Hits and Misses

This book is a collection of short stories. Some of them are great, some of them...not so much. Overall, I think it was worth it to get a feel for which authors in the sci-fi harem genre are worth exploring.

Forged In Runes by Marcus Sloss is a great start to the book. A story about an old man whose obsession with runes gives him an unexpected chance to be young again - and has the potential to change his fortunes. The story was good enough that I was disappointed when it ended; it felt like it could have been the beginning of a novel. I will definitely be checking out Mr. Sloss' work in the future.

For the Future by Misty Vixen is an unusual story. It's about a future world in which humanity's future is in peril and people with the best genes are selected to breed to save humanity. The main character is in a throuple with two very attractive women he needs to get pregnant - and soon, a third will be added. The story focuses on the feelings of the people involved and how they overcome issues between them. While it was a refreshing change, the story itself didn't seem to have any conflict or go anywhere.

Apocalypse Girls by DJ Kingman was not great. An alien invasion three years earlier destroyed civilization and left the scattered survivors hiding from aliens who... hunted breedable human women. Okay. The main character is a tough man who went to prison for protecting a woman. Okay. And now he's saving two breedable women from slavery, one of whom is a sexy alien. Yeah. I ended up skipping the rest of the story.

A Dangerous Job by Johnathan Waters was also not so great. A plucky crew of down on their luck space mercenaries finally gets a paying job - to film sex acts while flying into forbidden space? Yes, that's the plot. I skipped it.

Love Thyself by Virgil Knightley is a zany story that is hard to describe. The author self-inserts himself into the story as a sex god writer who is ordered to have sex with an alternative-reality version of himself in order to get the story for one of his books. The book is completely over the top, from descriptions of characters to the dialogue. If you like tongue in cheek, you'll probably like this, but it is a risky style.

Operation Succubus by Michael Dalton is bad. The main character is the sole mercenary in his squad who survived a botched coup... because the three magical succubi working for the dictator sense that deep down inside, he has a special quality nobody else has: the ability to make them cum before he does. Which he does in order to free them from their master and an eternity in Hell. Yeah. That's the plot.

Party Time by M. E. Thorne is a decent listen. It centers around a husband-and-wife pair of adventurers - a human barbarian and his goblin wife, who is eager to add more to her Mighty Husband's harem. The pair need a third adventurer for a quest - a beautiful naga priestess - and to nobody's surprise, she ends up marrying him as well. There are no surprises in this story, no deep plot, but it's soothing and pleasant to listen to.

Legacy of a Stellar Empire by Danny Rogan was one of the best in this book! A science fiction story set when humans are retaking their lost worlds from a hive mind enemy. Our main character is an AI enhanced super soldier sent to liberate one such world, only to discover that humans have been kept alive on this world. He makes contact with the aliens and learns more about what's been happening. I wanted to hear more about this setting! It's an interesting concept, the characters are nice, and the sexy times are hot without being in your face. I would be willing to read more by Mr. Rogan.

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