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Gynocracy, K.J. Blaine, 2012, 9781480154148 This near future science fiction story is about a young man who suddenly finds himself in a very dangerous situation. Steve Kowalski is a teenaged crew member on the "Phoenix," an interplanetary space ship that is the flagship of the International Space Alliance. He is spending a few days leave in Miami, helping to design a new star drive. Next thing he knows, Steve finds himself in a tiny jail cell in a very special place called Juno Colony. It's on the far side of the Moon, and does not recognize ISA authority. The "special" part is that not only do women rule the colony, but men have no rights at all; they are lower than slaves. There are some men who, emotionally, want to be treated like that; Steve is not one of them. Learning of Steve's plight, the rest of the crew is not going to just leave him there. A bold and daring plan is conceived, which involves several crew members visiting Juno dressed and acting like dominatrices (plural of "dominatrix") and their slaves. Steve was forced to sign papers making him the property of an arrogant, manipulative little you-know-what named Gianna, who is not going to give him up very easily. The male members are forced to enter the colony's gladiatorial games. Officially, the contests are not to the death, but if a contestant dies in the ring; oh, well. As an added complication, the losing male slave automatically becomes the property of the winner's Mistress. To make things look as legitimate as possible, the male members of the rescue mission signed the same ownership papers. Is Steve saved from a lifetime of slavery? Do all the members of the rescue mission make it out in one piece? This one is surprisingly good. There is one mild bit of S&M, and no actual sex. What it does have is heart, emotion and good writing. Yes, it's worth reading. Paul Lappen is a freelance book reviewer whose blog, Dead Trees Review, emphasizes small press and self-published books.
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