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November #1
November
**2016 Update** November is now available for Kindle.
After a sterility plague has nearly extincted mankind, a few men begin to manifest a rare and unpredictable ability to bear children. As everyone struggles to rebuild, these Carriers try to find their own identity in a changing world - and become the targets of a desperate society.
Jesse, Ortega, Sloane, and Tiger are four men living very different lives when the Change comes to them. They all meet when they are drafted into a re-integration program at the Carrier Education Centre, and their stories are ones of adventure, romance, frustration, captivity and fear - but ultimately of love, in its many and varied forms.
After a sterility plague has nearly extincted mankind, a few men begin to manifest a rare and unpredictable ability to bear children. As everyone struggles to rebuild, these Carriers try to find their own identity in a changing world - and become the targets of a desperate society.
Jesse, Ortega, Sloane, and Tiger are four men living very different lives when the Change comes to them. They all meet when they are drafted into a re-integration program at the Carrier Education Centre, and their stories are ones of adventure, romance, frustration, captivity and fear - but ultimately of love, in its many and varied forms.
269 pages, ebook
First published June 28, 2011
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1051 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
July 14, 2014
Heavens, where do I even begin?
You know that bit of fashionable avant-faggotry that swings round every so often on the interwebz?
That one?
Yeah. Some badass wrote a book about it and set it in a kind of horrid, post-apocalyptic, androgyne Hogwarts.
It's likeDesperate Hermaphroditic Housewives. Or maybe Downton Don't-Touch-Me-Down-There Abbey.
Close Encounters of the Third Sex.
A Vagina Grows in Brooklyn?
Victor/Victoria/Whatever.
No—I got it, I got it:
My Fair Lady!
Sorry. Review resumes:
Some chapters were so traumatizing to read the only thing that kept me going was admiration.
Some were so deliciously dark and twisty I remained scandalized for pages and pages afterwards.
It's not perfect. Definitely a little messy in that ad-hoc online serial way—which sucks.
But still.
The fucking thing is appalling, people, but it's great.
Sometimes it's even hilarious. I'm not even kidding.
Read this. Don't be afraid. Genius this topical and entertaining is worth a little trauma, and you'll be better for having read it, I promise.
Jus' you wait, 'enry 'iggins. Jus' you wait.
You know that bit of fashionable avant-faggotry that swings round every so often on the interwebz?
Homophobia—the fear that gay men will treat you the same way you treat women.
That one?
Yeah. Some badass wrote a book about it and set it in a kind of horrid, post-apocalyptic, androgyne Hogwarts.
It's like
Close Encounters of the Third Sex.
A Vagina Grows in Brooklyn?
Victor/Victoria/Whatever.
No—I got it, I got it:
My Fair Lady!
Sorry. Review resumes:
Some chapters were so traumatizing to read the only thing that kept me going was admiration.
Some were so deliciously dark and twisty I remained scandalized for pages and pages afterwards.
It's not perfect. Definitely a little messy in that ad-hoc online serial way—which sucks.
But still.
The fucking thing is appalling, people, but it's great.
Sometimes it's even hilarious. I'm not even kidding.
Read this. Don't be afraid. Genius this topical and entertaining is worth a little trauma, and you'll be better for having read it, I promise.
Jus' you wait, 'enry 'iggins. Jus' you wait.
December 29, 2011
I'm not at all sure I can finish this one (and I made it through Neko!). In a dystopian future where some men are fertile 'carriers', spousal abuse is fine, rape is a useful tool for securing a mate, and fertile men are encouraged to wear skirts and forced to take cosmetology classes. Very well written though: a lot of similarities to Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. I'm feeling enormous despair after only 10 chapers. Stuck in this world, I would choose suicide.
EDIT: OK, I made it through. I have given this 5 stars, because this, with the sequel August, is a piece of brilliance. The world is so well realised, the plotting so tight and devious, that it's simply magnificent. However, saying that, I hated it. I wish I'd never read it. I felt ill the whole way through both stories and I still feel ill now.
The thing is that the author has taken the worst of real-world m/f power relations, and worked them into this sick, ghastly society, and so the distorted reflection of our reality in this fiction is enough to bring into vivid focus every worst aspect of my own experiences of dating, sex, marriage, and employment. The author must be familiar with Betty Friedan's work, as the world so carefully replicates the feminine depression and despair she wrote about.
