Celestial Reviews 301 - August 26, 1998

Note: A man and a lady, married for 20 years, aren't happy with their 
sex lives. One night the wife comes home from playing bridge and 
says, "Honey, Betty told me about a new position. It's called the 69. 
You put your head at the south end of the bed and I put my head at 
the north end of the bed. Orally, we please each other."

The husband agrees to try this position. During their session of 69, 
the wife passes gas, emitting a horrible stench. The husband doesn't 
think much of it and continues. A few moments pass and she does it 
again. The husband is gagging from the smell.

He pats the wife on the ass and tells her, "Honey, I can't take 67 
more of these!"

Second note:  A guy walked into a bar with a pet alligator by his side. 
He put the alligator up on the bar and turned to the astonished 
patrons. "I'll make you a deal. I'll open this alligator's mouth and place 
my genitals inside. Then the 'gator will close his mouth for one 
minute. He'll then open his mouth and I'll remove my genitals 
unscathed. In return for witnessing this spectacle, each of you will 
buy me a drink." 

The crowd murmured its approval.  The man stood up on the bar, 
dropped his trousers and placed his privates in the alligator's open 
mouth. The 'gator closed its mouth as the crowd gasped. After a 
minute, the man grabbed a beer bottle and rapped the alligator hard 
on top its head. The 'gator opened its mouth and the man removed 
his genitals, unscathed as promised. The crowd cheered and the first 
of his free drinks was delivered.

The man then made another offer. "I'll pay anyone $100 who's willing 
to give it a try." A hush fell over the crowd. After a while, a hand went 
up in the back of the bar.  A woman timidly said, "I'll try, but you have 
to promise not to hit me on the head with the beer bottle."

Final note: Remember: even though someone else may be posting 
my reviews for me, my e-mail address is still Celeste801@aol.com.

- Celeste

=====================
Celestial Reviews:
=====================

"Airport" by Unknown Author (satisfaction) 10, 10, 10 
{Insufficient information to find link}

"Assignation" by Jane Urquhart (cyber-romance becomes real) 10, 
10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383134004 

"A South Park Sex Story" by Leespam2 (cartoon sex) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=382912981 

"Sex in His Tent" by Glossy (slut goes camping) 7, 6, 5
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383104871 

"In the Sand: The Saga of Ami and Sasha" by Ami and Sasha 
(cybersex becomes real sex)  7, 6, 6
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=384034273  

"Frustration" by Phil (tantalizing storytelling) 10, 10, 10
{Not Archived}

"We'll See What Happens" by Sven the Elder (unusual one-nighter) 
10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=384366407 

"Until It Hurts" by Crimson Dragon (ff romance) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=382429137 

"A Roll of the Dice" by Bernadette (cyberlovers meet) 9, 8, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380905014 

"The Masked Man" by Pipedream and Red Rose (1700s romance) 9, 
7, 7
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=376997865 

"Latin Night" by Lostgirl (sexy dancing) 9, 7, 7
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=376723395 

"Sweet Milk" by Unknown Author (lactation sex) 6, 4, 4
{Unarchived}

"Night Swimming" by Vickie Morgan (sex at sea) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=378073650 

"Sevin & Dominic" by Mr. J (exhibitionism) 8, 8, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=381511636 

"Castle Nursery" by Uther Pendragon (solstice orgy) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=384085732 

"Paint" by LeAnna (voyeurism & exhibitionism) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383797538 

=====================
Guest Reviews:
=====================

"Possession" by Eazin Along (consensual power exchange). 
BillyG: 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=376240419 

"Vantasy" by Jenn Till (rape). Myers: 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383180607 

"Airport" by Unknown Author (romantic tryst). BillyG: 10, 8, 8

"The Beach" by Jacques du Bois (Lesbian sex near the beach), Owl: 
10, 10, 9
http://x14.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=381517151.1&CONTEXT=9
04222317.1796931652

"The Beach" by Solange Lafemme (seaside masturbation). Ivan: 7, 8, 
9
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=373022492 

"Friday Night Pickup" by Paris Waterman (stud service) 
Nick: 8.5, 8. 7
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380904532 

'The Friendly Couples" by Roger Grayson (swinging). 
Sven: 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380909997 

"Beauty Is Iron" by Cobalt Jade (fairy tale sex). 
Emperor: 10, 10, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380905021 

"A Moment of Daydreams" by Mildred Whittemore (sexy dream
sequence). Owl: 10, 10, 9
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=334437884 

"Miranda's Magic" by johnna@unixg.ubc.ca (romance).
 Gandmar: 10, 7, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380892048 

"More Than Enough" by Unknown Author (gang bang)
Gandmar: 8, 8, 4
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=377865835 

"The Shower Tales: Maureen" by Steve R. (sex with voyeurism). 
Ivan: 6, 6, 7
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=172389526 

"B.O.B. and Me" by Lostgirl (masturbation). BitBard: 10,10,10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=378056908 

=====================
Reposted Reviews
=====================

* "Tales of the East Indies" by Sven the Elder (exotic sex)
            10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383797547 

* "Life Sentence" by Uther Pendragon (poetry - sort of) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=38328941 

* "My Juno" by Morgan Preece (flirtation) 9, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383104840 

* "Art Class" by Mike Hunt (small group study session)
            10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383104833 

======================
Old Spam Contest Stories
======================

* "My Nipples Explode With Delight" by The Bear (transgender)
            10, 8, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=276630220 

* "All This for Only 79 Cents?" by The Bear (chaotic blowjob) 
            10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=274551223

* "Look What I Did When My Boyfriend Left for the Weekend"
            by The Bear (humor) 10, 8, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=274681716 

* "Barbie is Waiting" by R Rivers (spam contest) 8, 9, 9
{unarchived}

* "Young Dumb and Full of Cum" by Mike Hunt (spam contest)
            10, 8, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=278687389

* "1997 Teen Blow Job Tournament" by Daphne Xu (oral sex)
            9.5, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=279912118 

* "SPAM CONTEST" by Taria (spam contest) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=281162242 

* "The Morning After" by Tom Bombadil (spam contest)
            10, 8, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=285802333 

* "Tasty Young Coeds" by Johnny D (spam snuff) 10, 8, 8
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=293903296 

=========================
On This Day In Celestial History
Celestial Reviews 112 - Aug 28, 1996 
=========================

* "Letter Found Near a Suicide" by Mary Anne Mohanraj
            (unanswered love) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=177482824 

* "More Congenial Spot" by Mary Anne Mohanraj 
            (emerging sexuality) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=177482828 

* "A Rude Awakening" by Michael Dagley (reformed 
            virgin on a binge) 10, 10, 10
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=272178107 

* "Elizabeth & Anastasia" by Tom Bombadil (ff romance)
            10, 10, 10
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1755.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1758.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1757.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1759.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1761.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1741.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1744.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1743.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1745.txt 

==================

"Airport" by Unknown Author ().  

Actually, the title is misleading.  The story only STARTS in the airport.  
The real eroticism begins during the ride home from the airport, while 
the damsel in distress with the bodaciously beautiful body slithers and 
writhes in the passenger seat sans panties but cum lots of other 
accoutrements.  But suddenly the perspective shifts from his view 
between her legs to her own brain a few hours ago, as she 
contemplates the impending desolation of being alone at the end of 
her air trip to Houston.  The first shift in perspective jarred me a little, 
but I soon learned to relax and enjoy it, while the perspective shifted 
from his to hers as the sexy couple progressed through their 
adventure.

This is an exceptionally good story.  If you skip it, you'll be missing 
one of the best stories of this month.

Special note: This author does a splendid job at a task that every 
author should master: making a woman sound beautiful without 
expressing her bust size in mathematical notation.

