blanket. All goes well, but
then Amy (the other woman) realizes that John may be feeling lonely; and
so she finds a way to rectify that situation. They eventually become
happy hedonists, much like the people in "The Trinity Trilogy" series.
While recognizing the rough spots that are likely to occur in such a
threesome, this story still manages to present some really hot sex in a
plausible context. As I have said in the past, I can think of lots of
reasons for not doing things like this, but the notion that it doesn't
sound like fun is not one of my reasons.
Ratings for "A Matter Of Curiosity"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8