Message-ID: <13260eli$9807211549@qz.little-neck.ny.us> X-Archived-At: From: Subject: {ASS} Celeste's Top 20 Stories - June, 1998 Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.d,alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII 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: Celeste's Top 20 Stories - June, 1998 Note: Even though guest reviewers write the posted reviews of some of these stories, I read any story that I think may be likely to win a monthly or annual award. I personally take responsibility {and blame} for these lists. If someone else wants to publish an alternate list of awards, that's fine with me. Second Note: Since many readers would like to read the top stories for each month, I have suggested that authors might like to repost as many of these stories as possible. In addition, I am posting STORY LINKS with each story in the Top 20 List. By pasting these into the appropriate line of your web browser, you should be able to go straight to that story. Please give me your feedback regarding the effectiveness of this procedure. Third Note: I have also had great success finding these stories on the World Wide Web by using the DejaNews Server (www.dejanews.com). In addition, most of these stories have been posted and archived through alt.sex.stories.moderated. You can even find past issues of my reviews through these services. Final Note: Ordinarily, to be eligible for my Top 20 List for any month, I have to have read the story for the first time that month and reviewed it in CR. Therefore, reposted stories whose old reviews I repost are not eligible (unless they are substantially revised), but an "old" story that comes to my attention and is reviewed for the first time would be eligible. If anyone else wants to post a "rival" Top 20 list, feel free to do so. You can even include my reviews, if you don't want to write your own. - Celeste ===================== This month's Number One Story: "A Certain Circle in New York" by Marc Proust (proust@scsn.net). ===================== This was another tough month. When I read "Anniversary Party" early in the month, I thought I had already found the winner. Then Green Onions sent me "Accepting Gina," and I KNEW I had found June's winner. But then I came across "A Certain Circle in New York." I finally gave the nod to "A Certain Circle in New York." The author's sexual imagery is very vivid. As the original reviewer said, the author uses words as an artist uses a paintbrush. {But then "Accepting Gina" wasn't written by a literary hack either!} I found the story to be nostalgic, even though the setting is before my time and even though things like this had never really happened to me. Like last month's winner, this story describes sexual events that are both stimulating and easy to relate to real-life experiences. I encountered some formatting problems with this story, but they probably were not the author's fault. I suggest that you take a look at the original review and follow Bitbard's advice for cleaning the story up before you read it. ============================ Here's this month's Top 20 List: ============================ 1. "A Certain Circle in New York" By Marc Proust (advanced sex education) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=354649425 2. "Accepting Gina" by Bernadette (tender ff romance) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=359259968 3. "Anniversary Party" by The Pussy Barber (threesome & moresome) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=352765238 http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=352765248 4. "A Time to Cast Away Stones" by Hawkeye (romance) 5. "Becky Cried" by Poison Ivan (voyeurism and romance) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=353349603 6. "Furlough" by Friar Dave (first time) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=358303691 (1) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=358303697 (1) 7. "Dance" by LeAnna (somber sex story) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360885404 8. "Blindside" by BitBard (detective sex & romance) http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12355.txt 9. "Home Improvement - Tim Discovers True Manhood" by Phil Phantom (sitcom parody) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363934012 (1) 10. "Gwen" by Friar Dave (incest & pedophilia) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360178181 (1) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360178190 (1) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360178197 (1) 11. "Janey's Friend" by Janey (literary ff romance) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=355700552 12. "Robyn's Nest" by Sven the Elder (one-night frolic) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=361552469 13. "I Wonder" by Poison Ivan (prose poem) http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12265.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363593714 14. "Scenery" by Nick (voyeurism) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=352397471 15. "Hot Tango" by Nick (multiple romances) http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12453.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=365516772 16. "Milady" by LeAnna (bittersweet ff sex) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=355700562 17. "Palindrome" by Losgud (humping the bitch) http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12263.