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Eco
Crispin Vaule is a brilliant scientist who lives in an underground colony on the planet Yusuf-4. Run by a tyrannical dictator, Malachai Haelstorm, life in the colony is oppressive, though those of Crispin's stature in the sciences are granted more permissions than typical civilians.
Bent on warmongering, Malachai invests his efforts into acquiring a new breed of mass destructive weapons: an unknown but aggressive alien species. Tasked with ensuring the beast's health and growth, Cris recognizes his sentient intelligence, forming a strong bond with him.
Now he must protect him from Malachai's diabolical plans, even if it means making dire sacrifices.
Bent on warmongering, Malachai invests his efforts into acquiring a new breed of mass destructive weapons: an unknown but aggressive alien species. Tasked with ensuring the beast's health and growth, Cris recognizes his sentient intelligence, forming a strong bond with him.
Now he must protect him from Malachai's diabolical plans, even if it means making dire sacrifices.
- GenresAliens
ebook
Published March 1, 2019
7 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 15, 2019
This was a good read. I'm going to mark this as spoilers because I don't know how spoilery this is.
In the end, I was sad it ended—I wanted to follow Crispin and Eco for longer, to learn more about them both. I was invested in both of them as protagonists and their bond meant something to me. I consider that a success for an author.
Let me touch upon some things I really enjoyed.
Haelstorm? He's an asshole. I felt that through and through, and it wasn't shallow. Every time he cut Crispin off, I wanted to throttle him. He was stupid but smart all at once; he didn't want to hear the intricacies of why Crispin was doing this or that, or didn't understand why it was taking so long to produce something from the rift. He was, for a character that spent little time "on screen," surprisingly interesting. I enjoyed seeing the small bits into his life with Eco, and it helped the reader understand where Eco learned some behaviors.
The relationship between Crispin and Eco was paced well. It was a fairly short story, and I worried it would pull a case where the characters go from one end of the spectrum to another, but that's not how Ashke did this story, and it shows in the end. There's an overall feeling of satisfaction and it's wholeheartedly believable, the pace at which they bond.
I felt Crispin's anxieties, and his excitement, when it came to discovering new information about Eco. I felt his curiosity, his fear of not crossing that line of morality. I wanted him to give in though, for I sympathized with poor Eco, and I enjoyed how I felt happy when Crispin finally seemed to "accept" his role as Eco's partner.
Oh, another wonderful part of the story—the sci-fi. The chips to track sexual activity. The way some people could get theirs removed. Awesome detail, I loved it.
If I had to choose bad parts of the story...
Hmm. Not many at all. For erotica, I would've wanted a little more focus, at least in the last sex scene, on how much Crispin was eager for Eco, but I understand it was a tricky thing, being a human with an alien species. It was good overall, but I didn't feel as flushed as I would've wanted to. Then again—perhaps this was exactly the amount of steaminess for most readers. Who knows! It was tasteful, not cringe-worthy with the erotic scenes, and that's much more important than making it hotter.
A few typos, mostly tenses of words that were extremely easy to overlook. Nothing to shake your head at, really.
I suppose, perhaps, my biggest issue with the book was that I wanted to understand Crispin more as a character. He was a scientist first and foremost, a human second, but there was little to go off of. I thoroughly enjoyed the few bits we got about him, about how he only occasionally masturbated when frustrated with Haelstorm's demands, or that he was a virgin. Those sorts of details made him feel so alive. I wanted more. I was curious about him, what made him who he was. In the beginning, I understood if he was shallow. In the end, he was the main character beyond Eco!
Before I go off forever about this story, I want to say, if you're not 100% offput by it being an alien creature (mind you, an extremely intelligent creature that can damn near communicate flawlessly with the humans), you need to read this. It's a wonderful story. I binged it in less than 6 hours overall (between falling asleep due to it being 3am, but every time I woke up, I was reading again with eagerness!).
I will miss Crispin and Eco.
In the end, I was sad it ended—I wanted to follow Crispin and Eco for longer, to learn more about them both. I was invested in both of them as protagonists and their bond meant something to me. I consider that a success for an author.
Let me touch upon some things I really enjoyed.
Haelstorm? He's an asshole. I felt that through and through, and it wasn't shallow. Every time he cut Crispin off, I wanted to throttle him. He was stupid but smart all at once; he didn't want to hear the intricacies of why Crispin was doing this or that, or didn't understand why it was taking so long to produce something from the rift. He was, for a character that spent little time "on screen," surprisingly interesting. I enjoyed seeing the small bits into his life with Eco, and it helped the reader understand where Eco learned some behaviors.
