My first reading of Pat Califia's work was in PoMoSexuals, a collection of essays where she was one of the contributors. Her writing was so eloquent and coherent that I sought out her books. In this collection of her essays, Califia challenges the muddled thinking and hyperbole so prevalent among feminists (especially Andrea Dworkin) about pornography and sexual "deviance." Califia's knowledge and arguments are stated clearly with humor and compassion. Many quotable quotes such as: "It is true that pornography is marketed for a male audience, but there are women who enjoy it. I do not think it sufficient to say these women are brainwashed by the patriarchy, since women are socialized NOT to use erotic materials." (p. 109)

[about teen interest in sex] "Any attempt at independence and autonomy by a young person is seen as wickedness, rebellion, and evil." (p. 80) And: "It is adult outrage and shame over such perfectly normal activities that give young people the idea that there's something wrong with sex or nudity, and intimidates them out of asking the questions they need to explore their own erotic natures." (p. 81)

"Instead of praying for extraordinary talents, we should pray for the good sense to fully use the talents we have been given." (p. 259)

I found this book informative and very thought provoking and recommend it for anyone with strong feelings, pro or con, about the rights of sexual minorities.

~~Joan Mazza, author of Dream Back Your Life; Dreaming Your Real Self; Things That Tick Me Off; and Exploring Your Sexual Self.

"...and possibly change your mind about some things. At the very least, it will require you to think about some things in a way you've never done before.

at one point in Public Sex, Pat Califia says that "you can still be a sex radical even if you prefer to get off in the missionary position and still believe there are only two genders." it's an important thing to remember. in this collection of essays, Califia explores -- over a period of about a dozen years -- issues of sex, politics, and where the two intersect (usually by bolstering the latter at the expense of the former). she explains why sexual freedoms and sexual responsibility are rights we all deserve, though many of us don't get them. she confronts the p.c. "feminist" positions on issues like pornography, prostitution, and S/M, and her well-thought-out points will make any reader pause. Public Sex changed my life, making me more aware than i had ever been of the sheer *perversity* of the strictures on sexual behavior in our culture today. the more people read this book, the better our chances of gaining those liberties that all of us deserve.

This book rocks. I didn't even mind the hetero Frankie and Johnnie, if it was in fact hetero. Dolly was chilling and amusing...very creative, Ms. Califia! I didn't care for the Mercy/No Mercy bit in there...trying to be too clever for my tastes I think. All in all, this book definitely outclasses her Macho Sluts book and is a good purchase...esp. if you can get it for its discounted price on Amazon.

Happy reading, girls!

I couldn't even believe what a good book this is. I picked up a few books to keep me occupied while my partner was away for awhile and this one earned a place next to my bed. If you want to feel your toes curl I recommend picking this book up.

Whether you're an old fan or a newcomer to leather fiction, you're in for a treat. Califia has crafted another collection of short stories that will stimulate the biggest sex organ of all: your brain.

_No Mercy_'s pansexual breadth means there's something for everyone, whether you're a fan of Califia's tough, sweet leatherdykes or the dark SF that the author offered a taste of in _Melting Point_. (The Vesh are back!) Just when we think that leather can't shock us anymore, Califia gives us "The Cop and His Choirboy" (penned with partner Matt Rice), an odyssey into the world of a corrupt police officer and the hustler whose love may redeem him, and "Skinned Alive," a chilling dystopian meditation on barebacking.

Califia's writing is still sharp and shiny, studded with the wry humor that has become the author's trademark. Yet this collection is perhaps the author's most deeply personal, exploring gender, spirit, and the meeting place between love and loss.

As always, Califia's work excites on many levels. So make room on your bedside table for one more book: this one's a keeper.

I feel this book was the best book of the series, the plot line was wonderful, a small mixture of mystery involved in the task Tarl had to complete.

However- yet again we see how very Weak our Hero is when faced with women. He strives so very hard to be a good "Gorean" male- and always seems to fail in some small respect.

This book spurred the creation of a LARP group- the TUCHUX's which sometimes come out to SCA events. a very good read, and ties in nicely with books much loater in the series.

If you read only One Gor Book- this sould be it!

