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Posts Tagged ‘JMS Books’

When Darkness Falls by KC Grim

Posted in Authors: G-I, D+, Paranormal, Romance, tagged , on May 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

whendarknessfallsTitle: When Darkness Falls
Author: KC Grim
Length: 7,467 words
Publisher: JMS
Genre: m/m Paranormal Romance
Rating: D+

Blurb: Shadow Chasers are dark and mysterious creatures of the night, among the oldest supernatural beings walking the earth. Their strength and ability to manipulate the darkness makes them powerful, but everyone has a weakness.

Jet is no exception. He’s always used his good looks and sex appeal to his own advantage. Never being the settling down type of guy, Jet is content with loving both men and women and then leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

After jilting one too many lovers, Jet suddenly finds himself banished to the farthest reaches of the world, the Arctic Circle. Can a creature who has existed for centuries locked in darkness survive in the land of the midnight sun?

Review: You know, unfortunately this story started off on a bad foot for me. One of my pet peeves is when the blurb gives more information about the story than the story itself. I finished the story feeling like I’d just been caught in a small worldwide, with the pace moving incredibly fast with little to no transition between scenes and knowing hardly anything about the characters but a few superficial facts. Then I read the blurb again, and much more of the story fell into place for me. But, that’s not a good thing. The story should be able to stand by itself.

The basis of the story is a love triangle between Jet, a shadow chaser (a supernatural being whose power comes from the darkness), his best friend and jilted lover Roderick (who is a vampire), and the human who rescues and nurses Jet back to health after Roderick and his whole team turn against him and try to kill him. Holton (the human) is perhaps the most perplexing because we know very little about him, only that he’s nursing a broken heart. Really, that’s pretty much the whole story — what, with proper explanation, character building and deeper plotting — would have been a novella or a novel condensed into 20 pages by rushing the scenes (at breakneck speed), jumping large pieces of plot and not really exploring the characters at all but for a few sentences about them.

I’m afraid that I just can’t recommend this story at all. I’ve never read anything by this author before, but I hope that their other stories slow down a little and allow the story time to unfold. To be completely frank, this story seemed much like a storyboard. The five or six major scenes of a larger story written down and then bunched together. I was so confused while I was reading it with the story jumping around all over the place and not giving us many clues about what was going on. And while, at the end, I finally understood what happened in the story, it missed so much that should have been there: getting to know the characters, understanding their motivations.

So, no I’ll have to say that you should skip this one. I’ll definitely give the author another go though, and hopefully I’ll have a better experience with their other stories.

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You Rock! by Drew Hunt

Posted in Authors: G-I, C+, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , on May 6, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

yourockTitle: You Rock!
Author: Drew Hunt
Length: 8,419 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m Contemporary Erotic Romance
Rating: C+

Blurb: Driving home from a concert, William Prout worries his rock star vocalist boyfriend Alex “Tank” Sherman is about to dump him. Things haven’t been the same between them since Tank and his nu metal band went to New York City to discuss a recording contract. William doesn’t think their relationship can withstand the increased publicity Tank’s fame will attract. Already Tank is withdrawn, distracted, and won’t answer any of William’s questions.

William’s fears heighten when Tank directs him off the highway and along a series of dirt tracks. Where are they going? Will the end of their car journey also be the end of them as a couple, or has Tank worked out a way to have both a career and William?

Review: It’s been quite a while since I read anything by Drew Hunt, probably over a year for sure. That was one of the reasons I was attracted to this short, the other because it’s about a rocker.

The relationship front and center in You Rock! is shown through brief flashbacks during a car ride after a concert. William, the narrator, is driving after picking up his boyfriend of three years and lead singer of an up-and-coming nu metal band. “Tank” is obviously distant and quiet, a fact that leads William to fall on old doubts and insecurities to understand his behavior. William worries most of all that their relationship is headed for the end now that Tank is hitting it big. Tank has just come back from New York City before their concert with the rest of the band, a couple of which aren’t big fans of William; of course, it would be easier for Tank to start his career playing it straight, something that would come easy to him, looking at his massive muscles and rough exterior.