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363593703 18. "Myrtle Beach Vacation" by tonytony3 (husband/wife fantasy) http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12555.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=366844412 19. "Saleswhore" by Phil Phantom (descent into depravity) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363934165 20. "Ten" by Leanna (threesome with bondage) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=351785924 20. "Descent of a Woman" by Kim (island orgy) http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/11520.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=355958865 ============================================= Here are the original reviews in alphabetical order: ============================================= "Accepting Gina" by Bernadette (bernadette@yahoo.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=359259968 Wow! As I completed the first quarter of this story, I told myself that unless this author really somehow screwed up, this was going to get straight 10s. And then it got better. The narrator is a person named Jessica, whose life was altered suddenly when her boyfriend dumped her on the night that her sister (Gina) was killed in an automobile wreck. In an attempt to resume her life after this trauma, she has joined a poetry group, where her major project will be to express herself through a poem entitled "Accepting Gina." She befriends a fellow budding poet named Cassandra, who is from Tasmania. Then she meets Mr. Right, who scares her away because he confesses to her that he is bisexual. Then.... You can read the story yourself to see how it works out. You even get a really good poem thrown in as a bonus. I'll grant you that this is not up there with rape, incest, sodomy, or action adventures; but this is one heckuva good story. This is a tender romance set in a realistic context. It doesn't even have dirty words - just good sex. This story was originally published in a zine called _Art & Love on the 'Net_ (http://www.artandlove.org), which was founded by a person who used to write and review stories for this newsgroup under the name Green Onions. I don't normally plug web sites; but I visited this one, and it was a very pleasant experience. It's good to see one of our former colleagues make good in the real world, and I hope Green Onions continues to send an occasional story from his zine over to our newsgroup. ===================== "Anniversary Party" by The Pussy Barber (ALS135@aol.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=352765238 http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=352765248 This story is about as close as I'll ever get in real life to anonymous sex. While reading this story, I had risen through several crescendos to a gently roaring orgasm. For much of it I didn't even need my fingers - the imagery and the tug of my clothing while I twisted in my chair was enough to keep me going. As my climax subsided, I realized I didn't even know who the author was. Even worse - or even better, perhaps - a glance at my scroll bar told me that I was only halfway through the story. I clicked on the scroll bar. Yep - there it was - Part 2 was still to come, if you'll pardon the expression. At least my timing was good. Fortunately, my phone rang, and I had to deal with something more mundane. As I said, at least my timing was good. Now, before I resume my reading, let me give this lecture one more time. Be sure to put your name and address on the title page of the actual story. When I downloaded this story, all I got was two files with enigmatic numbers that meant absolutely nothing to me for their "titles." My gratitude to this author for a really enjoyable first half of this evening far outweighs the hostility that he evokes by making me go to DejaNews and look up his name. But PLEASE - for your own good - PUT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS ON THE TITLE PAGE OF THE ACTUAL STORY. The basic plot is that a wife whom her husband has known to be bisexual throws a first anniversary party for her husband to which (unbeknownst to her husband) she also invites her female lover. And all this happens in the most delightful way. This is an extraordinarily hot story. I strongly recommend it. As I have mentioned in the past, I have a happily monogamous relationship with my husband. In spite of (or maybe because of) that relationship, I really enjoy stories like this one. A story like this is good because IF (and that's an emphatic IF with capital letters) the wildly hedonistic activities portrayed in this story could be continued on a long-term basis, these sort of activities would certainly be wonderful. I simply don't believe that in my own life something like this is possible. My conviction is based on philosophical (religious, I suppose) principles, psychological insights, and practical experience. Satisfying one man and having that one man devote his life to me is about all that I can handle, and I really feel that I am a lot happier than my friends who have more "open" relationships. I hasten to add that I might be wrong or at least that these other people might be right as well. That is, maybe they have achieved