Of the three books written by Baker that I've read, The Fermata is the least satisfying. It seems to be an attempt by Baker to achieve a form of literary pornography, and it has been my experience that if a piece of pornography doesn't stroke one's particular fetish, it will seem distasteful. The two segments of "amateur" porn written by the novel's protagonist are particularly juvenile, perhaps even less clever or interesting than the material in alt.sex.stories. While the novel's "big idea" (a person who has the ability to "pause" the universe) is excellent, and the result is perhaps realistic (the person uses his ability to undress and fondle women), it is ultimately the domain of a good short story rather than a novel.