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From: Lady Cyrrh <LadyCyrrh@aol.com>
Subject: The Annex Reviews, 4/30/98
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A few weeks ago someone called me god on ASSD. Well, I am 
certainly not a god, not even a demigod, as far as I can see. I'm 
simply a critic/reviewer who has this rather strange hobby, 
no better and no worse than any other reader and writer on 
ASS, though perhaps I am more insightful and articulate. I say 
this because, as in one week, I will have been "on the air" for 
one year, and it's made me more than a little reflective.

There's a handy new FAQ called "Sex Stories -- Things You 
Should Know" that lists basic information for writers new to 
ASS. It is written by Kim in a conversational tone that makes it 
easier to digest than conventional FAQs. I suggest that those of 
us who are currently clueless read it to get their basic 
questions answered. I would suggest 1) adding guidelines for 
submitting stories to archive sites and collectors who run sites 
that showcase certain kinds of stories; 2) mentions of the 
newsgroups soc.sexuality.spanking and 
soc.subculture.bondage.bdsm, as they also post some finely 
written stories; 3) tips on dealing with one's "fans" 4) website 
advice for neophytes--how to find good open-minded service 
providers, design a site, update it, etc. There is always room for 
expansion.

The stories:

Cape and Cowl, by Ann Douglas (F/F superhero)
The Spanking Machine! by Bratgirl (F/F superhero spank)
Suzi - Every Man's Dream, by JM McMurray (M+/F slut)
Cement Shoes (F foot/snuff)
Dies Irae, by Janey (M/F memories)
Tea for Two, by Gloria (M/M rom)


Cape and Cowl [A]
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
When posted: 4/23/98
Author: Ann Douglas
Address: annd@pop.tiac.net

I wasn't unduly impressed by the last Ann Douglas story I read 
(''Cheating Heart" the 8/22/97 Reviews) but this one is a lot 
better, and I'm guessing it was written later in the author's 
career. The author definitely has a buzz going with the 
material here, and I could clearly imagine Supergirl and 
Batgirl, the heroines of this romance, acting the way they do. 
It's very clear the author has done her homework in the 
superhero department.

In the story Barbara Gordon has been appointed to fill a 
Congressional post and is struggling with the conflicts of 
legitimate government service vs. the quicker moral rewards 
of vigilante crimefighting as Batgirl. Supergirl, meanwhile, 
has overcome her conflicts about her secret and real 
identities, and the two meet when Supergirl saves Batgirl's 
plane, which has been sabotaged to crash by a Japanese 
terrorist. Lots of comic-book adventure follows, but the 
villainess is finally captured and the two heroines go off 
together to a bed and breakfast in the country (!) for some 
steamy sex, which is a turn-on AND true to the characters Ann 
has developed...sympathetic and human, but also highly 
sexual. Take this passage:

"One night, back in the early days of their relationship, Robin 
and she had discussed the sexual habits of the world’s various 
superheroes. They had been lying in bed, bathing in the 
warm afterglow of a night of energetic lovemaking.  Some of 
it was conjecture, some of it fact.  All of it entertaining.  

"Robin had met many of the major heroes through his 
partnership with Batman.  He had an opinion about all of 
them, especially the woman.  Most of them were straight he 
concluded, but there were exceptions.  Wonder Girl of the 
Titans was definitely into babes, he’d said.  Yet Wonder Woman 
was into both men and women, depending on her mood.   
Speedy, also of the Titans, was as queer as a three dollar bill.  

"Even the straight ones had their own quirks.  Black Canary 
was really into heavy bondage and discipline.  Ice, also of the 
Justice League, was on the opposite end of the spectrum. She 
was a born submissive with a passion for dominant men."  

I don't know about you, but I could get the most delicious 
fantasies about this.

Like all of Ann's stories, "Cape and Cowl" straddles the line 
between the stroke and literature, illustrating the changing 
nature of neterotica from its blatant "turn-on" origins 
towards something finer and more literary. In sum, a very 
readable and satisfying story, even for those who don't like 
superhero stories.


The Spanking Machine! [B+/B]
Where posted: SSS
When posted: 4/26/98
Author: Bratgirl
Address: azadehCat@hotmail.com

Here's another superhero story, albeit in a sillier register. 
Bratgirl, a crimefighter with more than a passing 
resemblance to Batgirl, tries to stop a jewel heist at the Gotham 
Art Museum. She comes face-to-face with the Vixen (who 
bears more than a passing resemblance to Catwoman) who 
straps her into a spanking machine. Bratgirl's buns get 
toasted, and she's thoroughly humiliated: "Once again, 
Bratgirl's most famous feature made the front page, but this 
time she was given full credit for getting to the 'bottom' of the 
mystery and foiling Vixen's plans, and the news crews only 
snickered a little bit.  The Supervillain's Association passed a 
resolution at their annual retreat in Hawaii prohibiting any 
member from taking bratgirl seriously, and mandating that 
she was to be given a firm spanking on sight."

Unlike many spanking stories this story doesn't take itself too 
seriously. It is very silly; you won't find any D/s, long, loving 
descriptions of canes and straps, or heartfelt erotic surrender. 
It's a big pink cone of cotton candy written as a lark, fun if 
not memorable. 


