Acquainted with the Night

Professional Reviews

5 DELIGHTFUL DIVAS, RECOMMENDED READ: "Traditionally, science fiction has been a genre used as a platform for social commentary, as a lens to bring into clearer focus the social situations of a time. Tymber Dalton uses her book, Acquainted with the Night, in exactly that manner. She hits on the subjects of politics, war, truth, treatment of prisoners of war, military draft, sexuality, justice, definition of family, and the acceptance of love and loss in her novel. This is not an easy to read book; this is a hard hitting, thoughtful and provocative novel that will have an impact on both your heart and mind. “Acquainted with the Night” is one of Robert Frost’s poems and it is perfect as an ongoing theme through this book. The poem looks into the hollowness and darkness we face in sorrow or depression. The young men who are at the heart of this book have been orphaned, drafted, and impersonalized by politicians from Terran. They are taken as prisoners of war and find themselves in a very different situation than they had been led to expect. Sold as breeder pets, the men find that their lives as pets of the Algonquans are better than they were before capture. There is a great deal of erotic material in this book, but this is definitely not a porn without plot sort of book. The men are kept sexually satisfied in a way that doesn’t really seem so far off the mark as a futuristic concept. The sex among the main characters has purpose; some as a means of procreation, some for love and emotional connection and some purely for the enjoyment of sex. Do not expect to get through Acquainted with the Night without a good supply of tissues. You will need some tissues for the parts that are so funny tears stream down your face, some for the parts that bring into focus major issues and trends in our world today, and even more for the scenes of loss. It will be up to each reader to decide whether this book has a Happily Ever After ending. Even through my tears I felt it was an HEA ending. I don’t want to forget to mention that as you read the epilogue of Acquainted with the Night you just may hear the voice of Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone in the back of your mind." -- Donna, Dark Diva Reviews

5 TEA CUPS: "Tymber Dalton's Acquainted with the Night is a heart wrenching novel of life, love, and loss. In which, Mrs. Dalton explores the depth and bonds of love, friendship, and family. Acquainted with the Night is a unique and compelling story that takes you beyond the, “and they lived happily ever after”, to show you that they did. Like all other able bodied men, Dale is a soldier, like most other soldiers he was drafted. Living in a world that has been at war for the past 20 years, and most of his life, Dale is tired. Tired of the propaganda his government spews constantly, the monotony of his daily routine, the non-life that he has been forced to live. After being captured by the Algonquan’s, the enemy, Dale awakes to find himself and many other Terran soldiers on a ship, bound and gagged, not as a means of torture but simply the most expeditious method of restrain during travel to their final destination. Despite Terran treatment of captured Algonquan soldiers, and the propaganda spouted by their government of how Algonquan soldiers treat Terran prisoners, Dale and the rest of the prisoners are not harmed. In fact, after living in a place where humans have long since forgotten how to be humane, Dale finds his current conditions a respite from the daily life of a soldier. When the prisoners arrive and are taken to a market to be sold, Dale is concerned that some of the propaganda was true and that they are going to be eaten. His fears however are soon allayed, when he meets Mark. With the help of Mark and an ingenious machine called the milker, Dale settles into his new life as a breeder for Master. While Dale and Mark’s new life with their Master is far preferable to their old one, things are not perfect. Like goodness, evil is not simply a human concept. As Dale and Mark deal with the hardships that have invaded their new life, they come to love and depend on each other, forming a bond that is often tested but never broken. This bond allows them to each find strength that they never knew they had and opened their hearts to allow for possibilities they never expected. This eventually leads them to not just accept but also loving the two new additions to their family Coop and Nate. As breeders for their Algonquan Master, sex is an integral part of the daily lives of Dale, Mark, Coop and Nate. Far from being simply incubators for the Master, these men find themselves loved and cared for, not just by their Master, but by each other as well. Between the four of them there is never a shortage of a ready and eager partner, if one is wished, and of course there is always the ever present milker. The milker is an ingenious feat of imagination and technology that would have any man begging to be captured. While the milker is used well and often, it is simply a means of release, whereas the sex between the men is an expression of love and the unique bonds that have formed between them. Acquainted with the Night is more than a simple war story, it is a story of survival, love, and life. Truly redefining what it means to be human, be free, and be a family. In a world that has been fighting a war for twenty years, where marriage is something only to be obtained by wealth, and women are used simply to breed more soldiers, the best place to be is captured by the enemy." -- Kylie, Happily Ever After Reviews

