"Trek Mi Q'an 5.5 -- love with a gorilla?"

Dee Ellison is on the run. She's being chased by Zaab, the Alpha Male of the Mantus Hoard. He's tall, strong, and overwhelmingly masculine. She would be eager for his attentions, but there are just two slight problems. The first is that his goal is enslavement, not loving possession. The second is that he's not a human being -- he's a gorilla.

DEMENTIA is actually book 5.5 of the Ms. Black's Trek Mi Q'an series, and as such is a nice return to the humid world of Dementia introduced in the earlier volumes of the series. It is not necessary to read the Trek Mi Q'an books to understand DEMENTIA, though I'm sure enjoyment of the existing novels would add to the reader's pleasure with the short story. The story is full of Black's usual fun and creative sexuality -- including the Dementian plant that lives off of a woman's climaxes, and her typical world- building and characterization. Another plus is that DEMENTIA is actually very romantic, not just sexually interesting. This story may be a good place to break into Black's work if you want to learn about her style, characterization, and skill with setting if you don't want to start with the novel-length EMPRESS' NEW CLOTHES.

Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted August 10, 2002

Summary

Short story. Part of Trek Mi Q'an series, but can be read as a stand-alone. Dee Ellison is catapulted from earth and ends up in a mysterious alien world reminiscent of Planet of the Apes. The males of the planet, she soon discovers, keep human females as sex slaves. More terrifying yet, the Alpha Male of the Hoard is hot on Dee's trail.