a capacity to share relationships in a way that makes them wonder why a person would ever want to settle for a single piece of the pie. I have no interest in converting you to my value system. My point here is that it is clearly possible to enjoy stories that conflict with our personal values. Some stories that conflict with my values seem really stupid to me, and I cannot really enjoy those. For example, I still can't understand why a person would enjoy degrading or being degraded by a person with whom he/she is "in love." However, stories like this one give me no trouble. I can definitely see how it would be ecstatically pleasant to have one cock up my cunt and another up my ass while my best friend fondled my tits and played tongue games with me. Let's hear it for vicarious experiences! By the way, my husband agrees with me on this issue. He too enjoys letting his imagination roam. He has a not-too-secret lust for Jenny McCarthy, who is young enough to be our daughters' older sister. If pressed, I'm pretty sure he would admit that he "wishes" he could bury his face between her legs - or her asscheeks, for that matter. He won't, and he doesn't really "want" to; what he wants is me. One reason I like these stories is that they give us a safe outlet for our fantasies. I really don't want my husband fantasizing about a woman he works with or his former girlfriend while he makes love to me. I think that would be disruptive to our relationship. Such fantasies would increase the probability of actual infidelity or inadvertent flirtations. He might look at the other woman differently or she might respond in a way that would complicate and hurt someone. With imaginary characters, this problem goes away. Let's hear it for vicarious experiences! Incidentally, Jenny McCarthy and I are not all that much alike. I'm much more intelligent, she's a blonde, and she looks slightly better with her clothes falling off of her on a calendar or other poster. Other than that, we're pretty similar, I suppose. ===================== "Becky Cried" by Poison Ivan (poisoniv1@hotmail.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=353349603 It's a gray and overcast day, but we don't learn that till near the end of the story; nor does it matter, at least not until they make love in the rain in his backyard after they watch the other couple doing foreplay in the restaurant where Margot with the nice ass and happy fingers works. The first we hear about Becky's eponymous lacrimations is when she weeps when she discovers that she's not pregnant. However, lately she has been sitting on the couch in her bathrobe reading women's magazines and casting accusatory glances. And now Margot the waitress is beginning to look better and better to our narrator, and it's not even closing time at the watering hole. When Becky arrives for lunch, our narrator is enraptured with the sight of the couple at the next table, who are eating and flirting most outrageously. "Someone should turn a hose on them," Becky whispers. Or get a room, as my daughter would say. The other woman isn't wearing panties, and they leave shortly. "I have to go to the bathroom," Becky says. "Is everything okay?" Margot the waitress asks. Becky returns from the bathroom with items of wearing apparel in her purse. Becky and our narrator dance, and Becky says, "Don't get fresh, buster!" "Next time you say you're going to show somebody my butt, you'd better show somebody my butt!" says Becky. "I must say, there hasn't been much in the way of business, but it sure has been a fun day!" Margot says. Mood swings can be interesting. ===================== "Blindside" by BitBard (bitbard@newsguy.com). http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12355.txt I appreciate it when author's revise their stories. This author even gives us the dates when he created and revised this story - indicating that he revised it six days before he created it! That's hard; but then "hard" is good in a sex story. Actually, if the most serious criticism I have of a story is the typographical error in the revision line, then this must be a very good story indeed. And it is. Somehow this author's Steve Whiley detective stories haven't received the acclaim they deserve. In this story Steve Whiley is bent on solving the case of the purloined pussy, so to speak. First Steve gets picked up for an extended one-nighter by a beautiful woman named Kate, whom he quickly finds to be the best lay he has ever had. Meanwhile, "the pygmy bandit" has stolen the Vandleberg diamond from Danzil's Auction House in spite of its expensive security system. Steve has been hired as a consultant to protect the next diamond scheduled for display in the city. Next we discover that Kate was raped as a young girl; and as amateur psychiatrists we begin to suspect that perhaps she is depraved because she was deprived. More precisely, she likes to be in control now in reaction to the loss of control then. How all this turns into a really interesting sex story is something you'll have to discover for yourself. So what we have hear is a mixture of romance and criminal intrigue. The dialog is hot and the sex is good, and there's a nice twist at the end. What more could you want? ===================== "A Certain Circle in New York" By Marc Proust (proust@scsn.net). Guest Review by Bitbard (Formerly Sandman -- bitbard@newsguy.