Technorotica by M. Christian
Barbary Coast Editions, Renaissance E
Books, 2012
One of the most enjoyable aspects of
being an author is that you get to invent new worlds. Sometimes those
worlds strongly resemble our so-called reality; sometimes they
deviate wildly. Even the most bizarre fictional world, though, needs
to feel real. The reader needs to see, smell, taste, and touch
the alien environment in which she finds herself. Against all logic
and common sense knowledge, she needs to believe.
Pulling this off is tough, especially
in genres like paranormal and science fiction, where the story by
definition is set somewhere other than the world as we know it. M.
Christian is a master of this trick, as he demonstrates in
Technorotica, his new collection of stories concerning the
erotic connections between humans and machines.
I'll admit up front that I've long been
a fan of M.Christian's work (I even edited one of his books, ComingTogether Presents M. Christian) and that I'm deeply in awe of his
imagination. Despite what might be considered a positive bias, I
still feel totally comfortable and justified in asserting: this is a
fantastic book, in both the literal and figurative sense.
The stories in this collection could
loosely be called science fiction erotica, but they vary a great deal
in focus and tone. Several of them (“Hot Definition”, “Speaking
Parts”, “Hack Work” and the excerpt from Christian's novel
Painted Doll) are set in a shadowy, perilous, cyber-punk world
where everything is for sale and everyone lives on the edge, staying
alive through crime or luck or sometimes both. Prosthetics,
holographic doppelgangers, constant electronic surveillance,
mind-jacking and body snatching – fans of Gibson, Sterling and
Cadigan will feel right at home. However, this author isn't primarily
concerned with gadgets and technology (never mind the title of the
book) but with feelings: fear, hunger, desperation, desire and love.
These stories explore how humans reach out for one another, as the
mechanical invades and erodes the meaning of humanity.
“Blow Up” and “I am Jo's
Vibrator” are lighter in tone. The former lets us into the mind of
a man with a peculiar fetish. The latter, as suggested by the title,
is narrated by a sex toy. Both will make you smile (or at least, that
was my reaction) though “Blow Up”, the first tale in the book,
has a subtle darkness that's a preview of the more serious stories to
come.
I've read the tale “State” in
several other M. Christian collections. It remains one of my favorite
erotic stories of all time. A human woman/sex worker impersonates a
blue-skinned, state-of-the-art Japanese sex robot. The neat logical
flip here satisfies the intellect. The woman's arousal at becoming
the ultimate sex object provides satisfaction in other dimensions.
“The Bell House Invitation” is a
fabulous new take on ménage, or
more accurately, polyamory. Four individuals – two men, two women –
live together and share a group mind. Together they seduce another
woman with the aim of convincing her to join their communal
consciousness. The sex scene in this tale succeeds in exploring all
the participants' experience simultaneously, pulling the reader into
the mix. It's lusciously explicit without losing the sense of wonder
that derives from a level of communion most of us only dream about.
In
contrast, “Billie” includes no overt sex at all yet still manages
to convey an intense feeling of desire. This vignette of a butch
woman speeding along the Pacific Coast Highway on her vintage 1977
Harley Davidson details a synergy between human and machine so strong
it becomes erotic.
“A
Light Minute” focuses on communication over a distance, as a
reclusive woman terrified of the world outside opens herself to the
lover she knows only via electronic missives.
Finally,
“KSRN” is a dream-like reverie about speed and sex, chrome and
compassion. If I'd been the author, I would have put this story last
in the book. It leaves you feeling haunted and yet somehow complete.
Overall,
my reaction to this book was “Wow”. But then, I'm seriously
turned on by originality. If you share this trait with me – get
yourself a copy of Technorotica.
(And by the way - the book includes a great preface and afterword, too!)
1 comment:
THANK YOU SO VERY, VERY, VERY MUCH - been a rough few months so hearing that you are such a fan of my work ... well, I can't ever thank you enough!
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