Quibble department: "As we continued down the corridor, she 
matched my pace as I carried the luggage, which was no big deal."  
Question: WHAT was no big deal - his carrying the luggage or her 
matching his pace.  Using a relative clause to modify a clause (rather 
than to modify a noun or pronoun), is often confusing.  In this case, 
it's no big deal; but consider this possibility: "She gave me a blowjob 
after I recovered from the beating, which was just what I had hoped 
for."  Get my drift?  {Note:  This mistake is an aberration.  This author 
actually uses the English language extremely effectively.  Just as 
some guys just can't pass up a niece piece of ass, a good English 
teacher can't pass up a chance for a lesson on ambiguous sentence 
syntax on alt.sex.stories - which is abbreviated ass on a.s.s.}

Ratings for "Airport"
Athena (technical quality): 
Venus (plot & character): 
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 

"Assignation" by Jane Urquhart. (Janey98@hotmail.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383134004 

The word "Assignation" has three meanings.  The only one relevant 
to this story is "3. An appointment for a meeting between lovers; a 
tryst."

The subject of the present case study is a woman who holds an 
honorable place within her community but writes salacious stories, 
and release of this information would be disastrous.  She has jokingly 
suggested to an on-line admirer that he ought to try to detect her true 
identity.  Surprisingly, he has made the attempt and has succeeded; 
and now she must pay the piper by meeting with him.  She is not 
really distressed. "In fact, she was filled with delight. She chose to 
believe that her very lack of choice released her from any possible 
twinge of conscience. Her husband and children would be at the 
grandparents' cottage, where she had to be the following day. No one 
would ever know where she had been that night; no one would be 
hurt. Moreover, having corresponded for some time with her soon-to-
be lover, she was confident that he would make her adventure worth 
remembering for the rest of her life. Fantasies were all very well, but 
reality would be vastly better."

I'm not going to tell you how this all plays out.  Instead I'll tell you how 
I (moi, as the characters in this story might say) would deal with this.  
If someone broke my cover and invited me to have a romantic tryst 
with him, I would have him assassinated, as plain and simple as that.  
The characters in this story each have their own personalities, and 
they are each devoted to a spouse to whom they intend to remain 
faithful and with whom they plan to continue to build a relationship.  
That makes four individual personalities, without counting children or 
other collaterals, as military analysts would call them.  While I 
immensely enjoy the fantasies I read and write about, an actual 
romantic involvement with someone else would affect not only me but 
these other three personalities as well.  I may decide to pull back, and 
he may not, or vice versa.  My active affection for this man might alter 
my unconscious actions toward my husband, who would respond 
equally unconsciously toward me in such a way as to fuck up 
something beautiful that he and I have worked on. And while he 
would be trusting me to be acting honestly, I would be acting under a 
different set of rules about which he would know nothing.  Etc. No, it 
would be easier to kill the fantasy lover as soon as he stepped over 
the line.  As far as I am concerned, "Fatal Attraction" is a book of the 
bible.

I don't think I'll really have to kill anyone.  As the nuns used to say in 
elementary school, "A word to the wise is sufficient."

Fortunately, the author has no such qualms - at least not in her story.  
Her story is sexier than my morose cogitations.  And since the story is 
a fantasy rather than a newspaper account of a stalker emerging from 
cyberspace, I found it to be a simply excellent story.  This is not a 
Janey story, and there's no reason to believe that it's really 
autobiographical or even auto-fanciful; but it was certainly erotic - 
both auto and otherwise.

Ratings for "Assignation"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10 

"A South Park Sex Story" by Leespam2 (leespam2@aol.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=382912981 

This story is a parody of the cartoon that appears weekly on Comedy 
Central {American cable TV}, in which a group of pre-adolescents 
engage in grotesquely dysfunctional but funny behaviors.  This 
parody has minor grammatical glitches, but it is genuinely well done.  
The story ends kind of stupidly, but as I said, this is a parody of 
"South Park."

"South Park" aficionados will almost certainly enjoy this clever 
parody.  People unfamiliar with that show will probably find this to be 
pointless.

The one mistake in the plot is that nobody kills Kenny.  Those 
bastards!

Ratings for "A South Park Sex Story
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10 

"Sex in His Tent" by Glossy (takeme@iamit.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383104871 

The woman breaks up with a guy in California, and so she drives over 
to Arizona and meets a guy in a campground and has sex with him in 
his tent.  There's not a lot of personality development; but then lots of 
real people - even high government officials - are like that, I suppose.  
The story just ends with a suggestion that "maybe there will be more."

My advice to the author would be to have an entire plot in mind and to 
proofread the story more carefully before posting the next one.

Ratings for "Sex in His Tent"
Athena (technical quality): 7
Venus (plot & character): 6
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 5

"In the Sand: The Saga of Ami and Sasha" by Ami and Sasha 
(amiandsasha@my-dejanews.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=384034273  

This story has potential, but it just isn't there yet.  I suspect it was 
written as a "whipsaw" story - Ami writes something about a fantasy 
of sex in Hawaii and sends it to Sasha, who adds some more prose 
and sends it back to Ami, who adds a little more and sends it back to 
Sasha, etc.  Such stories usually mean more to the two authors than 
they do to anyone else, and this one seems to fit that pattern.  

Collaborative authorship offers the opportunity for cross-fertilization 
and for one author to tell the other what needs to be done to improve 
the story; but this rarely happens in practice.  Instead of making 
suggestions to improve the most recent installment, the second 
author tends to "know what she meant" and to go ahead and whip off 
another installment.  The result of two authors working together 
without revising their work is almost invariably just a little worse than 
a single author screwing up by herself.

The authors need to step back and say, "How does this story look to 
someone who is not one of us?  How do we need to modify it for a 
more general audience?"  Then they should have proofread it.

Ratings for "In the Sand"
Athena (technical quality): 7
Venus (plot & character): 6
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 6

"Frustration" by Phil (no further information available).

The narrator is a painter who is enlisted as a confidante for a 
newlywed lass who was a virgin on the night she married a bloke 
whose Whopper was a lot bigger than the ordinary Big Mac.  In fact, 
her initial payment of the marriage debt has rendered her a bit 
bowlegged. She has no lady friends yet in this part of the country and 
hubby is away seeking employment in the big city; and so she shares 
her thoughts and feelings with the painter, who functions as a na•ve 
but effective Rogerian counselor.  That is, instead of saying, "Tell me 
more," his eyes get wide and he marvels, "Really!?"

He takes a break, and they have a picnic.  They continue talking 
about sex, and it becomes his responsibility to serve as a surrogate 
sex educator.  This goes on for a long time, but somehow the author 
manages to maintain our interest.

American readers will be concerned when Angela describes her 
husband examining her with a torch.  Don't be upset: it's a flashlight.  
But this incident reminded me of the first dirty joke I heard as a child.  

Little Johnny was going to the bathroom - er, to the loo, I think.  He 
saw his mother naked in the bathtub, and noticed her vagina.  
"What's that?" asked Little Johnny.  Blushing, the mother responded, 
"That's my tunnel."  The next day he was taking a leak again when he 
saw his dad's dick, which was a lot bigger than his own. What's that?" 
asked Little Johnny.  Taken aback, the father answered, "I call that 
my flashlight."  Little Johnny was puzzled, but he zipped up and went 
to his room.  Later at the dinner table, Johnny said, "Dad, why don't 
you shine your flashlight up Mom's tunnel?"

I heard this story from an older boy, who had no idea what it meant.  
There may have been a priest or minister present at the dinner table 
in the joke.  I think the cleric may have spit out his food, and that's 
what my na•ve sophisticate thought was funny.

Anyway, this is an excellent story with a surprise ending.

Ratings for "Frustration"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"We'll See What Happens" by Sven the Elder (sven@brass-
neck.demon.co.uk).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=384366407 

The title refers to this line from the story: "I'll just slip between you 
two, give it a jerk, and we'll just see what happens!"  I'm sure that 
makes matters a lot clearer to you.

Sven is traveling in Nevada.  He finds the Las Vegas gambling 
atmosphere to be a bit overwhelming.  He is much more comfortable 
and happier with the charms of the lady who uttered the above line 
and could use her toes as dexterously as most people can use their 
fingers.

