Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best in the series., July 2, 2009
The other two were great, but I thought the conclusion was the best in the series. I was glad things were tied up and though I was sad to see it go, I had fun while it lasted! Anne Rice is a top notch writer and she should be applauded for her efforts at writing bdsm, some of which can be a bit trying, to say the least. This one, however, goes on the permanent bookshelf, or in the nightstand--haven't decided yet! Another good bdsm novel: Eager To Please.
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43 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Control and Compliance in a more Exotic Locale, June 17, 2000
The third and concluding chapter in Anne Rice's erotic retelling of the sleeping beauty fairy tale, sees Beauty, Tristan, Laurent, and some secondary slaves from the village kidnapped and whisked away to more sensual adventures in an unnamed Arabian kingdome. Armed with first person dialogue and reflection through Laurent [the rebellious, willful fugitive slave from book 2], and a more exotic locale/plot, this chapter in the story was considerably more interesting than the second, which I gave 3 stars. Part of the allure of this version for me was a release from the utter crudity of the European castle and village. Beauty's escapades with the Sultan's harem and his main wife were presented with a lot more sublime sensuality than the whipping and paddling of the previous books. Laurent's transformation from slave to master mentality and his ability to exist moving seamlessly between the two are also compelling aspects. The slaves eventually relish their time with the Sultan above all else, having even their higher reason sublimated. They are told not to talk, nor to express anything other than the most rudimentary understanding as they are used as sex toys, or living sculptures to line the Sultan's gardens, bed, bath, etc. It is this complete abasement and personality disintegration that Tristan, the most philosophical of the group, touches on when asked why he loves it so. Religious and philosophical thoughts of the region combine to show them that they are simply cogs in a grander scheme, and they take pleasure and freedom in this anonymity. Further plot break-down would lead to spoilers, so suffice it to say there is eventually closure for each of the characters. Upon completing the series I feel better about it than after the second book, it helped to think of it anthropologically as if these strange undercurrents were the results of a completely different culture. In that respect it was quite interesting to observe the push for control, compliance, dominance, and love, and question whether that can be squared with ideas of entwined aggression and tenderness. Anne Rice provides the framework and fairy tale, but readers must ultimately decide that answer for themselves.
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25 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Erotic Themes by "Serious" Writers... Truth or Consequence?, November 23, 1999
By A Customer
The risk a "serious" author takes when s/he writes erotic fiction is very real. Part of her audience may vilify her, she may risk loss of her publisher's good will, and the scorn of her colleagues. The consequences are potentially very severe. But some authors, like Miller or Joyce, have contended that if an author fails to explore erotic themes, s/he risks missing the whole truth about humanity. So Anne Rice appears to have ventured in search of the truths to be found in eroticism, and risks the consequences. God bless her. I found the idea that a major author like Anne Rice would write a graphic erotic novel trilogy irresistible, so I bought all three and read them stright through. I was pleasantly surprised, although less titillated than I thought I might be. Yes, there's plenty of hot sex, and plenty of kinky sex, and a plethora of male homosexual activity (I suspect Anne's making a point, there... that women get turned on by men having sex about as much as men get turned on by the lesbian stuff), so it's not a book likely to be found in Jerry Fallwell's library. I think. But I was far more intrigued by the way Rice approached her erotic theme, and the slow development of it, than in the erotica itself. This is a damn good series of books, erotic or not. The interesting thing about this series is that Anne has taken the job of writing erotic fiction with the same sort of zeal that she writes about vampires, or art, or music: that is, she's not even attempted to write something in the erotic mainstream, she's plunged in on the fringes of what's socially acceptable, sexually speaking, and in doing so has fashioned a work which transcends the merely pornographic. She has not shied away from graphic description of sexual acts, but she hasn't wallowed in them, either, for which I am grateful. She has used her descriptions of sexuality, and her characters' emotional responses to these acts, to say something about trust, love, and strength of character. There are few villains in this trilogy, but many heroes and heroines. I disagree with readers who feel the lack of character development in the Beauty books. No, Anne hasn't gone on for pages and pages describing her hero and heroine, as she has done in her vampire works, but that's not all bad. This is a different kind of writing, a different kind of book. She has sketched her characters, but sketched them truly and well. No, they aren't rich and full, as her vampires have been at times, but they are not flat and toneless, either. The reader is forced to look for them by the style of the book. Laurent fairly springs from the pages, if you look for the contextual clues to what makes him tick. (Guys, ask your girlfriend if you don't believe me on this one.) Male readers who find homosexuality threatening will perhaps not find him easily, because it's in the gay scenes that we see him revealed most clearly, right up until the end, when he is revealed most clearly. Beauty's character is perhaps easier to find, especially in Beauty's Release, but in any case all three books need to be taken together to get a real sense of who Anne intended her to be. These books are well worth reading, not just for the eroticism, but for the satisfaction of reading a good story, well told.
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