Could someone PLEASE explain to me, why this thing gets such a high rating average? Because I really don't get it.
First off, the prose needWTH.
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Could someone PLEASE explain to me, why this thing gets such a high rating average? Because I really don't get it.
First off, the prose needs to be killed with a flamethrower. It is an unreadable, breathy and enervatingly pretentious teenage word vomit in present tense narrated by someone who's got verbal diarrhea. If this is meant to show off how a kidnapped, tortured girl with PTSD thinks after a few years being incarcerated by a sociopathic loon, then the author failed from here to the moon and back.
I suggest instead reading accounts written by e.g. Natascha Kampusch for enlightenment about actual kidnappings and incarcerations. There's a world of difference, one that is corroborrated by other victims of similar kidnappings. Hardly ever do you get a breathy, scatterbrained teenager who sounds as if she jumped straight out of bad fanfiction. Reading such accounts is called research, by the way. Many authors do that.
That wouldn't be half as bad as the lack of proper characterisation and correct human psychology. The girl is kidnapped aged fourteen, yet thinks and behaves like a toddler. A mentally challenged toddler, and this well before she is kidnapped. The harebrained scheme of two girls well past toddler-age falling for a guy promising them a doll of all things, is so idiotic it left me thoroughly stumped.
And then, just like snapping your fingers, the very same girl turns within a couple of years into a streetwise smartaleckish kick-arse heroine straight out of some action movie. Yeah. Right. May I point out once again the accounts of Kampusch and her peers? And how such children actually turn out to be?
Lastly, as with most such books lately written, there is practically zero emotional exposition and characterisation. The author apparently expects the reader to empathise along with a naked skeleton of horrific facts or deeds, all on her own. Again, this to me is sign of a writing style that emerged with fanfiction - where the existing fandom provides the context for reader emotions through their knowledge of the fandom. And this is precisely the kind of lazy writing fanfiction induces unfortunately in some writers.
However, I am not here to write the story, to fill out the particulars of the psychology for the author. I pay money so the author does it for me, and takes me along on the ride.
Seriously, I do not get the ratings. In fact, lately high ratings engender a dread in me, because too often now they point towards such incomplete, childish snippets as this here. Tant pis. The idea per se had potential....more
I'm very surprised about the ratings and reviews this childish, rather Mary Sue-ish and melodramatic stor---- mild and not so mild spoilers ensue ----
I'm very surprised about the ratings and reviews this childish, rather Mary Sue-ish and melodramatic story received. It is neither horrific, nor horrifying, not erotic, not well-written, and offers neither an insight into its characters, nor into snuff filming, nor into Russia or Russian mafia.
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This is instead very pedestrian, rather boring and silly, without a spare emotion or a brain cell shaken lose between its characters. Hilariously frumpy and downright middle-class, the alleged transgressions described in a tone which would better fit a pudding recipe. The heroine - after watching her fellow victims killed and while being raped - shows less emotion than Keanu Reeves in his first movies, and the baddies - though having raped and killed thousands of women and boys - fall for a breathy word from the heroine.
A bit like how little Sally, fanficcer queenbee wannabe extraordinaire, imagines tortureporn would read like, while showing a distinct distaste for getting down to the gritty gore and resultant emotions - which are what people read horror for. Not the listless machinations of the various mafiosi as in this story. This feels like a half-hearted puzzle of scenes from third-rate movies put together by someone who doesn't understand even the most basic requirements of the genre.
For those who were or are impressed by this I suggest reading some Val McDermid, or maybe Father Figure or Object D'Art or some good old Marquis de Sade. Caution! Unlike this here author, these people know how to write sexual horror or even just body horror.
Oh, and multiple first person POVs in present tense is about as amateur fanfiction style and as irritating as it can get. Especially when not well executed. Apropos fanfiction, I forgot to mention that our heroine is an ice princess (a real one), whose misfortunes are as unbelievable as those of any Mary Sue stumbling into Hogwarts and rescuing Harry P., and of course she turns out to be a real princess, of sorts. Per happenstance. Because such stuff is so likely. Given the size of Russia. And the amount of Russian emigrants... good grief! ...more
Extremest bondage and torture, written by a connoisseur, thankfully completely avoiding even mentioning BDSM. HenceNot for the faint of heart. At all.
