Review: Dangerously Addictive
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2013
Science fiction is one of the most popular genres today. With the advent of the SciFi Channel and numerous TV programs extolling the adventures of Captain Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Stargate and other extraterrestrial locales, aficionadoes of the otherworldly can TiVo/download/YouTube specific movie clips and/or entire programs for personal use.When I was a kid, "Doctor Who" was one of my favorite sci-fi programs. For the uninitiated, Doctor Who (grammatically speaking, it should probably be Doctor Whom) is a renegade Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who is able to cross back and forth from one dimension to another. He is a free spirit whom the other Time Lords want to rein in so as not to upset the order of things in the universe, and it is to this end that the Doctor wends his way across space and time, from planet to planet, from galaxy to galaxy, from era to era. His TARDIS (the acronym for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space)is an entity similar to a spaceship that takes on the shape of its surroundings so as to blend in with the environment.When the series started being shown on TV in the mid-1960s, making the leap from radio to the new medium, Doctor Who's TARDIS landed on modern-day Earth in the form of an innocuous-looking police box. Unfortunately, the mechanism used for adjusting the TARDIS' physical dimensions malfunctioned, leaving the TARDIS in a permanent police-box form, where it has remained for over forty years.The good Doctor has had numerous adventures with several companions over the decades, and has faced down his archenemies such as the Daleks and the Cybermen. The Daleks have proven to be the most resilient, seemingly never dying, only retreating to a permanent state of cold (and occasionally hot) war with the Doctor whenever their nefarious palns for universal conquest are threatened (and eventually defeated).The realm of sci-fi does extend beyond that of time travel. The author A.M. Griffin has written a novel, "Dangerously Mine," which involves the heroine, Eva, being kidnapped from Earth and transported to a slave-trading planetary outpost ruled by a warrior king named Taio.Griffin's tome, when compared to Sandra Ross'When Darkness Comes A-Haunting: Romantic Suspense Thriller, draws parallels for both novels' graphic eroticism. After Earth is conquered by a race of aliens from another world, Eva and her friend Allyson are eventually captured while putting up armed resistance, and Eva eventually ends up becoming Taio's slave, much to her dislike. She resorts to using her martial-arts skills to defy Taio and resist domination. There are numerous times where Eva is physically dominated and even humiliated by Taio, and their mutual attraction only increases the emotional and physical lust and longing. Several highly erotic scenes follow, interspersed throughout the book, albeit unevenly at times.Whereas Ross uses the paranormal for inspiration, Griffin writes in Isaac Asimov-esque style, coupled with a bit of Bradbury, to convey the growing lust between two individuals that is exacerbated by hyperactive fantasies and eventual roleplays that unleash the explicit that is characteristic of both Griffin's and Ross' writing.The dual themes of erotica and intergalactic shenanigans are an interesting blend of two seemingly disparate styles that share little besides human (alien?) interaction. Griffin is able to transport the reader into a world where, to paraphrase the English philosopher and writer Thomas Hobbes, life is altogether nasty, brutish, and short. Eva must rely upon her physical abilities and her mental acumen and acuity in order to simply stay alive on a hostile planet. In this regard she triumphs due to her willingness to take risks and her recognition that only she is in control of her thoughts and will, despite being held captive by Taio."Mine" provides a decent outlet for Griffin's fans, and for those who simply enjoy the emotional and physical fantasies that the book provides. Science fiction fans will appreciate the foreshadowing and setting, too.