But William’s coping mechanisms are few and far between. The silent drive is peppered with William’s continual attempts at awkward conversation and Tank’s one word answers. And as his relationship is walking the plank, William goes over the high and low points of their history like some travesty of a death scene — their memories flashing before his eyes. But what comes at the end might not be exactly what William is setting himself up for.

William and Tank come across the story, not exceptionally strongly, but enough to get a general idea of their personalities. We get a stronger sense of William than Tank, but that isn’t surprising. Tank is a strong, silent character who even after three years remains a bit of a hero in William’s eyes. William’s fears and insecurities come across strongest to the reader, not simply because as the narrator his perspective is in the foreground, but because that perspective is so strongly biased toward his own self-worth — a leftover from an abusive past relationship.

There’s a fine balance in a short story between showing and telling. The ratio might get lost in a novel unless the writing drastically relies on telling. But a short story is judged by a higher standard because the effect comes across more strongly and I felt like this story had a few telling problems. Some readers might not have a problem with that in this story, but I definitely saw it as room for improvement, especially because of the flashback scenes. Because William is drawing on these memories and then, in between, returning to the present time, they stand out quite a bit. Showing the scene with more dialogue would have given us a better sense of Tank that isn’t skewed by William’s awe, wonder, love and incredible need for him, and made the story feel longer and more full.

As always, that’s just my take on the story. I didn’t really find the direction of the story surprising or exactly original. And while I enjoyed it, I couldn’t say I really liked it either, having found William to be a somewhat needy and emotional character (no matter how accurate that might be considering his history). Personally, I would have enjoyed the story sans sex. It felt a bit like it was tacked on at the end.

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Busted by Chuck Willman

Posted in Authors: V-Z, C, Contemporary, Erotica, tagged , on April 14, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

bustedTitle: Busted
Author: Chuck Willman
Length: 10 pdf pages, 2634 words.
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m contemporary erotica
Rating: C

Blurb:

A hot, young party boy is speeding home after a birthday party, taking a usually quiet back desert road. But on this particular night, a hunky motorcycle cop is waiting in the shadows, ready to catch his prey in a speed trap.

The motorist gets caught, and the cop has a few of his own methods of “punishing” hot-shot drivers. The desert night leads to some scorching action the young driver won’t soon forget.

Review:

This is a freebie, and as such it represents excellent value for money! If there had been a charge, though, I would have felt ripped off at this length, as there isn’t time for anything more than a down and dirty sex scene, with little characterisation to speak of.

The nameless narrator is young and irresponsible, speeding in his brand new car along a desert road at night, while wearing very skimpy clothing and probably over the limit with alcohol. It’s hard to feel much sympathy for him when he’s caught in the speed trap, but I don’t think that’s the idea of this story, somehow. I got the feeling we’re meant to think he gets what he deserves.

The cop remains nameless too, and is a little more than a menacing lump of man muscle with rather unorthodox methods of warning speeding drivers. He orders the narrator out of the car, but rather than making him walk in a straight line, something decidedly un-straight happens. He tells the narrator to bend over the hood of his car, first for a rather intimate frisking with his nightstick, and then a thorough seeing-to.

The following excerpt gives you a good taster of the fun and earthy style of the story.

He kept moving the stick up inside my leg, forcing my thighs to spread. Finally, he began stroking one of my fuzzy testicles that had plopped out of the denim. Then I knew I was in trouble. That nightstick felt amazing against my nut, and I had no idea how to hide that fact!

I know some of the readers of this review site will find the story too crude to enjoy. This is gay erotica aimed at the male reader, and the language is typical of such. There is also unprotected sex, finished off with an activity some will find revolting. It’s also fair to say that some readers might call rape when the sex happens without any verbal consent, and within a power dynamic this pronounced. However, I think the narrator makes it clear that he’s up for what happens, and beyond a complaint about the lack of lube, he seems to enjoy himself.