Now I don't know if I need some fluffy m/m love to get over it, or if I will never be able to enjoy reading m/m sex again. I think I feel a bit like Alex in A Clockwork Orange when they destroy his only pure and good love.
EDIT: OK, I made it through. I have given this 5 stars, because this, with the sequel August, is a piece of brilliance. The world is so well realised, the plotting so tight and devious, that it's simply magnificent. However, saying that, I hated it. I wish I'd never read it. I felt ill the whole way through both stories and I still feel ill now.
The thing is that the author has taken the worst of real-world m/f power relations, and worked them into this sick, ghastly society, and so the distorted reflection of our reality in this fiction is enough to bring into vivid focus every worst aspect of my own experiences of dating, sex, marriage, and employment. The author must be familiar with Betty Friedan's work, as the world so carefully replicates the feminine depression and despair she wrote about.
Now I don't know if I need some fluffy m/m love to get over it, or if I will never be able to enjoy reading m/m sex again. I think I feel a bit like Alex in A Clockwork Orange when they destroy his only pure and good love.
May 28, 2011
Overall this was a good story. Any good story should make you feel some kind of emotion even if it is the bad ones. I was so fustrated and angry with some of the things happening in this story that I wanted to fling my laptop at the wall. The way some of the people were treated was inhuman. As the story went on some characters found their redemption and I began to thaw toward them. I can't say I would read it again because that was too emotional the first time out. It was a good story though and I will read the next one titled August.
March 27, 2013
Very well written. I avoided November for a long time because the reviews were all over the place. I think it really has to be read as dystopian or speculative fiction, and readers expecting something from the romance genre really need to keep away from this.
The characters are caught up in a world of crisis and change. All the fertile women are dead, and for a while, humanity is facing extinction. Then seemingly randomly, some men change to "carriers" who can bear children.
November is set in the early days when carriers have just started appearing. Military governments can be efficient in crisis, but are not known for subtlety (as another reviewer has noted), and carrier human-rights have basically collapsed.
November certainly reminded me of Margaret Atwood's the Handmaid's Tale. All I'll say here is that the Handmaid's Tale was set in a society where everyone was in more or less oppressed, anxious and unhappy. I was extremely relieved at the end to find out that . But also depressed that all the suffering was basically pointless.
With November, on the other hand, I found myself hoping the characters would be able, in time, to stabilise their society into a new, more carrier-friendly norm. In other words, there was hope!
On a side note, when the carriers go through the change, they seem to become suddenly psychologically weaker, more submissive and easily coerced, less likely to fight back in any way. Even if the change happens during adulthood (mid-20's to 30's), and they were previously self assured and assertive.
I assume this is an effect of the carrier hormones - but really, I doubt women become passive like that under the influence of hormonal changes. The personality change aspect of the story made me regard the carriers not as pseudo-women, but rather as a new gender alltogether.
Which is idiosyncratic, I agree, since the type of coercion applied to the carriers (kidnapping, required guardianship by a male relative, forced pregnancy, domestic violence,etc) does happen to women in many parts of the world today.
The characters are caught up in a world of crisis and change. All the fertile women are dead, and for a while, humanity is facing extinction. Then seemingly randomly, some men change to "carriers" who can bear children.
November is set in the early days when carriers have just started appearing. Military governments can be efficient in crisis, but are not known for subtlety (as another reviewer has noted), and carrier human-rights have basically collapsed.
November certainly reminded me of Margaret Atwood's the Handmaid's Tale. All I'll say here is that the Handmaid's Tale was set in a society where everyone was in more or less oppressed, anxious and unhappy. I was extremely relieved at the end to find out that . But also depressed that all the suffering was basically pointless.
With November, on the other hand, I found myself hoping the characters would be able, in time, to stabilise their society into a new, more carrier-friendly norm. In other words, there was hope!
On a side note, when the carriers go through the change, they seem to become suddenly psychologically weaker, more submissive and easily coerced, less likely to fight back in any way. Even if the change happens during adulthood (mid-20's to 30's), and they were previously self assured and assertive.
I assume this is an effect of the carrier hormones - but really, I doubt women become passive like that under the influence of hormonal changes. The personality change aspect of the story made me regard the carriers not as pseudo-women, but rather as a new gender alltogether.
Which is idiosyncratic, I agree, since the type of coercion applied to the carriers (kidnapping, required guardianship by a male relative, forced pregnancy, domestic violence,etc) does happen to women in many parts of the world today.
