Lauren P. Burka

This is a three stories anthology, 2 stories out of 3, Mate and Whip Hand are about the same couple, d’Schane and Terry (M/M) while The Melting of the Snowflake is a completely different story (M/F).

Mate and Whip Hand are two futuristic short stories with a good, but not too much heavy, D/s theme. Terry is a submissive working as secretary in an iper-technologic firm. During the day he is the perfect employee, and during the night he is the perfect sub for Daphne. Terry doesn’t particularly like Daphne but he craves the touch of a Dom, and female Doms are rare and he doesn’t want to lose her.

After a leak of info on the firm computer system, Terry is questioned by d’Schane, a computer wizard of only 20 years. While Daphne, a tall and strong woman, probably more clever than Terry, fits perfectly the role of the Dom, d’Schane, small and I think also with a complex of inferiority towards his parents, is not exactly what Terry would choose as his partner. But d’Schane doesn’t give him a choice, and by the way, he is the one who manages to beat Terry on a chess game, and I think that Terry more than the physical strength appreciates the cleverness in his possible partners.

They are really a strange couple, Terry so self-confident and balanced and in need of someone who will master him, and d’Schane so jumpy and iperactive, not exactly the epitome of quiet strength that usually you associate with a Dom, but indead he is perfect for Terry. The fact that both of them have never actually considered a man as their preferred partner is almost irrilevant, it’s not their gender that binds them together, but something more deeply. As I said, this is more a match of mind than body.

Even if usually the futuristic settings, above all when they have also an apocalyptic feeling (the world in which Terry and d’Schane are living is so full of pollution they cannot stay outside for long period of time, and the consequences are that the setting is a bit claustrophobic, the characters living always inside some building, with artificial light and no really difference in weather), these two stories were not at all heavy, on the contrary, I found them quite light and sometime even funny. Probably it was a consequence of d’Schane young age, and of his unlikely role of Dom, I read him more like a teenager playing with his parents’ toys, and the little rebellion Terry will have is plenty justifiable.

If I’m to be true, I did’t like so much the third story, The Melting of the Snowflake, mainly since I think the main character, Artere, was worthy of something more. In a fantasy matriarchal, Artere, first son of a queen, was used as a pawn in a political marriage; his sister, the new queen, forged an alliance with a nearby kingdom having his own brother married to the other queen. But queen Keluria treats Artere like a cherished pet, not like an husband; when he is sad, she administer her care to him, when he is good, she almost doesn’t realize he is around. Despite the treatment, Artere longes for her touch like a puppy for his master’s love. But nothing he can do will awake Keluria’s love, and soon Artere will realize that he has no future with her.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UQ6NAY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (plus d'informations)

Wishbone is at the same time classic and innovative. It’s classic where it retells the story of Pygmalion, or My Fair Lady, or Pretty Woman (see how many time it was told?): a wealthy and cultured man picks a filthy whore from the streets and teaches him how to behave. It’s innovative since, what the wealthy man teaches to the whore it’s a totally different thing from the usual lessons on good manners or polished language, but is instead the power you have in surrendering.

From the very first night, to Wishbone, the whore, Sir, a shih-aan, an alien creature that it’s not exactly human, not exactly beast, teaches the fine art of the pain/pleasure games. Without not much than few words, Wishbone experiences a fisting session and we can say that he is happy to be a whore. But it’s not much the physical pain (or pleasure) that makes Wishbone come back to Sir, and maybe not even the prospect of living in comfort, it’s more the curiosity: Sir gave him enough to momentarily sate him, but not enough to placate his thirst of life. Wishbone doesn’t know at the moment, but Sir is preparing him not to submit but to dominate. In many points we understand that Wishbone is stronger than Sir, first of all the fact that Sir gives out his real name almost immediately, and instead Wishbone lets it go much later in the story.

What at the beginning the reader, through Wishbone’s eyes and mind, can’t understand, is the philosophy of Sir and his people. For them being the one to receive pain during a sexual game it’s not a sign of weakness, but almost a privilege. When Sir “plays” with Wishbone it’s not to punish him, but instead it’s a sign that he is very pleased with Wishbone. Same with Terefar, Sir’s bed slave; he is from a lesser breed, a population that was defeated in battle. To Wishbone, Terefar is someone to commiserate, true, they more or less do the same work, but at least Wishbone is the only owner of himself. What Wishbone doesn’t understand is that Terefar is happy with his life, he has no desire at all for something different. Terefar is not to commiserate since he is “forced” to be a slave, he is to commiserate since he doesn’t know how to desire more; Terefar is comfortable with his life since he has no wish for something different. To prove to Wishbone how Terefar’s people is really defeated, Sir tells him that they are no more able to write poetry… poetry is the language of the heart more than the mind, and where there is no heart, there are no desires.

Terefar is not contender to Wishbone for Sir’s affection: first of all he has no desire to be, and second, and more important of all, Terefar has no feelings for Sir other than the ones he would have for everyone who was his master. And probably for this same reason, Sir is searching, needing for someone different. He is not displeased by Terefar, Terefar is doing perfectly his job, but he can’t be nothing more than a pet. Wishbone draws Sir since he can play the role of a pet, but for sure he is not.

To appreciate this tale you have to put back some of the boundaries that usually people who read romance have; there is no concept like fidelity or exclusivity, everything related to sex is more a question of amount of power than a simple stress relief. When Wishbone enters the story, he craves sex like and addicted craves a drug; at the end, he will be able to sip it like a expensive vintage wine. That is probably the main lesson that this fantasy “Galatea” learns during his particular tutorage.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16U8M/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (plus d'informations)