Title: Situation Normal
Author: Morgan Harcourt
Genre: Sci-Fi Erotica / Kinks & Fetishes
ISBN: 9781627570435
Length: Short Story (41 pages)
Publisher: Storm Moon Press (August 30th, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4~4.5 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: Sebastian Reed tries to live his life under the radar. Wayunder the radar. His job is ferrying cargo across the solar system, and not all of the cargo he moves is, strictly speaking, legal. So when he’s boarded by an alien Peace Officer named ‘His Most Just Tenacity’ (or ‘Ten’ for short), he’s pleasantly surprised that all the officer wants is to commandeer his ship in pursuit of a completely different fugitive. Even more pleasant is the fact that Ten is a particularly attractive member of his species, and that he finds Sebastian to be just as good-looking. Soon, Ten is commandeering more than just Sebastian’s ship, but his body as well. Not that Sebastian minds in the slightest.
Product Link: http://www.stormmoonpress.com/books/Situation-Normal.aspx
Review: Every curse under the sun in the most screeching voice ever was thrown to this author with the end of this damned story. Agrrr, still trembling with frustration at it. All right, deep breaths, calming down, and here we go.
What an incredibly frustrating story. Nope, no, it doesn’t start like that. It isn’t frustration in the middle of it either. It’s just that damned, freaking end, but trust me when I say it colors the entire read as such. Good frustration though, amazing even once I get over it and start thinking coherently again and stop feeling like the main character “Red” probably was at the exact time of the end. I swear if I say, “End” one more time…
So it didn’t hit me at first, but after I read this story the title made quite an impact; Situation Normal >> all fucked up! And that is the basic theme of the story, the action plot if you will. Quick run over the plot. Ten (a lizard/alien) is chasing a criminal, the only available ship around after he had his police ship wrecked is Sebastian’s piece of junk. He proceeds to overtake the ship and continue his chasing only to find out that the human owner is exactly his type leading to a complex way of thinking that he might be a honey trap – which he fully uses and renders useless in the aftermath of hot, steamy tentacle-induced sex – only to find out that Sebastian is indeed innocent and captured by the criminal he was chasing… Yep! Situation Normal because this criminal is a sadist in the ways Ten isn’t and any pain he causes Sebastian is not laced with pleasure, actually, pleasure is the last thing on his mind, and death looms right above his head.
Fast, tense, enticing and griping as hellhound’s jaws this story keeps you on your toes, thrashing you around between action and erotica like a damned tennis ball. There are kinks and fetishes and boundaries pushed to barely legal and tentacles instead of a normal penis (don’t shake your head it’s fascinating once you get over the shock that at the beginning you might get a bit confused about a certain slit) and there is fear and excitement and finally back to hot almost-sex-scenes that drive you nuts when you realize that our players are into yet another kink known as denial. Which I’m all in favor of as long as I’m not treated that way too. But thank to this author’s writing style you get so lost in sensation and the reading is so enthralling that you forget your place and it hits you full force when at the very freaking end you’re left in freaking denial along with Sebastian, and damn it will I ever stop ranting about it.
Bottom end, it was good, it was great, and it was absolutely the read to make the highlight of my week. Definitely recommended to those who love sci-fi, alien/human relationship, and suspense/action.