Maelstrom 1-4
by V.E. on March 11th, 2012
filed under anime/manga, recap/review
So I found out last week two weeks ago (sheesh; where did the time go?) that Yaoi Press is returning to printed graphic novels and
I. AM. SO. EXCITED.
Seriously. I am so excited about this. I thought it called for a review of a great Yaoi Prose story, Maelstrom by Yamila Abraham with illustrations by Himitsu Studio. I’ve got the first four (out of eight) chapters sitting here waiting to be written up, so here we go!
First things first, as usual: Maelstrom is explicit yaoi. If you don’t know what that means, find out before you continue. (Who knows, you might like it!) It’s generally not-safe-for-work adult material… but that’s never stopped me from reading the like at work, so if you have an awesome workplace and/or an office to yourself, it might not matter. ^_^
All right, so: a quick summary of the first four chapters. Demerti steps off the ship onto Secren—a Wild West-esque mining planet devoid of women—and immediately experiences a disconcerting-yet-heated attraction to a man standing on the platform. Demetri’s straight, but—as his computer translator, Brainbox, tells him—Earthlings on Secren are struck with Lightning just as often as natives are. Determined to remain a Celibate, Demetri ignores the man, Malstrum, and heads deeper into the planet to set up his own mining operation. Complications arise (of course), and Demetri finds himself fighting for his own life (mostly unsuccessfully) until Malstrum, once (but no longer) the most successful mine boss on the planet, shows up to save him. Their attraction deepens until Demetri can no longer deny his feelings and he submits to Malstrum. All this while holding down a mining operation, finding miners to work with them, divvying up scarce rations, and warning off roadside bandits.
A few lines from the fourth chapter are my favorite so far. After Demetri submits to Malstrum, he expresses his disgust at other men who can “stick with a fucking rapist” and Malstrum points out that Secren isn’t as nice as Earth. Demetri says that if rape is what works on Secren, then fine, but when someone rapes an Earthling, it can destroy him (or her). Malstrum gently corrects him by saying,
Everyone wants to be the alpha. It’s a joke in the beginning. Eventually they want to mate and fight each other to decide. It’s kind of agreed on, you know? If I beat you, you’re getting fucked and I’m the alpha. If you beat me, I’m going to have to take it…No one wants to beat their lover half to death. Lightning ends up being a curse. You know that’s what you’re headed for, and it kills you. When you see those few guys who say, ‘I’ll take your brand. I’ll be the beta,’ it’s so beautiful it makes you cry. Everyone celebrates. The beta becomes the hero. Everyone’s jealous of the alpha. And they have the best marriages. No strife between them. No resentment.
I read that and thought to myself, “Yes! Thank you! Exactly!” and I was so angry that chapter 4 ended shortly thereafter because it meant writing up this review before I could continue reading the story. Gah. (Haha; is it bad that even when I’m reading porn, I still want a good plot? Is it obvious by now?) And yes, there is some heated loving going on between Malstrum and Demetri, so explicit yaoi lovers have no fear: the hot guy/guy sex is definitely there. (Woo, I made a rhyme!)
In any case, I highly recommend this story. It’s one of Abraham’s better ones, in my opinion, and completely worth the (inexpensive) cost. You can even read free previews of chapters 1, 3, and 4 before you buy so you know you’re getting quality.
Maelstrom is available on Amazon Kindle; you can get a Kindle application/program free for your computer even if you don’t own any ereader or iPad-type device. The first chapter is roughly 25 pages for just $1.49; chapter 2 is 29 pages for $2.99; chapter 3 is also 29 pages for $2.99; and the fourth chapter is 28 pages for $2.99.
Hopefully I’ll be able to review the second half of Maelstrom soon. I haven’t actually read chapters 5-8 yet, so I’m looking forward to finding out what happens with Demetri and Malstrum. (Also, more sex!)
12 Moments 11: #01
by V.E. on January 5th, 2012
filed under 12 moments
This entry is part of 12 Moments in Anime 2011.