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=354649425 This story is set back in the 1950s when nobody knew anything at all about sex and kinky positions. I mean that would imply our parents knew about these things, which obviously they don't; not any more than what's minimally necessary to produce us anyway. This is a *VERY* erotic story about a man who discovers to his surprise (and pleasure) that his new maid has been instructing his wife in the art of sex. When I say very erotic, I mean it. The sex is very, very well described and the author uses words as an artist uses a paintbrush. The imagery is so vivid it leaps off the page and right into your imagination. Two things to watch out for before you begin. There are no blank lines between paragraphs. I keep harping on this because on a screen the lack of lines tends to make the text run together and it's harder to keep your place within the story. For stories like this I usually print them out. On paper, the effect is not distracting. A second thing to watch out for is that for some reason apostrophes show up as 1's -- something easily fixed by a mass search and replace. There's no point deduction for these problems, I'm just giving you a fair warning so it won't be distracting to you. This one's definitely a must read. ===================== "Dance" by LeAnna (leanna1@hotmail.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360885404 This is an extremely well written sex story, but it's not your usual of sex story. It's about a man and a woman who have AIDS and who are dying together in a hospice. It's a real tear jerker - honestly written and very emotional. If you're looking for a stroke story or for something to get you in the mood for some hot sex, you should definitely stay away from this one. However, there is more to life than fun and pleasure, and this story has the potential to make you feel good in a different way. ===================== "Descent of a Woman" by Kim (Ghost@nym.alias.net). Guest review by Bronwen (bronwen@anon.nymserver.com). http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/11520.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=355958865 This is a late review, all my fault. Sorry. OTOH, such eons have elapsed that Kim will surely now repost the story, which can only be a good thing. What an enjoyable piece.... This is another of the stories written for Malinov's Island, a site created by the marvelous (and prolific) author, Lord Malinov. For those not familiar with the idea, the ball was set rolling by a story from DG in which all the regular authors from ASS/ASSM set off on an erotic writers cruise and were shipwrecked, ending up on Malinov's tropical island. Lots of other authors wrote connected stories. Anyone is more than welcome to submit stories related to this scenario - check the site out at http://www.gslink.com/~dcain/xanadu/erotica/island/ My first impressions of "Descent of a Woman" weren't so good. The first little section seems frankly a bit superfluous. Not entirely connected with the main thrust, if you'll forgive the pun. But maybe (probably?) I'm missing something. However once our heroine arrives on the island the story takes off big time. What fun! It's not fair to give away much plot, save that it's weird and wonderful. Dazzling creativity. Piles of mythological allusions and a few really good jokes. This is one of Kim's best stories yet. There's not a lot of sex, but I found what there was memorably erotic. Read it for yourself. ===================== "Furlough" by Friar Dave (Friar_Dave@mhbbs.com). Review by Sven the Elder, who may be contacted at Sven@brass-neck.demon.co.uk http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=358303691 (1) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=358303697 (1) The Subject of this review is a repost, viz.: "Subject: {FriarDave}JDR"Furlough 1"( MF )[1/2] From: john_dark@anon.nymserver.com" I have reprinted the above as I think this is a *very* good object lesson on how a reposter should carry out the task. John_Dark has gone to very great lengths to preserve both the story identity and the identity of the original author. Moreover, his name only appears as the poster, not in the subject line. More power to his elbow! Enough of this trivia - Friar Dave is very high on my list of authors to read. Much as I loathe erotic stories that contain references to minors, his treatment of the subject is so sensitive as to almost overcome my dislike. I admit to having read and enjoyed virtually all of his work published to date. This story he prefaces by saying (A Bit of Spoofing Fun from Friar Dave), which is just as well, as it contains a large number of Celeste's' Credulous assumptions. If you can put them aside, and it's not difficult to do so, this is another lovely Friar Dave story. Briefly it tells the tale of a 19-year-old virgin seamen in the American Navy and the way he finally loses his 'cherry' to a hooker on 14th Street off Ninth Avenue; which sounds to this Irishman as if he might well be in Downtown New York. I guess his ship is visiting. I don't want to give any of the story away other than to say that he has difficulty being 'accommodated' by hooker number one, who passes him on to another New York Madame. The story plot