Tag: Disability

D is for Drowning – Book Review: Into the Drowning Deep

Erin Penn

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Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

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The ocean is home to many myths,

But some are deadly. . .

Seven years ago the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy.

Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

 

MY REVIEW

Read for book club.

Near-future sci-fi fantasy horror. Climate change has impacted the ocean, and the change of environment modifies territories – what is available to hunt, eat. Things which should not come to the surface do so – from the Drowning Deep.

Preachy in the way that only sci-fi can be preachy. Taking a premise and drawing it out into a possible conclusion.

Great things – lots of different characters with different motivations. A unique monster that might be real (the very best option for horror). A reason, which while not quite sane but was still reasonable, to go “into the dark room” – you know, what we normally scream at people for in the horror movies we watch at home. Lots of different types of science, and no one person is an expert in any type – more like the normal science community than most books. Some great quotes. Deaf characters.

Not as great – preachy got a little noticeable. The scientists were a little too uncaring about their chances – a few did go “I know I might die, but this is the only chance and the knowledge is worth it”, but I really think more would do it. Giving that they had the entire world to draw on, I do see the company underwriting the expedition getting enough scientists willing to make the trade between research and safety to fill the ship. Not enough language barriers when dealing with a large scientific contingent – but since it was for an entertainment company, I could see them limiting it to pretty and/or well-spoken scientists who speak their audiences language.

The bad – you know, nothing was really bad. The book was a fun read.

I could put down the book when I needed to (not a horror fan), but it was engrossing when I read it. I marked lots of quotes.

To sum up: Near-future sci-fi fantasy horror – which hits all the ticks for its genres.

Flash: Not All Who Wander

Erin Penn 1 Comment

Image courtesy of the Internet Hive Mind

Today’s flash is based on a sign I saw while delivering mail today, “Not all who wander” and below it was a painting of a RV. And I thought to myself, “Not all who wander, leave home.”

***

Becca stood, leaning against the tree nearest the cliff’s edge, to watch the specular Aurora Polaris, doing her best to ignore the black hole in her field of vision on the left side stating the game simulation number, the companies involved in programming it, and all the other required matter so people never forget virtual reality is not actually reality. She could hack the credits spot to non-existence, but then she would spend another six months in rehabilitation without VR and there was no way she was going through that again just to get rid of the annoying spot.

She did have a list of things she was willing to get banned for, but not for simple credits. Getting rid of all credits … maybe, be people deserve to get paid. Especially – Becca glanced over to the credits space, expanding it for a moment – Northern Reaches, who developed the Northern Lights visuals. She snapped her eyes back to the green and blue curtains dancing across the sky.

“There you are.” Garret dropped on the ground next to her.

“Here I am.” She agreed, nodding at him.

“I just wanted to thank you for your help in the underground fortress.” The fighter, and leader of the gaming party who hired her character, plucked at the grass, not meeting her eyes and somehow shrugging down so his nearly seven-foot half-giant frame didn’t tower over her while he sat beside her. “Virgay and Daph wouldn’t have made it through without your healing.”

“De nada. You paid me well for that task.” Becca waved a green hand, the Aurora lights sparkling against her scales.

“I was…” Garret coughed to clear his throat, “I was wondering if you would like to join our band of adventurers.”

Startled, Becca made eye contact. “Um, well.”

“I mean, not to take you away from your normal group-“

She cut in. “I don’t have a normal group.” Rocking against the tree, she tried to decide what to say next. The last three days had been awesome, especially Garret. He made her laugh more than anyone had since, well, more than anyone ever. They talked late into the night. But that didn’t really change the reality side of her life. Better to bite the bullet now, because as idyllic as this episode had been, VR recreation time would end soon. “What I do have is a very unpredictable schedule. I mean I like you peeps well enough …” Becca switched the cutoff mid-stream. Her life had enough lemons, and Garret-time had made the normal lemons feel like a souffle these past few days. “and I really liked you. But I don’t know when-“

An internal alarm went off.

“You are kidding me.” Becca glanced over at her personal dashboard. “Already?”

“Becca?” Garret glanced in the direction of her stare.

“Garret I’m so sorry, I’m… will you shut off! I heard you the first time…about to have my Unplug Time.”

He stood to reach out to her, she could see the protest in his golden eyes.

“Look, I don’t know when my next…Turn Off!” Becca stabbed the air until the alarm stopped. “Look, I really like…Damn it, it’s pulling me out.”

Garret blinked as the dragon-kin cleric disappeared. Triple Zed. He really liked her. And his party was going to need another cleric soon. That had only been the third chapter of the adventure. The half-giant fighter meandered back to the rest of his party.

***

Becca carefully touched each finger on her right hand to her right thumb while waiting for the VR tube to open, then did the same with her left hand. Success. Every finger worked!