August 29, 2012
Well written with good characterizations, but unpleasant and disturbing. In a post apocalyptic dystopian world, what is virtually a third sex has emerged, and women seem to be becoming if not extinct, at least redundant. That's because the new gender, called carriers (ugh!) are the only humans who can bear children. They are true (?) andro(male)gynous(female )beings; they have penises and periods both. They are all born male, however, ad "the change" comes upon them in late teens or early adulthood. What is fascinating about this work is the oppressive atmosphere of cultural terror that pervades the society. A deep-rooted and unexamined fear of human extinction has made the carriers valuable commodities in the machoistic militarized mega nation state. Officers have first pick in the most desirable carriers, who are trained to be mothers and wives in an extremely retrogressive, per-feminist concentration camp. Kidnapping, abuse and rape are the norms for carriers, who could not have known that procreation and near slavery would be there destiny. There is no way to predict if a boy will grow up to be a carrier, although there is one family with an odd knack for spotting carriers before they change. This book is distressing and strange, with women fading in importance (they are all sterile, perhaps) and the new progenitors having to suffer a concentrated form of 100s of years of female oppression. The carriers aren't women, but they need to be controlled. The dominant males have a dependable tradition of gender-based power dynamics to use to control the carriers, who are pointlessly feminized and humiliated.
November 2, 2012
A very intriguing book. It is true it has some harsh content but that content is primarily mentioned - not overtly described. This is not a novel with graphic erotic love scenes - the sex is perfunctory and pertinent to the story and not explicitly described in most cases. It does include rape and violence though so if that is a trigger for you avoid this one (in general avoid anything on my capture/dubcon/slave shelf).
The story of four (although I thought more than 4) men who became carrier's which means they could have children. It's a future world, women were mostly wiped out or are barren, and only these carrier men can have kids. They have all the equipment (though no mention was made of breasts and breast feeding which seemed odd since the focus was on caring for the child and assuming a female role). Each story is different but there are similarities. It really is more a story about them being carriers as far as discovery of it and a slice of life as they met the men they would be married too (some by force). I enjoyed it and the world - enough psychological components to make me really think about gender roles, equality, and the propagation of the species. Not really a romance although there is some romance in the stories at times. I liked Tiger best - only because he just was who he was - he didn't seem to have pretense.
The story of four (although I thought more than 4) men who became carrier's which means they could have children. It's a future world, women were mostly wiped out or are barren, and only these carrier men can have kids. They have all the equipment (though no mention was made of breasts and breast feeding which seemed odd since the focus was on caring for the child and assuming a female role). Each story is different but there are similarities. It really is more a story about them being carriers as far as discovery of it and a slice of life as they met the men they would be married too (some by force). I enjoyed it and the world - enough psychological components to make me really think about gender roles, equality, and the propagation of the species. Not really a romance although there is some romance in the stories at times. I liked Tiger best - only because he just was who he was - he didn't seem to have pretense.
January 6, 2014
Mighty confusing, with all the strange names, complicated relationships, and unfamiliar dystopian world. Still, it brought chills up my spine, thinking of a world where men, who are used to being privileged by virtue of their sex, could have their status change so unexpectedly. Talk about pulling the rug out from under a person.
Warning: mpreg, rape, and lots of alpha men. Still want to dive in? Enjoy!
Warning: mpreg, rape, and lots of alpha men. Still want to dive in? Enjoy!
June 2, 2011
November was a difficult story to read. I had a hard time finishing it because there was just so much abuse heaped on the poor characters. Even the feel-good moments seemed bittersweet after so much darkness. It really kind of reminded me The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
February 22, 2020
3.5 stars.
I found this story to be entertaining and a bit disturbing, but I did enjoy it.
This was a different take on the MPreg genre. I can honestly say that if something like this happened in the real world, this is pretty much how Man would act, as sad as that may be.
Some of the plot didn't really flow together well and a few of the main characters stories were not finished, so I will continue with the series because I am curious about what happens to certain characters.
I found this story to be entertaining and a bit disturbing, but I did enjoy it.
This was a different take on the MPreg genre. I can honestly say that if something like this happened in the real world, this is pretty much how Man would act, as sad as that may be.
Some of the plot didn't really flow together well and a few of the main characters stories were not finished, so I will continue with the series because I am curious about what happens to certain characters.
