The first story in the anthology is Disciplinary Action by Felicity Brandon and sets the tone for the rest of the anthology. The plot, which is a timeless classic, involves a rather unbelievable young woman in similarly unbelievable circumstances, being blackmailed into sexual submissive by her employer. Ms. Brandon's strength lies in the emotional content of the main character but the action is unfortunately predictable. The antagonist (or depending on your viewpoint, the PROtagonist) Mr. Carlton explains that he has video tape of the main character: Megan, copulating with a fellow co-worker during the Christmas Party, on premises, and then proceeds to fondle her while she's watching. With only the video hanging over her, Megan suddenly finds that not only is she submissive, but likes it, and allows Carlton to punish her with a spanking and screw her brains out. The action is precisely what you would expect and while readers will enjoy the description of Megan's emotional turmoil, they'll be racking their brains trying to explain away her actions, which make no logical sense. Why is Megan willing to submit to this man with so little to sway her? Were she being accused of theft, I could possibly understand it. But a single video of her having fun with a co-worker, off the clock? And before she can even come to an agreement with her employer, the man begins fondling her? Can any one say sexual harassment?
"Disciplinary Action" is followed up by Beverly Langland's "Sandra's Stockings" a short hash of a mess constructed with simple sentences and short prose that makes it choppy and difficult to read. Admittedly, I'm not a foot fetishist and find the idea of sucking some woman's used stockings to be unattractive. But that is the risk of an anthology. The plot revolves around Lucy, a submissive who serves an older woman and happens to be entranced with her stockings, and tells of the day that her life changed as she began to "serve" Mistress Sandra. The narrative bounces between present and past tense abruptly and the entire story is more of a journal than a story with an active plot.
The gem of the anthology is the teaser story "Who is the Keymaster and Who The Key" by Ralph Greco, Jr. In this short tale, classic playboy Ken, who certainly has a thing for his best friend's wife Lisa, gets her to put a chastity cage on his manhood, limiting his usual antics to seething frustration. The sexual tension in this tale is masterfully done and despite the fact that I would never, ever, place myself in Ken's position, I found myself aroused from the idea of it alone. The prose is excellent and the narrative compelling.
We are then subjected to "Daddy’s House" by Angel Propps, a strange conglomeration that adds a healthy dose of confusion to a mix of lesbian sex and punishment. The author does a great job describing the characters and uses adjectives almost to a fault, peppering her sentences with them almost as an afterthought. We are introduced to a powerful dominatrix of a woman in the very first paragraph, only to stare in bewilderment as we learn that she makes her submissive house slaves call her "Daddy". Why? No idea. It makes no sense. It's as if she is so dominant, so testosterone laden, she actually wants to be a man. I always thought that being a dominant woman was about being in control, yet ALSO being a woman. Angel Propps does nothing to explain this disparity. Then things get weirder when either the worst repetitive typo in history rears it's ugly head or for another unexplained reason, the submissive women living with "Daddy" are called "grrls." Yes, you might have noticed there are no vowels in the world "grrls," which made no sense to me and was instantly classified in the same category as the lesbian dominatrix being called "Daddy". After carefully filing those two oddities in my WTF drawer, I moved on through another formulaic plot that was saved from borishness by the author's capable action scenes. The punishment she inflicts upon the "grlls" is creative and interesting, but the sexual tension really doesn't move in any direction.
Lastly we are given "The Art Master" by J. Smith, another story with a plot concept so old and unlikely that it almost scares me. I'm not sure if J. Smith is a woman or man, but rest assured regardless of the author's gender, there are not many men out there who are "professional dominants" and sell their services to highly attractive woman who secretly wish to be abused and ravished by their ideal man. I'm guessing that the "art master" must formally be either an Old Spice spokesman or an Axe commercial guy. With this questionable story base used for the foundation, we are then treated to a repeat of every other spanking sex story every written. Rest assured, I believe that old and well-used plots can be revitalized by a talented author, but it takes creativity to do it. "The Art Master" brings nothing new to the table.
All in all I can't recommend purchasing this book. To put it in baseball terminology, three strikes, one double, and one home run doesn't make the game. Two of the authors, Felicity Brandon and Ralph Greco, Jr. are probably worth reading on their own, but that will have to be a review for another day.
In summary, I give Disciplinary Action a 6 out of 10 rating.