She waited for the medical bot to unhook vitals, help her swing her legs over the edge, and do the basic tests. Becca couldn’t feel her toes today as the bot checked. You win some, you lose some. Still an improvement over the state she was in before she started the most recent round of therapy. The new VR suite cost triple what a normal one would, but it pumped her full of medications and worked her muscles throughout her Hookup to the specific therapies her doctors recommended instead of just the standard maintenance of health. Before her degenerative nerve condition had her to the point of not even being able to move her head. Now she had motor control of her hands, arms, and shoulders.

“Did you have a nice time Becca?” The robot asked. Its base programming included minor companionship interaction. People didn’t react well to a tool moving them around.

“The rec time went well, thank you for asking R9.” Becca rocked with the robot as it transferred her to her mobile-chair. “What is on the program for today?”

The medical robot reviewed the two doctor visits for the day, as well the food orders and other basic maintenance normal Reals needed to do during their required Unplug day. While listening with half an ear, Becca did something she had never done before. She sent a Contact Card to Garret’s dashboard. He could now message her outside the game if he wanted.

Not meet her. Never meet her. Who would want to deal with the medical trainwreck of her life? But … maybe … be a virtual friend?

(First published 2/27/2022; 879 words)

Book Review (SERIES): Love Language

Erin Penn

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Love Language Series by Reese Morrison

  1. Love Language
  2. Love Lessons
  3. Love Limits
  4. Love Unlimited

Love Language is an erotic series set within the deaf community, the characters vary in their kinks from sub & dom, to daddy play, to puppy play. Some are aces and others gender queer. Below are my reviews for Books 1 & 3. If you read to explore other words, including those here on earth, this is an excellent series to explore.

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A younger Dom. A grieving sub. Two men whose kinks don’t align (or so they think) connecting in sign language.

Marco and Greg would both rather be anywhere than a kink club on Valentine’s Day. Marco doesn’t have the patience to speech-read in a hearing crowd. And Greg is still mourning his Sir who passed away three years ago.

But when Greg steps in to explain something in sign language, Marco can’t stop thinking about the light he sees in those sad eyes. Strong, older, fluent in ASL, and sweetly submissive, Greg is exactly Marco’s type. Even if Greg isn’t ready for another relationship yet, Marco isn’t ready to let him go.

Greg thought that he would never want to date someone again. But as painful as it is to admit, he’s starting to feel like it might be time. Marco is like no one he’s never met. Small, twink-ish, over a decade younger, and a Daddy, he isn’t at all what Greg imagined in a Dom. Yet he’s undeniably attracted to his care and control, even after Marco reveals that he’s transgender. Slipping into the language of his childhood, Greg wonders if he might have a second chance at love.

This book contains hurt/comfort themes, lots of heat, and a HEA ending. This is the first book in the Love Language series celebrating Dear characters and Deaf culture.

MY REVIEW FOR LOVE LANGUAGE

Some of what this book does, it does really well. It may have tried to do too many things at once, but I think by reaching for the stars the author has (at least) hit the moon. And I think what works and what doesn’t will vary by person – but at least something about this book should be incredible to everyone.

First off, the Deaf aspect of this erotica isn’t a kink, but just part of life and gives a nice insight to a community not usually represented within erotica. It is done very well. I loved how much I learned about living with a language barrier.

Second, dealing with grief and processing the difference between who you were with someone and who you can be with someone else, is layered – with backsliding and moving forward – with fear and bravery.

Third, transgender, BDSM, and other erotica items are explored in a manner more nuanced than a bam-slam-erotica.

Fourth, the cover does represent a scene in the book – nicely done.

So much to unpack from this well-written story, which also works as an erotica.

 

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Ash is on a mission to find a Daddy. They know it won’t be easy; they’re proudly Deaf, intersex, and kinky, so finding the right guy might take a lot of dates.

But what happens when they meet the Daddiest Daddy ever to Daddy… and he doesn’t even know it?

Zhong loves packing Ash’s lunch and buying him presents. He loves playing board games with the playful sub, and even cuddling up with him at night. For Ash, he’d even go to a kink club on pup night to be Ash’s Handler.

But Zhong knows that his love has limits. He could never be what Ash is looking for. Could he?

Love Limits contains a caring ace Daddy, a genderqueer sub, age play, puppy play, and a HFN. This is the third book in the Love Language series celebrating Deaf culture, and it should be read after Love Lessons.

MY REVIEW FOR LOVE LIMITS

A kinky erotica featuring Deaf characters, one of whom is genderqueer and the other is asexual. Also, one of the leads is a POC, and a variety of “soft” kinks are explained and explored.

I really enjoyed the exploration of an asexual character within a romance; just because the physical aspects of a relationship are not primary, or even a secondary, consideration to a person does not mean they lack the need of human companionship.

Side note – I would, at some point, like to see an asexual character NOT feel the need to write everything down and observe sexuality like it is a wildlife experiment. But it does work here, especially when he shares his observations with his potential life partner and they respond by adding their own page of wants and wishes.