It doesn't seem fair to take on a book like Slave In Training and to WTF all over it. I mean, it's not like there were hidden themes and I got caught without wearing protective trigger warning safety goggles. Still, even in the context of a slavefic, there were elements of this book that had me shaking my head. However, it did explore some interesting concepts servitude and bondage and, written in first person, it felt very personal and heartfelt.

SIT explores the concept of total power exchange in a semi-alternate universe where there is a small but notable underground community of personal slaves, masters, trainers and slave markets. We meet Max, our teenage protagonist who, after getting to know his PE teacher, feels his true nature and calling is to be a slave. His teacher, James Teka, eventually becomes his trainer and takes Max from a novice trainee through the rigors of becoming a full fledged and certified slave ready for market. Not surprisingly, Max thrives under James' tutelage and many feels develop, but do not think for one second that you will be enjoying a fluffy romantic slavefic (leave that to Bran, Holden, Yves and Jer).

Now for my issues. No doubt, the biggest problem for me was the fact that Max was so young and that he was a minor when he met James and started spending time with him. Yes, they did wait till he was graduated from school and for him to turn 18 before anything hardcore happened. And yes, there was discussion about Max acknowledging that he was entering his training freely and on his own volition. So arguably, it was all consensual. In my opinion, Max as way too young and way too impressionable to be able to give such consent. While turning 18 is a legal milestone with respect to becoming an adult, we all know that nothing magically happens once that birthday happens. Max was immature, just check out this comment he made to his parents (who were logically arguing that this relationship with James was probably a bad idea):

Yes. You and mom believe a lot of wrong things. You look at the world through your narrow bourgeois vision.

Every 18 year old thinks they know everything and have it all figured out, and Max is no exception. And anyone who has lived at least ten years beyond 18 knows that 18 year olds are clueless. Bottom line, this was all non-con for me. I would have enjoyed this much more if Max was 27 going on 28.

Other issues...
James, the slave trainer was African, and Max ogled over his physical traits. I was not sure what to make of this, but it seemed a bit of 'turn the tables' on the African American slave narrative. It felt awkward to me.

Perhaps there was a bit too much plot? This is really about an emotional journey of self discovery, and the conspiracy sub-plot, while slightly interesting, felt like too much of a good thing. Maybe it would have worked better as a thriller with a slave sub-plot.

The parents. I am really glad they were featured and I am really glad that they weren't complete pushovers. While I wish they were more assertive, I supposed the book would have been over quickly if they were. I appreciate the father trying to understand what Max is going through, but for the love of god, does Max have to give another man a blowjob in front of his father?.

Lastly, what's up with brand new security guards becoming instant masters to Max? It seemed inconsistent with the concept of training an certification to give these guys that sort of power.

So yes, I had issues but I also enjoyed reading this. I am curious to hear more from Max at the further adventures hinted at in the epilogue. For sure, there are some very difficult passages. If the topic interests you, and if you can handle cruel masochists in a TPE, this might be a good read. But please do not mistake this for consensual TPE, it's non-con all the way.

Another worst part to BDSM with the stereotype cunt mistress. Nothing good about the BDSM. The training is a joke. Not sure this even qualifies for porn.

Nicholi's Vengeance by J.A. Jaken
Read from October 6th, 2013 till now - Unable to finish




DNF! Might re-attempt. Main character stepping all over my pet peeve.

I could not finish it. Stuck at 20%. The characters was pissing me off. That MC should be wearing a skirt. Oh gawd! his whining is particularly nerve-grating. Yes unfortunately this book has triggered one of my biggest pet peeve - whinny characters especially main characters.

I might try to pick it up again, one fine day, maybe, just maybe. It's not healthy to wish for those brutes that captured the MC earlier had cut his throat instead of letting him off.



