BDSM Reviews

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Golden Man By: Claire Thompson


Title: Golden man
Author: Claire Thompson
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
ISBN # 978-1-4199-0744-9

Reviewed by Heidi Cook

Rating 4.5/5

Eric Méndez is known for being the best dom in the local area, so it is to everybodys surprise, including his own, when he withdraws from the scene because of new boy Johnny Wilson. The young golden boy is the only one Méndez can think about and he will do anything to help Johnny come to terms with his sexuality and his parents’ reaction whilst teaching him to become a graceful sub. As he teaches Johnny, he also finds himself on his own voyage of discovery.

Golden Man is a sequel to Golden Boy in which you first meet Eric and Johnny, however it can be read on its own, though readers may find that it takes a little longer to get into the story this way. Claire Thompson has produced very believable characters, and the reader will follow them both through a period in their lives where they learn much more about themselves then either realised was possible.

Eric Méndez is a psychologist, and Ms. Thompson has used this to explore the psychological reasons behind why people have submissive nature and also what occurs to the person as they go into ‘sub space’. I found the reasoning behind it all very interesting and it certainly allowed me to learn more about my feelings and reasoning behind the urge to be submissive.

The two main themes that Ms. Thompson uses throughout this book are BDSM and the fact that the main two characters are gay. Both of the two have come from totally different backgrounds; Méndez has known that he was gay for a long time, but Johnny is just getting used to his recognition of his feelings and is also coming to terms with the reaction of his family on finding out. Although BDSM is a the main theme of the story it has been written about in such a way that the book becomes more about the characters and how they act and behave then it does about the lifestyle they lead. The book also deals with how the ‘outside’ world views such a lifestyle, and it was interesting to see the conclusions that people draw before finding out the whole story.

The actual BDSM scenes were filled with tenderness and love, and the reader will see Johnny being trained to a high standard, each scene increasing in intensity as the training proceeds with Méndez taking it slowly to allow Johnny to push his boundaries a little at a time. Throughout the book, an incident at a BDSM club is alluded to, the pair plan to go back to the club once training is concluded to prove themselves again. Although incident is not described totally in this book, it is fairly clear that the incident scarred both Eric and Johnny.

Although this book was a m/m story and therefore not the sort that I normally read I did enjoy it. I loved looking in on the characters, seeing them both pushing their boundaries and expanding their knowledge of one another. Although I would recommend reading Golden Boy first, this is a good book for anyone new to the BDSM lifestyle and who would like to learn more.

Posted by Miranda Heart :: 11:17 PM :: 2 Comments:

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