Bionic Lover by M. Christian (#lesbian #erotica #scifi)

It has been far too long since I last read a book by M. Christian, but Bionic Lover instantly reminded me why I love his work so much. The man has a way with words that borders on the poetic, but which remains blissfully accessible. This is not just erotic fiction, this is erotic literature that owes as much to the shelves of genre classics as it does to sensual, one-handed reads.

In Bionic Lover we have a vague, deliberately non-specific world that could just as easily be a cyberpunk future as an alternate history clockwork empire. It is largely familiar, with things like art galleries and slum apartments, but it feels run down and worn out. And yet, within that disturbing environment, we find technological advances that are as immediately exciting . . . even if they become rather more chilling as the story progresses.

Pell and Arc are two women trapped in this world, brought together by a shared boredom as much as anything. Theirs is not your typical romance, but rather more of a series of desperate hookups with a growing emotional entanglement. At first, Arc's robot enhancements are an exciting fetish, a source of newfound pleasures (and fears), but Pell soon begins to mourn the erosion of her lover's humanity. She can see a future where Pell will become a thing, bought-and-paid-for by her mysterious benefactor, with nothing of flesh-and-blood left to her.

Bionic Lover is intensely erotic, full of physical passion and emotional outbursts, but the romance feels sadly one-sided. It is an utterly fascinating tale, but look neither for a happy ending nor a tidy one. This is science-fiction erotic that makes you feel as well as think, told with a flair for language that is also too good for the genre.

Reviewed by Sally