February 17, 2015
IN YOUR WILD DREAMS A*****EThats what came out of my mouth when I finished this story.If the author has this much potential to provoke such strong emotion in me,then he should get five stars or more, but the story is not very original.We have all heard a lot about arrange-marriage gone wrong,with women being tortured and raped,
this story is just that,instead of a woman a man had been used.
So let me tell such strong statement, you why, first...
To imagine the whole mutation thingy was gross inducing
Secondly,
No one by that I mean female or male or anyone in whatever situation does not deserve to be treated like the way all these gay mutated men were being treated.Beaten up and Raped to get them pregnant.
Reading the whole story was torture but it did keep me hooked.This story had multiple MC,
Carrier and their Masters.Some of the Carriers was really sweet and I wanted to see if they get their hea, so I continued reading.It was wonderful to find some romance in "tales of Rape" which should have been the name of the story instead of "November".
I liked Tiger another on the verge of transform Carrier, kidnaped by a Jerk Miljan's story.It had more romance in it and best couple for me.
I know the author's warning and all about rape, but I can't help getting irritated though now can I.
Maybe I wanted to get irritated and so selected the book,
and the author delivered it just fine.
But I realized...
So I recommend to those who can handle it or wants to get irritated
for a change;)
Applausable fact about the author:
It's very difficult to handle so many MC in one story, but the author did a great job of off it.
So
this story is just that,instead of a woman a man had been used.
So let me tell such strong statement, you why, first...
To imagine the whole mutation thingy was gross inducing
Secondly,
No one by that I mean female or male or anyone in whatever situation does not deserve to be treated like the way all these gay mutated men were being treated.Beaten up and Raped to get them pregnant.
Reading the whole story was torture but it did keep me hooked.This story had multiple MC,
Carrier and their Masters.Some of the Carriers was really sweet and I wanted to see if they get their hea, so I continued reading.It was wonderful to find some romance in "tales of Rape" which should have been the name of the story instead of "November".
I liked Tiger another on the verge of transform Carrier, kidnaped by a Jerk Miljan's story.It had more romance in it and best couple for me.
I know the author's warning and all about rape, but I can't help getting irritated though now can I.
Maybe I wanted to get irritated and so selected the book,
and the author delivered it just fine.
But I realized...
So I recommend to those who can handle it or wants to get irritated
for a change;)
Applausable fact about the author:
It's very difficult to handle so many MC in one story, but the author did a great job of off it.
So
March 11, 2015
This was kind of a shocking premise for this book. I was at first attracted to it because....male pregnancy....sounds interesting to me. It turned out to be a somewhat dark dystopian view of the future with the main darkness caused by the "carriers" (males that can become pregnant) being treated like women were treated in the last mid century and probably even today. Your basic alpha (Neanderthal) male controlling everything the female does and being physically abusive. Being a white male in the US, it's kind of hard to imagine yet the story told it quite successfully. Some men wanted to treat these "carriers" with respect yet their fellow soldiers would shame them into the brutal status quo.
The work is a series of stories about closely related couples and some only peripherally related. Most are not fully finished to a HEA some are barely HFN and some end badly.
I was repulsed at first but also fascinated and ultimately hooked. I will go back and visit more of these stories, hopefully some will be positive.
4.5 stars
The work is a series of stories about closely related couples and some only peripherally related. Most are not fully finished to a HEA some are barely HFN and some end badly.
I was repulsed at first but also fascinated and ultimately hooked. I will go back and visit more of these stories, hopefully some will be positive.
4.5 stars
January 24, 2014
I gave it 3 stars for the writing quality and because it seems to me that in such a context, it is likely that the army would take control, as the author shows. The army has never been known for subtlety in how to manage crisis situations. This is why I find despite the cosmetology course, this story has a certain realism. But I do not think I'll finish reading it. I find the story too desperate. If it were a story based on facts, I would try to read it until the end, but I do not see why I'd torture myself with a novel.
Emma, I realized that while I was speaking of "Forgotten", telling you that I hated the book, you where speaking of this one. You told me that you hated November too. This is "Forgotten" that I hated because teens were mistreated. Next time, I will better read your answer to be sure that we are speaking of the same book.
Emma, I realized that while I was speaking of "Forgotten", telling you that I hated the book, you where speaking of this one. You told me that you hated November too. This is "Forgotten" that I hated because teens were mistreated. Next time, I will better read your answer to be sure that we are speaking of the same book.
