elizabetta

Corporate sabotage. Murder. Virtual sex. Some real sex. Power-play mindfuckery.

Futuristic brain-orgasmo-tronic tomfoolery.

I was up and down and over and under with this book but in the end it's all about Val Toreth and Kier Warrick.

Guys who use sex as recreational unwinding after a long day at the office. Booty calls with no strings attached. A hardwired jockeying for dominance that makes the game for these two. They are worthy opponents thrumming on a constant thread of tension. These are not good guys, not in our world anyway. Toreth and Warrick are ruthless in their pursuits in and out of the virtual or RL bedroom. They are intertwined in their search for a ruthless killer, they are made for each other.

So, this isn’t a romance. It’s a chilled-out look at a chilling dystopia where mindfuckery is par for the course. Where perps can be tortured and drugged into submission. Where sex is stripped down to pure sensation in sim-chambers without all the muss and fuss, without the post-orgasmic messiness. Where a simulation device that can promise anything can mean big bucks and control of the masses.

I found the concept brilliant and the men fascinating. What I love is that Toreth and Warrick don't change each other or for each other. Theirs is a morally questionable sexual sparring-dance and rub a groove that takes second place only to the crimes at hand. Anything for release at work or at play, sim or RL. Manna Francis invents the perfect setting for these gems. Where the story takes a hit is that the murder investigation overwhelms the unfolding relationship. But I can fully appreciate the crafting of this frightening world they exist and thrive in.

Did I like this?… very much so. Will I ever read it again?… more than likely not. But a big yes to moving on to the short sequels, apparently that’s where the real fun begins.