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Our story, set in 2093, takes place in a futuristic dystopia. A lot has happened in almost 100 years, according to a clever summary on page 6 from a weathered-looking handbill found in Memphis TN. Apparently the former United States has collapsed due to foreign wars, terrorist attacks, dwindling resources, global warming, and a mysterious oligarchy led by a Lady in Rome, Italy. The former United States is now ten territories co-existing in mutual suspicion. A handy map orients the reader: the new United States (Great Lakes plus New England), the Confederated States of America, Heartland, Tribal Lands, Lone Star, Azteca, the Kingdom of Hawaii, the California Conglomerate, Pacifica, and Deseret (obviously populated by Mormons). Kentucky is a disputed territory that may secede from the CSA and join the US. Who could blame them? The CSA makes the repressive world in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale look like a frolic in the park. White men hold the CSA to stringent fundamentalist Christian standards. Women and non-whites (known once more as the "sons of Ham") are kept illiterate because the church claims that education will make them "discontent." Appearance laws forbid cosmetics and enforce short hair for men and long hair for women. Church attendance is mandatory. Profanity and idleness are not tolerated. If you are the female partner in adultery or a rape victim, you will get stoned to death in the public square. This is also the penalty for homosexual acts. Our story opens in Memphis TN. James Ligatos, a man in his forties with "a cruelly sensual mouth" watches a juvenile gang break into his opulent house to steal an artifact for a mysterious client. In fact, Ligatos has arranged everything to gain custody of their leader, 19 year-old Nicholas Boyd. Ligatos likes to collect and mold talented criminals to his own devices. Meanwhile, Nick pulls off the heist with time to spare which he uses to seduce and then murder his second-in-command so he won't have to share his plunder. Imagine that: knifing a kid who has just snuggled up in your arms after sex. Nick does it with about as much emotion as he might squash a bug. Nick's nom de guerre is Nikolai. He spells it like a Russian though he named himself after a Romanian, Nicolae Carpathia. The witty allusion on page 17 made me laugh: Nick hears a ranting street preacher pronounce his name, and then recognizes the battered book in the preacher's hand: Nicolae, the Rise of the Anti-Christ. How fitting that the only books to survive in the CSA are from the Left Behind series! Nick gets arrested and faced with a choice: he can rot in prison or become Ligatos's protégé. Nick takes the obvious option: he finds Ligatos attractive and eagerly anticipates sex-toy duties. But he must also transform from a southern hick into a suave secret-agent. This necessitates lessons in math, science, history, literature, cooking, Italian, and martial arts. His instructors: three men (David, Steven, Val) and one woman (Tanis). They are all former criminals like himself who are now worshipful sex slaves of Ligatos. By the way, does Ligatos serve the Lady in Rome, she of the oligarchy that brought down the former United States? What do you think? Anyway, Nick first attempts to kill Ligatos. He does this in revenge after Ligatos whips him for several tiny infractions. Ligatos then intones that tears are an integral part of penitence. The attempted murder lands Nick in prison where Ligatos arranges for Nick to be sexually abused. Ligatos views it on surveillance tapes, aroused and revolted. Nick returns to the household as an indentured servant who must wear a collar for the next seven years. He realizes that the prison experience inflicted on him by Ligatos also happened to David, Steven, Val, and Tanis. The four of them now adore Ligatos and treat Nick with hostility. He resolves to work his way back into everyone's good graces – concentrating especially upon Ligatos with whom he is becoming obsessed. His lessons expand to include the art of sex with Ligatos and all his employees. We get multi-partner sex, voyeurism, sadomasochism, and scenes with Tanis, a dominatrix who requires Nick to act like a dog. But then Steven returns from Louisville KY with dire news: a new civil war might break out if the CSA senate votes against letting Kentucky peacefully secede so that it can join the Union. Ligatos wants to avoid a war. So he must identify three senators who can blackmailed to swing the vote his way. Lucky for Ligatos, corruption abounds in the senate. One senator lusts after him. Another has a lesbian wife. Then there is an innocent daughter to exploit – never mind that it will condemn her to a public stoning. Also Nick needs to prove himself by assassinating the Secretary of the Interior. If he fails, Ligatos will have Nick killed. Off the Ligatos household goes to Kentucky to put their plan into action. When all the dust settles, some unanswered questions provide intriguing material for a sequel: will David's jealous plotting bring down Nick? Is Ligatos really some kind of supernatural creature? What did I dislike about Nikolai here at ObsidianBookshelf.com? The characters are psychopaths, and the 18 sex scenes threaten to overwhelm the 195-page narrative. Now that's just my opinion; many readers are fine with that much erotica. The rape scenes (which happen to Nick, a senator, and his daughter) are alluded to and not shown, but I still found them hard to read. What did I like about Nikolai? Underneath all the sex, it has a solid, gripping plot. The talented author has a flair for dark satire. She's at her best giving us glimpses of this Christian fundamentalist dystopia through Nick's day-to-day observations. Nick himself is a complex, highly intelligent character who is not without some shreds of humanity. If you don't mind the dark and twisted, you'll find a lot to enjoy in Nikolai. (Also, the cover design and art by Barry Bulsara are extraordinary, but I'll elaborate on that in Great Cover Art!) .
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