The Odalisque

Rating:
Summary: The Odalisque
Review: A collector of books on harem life, I found Manton's afterword such a delightful bonus on fact versus fantasy. The wildest fiction may be tame compared to the history of real-life harem spectaculars, but 'The Odalisque' really delivers with five alarm erotic jalapino sprinkled with just enough authentic salt. How I'd love to have this author write one for us!

Wicked Velvet Web Publisher Frances LaGatta ....

Rating:
Summary: Dry
Review: Ho hum. Someone else mentioned the several chapters that found the story - good to have, but in this case not written in a manner to catch and keep your interest. When I first read the reviews, I heard it was authentic in its discussion of harem life - after reading it, I imagine that may be factually true, but the spirit was certainly lacking.

For something that pretends to be authentic, there were at least three scenes off the top of my head (such as the Egyptian man being raped for impudence in staring at Jenny's lush hind-quarters) that wrote any authenticity to the wind.

Frankly, I bought it for story because the reviews promised one, gave up on the story to evaluate it on "good" sex scenes since the story was flat, and finally put the book down disappointed on all accounts.

Rating:
Summary: Dry
Review: I can't resist erotic and historical elements rolled into one novel. The Odalisque is as insatiable as it is fanciful. It's set during the Victorian age. Lady Jenny Langham hadn't anticipated the sort of fate that befalls her upon arrival to the city of Khartoum on the Nile. When she becomes the captive of Mahdi, her life goes from royalty to one of the most disarming forms of erotic slavery ever written. Pleasure and submission are two of the things that Lady Jenny has accepted with relish. Will she ever return to her old life? And, more to the point, will she want to?

This novel reminds me of Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty series. Having loved the aforementioned series, reading The Odalisque was like discovering a treasure chest. I couldn't put it down. Are you in the bargain for an erotic/historical read? I highly recommend this novel.

Rating:
Summary: The Odalisque
Review: I enjoy reading books about harem life and found Richard Manton's afterward of fact versus fiction most intiquiging. What an added bonus/encore! The wildest fiction 'is' tame compared with the history of real-life harem spectaculars, and his fictional 'Odalisque' encapsualtes it with dynamite plot twists and characterizations that are far from dry. As allways, the erotica is five alarm jalapinio sprinkled with just enough authentic salt. How I would love to have him write one for us.

Rating:
Summary: what is all the rage about this book???
Review: I ordered this book because of the stellar reviews here on amazon. I was totally disappointed. The [adult scenes] was done with no feeling whatsoever, it was told very clinically, with no description. What about the tastes, feels, smells, sounds? There is more to [adult scenes] than he put this there and she submitted. Blah!
The entire first half of the book is boring history/war type stuff. The maid that is described as her having a thing with is mentioned in one sentence and then never again and not once does she have a "thing" with her! Perhaps it is a good account of harem life. But that is all it is. An account. It is not descriptive, enticing, or even entertaining. It is written like something from a textbook. Yawn! If you want to know how it feels, do not bother with this book...
im not even sure why I gave this two stars.

Rating:
Summary: Very very very bad
Review: It was rather predictable and there was no coherant plot line, just a way to move from sex scene to sex scene.

Rating:
Summary: Very Informative!!
Review: This book certainly lets you know there are East-West differences. It was so well written it seemed like it was based on a true story. Jenny our main character goes from a free British girl, very flirtatious, but quick to call stop on her frustrated fiance in England. When he almost takes her by force, she decides to go see some other parts of the world and travels to Africa. She treats the locals all like lower class and is very much a snob. But revenge on her from the locals comes when the "Mahdi" overcomes the British at Khartoum and she becomes part of the Harem. She begins with fear and finally becomes accepting of her lot in life.
This book is exciting, sizzling and informative. Wow! The ending in the book is a section on real-life harem events from Richard Manton. This added to the flavor of the book also. A great read.

Rating:
Summary: Very Informative!!
Review: This book certainly lets you know there are East-West differences. It was so well written it seemed like it was based on a true story. Jenny our main character goes from a free British girl, very flirtatious, but quick to call stop on her frustrated fiance in England. When he almost takes her by force, she decides to go see some other parts of the world and travels to Africa. She treats the locals all like lower class and is very much a snob. But revenge on her from the locals comes when the "Mahdi" overcomes the British at Khartoum and she becomes part of the Harem. She begins with fear and finally becomes accepting of her lot in life.
This book is exciting, sizzling and informative. Wow! The ending in the book is a section on real-life harem events from Richard Manton. This added to the flavor of the book also. A great read.

Rating:
Summary: An erotic marvel and a historical wonder ....
Review: This is the kind of Richard Manton book that first grabs your mind as it takes you back in history, then grabs your throat as the story develops and finally, grabs your ... (oh well anyway)... as you the reader are trapped into being a witness and willing accomplice to seduction and total submission of our heroine inot sins of the flesh.

In part one, Beauty and the Beast, we find our high strung heroine, Jenny Langham, a very beautifull young 22 year old English girl in the early 1900's, forcing herself to accompany her uncle, and officer in the British Forces, to Khartoum, Sudan, to escape the horror of almost being raped by her then fiancee. The author does allow us the momentary relief to admire Leslie and dislike the cad of a fiancee even though we know that she is a brazen flirt......

Part two, Khatoum, finds our heroine with a full complement of British and European ex-patriot society as they must deal with the threat of attack by a nomad moslem leader calling himself the 'Mahdi'. The Brits having lost their stomach for empire maintenance sent a General Gordon to make peace with the Mahdi and try to make a gracefull exit from the African country. Without delving into the great historical period fiction with many real world political leaders of the time being written in, we find Leslie continuing her flirtations and teasings of the men around her. As a reader our frustration begin to rise in a secret hope that Leslie must soon receive her just deserts ... at least ....

Part three, The Woman and Her Master, Khartoum falls so quickly that all of the men woman and children of the ex-patriate society fall into the hands of the Mahdi. In the flash of an eye we now find Jennys' strong headed willfullness and incessant teasing dealt with by her new masters. The induction of our young heroine into the harem of the new leaders is written with such skill and mastery that it's hard to believe we are only reading fiction. The eroticism of Jennys' conversion to slavery is the best that I have ever read and sizzles .... so much so I actually don't really wonder any more about the source of Richard Mantons' background experience and material ....

In the afterword, The Horrors of the Harem, the author treats us with a bit of self serving advertisement of some of the other slave/harmen books he has written, but, more importantly place before the reader some historical truths about the topic of this book that will make your hair stand on end, unless, perhaps, the reader has travelled through some of the countries in the dark continent.

Absolutely stupendous and this book is a must have for your erotic library ......