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Spaceways #14
Assignment: Hellhole
RETIRED COP ALANNI KEOR BOUGHT THE FARM...LITERALLY SHE WAS HAPPY FARMING WITH HER PARTNERS-AN OUTIE AND A JARP-UNTIL A POWERFUL POLITICIAN BLACKMALED HER INTO BECOMING AN INTERPLANETARY THIEF. TO STEAL THE MYSTERIOUS ALIEN THING CALLED INVISIBLE WISDOM, SHE HAD TO GO TO HELLHOLE...THE PLANET THAT LIVED UP TO ITS NAME.
- GenresScience Fiction
212 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1983
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 18, 2016
I recently listened to a podcast where Chris Offutt detailed the life and work of his late father, Andrew Offutt. Apparently, Andrew Offutt, who was most known to the world as a SF/F author, wrote scores of erotic novels under various pen names. The one he used most often (to the point of treating it like an alter ego) was John Cleve, the author listed on this and all the Spaceways novels. Though I never read erotica, I had only recently discovered Andrew Offutt, so I was curious to see what he could do in the genre he cared most for. When I saw this novel on clearance for fifty cents, I decided to give it a shot.
Well, unfortunately it is just awful. First and foremost, for a "left hand novel", there isn't nearly as much sex as I thought there would be, and the sex scenes that are there are a joke. (For some reason, a penis is referred to as a slicer, which just might be the worst nickname for a cock ever.) On top of a series of really mediocre and not hot at all sex scenes, there is also one scene with a woman being tortured and gang raped. While the author's habit of providing scant detail was mercifully present in this scene as well, I still found myself very uncomfortable reading it.
On the other hand, this book also failed to be an engaging space opera. The main character's quest to recover an ancient artifact from a local cult was never engrossing. What exactly made the artifact so valuable was never explained, yet numerous characters were willing to risk life and limb to get it. I never saw the point. To make matters worse, scenes involving completely tangential characters and situations muddled the narrative.
So, in the end, the two wrongs of poorly written erotica and poorly written sci-fi amalgamate into a blunder of a novel. Highly NOT recommended.
Well, unfortunately it is just awful. First and foremost, for a "left hand novel", there isn't nearly as much sex as I thought there would be, and the sex scenes that are there are a joke. (For some reason, a penis is referred to as a slicer, which just might be the worst nickname for a cock ever.) On top of a series of really mediocre and not hot at all sex scenes, there is also one scene with a woman being tortured and gang raped. While the author's habit of providing scant detail was mercifully present in this scene as well, I still found myself very uncomfortable reading it.
On the other hand, this book also failed to be an engaging space opera. The main character's quest to recover an ancient artifact from a local cult was never engrossing. What exactly made the artifact so valuable was never explained, yet numerous characters were willing to risk life and limb to get it. I never saw the point. To make matters worse, scenes involving completely tangential characters and situations muddled the narrative.
So, in the end, the two wrongs of poorly written erotica and poorly written sci-fi amalgamate into a blunder of a novel. Highly NOT recommended.
Displaying 1 of 1 review