Blinding Light by Paul Theroux

Blinding Light, Paul Theroux.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Company/ First Mariner Books, 2005, 2006.  e-book, 440 pps.



     Slade Steadman, an author who had written one bestseller a couple of decades ago and gotten rich off of a line of clothing and a movie and other spinoffs, had been unsuccessful in his endeavor to write a second book.  The editor wanted more of the same but he wasn't able to produce.  He and an ex-girlfriend took a [tourist trap sort of] trip to the Ecuadorian jungle to a remote village and the offering of an hallucinogenic drug.  The experience changes Slade and illuminates the foibles of others in a new light for him.  His writer's block dissolves and as a side benefit, he gets his ex-girlfriend back.  

sapphoq reviews says:  I especially enjoyed Paul Theroux's not so subtle poking at the insincerity involved in the travel industry-- the allure of exotic lands and strange experiences so that tourists would have a story to tell at parties.  Although Blinding Light was given to extensive interior monologues, these monologues added to the novel.  There are also many pages devoted to the recall of various sexual experiences which had partially defined Slade Steadman.  These are not to be missed.  Paul Theroux has proven his versatility in writing slow, steamy sex scenes.  I also liked the peripheral involvement of President Clinton and that various [actual life] authors were on the list of party invites.

     Fans of Paul Theroux's travelogues really ought to give his fiction a fair reading.  I loved Blinding Light!  A super book.  Highly recommended for fans of Theroux and for any mature adult who does not object to fiction which borders on the confessional.

Hangover by Duane Schlitz

Hangover (caricature of a retarded hack), Duane Schlitz.  Self-published, 1996.  e-book, 88 pps.

http://archive.org/details/Hangover_by_Duane_Schlitz


Yes, it is under a creative commons license and legally free to download!


This 88 page story was a fascinating blend of word salad, puke, farts, and action.  Finding that the hawt chick's boyfriend was violent, the friends did the only thing that they could be realistically expected to do.  Full of blood and other bodily fluids.  Sex and rugs and junk food and beat-up old cars and Denver and the outskirts.  What is there not to love?  Even the random substitution of q for g and g for q added to the atmosphere.

sapphoq reviews says:  Duane Schlitz has written a startling e-book in a distinct style reminiscent of a Martin Millar, Joe Hill, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jeff Jacobson.  Hangover is a unique slice of life that will appeal to readers who celebrate counter-culture.  I adored this book.  And I highly recommend it to adults who can handle it.
Duane Schlitz, please write some more!

Two Lines by Melissa Marr

Two Lines, Melissa Marr.  New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011.  

In this short story authored by Melissa Marr, Eavan is a young woman caught up in a world not of her choosing.  Her mother is a glastig and her dad is human.  Eve is human and wishes to stay that way.  For a hobby, she is chasing a human fellow named Daniel around.  He is an evil dude who turns women into zombies.  Eve wants to stop him.  She does rescue a woman from time to time and then dumps them on her hawt bisexual glastig friend Muriel.  Eve's granny Nyx is a bit put out by her granddaughter's behavior.  Glastigs are supposed to live together in a communal heap but Eve refuses, and furthermore is resistant to the idea of losing her humanity.  If Eve has sex and makes a kill within a month, she will become what she considers to be a monster.

sapphoq reviews says:  I found Two Lines to be a very satisfying short story.  The characters have personality and spunk.  The predator Daniel operates like predators do.  Eve is resourceful and finds a way to do what must be done.  Those readers who are in early stages of recovering from sexual assault may find this offering to be too triggering.  Recommended.  Fans of Melissa Marr's gothic fantasy style will especially love this and will want to read more of Eaven in the future.  I know that I certainly do.

Skanks by Keaton Albertson

Skanks, Keaton Albertson.  Compton, California: Fast Pencil Inc., 2011.   e-book, 167 pps.

Skanks details the sexual vagrancies of self-styled man whore and ex-Mormon Keaton Albertson.  Women-- quite a few of them.  Hot fornicating casual sex, check.  Cussing, check.  And some good chuckles.  Writing that delivers with a hefty punch.

sapphoq reviews says:  Skanks, like all of the Keaton Albertson writing that I have seen, is not for folks who offend easily.  There were some good belly laughs in this one.  And a variety of slang words for all kinds of sexual parts and uh, wonderment.  At the end of Skanks is a section on obese women.  Obese women and many others will not appreciate this section.  It is brutally honest.  All of Skanks is brutally honest.  Keaton Albertson tells his memoirs with a certain swagger and joie de vivre.  Feminists may not appreciate it.  But these are his own experiences and he tells it like it is.  Coarse and rude, for readers who like coarse and rude.