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reviews_and_ramblings
This is probably the first example I read on a subgenre that is becoming quite popular, the “steampunk”. In an undefined Far West, probably end of the XIX century, beginning of the XX, Conrad is the spoiled son of a Governor; his father name and money always save him from the law: one day yes, and the other also, Conrad is in prison for buggery. Conrad’s great passion, other than men, is science, and in particular mechanics: he loves to inventing things that help him in finding pleasure, both physical than mental. Another thing that turns him away from women, other than not finding them attractive on a physical level, is that he doesn’t find them interesting on a mental level. While in prison for yet another sexual escapade, Conrad meets Ezhno, a lonely Native American with a penchant for little invention: a body to die for with a mind that allows him to understand Conrad’s passion is a package the young man doesn’t want to lose, and so he convinces, or better forces his father to bring Ezhno home with them, like the actual spoiled brat he is; to Conrad Ezhno is yet another unusual pet, something that will distract him from his innate boredom.
Ezhno is not really attracted by the idea of living in a golden cage, but he likes Conrad; even if the young man thinks to be very clever, and to being able to manipulate his father, so is not for Ezhno. He follows Conrad since he wants the young man, and if in the meantime he is able to protect him from the bad world, and sometime also from himself, then he will kill two birds with one shot.
Sincerely there is nothing really realistic in this novella, even if it’s classified as historical; it’s more a fantasy tale in an historical setting; there is no reason why Ezhno is a Native American or why he is cultured and well-mannered, I suppose the choice to have him a “savage” was only since it’s sexier. And even if Conrad is wealthy and from an important family, in a real world he would not be able to escape from the law so easily. So if you want to enjoy this story, and indeed it’s naughty and enjoyable, you have to read it without precoceptions, and without searching to raise it above its nature: this is indeed a naughty romp about two men in fancy dress, with the help of unlikely sex machines.
https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=145
Amazon Kindle: A Certain Pressure in the Pipes
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
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Date: 2010-10-17 10:09 pm (UTC)(I write a lot of steampunk and am active on the con-circuit in talking about it.)
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Date: 2010-10-17 10:13 pm (UTC)no, for sure I would not classify this as "social critique". This is definitely something way more lighter.
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Date: 2010-10-18 12:14 am (UTC)It can be awesome, or it can be a real drag if the author is heavy-handed.
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Date: 2010-10-18 07:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-18 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-18 07:14 am (UTC)