Since I like gay erotica, these aspects didn’t bother me. The story has a welcome smattering of humour, is narrated with energy, and it certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome. It’s too slight to give it a higher rating, but for a freebie you can’t really go wrong. Unless you’re not a fan of more hardcore gay erotica, in which case I’d advise you to steer clear!

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Ballet Nights by H. Lewis-Foster

Posted in Authors: D-F, B, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , on April 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

balletTitle: Ballet Nights
Author: H. Foster Lewis
Length: 7,017 words  (22 pdf pages)
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m contemporary
Rating: B

Blurb: 

Aaron is a banker who enjoys his single life to the limit. When he goes to the ballet with his friend Nick, Aaron finds the performance pretty dull. But he soon pays attention when the gorgeous Prince Charming takes to the stage, and he doesn’t hesitate when Nick invites him to another ballet. As Aaron spends more evenings at the theater, he meets Frank, a young European. Aaron is captivated by Frank’s accent and his sophistication, but Frank doesn’t fit into Aaron’s routine of bars and casual acquaintances. Aaron is determined to hang on to his old lifestyle, but will Frank tempt him to try something different?

Review:

I confess to being a bit of a ballet junkie, so that may have affected my enjoyment here, although there’s not that much “ballet” in the story. Aaron goes with his theatre reviewer friend Nick to the ballet, and can’t help the wise-cracks and interest in the lead male dancer’s package, which is a top of discussion later on the odds of it being stuffed. A bit later, he’s invited again, only this time due to various snarls, he arrives late and they refuse to let him in, so he has a drink in the theatre bar. He sees a hottie sitting alone and invites himself to join. They get to talking and Aaron enjoys himself. However when Frank leaves just as intermission comes, Aaron is informed that he was talking to non-other than the lead dancer he’d been perving over.

Yet another ballet trip, with Aaron taking the step to contact Frank (François), to Nick’s embarrassment, but Frank shows up and off they go. Only usually Aaron is all about just having fun in bed, but when Frank puts him off with a kiss, he’s puzzled that he went along with it and before long they are dating a lot and to Aaron’s surprise, not having sex, and he sort of likes it. Hmmm.

This story has one aspect which may drive readers crazy. It’s telling, not showing. It’s almost done as if Aaron is telling you about his relationship. You see very little interaction between him and Frank when they are out and even the first time they have sex is told as if Aaron is remembering what happened rather than being in the moment. However it seemed to work for me. Go figure. Perhaps because of the tone of the book, the whole thing being done that way worked.

I liked that Aaron wasn’t obsessed with Frank (or the nameless dancer) in a creepy way, but more in a “that’s hot, I’d do that” way. I think he was a typical guy, (straight or gay) observing the physiques of those he finds attractive, commenting on them, thinking about sex a lot, and enjoying it when it came his way. I liked that Frank, while at first puzzling Aaron, made him realize that just making out could be enjoyable and you didn’t have to have kinky swinging from the chandelier sex to be good sex. I also liked that Aaron kind of screwed up once they started long distance. I just thought he seemed real. The relationship wasn’t perfect, he got snippy with his friend when he started prodding him about being separated and it made him more relatable to me. Also the fact that despite getting involved with a ballet dancer, he never really got into it. He went so he could watch Frank but was usually bored by the rest. Again, probably a realistic reaction for most guys who don’t already enjoy it.

The fact that they don’t declare their love in the first week was nice. LOL It takes place over time to get there and includes time apart. Again, you don’t really see them during that time, but the style of storytelling worked. So it’s not hot and steamy, but it’s sweet and I think the fact they took their time worked for me.