I have always considered "Assassins of Gor" to be John Norman's magnum opus in his Counter-Earth series, but there is no more enjoyable novel than the novel that comes before it "Nomads of Gor." After bonding with the Priest-King Misk, Tarl Cabot is sent from the Sardar Mountains to find the last egg of the Priest-Kings, which has been hidden among the Wagon People. Unfortunately, the Wagon People are probably the most xenophobic on Gor and will not take kindly to Cabot just walking up and joining them.

"Nomads of Gor" has two great strengths, both of which are rather unique to the series. First, Norman does a masterful job of creating the civilization of the Wagon People, which consists of four tribes. I suppose he might be basing his research on some nomadic tribes of Earth, but I did not sense any strong parallels as I did, for example, with the "Viking" like "Marauders of Gor." We get a sense of the culture of the Tuchuks, one of the four tribes that Cabot stays with as he searches for the egg, which goes well beyond what we have seen up to this point in the series. The customs, especially the competitive games the Wagon Peoples play, are much more detailed than what we had seen in the towered cities of Ar and Ko-ro-ba.

Second, this is the funniest of the Gor books, with the humor coming mostly from conversations that involve the character of Harold the Tuchuk, although Kamchak, also of the Tuchucks, has his moments as well. It is not far fetched to say that these are two best-developed supporting characters in the Gor series, and I would contend that this is due in large measure to their sense of humor. But the humor is clearly Norman's, who has this style of using short sentences to develop his droll wit. This is character driven humor, where who says what in which situation makes all the difference; none of the lines that tickle your funny bone would ever evoke a laugh by themselves, because context is everything in Norman's humor.

I always wondered why Norman did not return to the Tuchuks later in the series, but maybe he did not think he could pull off a return visit that equaled the success of this effort. This is also the novel that introduces Vella, the former Elizabeth Caldwell of Earth, who becomes one of the key continuing characters in the Tarl Cabot novels. Of course, this opens up the giant can of worm regarding Norman's Gorean philosophy that "slavery" is the natural state of women, who can only be truly "free" when they totally submit to a master. I have to admit that I never took this idea beyond the fictional level and that as the series progressed I flipped through the long philosophical discussions between masters and slaves in later novels (Norman is the pseudonym of philosopher Professor John Lange). I also know that there are people who take the Gorean lifestyle very seriously. I could quote Abraham Lincoln in response to this topic, but I would probably be closer to the mark if I just said different strokes for different folks and went my own merry way.

The bottom line for me is that I enjoyed Norman's early Gor novels in the seventies the same way I had enjoyed reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars novels in the sixties (when I discovered them). The first six novels of the Gor series standup well against the Burroughs novels that obviously inspired Norman in part (there are strong parallels between the first work in each series). If you find the philosophical aspects of these books offensive, then do not read them.

I was so surprised at how good Priest-Kings of Gor, my first Gor book, was that I decided to try another one, Nomads of Gor, the next in the series in which Tarl Cabot attempts to carry out his mission for the Priest-Kings. The strong point of Priest-Kings was the depiction of a truly alien culture. The culture in this one is not quite so alien...the lifestyle of the Wagon Peoples is based on that of the Mongol hordes of the 13th C. In all other respects this book is even better than the first. I'd even go so far as to say that it has all one could ask for in an action-adventure story: plenty of action, delightful characters (especially Kamchak and Harold), a richly detailed society, humor, intrigue, surprises (but I did guess most of them before they were revealed), and even one of the most bizarre monsters I've ever read about. Particularly delightful was the sequence where Tarl Cabot and Harold go to the walled city of Turia on their separate missions. Fast-paced and humorous, it reads like something out of the Arabian Nights. There is one other aspect of the book that needs to be addressed: the issue of slavery and abusive behavior towards women. It's much more prominent in this book than in Priest-Kings. There is no doubt in my mind that the kind of actions depicted here happened in the real world of the Mongols but I don't think he has quite gotten the psychology of the situation right, at least for most people. There are three women in this book who come to be dominated: Aphris of Turia, Hereena of the First Wagon, and Elizabeth Cardwell of New York (yes, New York!). The first two are haughty, even arrogant, and despise the men who come to dominate them, the third is simply terrified of the situation she finds herself in. Yet, when given the opportunity to escape slavery and go back to their former lives of power and luxury, they choose not to because they have become so fulfilled by the domination of their Masters. Nonsense! Well, there are submissive personalities out there (male and female) and if that is what they want for their lifestyles who am I to say no, but that certainly does not fit the profile of Aphris or Hereena. Norman seems to be saying that slavery is the "natural" lifestyle for all women and that is just wrong. So here is my dilemma: John Norman is obviously a master storyteller but if the reviews of his other books on this website are any indication, he hasn't even hit his stride yet on the slavery theme. I feel conflicted. There are lots of Gor books out there that I would probably enjoy immensely if it weren't for the gender issues but then they wouldn't really be Gor books without the gender issues, now, would they? I like what I've read so far but don't like where I think this series is headed. What to do, what to do?

