The Auction by Kitty Thomas

www.kittythomas.com

On this strange, foreign planet there are monsters – dragon-winged, clawed monsters that kill and terrorize any human who dares to venture outside the city walls. Inside the city, human civilization attempts to continue on as it always has – despite lost technological information and the monsters. To keep circulating cash through the city, and so the city can buy supplies from transport ships, human girls are auctioned off at 18. The money from The Auction is given to the city. Annabelle Walker, ‘Belle’, has worked hard for two years blowing (literally) Stephen Thurman so he’ll buy her and set her free after The Auction. Unfortunately on auction day, a mysterious stranger – cloaked, of course – bids the price too high and buys her instead. Horror of horrors, he’s revealed to be one of those monsters – and the red-skinned, winged beast takes her back to his cave/lair to meet his blue-skinned brother. Her fate is to become both a lover and a plaything to ‘Master’ (red) and ‘Sir’ (blue). Belle, however, isn't going down without a fight. After all, it can't be right for her to actually enjoy her stay with the monsters... can it?

I love Kitty Thomas’s work. It’s so psychologically erotic. It’s not necessarily about physical control (though there was some of that) but about the seduction and control of a person’s mind – of their complete submission. Unfortunately, this was not my favorite of hers, simply because it needed a few more words. Though I respect Kitty’s viewpoint on the length of her stories (found here), I still needed this to be a tad longer with a little more development. This one felt rushed. But it was still good and exquisitely dark – full of hot, steamy, sexy details.

I am normally not a fan of sci-fi alien stuff, but this was pretty light and I loved the new dimension it added to the story. It added a new dimension of control and distance – different cultures, a removal from the familiar, the development of dependence on the ‘monsters’ for safety, survival, and sanity. The cultural barrier – which I found especially interesting when the tables are turned and we find the monsters are more sophisticated than the humans – created some interesting problems that Master hadn’t anticipated (dealing especially with the limits and frailty of the human race). Overall, the book sci-fi setting wasn’t a drawback for me at all. It was an intriguing setting even for non-sci-fi lovers.

Belle was a very believable character, warring between desire and lust and guilt for feeling something so ‘wrong’. Both Sir and Master were interesting, and very different in their ‘monster-ness’. Sir was the nice one, Master the sadistic one, and the dynamics were fascinating. I also loved the scene at the end when another girl is added to the ‘family’. *fans self* Overall, Sir and Master were both human and not, but they each had feelings, compassion, emotion, and a softer side even in their sometimes dispassionate use of Belle. Both were… pleasurable to read about, and I loved the casual nature of the sex/foreplay in the cave. It was sexy and totally orgasmic. I may need to go take a shower. I definitely need to go take a shower. Right now.

Quote (it just amused me. One of those lines that means less out of context, but it made me giggle):

“I can’t go with you,” I said. My voice managed to sound less hysterical than I’d expected.

“You’re already with me. We already left.” (Touché, sexy monster. Touché.)

“Sexy”ness rating: HOT (kinks: two different females, each have sex with two different males, f/f, voyeurism, physical ‘punishment’, Master/Slave relationship, light bondage, strapping)

Overall Rating: B

Bottom Line: This was a good, albeit short, BDSM novella. It was more psychological than physical mastery and bondage, but the physical was still there. Another great Kitty Thomas novella!

Pages: 20,000 words (approx 80 pages)

Published: June 24, 2011
Genre: Dark Erotica