View all my reviews

Out of the Woods by Syd McGinley My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommended for: Open minded fans of M/M & and Dystopia/Apocalypse fiction
Read from March 26 to 31, 2014 — I own a copy, read count: 1

 

A Captivating Story of the Taming of a Free-spirited Wild Boy in a Post-Apocalypse Totalitarian Society

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Out of the Woods. It is a pleasure to watch the unique and original storyline unfolds as I tried my best to solve the mysteries surrounding the woodland boys and the men from the Before Times buildings. I pondered on why the men would hunt the boys each Fall? Why would new younger boys kept appearing in the woods skipping and singing. Are these new boys replacements for all those older ones which the men took with them? Where on earth did they come from when there's not a woman in sight? And lastly, why the men honour the Mothers greatly whereas the wood boys idolizes the Lady? These are only part of the mysteries found within the book and I am going to leave a theory of mine towards the end of this review on a major mystery everyone is dying to know. I am going to take my own shot at uncovering the layers of veils for that much speculated mystery.

These mysteries made Out of the Woods a highly compelling story. Apart from this there are other positive areas such as the well crafted characters that are engaging and relatable, amazing world-building with intriguing societal setup and exciting plots that super-glued me to the book.

Each of the characters have their own distinctive personality. And they are all memorable in their own way. This is especially true with Tarin our much adored protagonist. Tarin is a contented wild child of the woodland. His free-spirited ways with his valiant heart and plucky nature won me over. There is an endearing sweet innocent that surrounds him. He is also the character that made this story a whole lot of fun! His guileless approach to his new surroundings in the men's settlement resulted in many hilarious situations. Tarins says the darndest things! He tickles my funny bone countless times with his silly antics. He might appear to be clueless most of the times, yet there are times where he is wise beyond his years. I love him to bits.

The atmospheres at the men's settlement is always buzzing and alive with activities. Their daily lives are fascinating to me. Watching the men trying to reconstruct a civilized society based on what was left behind after what I think was an apocalypse destruction was thought-provoking.

Although there is only one antagonist in this story, I would say he wasn't the biggest threat to our protagonist or to his friends. It was men's greed for power and over ambitiousness of maintaining absolute control over others that made many suffered unfairly. This was nothing but outright tyranny and enslavement in the guise of protection and safety. Hence I reckon this issue as the predominant threat to Tarin and the boys.

The men adopted to a totalitarian societal setup that bears strong resemblance to a militarian organization. They are segregated by ranking and entitled to certain benefits according to their ranks. While the boys will always be boys; they do not have any authority or any actual autonomy. (I am unsure if this is a spoiler, but I decided to hide it to be on the safe side. So explore at your own risk)

The most, they are viewed as men's possession. A status symbol and a privilege all of the men are vying for; the boys are the ultimate price that bespoke a men's achievements.

(spoiler show)

This hierarchical system promotes powerplay that encourages oppression of the weakest. While I am fascinated by this societal structure, I am also repulsed by the harsh treatments of the boys because of it. As the judicial system was only made up by several of the top guns, the men are inevitably favored.


MY THEORIES ON THIS UNIQUE MALE DOMINATED WORLD:

I believe I have a different perspective as to how this extraordinary world came about in comparison with other readers views. Scientific experimentation and gender imbalanced was amongst those theories pointed out by some readers.

 

As for me, I would like to think of this as a results of an intentional gender segregation designed by the females in order to control over the male population as an effort to contain the male's destructive nature that might have caused the apocalypse. I am guessing the apocalypse gave the females a chance to built a matriarch society with the aim of protecting mankind from further self destruction and extinction. It is some form of a preservation movement.

 

What supported this idea was because the Mothers only leave males in the woods even when said male has females siblings. For example, Tarin's sister Nalini gets to stay with the Mothers while he and his brother and male cousin was sent off to the woods. There was no mention of men amongst these woman who seems to have higher knowledge and technological advancement. Therefore I suspect they are deliberately keeping the men in the dark, only allowing low technology assistance and under their constant monitoring and commands because of the preservation movement I've just mentioned above. Another point from this angle is that they are also controlling the male population with intent since there was no females made available to these men. Yet this matriarch society manages to produce offspring by themselves and even gets to decide who goes where in the men's society. The Mothers has supreme pick of genes from the obedient pool of man who worships them like goddesses. The men's fanatical idolization of the Mothers felt somewhat like a cult religion.

