AGONY/ECSTASY is just a cool book. One cover depicting Agony with ten stories associated with the feeling and the opposite/upside down cover depicting Ecstasy with ten more amazing stories, this volume is a treasure trove of delights. Jane Little has found twenty excellent works from multiple perspectives that not only entice with their renditions of the darker edges of the erotic, but also endear and intrigue with humor, great writing, and some interesting twists. Some standouts are Sarah Scott's Silverhouse, Christine D'Abo's Bruised Ego, Delphin Dryden's Safeword, and the intricately interesting Wetwire by Sunny Moraine. The last feels like an homage to the early world of cyberpunk erotica.

AGONY/ECSTASY is an excellent collection with engaging tales and fantastic writing that not only explores the darkness of pleasure and pain but also reminds one that authors can write about such things while still crafting good stories.

Book Summary

All new stories of punishing extremes and unbearable pleasure...

With historical, contemporary, and futuristic backdrops, this outrageously diverse collection of original stories explores every conceivable variation of BDSM erotica-from knitting circles to the Titanic to a retelling of The Little Mermaid.

Featuring all-new stories by Meljean Brook, Jean Johnson, Bettie Sharpe, Jill Myles, Margaret Rowe, Sara Thorne, and more, this book has everything a reader could hope for in an erotic romance.