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Do Not Feed the Platypus, Please
Marcial was everything Carsten had wished for; handsome, kind, young, industrious and willing to be helpful. A Spanish "little Elf." A dream come true for the rich man. His only drawback? The ravenous Platypus living with him, the Georgian mobster determined to make Marcial his newest boy-friend, and Pelayo, his meddle-some childhood friend. For the hyper-rational middle aged programmer, nothing makes sense anymore as he finds himself plunged into a world where reality and fantasy merge and sanity is a scarce commodity.
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First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Tionne Rogers
9 books160 followersI was born many years ago, but not that many, in Buenos Aires. I studied Political Science with a Master in Defence Studies. I live in Madrid since 6 years, married and with one child. Author (yes, I plead guilty) of "The Substitute", "Do not Feed the Platypus, please" and "Into the Lion's Den". Those are Slash Novels for adults... so little children, go home!
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 8, 2015
Another yaoi-inflected story of a sweet, naive guy getting bossed around and manipulated by various domineering personalities. I found it addictive and in many ways a tighter, more enjoyable read than The Substitute, but it is not without its problems.
The story bears some resemblance to one of my favorite books, Ethan, Who Loved Carter, in that the hero, Marcial, has been brain-damaged in a way that at times makes him seem much younger than his actual age--he is unable to perceive irony and deceit, and is generally compliant to other people's demands. Far more troubling, he is also the victim of severe sexual abuse starting at age 14--long before the story starts--but because of his mental issues, he isn't able to even understand the concept of abuse. This is all laid out very early in the story. Unlike Ethan, Who Loved Carter, the author isn't particularly interested in exploring what might constitute actual, informed consent for a person with that history. This is the typical yaoi world where normal responsible morality doesn't exist. And like The Substitute or most yaoi stories, it bears only the most tenuous relationship to reality.
That being said, Marcial is an unexpectedly strong, wise, lovable character, who consistently transcends his sad circumstances and the far less lovable people who prey on him, and without being overly sentimentalized, which would have ruined it for me. Moreover, without giving too much away, the bizarre title and confusing blurb are more relevant than they at first seem, and hint at some wild and unexpected developments that I found completely fascinating and original. Pulayo was a favorite character, and his relationship to Marcial was in the best domineering/protector tradition but without the sexual components that make Marcial's other relationships so problematic. Otherwise, the story has the same language issues of Rogers' other works, not as bad as PDF version of the Substitute, but also not attempting anything like idiomatic English.
Bottom line: definitely not for everyone, but if you liked Rogers' other books, and aren't bothered by the kind of consent problems inherent to the subject matter, then... maybe?
The story bears some resemblance to one of my favorite books, Ethan, Who Loved Carter, in that the hero, Marcial, has been brain-damaged in a way that at times makes him seem much younger than his actual age--he is unable to perceive irony and deceit, and is generally compliant to other people's demands. Far more troubling, he is also the victim of severe sexual abuse starting at age 14--long before the story starts--but because of his mental issues, he isn't able to even understand the concept of abuse. This is all laid out very early in the story. Unlike Ethan, Who Loved Carter, the author isn't particularly interested in exploring what might constitute actual, informed consent for a person with that history. This is the typical yaoi world where normal responsible morality doesn't exist. And like The Substitute or most yaoi stories, it bears only the most tenuous relationship to reality.
That being said, Marcial is an unexpectedly strong, wise, lovable character, who consistently transcends his sad circumstances and the far less lovable people who prey on him, and without being overly sentimentalized, which would have ruined it for me. Moreover, without giving too much away, the bizarre title and confusing blurb are more relevant than they at first seem, and hint at some wild and unexpected developments that I found completely fascinating and original. Pulayo was a favorite character, and his relationship to Marcial was in the best domineering/protector tradition but without the sexual components that make Marcial's other relationships so problematic. Otherwise, the story has the same language issues of Rogers' other works, not as bad as PDF version of the Substitute, but also not attempting anything like idiomatic English.
