Some of my stories have been reviewed by various people on the
Internet. Here are a few of them, alphabetical by story.
Counting Stars
This a beautifully written piece. It is not a full-blown story.
I like the details the author chooses to include in so short a piece.
-- Reviewed by Lee Vine in "Rogue Reviews" No. 229,
Oct. 18, 1998
Dear Nicholas
I was really taken by this story. The language is exotic, descriptive
and engaging. The story is well done. The conclusion is hinted at to
begin with, but the ride there is wild and fun and intriguing.
The story is told as a letter to an former lover. He’s left, and the
woman is recounting her meeting him and what happened that lead up to
his leaving. The writer (we never learn her name) became Nicholas’
lover, even though he was married. She describes various events, their
rendezvous in cheap motel rooms and bars, how she eventually meets his
wife, Sabine, at a party they all accidentally show up at, her
eventual friendship with her. Everything is described in wondrous
prose, evocative and very descriptive. I liked the style, and the
language. If there were any technical flaws, they were minor and
easily forgotten in the flow of the story.
This is another that will be on my list of ‘Faves’. And another author
to look for.
-- Reviewed by David Wright in "What David Thinks
6"
Natural Arcs
People who enjoy classical music may find this to be one of their all-time
favorites.
The title refers to the notion that the body should move in natural arcs --
both when playing the cello and when making love.
The female protagonist, of course, falls in love with the male master cellist
under whom she is studying. At the concert, he asks her to imagine him to be
playing her body while she watches and listens from the audience as he
performs his art on the stage. Afterwards they make love while she moves in
natural arcs.
It's really quite erotic.
-- Reviewed by Celeste in "Celestial Reviews"
309
North From Jerusalem
This story seems to be inspired by passages from the New Testament.
The focus is not sex, but there is some sex in the story.
This is not a fully developed story, but I like what there is.
-- Reviewed by Lee Vine in "Rogue Reviews" No.
229, Oct. 18, 1998
"North from Jerusalem" is the first story I remember reading by Adhara
Law. If this is the author's first story, it is a promising start
indeed.
The author starts with a quick warning to readers: "This story contains
religious themes mixed with erotica that some might find uncomfortable,
especially if you are Christian. Just a warning." The warning is a valid one,
as the story has important Christian figures doing things that today's
Christian fundamentalists might find rather distressing, but I doubt most
readers of Usenet erotica would object to the content. If you're easily
offended by this kind of thing, you probably aren't reading this review, but
I'd stay away from this story. For the rest of us, it is a relatively
entertaining piece of short fiction.
Calling this piece erotica is a stretch, because there isn't very much sexual
content at all. There is one short and conventional sexual act, but I imagine
you could find much more explicit language in the Starr Report. What this
story really is is an interesting short piece that attempts to challenge the
readers' assumptions regarding Christianity, and it succeeds quite well on
that level. If you're looking for stroke material, read something else. If
you're looking for a quick, entertaining read that might actually make you
think a little, try this one.
Adhara writes well. The story's grammar and punctuation are essentially
flawless. There may have been a couple of minor technical errors, but that's
only if you're looking to nit pick the geography. The author's use of
language is descriptive without being too wordy. Given the length of the
story, major character development is difficult, but that's not really the
point here. Adhara conceived an intriguing plot device and wrote a couple of
pages about it. I'm not even sure that it would have been more effective if
this had been blown up into a longer, more comprehensive story. It actually
functions quite well the way it is.
-- Reviewed by Jaybird in "Celestial Reviews"
309