Extremest bondage and torture, written by a connoisseur, thankfully completely avoiding even mentioning BDSM. Hence I could enjoy this and really got hooked on it.
One-handed reading material for the sadistic top alright ;) Lovely. Extreme. Wonderful.
Slight minus: needs an editor for copy editing....more
Uh huh. In the end this was just plain old boring nonsense. Unfortunately it also was the epitome of US cultural views regarding women, porn and sex wUh huh. In the end this was just plain old boring nonsense. Unfortunately it also was the epitome of US cultural views regarding women, porn and sex without an original thought to chase the few braincells it engaged. Transgressive, nope. Just aggressively commonplace after a while. Why do women write male fantasies and call them erotica?
Tentacle sex (1st half): 5* Tentacle sex (2nd half): 3* Writing/Prose: 4* SpaG: 3* Worldbuilding: 2* Horror: 3* =========================== All together: 3.3 Tentacle sex (1st half): 5* Tentacle sex (2nd half): 3* Writing/Prose: 4* SpaG: 3* Worldbuilding: 2* Horror: 3* =========================== All together: 3.33*
!! Spoilers below !! . . . . . . This is a very solid "I liked it", the story was amusing and bemusing, though some of the worldbuilding didn't work for me. There was a bit too much mixed into it.
It wasn't as horrific to me as it was to some of the other readers either, mainly I think because I find myself a bit unforgiving about Will's initial state of being rather TSTL.
In the midsection I didn't much care for Will's plight because he was too gaga to even care himself, and though the end picked up quite some, especially with the scene in the lagoon, the ultimate end was then a bit anticlimactic. I sure would have preferred something like the alien queen baby and Ellen Ripley diving into the furnace taking her with her.
The early tentacle scenes were extremely hot and well-written, the later ones except for the skewering one not up to the same level. I think that's because Will was out of it too much for my personal tastes. Things perked up when he started to fight back more.
The writing was excellent, except for a few instances, where it appeared too strained (chiaroscuro). SPaG was mostly good, though as someone else pointed out, the story would have benefited from an editor. However, that's nothing for what one can take to task a free story.
One thing is clear, this story hits the kinks of quite a few readers full on; it hit some of mine as well, and those solidly. Very enjoyable.
Noteworthy: (view spoiler)[The scene with the shark was pure genius. For me the best writing within the whole book! (hide spoiler)]
Heh, and I think I know who wrote this. Maybe. ;)
Recommended to everyone into kinky horror and tentacles! ...more
Not even half bad. I liked this, it was quite a turn on, unabashedly non-con and the worldbuilding, for such a short short, quite well-done, if slightNot even half bad. I liked this, it was quite a turn on, unabashedly non-con and the worldbuilding, for such a short short, quite well-done, if slightly tropey.
I'd have given this a clean 4* if not for the cliffhanger and serial nature of the story. I dislike that marketing scheme on principle, especially at such a price....more
Yes, there was sex in it, the breaking of just about any taboo you can think of (bestiality, paedophilia, necrophilia, gThis is obviously not for me.
Yes, there was sex in it, the breaking of just about any taboo you can think of (bestiality, paedophilia, necrophilia, gutfucking, sexual killing, you think about something it was in there). That in itself isn't a problem for me usually. What is though is that the whole anthology (except for one story) is pervaded with hatred. Hatred of sex, hatred of women, hatred of sensuality, of love, of people. The negativity is so pronounced and so encompassing, along with all that hatred, loathing and self-loathing, that I just hope I'll never meet anyone like that.
I'm not going to say much about the actual content, as these are shorts and that would give away too much.
However, I absolutely loved this book, for mI'm not going to say much about the actual content, as these are shorts and that would give away too much.