"It isn’t as if Dale isn’t proud to be a Terran, it’s just that Dale isn’t interested in a military career. Dale doesn’t believe in the propaganda or the war machine or fighting against the Algonquans out in deep space. Marriage is a thing of the past, women live in breeding groups and most men will never have sex with a woman. Instead men are expected to make three times a week deposits and while homosexuality isn’t illegal it is certainly frowned upon. Touching and spending time with another Terran is a thing of the past. Whether he wants it or not, Dale finds himself drafted and working on a military craft in space. One minute he’s on the flight deck and the next minute he wakes up strapped to some kind of cage apparatus along with dozens of other Terran males. Although Dale is scared, it is his distrust of the military and general dislike of the war that helps him cope once they land and he is purchased. Dale is simply relieved to not be eaten! It turns out that his Master already has one Terran pet, a man named Mark who was a linguist for the military. Mark eagerly shows Dale the ropes of his new life. From Dale’s perspective he and Mark are treated better by their captors than their own countrymen. Dale and Mark form a lifelong bond with the Algonquan they call Master. There are joys and utter heartaches as they share their lives. Over time, Cooper and Nate also join the household. Never in a million years could Dale have imagined the life he has. Never could he have pictured himself as a breeder pet to Master, to consider home a planet of aliens. Such a life is beyond imagining, yet Dale will tell the tale. A seriously unique romance, Acquainted with the Night will pull every heartstring you have to the breaking point half the time and make you smile with happiness the rest of the time. The main characters face every high and low life has to offer regardless of species. This is most definitely an emotional rollercoaster ride. However, Acquainted with the Night isn’t merely an earth guy, alien sex story. Acquainted with the Night is a multi-layered emotional tour de force tale of love and the many bonds that form in a lifelong commitment. I’m still smiling through the tears." -- Lisa, Joyfully Reviewed

Excerpt

STORY EXCERPT

The next thing I remembered, I didn’t believe, at first.

My vision slowly cleared. I lay upright at an angle, not quite vertical but not under my own steam. Some sort of energy manacles on my wrists held them pinned to the sides of the shoulder-high frame I was attached to.

Attached in more ways than one.

Face-in, as my mind slowly re-engaged with my body, I discovered I wasn’t alone. I learned more about my predicament based upon what I saw around me. The huge facility struck me as some sort of warehouse, but then I heard a faint rumble in the distance that immediately brought to mind a ship’s engine.

As far as the eye could see, we were immobilized in circular racks of twenty men each, facing in. We were all gagged. I tested the soft ball in my mouth. It gave and changed shape, but despite not being painfully tight, the strap holding it in place had no slack. I couldn’t dislodge it.

The other men in my rack looked as wide-eyed and shocked as I felt. I didn’t recognize any of them, which didn’t mean anything because I didn’t socialize much. I barely knew the flight crews whose BBs I maintained. I slept, ate, wanked, and worked. That comprised my usual day. I existed, barely, to make it through another day.

If it wasn’t for the mind-numbing fear, I might have found my situation interesting, something to break the monotony of my pitiful existence.

We’d all been stripped naked. Our ankles bore similar manacles as our wrists, pinning our legs to the frame, spread apart but not uncomfortably so. I tried and could not move.

Angled just slightly forward, I could take my weight off my feet if I leaned against the frame and let it hold me. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t my choice of accommodations, that’s for damn sure.

In the center of the rack, a dome-shaped housing held what I guessed could only be described as a pump. From it, twenty hoses emerged with an attachment on the end of each one.

Attached to our cocks. Sort of like the pictures of old-fashioned cattle milkers I’d seen in schoolbooks and vids.

I wasn’t in any pain. In fact, once I fought back my panic and tried to relax, I realized it didn’t feel too terribly bad. Not like I could fight the woody the constant suction from the device gave me anyway.

In the distance I spotted movement, blue-garbed figures working around another rack. I didn’t know how many of us there were in this room, or vessel, or warehouse, but I could count at least twenty other racks, and suspected many beyond those.

As the figures drew closer to our rack, I occasionally heard muffled grunts from my fellow captives. It wasn’t until they reached the rack next to ours I realized what they were doing.

Photographs of the Algonquans were never shown, even though I knew we had a prisoner complex near Alpha Centauri. I’d heard rumors the most horrible of tortures wouldn’t get Algonquans to give up information. Again, that little fact didn’t stop the government from building them up in our heads as horrible, mutant, insectoid creatures.

If these were Algonquans then the government had badly lied. It also left me praying the Algonquans treated their prisoners better than we did.

Close to eight feet tall by my best guess, with smooth, bronze skin, their black hair fell past their slim shoulders and was tied in a braid. They had four long but thick fingers, although they seemed to favor the first two fingers like a clasper grip. Large brown eyes, a flattened nose, and a long, oval face.