After his most popular Gor novel, "Nomads of Gor," and his magnum opus, "Assassin of Gor," John Norman has Tarl Cabot head off in a new direction in this 6th volume of the Counter-Earth series. I think "Raiders of Gor" is a notch below those two, on a level with "Priest-Kings of Gor," which is certainly a comparable novel from the series since it also redefined Tarl Cabot's role on Gor.

We have heard mention of Port Kar in the earlier books and now Tarl Cabot is visiting the cesspool of Gor. The city has no Home-Stone and power belongs to those strong enough to take it. However, on his way to Port Kar, on a mission in service to the Priest-Kings, Tarl Cabot has an experience with transforms him from the Tarnsman of Ko-ro-ba into Bosk, captain of Port Kar. One of the consequences of this change is that Bosk is not inclined to serve the will of the Priest-Kings in their battle with the Others. But even in Port Kar, the coming war for the control of Counter-Earth is part of the power politics of the Council of Captains.

"Raiders" focuses much more on the Tarl/Bosk character at the expense of some of the wonderful supporting characters Norman had created in the previous couple of novels, although there are a few (e.g., the slave-boy Fish). But whatever faults the rest of the novel might have for fans of the series, the sequence in which Bosk decides to stay and fight for Port Kar is one of the dramatic highpoints of the series.

"Raiders of Gor," at least for me, was the last really decent John Norman novel for a long time ("Marauders of Gor" was the next one that was up to this level). After this point what is usually described as the Gorean Philosophy becomes more dominant than the adventures of Tarl Cabot in Norman's writings. It is perhaps telling that out of print copies of his novels "Slave Girl of Gor" and "Kajira of Gor" go for more than "Nomads of Gor" and "Assassin of Gor."

Raiders of Gor is one of the best books of Norman's Gor series (right along with Magicians of Gor).

First of all it features all the expected ingredients of a Gor novel: A lot of bondage situations and non-consensual sex amidst the typical Gor-like setting with adamantine warriors dominating their submissive female slaves. Plus an elaborately carved fantasy world with unique flora, fauna and complex human (and non-human) societies.

But as a welcomed change, our hero Tarl Cabot doesn't wander through this world like the invincible and unaffectable symbol of virtue, law and order he had become in the first 5 books of this series. Instead we discover a darker side of our ideal warrior that Norman exploits to create an intelligent story of downfall and rise-back to power. For the first time I found myself really rooting for Tarl as he first succeeds in establishing himself as a competent swordsman in the anarchic pirate city of Port Kar, to finally become the savior of his newly chosen hometown, when he wards off a large-scale attack on Port Kar by rival seaports.

The only reason that kept me from giving Raiders even 5 stars was the usual exaggeration of Tarl's achievements, like defeating a small armada of war barges with just a longbow and a huge quiver of arrows. Or the flight with his warbird across miles of open sea through a severe thunderstorm. But those minor flaws aren't too crucial to spoil the fun, and whatever you can say of Norman's idiosyncratic and maybe sexist fantasy setting, Raiders of Gor is one exciting fantasy book featuring strife, passion and a fallen hero set to become a morally stained yet emotionally matured elite warrior in a wild and dangerous archaic world.

