Buy It Now at Dreamwalker Group or direct from Circlet Press
Wired Hard 4 by Circlet Press has a lot going for it if you can overlook the poor copy editing that is scattered throughout some of the pages. It’s enough to fragment the reader’s enjoyment of some really great stories.
The collection starts off with “When Angles Fall”, by Helen E. H. Madden, a sexy and endearing science fiction story about how one man’s upbringing in a religious “cult” effects how he deals with his dying mother and the future that she leaves him.
One of my favorite stories was Tom Cardamone’s, “Royal Catamite”. It is a wonderful erotic story that pushes the taboo buttons of underage sex and incest, in a way that only Tom can do. Set in an ancient imperial palace, a young boy of 13 is trained in the art of oral pleasures by his father and uncles so that he may one day serve the Emperor.
“I had never had a youthful man and liked the newness of his musk. Fermented from an afternoon on horseback, it was of obvious royal vintage. The divine strength barreled in the hard belly pushing against my nose both humbled and excited me. This joy did not show, however. I am a professional. My tongue became his muscle. I knew for his every thrust when to parry, when to suck. He emptied voluptuous milk into my mouth, which I had been coached to immediately spit into the cloth proffered by the Assistant Sub-Chamberlain. This fluid was rushed to the Royal Falconry where it was fed to His Highness’ favored hunting birds, forming a powerful bond between Emperor and Falcon.”
The collection isn’t without its hard-core kink, and Gavin Atlas delivers that kink in “Slavery by Degree”. Gavin has stretched the boundaries of imagination in his sub-boy fantasy with its fantastical sci-fi technology that any bottom would love!
“Hal began to lift Sky’s legs back into the stirrups. “It’s fine now, but what if someday someone figures out how to remove the port condom? You’ll get your ass barebacked even if these things let you feel practically everything already. They still have transmission errors once or twice a year, and then someone could try to break you out of the mew, take off your ring, and hold you captive. You could be stranded in some bad country and never see home again. If you’re doing this simply to be a slut, you should have just put your ass in the air for men in your home town.”
All of the stories in this collection have merit and make for some great bedtime reading. I must admit that I am not a big fan of e-publishing (and yes, I have ventured there a few times myself so I feel I can say this). For one I hate reading an entire book on my computer, and secondly as a librarian I want to hold the book. I want to feel and smell the pages, yes I said smell. I also think that the fast and almost instantaneous speed of e-book publishing has caused editors and even some writers to overlook basic editing techniques which ultimately leads to a less than quality product.
Reviewed by William Holden
Out in Print: Queer Book Reviews 