The Marketplace (The Marketplace Series)

Some years ago I heard that I absolutely must read this book. It was kink written by a kinky person. Well-written, even. I hopped over to Amazon to buy a copy for my Kindle and, after wincing at the price tag, I decided to read the sample before buying. Between us girls, I was completely turned off. After a rather compelling hook about how merchandise enters the Marketplace, we turn to a high protocol scene in which an elegant slave serves tea in high heels connected by a thin chain. Ah, perfection in service! [puke] No offense the high protocol tea crowd, but after briefly contemplating gouging my eyes out, I moved on. I came back to it eventually, somehow buying it having forgotten that I had decided never to ever read it. Having bought it, I recognized the tea scene, put away all sharp objects, struggled through those pages and… To put it mildly, this is the best porn ever. Beyond that, as fiction it stands on its own. The characters are three dimensional, the kink feels authentic, the sex is hot. Chris Parker initially appears as a side note, but mystery around both his person and his role in the household quickly take center stage. The would-be slaves he is responsible for training are full fleshed and change believably over the story. Parker, on the other hand, doesn’t change much – we just learn more about him. And the sex is hot (actually, I don’t remember which book it is in, but possibly the hottest sex scene in modern literature is to be found in the pages of this series). Oh, p.s. the tea scene is totally ironic commentary on the high protocol tea... so, yeah, you gotta get used to the fact that the book is making fun of people. Lots of people. Even probably you.

We all have our erotic fantasies. Some people dream of being schoolgirls or strict headmasters. Some people want to be treated like princesses or babies or pets. Maybe yours is to be the fresh meat in prison and passed around the cell block a few times. Or maybe you're the negotiably moral warden eho watches it all from the security room. 50 Shades of Grey reminded us that for many people, that fantasy is to be controlled, owned, and used for some else's pleasure. The Marketplace follows leather playboy Brian, sweet, innocent Claudia, sissy maid Robert and drama queen Sharon as they enter a world where that fantasy is reality. The four are applicants to a house that trains people to be sold into consensual slavery, and to our protagonists, thst seems like a dream come true. Until it doesn't quite turn out the way they expected. This is my fifth time rereading the Marketplace series, and it never leaves me wanting. There are characters to love, and characters to love to hate. The dialogue is clever and entertaining, the characters realistic even in their roles as caricatures, and the sex and kink are plenty steamy. This is kinky smut for people who need a side of plot with their sex, and some diversity in their universes. If the thought of serving, or being served is one of your kinks, then this book is a must read.

The Marketplace is a secret society catering to those who wish to own well-trained slaves and those who wish to be sold as slaves. The book focuses on the four slaves Robert, Brian, Claudia, and Sharon, who all get accepted into a rigorous training program under Master Grendel and Mistress Alexandra on a beautiful estate in the countryside. Grendel and Alexandra are representatives for an international organization devoted to trading in submissive slaves, and Marketplace - the name of this organization - is the largest but also most secretive organization in existence for people with these unique interests. For a few weeks the four slaves are drilled into being perfect servants, and throughout the book steaming sex is mixed with moving portraits of people with but one goal in life: to become the perfect servant to a Master or a Mistress. Robert a shy heterosexual man with low self-esteem. Brian, a gay confident man. Sharon an erotic bombshell who is to having any man she wants. Claudia who already serves under Mistress Madeleine but is sent to the Marketplace in order to improve her skills. This was my first time reading this author and this book was pretty good the book was full of hot sex scenes. The book did have a few grammatical errors and for that I give it four stars because the errors got annoying. This book was also not for people who only want to read light BDSM it was training in all types. Overall this was a good read.

I have read all the books in the Marketplace series about one a year, every year since the first time I discovered them over ten years ago, and I am eagerly anticipating the next one. And, I read them over and over because of the characterizations and the plot. The sex scenes are wonderfully written erotica, but what makes these novels and short stories so absorbing and worth revisiting is the depth of the characters and the events that move their lives and growth along. If I must restrict myself to a review of just the latest publication of The Marketplace, then I will say it was lovely to get reacquainted with the introduction of Chris, Rachel, Alex, Grendel,Claudia, Robert, Brian, Jack, and even the ever-trying Sharon. In the two new short stories added for this addition, the first "A Leash has Two Ends" gave a new depth and perspective to the relationships between Grendel and Chris, Chris and Rachel, and Grendel and Alex. The second, "For Want of a Nail" was simply great fun and hilarious. I recommend this book, these novels, and all the stories as among my favorite books to read again and again and again each time learning new aspects of characters who have become well-loved, old friends. I think the only other novels I have re-read with such satisfaction are those written by Robert Heinlein, Lois McMaster Bujold, Theordore Sturgeon, Georgette Heyer, Dorothy Sayers, T.H. White--umm, I read a lot of books--probably a good time to stop the list.