However, I absolutely loved this book, for me it went from hilarious to tearjerking, never anything less than erotic, even if sometimes only in minute places, and completely, totally fresh! That was what delighted me most: these are stories you haven't read a hundred times before, they are original, fantastic and in a sense very real, very down to earth.
The author needs to work on her blurb, for it is a pity these stories are obviously read by the wrong crowd. This is rather dark, and no easy erotica or even overblown, tropey Fifty Shades-style erotic romance. If there's one author I'd compare these stories to content-wise then it is Remittance Girl. Not as polished as her, but as original and deeply erotic as her.
1. A Most Surprising Date - 4*
Thoroughly enjoying this! Hilarious! ;)
2. Suzie's Lessons - 4*
Original :)
3. Riding the Devil's Horse - 3.5*
A bit too long, but I loved that, including the ending.
4. Notes from Roissy, Cleveland, Ohio - 5*
A lovely, lovely take on realities. And again a wonderful twist at the end!
5. Topper - 5*
Oh dear, what a lovely, lovely twist!
6. A wife of No small promise - 5*
Bloody mean! And superbly entertaining.
7. A necessary beating - 5*
Ouch.
8. INR - 5*
Fantastic!
9. Portrait of a Wife as a Middle-Aged Woman - 5*
Breathtaking. Reduced me to helpless tears, at times deeply erotic....more
That said it's not really horrific, there are no awful things described, there's no on-screen sex or vioTake heed of the tags, this is indeed non-con.
That said it's not really horrific, there are no awful things described, there's no on-screen sex or violence, that's all just hinted at. But damn, this is one intelligent little short! Just like one of the old episodes of Twilight Zone: very creepy.
Loved it, right down to the twist at the end. ...more
I read that last year and was rather not taken with anything in it: the characters are unlikeable, the BDSM is fantasy non-con, people get tortured, eI read that last year and was rather not taken with anything in it: the characters are unlikeable, the BDSM is fantasy non-con, people get tortured, extorted and all but lynched (all of which is justified by the perps as some just consequence or what), the sex is barebacking tied up subs (anonymously to boot) and none of it is in any way erotic. There's gay porn I can enjoy, Christopher Pierce or Jeff Mann for example, but not this....more
--and that only for the first half of the first chapter.
This started out quite interesting, and I certainly would have liked reading a 1.5* actually--
--and that only for the first half of the first chapter.
This started out quite interesting, and I certainly would have liked reading a solid and serious take on sexual abuse by the clergy, even with incest thrown in for good measure. Either like Angel and Pretty When She Cries or more along the lines of Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave and Boys For Sale.
Instead what I got was a long, long, booooring string of very unerotic porn geared to be the most shocking possible with some totally incredible mystery/crime plot rife with facts stretching my suspension of disbelief well beyond final breaking point. I found myself skimming only by the time I had reached 30-35%.
I should have been warned upon reading the author himself stating "the story was intended to push the envelope in a realistic way...". That attempt failed, considerably. Instead the book reads like a contest of who can shock the most, exactly like your average 12 year old daring his friends to lick lamp post far down in winter. Childish.
Apropos childish, yes of course this was written so that you get the impression of seeing a far less than 18 years old teen having sex with and being raped by assorted adults, including his father, monks and a priest. 14 or 15 might be the age the author actually aimed at. Which, while this puts Diego below the AoC of 16 (which is normal where I live) still didn't shock me into hot frissons of debauchery.
It all was trying so hard as to be ridiculous and speaking way more of the hangups behind the work than anything else....more
I don't think the rape was in any way glorified. Thus I do not agree with the Amazon ban, even if this were a good reason to ban a book.
Else I too3.5*
I don't think the rape was in any way glorified. Thus I do not agree with the Amazon ban, even if this were a good reason to ban a book.
Else I took this more or less like a horror story, at times it reminded me in its inevitability of Hellraiser or just about anything Stephen King wrote, but a Stephen King on a bad trip rather than his usual self. There was, curiously, a very satisfying end.
