The Flogmaster's Book Reviews
Welcome to the Flogmaster's book reviews. This is a new section of the website where I review spanking literature. I've found that while there are tons of erotic books out there, the ones that appeal to the spankophile in me are fewer in number and harder to find. Some sound like they include lots of spanking but turn out to contain only a mild hand spanking or two, others do nothing but tease and deliver vanilla sex. Many spanking books on online booksellers like Amazon don't have any reviews or the reviews don't tell you whether you'd like the book because they give no context. For instance, I read one where the reviewer criticized a book because it contained too much spanking and not enough sex!
Critiquing erotic literature is a challenge because everyone is different and what is erotic to one is not to another. Even within the narrower field of the spankophile there's a huge range: some love child spankings, some are repulsed by that; some are aroused husband-wife discipline, some are bored by that; some want lots of sex mixed with spanking, while others don't care for it; some adore master-slave scenarios, while some find those a turn-off; and so on. Even the severity of spanking can be a huge issue. Some aren't turned-on unless the spanking is severe and leaves purple welts, while others are squicked by harsh implements like whips and judicial canes. A little blood can be erotic to one and the opposite to another. There are love spankings, punishment spankings, fantasy spankings (unrealistic discipline, i.e. girl takes 1000 cane strokes and asks for more), torture spankings, consensual/non-consensual spanking, and more. There are zillions of spanking implements, from wooden spoons and slippers to canes and birches and bullwhips; and everyone has their preference.
Then there's sex. Some people love spanking mixed with unusual sex: anal is popular, since it deals with the bottom. But often spanking stories will mix in oral, traditional intercourse, masturbation, gay sex, bowel movements, foot fetishes, breast and sex punishment, etc. If one of those turns you off, it can nullify any arousal from the spanking scene.
My hope is that because these reviews are written by the Flogmaster, you'll already know my likes from reading my stories. Thus if I recommend a book, you'll have a good idea what's inside. I'll also try to reveal potentially squicky contents so that you know in advance if a book's for you or not. That is, after, the purpose of book review.
Here's a quick summary of what I like/don't like in a spanking book:
The Flogmaster's Preferences
- I like females being spanked. The occasional male doesn't bother me, depending on the context. Female spanking male can be fun, but only if she gets it as well or if she's just freakishly gorgeous. I would never buy a book containing exclusively F/M. Male-male spanking is a real turn-off, unless it's a formal punishment (i.e. headmaster-student). If a male-male spanking is sexualized I really get turned off.
- I prefer schoolgirl spankings. Schoolgirl's my favorite category. I'm not opposed to husband-wife type scenarios, but I generally find them too mild, too safe, and boring. Older women being spanked don't bother me (I have nothing against older women), but I prefer the non-consensual aspect of schoolgirl discipline. I also enjoy the naivety of younger girls and "first-timers." The setting doesn't have to be a school, of course -- I just like teenage spankees.
- I like severe spankings. Nothing turns me off quicker than a scene that pretends to be severe and then delivers a few mild swats. For instance, anyone who's been spanked with a table tennis bat knows that it's too light to hurt the slightest bit: any time I read about a punishment with one of those as though it's severe it just turns me cold. A severe spanking is one that is intense: it can last a long time, leave harsh marks, or simply terrify or overwhelm the spankee. The number of strokes is irrelevant. What's important is how the scene is written. I've read scenes where just three strokes of the cane was the girl's greatest nightmare and it was tremendously arousing. I've also read scenes where a girl was flogged a hundred times in a town square -- ostensibly a powerful scene -- and yet it left me limp because the flogging was so unemotionally connected to the victim and I was given no insight into the pain of the punishment.
- I like lots of spanking. A book with only a handful of key spanking scenes is not a spanking book. A spanking book, at minimum, should have one really good spanking per chapter (and the chapters should not be too long), preferably many more. Basically I ought to be able to read a good spanking scene in the few minutes before bed. If I have to wade through dozens of pages of "setup" I won't be too aroused.
- I love spanking detail. The more detail included in a spanking the better. I want to know how everyone is feeling: the spankee, the spanker, the watchers (if there are any). I want vivid descriptions of each stroke, I want the level of pain described.
