Sex Toys of the Gods [Mass Market Paperback]

Christian McLaughlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Jason Dallin, straight (if you'll pardon the expression) from college in Ohio, is working at Video Xplosion rather than in films. But his luck turns when he is asked to house-sit wannabe but talentless actress Fawn Farrar's $10 million Beverly Hills estate. Capitalizing on his new position, he is soon befriended by his all-time favorite star, Marina Stetson, a Janis Joplin-esque singer just out of rehab and trying to make a comeback -- and whose husband Jason secretly covets.

Adding to the drama is Jason's ex-roommate, the incredibly pretentious Tricia Cox, whose struggles to make it as a talent agent take a wrong turn when she contracts her meal ticket, the talented and beautiful Violet Cyr, to a hip-hop sitcom called "Chillin' with Billy."

When Billy turns out to be a talking goat, all hell breaks loose. The trashy, hip young heroes suffer through humiliations galore before they have a chance to make it -- but not before Christian McLaughlin has laid bare in hilarious detail all the foibles and fumbles of a group of happening young people in La La Land in their shameless pursuit of fame, fortune -- and sex.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Scriptwriter McLaughlin toils earnestly to pack sex, sensationalism, and B-list names into his follow-up to Glamourpuss (1994): Here, a wide-eyed Hollywood newcomer finds love, work, and a rock star for a best friend. Jason Dallin, fresh from Ohio, is nursing champagne dreams while punching a time clock as a video-store clerk. By an improbable turn of events, he finds himself house-sitting a $10- million Beverly Hills mansion where his neighbors turn out to be his idol, has-been pop star Marina Stetson, and her husband Hank. Jason's fawning adoration and bottomless knowledge of music trivia win over Marina, who's feeling insecure about her comeback album and who inexplicably doesn't seem to have any other friends. By force of will, Jason keeps his lust for Hank secret. But hunky Hank shows up alone one night, and some manly swimming races evolve into graphically rendered poolside groping. Hank, it turns out, has just realized he's gay and is smitten with Jason. Jason, for his part, wakes up to moral qualms but sorts out his loyalties. Then Marina shows up devastated--she's discovered her husband's gayness, though she doesn't know about him and Jason. And Jason, inspired by the trauma of a recent mugging, writes a brilliant video script for one of the songs on her new album--the needed ticket to the job of his dreams. But what will happen if his best friend and music-industry mentor sees the surreptitiously made video (don't ask) of his night of passion with her by-now-estranged husband? Subplots abound. Jason's former roommate, obsessive-compulsive Tricia, for instance, feels she deserves to move up at the talent agency where she's best known for her neatly typed Rolodex cards. Her frustration turns to revenge when her brutish boyfriend (with an agenda of his own?) coaches her on just how to sabotage her unappreciative boss. A good-natured, unapologetically shallow Cinderella story with X-rated interludes. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Plume; 3rd edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452275199
• ISBN-13: 978-0452275195
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,000,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I read it TWICE, November 17, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex Toys of the Gods (Hardcover)

Call it fluff, call it shallow, call it what you like but this highly entertaining and absolutely hilarious novel will rank as one of my all-time favorites. As a product of the 80s, I could almost HEAR the music McLaughlin was writing about. I could imagine the soundtrack and the wardrobes and, well, it was just flat-out fun and funny. I did it in reverse - read "Sex Toys" and then read "Glamourpuss". Loved them both and like all my fellow reviewers, I'll be at the front of the line for McLaughlin's next novel!!

Might I recommend to those who love Mr. McLaughlin's work...Greg Johnson wrote a book called "Pagan Babies" that has also become another of those read and re-read favorites among my collection. Give it a try.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-Paced Fun!, November 19, 2001

By 

Andrew Michael Criss (Rehoboth Beach, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex Toys of the Gods (Mass Market Paperback)

As with his witty debut, "Glamourpus," Christian McLaughlin pours a bubbly mixture of pop culture and real-life humor that packs a punch. "Sex Toys of the Gods" gives his readers a titillating look inside the Hollywood machine, like "Valley of the Dolls" with a buzz. His second novel will have you laughing out loud and turning the next page faster than you can sing "Shake It Up." After two rounds from this hilarious young writer, I'm ready for another!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Fun Fun, October 29, 2001

By 

Cambel "cambel" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex Toys of the Gods (Mass Market Paperback)

Ok, I'll admit, sometimes you just want to vegitate with some nice brain candy. This author is wonderful for that. Loved his first book "Glamorpuss" and bought this one based on that.

Diiferent style but still great fun. A nice fairly normal mid-west gay boy out in L.A. who has a thing for 80's pop culture, especially a certain girl group called "the Pop Tarts" Well guess who he happens to meet one day due to a lost dog? And what about her hunky husband? Is he? Isn't he? and if he is, is it worth the friendship?

Once again. This isn't war and piece but McGlaughlin's books always leave you smiling and sometimes that is the hardest type of novel to find.