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The Prince and the Cowboy by Sam Singer

Posted in Authors: S-U, C-, Fantasy, Romance, tagged , on April 1, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

theprinceandthecowboyTitle: The Prince and the Cowboy
Author: Sam Singer
Length: 7,889 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m fantasy romance
Grade: C-

Blurb:
Pampered Texan James Walsh has been keeping a secret from his overbearing but well-intentioned mother. When she throws a lavish birthday party in the hopes that he will meet the woman of his dreams, she has no clue James is gay.

But a sudden storm blows rugged, rain-soaked ranch owner Jonathon Ross to James’ doorstep, and suddenly he can’t hide who he is any longer.

Review:
James is Prince of Texas whose mother is determined to see him married off to a princess, as he can only become king if he marries before he is 21. She holds a ball and invites all the local princesses and decides to plant a pea in their mattresses so that she can find James’ true love. James finds it hard to tell his mother that no princess is ever going to be for him, but he suffers through the ball to be polite. When ranch owner, Jonathon, turns up at the ball to collect his sister, James is overcome by the man’s rugged good looks and his rough hands.

This story is a bit like a cross between Cinderella/The Princess and the Pea and an erotic cowboy romance. I don’t think it’s supposed to be taken at all seriously, rather it’s a light and fun story which aims to blend the two genres. That’s all well and good, but for me, the blending wasn’t entirely successful. I think this may have worked better had it been given a different setting other than Texas, because I found that a little jarring. Texas isn’t a kingdom and every time it’s mentioned it niggled at me.

The story is also very over-the-top, with a few unbelievable scenes – such as when James discovers a murderess – which meant that I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I might have done. When Jonathon appears things do pick up a little and I enjoyed the coy interaction between the heroes, and the subsequent sex scene. This is an insta-love story, but given that it’s supposed to be modelled on a fairy tale, that fit in with the genre and I didn’t mind so much. I also rather liked the character of James’ mother, whose overbearing nature didn’t stop me from seeing how much she loves her son.

Overall, this was a decent read if you like fairy tales, but parts didn’t work well for me, even if the romance was quite well done, so it gets a low C from me.

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Clothing Optional by Allen Mack

Posted in Authors: M-O, C+, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , on March 21, 2013 | 2 Comments »

clothingoptionalTitle: Clothing Optional
Author: Allen Mack
Length: 5,200 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m contemporary
Rating: C+

Blurb:

Jim convinces his partner Brad to spend a day at a newly “liberated” beach — meaning nudity is permitted within designated bounds. Brad overcomes his shyness and agrees to go, on the lookout for “watchers” the whole time.

The couple meets others like themselves, some interesting folks, some interested in only one thing. Their little excursion turns out to be far from the quiet, restful vacation Jim originally planned. By the end of the day, the sun isn’t the only thing heating up the beach!

Review:

This was a cute little short about an established couple, buy my curiousity about them meant I felt a bit cheated out of their full story. Anyway, Brad and Jim are going to check out the new clothing optional beach. They even head down to the area where the gay crowd hang out so that Brad will feel more comfortable. It was kind of fun to watch Brad’s reticence and you find out he was a priest before they got together so you can definitely understand his reluctance to bare all on the beach.

However Jim’s (mostly) innocent enthusiasm for frolicking in the water starkers soon wins Brad over, along with some interactions with some other naturists. Soon however an older couple come trotting down the beach and proceed to sit on the shore and shout homophobic obscenities at the couple in the water. Jim wants to just ignore them, but Brad, usually a roll with it guy, finally snaps and confronts them about their behaviour which they try to deny. They eventually scurry off realizing they aren’t going to be allowed to play their nasty games.

I liked how Brad stood up to them, even if there is a bit of a morality lesson about bigots who generally when confronted won’t fight back. So maybe a bit of preaching to the converted, since most of us reading would be firmly on Jim and Brad’s side in this encounter, but I still enjoyed the interaction between the two men. You know they have been together for some time, but I was really curious if they met when Brad was still a priest or after he left the priesthood. I think Brad’s story had a lot of potential as he talks about the hypocritical behaviour of many of his parishioners was what caused him to leave the priesthood.