becomes even more 'credulous' at this point, but the entertainment value is so high as to provoke forgiveness. Friar Dave has, you remember, warned us at the outside that this is a frivolous tale. This is straight m/f and other than the fact we have a very young sailor, this has nothing to squick the most suspicious of minds. Great lighthearted story, with a nice amusing thought at the end. Not to be missed. ===================== "Gwen" by Friar Dave. Guest review by LeAnna. This only means my opinion, nothing more. http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360178181 (1) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360178190 (1) http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=360178197 (1) The narrator is a grizzled old guy who has just moved to Manhattan. His 13-year-old niece comes over the next day to help him "unpack"; but as the narrator suspects, it wasn't really for that purpose. As they're unpacking, the narrator and Gwen get into a heart-to-heart about boys. The narrator is distracted, not really paying attention to what his niece is chattering about, until she starts talking about breasts in an attempt to get the narrator to notice her. And then 'touching'. And then sex. And then... the narrator starts to notice his 13-year-old niece, y'know, sexually. The sexual dialogue/noticing is first spurred by reminisces about the narrator's ex, and it gradually grows into something new started by his niece. And then the inevitable happens. I don't condone pedophilia. I find incest to be just as disgusting. I warn you, they're in this story, and they're very strongly in this story. I only reviewed this story because Friar Dave is an excellent writer, probably one of the best writers that this NG is honored with. And the major reason that I read this is because I was sure he knew this: there is disgusting, pointless pedophilia, and then there's pedo with a cause. A reason. Not an 8-year-old across the street that the 40-year-old guy thought would be fun to fuck. This is pedophilia with a reason, and the author demonstrates this with enough skill to keep my squicking at a minimum. This is interesting psychologically -- the thinking and reasoning of a tomboy that is trying to turn on her uncle to see if she really can turn someone on. Although it apparently works in the story, readers, don't try this at home as a means of boosting your niece's self-esteem. :-) I actually found that concept a bit disturbing; however, it's well used in this story. I don't find it realistic, but again, it's well used in this story. The fact that I found the pedophilia and the incest disturbing, though, is why I took off two LeAnna points. This story is fueled by excellent dialogue, and there are a few laughs in their conversation; heck, throughout the entire story. There are literary devices that probably wouldn't be noticed by anybody other than a careful reader or an author -- for instance, the art of irony as it should be used. This is a story that I urge you to at least take a peek at. ===================== "Home Improvement - Tim Discovers True Manhood" by Phil Phantom (reposted by Hawaiian Heat). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363934012 (1) "Hidie ho, neighbor lady Jill," says Wilson shortly before he slips his immense pecker through a hole in the fence. Jill is seeking relief after getting all hot and bothered by her experience of catching the boys having sex with one another. Later Tim seeks advice from his neighbor, he gives Wilson's aphorisms his customary twist after proving his manhood to Jill: "A good, secure man understands his woman's needs. Get bigger ones {cucumbers for masturbation} if you want. You know, Sparticus used to give eels to his Greek women. That Sparticus, now that was a man's man. Aaarrrghh, Aaarrrghh, Aaarrrghh!" To find out what Wilson actually said, you'll have to read the story. The real value of a good parody / sex story is that it's possible to imagine the "real" characters doing what the story describes; and this story certainly accomplishes that task. Even with the omission of that lovely young lass with the nice ass who carries tools for Tim and Al, this has to be one of the most creative parodies of "Home Improvement" that I have ever seen. Wait a minute - I forgot about Ann Douglas's tale of Jill's infatuation with Heidi, the young lady from the preceding sentence. Comparing the two, I'd have to say that I liked Ann's version better as a sex story, but Mr. Phantom gets the nod on the strength of his parody. I mean, this one really did have the tone of an actual "Home Improvement" episode. In addition, an author named Jay-P has written several parodies of "Home Improvement," but none approaching the quality of the two I cited in the preceding paragraph. Uncle Mike has also done a "Home Improvement" parody, but I felt it was not one of his best. ===================== "Hot Tango" by Nick (nick@cassandra.demon.co.uk). Guest review by BitBard (bitbard@newsguy.com). http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12453.