The relationship between Crispin and Eco was paced well. It was a fairly short story, and I worried it would pull a case where the characters go from one end of the spectrum to another, but that's not how Ashke did this story, and it shows in the end. There's an overall feeling of satisfaction and it's wholeheartedly believable, the pace at which they bond.
I felt Crispin's anxieties, and his excitement, when it came to discovering new information about Eco. I felt his curiosity, his fear of not crossing that line of morality. I wanted him to give in though, for I sympathized with poor Eco, and I enjoyed how I felt happy when Crispin finally seemed to "accept" his role as Eco's partner.
Oh, another wonderful part of the story—the sci-fi. The chips to track sexual activity. The way some people could get theirs removed. Awesome detail, I loved it.
If I had to choose bad parts of the story...
Hmm. Not many at all. For erotica, I would've wanted a little more focus, at least in the last sex scene, on how much Crispin was eager for Eco, but I understand it was a tricky thing, being a human with an alien species. It was good overall, but I didn't feel as flushed as I would've wanted to. Then again—perhaps this was exactly the amount of steaminess for most readers. Who knows! It was tasteful, not cringe-worthy with the erotic scenes, and that's much more important than making it hotter.
A few typos, mostly tenses of words that were extremely easy to overlook. Nothing to shake your head at, really.
I suppose, perhaps, my biggest issue with the book was that I wanted to understand Crispin more as a character. He was a scientist first and foremost, a human second, but there was little to go off of. I thoroughly enjoyed the few bits we got about him, about how he only occasionally masturbated when frustrated with Haelstorm's demands, or that he was a virgin. Those sorts of details made him feel so alive. I wanted more. I was curious about him, what made him who he was. In the beginning, I understood if he was shallow. In the end, he was the main character beyond Eco!
Before I go off forever about this story, I want to say, if you're not 100% offput by it being an alien creature (mind you, an extremely intelligent creature that can damn near communicate flawlessly with the humans), you need to read this. It's a wonderful story. I binged it in less than 6 hours overall (between falling asleep due to it being 3am, but every time I woke up, I was reading again with eagerness!).
I will miss Crispin and Eco.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2023
pretty interesting
I wouldn’t call this erotica. There was one sex scene. It was slightly disappointing that the MC didn’t form a real romantic attachment to the monster, but I wasn’t going in hoping for romance. I went in hoping for monster erotica. I didn’t really get either. It is an interesting story. Just not categorized correctly.
I wouldn’t call this erotica. There was one sex scene. It was slightly disappointing that the MC didn’t form a real romantic attachment to the monster, but I wasn’t going in hoping for romance. I went in hoping for monster erotica. I didn’t really get either. It is an interesting story. Just not categorized correctly.
August 25, 2020
Very well written story with balanced mix of erotica and story. Would love to read more stories or even sequel.
March 7, 2019
This was a pretty unique little story.
I think most people would be scared away by the whole “animal sex” thing... but honestly the “animal” (basically a really big tough alien cat thing) felt sentient and highly intelligent, and since I like furries/anthro stuff, it wasn’t so far out for me.
There actually wasn’t a crap ton of sex in this, which was cool. There was as much story as sex that’s for sure.
What makes me sad about this story is that I can see a much bigger story inside of it, the world, the characters.. I would have liked to see more of Cris and Eco’s adventures later in the book.
Surprisingly the writing was pretty good, a few errors here and there, but nothing noticeable at all, it flows nicely.
If you read the blurb and it doesn’t bother you, then I’d recommend reading this short story.
I think most people would be scared away by the whole “animal sex” thing... but honestly the “animal” (basically a really big tough alien cat thing) felt sentient and highly intelligent, and since I like furries/anthro stuff, it wasn’t so far out for me.
There actually wasn’t a crap ton of sex in this, which was cool. There was as much story as sex that’s for sure.
What makes me sad about this story is that I can see a much bigger story inside of it, the world, the characters.. I would have liked to see more of Cris and Eco’s adventures later in the book.
Surprisingly the writing was pretty good, a few errors here and there, but nothing noticeable at all, it flows nicely.
If you read the blurb and it doesn’t bother you, then I’d recommend reading this short story.
July 4, 2022
Not sure this passes the Harkness test for me. I was a bit squicked
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews