When it was first published in the early 1980s, Mr Bensonapparently achieved some sort of cult status within the US gay community, only to be largely forgotten ever since. I assume this was due to the explicit nature of its content, and its subject matter (S&M relationships), riding hot on the tails of the then recent and controversial film adaption of Cruising. 

Over ten chapters (and an epilogue 'written' by the eponymous Master), the book tells the genesis of one such S&M relationship. The first half is quite psychological and achieves a certain literary quality that is rather welcome. It tries to explores the mechanisms of such connections with a sympathetic eye, though without being preachy. The relationship is presented as transformative for Jamie (the Slave) but also as healthy, based on consent, mutual trust, and implicit care. Once this is established, the author is careful to present other, more dysfunctional, versions of fetish-based interactions to emphasis his point.

The second half of the book, unfortunately, slowly disintegrates into an unconvincing and often improbable storyline about a sex slave trafficking network. This is, one expects, a further (if clumsy) way for Preston to put into relief the main connection and advocate for its wholesomeness, while extending his narrative and adding a little action to it. 

The book is an easy and fairly entertaining read, and Preston is good at keeping a momentum to a narrative that could easily become repetitive and monotonous. But, particularly seen through modern eyes, the behaviours presented to the reader often seem problematic, which the use of the Slave's point of view  (which also means the titular character remains very sketchy) nonetheless allows Preston to justify more easily, even if he himself seems to find it difficult to ride a clear ethical line, often calling 'abuse' acts that we are supposed to see as consensual expressions of the bond between the heroes. This is underpinned throughout by a delight in hypermasculinity, something that would now be seen as mildly toxic. 

Also little unsettling is the fact that the main relationship, despite supposedly being so strong, seems to solely consist of the sexual and power dynamics between the characters. They don't seem to be connecting at all on an intellectual or truly emotional level. Although this is an impression the ending and the epilogue try to counter-balance. 

As a result of all this, the book doesn't really know what it wants to be; a hotchpotch of titillating erotic story, investigative story, defence of S&M culture, and romance. It is therefore perhaps best not to expect too much from it or to ask too many questions.