So I think the author could have fodder for a much longer book about Brad and Jim, but they definitely love each other, that came through clear. So if you are in the mood for something short and sweet, with a few naughty parts waving around in the sand, a good choice to pick up.

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A Model Romance by Michael P. Thomas

Posted in Authors: S-U, C, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , on March 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

modelTitle: A Model Romance
Author: Michael P. Thomas
Length: 6,862 words (22 pdf pages)
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m contemporary
Rating: C

Blurb:

When Bridger Bradford chases the wrong guy to South Korea, he falls in love … with his fantasies about Kai, a model whose handsome mug is splashed across every subway station and bus shelter in the country.

Kai has a big career and big money, but what he really wants is a shot at big, blond Bridger, who can’t believe his luck when the man of his dreams seemingly walks out of the stack of souvenir magazines and right up to him in his favorite San Francisco bar.

Review:

If you can let go of some logic and propensity for coincidence, you may enjoy this story more than others. Kai is one quarter Korean and curious about his heritage. Despite his family’s misgivings, he heads over to Korea to discover his roots. To earn some money, he falls into modeling. Apparently he is white enough to appease the Asian desire for North American models, but has enough of an Asian vibe that he’s soon one of the top models in the country, and even breaks into acting after perfecting his Korean.

Bridger is a bit your typical clueless jock, who came out in university and spends his time being proud of the fact he can get any guy and never has to buy his own drinks. However, he signs up with a religious choir from university to go on a Korean tour with them, in the sole hopes that he can seduce the leader into bed with him. When that goes awry, he discovers Kai, well, pictures of him all over Korea. Before long he’s buying up magazines with his ads and when he gets back to San Francisco, he even frames some of them and has a “shrine” wall in his apartment, obsessing over the guy.

One night at a gay bar he sees what could be the model’s double and figures hooking up with his double is the next best thing to the real guy, but before long, he discovers Kai is the real deal, and they even went to high school together where Kai was crushing on him, and Bridger didn’t know he was alive. Before the night is over, Bridger is agreeing to accompany Kai to the Academy Awards where the Korean film he’s in is up for best foreign film.

Bridger claims to bring guys home all the time, but personally, if I went home with someone and their apartment was plastered with pictures of a model, I’d be freaked out. He is also arrogant about his ability to attract men, and yet he has a good old boy thing going that makes him less annoying than it could have been. Kai came across as a nice guy. Even after he become famous in Korea, he still lives with his model friends and doesn’t seem to have any great desire for the wealth and fame that fell into his lap.

I found the ending a bit rushed and suddenly, after one weekend, Kai gives up his career to move back to the US with Bridger. I think either a longer story letting them get to know each other or a HFN ending would have worked better for me. I did enjoy the story of Kai adjusting to Korea and exploring a heritage his Grandmother had been determined to put behind her. However, as I said, some people will find Bridger’s fascination with an unknown model and the odds of meeting him in a bar rather off-putting, others won’t mind it as a pure form of entertainment.

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The Lone Wolf by K.C. Grimm

Posted in Authors: G-I, D-, Erotica, Paranormal, Romance, tagged , on March 11, 2013 | 4 Comments »

thelonewolfTitle: The Lone Wolf
Author: K.C. Grimm
Length: 6,016 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m paranormal erotica
Rating: D-

Blurb:
Bryson Gilroy never wanted to be a lone wolf, unmated, but coming out to his pack isn’t an option. Alpha males and homosexuals just don’t mix. Even if his father is the current pack master and his twin brother will one day succeed as leader, it’s still better to keep some things secret.

With each passing full moon, the werewolf inside Bryson becomes harder and harder to tame. If the beast gets free, it’ll be impossible to pen back in. Control is an illusion and Bryson knows once he loses it, nothing will ever be the same.