Ratings for "We'll See What Happens" 
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Until It Hurts" by Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=382429137 

Have you ever awakened at 5:28 AM, feeling like shit warmed over, 
with a painful headache and a feeling that you don't know where you 
are and with a strange woman's hand cupping your breast while she 
sleeps next to you?  Well, I haven't - not all of the above, that is.  Not 
at 5:28 AM anyway.

This story falls under the category of Things That Your Mother Was 
Probably Right About When She Warned You About Them But Which 
Sound Like A Good Idea Near Closing Time And Which Might Work 
Out OK If You Get Lucky As Hell.  The Dewey Decimal System used 
to have a number reserved for books on this topic.

The title is taken from advice to runners, which goes something like 
this: "If you wanta become good, you gotta run until it hurts."  It's an 
adaptation of the "no pain no gain" theorem - and also a metaphor for 
life.

The basic plot deals with a woman who has violently broken up with 
her fiance after he confessed that he had been boinking his 
secretary. She gets drunk, finds herself in the arms of another 
woman, and adjusts and goes on with her life.  It's an excellent story.

This story brought back memories for me. One of my all-time favorite 
songs is "Jose Cuervo" by Shelly West.  That song's opening lines 
will tell you why this story reminded me of it:

Well it's Sunday Mornin'
And the sun in shinin'
In my eye that is open
And my head is spinnin'
I was the life of the party
I can't stop grinnin'
I had too much Tequila last night

Actually, it's not all that great a song, I guess.  But that singer really 
turned my husband on, and that turned me on.  For about a year all I 
had to do was pop that tape into the stereo - no it wasn't an eight-
track tape - and I had him eating out of my hand:

Jose Cuervo you are a friend of mine
I like to drink you with a little salt and lime
Did I kiss all the cowboys?
Did I shoot out the lights?
Did I dance on the bar?
Did I start a fight?

Yep, Things That Your Mother Was Probably Right About When She 
Warned You About Them But Which Sound Like A Good Idea Near 
Closing Time And Which Might Work Out OK If You Get Lucky As 
Hell. 

Now wait a minute
Things don't look too familiar
Who is this cowboy
Who's sleepin' beside me?
He's awful cute, but how'd I
Get his shirt on?
I had too much Tequila last night

Our daughter who was conceived around that time was lucky that she 
wasn't a boy.  We were considering naming a boy JC.  My mother 
thought those initials stood for "Jesus Christ."  She didn't drink much 
or speak Spanish.  Nor did I, for that matter.

I watched a news show the other day in which some "experts" were 
denouncing "the porn industry" for causing all kinds of problems in 
society.  This song is a perfect example of how wrong they can be.  I 
didn't frequent honky tonks, I had never awakened next to a cowboy 
whose shirt I was wearing, and I didn't even like Tequila.  Even 
though I listened to that song about a thousand times within a year or 
so, none of this has changed - except that I speak a little more 
Spanish now.

My husband is in for a wild time tonight. I'm going to find that tape.

Ratings for "Until It Hurts"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Barley Legal Teens" by Bronwen (bronwensm@writehand.clara.net).

Unless you look at this title carefully, you'll miss its point. Usenet has 
generated an elite coterie of scholars known as spammers - 
dysfunctional dullards who post vast quantities of useless and 
inappropriate messages in newsgroups in such a way as to 
demonstrate their pathetic ineptitude while annoying the regular users 
and disrupting the newsgroup as much as possible.  On a.s.s. these 
simpletons post vast quantities of wannafucks and advertisements 
about supposedly free pictures of naked women allegedly engaging 
in explicit sexual activities and nubile teenagers who want to lose 
their virginity to people who will talk to them on the telephone.

Astute observers have resigned themselves to this sort of 
foolishness, and most of us simply ignore the spam or filter it out.  
Lord Malinov tried a more creative approach with his Spam Contest in 
the Fall of 1997.  The idea was that authors had to incorporate spam 
into their stories.  The contest drew some good stories, and I'll repost 
my reviews of several of them.

Back to the present story - the title focuses on the fact that spammers 
typically can't even spell their titles correctly.  The original spam title 
was supposed to refer to BARELY legal teenagers - as in just beyond 
jailbait.  Bronwen has seized upon this literary peccadillo and has 
written a story about teens doing it in barley fields on a small island 
just off the coast of Europe.

This is a wonderful story, and I won't risk ruining it by trying to 
summarize it.  Just let me point out that although it may be LEGAL - 
albeit barely legal - to do it with barley, it's a bit risky.  In my opinion, 
those other blokes had it right when they recommended strawberry 
fields forever.

Ratings for "Barley Legal Teens"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"A Roll of the Dice" by Bernadette (bernadette@yahoo.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380905014 

This is a very difficult story to summarize without ruining it for 
potential readers.  And I can't even tell you why, because that would 
ruin the suspense of the story.  

I guess the best I can do is say that this is a story in which 
cyberlovers eventually get together in Las Vegas. They roll the dice - 
take a chance to see if things will work out in person as well as or 
even better than they have through email and on the phone.  Let me 
just add that things work out differently than they do in most cybersex 
stories.

Ratings for "A Roll of the Dice"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

"The Masked Man" by Pipedream and Red Rose 
(redrose@titan.ucs.umass.edu).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=376997865 

The second author is really Sarah Fox Jahn, whose "Little Red Riding 
Hood" and "Steel and Iron" have received high CR ratings.

What we have here is a story written in a sort of romantic/Victorian 
style about a woman meeting a man at an 18th-century masquerade 
party and then making passionate love with him.  I guess if you get 
really high on this sort of period stuff, this might be a really good 
story.  As it was, I found it to be extremely predictable.  Not bad, just 
predictable.

Ratings for "The Masked Man" 
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 7
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 7

"Latin Night" by Lostgirl (lostgirl33@hotmail.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=376723395 

I think my review of this story may be a little unfair.  Midway through 
the story, I lost interest in it.  I finished the story, but it seemed to me 
that I was missing something.  I think the problem is that this story 
depends heavily on familiarity with the type of dancing in which the 
characters participate.  This type of dancing is not my thing, and so I 
became distracted by reading for information (to figure out what was 
happening).  Someone already familiar with the dancing might be 
able to zero in on the emotions, which are the author's main interest.

Ratings for "Latin Night"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 7
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 7

"Sweet Milk" by Unknown Author.

I have no idea why I read this story.  It has no name on it, and the 
topic doesn't turn me on; but it showed up in my "Must Read" folder.  
Maybe somebody sent it to me with a plea that I review it.

Synopsis: A woman is breastfeeding her baby when her sister arrives 
for a visit.  So she sets the baby aside, breastfeeds her sister, and 
they both have orgasms.  Deep stuff.  I am by no means denying that 
having a lover suck milk from a woman's breast can be an erotic 
experience, but this is simply a lame plot.

The story doesn't give a geographical location, but somehow it 
reminded me of this joke:

Do you know why the tests on Clinton's DNA and Monica's dress 
were inconclusive? Because everybody in Arkansas has the same 
DNA.  

That can't be true, can it? 

Ratings for "Sweet Milk"
Athena (technical quality): 6
Venus (plot & character): 4
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 4

"Night Swimming" by Vickie Morgan (artemis55@hotmail.com) 
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=378073650 

The woman has taken her mother and friend to the coast for a 
weekend of shopping and loafing.  They are happy, but she is bored.  
Late at night she goes for a nude swim in the ocean, and she gets 
bored in a more interesting  way.

This is a very short story with little plot or character development but 
good descriptions that are really quite sexy.  It was certainly worth the 
five minutes it took to read it!

Ratings for "Night Swimming"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Sevin & Dominic" by Mr. J (mr_j@my-dejanews.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=381511636 

Sevin dresses seductively and gets onto the elevator for the long 
descent from the 53rd floor of her hotel.  She's going to strut her stuff.  
Unfortunately, one of her Ben Wa balls pops out in the elevator.  This 
is why Emily Post specifically recommends not wearing Ben Wa balls 
in public; or as Miss Manners says, "If you must do so, at least wear 
underpants."  As it is, the man in the elevator simply picks it up, gives 
it a quick sniff and a lick, and departs with it on the Mezzanine level.  

