Message-ID: <6661eli$9803042056@qz.little-neck.ny.us>
From: Lady Cyrrh <LadyCyrrh@aol.com>
Subject: The Annex Reviews, 3/3/98
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Re the recent discussion on ASSD about reviewers:

I must be doing something right, because no one's complaining 
about me. 

I agree totally with the list of reviewer's golden rules (whoever 
posted them send them to me, so I can put them up on my site, if 
you're willing to publicize them.) I myself sometimes let personal 
viewpoint creep into my reviews; but as my main judging criteria 
is how well the author writes, it has only a minimal impact on the 
final grade. 

I also agree that this is the Golden Age of Porn. Where else can you 
find so much, for little, and for every sexual fetish and persuasion 
as well? I would also like to remind everyone, again, that ASS 
contains only a small fraction of the sexual fantasy available on 
the net. There are tons of fanfic and slash erotica; gay and lesbian 
stories and sites; and archives devoting to fetishes like robot sex 
and breast growth stories, many of which never see the 
newsgroups...not to mention all the BDSM home pages that are 
springing up like mushrooms after the rain. Enjoy it while it lasts, 
because I have the feeling it won't last forever.

The stories:

The Oil and the Dagger, by Dave Caracappa (M/F BDSM, harem girls)
What Dad Did, by Dr. Simpson (M/F, inc, spank)
Jungle Moons, by Lupus (M/F, F/F, BDSM, sword n' sorcery)
Two Women, Two Fantasies, by DG (M/F, shared fantasies)


The Oil and the Dagger [A-]
When posted: 2/13/98
Where posted: SSBB
Author: Dava Caracappa
Address: dncarac@tiac.net

A sultan of an unnamed middle eastern country employs a harem 
of concubines and slave girls, one of whom accidentally spills oil 
on the floor. When the sultan's general slips on it and breaks his 
leg, the sultan hits the roof. He orders all his slaves whipped, his 
concubines to watch, and the offending slave to be locked in a 
parakeet-cage like device lined with spikes so everyone, from her 
comrades to the sultan's court, can torture her. Not a nice guy.

This story wasn't so much sex story as historical tract, but it was 
well written and interesting, with an Arabian Nights feel. Not as 
"sexy" as a lot of BDSM I've read, but then sexiness lies in the 
gonads of the reader.


What Dad Did [A-]
When posted: 2/21/98
Where posted: SSS
Author: Dr. Simpson

This very harsh spanking story has been praised for its realism 
and writing technique, and deservedly so; however, it was *not* a 
feelgood story, and not one I'd care to read again. There was a real 
nastiness at work here far more cruel than any whips n' chains 
story I've read, and it was all the more disturbing because it seemed 
to be unconscious on the part of the author.

The narrator, a grown man attending a family reunion, thinks 
back to his youth in a rather dysfunctional family where the strap 
was the favored method of punishment. He and his younger sister 
plot revenge on Dorothy, the goody-goody middle daughter of the 
family, for always tattling on them. Dorothy is shy and given to 
writing and solitary pursuits; she blooms one summer when she 
takes tennis lessons and finds a boyfriend. Naturally, Dad is 
suspicious of all this (god forbid one of his kids should find 
happiness) and when the narrator reads some steamy, but 
cornball, sexual escapades in Dorothy's diary he loses no time in 
telling him. Dad confronts Dorothy one day, tells her to strip, and 
you can imagine the results:

           She cried out the words that would stamp this evening in
           my brain forever: "NOT THERE! NOT THERE, OH PLEASE, DADDY,
           NOT THERE!"

          "You won't be using this for whoring any time soon,"  Dad
          said.  

          Another crack, another scream, and soon the call and
          response of punishment filled the house with it's horrific
          rhythm.

The poor girl winds up a recluse and traumatized for life, while the 
narrator smirks, "Maybe I had done Dorothy the fledgling novelist 
a favor:  Thanks to me she had a terrific story to tell." The cruelty 
is, none of the sex ever happened; Dorothy was merely practicing 
her writing skills and venting some fantasies.

Overall, entertaining because of the author's skill, but it left a bad 
taste in my mouth. 


Jungle Moons [A+]
When posted: 1/29/98
Where posted: ASS
Author: Lupus
Address: lupus@agora.rdrop.com

This novella-length story may just receive a 1998 Cyrrheal Award 
for Best Dungeons and Dragons sex. Wulf, a muscle-bound, 
honorable, but not too bright warrior, has been changed into a 
lion-man and sold as a slave to Xylara, a decadent albino who is a 
total sex fiend. Her preferred method of doinking is to watch Wulf 
doink her slaves while imagining the act happening to herself, for 
she's been forbidden by her noble family to have sex with a man 
under threat of disinheritance. The punishment is the result of a 
long story of power and intrigue, which Xylara narrates herself, 
and in it we meet her even more decadent sister Nineh; Parval, a lover 
who betrays her; and Alrynna, Xylara's eagerly submissive slave. 
The narrator eventually foils a plot to murder his mistress and all 
is eventually made well, with Xylara receiving her birthright and 
Wulf transformed back into his normal human shape.

This was a long piece, which is why I reviewed it rather late; but it 
is well worth tracking down. The sex was hot, and there was a lot of 
it. Sort of a combination of the more exotic aspects of Jack Vance's 
and Tanith Lee's work crossed with Phillip Jurado, Japanese anime 
fanfic, and BDSM, about which the narrator (and by extension the 
author) says "I have never denied enjoying sex, but I've 
only wanted it with willing partners. The notion of 
inflicting pain during sex, or even pretending 
that it wasn't voluntary had always been somewhat
alien to me. " However, I believe he is not as anti-BDSM as he makes 
himself out to be, as the aforementioned involuntary scenes were 
quite juicy. In the end, however, the decadent characters realize 
the errors of their ways and free their slaves, making their sexual 
participation voluntary rather than forced, and this moral 
arrangement seems to satisfy the author's need for titillation that 
is naughty yet PC...an interesting use of the good/evil aspects of 
BDSM similar to SF Master's "Janet in Training" which came out 
earlier this year.


Two Women, Two Fantasies [A]
When posted: 2/22/98
Where posted: ASS, ASSM
Author: DG
Address: dionysian1@hotmail.com

After a dinner party two couples agree to act out their private 
fantasies...a woman's in the first, a man's in the second, and this 
short story smoothly swapped back and forth between the two. The 
first involves a pretend abduction, hog-tying and paddle-spank; 
the second a woman's massage and a man's dildo impalement. The 
story ended with an unexpected revelation before either act was 
complete. 

I question the man's interest in exploring his "female" side by 
being buggered by a dildo...I'd think it's actually more of a 
homosexual wish. Transexuality has traditionally been the avenue 
for men to feel "feminine," whether or not there's sex involved. 
But overall this was a nice story, and a good read, preferably 
together, for couples.

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



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