Edited by Tinder James, SURPRISE is aptly named, not only because each of its two-dozenish tales ends in a twist, but because the stories are actually pretty good. See, they’re erotica — a genre in which many writers deliver the physical goods at the sacrifice of narrative ones.
Not so here. The sex is sexy, but it’s actually part of an honest-to-gosh story. Some even are satirical — especially the handful of flash-fiction single-pagers — tweaking the conventions of the genre, winking at the reader as they deliver a well-placed punchline. Better yet, the contents are varied, so it’s not like … oh, say, assuming the missionary each and every time.
In Kyoko Church’s “Adam Gets Perspective,” a novelist with writer’s block finds inspiration from the most unlikely of sources: his 60-year-old, prim, proper cleaning lady. Echoing current times, the laid-off protagonist of Jake Barnes’ “Burden in Hand” resorts to desperate measures to pay the bills, answering a Craigslist ad seeking “actors” for solo scenes, at $1,000 a (literal) pop. Also carrying the tone of today’s politics is “The Senator’s Perfect Wife,” in which S.T. Clemmons’ narrator laments the trophy spouse of a politician old enough to be her father, and wonders about their acts of congress.
Lilycat explores horror in the humorous “Why Zombies Make the Best Lovers,” while Stephen Smith treads sci-fi in the tomorrow tale “Detachable Penis,” in which a female doctor’s invention of just that causes men much frustration as the male member becomes just another accessory in ladies’ purses.
Give it a, er, shot. —Rod Lott
“Carolyn grinned and produced a hag so old, her ability to manufacture any type of vaginal juice faded just after the dinosaurs died. She smelled like an Egyptian exhibit.”
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Okay, what is this, the third sex book review in a row? First there was that Sexy Book of Sexy Sex, or whatever, then Vampire Sex and now this. You’re hooked on sex books. Admit it.
I’m still waiting for the review of the “nude pictures of Charo” book.