- I enjoy sexual arousal but the sex act is irrelevant. While a spankee doesn't have to become aroused by her spanking to arouse me (I'm fine with non-consensual punishment), I don't mind if she does. Vivid descriptions of sex acts, however, don't interest me. For me, it's all about the spanking. I can imagine the rest on my own and come to my own climax. If a book includes pages and pages of sex acts, I'll just skip those to get to the "good stuff."
- I like variety and escalation. It's a bit cliche, but the formula works: a good spanking book starts off with a good spanking and builds to spankings of increased severity and/or frequency. Early implements can be milder (hand, slipper, spoon) and gradually increase to severe (paddle, cane, birch). Spankings in unusual situations, unusual positions, or with horrifying-sounding implements are delicious.
- Humiliation is important. A good spanking is humiliating, so it's vital that a book's descriptions of spankings tell us how humiliating the experience is. Even if the scene contains other, non-spanking punishments such as mouth-washing, enemas, boot licking, toilet cleaning, force defecation in public, etc., they can be arousing if we see how humiliating the experience is to the punished girl.
- I enjoy a good story, but it's not vital. A spanking book needs some sort of frame around the spankings: there needs to be a plot and purpose for the punishments. But unlike regular books, the plot can be minimal. Most of the time I really don't care why a girl is being spanked: the fact that she is is enough for me. I don't need a lot of back story, long passages of exposition to set up a scene or explain a situation: just do it. Sometimes long text helps build anticipation, and that's fine, but it shouldn't be overdone. Books that get right to the action rate higher.
- Description of female body is good. I want wonderful, lush, descriptions of the woman's buttocks and sexy body.
- Suffering is vital. I need to know that the spanking hurts. Something like "I took a hundred strokes of the whip and it really stung and then I went for a cup of tea" is not erotic, while "The third stroke whistled its way across my bared rump and laid in a ferocious sting. I gasped and it took all my strength to hold position. I blinked back tears, my ass writhing as the burning intensified, and I suddenly began to dread the rest of my punishment. This was only three strokes, yet it felt like six. This teacher knew how to thrash! I trembled with the knowledge that he'd promised me a full dozen. How could I endure it?" is much more stimulating.
The Flogmaster's Rating System
Unique to erotic literature, I've found that an otherwise crappy spanking book can be saved by even a single fantastic scene. Thus I've decided to rate books in two ways: the spanking/erotic quality and the writing/story quality. Each of these will be rated between 0 (worst) and 5 (best) and the total of the two numbers will be the overall rating:
Flogmaster Ratings: 7.8|4.5|3.3 (Overall / Spanking / Writing)
For instance, a book might be given a Spank Rating of 4.5 (excellent) and a Writing Rating of 3.3 (okay) for a total of 7.8 (decent). I'll always include both ratings and the total, so you may decide that book's not for you because it doesn't have much story, or you may choose a book that's got lots of good spanking but isn't particularly well-crafted.
The Reviews
COVER | DETAILS | DESCRIPTION | RATING |
| Beauty's Punishment Author: Anne Rice Publisher: Plume ISBN: 0452266629 Number of pages: 233 Number of Spankings: Dozens of punishments of dozens of individuals | A classic, and one of my favorites. This book is my favorite of the trilogy. | 9.7|4.8|4.9 |
| Beauty's Release Author: Anne Rice Publisher: Plume ISBN: 0452266637 Number of pages: 238 Number of Spankings: Dozens of punishments of dozens of individuals | The weakest of the three books, but has one or two good scenes. | 7.8|3.5|4.3 |
| The Prussian Girls Author: P.N. Dedeaux Publisher: Blue Moon ISBN: 978-1562013400 Number of pages: 223 Number of Spankings: Around 60 punishments of 20 individuals | My favorite spanking book of all time. It is non-stop punishments at a strict Prussian girls' school. Extremely severe and not for all tastes. | 9.7|5.0|4.7 |
| The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty Author: Anne Rice (as A.N. Roquelaure) Publisher: Plume ISBN: 0452266564 Number of pages: 253 Number of Spankings: Dozens of punishments of dozens individuals | A classic, and one of my favorites. This book was the first spanking book I ever read and it taught me that spanking erotica can be literary. | 9.3|4.6|4.7 |