It was logical in itself, and certainly took up several strands of considerations which seem to be valid to some women and get thrown back at them or played with in a lot of erotic fiction.
What rang a bell for me and certainly got me thinking was the point about so many women indeed feeling the need to be forced into enjoying sexuality which is a consistent subliminal actuality within BDSM relationships and sexuality. Confronted with this, from the mouth of a rapist, no less, shows me once again why I fail to react positively or even just excitedly to a large amount of erotica: I'm devoid of this problem. Here it made me wonder how things would be if those many women, who can't freely enjoy their sexuality without someone "pushing" them into that, also were devoid of these inner restrictions. If anything I am thankful that this story set me thinking....more
I was and am very underwhelmed with this, it's barely 1.5* and the half star is because the writing doesn't completely suck.
The story though sucks onI was and am very underwhelmed with this, it's barely 1.5* and the half star is because the writing doesn't completely suck.
The story though sucks on as many levels as the wild mix with US bestiality cases or PETA-style stuff, there was nothing erotic, hot or titillating about any of this. Nothing truly depraved either. The whole thing left a huge "meh" feeling....more
I dislike cliffhangers, with a more satisfying ending this would have been a full 5*.
~~~~ Spoilers ahead! ~~~~
Th5* - 1* (due being a cliffhanger) = 4*
I dislike cliffhangers, with a more satisfying ending this would have been a full 5*.
~~~~ Spoilers ahead! ~~~~
This is a book about the dark side of sadomasochism. I'm not talking about what you commonly get there: a tale of atrocities heaped upon each other, usually emotionless as hell, some competition in who can recount the most horrific torture of 'em all. No. This book is about the hapless person having a paraphilia, the sadist who can't change his ways and SUFFERS because of it as much as his victim.
I get Jason all the way and back, I am absolutely sorry for him, and Khan did a magnificent job in bringing us up close to a sexual sadist who can't channel his needs into BDSM***, because that will simply not be enough to satisfy him. And by God he suffers, he falls in love with his victim, and instantly gets divided between his sexual self (Ty) and the rest of himself (Jason). He wants to rescue his beloved and at the same time he still wants to hurt him.
The story itself is truly horrific, unlike for example such similar themed stories as Waiting in the Throes which is in comparison as unreal as a comic strip or manga with its emotionless depiction of further-wider-higher of torture and its cardboard characters. Angel on the other hand delves deeply into the realistic emotions of real people, not shying away from showing us all the shades there are instead of just black and white. The two deaths, described in spare, elegant and cutting prose, are a hundred times more gruesome and making this story so much grittier in their matter-of-factness, than anything else I recently read attempting to do a realistic take.
***HERE in THIS story you get to see the difference between BDSM and sadomasochism! This difference is why I so often breathe fire and see red over people touting the acronym of BDSM when of rights they should stick to "sadomasochism" instead! ...more
The tropes around billionaires and their secretaries and underlings (even though this one is male) bore me. This isn't a BDSM book, it's two guys playThe tropes around billionaires and their secretaries and underlings (even though this one is male) bore me. This isn't a BDSM book, it's two guys playing at it, unsafely to boot.
Otherwise this is well-written prose, quite well-edited, no major plot-holes either, though far too many cliches, and too much of the plot just fell into each other like one of those not too difficult puzzles for toddlers.
Three stars as in the GR-type of "meh", not erring much into the bad, but also not into the really good stuff.
The lack of SSC/RACK from someone who has a backstory of a severe BDSM accident, bothered me way more than the actual pain levels and play. It makes Rase a male version of the TSTL heroine.
As to the level of the SM, I wouldn't call this "heavy S&M" at all, as so many reviewers do. It was just humiliation and some rather crude play without any seeming purpose or knowledge.
What I couldn't get over, however, was how heavyhanded and pat the story itself was. Why would a billionaire need to look at a menial worker for satisfactory sex? Why should someone that rich ever have a problem getting what he wants?
