55 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not For Everyone, April 13, 2003
This review is from: The Compleat Slave: Creating and Living an Erotic Dominant/Submissive Lifestyle (Paperback)
From the back cover of the book: "Whether you are a novice D/s player or an experienced Master or slave, this insightful and forthright volume will prove to be a great read and a valuable reference guide." NOT.
This was a disappointing read, given that it purports to be about creating and living an erotic dominant/submissive lifestyle. It is certainly about how Rinella does/did it, but as he points out again and again throughout the book, all relationships are different, as are the people in them. Anyone who's already started down the path to making their own D/s relationship work won't find much of use here, unless they happen to be very Rinella-like in their views and preferences. We learn an awful lot about Rinella and what he likes, and almost nothing is mentioned about the slave and how he handles being a slave, overcomes challenges, finds satisfaction in his choices, etc. Shouldn't a book called "The Compleat Slave" be about *slaves*?
As a guide for newbies to coming out into the leather scene, it's probably pretty good, but that's not what the book is supposed to be about, according to the title and jacket blurb.
There is no soul to this writing; if you're actually interested in living the slave lifestyle, you won't find much of use here. Rinella does say that to be a good slave you must be obedient and worshipful, but then gets bogged down in details of how to use personal ads and leather bars to find a partner, how to negotiate scenes, how to [satisfy], etc. All good information for some people, but not what I was expecting when I bought the book...
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, July 4, 2002
This review is from: The Compleat Slave: Creating and Living an Erotic Dominant/Submissive Lifestyle (Paperback)
There should be more, much much more, material about the sublime nuances of the Master and slave dynamic than what there is presented in this work. Instead the author provides the audience with material that can be easily found at any community mental health organization that sponsors courses on intimate relationships. Instead of reading about these issues it would be time better served to attend community mental health establishments to get the hands on assistance about intimate relationships -- at least there would be one on one help with the issues this author writes about. There is little to no real application much needed for the subtleties of the Master and slave dynamic. Nice try but no cigar. This author doesn't seem to be getting it and to use an old English term to suggest that Compleat is suggestive of possessing awesome insight into this topic is quite misleading to the literary public -- nothing more than a lackluster etymological word-play game. Disappointing is the best term that I can manage to evoke to describe this work but then again what could anyone expect from the author of The Master's Manual (should be entitled A Master's Manual).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Its about relationships, not a how-to, October 21, 2004
This review is from: The Compleat Slave: Creating and Living an Erotic Dominant/Submissive Lifestyle (Paperback)
This book is somewhere between the slave training guides by "Miss Abernathy" and the idealized multitude of "first-person" stories you can find anywhere. This is not a how-to manual. This is instead a look at relationships and how they might actually work or not work using one man's life as the basis. He covers about every topic I can think of that a gay master-slave couple might encounter but there are no how-to details here as he states in his introduction. Frankly given the personal nature of the book I wish the stories could have continued, often we just see snippets that left me wanting to know more especially on the slave side of the relationship. If you are looking for someone to give you the "one true path/method" look elsewhere. Looking to think more and be reassured that yes, love can equal ownership; this is a good book to start with.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