#01 is the 30-day Anime Challenge. Need I say more? Yeah, didn’t think so.
collage by lil-demonic-rc
12 Moments 11: #02
by V.E. on January 4th, 2012
filed under 12 moments
This entry is part of 12 Moments in Anime 2011.
#02 is finally having found out, after years and years (I’m not kidding), that that one anime “that wasn’t Utena“ was actually Dead Leaves! Thank two excellent Retro and Pandy cosplayers and some random con-goers at Anime Expo who knew the film better than I did. Now, here’s the Japanese trailer. And yes, it’s about as bad as it seems.
12 Moments 11: #03
by V.E. on January 3rd, 2012
filed under 12 moments
This entry is part of 12 Moments in Anime 2011.
#03 is TokyoPOP closing down at the end of May. Not a happy moment for me in 2011, but “a moment” nonetheless.
TokyoPOP published everything from Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon to Get Backers and Mobile Suit Gundam titles (including Gundam Wing) to Junjou Romantica (under their BLU Manga imprint). They moved manga from “a comic book thing” to “a book thing” by helping to create space on Borders (RIP) and Barnes & Noble shelves for manga and other comics.
I don’t know much about the drama with Stu Levy (TokyoPOP’s founder and CEO), but as a casual manga reader who was happy to see new manga on the shelves in bookstores, TokyoPOP’s demise was a terrible loss for me.
Rest in Manga Peace, TokyoPOP.
12 Moments 11: #04
by V.E. on January 2nd, 2012
filed under 12 moments
This entry is part of 12 Moments in Anime 2011.
#04 is “dragon/prince”… which is the title I’ve given to the untitled story that may in the near future become a manga-style comic drawn by the lovely Sammi herself!
Sammi had a booth in Artist Alley at Anime Expo this past year (2011) and on her table along with a lot of her great work (Piper’s Promise, anyone?) was a little sign that read something like “Like to write BL? Let’s make a comic together!”
Sammi drew an excellent character sketch after chatting
with me about the story for just a couple of hours!
So, I took down her information and after the convention, I emailed her with an email that probably turned out to be relatively awkward, but she looked past that, thankfully, and we met up for tea in August to hash out some ideas. And then I got to writing!
Hahahaha, at least, that’s the idea. I’ve got a basic story in mind, but I haven’t gotten it all down yet, but I’m trying to time it so that she has enough to start illustrating with before the Next Big Convention… or whatever.
I have to make it priority or it will fall to the wayside. (NO! I’m actually excited about this story! I’m not letting that happen.)
12 Moments 11: #05
by V.E. on January 1st, 2012
filed under 12 moments
This entry is part of 12 Moments in Anime 2011.
#05 is all the Yaoi Press review copies I still have sitting in my inbox. I could be called a not-so-great reviewer… not because sometimes I don’t review things people want me to, but because (in this case) I’ve actually planned to review this Yaoi Press stuff and haven’t ever gotten around to it. I really need to make a schedule or something—and stick to it!
Here’s what I’ve got in my inbox:
Maelstrom 1-7
Belovéd 3956 & 5860
Spring Demon 1
Team Yaoi
Do you all have a preference as to which one I read first? Or, for that matter, does someone want to read one for me and write up a guest blog? I’ll happily post your thoughts here and you’ll get to read free, original yaoi! It’s win-win. Let me know.
12 Moments 11: #06
by V.E. on December 31st, 2011
filed under 12 moments
This entry is part of 12 Moments in Anime 2011.
#06 is my holiday card this year. I haven’t actually sent out my holiday to most of the people who requested it (I’ll get right on that, guys; sorry hahaha) but in any case, my holiday card is anime themed! Here’s the image. The inside reads
The longest night
brings the return of light.
left to right (surname first): Kurosaki Ichigo, Abarai Renji, Ichimaru Gin, Kuchiki Rukia, and Hitsugaya Toshiro.
Gotta give credit where credit is due. BLEACH is copyright Tite Kubo and the image is by Stephadri94, though I used it without permission from either party.
