12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
reinforcing negative stereotypes, March 7, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Domina : The Sextopians (Paperback)
I was really looking forward to this book. Having read Different Loving several years ago, frankly I expected much more from this author.
First, the main male character is made out to be a wimpy, drifting, whiny idiot. Now how much credit is that giving male submissives? Most of the other "slaves" in this book had stories in their past relating something that made them "damaged". How about showing someone with a healthy past who enjoys S/M for the sheer fun and eroticism of it?
and of course when he gets to the fantasy castle, he's forced to make a decision based on very little knowledge, and is immediately plunged into the heaviest of S/M lifestyles. Give me a break! How about negotiation and informed consent? What about a healthy, communicative relationship instead of one that borders on the emotionally abusive?
I thought this just reinforced negative stereotypes that already abound, of the submissive or "bottom" in a BDSM relationship being someone weak, unwilling to stand on their own, and using the Top as a crutch.
the ending also left me cold. It made me sad for all of us who have to live with this portrayal of a kink that we practice in a healthy and loving way.
Incidentally, Gloria Braeme's NONfiction is still highly recommended - she deals with various kinks in a sensitive and non-judgemental manner. But I wish she'd stick to nonfiction.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
another great book by Ms. Gloria Brame, February 20, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Domina : The Sextopians (Paperback)
this is the "real thing," with real characters i could identify with. the scenes were so hot i couldn't believe a woman could see that far into a man's mind. She really goes deep inside the mind of Arden (malesub who is the main character). i identified with him totally. as i read i felt like She was looking into my soul with a magnifying glass. i never read a D/s book before where feelings were explored in so much detail. i humbly thank Her for that. i read it all in one sitting. i plan to read it again and again. maybe this way i won't make the same mistakes thas Arden makes. i learned something from it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A shivering portrayal of the world of Domina., July 31, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Domina : The Sextopians (Paperback)
Chilling and arousing are but two of the words which describe Gloria Brame's latest book. I found myself inside the mind of Arden McLane. I also imagined being in his cage... naked and exposed. Somehow the author portrays a painstakingly real portrait of a diversely bizarre group of people living in luxurious slavery. One grasps the images of nakedness, helplessness, suffering, pain, and bondage.... and yet feels strangely envious of the people making up this collage of perversion. For they are living large. They have all found their place. They have created their own reality and are living life with no apologies. In support of these themes the author uses shocking images and events to invite her readers into a strange household headed by the beautiful and intelligent Domina. Her group of willing and happy slaves submit to treatment which probably offend the sensibilities of middle america. But then middle America probably wouldn't understand the pleasu! res of being bound to a flying cross.... or the freedom of belonging to HER. As for me, reading this book made me wish I could serve the woman who could come up with such intense fantasies! My heart never stopped pounding the whole way through.
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