April 17, 2017
3.5 stars. In this dystopia, some men have evolved into 'carriers' that can bear children. The most popular way of obtaining a 'wife' seems to be to rape a carrier and claim an ongoing relationship. The book has a weird structure, the numerous characters popping in and out as it progresses. The character we identify with most is Jesse, a reluctant carrier who refuses to conform to the stereotype.
"We both live in a fucked up world, and we're all a little bit fucked up in it, but.." here, Jesse stepped closer to Michael so that they were looking closely into each other's eyes. "But maybe you're not fucked up as bad as everyone else. I shouldn't punish you for what other people have done. To me, or to anyone. I think maybe, in doing that, I was kind of wrong."
"We both live in a fucked up world, and we're all a little bit fucked up in it, but.." here, Jesse stepped closer to Michael so that they were looking closely into each other's eyes. "But maybe you're not fucked up as bad as everyone else. I shouldn't punish you for what other people have done. To me, or to anyone. I think maybe, in doing that, I was kind of wrong."
October 27, 2015
Well, I loved this. This is a futuristic story of a world where women are extremely rare and a 'disease' allows men to become 'carriers' ie. their bodies mutate so they can get pregnant. Because these carriers are so valuable, they must declare themselves to the government once their symptoms manifest and 'the change' occurs. This is for monitoring and control as well as their own safety as, since they are so sought after, suitors will stop at nothing to jump to the head of the line often resorting to rape and physical abuse to get what they want. The story follows a group of men who become friends in the carrier facility and, with the exception of one relationship, all the relationships have a violent start. Really, we should want them out of them as soon as possible, but as their relationships grow and change, we find ourselves rooting for their success.
Ok! So, yes, the beginning was hard, some of the characters were detestable. In real life pretty much all the suitors deserved to be castrated and shot, but I came to love each relationship and was thrilled with the progression. Jesse took a while to grow on me, with his ungrateful self and really, I felt Michael deserved better but we all know people who just seems to love being with a difficult spouse. My faves were Tiger and Miljan. They were just too cute for words. I am beyond thrilled that this is only part 1 of the series even though, really, this as a stand alone wouldn't have been horrible. I've seen 'complete' works with less satisfying endings. I would love to see Sloane and Clint heal a little more. Poor Clint needs a bit of positive reinforcement.
43 Chapters down. Lord knows how many to go!
ETA: Oh, the other parts are different people. Oh, well.
Ok! So, yes, the beginning was hard, some of the characters were detestable. In real life pretty much all the suitors deserved to be castrated and shot, but I came to love each relationship and was thrilled with the progression. Jesse took a while to grow on me, with his ungrateful self and really, I felt Michael deserved better but we all know people who just seems to love being with a difficult spouse. My faves were Tiger and Miljan. They were just too cute for words. I am beyond thrilled that this is only part 1 of the series even though, really, this as a stand alone wouldn't have been horrible. I've seen 'complete' works with less satisfying endings. I would love to see Sloane and Clint heal a little more. Poor Clint needs a bit of positive reinforcement.
43 Chapters down. Lord knows how many to go!
ETA: Oh, the other parts are different people. Oh, well.
June 11, 2013
WARNING: DON'T READ IF RAPE BOTHERS YOU IN FICTION!
THE BURB BY THE AUTHOR:
"In a militaristic post-catastrophic world, a group of young men possessing a specific genetic sequence are targeted by the government to aid in species survival.
Jesse, Ortega, Sloane, and Tiger are four men living very different lives when the Change comes to them. Their stories are ones of adventure, romance, frustration, captivity and fear - but ultimately of love, in its many and varied forms."
WOW! This was very different. It's not sexy in the hot and heavy sense. That being said, I couldn't stop reading it. The premise is intriguing to me. If you really enjoy fiction, those darker readers will probably enjoy this. I have a theory that we, as females, will be obsolete maybe 50-100 years in the future. I'm not sure there will be a lot of difference between men and women by then. Humans evolve and that just seems to be the next step. Anyway, this is sort of a world with very few females and the females left can't bear children.
Kudos to the author's imagination with this plot.
THE BURB BY THE AUTHOR:
"In a militaristic post-catastrophic world, a group of young men possessing a specific genetic sequence are targeted by the government to aid in species survival.
Jesse, Ortega, Sloane, and Tiger are four men living very different lives when the Change comes to them. Their stories are ones of adventure, romance, frustration, captivity and fear - but ultimately of love, in its many and varied forms."