(spoiler show)

 

MY CONCLUSIONS:
Out of the Woods is certainly a character and plot driven story. There are many intriguing aspects in the lives of these men and boys to keep the wheels in my brain spinning endlessly churning out one speculation after another. I always appreciate books that made me think, helps keep my brain from rusting away. Heh.

Sex was sparse and low key. I was quite surprised it wasn't heavy on the sex as the men and the boys are all pretty hedonistic in nature. Don't fret though, because gifts (that's what they called jism/cum) are flying everywhere 'all the time' despite the lack of penetration.

I had SO much fun trying to try to figure out all those new words used to describe Before Times stuff, for example the 'silver duck', 'divid' and 'go-sloshes'. It's quite funny once you get what they actually meant.

I didn't spend time to talk about Tarin's relationship with his man because I wish to focus on the uniqueness of the setting and also to share my impression of the story as a whole. If you must know, the romance aspect wasn't the core of this story. It is more like a sub-plot. Tarin and Garrick did have a rocky beginning and they both have to work out their priorities before their relationship could take the next step. Yes, Garrick is a good man at heart and his patient and caring ways made him suitable for Tarin.

The focus of the story is really on Tarin's struggles on fitting in with the men's civilized community and his effort to find himself again in a strange world he was thrown into. It wasn't an easy feat and he was fighting them every steps. Everything felt wrong to him, his beliefs was scorned, his will and freedom was forcefully taken away from him. His only hope for survival is his submission. In the men's eyes Tarin is just a savage that needed to be tamed and to learn his place amongst the men.

I know some readers might find the woodland boys to be too childlike and dislike the story because the boys' peculiar behaviour would make the men appears like perverted geezers pawing on the kids. Nevertheless I am excusing this odd behavior of the boys because they have essentially lived in seclusion ever since young and devoid of adult attentions or exposure to the civilized world. Therefore it is highly plausible for them to retain their innocence and to displays such level of naivety akin to a young child just on the onset of puberty despite being in their late teens years. Hell! the boys can't even speak properly, they lack vocabulary and grammatical knowledge to make their dialog mature.

All this makes sense to me and I am glad the author has the wisdom to depict these special boys with such strange situations realistically. In fact, I would commend the author for her superb skill at bringing to life such a difficult character to portray, as the main character. Making him an engaging character who not only charmed the readers but carried the storyline effortlessly was an amazing feat.

I wish I could tell you more but I do not want to spoil the story for you. Do read this with an open mind if you wish to gain more than just a capture-captive story. I loved it so much that I picked up the sequel right after putting this book down and finished the second book in record breaking time.

If you wish to explore more of Tarin's world, you might want to check out the author's page dedicated to this wonderful book: TARIN'S WORLD (it is very informative and I really appreciate the author's effort on putting it up. How I wish other books I've ever read has such a page for the readers)



BOOK DETAILS:
Title: Out of the Woods
Author: Syd McGinley
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2011
Publisher: Torquere
Type: Novel, 80,349 words (approximate)
Genre: Post-apocalypse and Dystopian M/M Fiction, Science Fiction-Futuristic
Main Characters:

Tarin (a young woodland boy), Garrick/Beak-face (a hunter cum Captain and also Tarin's man), Mart (Tarin's former protector in the woods), Cale (a Lieutenant and also Mart's man), Titus (Head of the religious group and a co-commander of the community), Sten (he is a General and a co-commander with Titus), Ofer (an abused community boy), Cory (a woodland boy under Tarin's protection), Edon (Sergeant), Gideon (Healer cum Colonel), Helem (Armorer cum Colonel), Jadon (a Major), Micah (Cadet), Kenan (Cadet)

(spoiler show)

Tags/Keywords: 

Post-apocalypse, Dystopian, Patriarchal society, Matriarch, Totalitarian, Oppression, Abuse, Same Sex Relationships, Gay, Enslavement, Capture, Captivity, Confinement, Corporal Punishments, Pleasure Slaves, Sex pets, Slavery, Slave training, Military, Military ranking, Hierarchy, Caste System