When the man eventually returns the ball, Sevin is seated in a busy 
restaurant, bringing herself to orgasm while watching a couple at a 
nearby booth pleasure each other under the table.  Indeed, the man 
reinserts the ball just where it used to be.  The events are improbable 
but sexy.

This story is incomplete, but the author has ideas for more chapters.

Ratings for "Sevin & Dominic"
Athena (technical quality): 8
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

"Castle Nursery" by Uther Pendragon (anon584c@nyx.net).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=384085732 

Lord Malinov has sponsored two orgies that I know about - one at a 
castle to celebrate the winter solstice and another on a tropical island 
to celebrate the vernal equinox.  In this story Uther Pendragon, "the 
most vanilla author on alt.sex.stories," displays his charms first by 
playing with the Allen twins and then by fucking their aunt's brains 
out.

To enjoy stories from Malinov's orgies it's useful to know something 
about the authors who write here.  In this case, Pat and Julie are the 
Allen Sisters from the stories of Mark Aster.  The Kitten and her 
parents (cited obliquely in the present story) are characters from 
Uther's own Brennan saga.  It's useful to know that whereas Pat and 
Julie spontaneously fuck and share anyone whom they like, the 
Brennans are a thoroughly monogamous couple who are bringing up 
a family in America as It Should Be.

As I started this story, I knew that the author could not successfully 
straddle these two worlds.  But by damn, he did!

Ratings for "Castle Nursery"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Paint" by LeAnna (leanna1@hotmail.com) 
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383797538 

In this story we get to sit in on a psychotherapy session.  The client is 
describing how he watches a woman paint herself in erotic ways.  
She seems to want to do her work alone, but she also seems to be 
aware that he is watching.  He knows that it is somehow wrong for 
him to watch her, but he also knows that it is somehow necessary for 
him to do so.

This guy is confused, but then that's why he's receiving therapy.  This 
is a realistic analysis of this kind of behavior.  There's probably a little 
of this in all of us.

Ratings for "Paint"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Possession" by Eazin Along (EazinAlong@aol.com). Guest Review 
by BillyG (hayden@mindless.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=376240419 

"Possession" is the delightful literary equivalent of Screw the Roses, 
Send me the Thorns.  For those of you who fined no particular 
positive energy in non-consensual erotica, check out this story by 
EazinAlong.  It's a beautiful example of consensual power exchange.  
It speaks to the enhanced erotic tug of trust and risk, expectation and 
surprise.

The plot is straightforward and to the point.  The protagonists, a man 
and a woman, remain somewhat mysterious, for they remain 
nameless.  She agrees in some prior negotiation to do his bidding 
without restraint. The operative word here is 'agrees' for this is a 
consensual tale. "Freedom" is their safe word; she has only to utter 
this word and everything stops.  They both know she always has a 
way out.  Will she choose it?  After some very sexy play, he edges 
her into new, unexpected territory.

It's a recommended read to experience their erotic play and taste the 
emotions of consensual power exchange.

Ratings for "Possession"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
BillyG (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Vantasy" by Jenn Till (JennTill1@Hotmail.com).  Guest review by 
Dave Myers.
 http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383180607 

Most rape stories tend to follow pretty established lines. What 
surprised me most about this selection was not some spark of a great 
new theme, but actually the control that the author displays given a 
very typical plot. The execution and stylization is just right. There is 
nothing here except a good knock-down drag-out fuck-me hard gang-
bang-turned-fantasy story.

This is a very hot upcoming author. I look forward to more of her 
stories. Check out her site: 
http://www.asstr.ml.org/~Kristen/jenntill.htm

Ratings for "Vantasy": 10

"Airport" by Unknown Author. Guest Review by BillyG 
(hayden@mindless.com)

"Airport" is a lusty story that's told in the first person from two different 
perspectives, his and hers.  It's almost entirely narrative - the 
thoughts and views of either the man or the woman who is telling the 
story at that juncture. There's no temporal confusion: it's complete; 
there are no missing time segments; each event is told twice.

The story's upbeat and positive and very sexy.  He picks her up in an 
airport in a smooth and polished manner.  There are no crude or rude 
come ons.  He's hot for her and we know it.  As well, she knows 
what's happening and her feelings are reciprocal.  It's no surprise that 
they get it on straight away, and then again, and then still again.

The story chronicles a short period of time in lengthy detail, a bit too 
lengthy for my taste. It turns out to be less a story than an exquisitely 
complete narrative of who did what.  The characters are well 
described, but for purposes of development, they're not disclosed in 
depth.  Shortly, we're left with a sweet, consensual sex story that 
ends with post-orgasmic lethargy and no promise.

I could hear Peggy Lee singing, "Is that all there is?"

Ratings for "Airport"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character):    8 
BillyG (appeal to reviewer): 8

"The Beach" by Jacques du Bois (sejdb@altern.org). Guest review by 
Watchful Owl.
http://x14.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=381517151.1&CONTEXT=9
04222317.1796931652

Lesbian sex near the beach. That almost sums it up, but not quite.

The scene opens on a lonely woman, remembering her husband in 
many flowery metaphors. (Not profane, but flowery: "His empty 
promises stretched like the sea.")

As she sits, gazing out at the ocean, a woman appears to seduce 
her. After token resistance, they do the deed and her new lover must 
leave again.

The writing in this piece was a little too flowery for my tastes. The 
plot, although a bit odd, served our purposes well enough. If you're 
up for sex with spiritual manifestations and don't mind overly worded 
phrases, this is worth a read.

Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Watchful Owl (appeal to reviewer): 9

"The Beach" by Solange Lafemme 
(my_masters_slave@hotmail.com). Guest
reviewed by Poison Ivan (poisoniv1@hotmail.com).

       http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/13172.txt
       ---
       http://x8.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=373022492

We have three categories to rate these stories, but I sometimes think 
there should be a fourth.  I've read several stories recently where the 
setting is just as important as the plot or characters. Bernadette and 
Crimson Dragon spring to mind as authors who make great use of 
their settings.

"The Beach" is a story where setting is everything.  In this story, a 
woman wanders off to an isolated stretch of beach and masturbates 
while thinking of her lover.

That's really all there is to it.  But Solange Lafemme does a very nice 
job making me feel like I am right there on the rocks, watching, as 
she pulls on her nipples and rubs her clit.

Technically, the word "i" is left in lower case throughout; based on the 
author's email name, I'm guessing this may be a submissive game of 
some kind.  The narrator also refers to the object of her fantasies in 
second person, although in this particular story, that's only a small 
distraction.

This is a nice story from a first time author.  Check it out.

Ratings for "The Beach"
Athena (technical quality): 7
Venus (plot & character & setting): 8
Ivan (appeal to reviewer): 9

"Friday Night Pickup" by Paris Waterman 
(http://www.members.xoom.com/Pandas_Pen/index.html). Review by 
Nick (e-mail Nick@cassandra.demon.co.uk)
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380904532 

This is potentially a very funny story, but it needs some more good 
lines.

The story is the second of a series featuring the exploits of a guy 
called Warren. Warren is a kind of "Fonzie" character (from "Happy 
Days," if you can remember that), except that he is even more "over 
the top". Unfortunately he also takes himself far too seriously (or the 
writer does); and in the end, he turns out to be a rather unpleasant 
person.

It starts with Warren appearing in his local bar and "captivating" 
everyone by singing to the barmaid. The jukebox is unplugged and 
the whole of page 2 is spent on the libretto of his song and how the 
crowd sings along with him.  It may be a cultural thing and it maybe 
that we Brits are fundamentally miserable, but in one of our pubs, the 
unplugging of the jukebox would be greeted by at least one cry of "Oi, 
I was listening to that!". On completion of the song there would be 
several anonymous shouts of "Wanker!".

We are told how handsome he is and there are references to his 
white teeth - presumably false, (I'm sure his real ones would have 
been knocked from his face ages ago). We are told how, on goosing 
"plain Janes" front bottom, she collapses with an immediate orgasm 
(instead of breaking yet another set of false teeth!).