Stereotypes: the rags to riches billionaire/boy thing--check, the bitchy wife--check, the understanding other ex--check, the son of course comes around--check, the stockroom boy is a Cinderella (lawyer) and socially acceptable--check, the BDSM is of course mindblowing--check, everything ends up with a smooth and tidy bow tied around it--check, of course the boy gets his vengeance--check.
**spoiler alert** Somewhere between 2 and 2.5*, as in "it was okay, not bad, but I also did not like it."
I took a variety of things away from this, ma**spoiler alert** Somewhere between 2 and 2.5*, as in "it was okay, not bad, but I also did not like it."
I took a variety of things away from this, mainly that it bored me to distraction, that it dripped with hidden misogyny, that some people have a grave problem with bodily wastes, and that I could finally pinpoint why I dislike Leather to quite a degree. It also was way too dressed-up with religion for my taste, and maybe also too US-centric for me.
But let us start at the beginning. Of course this is no book about BDSM, for which you'd need SSC/RACK present. Instead it's abuse, assault and rape, start to finish. Just to clarify, that I am absolutely not okay with the attempt of selling what happens as being anything else but rape and assault.
Now, I do like reading such content, if presented in an either interesting, or in a titillating manner, or even bringing both of that together. Unfortunately already the "interesting" is a full failure here. Apart from the first few chapters, there is endless repetition of bodily wastes being ingested, of whippings, ejaculations and a long, long, very long series of improbable or impossible acts involving balls and penes. For me it got very old already around the 30% mark.
Having studied quite extensively a variety of brainwashing techniques, gay-conversion therapy, aversion training/therapy, operant conditioning and for instance also prison and male rape, and real torture, I have trouble believing in what is described taking place as is described. The inner monologue was quite simply too pat, too easy, too willing. As if sexual orientation can be trained. And as such this was very distasteful to read:
Men, who've been raped for years in prison, and treated as "wives" by their rapists, get out of prison and are as heterosexual as before. Victims of severe sexual torture can develop a number of problems, illnesses and idiosyncrasies, but they don't change sexual orientations. Gay-conversion therapy is known to fail. This book was written before the fact that you get born with your sexual orientation was well-known. But even knowing this doesn't make it any less offensive on that count. Spreading such a message and seen with today's knowledge, this book is in my opinion deeply homophobic.
I'd have possibly forgiven these issues, The Brig is 30 years old after all, if at least I'd have found it erotic. I didn't. There were one or two twinges, but on the whole I was neither turned on by that most times very simple, child-like inner monologue of the soldier, which to me kept insisting he can't be adult, nor enamoured with all that religious stuff and pseudo-philosophic musing. Urine, shit, sweat and ejaculate and playing with them like a toddler doesn’t turn me on. That is no taboo for me, so I do not even get a frisson of the forbidden. And in the amount described here it’s simply—very.very.boring.
The magically ever-growing penis sizes, whole quarts of semen shot up like cannonballs into poor sodding rectums (and those guys aren’t even described as having milk-can-sized balls!), beatings without the least bit of finesse, all that male posing: it all got old very fast and none of it was even slightly erotic. The subject of all that attention may tell me a hundred times how aroused he is by all that, if he can’t bring it over to me in a manner so I get aroused, I’m not. I guess you have to have those taboos to be titillated.
Two things left me with a distinctly bad taste in my mouth. One was the hidden, yet constant misogyny, which culminated in the scene with the soldier wearing a dress. Yuck. The other was my dislike for the glorification of the military, and the leather scene building on it. The attempts at subversion were too feeble and half-hearted for my taste.
It was adequately written, the prose nothing I noticed any which way, meaning it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good either. The story arc itself was held and worked with, but try as I might I cannot see the main character evolving or changing. He was as placid and simple at the end as at the start.
Would I rec this? Maybe as a curiosity of bygone time to some. Others, who get off on body wastes might get more out of it. ...more
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