(spoiler show)

Description:
Wild boy Tarin is determined not to be captured by the men who live in the decaying Before Times buildings on the other side of Tarin's woodland home, but he's just as determined to protect the younger boys in the woods. No one remembers being a child or knows where all the women have gone or how society crumbled, but for as long as they can remember, boys have lived in the woods and are hunted by the men each Fall. Some boys believe in a mysterious Lady who protects them, while others think the men are magic. Tarin knows better - he's met a man, and escaped by stabbing him. Hunted through the woods as he tries to protect the weaker Cory, Tarin is trapped and claimed by the very man he knifed. All Tarin wants is to stay in the woods and not have to get 'civilized,' but he's carried off into a different world of rules and discipline. Will he be able to survive now that he is Out of the Woods?


Excerpt found on Publisher's website:

Tarin curled his toes a bit tighter against the bark as he scooted his butt back, and leaned against the tree trunk. He wanted to be securely lodged to munch on his blackberries and nuts. He’d gotten more scratched than usual gathering the berries and he wasn’t inclined to share them with Cory who had done no work. He was a good ten arms off the ground and there were still plenty of leaves on the oak to hide him from grounders. He felt bad for the kids who couldn’t climb well -- one less escape route and hiding spot -- but Tarin relished the solitude and view. He sighed as he popped the first squishy purple fruit into his mouth. The woods were both lonely and crowded. The boys always knew where everyone was and what they were doing -- it was good sense -- but it was also smart to stay scattered in the run up to hunting season. Tarin hated the combination of no privacy and no real settled spot to call safe.

 

Tarin rolled the fruit around his mouth and mashed his tongue up to make it burst. Lady! It was good. Still warm from the sun and the sweetest thing he’d tasted all year.

 

He loosened his waist strings so his cock could poke free from his simple leather pouch of deer hide. He didn’t like wearing even that much but he’d learned to protect his cock and balls as he berry hunted. He missed Mart. Cory would pet him with his hands until Tarin gifted him with his come, but Mart had used his mouth to coax and lick his load from him. Mart would swallow straight from him, but Cory always primly lapped from his cupped hands. Tarin felt his gift was being politely accepted instead of relished. He tried to set an example by eagerly claiming his share from Cory’s cock, but it made no difference. Cory would shoot, but as soon as he was done he’d pull his prick away from Tarin’s still hungry mouth.

 

Tarin pulled at his foreskin a little and felt his cock push forward. He spat into his palm -- still purple with blackberry juice -- and rubbed his dick. He wrapped one leg tight around the oak limb and moaned as the bark chafed his inner thigh. It was rough, but felt so good. No one had caressed him since Mart. He rode the branch a little as he slid his foreskin back and forth. He leaned back to relieve the pressure on his balls and yelped as a twig prodded against his butt. Lady, how would that feel if it had poked in?

 

He bit his lip -- his cock had jerked at the idea even as his brain said ouch. Some of the boys said cocks could go there, but that was crazy talk. No one had ever actually done that! Mart said Aran, the boy who was his older protector, claimed his protector had got his cock in, but it had made Aran yell too loud, and even spit didn’t make it slide like a wet palm would. Tarin had grunted, and said it’s always someone who knows someone -- never any boy who’s actually here. Mart had sighed and moved his finger from Tarin’s tight, dry, little hole and agreed it didn’t seem likely.

 

Tarin pumped his hand faster. Lady! Yes! He tightened his hand and his come squirted between his fingers. Scat! He tried to cup his hand, but his precious fluid was already pattering onto leaves below him. Damn. That was bad luck -- and wasteful. He licked his fingers clean. Mm, berry juice and salt.

 

He leaned back against the tree trunk. Safe, private, fed, and satisfied. The sun and the breeze worked to dry his sticky cock and balls. He squinted across the treetops and tried to spot movements in the men’s camp.