Suzi...Every Man's Dream [C-/D+]
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
When posted: 4/24/98
Author: JM McMurray
Address: RNRH85C@prodigy.com

Here's another slut story, as if the torture of "My Slut Diaries" 
wasn't enough for me. Now, for the record, it's pretty 
impossible to write a slut story without it degenerating into 
stroke of the crassest caliber, though some writers can pull it 
off with finesse, like Suzi Sleaze and one or two transgender 
writers I have come across (who give the slut a sex change.) 
They treat the theme with camp and/or parody, supplying 
knowing laughs along with the workhorse cliches of the 
genre. 

However, this story was just a tiresome retread, evidenced by 
the opening sentences: "Suzi had always been quite 
adventurous when sex was any part of the equation.  The 24-
year-old, who had spent most of her life thus far living in and 
around Seattle, was known as one of the "easiest" girls to bed 
during her high school and college years.  Not only was she 
wanton and loose in her ways, but Suzi was also beautiful - and 
she knew it...She was tight and compact at 5-foot-5 and 101 
pounds." Now, the median weight for women begins at 105 lbs 
at 5 feet, adding an extra five lbs for every inch over; the 
final weight is adjusted up and down by approximately 8 lbs 
according to frame. By these medically accepted standards, 
poor Suzi is anorexic! Rush her to hospital and stick an 
intravenous line into her! Later she's described as having 
"large breasts." At 101 lbs? What are they filled with, helium?

If you just have to know the plot, Suzi goes to a cabin with 
three incorrigibly dull, faceless guys to be gang-banged, then 
happily receives their spunk on her face and hair. Why are 
men so enamored of this fantasy? Is it some kind of revenge 
on female vanity to coat a pretty girl with sticky goo to mess 
up her looks? 

This author has written a whole series about the particular 
character, stating, "This story is the fifth in the "Suzi" series.  
Please read the prior four "Suzi" stories before reading this 
one." Well, I think I'll pass, even if the adventures contained 
in the previous stories provide the background and character 
motivation for this one. Still, I speculate on what I may have 
missed. Suzi's eight-year struggle through med school to 
become a successful neurosurgeon? Her tragic affair with a 
concert pianist that resulted in the birth of quadruplets she 
had to give up for adoption? Her lifelong work to organize 
labor unions in Chile?

Stories like this give Seattle a bad name.


Cement Shoes [B+]
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
When posted: 4/24/98
Author: Anonymous
Posted by: Palpatine
Address: palpatine@technologist.com

Stroke stories do not limit themselves to porn. There are stroke 
stories for snuff, stroke stories for fetishes, even stroke 
stories for sports and food. Thus, it's safe to say that stroke may 
be defined as any piece of fiction (you can't really call them 
stories) that is out to satisfy some visceral appetite of the 
reader--sex, violence, action/adventure thrills--without the 
encumbrances of a plot or well-defined characters. In this 
story, the stroke fodder is a description of a woman having 
her feet encased in cement by the Mob and dumped off a boat 
into the ocean.

As such, the description worked, but it really wasn't a story; it 
wasn't all that shocking or violent either. No "Reservoir Dogs" 
here. Still, as a fragment it was interesting, and I could 
imagine the writer, with some practice, going on to write 
crime or detective stories, or maybe foot fetish ones.


Dies Irae [A-]
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
When posted: 4/26/98
Author: Jane Urquhart
Address: janey98@hotmail.com

In this short-short story (659 words) a man goes back to his 
hometown and finds out an old girlfriend of his has died. At 
her funeral, he wonders what might have been, and reflects 
on that night when what might have been turns into what 
never had a chance to happen.

This story was not heavy on the erotic, but as a slice of life it 
worked well, and demonstrated a sense of the time when the 
freshness of youth turns into the resignation of middle age.


Tea for Two [A]
Where posted: ASSGM
When posted: 4/27/98
Author: Gloria Lancaster
Address: gloria@gloria1.demon.co.uk

I nearly skipped this story this week, and I'm glad I didn't. 
Written by a Brit but set in Washington DC, it details the life of 
the manager of a coffee joint (called for some odd reason the 
TeaShoppe) and his growing attraction to an official type who 
patronizes the joint for his daily cup o' java. The character 
description of the guy was one of the most interesting I've 
seen:

"Taller than me by five inches, older than me by fifteen 
years, he was balding and wore eyeglasses and severely 
beautiful suits with plain white shirts and funereal ties: tall 
and well built, tough looking and cold and caged: he oozed FBI 
from his dark hand made shoes to his high handsome 
forehead.  All that and some still ice-cold courtesy."

For eighteen months they only trade nods and pleasantries 
about the weather, until one day the FBI man asks a little 
more, then returns that evening for a romantic kiss. This 
wasn't quite a sex story--it was more of a character/romance 
study--but it was very readable, and I felt I was right there in 
the coffee joint with the characters. What author can get 
higher praise than that?


Comments to: ladycyrrh@aol.com
Website--->  http://members.aol.com/ladycyrrh




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