This memorial day weekend I perused Disciplinary Action, a brief anthology of short stories by several different authors linked with Xcite Books, a publisher of erotica. There were five stories included in the anthology. Overall the collection isn't bad, however it certainly wasn't worth the $2.99 cost. Anthologies generally need to be used by publishers as a sort of means to introduce their pantheon of authors. My primary issue with the price was that overall the collection was only 51 pages long. I sell full length novels for $2.99 and in the cutthroat industry of e-book erotica, $2.99 for a 51 page anthology is a death sentence. I'd have serious reservations about buying another Xcite book again unless I knew the author and loved their work.
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.