WOW! This was very different. It's not sexy in the hot and heavy sense. That being said, I couldn't stop reading it. The premise is intriguing to me. If you really enjoy fiction, those darker readers will probably enjoy this. I have a theory that we, as females, will be obsolete maybe 50-100 years in the future. I'm not sure there will be a lot of difference between men and women by then. Humans evolve and that just seems to be the next step. Anyway, this is sort of a world with very few females and the females left can't bear children.
Kudos to the author's imagination with this plot.
October 13, 2011
In a nut shell: This was a very well written, not for the faint of heart original story on adultfanfiction with LOTS of abuse. November is very reminiscent of Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale yet pushes critiques of marriage gender roles, sex and hegemonic masculinity to another level. I hesitate to say more before I complete the series but I do hope there is more hope and reprieve in the rest of the books.
Want to read
July 10, 2018Everything does actually except *sighs* mpreg.
I shall persevere. Won't be speedy.
ETA: (2018) Mpreg isn't too bad for me now. Maybe the fan fic overload is to blame.
Anywhatsits...I'll still give this a try.
March 9, 2012
loved this ,loved this whole series can't say enough good things about it.I really wish there was a new chapter ,I check the website all the time for an update.
February 18, 2013
Disturbing, but amazing
dnf
December 5, 2013DNF at 23% - The concept is excellent, but story was all over the place. I try to give a lot of leeway to free-online stories, but I just couldn't push through this one.
May 9, 2020
Reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, this book was really interesting in terms of world-building. It is just thorough enough to be understood and contextual, not as in-depth as other stories, but honestly was just the right amount to be oriented.
In the beginning it was hard keeping track of all the characters since Jesse was the MC, but with each passing chapter and POV change it became clear that Jesse was just one piece of a large ensemble and every character was going to get their own moment to shine. Sai doesn't get his moment until chapter like, 37 out of 43 for example.
The subtleties and differences in all of the relationships were written really well, and the subtext for a lot of their behavior was admirable and I enjoyed how well-written this story was.
I read a lot of "taboo" "dark" stories and this was the first time I've seen mpreg handled with nuance and a larger set of circumstances. I felt this story had a commentary for manhood and masculinity that was varied and fair. I mean 'realistically' I think a lot of the characters got off easy with where they ended up, but I am never ever going to complain about any HEA/HFN ending with stories like these.
My main issue is Tiger, who never once read as a boy of seventeen. I would've said fourteen.
In the beginning it was hard keeping track of all the characters since Jesse was the MC, but with each passing chapter and POV change it became clear that Jesse was just one piece of a large ensemble and every character was going to get their own moment to shine. Sai doesn't get his moment until chapter like, 37 out of 43 for example.
The subtleties and differences in all of the relationships were written really well, and the subtext for a lot of their behavior was admirable and I enjoyed how well-written this story was.
I read a lot of "taboo" "dark" stories and this was the first time I've seen mpreg handled with nuance and a larger set of circumstances. I felt this story had a commentary for manhood and masculinity that was varied and fair. I mean 'realistically' I think a lot of the characters got off easy with where they ended up, but I am never ever going to complain about any HEA/HFN ending with stories like these.
My main issue is Tiger, who never once read as a boy of seventeen. I would've said fourteen.
June 21, 2017
This dystopian series is completely fascinating to me. I love books that explore a really good "What If" - in this case, a world without women (following uncontrolled biological warfare) in which some men mutate into "carriers", developing female-style organs, but not until adolescence or even adulthood. Since the carrier/man ratio is a lot less than 50/50, every carrier must reproduce to maintain the population. More to the point, there is tremendous competition among all those men for sexual access to the carriers. This means that after years of living as men, new carriers are forced into indoctrination centers to be essentially reprogrammed, lose their jobs, suffer marriage-by-rape, and generally get to see the most repressive side of the man/woman relationship up close and personal.
Don't let the fact that the series is self-published (it's all available on Archive Of Our Own) deter you. The writing is good enough that I read everything available in just a few days.
Don't let the fact that the series is self-published (it's all available on Archive Of Our Own) deter you. The writing is good enough that I read everything available in just a few days.
December 26, 2022
I love this book and I am sad that it appears impossible to find.
July 26, 2024
A brilliant work of speculative fiction that thankfully ended on a positive note, I lost weight and a night's sleep reading this book.
April 19, 2023
Odd, bleak and kinda sad, but also extremely curious.
I have a lot of questions and I don't want to post spoilers.
