On November 27th, 2022, the 8,000th article was added to the SuccuWiki!
The Fifth Beauty
| The Fifth Beauty | |
|---|---|
 The Fifth Beauty eBook Cover, written by Ellison James | |
| Author(s) |
J.L. Stratton as Ellison James |
| Series | Azra |
| Publisher |
Smashwords Amazon Digital Services |
| Publication date | June 8, 2011 |
| Media type | eBook |
| Length | 19 Pages |
| ISBN | 9781458162397 |
| ASIN | B0055EFOH0 |
| Preceded by | Lovestruck Succubus |
| Followed by | Demon Among Wolves (Never Released) |
For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).
The Fifth Beauty is an eBook written by J.L. Stratton as Ellison James. It is the second work in the Azra series by this author. In this work the character Azra is a Succubus. In this work, Azra is a driving force in Chinese history, causing a regime change, and as well the creation of Lapsang Souchong tea. It can be seen as being a work of speculative fiction as well as an erotic one to readers of this work. The work was to be followed by Demon Among Wolves but this work was never released.
Overview
- Title: The Fifth Beauty
- Author: J.L. Stratton as Ellison James
- Published By: Smashwords & Amazon Digital Services
- Length: 19 Pages
- Format: eBook
- ASIN: B0055EFOH0
- IBSN: 9781458162397
- Publishing Date: June 8, 2011
Other Works in this Series on SuccuWiki
- Lovestruck Succubus
- Demon Among Wolves (Never Released)
Plot Summary
Deep within Chinese legend and folklore are four great beauties – women of such great beauty and intelligence that each influenced history. This story continues the legend with a little-known, fifth great beauty. The fifth great beauty was responsible for a new tea drying process that created fortunes and increased commerce within china, and eventually bringing about the fall of the last great Qing Dynasty to make way for the modern People’s Republic of China.
Told from the point of view of Taijin, a lowly scribe working within a tyrannical magistrate’s house. A beautiful and mysterious woman called Azra comes to the magistrate in the night, seduces him, and eventually takes his life, leaving the position open for Taijin to take. But first, Taijin must officiate the tea harvest, now late from the magistrate’s neglect, and find a way to dry the tea in time to make it to market. The result is Lapsang Souchong tea, renowned for its full flavor and portability over the vast ocean.
Book Review
The following review was originally published by Tera on her blog, A Succubi's Tale on June 30th, 2011
The story, it should be said, is not your typical Succubus story. If the author didn’t tell us that Azra was involved by having her name used, I don’t think that it would have been an obvious thing really. As well, Azra appears really only for a few moments in the entire story, but if you had read the previous story then it was obvious that she was appearing and acting as she did when we first met her. The appearance of Azra’s greatest foe in the story was, again, not spelled out, but if you were aware of her story, then who it is makes perfect sense really…
The author does clearly state that this isn’t so much about Azra as it is about what happens when she gets involved in a part of history and what is done in the aftermath of her effect on it. That is quite obvious as the main character in the story, Taijin, narrates the work to place Azra as a part of it, but not the focus of it.
I thought that was an interesting approach as it fits well with the times the story is placed in and the social morals as well. Azra is seen as a concubine for the most part and save for the reveal in the story of what she is, remains so save for the reveal at the end of the story which I thought was well done. The narrator is confused with the effect that she has on the magistrate and tries to translate that into something they can understand, but more interestingly, something that they are able to write about in their own diaries about the time.
I would have liked the story to be a bit longer, perhaps with some reflections or thoughts from Azra of why she was there. I just found her sudden appearance there something I questioned and what brought her to that particular place and time really wasn’t touched on enough for my personal tastes…
But that’s just me…
I’m going to give this work four pitchforks out of five.
There wasn’t a lot of Azra in this story, but she is there and you get a sense of the demons she was dealing with during her long life and just how long she has been looking for love, as they say, in all the wrong places…
But she isn’t wrong in trying to find it.
I’m still looking forward to seeing the next story in Azra’s life called Demon Among Wolves… Hoping that it appears soon.