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=365516772 Nick begins the story with this warning: "The story contains mild adult content and should not be read by minors (as defined in the country from which it is being accessed)." Mild adult content? Hey! I want panting, sweating bodies in immoral if not illegal positions! What's the deal? No this is definitely not a stroke story, but it is a very good story that sets up more than a few erotic situations that the reader can carry forward. The story follows Robbie the rose peddler as he offers his roses to various people and the story follows the effects of those roses. The talisman effect was very well executed and I rather enjoyed the sensation of upheaval and change that followed Robbie throughout the story. And somehow though everyone we meet are at first strangers we find that more than roses link them together. No. Not stroke at all, but it does stroke the mind and is more than well worth the reading. ===================== "I Wonder" by Poison Ivan (poisoniv1@hotmail.com). http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12265.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363593714 I don't think my husband reads my reviews, but I'm going to find out pretty soon if I'm wrong. That's because I'm going to talk about him in this review. In this story the author describes the mental state of a man wondering how his lover will relate to him. I have never come very close to feeling this man's emotions myself, but apparently I have personally been the cause of almost an identical set of reactions within the mind and heart of my husband. His tensions were even more severe, as he told me later: apparently I rejected him {in his mind's eye} six or seven times after he dialed the sixth digit of my phone number when he was calling me for our first date. He got that far and hung up six times! I had no idea that he was so overcome with anxiety - although I really wasn't sure whether I had a date with him or not by the time he did reach me and our conversation ended. Our first phone conversation after that first date was even more inspiring. He lacked telephone skills. After we had talked for quite a while and he obviously couldn't find a way to end the conversation, I said, "We really should end this conversation soon. Sum things up." He replied, "Omigod, what is it?" Ya see, the nun who taught English and told me that the right way to end a telephone conversation was to summarize the key elements of the conversation hadn't realized that the potential sex partner might hear me saying, "Something's up!" He's done all right, though. Our relationship is kind of like an Uther Pendragon story with the roles reversed. And my husband was barely trying to get to first base! The guy in this story is rapidly approaching third base, ready to head for home plate. Oddly enough, the author uses the word "base," but not in reference to either a baseball sex metaphor or a penile location. However, he uses "diddle" about the way you'd expect. Actually, the guy in this story is more eager than anxious. This story is best described as a non-verse poem about a man's hopes and aspirations as he looks forward to his tryst with his lady love. It's excellent reading. ===================== "Janey's Friend" by Janey (janey98@hotmail.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=355700552 Janey has fallen in love with Taria. In this story, which is sort of a sequel to Taria's "Phone Sex," they meet and do very nice things to each other. Just read the story - it's really silly for me to try to summarize things that the author describes so much better than I can. Actually, this whole affair is somewhat difficult to sort out. Janey's fictional persona is definitely and reciprocally head over heels with Taria's fictional persona (that's a vocational counselor with a college history teacher - at least most of the time); and Janey the real person also has a genuine and likewise reciprocal admiration for Taria the real person - whoever those real persons may be. The exact relationship among all these personas (or perhaps, personae) is a bit vague. For example, Janey the fictitious person strongly recommends "The Power and the Word," which was written by Taria the real person, and in which Taria the fictitious person plays a major role. This confusion of characters may sound confusing - and it is - but that's good news, not bad news. The ambiguity adds to the flavor of the story. As Janey points out, Taria's "The Power and the Word" is truly an excellent story. {I'll repost the review below.} But it's not really a good idea to fall in love with authors who write good short stories. For example, the best short story author I know is Edgar Alan Poe; and he'd be a helluva person to be in love with, even if he hadn't died in a gutter over a hundred years ago. And then there's Mike Hunt, who dropped off the edge of the earth just when my fantasies about him were getting really interesting. ===================== "Milady" by LeAnna (leanna1@hotmail.com). Guest reviewed by Bitbard (Formally Sandman -- bitbard@newsguy.