They weren’t Terran beautiful, but they weren’t the ferocious creatures we’d been told about, either.

They didn’t talk to any of the Terran men in English, although I was situated close enough that I noticed if one of my fellow captives made a loud noise through their gag, one of the Algonquans would stroke his naked back and make soothing, chirruping noises at him, like you would a child.

Or a dog.

The Algonquans moved methodically around each rack, and only as they drew within my line of sight did I realize they had a hover cart of some sort, loaded with supplies. Each man was given three injections in the left ass cheek, a metal collar was placed around his neck, and a tag on the collar scanned into a hand-held device. Then they donned some sort of mitts and, working from the face down, they rubbed each man, front and back, armpits and groin, all the way down to their feet. As they stepped back to check their work, sometimes going over an area again if necessary, I realized it was a hair-removal process. They left eyebrows, lashes, and hair on the head, but everything else, including facial hair, was removed.

They had it down to a science. The next step, apparently the one that produced noises in the men, was squirting a very viscous goo onto a probe that went…well, up the ass. Not just a probe, but hooked to a cord, which they then plugged into a small control panel on the frame each man was attached to.

This is when it got interesting.

ADULT EXCERPT

Outside it was now late in the day, and my stomach rumbled. Mack was there, waiting with a vehicle the likes of which I’d never seen. The same kind of hover technology that powered the carts the techs had pushed in the ship, and the racks themselves when they moved them. I saw no road, just flat, grassy lanes, although they did have what appeared to be sidewalks.

Mark squeezed my shoulder. “Your chariot, sir.”

Master helped me in, fussing over me, making sure I was comfortable before he let Mack take us away from there.

Mark smiled as he watched me watching the landscape. “Cool, isn’t it?”

I nodded, stunned.

It was beautiful.

Ganymede, being an artificial colony without a natural atmosphere that wouldn’t kill you, was constructed of metal, domes, and artificial lighting. I’d been to Earth twice while in the military, and while a few natural preserves remained there, it looked nothing like this.

We cruised a few feet off the ground, over the grassy lane. Other vehicles did the same. Made sense, a vehicle that didn’t have to touch the ground didn’t need pavement. We passed buildings, but they were either artfully camouflaged by plants so as to be barely visible, or they were made in such a way as to appear part of the landscape. I’d been wrong when I thought we’d landed in a small town. Where we lived was apparently one of the larger, well-populated cities on the planet.

They were just a lot fucking smarter than Terrans in how they built their cities.

I’d never see so much grass or so many plants in my life. We passed a park where Algonquan handlers exercised their human charges. The humans all looked happy.

Like Mark and I felt.

I never saw Terrans look this happy, either in the military or out of it.

It took us about fifteen minutes to get home, and I got my first look at the front of our home.

Our home.

It was as beautiful as the rest of the city. We had a gated driveway, and our front yard was even larger than the back. I’d never seen past the ten-foot-tall privacy fence that hid us from the rest of the world. Lots of large, beautiful shade trees, lush grass.

I longed to be back there.

At home, Master insisted on helping me out of the vehicle and made me hold on to his arm all the way inside. I nearly cried with relief when I walked through that front door for, technically, the first time. Well, the first time I actually walked through it and was conscious when I did so.

We headed straight for Master’s bed. He helped me climb in and waited for me to get comfortable before he undressed and got in. Mark climbed in on my other side.

I’d willingly kill for the look of love in Master’s eyes. I didn’t flinch when he stroked my cheek.

“Love Kal,” he said. “Dolmo.”

I nodded. “I know.” I reached up to his face and stroked his cheek. I didn’t know if I was breeching protocol or not. I didn’t care. I brushed my finger against his lips, and he smiled, opened, and sucked my finger in, swirling his wonderful tongue around it.

Aaannnd there went my cock. Okay, so that’s all it took to get it hard again. Cool.

Mark laughed. “You’re a smart fucker, and dammit, I love you.” He kissed the back of my neck.

“I love you, too,” I said, not taking my eyes from Master. He continued to tease me, noting my cock’s reaction to the delicious sensation.

He sat up and carefully moved down the bed, positioning himself so he lay between my legs. He kissed my cock, then wickedly grinned, and out went his tongue.

I closed my eyes and moaned as Mark laughed. “Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you, he gives wicked awesome blow jobs.”

His tongue wrapped around my cock, gliding up and down it before releasing it, sucking my balls into his mouth and doing beautifully delicious things to them before his tongue slid into my ass, where he teased and tormented me without giving me release.