Review: Out of the Dungeon by S.M. Johnson
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2012
Hard-core BDSM stories are not really my cup of tea, and so I was a little "scared" to read this novel about the ménages a trois between a 14 years old couple, Roman and Jeff, who are living in a 24/7 Master/slave relationship, and the third "odd man" out, i.e. Dare, the new addition, an addition that was strongly wanted by Roman (from what I understood) and barely accepted by Jeff.But already from the beginning I realized this novel was analyzing the issues I have with these types of story, without underestimating it; a preface told us that at least one of the three men involved in the ménages a trois (probably Jeff or Dare) are no more comfortable with their arrangement, even if they still find comfort in the "contract".From that moment on, the story will take three separate paths: Dare questioning his decision to enter a D/s relationship and the boundaries he can accept and those he doesn't want to accept; Jeff, in the aftermath of an accident who has left him temporarily immobilized, who is revaluating the concept of "bondage", what is comfortable and what is not, what he wants in his future and what he cannot no more accept; and also Roman, and his role as "Master", is he still able to play that role? Or has he to step back and learn again the concept, maybe with different rules?As in the warning, "Life is messy, and Out of the Dungeon contains depictions of M/M, F/F and F/M couplings", Out of the Dungeon is almost an excursion on all possible declination of a BDSM story, and how each independent man can relate to it. The solution will not be easy and it has to be "common", conciliating three or more men (and a woman). Less erotic than expected and way more brainstorming, this novel was not easy but engaging.