It's possible to over-analyse, and I should know 'cos I do it all the time, but I got the impression that the story started out as one thing and turned into something else along the way. As they do. That's not a criticism, I just thought it was going to go in a different direction - I thought Casey was going to turn out to be, what was it, 'The Hammer' (or perhaps the Philips Head Screwdriver).

Actually, I do have one complaint, I thought Daniel got a bit short-changed when it finally got to his big sex scene, it was over in a couple of lines. Damn!

And yes, sex magic is an excellent plot device.

I think my all-time favourite original slash story is Ellen Kurshner's Swordspoint, which I reread recently - wonderful characters. There's a sequel that I picked up a couple of months ago, but I haven't managed to finish it yet, she's made the mistake of concentrating more on politics and less on Boys Doing It.

Another guilty pleasure was Mel Keegan - I was working in a bookshop a few years back and we kept getting orders for this one particular book, so in the end I read it; it was like a gay Mills & Boon (a historical one, I promptly christened the genre 'doublet ripper'), but about halfway through I suddenly went "Waaaaait a minute - this is Bodie and Doyle!" Yup. Professional Professionals slash fiction ... You have to admire that, if only for the sheer chutzpah.