Review: The Ishtar Ignition by Timothy Black

 

Genre: Erotica/Science Fiction

Description:

A novella continuing the adventures of aviatrix Charlotte Frost (personal motto: ‘fuck it or kill it’) who is being pursued (for reasons not in this book) by the Matriarchy at the urging of the Godmother AI. Her space ship has somehow landed in a massive hangar, which is where the action takes place. It is full of potentially lethal tech, which has been largely powered down. The tech is vaguely familiar to Captain Frost. Frost straps on her tool belt, and she and her trusty sex Doll (the gender shifting Arslan-Tash) get to work on an exit strategy.

Author:

Black’s Amazon bio reads thus: “Born a modern-day nomad in the Deep South, Timothy Black wandered through most of the southern United States in an attempt to find his life, love, and home. After studying Geology, Astronomy, and the Occult, he found himself with a degree in Philosophy and a habit of writing odd things. A serial killer of coffee and whiskey sours, he has since found his den in the Pacific Northwest with two raucous bird ladies that peck him when he gets too far out of line. That's a whole lot of beaking.” There is another Timothy Black on Amazon, who is a retired teacher. He is not this Black.

Appraisal:

This is a lot of fun. Captain Frost’s space ship is called the Harlot’s Promise and is powered by orgasms produced by the practice of tantric sex. The plot is small but perfectly formed: the girl on girl action is clever. Black has corralled a number of ancient middle eastern deities, myths, tantric energy, and alternative religious and political  pathways to create a complex military matriarchal state in opposition to the majority patriarchy to power this SF adventure. All these little dogies, hitched together, gallop along very nicely indeed.

The only problem is that this is book 2 and it doesn’t really stand alone. So now you know that, do start with the first one, The Clockwork Courtesan.

The third book in the series (The Engines of Eros) was published in August 2024. So with the whole trilogy now available, the frustrating deficiencies I experienced should melt away. I did feel the lack of the grounding that first book would have provided. But I had a very nice time all the same, thank you very much. Call me. 🤙 😉

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Format/Typo Issues:

There are a few clunks, but the book has excellent pace and you will ride right through them.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words