While Rechy retains his usual competence in portraying man-to-man action, his misperceptions on SM are still all too present. If you have read Rushes, you don't need this book. Up to the point of covering S&M activity, Rechy does a pretty good job with the gay male libido. However, here (as in rushes) he has no perceptions of the SM dynamic. His details of heavier-duty encounters emerge as ignorant diatribe. He sees a substitution of violence and symbol for sexuality, ignoring the actual perceptions of those engaged in heavier duty action.This tends to invalidate his whole work. Perhaps he should stick to the hustler scene and retire from descriptions of that which he obviously does not understand.