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The Drug
IS SEX JUST CHEMISTRY?
When Tom Shana lost his young wife, he was sure no other girl could take her place. But Marjorie Tucker, determined to prove him wrong, enticed him into an affair.
Then Tom, during his dangerous work as an airline detective, met the inventor of an LSD type of drug which had dangerous aphrodisiacal properties. Tom became the guinea pig for experiments in an arrangement that included the inventor's beautiful Eurasian wife and his two lovely daughters.
Tom pursued a dreamlike existence in the inventor's sensuous private paradise, the three women in turn satisfying every need. He forgot the wife he had lost. He forgot Marjorie Tucker, too - until suddenly she caught up with him. Again she tried to make Tom whole, drugs or no, but this time she over-reached herself. Marjorie, Tom, his inventor friend, the three fetching women - all were caught up in the shocking events that followed.
More and more, drugs are being used to stimulate sex, inhibit it, avoid its natural consequences such as childbirth. This scathing novel warns that nostrums and medicines are no substitute for the real thing - and at the same time, on another level, tells an exciting story full of suspense and violent conflict.
When Tom Shana lost his young wife, he was sure no other girl could take her place. But Marjorie Tucker, determined to prove him wrong, enticed him into an affair.
Then Tom, during his dangerous work as an airline detective, met the inventor of an LSD type of drug which had dangerous aphrodisiacal properties. Tom became the guinea pig for experiments in an arrangement that included the inventor's beautiful Eurasian wife and his two lovely daughters.
Tom pursued a dreamlike existence in the inventor's sensuous private paradise, the three women in turn satisfying every need. He forgot the wife he had lost. He forgot Marjorie Tucker, too - until suddenly she caught up with him. Again she tried to make Tom whole, drugs or no, but this time she over-reached herself. Marjorie, Tom, his inventor friend, the three fetching women - all were caught up in the shocking events that followed.
More and more, drugs are being used to stimulate sex, inhibit it, avoid its natural consequences such as childbirth. This scathing novel warns that nostrums and medicines are no substitute for the real thing - and at the same time, on another level, tells an exciting story full of suspense and violent conflict.
154 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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April 24, 2011
Silly but very likable sleaze novel. Mark Daniels was a pseudonym for William L. Rohde, who appears to now be a lawyer in Virginia. "The Lawyer With the Hat," according to his website. Though he doesn't acknowledge his career as a novelist on his CV, it fits well enough. Though the cover suggests that this is a book that comes down against drugs and free sexuality, it is in fact refreshingly low in moral judgment. The book is mostly about Tom Shana's investigation of an only vaguely described plane ticket scam. The titular drug only really features in the middle third. Rohde is a reasonably good writer, who more than once hits a real tickler, but the book has some rough edges. The plot is at times vague and often one gets the impression that Rohde thinks he has foreshadowed better than he has. When the Klan suddenly becomes involved, I had to scratch my head for a minute.
Still, the book has merits that make up for its occasional clumsiness. I liked the odd structure of the novel: Tom is tortured by self-doubt and impotence and fear, and his investigation into the ticket fraud is not going so fruitfully. Then, he visits the Planes, who seem to live in an indoor pool, barely dressed, taking homemade psychedelics and sharing men. They are also super rich. Tom gets his turn with all three of the Plane women, but it is not presented as unnatural or harmful, merely an outgrowth of the extremely unconventional lifestyle of the Plane household. They are more Madonna than whore, but all three get down way hard. Though I suppose there is always the hint of incest in a family sharing a man, they take turns. Tom sleeps with one of the daughters the first time he takes the drug, and immediately afterward the mother (actually stepmother) comes in with her beakers and vials to collect Tom's vital fluids for some unexplained experiment. He then takes a four day break from the investigation of the ticket fraudsters who are trying to murder him in order to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. His impotence is cured and he heads back into the investigation, tying it up rather handily. The ending is rather amusing, with that same cute sense of melodrama.
Still, the book has merits that make up for its occasional clumsiness. I liked the odd structure of the novel: Tom is tortured by self-doubt and impotence and fear, and his investigation into the ticket fraud is not going so fruitfully. Then, he visits the Planes, who seem to live in an indoor pool, barely dressed, taking homemade psychedelics and sharing men. They are also super rich. Tom gets his turn with all three of the Plane women, but it is not presented as unnatural or harmful, merely an outgrowth of the extremely unconventional lifestyle of the Plane household. They are more Madonna than whore, but all three get down way hard. Though I suppose there is always the hint of incest in a family sharing a man, they take turns. Tom sleeps with one of the daughters the first time he takes the drug, and immediately afterward the mother (actually stepmother) comes in with her beakers and vials to collect Tom's vital fluids for some unexplained experiment. He then takes a four day break from the investigation of the ticket fraudsters who are trying to murder him in order to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. His impotence is cured and he heads back into the investigation, tying it up rather handily. The ending is rather amusing, with that same cute sense of melodrama.
Displaying 1 of 1 review