ManLove Monday - Master of Obsidian by Jamie Craig part deux

WAIT! Lisabea and I are doing a dueling review today. And the party is so big and fun that it cannot be contained on only one blog. No, no, we are spreading our tentacles of MLM across both our blogs. If you haven't already read part one, you gotta head over to lisabea's blog for the beginning....found here. Done reading part one? Ok, now you can begin. :)

...

whew. No one ever said that this book was hearts and flowers. Gideon reminds me just a little bit of an ethically challenged super hero. Super-hero because like Batman et al, he has “sworn to protect the city” and lurks in the shadows fighting the evil bad things that go bump in the night. Ethically challenged because, let’s face it, the guy is in many ways amoral. He’s not a cuddly vampire. Hell, his idea of a first date is taking Jesse to a vampire bar and screwing his brains out in front of an audience. With audience participation. *fans self* Did I mention that this amorality is in fact part of what makes him so goddammed attractive and irresistible? Uh huh. A bad boy who really is bad.

So. wait. Goddamnit. The plot? I always stray from the POINT! OK, well basically the drug Obsidian heightens a vampires desire. Frees them of their restraint. And they kill.

Someone is trying to hook the vamp population on Obsidian and then incite them to do evil things. You might even call this drug lord the MASTER of Obsidian (sorry, had to say it). Between bouts of hot manly manlove, our heros must track down the Obsidian pushers and end their nefarious plans. JUST SAY NO to drugs, kids! Actually, it is nice to see Jesse and Gideon work together in tandem as a partnership outside of the bedroom as well as in it. For all the rough and edgy sexxoring, both of these guys have a sense of humor. The banter between them and the way they are so clearly in tune with one another just adds another layer to the story and the nature of their friendship contrasts with the way they interact in the sexual realm. It's fascinating to see the duality in each of their characters. Gideon likes his partners to beg but he also respects the hell out of Jesse for his strength and intelligence. Jesse is smart, clean cut and something of a brainiac but he craves submission.

"What about what I want?" he countered. "You're the best friend and partner I've ever had. Doesn't that count for anything?"
"What makes you think I'd stop being those things, Gideon? I'm still your friend. I still know you better than anybody, and the only way I'd ever stop being your partner is if you fired me. And we both know you'd never do that, because you don't like to research."
"Because sex is messy, Jess. Especially the kind of sex..." He braced himself for being honest. "...I'd want."
"That's why we shower afterward," Jess joked, but it fell flat. "Gideon, the kind of sex you want is the kind of sex I want. You haven't frightened me, or horrified me, or maimed me, or damaged me. We're both consenting adults, and I'm not so naïve I don't know what I'm consenting to."

The glue that holds this the festival of fluids and buddy love together is the underlying theme of trust. Soooo many layers of trust going on in this book. The obvious...clearly any two characters involved in a BDSM relationship have got to have a foundation of trust to build upon. Although our heros have a strong friendship, they both make a leap of faith in risking that relationship. Gideon must learn to trust that Jesse can make his own choices. However, the erotic thrill ride within this little novel is the gripping fear that Gideon may accidentally kill Jesse by going a step too far. And it's not Jesse who possesses the will power to say no. His trust is implicit. The will to stop lies solely within the tattered moral compass of that reformed killer of humans for sport and pleasure, Gideon. It's one DARK fucking adventure. And I mean that most literally.

"And what was her great sin, Gideon?" Anger rippled through his every word. It was the reaction Gideon had feared.

"She killed a man, remember? She did more than kill him. You read the coroner's report. He was still alive when she tore into his gut."

Jesse yanked at his collar, revealing the bites on his neck. Even the one that was over a week old still looked deep and red. "I never stopped you because I trusted that you wouldn't leave me an empty husk. Even later that night, when you practically turned me into your chew toy. I would bet money that Toby trusted her the same way, and I believe she never meant to get high on obsidian when she was with him. Henry infected her, Gideon. I don't know why, but I think she's telling the truth. She didn't intend to hurt him."
Gideon wanted to point out that there was a distinct difference between Tricia and himself, but realized as the words poised on his tongue that maybe the difference wasn't as great as he thought. Tricia had tried to hold back because Toby was important to her. It was the exact same reason he'd given himself for protecting Jess.

S'riously. I'm not an expert in the ways of writing good BDSM, but I have to say that I think one key for me as a reader is that balance between the threat of violence and the foundation of trust. Love, desire, and fear all wrapped up in one heckuva erotic cocktail. You have to believe that the characters could be in actual danger even as you believe that everything is gonna be alright. Gideon and Jesse? All I can say is, it worked for me. Me too. Yowza.

I have to hand it to Pepper and Vivien. Sula and I worked for hours trying to figure out how to do this properly, what the hell we were going to say and how to divy up the work load. And, well ok, I need to admit that I didn't finish reading until 5 on Sunday (suck AND blow as a partner). I wondered how the pair could possibly write one paragraph at a time, back and forth, and maintain that voice...but it does happen through the shared process. We opted to color coordinate our writing cuz we is very proud of ourselves....

Pepper and Vivien both will be around the blogs today to answer any questions. There are quite a few books in this series (5) and this here book was on the Debabahahlrl. Jamie Craig will be posting a serial over at Bam's big ole website (woot to free lit-ticher!) soon.