Scan barcode
A review by trin
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala
1.0
Reasons I should have known better than to read this book:
1. The title
2. The cover
Reasons I read this book anyway:
1. Aliens!
2. Many, many, many enthusiastic reviews said the depiction of the alien culture was really cool and from the opening chapters this appeared to be true.
3. ALIENS. The first step is admitting you have a bit of a xeno kink. The second step is...well, I wish it hadn't been reading this.
GIANT HONKING REASONS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN NOT TO READ THIS BOOK BUT DIDN'T BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT INDICATED IN THE SUMMARY OR ANY OF THE REVIEWS I READ:
1. D/s. Extreme D/s. Public use of leashes and harnesses and all kinds of stuff that make me shudder -- and not in a pleasant sexy way -- to think about are employed.
2. Noncon. I say noncon instead of rape because the abuse isn't sexual, I guess, but Liam is chained up against his will. He is hunted down when he tries to escape. His free will is basically stripped away -- except he likes it because of course he's naturally submissive and OH MY GOD WHAT BAD FANFIC IS THIS
3. Slavery, basically, even if the author never cops to that. Just because you're like
doesn't make the slavery not slavery. I don't really care if your alien culture says it's okay. I don't feel okay about it.
4. Lines like:
"You need to be forced into that which is healthy for you"
and
“I would like to steal your control from you and force you to admit that even your body knows that it is mine, and it will react to me even over your own preferences"
GET AWAY FROM ME WITH THIS NIGHTMARE FUEL.
Look, I'm a big girl. I read a whackadoodle alien romance novel with a cover featuring a) a big purple guy with a tail and b) a scruffy naked dude whose neck looks sort of broken? I knew to some extent what I was getting into. Although admittedly, I did not think it would be this. This is so, so not my jam. I mean, good to know, right? I can definitely cross those kinks off the list. Buuuuuuuut I wish the summary for this book had been a little clearer. Or that I had been smarter and bailed once I realized the way this was going -- instead of grimly holding on in hopes that things would somehow get better for Liam. By my definition of "better," they didn't. The way Gala writes him, he would disagree, and hey -- who am I to kinkshame? If you like heavy D/s and vague sexual slavery, you will probably be super into this book, because on a prose level it's pretty well written and there is some interesting worldbuilding. But if you are not into those things...yikes.
I would have been safer reading a fic where Spock has some sort of weird flower penis or whatever. Lesson learned.
1. The title
2. The cover
Reasons I read this book anyway:
1. Aliens!
2. Many, many, many enthusiastic reviews said the depiction of the alien culture was really cool and from the opening chapters this appeared to be true.
3. ALIENS. The first step is admitting you have a bit of a xeno kink. The second step is...well, I wish it hadn't been reading this.
GIANT HONKING REASONS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN NOT TO READ THIS BOOK BUT DIDN'T BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT INDICATED IN THE SUMMARY OR ANY OF THE REVIEWS I READ:
1. D/s. Extreme D/s. Public use of leashes and harnesses and all kinds of stuff that make me shudder -- and not in a pleasant sexy way -- to think about are employed.
2. Noncon. I say noncon instead of rape because the abuse isn't sexual, I guess, but Liam is chained up against his will. He is hunted down when he tries to escape. His free will is basically stripped away -- except he likes it because of course he's naturally submissive and OH MY GOD WHAT BAD FANFIC IS THIS
3. Slavery, basically, even if the author never cops to that. Just because you're like
doesn't make the slavery not slavery. I don't really care if your alien culture says it's okay. I don't feel okay about it.
4. Lines like:
"You need to be forced into that which is healthy for you"
and
“I would like to steal your control from you and force you to admit that even your body knows that it is mine, and it will react to me even over your own preferences"
GET AWAY FROM ME WITH THIS NIGHTMARE FUEL.
Look, I'm a big girl. I read a whackadoodle alien romance novel with a cover featuring a) a big purple guy with a tail and b) a scruffy naked dude whose neck looks sort of broken? I knew to some extent what I was getting into. Although admittedly, I did not think it would be this. This is so, so not my jam. I mean, good to know, right? I can definitely cross those kinks off the list. Buuuuuuuut I wish the summary for this book had been a little clearer. Or that I had been smarter and bailed once I realized the way this was going -- instead of grimly holding on in hopes that things would somehow get better for Liam. By my definition of "better," they didn't. The way Gala writes him, he would disagree, and hey -- who am I to kinkshame? If you like heavy D/s and vague sexual slavery, you will probably be super into this book, because on a prose level it's pretty well written and there is some interesting worldbuilding. But if you are not into those things...yikes.
I would have been safer reading a fic where Spock has some sort of weird flower penis or whatever. Lesson learned.