Hi Michael, I just saw this. I'm Angel Propps. Daddy in the lesbian community does not have to denote masculinity. Feminine Daddys abound. Grrl is not a typo. It hearkens back to Riot Grrls and is as valid an identity as boi. This is obviously a lesbian story hence lesbian understood honorifics. Hope that clears things up! Angel
ReplyDeleteMs. Propps, thank you for clearing this up. I've been involved in the BDSM and erotica scene for well over a decade and have actually never heard of this before - specifically the "daddy" name, but I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise considering that 1. I'm male, and 2. I am not, and can not be, a lesbian. That said, I wonder why you included it in an anthology that might have a broader audience, readers who might not specifically be lesbian or worse, have absolutely no knowledge of that particular terminology. In general anthologies are an opportunity for authors to broaden their exposure. Using terminology that is highly selective to a limited readership is like going to a party with a dentist and listening to his latest opinion on bicuspid endodontic alveoloplasty. It sounds cool but you have no idea what the hell the guy is talking about. I've also now been confronted with my lack of knowledge concerning the 1990's punk rock scene. The wiki article made for some fascinating reading. My thanks.
ReplyDeleteMichael if you had read my bio you would gave seen that I am an international leather titleholder, have been involved in BDSM for decades, sm a well respected teacher on several kinkcentric subjects and attend, on average, 40 events per year as I have been doing for the last decade. Ageplay is hardly specific to lesbians. I cannot believe anyone heavily involved in my lifestyle has never run into the D/g dynamic whether it be lesbian het or otherwise.I wrote the story for an audience knowledgable on kink. I'm female and lesbian but since I'm so involved I'm not only cognizant of terms perhsps not relevant to my own lifestyle choices but specific to my lifestyle. I appreciate your constructive criticisms however. Glad you enjoyed learning about the genesis of a term used to denote identity both lesbian and het in nature.
ReplyDeleteAll typos property of my phone.:)
DeleteMs. Propps, you make an assumption that is slightly off the mark. My issue was not with the age play in your story. That is common among all kink lifestyles. My issue, and apparently demonstrative of my ignorance, was your use of the vernacular "daddy" when referring to a female, lesbian, dominatrix. I had never encountered that before and found it bewildering in the context provided. While in your sphere of operation (UK) it might seem common and prevalent, I can assure you that elsewhere a Daddy/Girl relationship would be described as a dominant male with a submissive girl, emulating an incestuous relationship, and with the submissive acting in a childlike manner. So I hope you can forgive my stupefaction at the monikers of your story.
DeleteI live in the US. I can assure you D/g relationships consisting of het couples as you describe are not the only Ageplay that is prevalent. Again, I attend 40 plus conferences a year and am at one now. I can count 6 lesbian ageplay couples and 3 het D/g couples as well as aixed poly triad with a patriarch who is a male identified woman. Your assumption that ageplay mimics incest is insulting and also shows your lack of education on the dynamic. Please note in my bio it states quite clearly that I'm in a D/s dynamic with a Daddy who is also a lesbian and that i have been teaching classes on the subject for a decade.The problem is that you are calling my character a dominatrix, a term associated with professionals rather than lifestylers. The main character is clearly in charge of her house.House as in poly triad house run on protocols and rules.She is clearly NOT a dominatrix. Furthermore and to your question as to why I would write a lesbian a BDSM story for an anthology rather than a het one in order to gain more exposure, why don't you write outdide of your own sphere?
ReplyDeleteMs. Propps, obviously we have a failure to communicate and I blame myself, since evidently I have not been clear. I have no objections to you writing an age play story, or a lesbian BDSM story, for an anthology. My issue was with your terminology. I had never, ever, heard of the "Daddy/grll" descriptors. Furthermore, my point about the anthology was that your story descriptors were from a specific field. If I may quote you, the "40 plus conferences a year... [with] 6 lesbian ageplay couples and 3 het D/g couples as well as aixed poly triad with a patriarch who is a male identified woman." That very sentence makes my eyebrows go up. What is an "aixed poly triad?" I can't find a definition for "aixed" and while I might presume it is a misspelling, we know where that assumption got me with "grlls." Then there are the descriptors of both "poly" meaning "many" and "triad" meaning "three." So which is it? Many or three? While I have no doubt that in your sphere of influence "male identified women" are the norm, many of the people I would expect to purchase the anthology have not only never even heard of "male identified women", but are baffled by it. Why would any woman want to be identified as a male? That said, I'm not even implying you can't or shouldn't write about it. My criticism was that for an anthology, which is designed to bring MORE READERS to an author's collection, writing a story with such specific jargon is off-putting. I'll let you have the last word...
ReplyDelete