The Lost Diary of Don Juan

The lost diaries are a steamy chronology of the fifteenth-century libertine's determined pursuit of nuptial bliss, sans nuptials. The notorious Don Juan, who vowed never to marry, is portrayed by Scott Brick as the heroic advocate of true love and his arch enemy as a sadistic priest who relishes the cruelty and torture of the Inquisition. Scenes on the rack and in the bedroom are graphically recounted. However, Brick's characters all have the same generic Spanish accent, varying in tone exuberantly for villainy versus seduction. Brick deftly manages, without an ironic lilt, the endless sensual metaphors Abrams dishes out as Don Juan wends his way through bullfights, bedrooms, and ballrooms. D.P.D. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

March 5, 2007
The famously insatiable lover is brought brilliantly to life in this lively, suspenseful debut novel by Abrams (coauthor of The Multi-Orgasmic Couple
; The Multi-Orgasmic Man
). Framed as Don Juan's long-guarded diary, the narrative picks up at a gallop and never relents, tracing Don Juan's orphaned upbringing at a convent and torturous monastery before he escapes and joins a band of thieves. He is soon introduced to the Marquis, who trains the then amateur Lothario to become equally adept at swordsmanship and seducing women. (Abrams's background in Taoist sexuality is evident in the latter's scenes.) Don Juan develops a reputation as "some kind of demon," but the Marquis, who is close to the king, protects Don Juan from the inquisitor general's plans to punish him. Nevertheless, Don Juan resists the Marquis's plea that he marry to save himself, claiming he has no interest in love—until he meets pistol-packing firebrand Doña Ana. Abrams renders his hero with sympathetic understanding, and his erotic exploits—though heavy on plumage ("I sipped the moist nectar of her mouth as she opened her petals to me")—round out Don Juan instead of providing one-handed reading material. The story unspools with the invigorating trajectory of a thriller and the emotional draw of historical romance.

These are the passionate, swashbuckling confessions of the world's greatest lover. Actor Jonathan Davis jumps on Don Juan's favorite horse, Bonita, and gallops through these amorous and political adventures, set in Inquisition-plagued Spain, to prove that "a woman's chastity is the most difficult thing to protect." Davis's portrayal of Don Juan could have used a bit more of a Hispanic intonation, but, overall, he delivers the revelations with zest, sexy innuendo, and a curious blend of physical expertise and soulful naïveté. His minor characters are well done, too. Don Juan's beloved Dona Ana throbs with contralto vibrations; his benefactor and rival, the Marquis, is sympathetic, but sinister; and the Inquisitor reeks of evil. The pace is relentless, with a dynamic climax. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine