The Ancestors of Star
by William Gaius
Lately, it seems that I have gotten a reputation as a fan of femdom
erotica. I have reviewed several femdom titles and I’m in process
of reading another for an upcoming review. I receive unsolicited
emails from femdom authors, begging me to look at their work.
Though I’m always intrigued by power exchange, I must admit that
the staple elements of fetishistic femdom usually do not excite
me. Many of the books I’ve read in this genre blur the line between
domination and abuse to the point where I’m frankly
uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong. Anyone who has read my own
stories will know that I don’t shy away from heavy BDSM scenes. I
don’t mind pain, as long as it is illuminated and transformed by
desire. But in much of the femdom I’ve encountered, that desire is
missing. The powerful women are merely cruel. They despise the men
they dominate. Safe, sane, consensual – these concepts don’t
seem to exist. Perhaps this is exactly what thrills those who enjoy
this sub-genre, but physical and psychological abuse unleavened by any
shred of responsibility or concern falls outside my personal
definition of erotic.
The Ancestors of Star by William Gaius identifies itself as
focused on “female domination”. However, the mood and tone of
this novel differs markedly from most other femdom titles that I’ve
read.
The Ancestors of Star is the extended tale of a young man
coming to know and to worship a powerful older woman. He is in some
sense her slave, but a willing, even a joyous slave, who receives the
most acute pleasure and satisfaction from serving his beloved
mistress.
Tim Hyatt takes a year off from college to work in the clinic at a
remote American Indian reservation. His motives are hardly altruistic;
strapped for cash to go to medical school, he is hoping that the
experience among the Lagalero tribe may earn him a scholarship and
help him climb into the social stratum of his Chicago high society
girlfriend Natalie.
The clinic was founded and is managed by Elaine Yellow Star, a tough,
intelligent native RN who has a well-known weakness for handsome
younger men. Working for Star is a true education for the immature,
macho city boy. He learns firsthand about the bleak and brutal lives
of the folk on the reservation. He begins to appreciate the spiritual
bonds that unite and elevate the Lagalero community. He overcomes his
original distaste for cunnilingus in order to become an enthusiastic
servitor between Star’s thighs. He becomes willing to forgo his own
release in order to give her pleasure. Gradually he acquires a sense
of personal responsibility, and the maturity to recognize and claim
what he really wants – the long-term love and respect of his
demanding boss.
The Ancestors of Star includes some steamy sex
scenes. Furthermore, its core conflicts deal with sexual pleasure,
trust and commitment in the context of a relationship that is not
exactly vanilla. In both these senses, the book can stake its claim to
being an erotic work. However, the novel is far more than a book about
sex. Mr. Gaius paints vivid pictures of the blasted New Mexico
countryside around the reservation: stark beauty and terrible
isolation. His characters, too, are vivid – not just Star, but more
minor characters as well: Metal Head, the Vietnam-vet-turned-shaman;
Matt Hunter, the tribal cop; Lucy White Eyes, crystal meth addict and
shaman’s apprentice; Dr. Frank Willis, the honorary Navajo who is
Star’s former lover. Then there’s Natalie, whose disastrous
visit to the reservation demonstrates to Tim how much he has
changed. Shallow, prissy, ultra-chic Natalie is almost a caricature,
but her interactions with Star, the woman she senses is her rival,
keep her believable and human.
I was virtually left out of the conversation, but after a few
minutes, a light dawned in my thick male head. Star had somehow read
Natalie’s suspicions and was cleverly disarming them. How did women
do it? They read one another’s innermost thoughts, and carried on
battles and alliances and betrayals, right in front of unsuspecting
men, who thought the conversation was only about schools and clothing.
Soon, they had moved on to weddings, and Star told of the high point of the Lagalero wedding ceremony, which used a special pot made with two spouts. If one person tried to drink from it, he or she would get soaked. But both partners could drink from it with ease. After the drink was taken, and they had eaten cornbread from the same basket, the two were considered married.
Although the literal subjects of the conversation didn’t interest me, I listened carefully, not knowing what I might be called to account for later. In my head, I tried to translate the innocuous conversation of women:
Natalie: “My parents want us to have a big, traditional wedding, in the church. Me, I’d just as soon get married at City Hall.” Translation: ‘I’ve fought off other women before. I can fight you off, too.’
Star: “If I had gotten married, it would have been a traditional Lagalero wedding.” Translation: ‘Tim knew nothing of real sex before I got to him.’
Natalie: “That would be nice, to keep up the old traditions.” Translation: ‘I finally seduced Tim into going down on me. Once I got him to do that, he’s mine, and you can’t have him.’
Star: “Just as well, I was born on the rez, and I expect to die here and be put with my ancestors.” Translation: ‘Well, guess who taught him that, Sister! Not only does he go down on me nearly every day, he cleans my room and does my laundry and gives me back rubs. He even shaves my legs.’
Natalie bent the conversation back to the privileges and duties of a doctor’s wife. It began to dawn on me that this was Natalie’s real ambition. She was going to be a doctor’s wife. If I happened to play the part of the doctor, that would be nice. But it could be anyone, really, so long as he had ‘M.D.’ after his name.
Mr. Gaius writes with grace and insight. His prose reveals character
and situation, without getting in the way.
The Ancestors of
Star is a long book, more than 300 pages, but I never found myself
bored. This is despite the fact that the novel does not have a
traditional plot arc from an initial state up to a crisis and then
down to a resolution.
Instead, the novel is episodic, offering a series of mini-crises:
Star’s rejection of Tim after he asserts his macho side; Tim’s
near-death experience among ancient, treacherous ruins; a traditional
hunt for prong horn sheep set against the background of rivalry for
Star’s affection; a drug buy gone bad that leaves two young natives
dead.
At one point it occurred to me that Mr. Gaius had perhaps adopted
Native American narrative conventions, which do not follow the same
rules as our own. Toward the end of the novel, however, I
understood.
The Ancestors of Star is a classic quest tale. The
callow young protagonist sets out on his journey to self-knowledge and
emotional fulfillment. He undertakes trials and overcomes obstacles on
the way to achieving the goal that, at the outset, he does not even
understand. Star is both his guide and his greatest challenge. By the
end of the novel, he has become a sort of hero, glorified by his
willingness to submit himself to Star’s desires and needs, as well
as by his sincere commitment to her culture and her people.
I greatly enjoyed reading
The Ancestors of Star. It’s a
serious book, with more depth than one normally expects from
erotica. At the same time, I did find it sexy, far more so than most
of the other femdom works I’ve read. Tim is uplifted by his
servitude to Star, and the reader is, too. The theme of sexual
pleasure as a healing and ennobling force is hardly original, but that
does not make it any less satisfying.
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