He eventually picks on Gail. She is the "lucky" person who gets to 
take him home, fist herself, enjoy anal sex and suck his shitty cock 
before being "educated" to the fact that she is bisexual by Warren, 
who somehow knew when she didn't! He likes her presumably 
because she is "feisty". We know this because she actually hesitates 
before going to the ladies to remove her panties so that he can sniff 
them and see if she "passes" his test.

While in the ladies she finds it full of women listening at one of the 
booths to one of their number masturbating to Warren. When Gail 
gets a booth to herself, she is dignified enough not to be so loud 
about it (I think it's her seventh orgasm that evening, but I'm not 
sure).

Well, there's a flavour of it.

My own marks: Technique 7, Plot/Character 6, Appeal to me 8 (well I 
got
some fun out of it, if only by writing this).

Celestial Marks:

Technique: 8.5
Plot/Character 8
Projected Appeal 7

'The Friendly Couples" by Roger Grayson (posted by TheEditor 
grobert@IDT.NET).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380909997 

Review by Sven the Elder, who may be contacted at 
Sven@brass-neck.demon.co.uk

I guess all of Celeste's guest reviewers get blooded on a 50,000-
word, close to 100 page blockbuster at some stage.  {Celestial note: 
<hee, hee!>} Well after I read a number of the stories posted by 
TheEditor in the past, Celeste has asked me to review this one.  I 
have to admit to finding it a pleasurable experience.

This is the story of Janet and Greg Richards, and their new friends 
from the same Company, Martin and Darleen Kelly.  

Martin and Darleen have been planning the introduction of their new 
friends into a little bit of swapping.  Greg has been working too hard 
and has been neglecting his slightly prudish, Midwest wife. Janet, has 
been starved of her love and affection, so when the newly promoted 
Greg has to fly suddenly down to Dallas on business and miss out on 
the party the four have arranged..... You get the picture, Darleen 
becomes unavailable and the scene is set for Martin to take a rather 
intoxicated Janet out on his own.  

The twists and turns of a furious seduction, powered by alcohol and 
'an aphrodisiac' are well described, as is the blackmail that follows 
and the night of aphrodisiac fuelled sex that follows.

The descriptions are excellent, if a little cliched in the way of other 
stories I have read that the 'Editor' has posted in the past.  I have to 
say that having read those, this story follows in the same lines - 
wronged wife, seeking revenge against an uncaring husband, 
followed by remorse, followed by blackmail,  followed by -  well you 
get the picture and may well have read others in the genre.

But - and this is a big but, this is a very well written story, in a good 
Style that is easy and entertaining to read and has some very sexy 
scenes in it.  As a story the threads might well be taken from folks 
fantasies of how they would like this type of scenario to affect them, 
or not as the case may be.

It also shows the downside of such relationship with what can only be 
described as a rather fraught homecoming to a very frightened wife, 
which changes as Greg admits to the reason for the blackmail.

Now at this point I am not going to expose the plot any further.  It 
twists and turns and goes deeper than you might imagine.  There are 
dilemmas to suit all tastes.  Sex scenes that come close to being over 
the top, perhaps they are, but they are still, in the main, enjoyable.  
The climax of the story, in every sense of the word is simply 
awesome.  I enjoyed it all, even if there were a little more cliches than 
I would normally care for.  Somehow, they worked.

Ratings for "The Friendly Couples" 
Athena (technical quality):  10 
Venus   (plot & character): 10
Sven  (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Beauty Is Iron" by Cobalt Jade (CobaltJade@aol.com).  Guest 
review by Iron Emperor (ironemperor@yahoo.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380905021 

Synopsis: As they say in the fairy tales - far away, in a far away land 
there lived an empress who ruled the kingdom of Thorzaan and some 
twenty other kingdoms. This empress was not a kind empress, but 
rather an empress through magic and power. As iron was the most 
precious mineral in that land (and also the strongest), and as she 
controlled most of the iron in the land, she became an unbeatable 
ruler. Opposers to her throne (actually it was more a helm than a 
throne) who were caught were court martialled by her and usually 
sentenced to death.

After their father, the Duke Stonebridge, tried, fatally (to him) to 
assassinate the empress, his twin daughters were captured and 
brought back to trial. In the beginning of the story we see the twins 
naked on the floor of the empress's castle bound by wire cables. After 
a short trial they are found guilty of treason (unbelievable, don't you 
think?); but instead of sentencing them to death, the empress sends 
all of her court away, saying that she will deal with these two in 
private.

Well she does deal with them all right. Let's see if I can guess the rest 
of the story - F/F, mc - I believe I can.  Alas, Cobalt Jade has a few 
twists and surprises in his/her hat (or should I say helm) for me. Well, 
you'll have to read the story to find out.

And now, ladies in gentlemen, may I have the envelope please. As 
for the technical side of  the story, no trouble here, written in the 
language of most fairy tales and with only very few spelling errors, 
most of which are missing spaces in some of the phrases (bootheels 
<-> boot heels). So a 10 is deserved and given here.

Regarding the plot & character side of the story, the author says this 
story is based on a Grimm Brothers fairy tale - it is, which one? I've 
tried looking into the original work but had no help finding it. Anyway, 
the story is fluent, the characters are as you say, round, though they 
are slim and nice looking. But, beware, you all, this is hardly a stroke 
story. Well, I did have half an erection reading it, except for about 5 
minutes where it subsided due to lack of sexual stimulation.

Nonetheless, this is an erotic fantasy, and as such I have enjoyed 
reading it. So if you are tired from old fashioned tales in which the 
good always wins and were you wished little red riding hood to show 
some curves to the bad wolf, you can read Cobalt Jade's story and 
believe you'll have an enjoyable half an hour.

As a result the final points are:
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Emperor (appeal to reviewer): 8 (I wish there were more sexual
      descriptions)

"A Moment of Daydreams" by Milford Whittemore 
(milfordw@worcester.net). Guest review by Watchful Owl.
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=334437884 

A single word springs to mind when one reads this story: short. I've 
read a few of the "snapshot" series of stories, and this is barely more 
than that, taking up about three electronic pages. The plot: a man 
sees an attractive girl from across the room and lapses into a graphic 
dream sequence. Yes, I can identify with this (grin) but I felt that the 
story's length detracted from its enjoyment.

Thinking it over, though, I suppose the length is appropriate. Your 
daydreams never last long, and it does convey that imagery very well. 
Besides, it's a refreshing change from the usual "first woman 
mentioned is marked for sexual activity" stuff we usually come 
across.

Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10 (for the story's length, he does a good 
job 
in giving us an accurate picture of the characters)
Watchful Owl (appeal to reviewer): 9 (it was just too darn short :))

"Miranda's Magic" by johnna@unixg.ubc.ca . Guest Review by Mary 
Jorsay Gandmar (maryjg@finebody.com).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=380892048 

If this JDR repost has been reviewed earlier, I've missed both story 
and review - and I can only hope it wasn't panned, for this one is a 
beauty. I can't recall when last I so enjoyed, and was so moved, by 
an erotic short story.

Actually, it's hardly a story, in the sense that it has no plot whatever. It 
only describes the author and her lover/husband having consensual 
sex.. But to use a word like "only" (or any equivalent) in describing 
this piece of writing is to do it manifest injustice. It is passionate 
writing, deeply felt, extremely sensitive. The author savoured every 
second of the sex, not just because of the physical pleasure it 
afforded her, but, more subtly and more importantly, because of the 
person with whom she was having sex. There is a full-blown 
relationship here, founded on something more lasting than naked 
lust. It is, indeed, what someone once called 'true lust' - the passion 
that springs not only from physical awareness and desire, but from a 
complex of other, more substantial factors, - emotional, psychological 
and ethical. While it happens, the sex is extremely erotic - it is 
powerfully realized, graphic, superbly detailed, extremely arousing.

