Dare... to Try Bondage (Positively Sexual)

“Dare... to Try Bondage” by Axterdam is part of the new Dare series on sexuality published by Hunter House. Like the other books in this series, it is fairly small, in this case about 90 pages. If anyone knows anything about BDSM, you know that 90 pages will barely scratch the surface of all the things one can do. Instead of using the 90 pages to discuss a little bit about many forms of bondage, this book concentrated on Japanese Rope Bondage to the exclusion of everything else (perhaps this should have been called “Dare... to Try Japanese Rope Bondage”). While this is a form of bondage ever increasing in popularity, this does not make up the majority of bondage experiences nor is what most people think of when they think of show more BDSM or general bondage. While this book does provide the vital rules of BDSM: never leave your partner alone, use a safe word, be careful of what you are doing to your partner, etc, this book covers what I consider one of the more dangerous forms of bondage. In the form of bondage covered in this book, it can be very difficult to master and easy to cause harm even when one uses the very detailed rope typing directions and illustrations. This can take a lot of time to untie if something goes wrong. I do not believe this is suitable for those just entering BDSM world.

If one is looking for a book that covers a page or two on several aspects of BDSM, I recommend “Fetish” by Bramwell. Or “Ties That Bind” by Baldwin. show less

A relatively short book, about 90 pages, with roughly 1/3 of the space devoted to line drawing illustrations. The text is focused almost entirely on Japanese rope bondage, divided into roughly equal parts technique and safety, spirituality of bondage, and scenarios sort of like a more tasteful version of Penthouse Letters. The book avoids being sleazy, but also avoids having all that much content.

As I'm beginning to read BDSM erotica more and more, bondage seems to be more of a plausible sex option for me. The pain and torture thing is obviously a turnoff, but Axterdam's book elaborates upon the intricacy of the ropes, as well as, of course, safety precautions, and the extensiveness of this not only sexual, but also sensual art fascinates me. Sadly, I'm a bit of a rookie. I haven't even done light bondage such as just using a blindfold (my sex life is a bore, right?). However, with this guide, I'm sure that's bound to change soon.

The step-by-step instructions for Japanese Rope bondage, as well as the history and testimonials behind bondage and sexuality constitute this helpful, personal, and highly informative read. I recommend show more this one to newbies to the practice!

Source: Received directly from publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!) show less

A well written, well researched quick read for the first half of the book. The second half lost focus and seemed to be designed to imply possible fantasies but no longer provided any practical applications.
This combined with the staccato style of writing left the reader with some difficulty in following the authors train of thought.

As mentioned in several of the other reviews, this book is somewhat inappropriately titled as the focus is primarily on Japanese rope tying bondage (a.k.a. shibari). I was expecting more in the way of light, less complicated scenarios that two middle aged, Midwesterners could manage to experiment with. Instead, I found illustrations and instructions for many positions with knots that were far too involved and intimidating. This book is well written despite the lack of appropriate title and is not as salacious as one might expect from a bondage instruction manual, which was a nice surprise. There is enough to be learned about general/safe bondage practices here that, for those who are curious and don't mind the focus on rope tying, this show more is a decent look at something different. show less

This book is a great way to get adventurous in the bedroom. This is the sort of information you don't want to get from a website. Especially with bondage, you have to be aware of safety. Technique and safety tips are the primary focus of this booklet. It also has illustrations and ideas.

I admit I unintentionally requested this book, but was interested to read it when I saw I had won it through the early reviewer program. I was curious about bondage, but this book wasn't what I expected. I feel it was wrongly named. It would have been more accurate to name it "Dare to Try Shibari" or "Dare to try Rope Bondage", since this book only talks about the japanese rope-tying version of bondage. For anyone interested in this technique, they would find this book a helpful introduction to the art. It has descriptions, illustration, teaches you how to tie knots for some of the basic positions. Importantly it also makes sure you are aware of the rules you should follow when tying or being tied. Such as not to injure each other and show more how to watch to ensure no one is being injured without realizing it, such as what to watch in skin color etc. For those wishing for more it does provide additional resources. This isn't quite what I was interested in, but it was still interesting to read. show less