"Those of you who have toyed with or even lived a term of service may wonder at just how hard it could be to attain the level of excellence required by the Marketplace. After all, you muse, these are people who will be called slaves. Owned chattel, their lives formed and polished for the pleasure and use and amusement of those whose need is to control and improve. "Many of you believe that the right attitude combined with some physical charm would be more than adequate to the task. It is not. Even the most gifted of naturals, those individuals whose wrists are naked without restraints and whose souls are bleak without guidance, need to be trained." This passage from the introduction to The Marketplace introduces the (submissive) reader to a fictional, international organization for the training and sale (or lease) of voluntary slaves. The unnamed narrator adds: "I shall be awaiting you. You will learn to hate me." The discreet narrator is never clearly identified, and most of the novel seems to be written from an omniscient third-person viewpoint. By the last page, it seems clear that the person most likely to be telling this story is Chris Parker, the majordomo of the slave-training establishment. He serves the owners, Alexandra and Grendel, by training novices who wish to be made ready for sale to private bidders. He is not clearly a slave, yet he is not a master. Even his gender seems ambiguous. The reader is introduced to four slave-trainees when they arrive at the training house, one by one. Claudia is small, cute and exquisitely poised when pouring tea, but her Mistress finds her limited and boring; if Claudia can't be trained to serve in a variety of ways, her Mistress is willing to sell her. Brian is an attractive young man in leather who persuaded his Master of the moment to bring him in for training. He thinks his looks and boyish pout should be enough. Sharon looks like a centerfold and is a magnet for men outside the world of the Marketplace; she finds her own way to the training house by dishonest means, and thinks her looks will assure her a position as a pleasure slave. Robert is a large man who left a suburban marriage and a good job to become the "maid" of a pro Mistress; after he lost all his confidence and was given away, he was brought in for training. Alexandra and Grendel agree that none of the four novices has the quality they are looking for. They seriously consider rejecting them all as inferior "merchandise," yet the four characters have complementary flaws, and therefore they have potential as a group. They are all accepted, placed under Chris Parker's command, and kept naked for weeks. Under the authority of the owners, he develops a regimen for the four trainees that is intended to break their egotism while nurturing group spirit, new skills and true pride in service. Interspersed with the third-person narrative are the personal stories of Claudia, Brian, Robert and Sharon, as told to each other after lights-out in their shared dormitory. Each tells the others how they came to the training-house that serves as a gateway to the Marketplace, the ultimate destination for those who are drawn to service. Each life-story is moving in its own way. First published in 1993, this novel is one of the classics of the genre, and it is worth reading more than once. The discipline and the sex scenes appeal to a variety of tastes, but none of the characters is a cliche, and their development drives the plot. Like representative human sinners seeking spiritual refinement, three of the four seekers discover their own potential. Sharon, the character who comes closest to being a stereotype, provokes punishment and gets it, but for her it is not a learning experience, and her fate is much different from that of the submissive Barbie dolls of BDSM porn. The novel, like the trainees, began life in need of polishing. The original Masquerade Press edition, credited to "Sara Adamson," was full of minor grammatical and typing errors. After the demise of Masquerade, the book was reprinted by Mystic Rose Press with a subtle, upscale gray cover showing a photographic image of the training house that resembles a vintage postcard. The manuscript, however, was brought into print with the original glitches intact. The most recent edition, published by Circlet Press under its new Luster imprint, has been lovingly copyedited so that its style is now worthy of its content. The cover features a photo of a lock for a Marketplace slave collar being handed to an impeccably-suited character over the bent back of a slave-trainee against a background of Edwardian wallpaper. In the sequels to The Marketplace, the reader learns more about slave contracts, specialized slave roles (including "grudge slaves," or official scapegoats for bitter or frustrated owners), training for the trainers, the administration of the Marketplace, individual relationships and the background of the mysterious Chris Parker. This is the kind of virtual world that has the same enduring appeal as those of the best fantasy novels. - Jean Roberta

I read this book in 2014 but forgot to review. The Marketplace was my introduction to this fascinating series about the secret society known as The Marketplace, and the lives of the masters and mistresses and their submissives and pleasure slaves. In this first book we are introduced to the complex and fascinating character of Chris Parker, and the four aspiring slaves who he is training in order that they may be accepted into The Marketplace. The story is erotic, absorbing and addictive. Ms Antoniou is an intelligent and talented writer and her story easily drew me into this secretive, erotic world, and I found myself so immersed in the story that I could not put it down, reading long into the night. I went on to read the rest of the series and loved them all. Highly recommended.

Egal wie man zu diesem "Lifestyle" steht. Das Buch ist sehr gut geschrieben. Es reflektiert und beschönigt nichts. Nachdem ich das zweite Buch der Serie zuerst gelesen hatte, habe ich nacheinander alle Bücher der Serie gelesen und hoffe das bald ein neues kommt, weil die Geschichte noch nicht zu Ende ist. Aber keine Angst es gibt keine ärgerlichen Cliffhanger, jedes Buch ist abgeschlossen. Im Laufe der Serie wird das Leben von Chris erzählt, der als Mädchen zur Welt kommt, sich aber als männliche fühlt. Es ist sein Weg zu seiner Identität, die nicht nur männlich, sondern auch submissive ist.

The most interesting relationship is between Grendal and Chris. I've reread it several times since I bought it, really fun worth reading if you're into it.

I liked the concept but few of the characters really grabbed me.