Obligatory Disclaimer:

This review is taken from Celestial Reviews by Celeste (Celeste801@aol.com).
The review was written independently of consultation with the author and
does not imply collaboration.

                                       *  

"Speechless" by David Lawrence. Guest Review by Pulp
Fan.

In "Speechless" (aptly named, as there is essentially no dialogue),
the protagonist of the tale goes off to a secluded mountain retreat to
be alone with his thoughts.  However, his thoughts are soon disturbed
by the arrival of a couple who, while acknowledging his presence,
begin to get a little amorous--all that clean mountain air and all.
Their passionate kissing embarrasses him at first, but slowly, as they
grow bolder and progress a bit further in their lovemaking, he begins
to get turned on.  You can pretty much guess the rest from that point
on, although it didn't _quite_ turn out the way I thought it was going
to go, and I thought the very end bit was a nice touch.
 
While the idea behind "Speechless" may be nothing new, I thought it
was well done and well written--a bit awkward in places, but nothing
serious enough to interfere with your enjoyment of it.  Although the
author terms this a "stroke" story, I probably wouldn't have
classified it as such.  While the sex is heavy, fairly lengthy and
quite nicely done, there is more story and introspection associated
with it than I generally associate with pure stroke stories.  On the
other hand (so to speak), if that's your goal in reading, this story
could be what you're looking for.

Ratings for "Speechless":
Athena (technical quality): 9
Venus (plot & character): 10
Pulp Fan (appeal to reviewer): 10