But this is not just an 'I had great sex' narrative - the incident has 
been drawn from the depths of memory, where it has long lain in a 
vein of gold. In its resurrection, and the re-telling born of that 
resurrection, there is almost as much passion as there was during the 
incident itself. But now there is something else, a tempering if you 
like, a tinge of pathos for that which was, and which, inevitably, must 
remain in the past. If anything, the memory is even more precious 
than the moment itself. And it is this aspect, and the concluding line 
where, after so much energetic and driving sex, there is the gentle 
aftermath, and a new beginning, that made the story very special for 
me. Alas, it's not the kind of story that can sustain a sequel, or further 
developments - but that is both its tragedy and its success.

Athena (Technical Quality) : 10
Venus (Plot & Character) : 7
Mary (Appeal to reviewer) : 10

"More Than Enough" by Unknown Author (al3alfa@hotmail.com). 
Guest Review by Mary Jorsay Gandmar (maryjg@finebody.com)
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=377865835 

I've probably missed a deadline or seven in getting this review in, but 
still, better late than never as the actress said to the Bishop.

I found this story deeply disturbing. Fundamentally, it's about a small-
built woman, Mary, getting gang-banged by (I think I might have lost 
count) by 7 men (all black) and her husband as well. It begins 
promisingly, with the husband-author encouraging the wife to 
fornicate, she resisting, then giving in. The scene shifts to a bar 
where Mary, slightly inebriated, allows herself to be felt up, and then 
repairs to the motel room with her 'pick-up', her husband-author 
following.

At this point, the story moves into another gear. Really, it could have 
gone anywhere, there might have been good consensual sex, group 
sex, lots of action mingled with plenty of feeling. I think the author 
tries, but I'm not sure he's pulled it off. The sex is there in plenty - 
relentless, aggressive, even violent (the husband gets slapped 
around a bit) and, at times, is actually rape, especially when a man 
with a huge 12 inch cock fucks Mary hard and deep. The husband is 
made to watch, then participate in a variety of ways I won't bother to 
detail.

If you're the kind that likes to masturbate while reading erotica, then 
this is probably the story for you. If not, well, you might share my 
reaction. For some time, I couldn't quite put my finger on what 
precisely in the story distressed me so - finally, I decided it was the 
author's approach to his 'wife' while describing the sex. Given that it's 
certainly excessive, I should have expected greater trauma and 
anguish in the man's mind. Therefore, when, after expressing his 
anxiety, he proceeds to join the fray, I found myself put off. The lady, 
meanwhile, is full of dope and drink and can't seem to get enough, 
but keeps begging for more. This she gets. But apart from reciting her 
love-calls, there is no attempt to describe or empathize or project into 
her mind. Structurally, I would have been more satisfied if the 
husband-author's point of view was interrupted by passages 
ostensibly by the wife, describing her reactions and feelings at the 
time. This doesn't happen and I couldn't help getting the feeling that 
she was being treated as an agglomeration of receptacles, which put 
me off. This is not to suggest that the writing is bad or not erotic -but, 
perhaps, it's really not for me.

Athena (Technical Quality) : 8
Venus (Plot & Character) : 8
Mary (Appeal to reviewer) : 4

"The Shower Tales: Maureen" by Steve R.  Guest reviewed by 
Poison Ivan (poisoniv1@hotmail.com).
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/14688.txt
 ---
http://x10.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=384051142

"The Shower Tales" is apparently a collection of stories that chronicle 
the real life sexual adventures of the author.  In this chapter, the 
narrator heads to Carbondale to find a young college girl.  Maureen is 
the one he hooks up with.

Maureen gets off on making guys come.  There's a quick fuck on the 
couch.  Later, they end up in Maureen's room, which she shares with 
three other college girls.  They fuck a couple times in Maureen's bed 
while Maureen's roommate surreptitiously watches and masturbates.

This story definitely feels like a small chapter plucked out of a larger 
whole, and I'm afraid it doesn't stand very well on its own. The 
characters aren't very real.  I didn't get a good vision of either Steve 
or Maureen.

Commas are badly abused in this story, too.

I usually enjoy stories with a little voyeurism or exhibitionism in them, 
so I kind of liked the bedroom sex scenes.  I can see this story
working as stroke material.

Ratings for "The Shower Tales: Maureen"
Athena (technical quality): 6
Venus (plot & character): 6
Ivan (appeal to reviewer): 7

"B.O.B. and Me" by Lostgirl (lostgirl33@hotmail.com). Guest review 
by BitBard (bitbard@newsguy.com).

A woman's sexuality is terribly exciting to men.  I've heard it's even 
terribly exciting to women.  In recent discussions on ASSD the vote is 
pretty much in the minority that men masturbating or men engaged in 
sexual activities with each other is exciting.  However let two women 
start touching and petting each other and the blood pressure starts to 
rise.  A woman alone, stimulating herself to orgasm may just be a 
universal turn-on.  

B.O.B. in this story stands for "Battery Operated Boyfriend" otherwise 
known as a vibrator.  A toy the woman of this story is going to 
eventually have a very good time with.  Before that happens though, 
this story gives us a wonderfully rare glimpse into a woman's 
emerging sexuality told in an engaging and humorous manner.  

By the time B.O.B takes center stage the reader is left feeling that 
maybe women actually enjoy masturbation for the same reason guys 
do. When B.O.B. starts buzzing with excitement the descriptions are 
all the more vivid because behind the universal turn-on of a woman 
wrapped in ecstasy there is the thrill of knowing that behind the erotic 
image is an erotic person.  

This is an excellent short turn-on.

Ratings for "B.O.B. and me"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Bitbard (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Tales of the East Indies" by Sven the Elder (sven@brass-
neck.demon.co.uk).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383797547 

This story struck me as a sort of a cross between a Joseph Conrad 
short story and a couple of those letters in the Penthouse Forum that 
I claim I never read on the plane when I've been away from my 
husband for a long time so that I'm horny as hell by the time I get into 
his arms.  Meanwhile, he....  Ooops!  I'll save that for my next letter to 
the Forum.

The story covers the author's recent visit to "one of the more civilised 
parts of South East Asia" - that part of the world where they are so 
genteel and "civilised" that they use names like "Bang Cock" for 
major cities and people have names like "Low Hung Dong."  The sex 
is interesting and nicely described.  

Anyway, by messing around on this trip, the narrator of this story 
(which is all true, except the bits he made up, and even they might be 
true), improves his relationship with his wife.  I have serious doubts 
about the authenticity of that statement.  However, the story about his 
escapades DID improve my relationship with my husband, and least 
for a half hour or so.
 
Ratings for "Tales of the East Indies"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Life Sentence" by Uther Pendragon (anon584c@nyx.net).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=38328941 

As the title suggests -at least after you have read the story - this is 
one long sentence about life.  It's not sexually explicit, but it contains 
allusions to sexual activities.  It puts sex into a holistic perspective.  
I'm not sure whether to call it poetry or wordplay, but it's an excellent 
example of whatever it is.

Ratings for "Life Sentence"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "My Juno" by Morgan Preece (zanna@whoever.com).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383104840 

Our narrator is a dimmunitive gent - too tall to be a circus midget but 
too small to make much progress in even high school football.  His 
Juno is a stately woman, nearly a foot taller in heels.  He seems to 
have a tall woman fetish.  This is a very interesting story of the little 
feller's pick-up lines and seduction of his goddess, whose real name 
is Juliette.

Ratings for "My Juno"
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Art Class" by Mike Hunt (MrM1ke@aol.com).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=383104833 

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

* "My Nipples Explode With Delight" by The Bear (thebear@io.com). 
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=276630220 

The narrator has been sucked into undergoing an experimental 
procedure that will change his gender. They promised him that it was 
easily reversible and totally painless. They also promised that no one 
outside the experimental team would ever know and that he would 
receive $2000 for about a week's work.  Finally, Debra, one of the lab 
assistants, promised him the best blowjob of his life as soon as the 
experiment was over and his "equipment" was back to normal.  
Hence the insidiously clever pun in the first sentence of this review.

Things go wrong, and the poor guy has to receive his blowjob 
prematurely, and his nipples do what the title says right about the 
time his cock does the same. I'm not certain this is a TG story at all, 
since the experiment didn't really work, and the hero got nothing but 
some expensive surgery to repair his exploded nipples.

