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FARTHEST SPACE: THE WRATH OF JAN
-- Ellen Fisher
Commander Vaish, second in command to the galaxy's biggest playboy, Captain Stephen T. McNeill, has spent the last five years watching McNeill parade his conquests all over the galaxy. Even though
she's from Canvul, a planet known for its sexuality, she's tried to be above that in her role as an officer on board the Arisia.
Captain Stephen T. McNeill lives life to the fullest. A woman in every port and then some. His second in command, Vaish, is colder than an iceburg, even if she has the body to melt the polar ice caps.
When a vengeful spy infiltrates the Arisia, McNeill and Vaish are marooned on a planet inhabited only by massive Sabertooth Tigers. Thrust into thinking
they'll probably live the rest of their lives together on the planet, both loosen up a bit and let their true feelings for each other show. But
there's more than tigers on the planet. If they survive and escape, will they stay true to their feelings?
Reminiscent of the old Star Trek, this is a story of what those episodes would have been if they were on cable. Vaish and McNeill are true to their characters and
Vaish's dead-pan sense of humor makes the story. If you're a Trekkie, or even a closet Trekkie, this is the story for you.
EARTH GIRLS AREN'T EASY -- Jaide Fox
Chyna Lin, part of the rebel earthlings on the planet Attar, is captured and given two options by
Attar's handsome leader. One, become his concubine and produce an heir or be sent to the penal colony on the planet Hellinos. Being regulated to Hellinos is out of the question, so she chooses the only other option available to her.
Darian Jatara must produce an heir to solidify his position on the throne, and since he plans to work on a peace treaty with the humans, having Chyna as his concubine should help his cause. Plus, she sets his body on fire and he would hate to see such beautiful flesh wasting away on Hellinos.
Darian is magic in bed, as well as a gifted jailer. Chyna finds herself being sexed so much she
doesn't know how many days she's not even gotten out of bed. Chyna is determined to escape, even if Darian is starting to weed his way into her heart. But will her determination, ruin the future of earthlings on Attar?
EARTH GIRLS is a highly erotic story. The love scenes between Darian and Chyna could set my screen on fire. However, I
didn't really get why there needed to be a rebel sect of earthlings on a planet that they were not first inhabitants on anyway. It left the credibility of the story in question. Despite the hole in the story line, Jaide Fox is an excellent story teller.
FULLY FUNCTIONAL
-- Ashley Ladd
Shannon Donovan has been in love with her brother Scotty's best friend, Gregg Baxter. Scott and Gregg are scientists and Shannon has had to put up with many of their experiments over the years but their latest one has her facing her feelings for Gregg.
Gregg and Scotty have created lifelike androids and a 'robotic house' and Shannon is their guinea pig to test it out. What Shannon
doesn't know, is that she's the reason Gregg created these robots and he hopes to use this opportunity to get closer to his best
friend's hot younger sister.
Shannon suffers from a debilitating disease; she's allergic to the sun. Gregg and Scotty have turned
Gregg's house into a haven for her, where she can create recipes for her cookbooks and have her every desire catered to by the androids. Shannon wants Gregg to grant her every desire and tries to utilize living in
Gregg's house to her advantage. Unfortunately, the androids have other ideas.
Fully Functional was not really funny except for the end where Gregg is kicking around the android head like a soccer ball. Like the movie, I, Robot, it brings to the forefront issues that we might be facing in the future as far as robotics go. However, the budding love story between Gregg and Shannon is tangible and well written.
There's nothing like having an older brother with a hunky best friend.
INTERPLANETARY LOVE
-- Shelly Munro
Ekim Ramuk, of the planet Nidini, is a famous actor on his planet. Along with being famous for his movies, he also inadvertently became famous as a lover, thanks to an old
girlfriend's vindictive big mouth. Now he spends most of his days on set and pleasuring women by the droves to keep that reputation so his status as an actor
doesn't go down. One problem, he's a virgin.
Carly Abercrombie is a cop on Earth. She's had date after date yet always finds them lacking. No one even peaks her interest. In a drunken stupor, she signs up for a date online on a website called, Interplanetary Love. Expecting this to be the worst date
she's ever had, Carly is surprised to find that her date, Ekim, is not only a cop as well, but also the hottest guy
she's ever seen.
The attraction and passion is instantaneous between Ekim and Carly. Within days, Carly finds her heart melting and allowing Ekim in, but when she finds out the truth about him, that
he's an actor not a cop, she refuses to be pulled into a relationship
that's based on lies. Ekim, for the first time, knows he'll have no problem, completing intercourse with Carly, but he
can't let go of his lies. Will the truth repair the damage he's already inflicted on Carly?
INTERPLANETARY LOVE was my least favorite of these stories. I couldn't understand why Ekim, if he was worth
one's salt as an actor, would succumb to the droves of women wanting to sample his
'expertise' when he obviously hated it. It was also very distracting the he had a name for his member and constantly referred to it by its name. Carly seems pretty one dimensional, no real depth to her as a character. The background story of
Ekim's sister made her seem very selfish. The schematics of the story were excellent however, the
author's voice well written. It was the story that was lacking.
Overall, TRIPPING THROUGH THE UNIVERSE is a great sci-fi anthology. All four authors have wonderful voices and each story is well written. The publisher is touting this as humorous, which I think the first story, The Wrath of Jan, fits to a
'T'. The other three stories seem to lack enough humor that almost makes the genre misleading. Despite that, I really enjoyed the sci-fi aspect of the anthology.
Reviewed by Tina Burns
for The Road to Romance
December 18, 2005
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