(spoiler show)

 

 

This review has also been cross-posted on my blogs:



WHERE TO PURCHASE:
★|| AMAZON ||★|| TORQUERE PRESS ||★



* Reviewed on April 10th, 2014

*:--☆--:*:--☆:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*



View all my reviews

The Pet Whisperer by liliaeth
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Read from April 05 to 08, 2014 — I own a copy, read count: 1

What a Horrifying and Disturbing Story! I have been forcefully defiled. Mind Raped!

I admit it does have some entertainment value, but the munching on humans killed me. I mean I love the angst and liked the wicked pet training, but.... PLEASE! DO NOT EAT PEOPLE! Argh!

Humans as main course on the dining table of Gods. *dying* Gods hunting humans as food, even the children aren't safe. *dies in agony* Keeping humans as livestock for their juicy meat. *am so dead* Some of luckier ones are kept as household slaves, and the luckiest are those pretty ones which the Gods kept as eye-candies aka pets. The pets aren't exactly safe from ending up on the table as well. Da fuq!

How I wish this story could just focus on the pet training and leave out the grisly stuff. Each time I think of it... I.... *pukes everywhere* The slaughter of innocents both angers and sickens me so much I could feel my soul burning at the atrocities happening at every turn of the story. The author is sure brave and daring but too over-the-top with the horror aspect, it squicked me out even knowing she might be trying to deliver her message on animal abuse and to encourage vegetarianism.

The thing is, this story is utterly disturbing and horrifying as the amount of outright cannibalism overshadowed the pet training aspect eventhough petplay should be the main focus of this story as per suggested by its title and blurb. I kept on reading this morbid tale because I couldn't stop until I find out what would happen to Dean at the end.

WARNING: You really can't unseen what you have seen. For sure this is NOT for the faint-of-heart unless you are into gore and cannibalism. Beware of being eaten alive while kicking and screaming even your soul aren't spared. If you could curb your curiosity, I would advice you to stay away from this. The blurb didn't have any warning on the extreme cannibalism. I did blame myself for not checking out the story tags throughly before diving into it.

I am pretty sure that title and blurb would potentially leads unsuspecting readers who are looking forward to some petplay fun with added bonus of the famous Castiel-Dean pairing into the darkest void of evil and then gets drown in human misery so great one would felt scarred for life; speaking from the view of a traumatized reader. I have no way out now, it's too late for me. Go safe yourself!

Da fuq I've just read. @_@;
I need fluff pronto!

THE RATING
I am giving this a 2 stars not entirely because of the disturbing nature of the in-depth cannibalism, it is also due to the quality of the writing itself. There are parts where the plots fails and the characters has OOC moments here and there. I am also deducting points for not staying focus on the promised petplay theme. To be clear, I did appreciate the parts on the pet training and the melding of multiple mythologies with modern religion.

To put it in other words, this story is as entertaining as an intense nightmare you fought to wake up from.



STORY DETAILS:
Title: The Pet Whisperer
Author: liliaeth
Publication Date: July 21st, 2012
Type: Fanfiction of the Supernatural TV Series, 66,475 words (Completed fanfic)
Genre: Alternate Universe M/M-F/M-M/F Fan Fiction, Horror
Characters: Castiel, Dean Winchester, Original Female Character(s), Hades (Greek and Roman Mythology), Demeter & Persephone (Greek and Roman Mythology), God (Supernatural), God!Castiel
Tags/Keywords:

cannibalism, vore, pagan gods, eating humans, dehumanization, slavery, dubious consent, body modification, sounding, butt plugs, piercings, conditioning, rape, pet training, bisexual, gay, heterosexual, multiple partners, breeding

(spoiler show)

Description:
The pagan goddess Despoine is widely regarded as the best trainer of human pets in the supernatural world. When the new god Castiel demands her aid in training his pet Dean, she definitely knows better than to say no.

Words:66,475 Complete - Chapters:19/19 - Free Download
Supernatural Fanfic




* Reviewed on April 8th, 2014

*:--☆--:*:--☆:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*:--☆:*:--☆--:*:--☆--:*


View all my reviews