1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Soft Philosophical Sex Does Not Sell This Book, November 22, 2009
This review is from: The Winds of Asharra - Volume 1: First-flight (Paperback)
What I was expecting was a solid fantasy or science fiction novel with a good sensual basis that didn't hide the sexual content. What I got was a book with a solid philosophical message -- sex is natural and good -- with an odd need to hide this behind a lot of made up jargon and a very thin veil of fantasy. I want to deal with these issues separately.
I can get behind the basic philosophy that sex is natural and good. If the book stayed there, that could be a plus but it doesn't. Instead it feels the need to flat out state repeatedly that the only real knowledge is that what you get through sex and anything not related to sex is inferior. OK, maybe this is more an erotic novel then but if it is, why are the erotic elements hidden inside this complex new language?
Creating a new language or reinterpreting an old, dead one isn't new, I do it myself, but this book could use a dictionary of some basic terms. Not to mention that since a lot of the creatures on Asharra are telepathic why do they speak outloud at all? Why have such differences in language? Why not simply use our language in different ways so your audience can follow more easily?
The book starts off in our world with two young adults. They are adults, age 18, and yet phrases like "young boy/girl" are used to refer to our main characters often. This made me wonder if the author needed to revise the ages for publication, yes, even self-publishing companies do have standards of this sort. These two people are suddenly in this other world, too suddenly because frankly I don't know enough about them or their relationship to care that they've been transported and lost their clothes.
Ultimately the fantastical elements of the story feel more like an excuse to talk about nudity, various sexual encounters, meet others with the same sexual needs or new techniques, and continue the display. I never felt like there was a story here to follow beyond sexual adventure. That's fine but then market the book that way. Oh, and by the way, the only sex here is between male and female, no other pairings are shown which gave this philosophical message a heterosexist veneer as well.
Ultimately I was deeply disappointed on all levels by this book but I gave it two starts for attempting to deal with sexuality in a positive fashion when it is sadly common for books to be negative about sex and for having a solid philosophical foundation even if I can't fully agree with it. Honestly it is not a fantasy or science fiction book so much as erotic philosophy.
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