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=355424677 LeAnna's archive: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/2194 Historical pieces can be brutal on women, especially if they strive for authenticity. This story manages to be both brutal and tender. Set in the Middle Ages the lord of the manner has decided it's time for a divorce, and in those days the church was of the opinion that murder was less sinful than divorce (and you could buy indulgences anyway). Now, I've got some pretty solid ideas about right and wrong; and to my thinking the organized religions, even today, are still playing catch-up. LeAnna doesn't delve into philosophy as much as I've done in this review, but she does delve into the final tender moments between a Lady (Milady) and her female servant right before the Lord becomes a bachelor again. The bittersweet female/female scene is both sexy and thought provoking. Maybe the best thing about the story is carrying through the "what-ifs". LeAnna and I had a rip-roaring good time bouncing while soap-opera-esk sequels off each other. But even if you can't see the possible entanglements of future wives, the king, and this sexy servant you'll definitely enjoy the story itself. ===================== "Myrtle Beach Vacation " by tonytony3 (tonytony3@juno.com). Guest review by BitBard (bitbard@newsguy.com). http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12555.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=366844412 Hmm. Here's an interesting dilemma. Celeste has sent me a story to review that is complete and intact yet is basically unreadable because it uses smart quotes that come across as really weird characters on the screen. Now ASSM and DejaNews have this story, but only the first part and in a browser the story is readable (though I still hate smart quotes). Since the second part is unpublished at the time of this review I will review the first part only. This is not a problem since the first part can stand on it's own as a complete story. Dotty and Bob are married. Dotty has just taken a company sponsored assertiveness training course. Dotty is a new woman -- asking things and doing things quite unlike her usual demure self. One of the things she asks is if Bob has ever screwed around. Wow! Talk about assertive! Well since their marriage is so solid they both admit to coming close but never doing the deed. Then they describe in detail what happened. Bob had been sitting in the airport with a business acquaintance and her husband when the woman drags his hand up her thigh and lo and behold her husband's right there too! Bob begged off and ran home to Dotty. Now Dotty got the ol' sexual harassment at the office treatment and got quite a handful (if I were the guy I'da sued for sexual harassment for leaving me hanging like that.) So then Dotty and Bob go and act out Dot's encounter and have heaps of fun. So much fun in fact that they begin to wonder what to do about acting out Bob's encounter? That, dear reader, is a question for part two. You'll be much better off reading this story in your browser, following the links above than in your newsreaders. The smart quotes make the story very unreadable in native Usenet form. If you do read this story in your browser I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The sexy talk and re-enactment between husband and wife is very hot and quite provocative. The two men one women element will ad a touch of the taboo but in part one it shouldn't cause any serious problems for guys (or gals) who like things one-on-one. ===================== "Palindrome" by Losgud (lushgod@hotnomail.com). http://www.qz.to/erotica/assm/Year98/12263.txt --- http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363593703 A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backward or forward. For example, the first man in the Garden of Eden allegedly introduced himself to his spouse by saying, "Madam I'm Adam." And Napoleon is supposed to have uttered, "Able was I ere I saw Elba." Exactly why this story is entitled "Palindrome" I'll leave up to you to discover. The basic plot consists of the narrator and his friend doing business with Fidel Castro in Cuba. His friend brings along his trophy girlfriend, who exudes reciprocal feelings of contempt for our narrator. But when the friend goes back to the States to wrap up the details, our narrator sort of finalizes things on the Island. The story is stuffed full of clever business details - probably enough to drive some readers crazy; but I liked the cleverness. The sex is perhaps bizarre but very hot. I really enjoyed this story. ===================== "Robyn's Nest" by Sven the Elder (sven@brass-neck.demon.co.uk). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=361552469 This is another of those sexual frolics for which Sven has become famous. The way Sven tells it, a reader may be led to believe that being seduced by a sexy barmaid could be a lot of fun, rather than the degrading experience that it must certainly be. Granted that it's not all that hard to convince readers that sex is fun, I still marvel at the simplicity of expression that Sven uses to get across the notion that two people are really having fun together. People who feel the need to give measurements and who are unable to write the word "penis" without an adjacent stereotypical adjective should take a look at this author's style to see how to do tell a sexy tale more simply and authentically. One minor flaw in the story is that the barmaid talks more like an Irish lass than a California girl. At first I was distracted by the apparently arbitrary and unnecessary introduction of the Warthog as Sven's traveling partner; but an interesting twist at the end of the story put this detail into perspective. I suspect that this