Black Sun (Yaoi) (Paperback)

by Uki Ogasawara (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
I don't know that much about the Crusades. Oh, through my love of history, I may know more than the average person on the street, but this really isn't my favorite time period to study. I think my lack of knowledge helped me in enjoying this release because this is the Crusades as seen through a BL filter, so it s twisted beyond recognition.

There's Leonard, a monastic knight, charged with protecting Gerun fortress. They're fighting against the infidel Turks lead by General Jamal Jan. The monastic knights are vastly outnumbered their defeat and destruction is guaranteed. Well, that is until Leonard gets an idea of how to save the villagers in the fortress. He gives himself over to Jan. Okay, prisoner of war. Got it. Makes sense. They could ransom him off for a boatload of money.

Except, that Jan has other things in store for Leonard. This is where it gets interesting. Jan orders Leonard to strip, not just down to his tighty-whites, but completely bare-ass naked. He then proceeds to bring Leonard off in front of all his troops, then takes him on the floor of the fortress.

Jan then brings Leonard back to Turkey with him to account for his actions to the sultan. The sultan isn't too pleased with Jan s actions, but leaves Leonard to make his own choice. He can either be treated as a true prisoner of war or he can become Jan's sex toy.

The whole thing is well done and very well drawn, but very silly. In fact, my favorite chapter was the last chapter and told from the point of view of Cerberus, a black panther, who is a pet of the sultan. Anything told from a cat s point of view is instant hilarity to me. It just sums up how silly the whole thing is.

I didn't think I was going to be able to say this, but I really am looking forward to the next book to see what happens to these characters. I say try this one just don't expect anything that even remotely resembles historical accuracy in it.

801 released this one without the dust jacket, though. While I m kind of sad to see it go, as it added a nice touch to the books, if they need to do it to save money and keep quality smut coming out to us, then I'm all for it. --Boys Next Door

Product Description
Gerun Fortress, under the command of Officer Leonard de Limbourg, is attacked by the prestigious general Jemaru Jan of the Middle Eastern Empire. With no hope of winning, Leonard offers his head in exchange for the safety of any survivors left in the fortress. But Jemaru isn't into executions, and torturing prisoners of war is much more interesting. Forced to sleep with a man that is his enemy, Leonard's feelings of shame overtake his mind, but lust overtakes his body...

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: 801 Media, Inc. (November 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934129275
• ISBN-13: 978-1934129272
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars truly luscious, November 28, 2008

By	lux "re8" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

WHAT?? An 801 title without a dust jacket, signature binding, or (NOOO!) the four-panel adventures of mascot 801-chan? I suppose it's a reflection of worsening economic times in general and recent in-house personnel shakeups in particular. An especial shame, really, because the lushly decadent historical setting of Black Sun practically screams for equally luxurious packaging...but enough carping about the icing; don't let it dissuade you from enjoying a truly luscious cake! The story concerns Prince Leonard, a young knight whose Holy Land fortress falls to Saracen forces under General Jamal "the Beardless/Shameless". Leonard sacrifices his own freedom - as well as his modesty and chastity - to the darkly playful Jamal for the sake of his men. As both men become captive to their growing passion, however, the jealousies of others in the Sultan's court are aroused...to be continued? The mangaka says yes; make it so for Western readers, 801! Please???

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have, December 9, 2008

By	H. Carson (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The story is interesting and exhilarating. A pure knight (Leonard) is taken hostage in exchange for his soldier's lives. He had thought he was going to be killed, but his captor, Jamal, quickly shows him exactly what type of hostage he will be.

In the beginning Jamal treats him simply as his most favorite toy, but as the story progresses deeper motivations come into play. For his part, Leonard is clearly angry and bewildered by the situation, but comes to have a pull toward Jamal that begins to go beyond the physical.

The last scene in the main story highlights this, and really made me want to read the next book. I am in agreement with the other reviewer, and hope that this Yaoi continues here in the U.S.

To finish, the artwork is superb, with wonderful character detail, and the sex scenes are explicit and numerous.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous, hard and just how I like it!, January 19, 2009

By	The Yaoi Review - See all my reviews

Black Sun has quickly turned into one of my new favorites and every time I read it, I like it more and more. The story is one of military conflict between the Monastic Knights and Middle Eastern soldiers. Prince Leonard de Limbourg has temporarily been placed in charge of the Gerun Fortress during which time he and his 200 Monastic Knights are attacked by General Jamal Jan and his 20,000 soldiers. Not exactly a fair fight and one that spells disaster for our poor Prince. Prince Leonard can see defeat on the horizon and decides to surrender himself and the fortress to General Jamal in return for his soldiers' safe escape. The remainder of the story tells of Prince Leonard's imprisonment by General Jamal, his life as his sex toy and the budding relationship that causes Leonard to face some difficult choices.

If you are looking for a steamy sexually explicit yaoi manga, you've found it. The sex scenes are hot, plentiful, varied and the men themselves are gorgeous. It is definitely an explicitly drawn manga and if there is any censorship to the sexual scenes, it will be hard to find (no complaints here!). Uki Ogasawara is quickly turning into one of my favorite boys' love authors. Her men are gorgeous and the sexual positions are varied and believable. If she has any faults it is that some of her characters tend to look very similar to one another and from title to title, a common problem among many mangaka. However, the two main characters of this title are beautifully contrasted with Jamal having dark skin, hair and eyes and an amazingly drawn body and Leonard with blond hair and blue/gray eyes and although slightly smaller, no less manly (except for maybe some of the rather feminine outfits Jamal likes to put him in). Her illustrations are nicely done and the clothing of the various characters is absolutely gorgeous. You'll be hard pressed to find a single unattractive character in this one.

It appears that this is to be a continuing series as the book ends on a bit of a cliff hanger so I do hope that 801 Media plans on publishing the follow up. The translation is nicely done and I had no difficulty following the speech bubbles. As far as the over all plot, it's better than most but I felt Leonard fell a little too quickly for the man who sexually humiliated him so early on. Plus Leonard is a Monastic Knight, which makes him a knight of God so to speak, so would his feelings for another man come so quickly or at all for that matter? Well, it is a boys' love title so one can't really delve too much into trying to make the plot make sense or you'll just drive yourself crazy. Either way, this is a title I highly recommend to those who like explicit sex. If you want a fluffy yaoi title, steer clear of this one.

Characters = A-
Plot = B+
Sexual Content = A+
Translation = A
Illustrations/Book Design = A

Overall Grade = A