Ratings for "My Nipples Explode With Delight"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

"All This for Only 79 Cents?" by The Bear (thebear@io.com).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=274551223

Like the preceding story, this one is an entry in Malinov's spam title 
contest.  The idea seems to be to find a spam line in a.s.s. and then 
to write a story to go with that title.  This is the best entry I've seen so 
far.  A married man sneaks into a sex shoppe to buy a cheap 
magazine.  Finding there is no such thing, he purchases a postcard 
for 79 cents (including tax); but then the only other customer in the 
store has a seizure or something. While the rescue workers are 
coming for that poor wretch, the woman from upstairs comes down to 
give that man the blowjob for which he has paid.  Since nobody 
knows any better, Our Hero accepts the blowjob and goes home.  
Hence the title.  This is a very creative little story.

Ratings for "All This for Only 79 Cents?"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

"Look What I Did When My Boyfriend Left for the Weekend" by The 
Bear (thebear@io.com).  This is another entry in Malinov's spam title 
contest.
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=274681716 

The boyfriend drives away for the weekend, and the babe with the 
38DD's and the sexy lingerie is on her own.  What will she do?  Will 
she fuck herself senseless with blackmaled nympho queens?  Will 
she douse the raging fire within her bicurious cunt with buckets of 
cum?  Well, no; but what she does is interesting in its own way.

Ratings for "Look What I Did
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "Barbie is Waiting" by R Rivers (r_rivers@cryogen.com).  

I have to admit it: I improvised a little bit by changing the title from its 
original all-uppercase spam-shout.  This is another story in the 
Malinov contest.  A young man takes his computer messages 
seriously and goes out on a futile odyssey in search of FREE SEX!!!  
Nearly wasted from his sojourn, he finds that BARBIE IS WAITING in 
a sleazy hotel, and that SHE IS YOUNG AND DUMB and wants to be 
FILLED WITH CUM.  This could be heaven; but no, the computer 
calls with more offers of FREE SEX! and he leaves his Barbie behind 
in his search for the perfect VIDEO VIXEN IN HEAT.

Ratings for "Barbie is Waiting"
Athena (technical quality): 8
Venus (plot & character): 9
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 9

* "Young Dumb and Full of Cum" by Mike Hunt (mrM1ke@aol.com).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=278687389

This is possibly Mike Hunt's worst story ever; but that's mostly 
because his other stories are so good.  This one contains no sex at 
all.  Nada. Zip.  I hadn't noticed this before, but perhaps Mike is a 
one-dimensional writer.  Hell, he may be a one-dimensional person.  
What it amounts to is this: if you take all the sex out of his stories, 
they suck.  I guess that's not a fatal weakness, since his only claims 
to fame are as a stud and as a writer of sex stories.  But here we 
have Mike Hunt, trying to do good for humanity by advocating the 
imposition of lethal damage upon the bodies of spammers; and it 
comes across as a simple, ordinary story.  I'm not even aroused - 
well, at least not until I glance down at my long, smooth, freshly 
shaven legs and nuzzle the toes of my right foot against the instep of 
my left, which gives me a warm feeling in my pussy and I suddenly 
realize that I'm not wearing underpants; and when I bring my hand to 
my mouth in an expression of astonishment, I detect the lingering 
scent of my love juices left over from the session I had with my new 
sextoys this morning....

Ratings for "Young Dumb and Full of Cum"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "1997 Teen Blow Job Tournament" by Daphne Xu 
(daphne@nym.alias.net).  This is another submission to Malinov's 
spam contest.
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=279912118 

They don't have spam or blowjobs in China - at least "Shuming Zhao 
was naive about these things when she came to college in the United 
States to study computer science.  The sexual descriptions are a 
combination of the extremely explicit and the completely impersonal.  
People don't really have sex this way - at least not very often - not 
even those ubiquitous Asian teenagers who come to the United 
States to learn about computers and sex.

Ratings for "1997 Teen Blow Job Tournament"
Athena (technical quality): 9.5
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "SPAM CONTEST" by Taria (Taria@aol.com).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=281162242 

The job of the protagonist in this story is to promote spam; but the 
catch is that he works for Mr. Hormel himself.  For those of you who 
don't know, Spam is the "meat" product that gave its name to the 
unwanted garbage that clutters your email boxes and newsgroups - 
not vice versa.  Anyway, it seems that Mr. Hormel can't understand 
why he has been so vehemently rejected on the Internet.

The story contains no sex - except by very indirect innuendo; but it's 
still a very legitimate and creative entry for Malinov's contest.  I 
certainly enjoyed it!

Ratings for "SPAM CONTEST"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "The Morning After" by Tom Bombadil (stbush@iglou.com).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=285802333 

The narrator awakens from a drunken stupor with little recollection of 
what happened the night before - just vague clues, like lipstick on 
drinking glasses and an unidentified pair of panties.  The idea is - you 
read the story and try to guess what spam title fits it.  My problem 
was that I didn't know enough about spam titles to recognize the 
answer when I saw it!  That probably means that I have good reading 
habits.

Ratings for "The Morning After"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "Tasty Young Coeds" by Johnny D (JohnnyD@cryogen.com). 
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=293903296 

This late entry in Malinov's spam contest was inspired by the phrases 
CUM SHOOTING UP HER NOSE and DRIED CUM ON HER CHIN, 
which it doesn't use.  Instead it builds upon the eponymous image of 
TASTY YOUNG COEDS.  The story succeeds as an exercise in 
creativity to the extent that it uses the title phrase in an unexpected 
manner. However, it's noteworthy much more for being odd than for 
being erotic or sexy.

Ratings for "Tasty Young Coeds"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 8
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 8

* "Letter Found Near a Suicide" by Mary Anne Mohanraj 
(moh2@midway.uchicago.edu).
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=177482824 

This is not a happy story.  As the title suggests, the story consists of a 
letter written by a high school student who has committed suicide.  It 
expresses the dead student's love for a girl who was fast and loose 
with her affection with regard to everyone except the writer of the 
letter.  This is a short, poignant, worthwhile story.  As is the case with 
many stories by this author, I don't think it is necessary to hide this 
one away in obscurity on the alt.sex.stories newsgroup.

Ratings for "Letter Found Near a Suicide"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "More Congenial Spot" by Mary Anne Mohanraj 
(moh2@midway.uchicago.edu).  
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=177482828 

I have an agreement with this author to review one of her stories 
every week, and I post the review around the time she reposts the 
story.  Since the story for this week was excellent but depressing, I 
decided to push my luck and try a second story, so that I can go to 
sleep happy.  We'll see.  If this doesn't work I have already 
downloaded Shelby Bush's "Munsters" parody.

OK.  Nunc dimittis.  I can go to sleep now.  This one is about twins 
who were named by an either malevolent or thoughtless mother 
Guinevere and Arthur.  By the time they finish college Gwen's 
reputation has reached mythic proportions as a psych student at the 
University of Chicago - she is said to have fucked a whole fraternity in 
one night and has lived to talk about it.  Meanwhile, Art has excelled 
in drama, while remaining a virgin at nearby Northwestern University.  
While waiting for their mother to arrive to celebrate their graduation, 
they find a congenial spot where Gwen can expand Art's horizons.

"The Munsters" can wait till next issue.

Ratings for "More Congenial Spot"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "A Rude Awakening" by Michael Dagley (dagley@soho.ios.com). 
http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=272178107 

I really hate this story!  I sat down about 45 minutes ago to read a 
story while I ate lunch.  I had with me two ham sandwiches, a can of 
Diet Coke, and an 18-ounce bag of potato chips.  I would read "A 
Rude Awakening" for ten minutes while I ate lunch and then prepare 
my classes for the first week of the new school year.

I am now one chapter - 10,770 words and approximately 12 ounces 
of potato chips - into this story; and I can't stop.  My husband is not 
home; the kid across the street is mowing the lawn, sweating, his 
muscles glistening in the sunlight; Kathy Ireland is looking down at 
me from my husband's calendar with a cum-hither look that would 
give me blue balls if I had balls; and I have my classes to prepare for 
a new semester.  What's a girl to do?  I guess maybe I'll just read 
another chapter and see if this feeling goes away.