I read this book because a man wanted me to understand his fantasy of women. Of all the Gor books, this particular one is the most fun becuase Tarl becomes a man of Port Kar. Port Kar is the center of evil in this world. He was forced to sacrifice his dignity and his freedom, and once freedom was regained, he no longer felt compelled to do what is good and right but to do what suits him. I am a women and I didn't find their treatment of women appalling. In fact, I relished the idea of being a good woman and have since tried harder than ever to be a good Kajira for the man who wanted me to read Raiders. I have been enslaved by Jakob and by Gor. I have been marked with a K. I am happy living in my own private Gor fantasy, although most people would never go that far. I would highly reccomend at least reading Raiders, and the other Gor books, and perhaps incorporating it into a little role playing in the bedroom.

Sensuous Magic is Pat Califa's basic intro to BDSM play. The book is somewhat short and does not cover a very wide spectrum of play, however, it does provide a good overview of the basics. If you are looking for a "how to" book of techniques, you are better off with a book like SM 101 or Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns.

However, Ms. Califia does an excellent job at examining the psychology and spirituality of BDSM play. She intersperses her words of wisdom with a few well chosen fantasies that help new players to get a feel for how BDSM scenes might work.

In the first chapter of the book, Ms. Califia provides four short stories to lubricate the imagination. The second chapter covers a very important part of play - communication and negotiation. The third chapter covers the techniques and psychology of bondage. The fourth chapter describes different types of sensations to experiment with. The fifth chapter covers whipping and flogging. The sixth chapter deals with sex in a BDSM scene.

The end of the book contains several appendicies which cover topics such as cautions on contracts, a glossary of terms, a reading list and a resource list.

Overall, this book is an excellent, non threatening introduction for people wishing to experiment with BDSM play.

Top, Bottom, or switch, this book isn't wishy-washy erotica (although there are somme charming short stories for illustration within) but rather a terrific book on the emotional how-to's of S&M. The focus is on safety and consent, how to avoid hurting the person(s) you are with and how to avoid getitng hurt. If only all manuals had this much focus on the well being of the people involved!

Pat Califia hits all the bases, and hits them well. She doesn't just stay in her own erotic turf (namely leatherdyke) but covers all areas of the Leather Underground, including my favorite: Gor. Fans of this book should keep their eyes on the ads in Heavy Metal: the Gorean Renaissance is about to erupt! You could do worse than to use this book for your guide to _living_ the fantasy!

This book slinks! I'm a 16 year old baby dyke from Madison, Wisconsin. It's got a lot of S/M stuff, which kind of put me off at first, cos I'm quite vanilla. Still, it's a great book and I read one poem over and over again. That would "Only You Can Kiss Like This." I shared it with my lover and she really liked it too. I love Califia's imagery. At first I"d only heard of her as a sex columnist in a lesbian magazine and I was happily surprised to hear she writes poetry as well.

Pat states in "Diesel Fuel," "If I have a vocation, it is to combat sexual shame by speaking as much truth as I know about what really happens in the realm of Eros, and Diesel Fuel is one more record of that calling."

I am a dyke. As part of my coming out process, I sought out lesbian/dyke history. I wanted a record of others who were like me. I wanted to learn about them. I'm grateful for Pat's work, including "Diesel Dykes."

As you read each poem, you can feel the soul of the woman she introduces you to. These poems are true dyke poetry.

I'm proud to say I have been out for a number of years. I'm happy to report I had the opportunity to meet Pat Califia at a gathering in San Francisco.

Enjoy "Diesel Fuel" and any other of her excellent, thought-provoking work.

I devoured this book, cover to cover. I trust you will too.

Kloster in "Forms of Desire" give us all the beauty and sensuality of Fetichism. Divided by themes, all different forms of love and sense are represented by situations where the woman is the focus. She uses black and white photos to increase our fantasy. All the forms of desire are allowed and Kloster show us a range of them bringing to the reader the choice.