The call of the moon is powerful, but Bryson need relief. A dark, secretive bar called the Iron Side is a place where anything goes, a place for anonymous satisfaction for men by men. Bryson’s plan is simple — get in, get laid, and get out, but the plan changed once he saw the man of his dreams. He is, in a word, beautiful. Bryson never wanted someone so much.

Can Bryson have a one-night-stand with this handsome stranger and just walk away? Will he be able to to his life as a lone wolf knowing this man was still out there?

Review:
Bryson is a werewolf who lives with his brother and chooses not to take a mate. This is because he is gay and firmly in the closet. Things become hard for him as the full moon approaches when he has a strong desire to have sex. This drive leads him to a club called Iron Side where he meets an unnamed man who drives Bryson wild with the need to mate.

The fated mates storyline never works particularly well for me and here it didn’t work at all, mainly because there wasn’t enough in terms of word length to secure the happy ending. Bryson meets ‘beautiful’ in a bar, and they have hard, aggressive and wholly unromantic ouchy sex in a car park, mainly due to Bryson’s humongous cock which extends into a double length werewolf cock at the point of ejaculation. He then leaves ‘beautiful’ collapsed on the hood of a car whilst he makes his escape. Bryson’s urges means he returns to the club the following week and he has more ouchy sex with ‘beautiful’, this time in public surrounded by masturbating bar attendees, after which he claims ‘beautiful’ as his forever. The two men barely exchanged words during the first sex scene and during the second sex scene the main word used is “Mine”. From this I am supposed to believe that these two guys are together forever. I didn’t.

The story is erotica with a tacked on romantic ending. The characters are flat, with ‘beautiful’ having no character at all except for being the receptacle for Bryson’s cock, and Bryson given a little more to do with his fears of coming out to his family but not much else. Bryson’s brother pops in for a short time but serves no purpose in the narrative. If the sex had been hot and exciting, then I may have graded this higher. Unfortunately, it just made me wince.

If you like fated mates stories or stories with rough sex, then this may be one for you. It didn’t work for me at all.

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Jimmie the Adonis by F Gorden Scott

Posted in Authors: S-U, B-, Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, tagged , on March 1, 2013 | 2 Comments »

jimmietheadonisTitle: Jimmie the Adonis
Author: F Gorden Scott
Length: 7,505 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m Contemporary Fantasy Erotica
Rating: B-

Blurb: Jimmy keeps coming into Thomas Sebastian’s magic store. Eventually he plucks up the courage to ask for something to help him win a dance audition at Manny Malone’s gay bar, the Golden Slipper. Jimmy explains he’s desperate for the job to help pay his rent.

The 500-year-old Thomas is captivated by the young man’s sexy good looks. He gives Jimmy a charm with a confidence-boosting spell, warning the spell can only dispense its magic a limited number of times.

Thomas and his boyfriend Kevin go to watch Jimmy’s audition, but when the young man begins his strip tease, it soon becomes obvious Jimmy has already used up all the charm’s magic.

Kevin sympathizes with Jimmie’s plight and urges Thomas to do something. The results surprise and delight the eager and horny crowd, leading to a night none of them will ever forget. But will Jimmie be able to stay in his apartment because of his talent or will it be his fate to finish his audition on Manny’s office couch as so many before him have?

Review: I didn’t know what to expect from this story. F Gorden Scott is a new-to-me author, though his (?) stories have been reviewed before here at Brief Encounters. And the blurb really intrigued me. First, magic and the fantasy element in the modern world, plus strippers? I totally got it and ended up really liking the story.

Thomas is 500 years old and runs a magic shop in Durham, when a lurking visitor “the adonis” finally comes to him to ask for help. The beautiful young man’s name is Jimmie and he’s in dire straits. He’s flat broke, about to lose his apartment, and the only way he can save it is to get the job he’s interviewing for in the next week — as a stripper. The only problem with that (besides the owner of the bar having some different “ideas” about what an interview means) is his total lack of confidence. Thomas is tempted, of course, and helps the young man out with a boost of confidence that will hopefully ensure Jimmie a successful trial run dancing on top of the bar at the Golden Slipper.