Bottom line: definitely not for everyone, but if you liked Rogers' other books, and aren't bothered by the kind of consent problems inherent to the subject matter, then... maybe?
September 30, 2013
Currently on my fourth reading, and Tionne Rogers' lovely and eccentric turns of phrase still make me laugh every time.
Random highlights:
Marcial asks for dinner at Burger King on their first date. Millionaire Carston calles it a "fixed price menu place", but he goes anyway.
The eccentric/genius employees at Carston's software company use the "Imperial March" ringtone for their boss.
Pelayo has a black face like his moorish enemies as punishment for spilling blood on sacred ground. Marcial says the goddess "Diana was very territorial."
Pelayo displaying subtlety by leaving the room; "You don't reach the status of royal advisor in the Visigoth Court on your hot looks."
Random highlights:
Marcial asks for dinner at Burger King on their first date. Millionaire Carston calles it a "fixed price menu place", but he goes anyway.
The eccentric/genius employees at Carston's software company use the "Imperial March" ringtone for their boss.
Pelayo has a black face like his moorish enemies as punishment for spilling blood on sacred ground. Marcial says the goddess "Diana was very territorial."
Pelayo displaying subtlety by leaving the room; "You don't reach the status of royal advisor in the Visigoth Court on your hot looks."
February 10, 2012
Tionne Rogers always manages to write stories which are mildly morbid and disturbing.
In this story Marcial is an incredibly beautiful 22-year-old guy. He had a terrible car accident when he was 10, where his mother died and he stayed in a coma for a long time. This caused brain damage, a short-term amnesia and learning difficulties. Marcial lived with his grandmother, who gave him to a pedophile, who took advantage of the not-so-bright Marcial and almost killed him later. As a consequence of this, he was sent in an institute where doctors tried to cure him of his damage and hallucinations, but then Marcial went back home. After the death of his grand mother, he went to live to Madrid with his stuffed platypus, the only gift he received from his mother. This platypus, Pelayo, is not a simple stuffed toy, it is a vessel for the "real" Pelayo, a house demon, an ancient warrior from the 12th century, who guards over Marcial. Is Pelayo a coping mechanism? A useful hallucination who helped Marcial overcome his difficulties? Or is it the real thing? It takes a while to understand.
Carsten, a 40-year-old Dutch software tycoon living in London, sees Marcial wrapping Christmas gifts and falls in lust with the young men. He understands Marcial is very special, he is baffled by the platypus, but he wants to save his beautiful "elf" and try to cure him as much as possible. The problem is that Marcial is the object of the love/lust of Slobodan, a Georgian mobster, whose life was saved by Marcial and who regarded Marcial as his angel from that time on.
Marcial's brain damage prevents him from being sure of his feelings and of his interaction of the people around him, also because he can't name those feelings. He is like a small child, innocent, with no malice, eager to please and be of help. Everyone takes advantage of him, treat him as a moron and make fun of him. It's Pelayo who warns him and protects him, interfering with the most malicious people.
Slobodan is a bad man, but in a sense he is more accepting of Marcial than Carsten, Marcial's supposed saviour. Carsten is incredibly immature, insensitive, childish. I couldn't stand him, really. The basics of Carsten and Marcial's relationship is similar to the relationship of the main couple of The Substitute, but it lacks the same intensity, because Pelayo's presence provides a lighter and funnier mood. I had the impression that both Pelayo's entire presence and Marcial's gifts entered the story only later, as an afterthought, so it was as if new information was attached to the characters later in the story.
The Asturian lore is woven into the story and it was interesting, even if it became a sort of info dumping here and there. The book is clearly written by a non-native speaker, so be warned, the spelling and grammar is not always correct.
The book dragged a bit in places and it was frustrating sometimes, because, I repeat, Carsten was a true asshole, undeserving of Marcial. Marcial collects all the pity of the reader and his situation was so bad that really, I had to stop reading for a while, because I had the impression he was being used and abused all the time, even by those who claimed they loved him. This unsettling feeling prevented me from really enjoying the lighter moments of the book.