My best friend gave me a copy of this book, and I thought, "Hmmm." I've never before found visual erotica that I truly enjoyed. As a kinky feminist, most of the naughty images I've been exposed to that turn me on sexually have also turned me off politically. Not true of this work! There are few artists in this world who aren't afraid to step outside the boundaries of the expected, and Kloster is one of them. It was lovely to encounter images of women of different shapes, sizes, and ethnicities in porn. It was even better to see work that doesn't use the same five shots over and over again. You know what I'm talking about, right? Open a man's porn magazine. We have the blond, large-chested, woman with a vapid smile on her face wearing a sexy outfit, then topless, then nude, then masturbating, then a close-up of the genitals. Boring! Kloster isn't afraid to be different, and it shows.
Always before with porn, I felt that the male gaze was part of the picture. It was as much a part of the creation of the image as the lighting or makeup, and I didn't like it. I've often had the feeling that women portrayed in erotica were putting on shows for men, rather than just enjoying themselves. It's something in their body language. A certain degree of self-consciousness, perhaps? For whatever reason, that phenomenon was missing from this artwork. The women seemed natural, comfortable, at ease, and it deeply enhanced my enjoyment of the work. (Maybe porn made by women really is different!)
I would also recommend this book as artwork, besides just being sexy. Kloster's sense of style and photographic composition is very much in evidence, and she's definitely avant-garde, willing to toy with our expectations.
I never knew that I could enjoy visual erotica. Now that I know that work this wonderful exists, I'm on a hunt for more!

This second "coming to power" book about lesbian SM has a lot of fiction in it and I was disappointed. There are lots of fiction collections of lesbian SM but the first "Coming to Power" was ground breaking because it tackled SM in a straight forward and honest yet controversal way when the debate about SM, lesbians, and feminism was first raging loudly. The stories are great and the articles are wonderful I was just hoping for the same sort of information as the first book. Perhaps the first did so well with communicating its message, that the second could me more varied.

The book has 3 major parts: - short stories: - poems and - articals. I found the articals being the most interesting and mind-opener part in the book.It give the reader both a personal-expiriance view and the academic - politic view. To me the book gave a lot to think about , let alone dreem...

I bought this book and thought, "Well, this will be ... different." I'd never read SM porn before. Honestly, the first read-through, I thought, "This is interesting but it really bothers me." Now it's my favorite bedtime reading. If you are tired of lesbian "erotica" that somehow manages to leave out the sex, you'll like this book. There are lots of detailed, long sex scenes, and if one is not your cup of tea, another will be. It also had a good variety of scenarios, and each one is well-written. Even if you aren't interested in SM, Pat Califia is the best lesbian-porn writer out there, and you probably will find something you like in this book.

The trouble with what literary people like to call erotica and what the rest of us know as porn is that either it's terribly hifalutin and trails off into a row of dots just before it gets good, or else it's dismally badly written. The great virtue of Macho Sluts is that Pat Califia is, apart from anything else, a damn good writer who doesn't smear Vaseline on the lens, as it were. I'm not the only person to testify that you don't have to be into S&M, or a lesbian, or even a woman, to enjoy this book. (Though if you can't imagine what it might like to be one or all of the above, then you won't find it very rewarding - like the person below who claimed that it was all sex scenes. Well, duhh.) The Calyx of Isis is one of the most extraordinarily arousing things ever written; truly, the hormones have reason, of which the stated sex on your birth certificate knows nothing. I wouldn't want to advise anybody not to read this book - but please, with a title like Macho Sluts, you should at least have some idea of what you're getting into.

A collection of very rough and often bloody porn from Pat Califia. These aren't nice romantic tells, these stories cross gender lines, orientation boundaries, and get into SM in ways that only gay male writing had done before. If you like your sex rough yet the plots still deep and consider your constutition strong, you check out this book. I, personally, find a lot of the stories too intense but there are a few I've read over and over and I do not normal like lesbian SM porn.

Every taste seems to be covered in this book. It was fun to simply open the book and pick a new story...you don't know where you will be led but most of the stories take you to a new and fun place your mind dares not to admit.

I enjoyed most of the book.... but by far the one I enjoyed most was the story by Betty Blue. *whew*!

This book was the best book that I have ever read! Second to, "The Old Man and The Sea." I found it very erotifying. The pictures are fantastic, so are the articles. They are chalk full of sexxy details..and naughty secrets! It has succeeded to fulfill my cravings!