If you are looking for a novel from a third person point of view, a few overlapping and different story lines, non-con/dubious consent, post apocalyptic world ruled by the military, and something free, well this books for you. You can read it online on archive of our own or you can down load it from the website and read wherever.
I have a lot of questions and I don't want to post spoilers.
If you are looking for a novel from a third person point of view, a few overlapping and different story lines, non-con/dubious consent, post apocalyptic world ruled by the military, and something free, well this books for you. You can read it online on archive of our own or you can down load it from the website and read wherever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2014
This was a tough one. I must admit that the blurb convinced me, and the blurb didn't disappoint at all.
To get things clear right from the start, I am not one to read too much m-preg. Therefore the one lacking star for a perfect score may be justified by this. For fans of the kink, this may be the perfect read.
I was definitely curious to see how the society announced in the blurb was going to be portrayed. I wasn't disappointed at all. It's not only the weather that is grey, everything seem grey, even the eventual patches of color in characters' clothes or their personalities seem to land a bit flat.
There are not many heartfelt moments. I even cried a little at some point. But I understood why the world is portrayed as it is portrayed. The scary part is that this would be the way things would be if something of the sort would happen. An unbalanced society, without women's natural empathy, would be in chaos. If there were people, men who would become capable of giving birth, competition for them would be ferocious. All the rape stuff would happen; all the arranged marriages, the same. All the depression these men would suffer from, equally true.
I admired the effort the author put into this. And on top of it all, this is free, available online. So I should have no reason to give it 4 stars ...
But. And here is what I think. As a non-fan of the m-preg kink, I may not be in accord with other readers. I expected a more ... manly approach to all the stuff concerning pregnancy and the feminized status. I do not want to read about men becoming women (even if they are hermaphrodites). Even Jesse, which I thought to be the one who did not want any of the stuff they were teaching them at the Center, proved to be kind of bitchy in the end.
Of course, it was only natural. They do lose something as they change, so they are not exactly men anymore. However, it is the main reason why I give this story only 4 stars. I may read other m-preg stories, because of this one. I hope I can find something more up my alley. Especially since I cannot define that thing very well.
To get things clear right from the start, I am not one to read too much m-preg. Therefore the one lacking star for a perfect score may be justified by this. For fans of the kink, this may be the perfect read.
I was definitely curious to see how the society announced in the blurb was going to be portrayed. I wasn't disappointed at all. It's not only the weather that is grey, everything seem grey, even the eventual patches of color in characters' clothes or their personalities seem to land a bit flat.
There are not many heartfelt moments. I even cried a little at some point. But I understood why the world is portrayed as it is portrayed. The scary part is that this would be the way things would be if something of the sort would happen. An unbalanced society, without women's natural empathy, would be in chaos. If there were people, men who would become capable of giving birth, competition for them would be ferocious. All the rape stuff would happen; all the arranged marriages, the same. All the depression these men would suffer from, equally true.
I admired the effort the author put into this. And on top of it all, this is free, available online. So I should have no reason to give it 4 stars ...
But. And here is what I think. As a non-fan of the m-preg kink, I may not be in accord with other readers. I expected a more ... manly approach to all the stuff concerning pregnancy and the feminized status. I do not want to read about men becoming women (even if they are hermaphrodites). Even Jesse, which I thought to be the one who did not want any of the stuff they were teaching them at the Center, proved to be kind of bitchy in the end.
Of course, it was only natural. They do lose something as they change, so they are not exactly men anymore. However, it is the main reason why I give this story only 4 stars. I may read other m-preg stories, because of this one. I hope I can find something more up my alley. Especially since I cannot define that thing very well.
April 21, 2016
So I have this problem with white cheddar Cheez-its. I take a handful and munch on them, and then I take another handful, and even though I know they're garbage, before I know it, I've eaten the entire box. I'm pretty sure they're made with crack. This is the same way I feel about this book.
Men in November's woman-deprived dystopic world are so desperate to find "carriers," hermaphroditic men who are able to bear children, that they will literally kill to marry one. Being married grants a man better housing, more job opportunities, higher social status, the chance for sexual fulfillment, and, of course, a family. But do these men treat their carrier "wives" well once they get them, appreciating the gift they're acquired? Of course not! They lie to them and beat them and treat them like generally subhuman creatures. Almost as if the carriers were (*gasp*) women!
The writing is amateurish, the plot nonexistent, and the premise a rehashed Handmaid's Tale, but I found myself wanting to read more. I was disappointed when it ended, partially because there had clearly been no plan to the book and I felt robbed of an actual story, but mostly because I wanted more. Maybe it's just nostalgia for my younger days of reading questionable fanfiction until three in the morning, but I found the dysfunctional relationships, as icky as they made me feel inside, utterly engrossing. If this author figures out how novels work, I think she could really have something here.
Men in November's woman-deprived dystopic world are so desperate to find "carriers," hermaphroditic men who are able to bear children, that they will literally kill to marry one. Being married grants a man better housing, more job opportunities, higher social status, the chance for sexual fulfillment, and, of course, a family. But do these men treat their carrier "wives" well once they get them, appreciating the gift they're acquired? Of course not! They lie to them and beat them and treat them like generally subhuman creatures. Almost as if the carriers were (*gasp*) women!
The writing is amateurish, the plot nonexistent, and the premise a rehashed Handmaid's Tale, but I found myself wanting to read more. I was disappointed when it ended, partially because there had clearly been no plan to the book and I felt robbed of an actual story, but mostly because I wanted more. Maybe it's just nostalgia for my younger days of reading questionable fanfiction until three in the morning, but I found the dysfunctional relationships, as icky as they made me feel inside, utterly engrossing. If this author figures out how novels work, I think she could really have something here.
March 4, 2016
I really hate that I liked this. It's not my usual fare, but the story was just so...captivating I couldn't help myself. It's like rubbernecking when you pass a bad car accident. You know you shouldn't, but you do anyway. I disagree with the author about it being a romance. Well, almost entirely because the only true love, comes from the story's most unexpected and unconventional couple.
The (Men) with the exception of Michael, were un-redeemable in my opinion and though the author tried, and I imagine for most, managed the feat, I hated them. Every last one of them, to the very end. They took what they wanted without any thought to their victims and there were no consequences. Rape is rape and there is nothing that can absolve them of that.
That, of course, is my own failing. I like love and softness and circling bluebirds for my romantic couples. Everything outside of them can be horrific, but my men, they have to love each other. Desperately. Even if they start out hating each other, one does not abuse the other.
And this story? It was everything it should be. Every last word. Perfect.
The (Men) with the exception of Michael, were un-redeemable in my opinion and though the author tried, and I imagine for most, managed the feat, I hated them. Every last one of them, to the very end. They took what they wanted without any thought to their victims and there were no consequences. Rape is rape and there is nothing that can absolve them of that.
That, of course, is my own failing. I like love and softness and circling bluebirds for my romantic couples. Everything outside of them can be horrific, but my men, they have to love each other. Desperately. Even if they start out hating each other, one does not abuse the other.
And this story? It was everything it should be. Every last word. Perfect.
March 13, 2014
Okay I read this all the way through. I did not really like any of the characters and there are a boat load of them. This story was like all kinds of wrong. It seriously made me sick, on a different level that I am not sure why I kept reading it even. Even though you know nothing will get better, your hoping it will, and even though it seems to get better, you are left wondering why the hell did they accept that. All these people are caught up in abusive relationships, even the guy who seems kind is just caught up in one as well (where the carrier imo is the abuser, and it all psychological as well). This book is like a poster child of abusive relationships, honeymoon phases and everything. It was like lets choose between crap relationship and other crap relationship.
After I read it, I flipped through her other series in this universe, I will not read them. I can not even imagine that anything in this universe is remotely not a weird f'd up story.
After I read it, I flipped through her other series in this universe, I will not read them. I can not even imagine that anything in this universe is remotely not a weird f'd up story.
August 30, 2021
The take on how a predominantly all male society would handle handle the same existence of mankind. By creating a military ran country and forcing those who have the “change” into breeding programs. Which, I’m sure, is exactly what would happen. It’s just not unique pertaining to many mpreg stories. The main character got a bit annoying. Some of the side characters were intrigued me more though.
As a big fan of mpreg, I’m not a fan of “you will now change into having a vagina or channel. Complete with slit and slick” explanation. As a bigger fan of dudes getting it in, I just don’t find it appealing to read “Your vagina is so wet for me, bro”. Overall it was an decent read.
As a big fan of mpreg, I’m not a fan of “you will now change into having a vagina or channel. Complete with slit and slick” explanation. As a bigger fan of dudes getting it in, I just don’t find it appealing to read “Your vagina is so wet for me, bro”. Overall it was an decent read.
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