Message-ID: <10785eli$9805031920@qz.little-neck.ny.us> From: Lady Cyrrh Subject: The Annex Reviews, 4/30/98 Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.d,alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d Path: qz!not-for-mail Organization: The Committee To Thwart Spam Approved: X-Moderator-Contact: Eli the Bearded X-Story-Submission: X-Original-Message-ID: <7dd99113.354962c0@aol.com> 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 -- +--------------' Story submission `-+-' Moderator contact `------------+ | story-submit@qz.little-neck.ny.us | story-admin@qz.little-neck.ny.us |