synthie recalibrated by Alina X

synthie recalibrated by Alina X is actually a collection of 3 short futanari tales, the first of which is a sequel to her sci-fi debut, synthie. Surprisingly, as much as I loved her debut, I found it's sequel to be the weakest part of the collection. It's still fascinating and fun, but it feels like 2 separate stories pasted together, without an easy flow between them. There's an attempt to weave a hard sci-fi tale into the futanari erotica, but it's not developed well enough to really work, or truly mesh with the rest of the story.

Having said that, the story does a very good job of exploring how Mike's is adjusting to his new life as synthie. We get right inside his head and discover how he feels about sex and gender, how he defines himself, and kind of role he sees himself playing in this new world.

The second story, Last Summer, is probably my favorite of the three. In it, a young lesbian 'borrows' an ancient wooden dildo from her museum's collection, takes it home, and gives into a strange, inexplicable desire to experiment. When she awakes from the most powerful, earth-shattering orgasm of her life, she finds that the wooden dildo has attached itself to her and become flesh-and-blood. The ways in which she deals with that, including the embarrassment of public erections is a lot of fun, but it's the seduction of a seemingly straight woman that puts it over the top.

The final story in the collection, The Princess and the Succubus, is a much darker tale, but one that's filled with imagination. In it we have a succubus and a sorceress, both captives of the same King, who put aside their inherent distrust to orchestrate a double-escape that involves stealing the King's power - the magical penis he stole from an incubus. Who steals it, who wears it, and where that leads I'll leave you to discover, but it's a well-written tale that has a medieval fairy tale feel to it.

Reviewed by Sally