Well, I read TWO more chapters, at which time there was a lull in the 
action.  Then I fixed dinner and read four more chapters.  Then I had 
to wait for the author to post the rest of the story.  Frustration Station!

This story contains an amazing blend of voyeurism and direct sexual 
contact.  For example, at one point Joey is getting head from Mrs. C, 
who is insisting that he describe to her what he did with her daughter 
earlier that evening, while Joey is making direct eye contact with the 
daughter, who is safely hidden and masturbating behind the mother's 
back.  This is hot stuff.

I noticed the title words, "Rude Awakening," several times in the 
story.  The first context stated that at the time of the story, (June of 
1965) graduation from high school would be a rude awakening: war, 
racial strife, assassinations, drugs, and other problems.  Like many 
good titles, however, this one has more than one meaning.  The 
second time the phrase occurred was after Joey and Terri had made 
love; it was a rude awakening for Terri to discover the power of her 
sexuality.  The term pops up several other times in the story.  The 
most significant meaning of "rude awakening" is not specifically 
stated - just strongly implied.  The story begins with Joey an 
immature, sad, sexually-repressed young man.  He takes no chances 
with girls and women, because he is afraid they will consider him to 
be rude.  His friend and lover Alice tells him he needs to risk being 
rude once in a while.  When the rudeness in him "awakens," he 
becomes a more mature, happy, sexually responsive person.  In fact, 
he becomes the neighborhood Lothario - a term which you can either 
look up in your Funk and Wagnall's or infer from the context of the 
story.  And then he discovers that he has lost something special - 
another rude awakening.

What do women really want?  Polite men or rude men?  The answer 
is that different women want different blends; and even the same 
woman may want a different emphasis at different times.  Also it 
depends on what you mean by "rude": in this story rude means that a 
guy does something that a girl will like, in spite of the fact that a social 
custom or the girl's inhibitions might oppose his action.  I myself have 
been known to use the phrase "Shut up and kiss me" - or an 
equivalent, more emphatic phrase, which would indicate a demand 
for less "politeness."  A very important moral to this story is that it is 
often necessary to take some risks in order to be happy.  A very 
wrong conclusion would be that the rudest asshole gets the girl - or 
the guy.

This author's greatest strength, I think, lies in his sense of timing.  For 
example, he has the ability to make me think I'm witnessing two 
people getting hotter and hotter until they can't stand it any more; and 
I can almost feel it when they explode.  He seems to have an intuitive 
grasp of what to tell me and when to tell it to me in order to maintain 
my interest.  My husband has a similar ability, but he accomplishes 
this effect through direct access to my body parts.

The main "weakness" to this story is that at times the author seems to 
want to cram too much sex into it.  I have a theory about why the 
author has done this.  I suspect that he has contacted a publisher 
(whom I know and respect, but will not name in this review) about 
publishing a version of this story as a novel; and that the publisher 
insisted on more instances of explicit sex.  In fact, the publisher I am 
thinking of makes specific demands, such as (1) a wide variety of sex 
that is likely to be perceived as kinky, and (2) at least two separate 
instances of specific sex per chapter.  I know of at least one good 
author who has simply stopped writing erotic stories because he felt 
that these demands compromised his literary integrity.

I may be off the track in suggesting that the present author has 
"padded" his story with extra sex in order to appeal to a publisher.  I 
do know that there are several instances where the storyline seems 
to take an unnecessary turn that is unrelated to the overall plot.  
However, not too many readers are going to complain about "too 
much hot sex," and so I'll let these "digressions" slide.  What I do 
know is that I review another story ("Elizabeth & Anastasia" by Tom 
Bombadil) in this issue of CR that is every bit as good as this one: 
and that other story has about a snowball's chance in my pussy of 
ever getting published by that same publisher.  It's "too long on story" 
and "too short on real sex."  I think it's about time that that publisher 
(or some other publisher) made it clear that it IS OK to have hot sex 
in the context of a good story.  The world is ready for good stories 
that contain hot sex - without quotas and restrictions on what kind 
and how much explicit sex needs to be included in each chapter.  
These stories don't need to appear on news stands in the 
supermarkets; but they should be available to mature adults who 
want more than a quick fix from their erotica.

As I reread the preceding paragraph, I realize I have overstated my 
case; but I think I'll leave it.  The present author HAS, in fact, done a 
commendable job of trying to deal with the full personality of the main 
character.  This is an excellent story.  In fact, if I would have found 
this story without knowing the author's name, I would have guessed 
that it was written by Delta, who made my Top 50 List of 1995 not 
once but four times.  That's one of the strongest compliments I can 
give to a story.

Ratings for "Rude Awakening"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10

* "Elizabeth & Anastasia" by Tom Bombadil (stbush@iglou.com). 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1755.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1758.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1757.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1759.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1761.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1741.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1744.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1743.txt 
http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year97/1745.txt 

This author combines timing and tension to create a very good story.  
At the very start we know simply that Betty (Elizabeth) is upset 
because her father has thrown Stacy (Anastasia) out of the house 
and has threatened to kill her if he ever sees her around his daughter 
again.  Then we flash back to a scene in a vice-principal's office, 
where Betty is describing her problems with a teacher who seems to 
be making passes at her.  There must be some relation, the reader 
thinks, between what's happening in this flashback and the 
relationship between Betty and Stacy; but what is it?  Is the vice-
principal actually Stacy?  The vice-principal has recommended a 
tutor; will that be Stacy?  And then there is a sinister note; the vice-
principal is apparently interested in exploiting a sexual opening with 
the teacher who had been harassing Betty.  What are the implications 
of that tidbit for Betty?  I can't help it; I root for characters when I read 
some of these stories.  I already sympathize with Betty; and as a 
hard-working teacher myself, I wouldn't mind seeing the VP stick it to 
the teacher/pervert, but I hope that Betty and Stacy are people with a 
wholesome relationship rather than participants in some sort of 
demeaning ring of sex-slavery.

As I finish writing the preceding paragraph, I am only about 2000 
words into a 47,000-word story.  I mention this because I think it is a 
sign of a good story to arouse the reader's interest as strongly as this 
story grabbed my attention.

I'm reluctant to tell you too much of the story.  I enjoyed finding out 
what would happen next, and I think you will too.  The author uses an 
interesting strategy of alternating between the past and the present; 
that is, there is one continuous story starting in the present; and 
another continuous story - that gives meaning to the current-time 
story - starts in the past.  In general, this is an ingenious and 
enthralling approach; but at times it becomes confusing.  For 
example, when the girls are arguing in the past and making up in the 
present, the two plots may become entwined in the reader's mind.  It 
must have been difficult for the author to coordinate these two plots; 
but he carries it off effectively - with the exception of one point in 
Chapter 4 where he seems to use in the past storyline information 
about Joyce that could be known only from the present plot.

This is not a wham-bang sex story; it's a romantic story about a 
relationship that happens to involve intimate sex between two 
females.  The early part of the story (probably the first two thirds - and 
that's a lot in a story of this size) does not contain any specific sexual 
activity at all; but sex is implied, and sexual tension pervades even 
this part.  That makes it sexy to me.  When explicit sex does occur, it 
is very hot.  

To be honest, I have to admit that this story brought tears to my eyes 
more often than it brought moisture to my lower regions; but they 
were often tears of joy that I associate with really happy times in the 
sack.  I suppose that makes this pretty much a "chick story," but you 
studs out there oughta read it too.  Maybe it'll put some hair on your 
chest.

This story has some flaws; but it's still excellent.  Look at it this way: 
on several occasions the author actually spelled "english" (as in 
English Teacher!) with a lower-case "e"; but I still gave  the story 
straight 10's.  I can't offer a much stronger recommendation than that!

Ratings for "Elizabeth & Anastasia"
Athena (technical quality): 10
Venus (plot & character): 10
Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10