In Obsidion Chronicles, Ann Jacobs tells three closely related stories of three sisters, and one which takes place on the same planet but is not so intricately interwoven to the others.

She begins with the tale of Federation Starfighter Giles Oberon from the planet Earth who has become obsessed with his memory of an encounter with an intergalactic whore, known as The Star of the East. Much as he fights his desire for her, he ends up submitting to the pleasure only she can bring to him. However, unbeknownst to him, she was impregnated when he was with her, and it comes as a shock to discover he has a daughter. The question now is will he be willing to surrender all he has known and taken pride in in order to be with the woman he now admits he loves and the child they created?

Ms. Jacobs then continues with the stories of Emerald, Garnet and Pearl, the daughters of a wealthy man, Eli. Along with the matchmaker, Meredith, Eli arranges marriages for the three of them each according to her heart's desire. For Emerald, who wants only a royal husband, they choose a prince. For Garnet, who is only interested in gold and jewels, they dig up one of the wealthiest men on the planet whose lucrative business is primarily based on sex slaves. And for Pearl, who desires sensual satisfaction, Meredith recommends the foremost designer of sex toys, who is reputed to be the most imaginative lover.

The road to marital bliss is not smooth. Emerald's prince is horribly disfigured.Garnet's chosen already has a cloned lover and has no real desire for a woman, let alone a wife, but needs one to continue his line. And Pearl's man is so afraid of emotions that he has convinced himself that he enjoys his sexbots as much as he would a live lover. It is up to the women to educate their husbands about the value of love.

Hot is the primary word to describe these stories. As in scald your fingers with their heat. The characters are all distinctly different and yet they are all faced with essentially the same problem: How to wrest love from a seemingly untenable relationship. It is within the context of these situations that Ms. Jacobs writes the kind of explicit, graphic descriptions which will have readers undoing their top shirt buttons, searching for a fan.

On the planet of Obsidion anything goes, and probably will. In Obsidion Chronicles, Ms. Jacobs has created a believable culture with far different social norms and yet where love is still the primary motivating factor. Five Angels

Reviewed by: Lynn