In this story Marcial is an incredibly beautiful 22-year-old guy. He had a terrible car accident when he was 10, where his mother died and he stayed in a coma for a long time. This caused brain damage, a short-term amnesia and learning difficulties. Marcial lived with his grandmother, who gave him to a pedophile, who took advantage of the not-so-bright Marcial and almost killed him later. As a consequence of this, he was sent in an institute where doctors tried to cure him of his damage and hallucinations, but then Marcial went back home. After the death of his grand mother, he went to live to Madrid with his stuffed platypus, the only gift he received from his mother. This platypus, Pelayo, is not a simple stuffed toy, it is a vessel for the "real" Pelayo, a house demon, an ancient warrior from the 12th century, who guards over Marcial. Is Pelayo a coping mechanism? A useful hallucination who helped Marcial overcome his difficulties? Or is it the real thing? It takes a while to understand.
Carsten, a 40-year-old Dutch software tycoon living in London, sees Marcial wrapping Christmas gifts and falls in lust with the young men. He understands Marcial is very special, he is baffled by the platypus, but he wants to save his beautiful "elf" and try to cure him as much as possible. The problem is that Marcial is the object of the love/lust of Slobodan, a Georgian mobster, whose life was saved by Marcial and who regarded Marcial as his angel from that time on.
Marcial's brain damage prevents him from being sure of his feelings and of his interaction of the people around him, also because he can't name those feelings. He is like a small child, innocent, with no malice, eager to please and be of help. Everyone takes advantage of him, treat him as a moron and make fun of him. It's Pelayo who warns him and protects him, interfering with the most malicious people.
Slobodan is a bad man, but in a sense he is more accepting of Marcial than Carsten, Marcial's supposed saviour. Carsten is incredibly immature, insensitive, childish. I couldn't stand him, really. The basics of Carsten and Marcial's relationship is similar to the relationship of the main couple of The Substitute, but it lacks the same intensity, because Pelayo's presence provides a lighter and funnier mood. I had the impression that both Pelayo's entire presence and Marcial's gifts entered the story only later, as an afterthought, so it was as if new information was attached to the characters later in the story.
The Asturian lore is woven into the story and it was interesting, even if it became a sort of info dumping here and there. The book is clearly written by a non-native speaker, so be warned, the spelling and grammar is not always correct.
The book dragged a bit in places and it was frustrating sometimes, because, I repeat, Carsten was a true asshole, undeserving of Marcial. Marcial collects all the pity of the reader and his situation was so bad that really, I had to stop reading for a while, because I had the impression he was being used and abused all the time, even by those who claimed they loved him. This unsettling feeling prevented me from really enjoying the lighter moments of the book.
April 18, 2012
Not as good as the other Tionne's books.
October 16, 2017
What a great read. The storyline strange and disturbing at times and very hard to like some of the main characters at times. Bit of an abrupt ending makes me wonder is there more expected from Carson, plays and marciel.
May 8, 2011
somewhat difficult to read- i don't think the author is a native english speaker- at least i hope not. would benefit from editing. carsten reads like a character from a harlequin romance- from 1981. he's a chauvinistic self-absorbed bully. almost entirely unlikeable.
dnf
July 25, 2015Stopped at 10%
April 27, 2017
The description of this book will make no sense to you what so ever, until you read the book. While there were technical errors in the grammar and context it didn't take away from the book because the story is so great. At times it even added to the character as we know Marcial's first language is not English so it seems fitting. The character development is strong and while there is not a lot of heat in the story in description is defiantly exists between Marcial and the men who love him. One of the best things with Roger's story is that the plot is not one you guess straight through. There are times you see glimpses at the alternative sides of the two men vying for Marcial and you sway in your beliefs of what may or may not happen or what you may want to happen. As for the platypus and Palayo, it is really clever and extremely entertaining. There is a lot of intelligence in this writing and I was very impressed in the details Roger's gives, especially the medical details that must have required research as they are very accurate. Over all a great read and I will pick up her other stories, with a little polish this would be 5 stars for sure.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews