Blow the Man Down by Victor J. Banis

Blow the Man Down by Victor J. Banis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The last of the CAMP books written by the original author.

As I've been reading these books, the action and settings are so vivid, it's like watching an old favourite TV show. I've read them so quickly as it's been like slipping back into the story of an old friend, and I can understand why this series is still alive 45 years after its printing.

The books themselves were growing with the times, and in this volume we actually get the word "erection" which I think is a first, no long is the male member referred to as "his throbbing ardor" or some such euphemism.

I was hesitant about this one from the start, with a visit to Atlantis seeming to stretch the credulity of the series to the breaking point. It is redeemed a little in the fact that Atlantis is an all gay city, with the straights as a slave class. There's the requisite comparisons to the lives of gays on land and the lives of straights in Atlantis, but this is very brief. Had it been drawn out more, there may have been some justification for the Atlantis setting. As it stands, there really isn't. I gather there may have been some fascination with Atlantis in the late 1960's, leading to this book, but there really isn't now.

The book starts off well, with a nude beach and the precursors of a gay cruise, I enjoyed that. Also the ruler of Atlantis is a bitchy old queen, which was great, and I could have used more of.

Over all, it stretches a little too thin. Still, always nice to read this series.

View all my reviews