Bob @ Beauty in Ruins

In the hyperconnected and artificial-intelligence-enhanced future, sex is like a cyberpunk video game: a realm where no desire is left unexplored, and even the unimaginable is possible.

For a book that's literally titled The Future of Sex, Lexi Maxxwell's initial slice of sci-fi erotica (the first in a series) is surprisingly human. There is some very cool technology involved, and some interesting details about our recovery from a post-apocalyptic future, but it all hinges on one very human (yet very special) young woman.

There's no doubt Chloe Shaw has potential, and may develop more in future installments, but she's a cold protagonist for such a sensual tale. She might as well be some impossibly sophisticated sex doll for all the personality she exhibits, but there's no doubt that her thoughts, emotions, and experiences are of the flesh-and-blood variety. Only a few years removed from being a virgin, with more dances than dalliances under her belt, she uses her mother's legacy to get herself a 'spa girl' interview, and is set up for testing. Against all odds, she not only reader her client perfectly, but demonstrates an intuitive grasp of an ultra-secret new sexual technology that surpasses even those trained on it.

It's the conflicts between human and machine, and between what's in our had and what's between our legs that drives the tale. Chloe makes use of the technologies available to enhance the experience and truly deliver for her clients, but she succeeds because of her intuitive ability to read them, read the situation, and determine exactly how far to push them (and in what direction). She's no laid back, submissive sex worker, but a strong, independent, confrontational young woman. She goes against everybody's expectations, dregs up painful memories, insults her clients, and challenges them to interact with her on a personal level . . . before taking her seductive talents to grasp the emotions so deftly exposed.

As for the technology and the world-building, it's thoroughly entertaining. O Corporation is a company built on sex, porn, and pleasure. Doors, walls, ceilings, and floors are all transparent, allowing for the most intimate of observations. Executives in three-piece suits sit around a conference table, surrounding by sex acts just a pane of glass away, and discuss the business side of pleasure. Gene therapy and physical enhancements make it impossible to know what anybody truly looks like, while synthetic implants and nanobots combine to enhance every nuance of the sexual experience.

The Future of Sex asks a lot of questions and sets up more than a few mysteries, suggesting there is plenty left to be explored. It's a sexy slice of sci-fi and a smart slice of erotica, clinical at times and sensual at others. Worth the read if you're at all curious.