There’s a lot to like about this story. The best part is that it doesn’t try to make itself something it isn’t. The story is proud to be erotica, yet at the same time offers a bit of romantic sub-plot with the addition of Thomas’ lover, Kevin. Kevin knows all about Thomas’ power. He’s the first man that has really captured Thomas’ heart in his long life and he understands that sometimes Thomas needs a little extracurricular activity. They maintain a loving, committed relationship, which we get to see when the two show up to witness Jimmie’s big night.

The story is also rather funny. Thomas is world-weary in many ways and for all his young looks shows his age in his comments about the futility of ‘kids these days’. Thomas is a larger than life character, whose charm draws the reader in along with the characters.

I had a bit of confusion both in the beginning and the end of the story. As the story starts we get a bit of background on Thomas, coming from his own voice. He tells us a bit about his childhood and growing up through the ages. He mentions learning he liked men and not women as a young boy surrounded by lusty ancient greek soldiers — at which time I thought… isn’t he only 500 years old? Then, in the end Thomas mentions that he first met Kev “the first night he had conjured me up from the lamp,” leading me to think he’s a djinn. It left me wondering what the actual truth is, a problem that could have been avoided by omission, as the whole question of it doesn’t really add to the story anyway.

Otherwise, I liked this story and it was rather enjoyable.

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Phallic Worship by Allen Mack

Posted in Authors: M-O, C+, Non-fiction, tagged , on February 26, 2013 | 1 Comment »

phallicTitle: Phallic Worship – World-Wide & Centuries Long
Author: Allen Mack
Length: 5,052 words (20 pdf pages)
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: C+

Blurb:

The phallus has been an object of adoration, envy, worship, ceremonial excesses, ritual orgasms, and pain throughout the world since before written history. The ultimate representation of masculine pulchritude and strength, the usually flaccid organ may be stroked, teased, moistened, pressed, and fondled into a tumescent, vigorous, upstanding display of dominant muscularity.

Phallic Worship: World-Wide and Centuries Long explores the history of our fascinating preoccupation with the conduit of life.

Review:

As noted, this is a non-fiction book, but it’s not done in a dry scholarly manner. The author has included a few light-hearted comments along the way to liven it up. It is essentially a historical look at phallic worship in a wide variety of cultures. From ancient Mesopotamia to more recent worship. It was very interesting to see how things changed through the years, where often the worship wasn’t exactly sexual, but more from the fertility side, until the Greeks got involved. LOL Oh those Greeks.

As well, it was interesting to see how “modern” practices have incorporated some aspects of phallic worship but you wouldn’t see them as that today. A bit like Christmas incorporating trees and other symbols of pagan practices which unless it’s pointed out are just accepted as Christian. There are some amusing moments. An example was when discussing the activities of a festival of Dionysus, well-known debauched god of wine and sex:

Drinking and dancing to the sounds of pipes and drums lasted long into the night, elevating the celebrants to an ecstatic state. When it reached its peak, the male multitude approached the “god” en masse and, each in his turn, tasted of his “raw flesh.” When they were filled with his “divinity,” they caroused and gamboled until dawn. Similar festivals are still held today almost daily during the summer in certain parts of Fire Island in New York.

Having been to Fire Island heard stories, this could well be true. :-) My only niggle if there were, is that there is a lot of information, with a lot of names of gods and cultures and places that sometimes left me a bit reeling. Especially those which I wasn’t familiar at all. But it was still fun to read about the practices that perhaps our more puritanical ancestors would have preferred not be discussed in polite society. If you are interested in that type of history, it’s certainly worth a read and you are unlikely to be bored while doing so.

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