may be the first in a series of Warthog as Sven traveling together - kind of like John Steinbeck and his dog Charlie. ===================== "Saleswhore" by Phil Phantom http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363934165 Phil Phantom/Tiffany have written some of the hottest and depraved incest stories for years. The theme of verbal and physical domination (though not in the typical D/S sense!) is usually in there somewhere, and this story is no exception. Phil is at his best when he's convinced you that his good-girl protagonist has finally been won over to the Dark Side by lust and never- before displayed, repressed incestuous affections. Synopsis: A woman is told that her career will flourish if she acts the slut and helps to get her kids into the action, too. This is a classic tale of descent into depravity. If you've ever liked a Phil Phantom story before, stop reading right here and go find this story. This is a long story by most measures, and one might expect this would give plenty of room to get into the characterization of our Saleswhore and what it is about pissing, muff-diving, and incest that really makes her tick. We get a healthy dose of this kind of plotting early on, but somewhere in the middle of the story, the transition to crazed slut gets glossed over a bit. The characterization of the kids involved is far weaker, too, at that point. The original arc of the storyline never gets completed the way one would expect coming from Phil Phantom. That doesn't mean it isn't pretty great "as is", so I'll stop griping. ===================== "Scenery" by Nick (nick@cassandra.demon.co.uk). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=352397471 This is sort of a companion piece to go along with LeAnna's "Ten," which I reviewed in CR 286. Nick and LeAnna are sitting together in some sort of a park, admiring the scenery. The scenery consists of nubile women, upon whom the venturesome aficionados have been conferring ratings on a scale of 1-10, in addition to generating oral reviews of the most noteworthy characteristics of these invariably buxom young ladies. It's obviously improper to treat people like objects in this way, but I have to admit that I myself do this too. Occasionally I work out in a fitness center, and the routine there can become boring. To boost my spirits, I keep an internal record of alpha, beta, and gamma males and females. I visually sweep the room from left to right. The first guy that looks reasonably decent becomes my alpha male. He stays in that position until I come upon a better specimen, whereupon the alpha male drops to beta position. And so forth. I take into consideration not only obvious physical characteristics, but also their personalities and friskiness in the sack. Since I {usually} have no direct experience of either of these factors, I give free rein to my fantasies. On alternate days (or when there are not enough men to establish a hierarchy) I do females instead. Sometimes I even have an alpha couple. This may sound silly, but it sure makes the time pass quickly. It sure beats reciting Shakespeare to myself on those days when I forget my rosary beads! Anyway, these two people do it more actively and overtly than I do. They even become part of the scenery. Omigod - maybe I'm someone else's alpha female.... ===================== "Ten" by LeAnna (leanna1@hotmail.com). http://search.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=351785924 "Miss! Oh, miss.... That's a pretty dress." The woman looks down, self-conscious. "Thank you." "I bet it'd look pretty on the floor next to my bed." "Whap!" goes the slap on the side of his face as the woman huffs away. This scene takes place outside a bar, where the recipient of the slap has been sitting on a bench with his lady friend, getting drunk while evaluating the physiques of the women going into the bar. They are a man and a woman who have apparently never been sexually intimate with each other - just drinking companions who hang out on the street together. Then their life changes in an interesting way. Sometimes I say too much. You had better check this one out for yourself. This story is an interesting combination of a threesome and bondage, with some really great dialogue to keep it going. ===================== "A Time to Cast Away Stones" by Hawkeye. {No Link available} Sam and Jen argue and make up. The emotions and the sex are extremely realistic. As we all know, the best part about a good argument is making up afterwards, and in this case the couple have grown so close that they are bound to live happily ever after - or are they? This story was published in 1993 by Pure Blue Enterprises. At that time it was the seventh in the series. In addition to the present story, I have also reviewed the following stories by this author: "Hazy Shade of Winter" "April Showers" I'll repost the reviews of these stories. I understand that Hawkeye has also written the following stories on the "Seasons" theme: "Summertime Blues" "Season of the Witch" "The Cruelest Month" "The Real World" If someone will post these or other stories by this author, I'll see to it that they get reviewed. -- +----------------' Story submission `-+-' Moderator contact `--------------+ | | | | Archive site +----------------------+--------------------+ Newsgroup FAQ | ----