Book Snob – Carnal Machines, An Anthology of Steampunk Erotica edited by DL King

Posted on Sep 17, 2012 in Book Reviews | 0 comments

I received a free copy of Carnal Machines while at the Book Expo America.  No promise of a review was made, let alone a positive one.

As many of you know, I’m hard on erotica (hehe, I said hard).  I expect it to have some literary value in addition to titillation and I’m thrilled to say that Carnal Machines didn’t let me down.  It is of consistently high quality, which is rare in most anthologies, and follows the standard of the steampunk genre perfectly.

If you aren’t familiar with steampunk I’d recommend reading something more mainstream before delving into this collection of perversion.  Not because this isn’t a good sampling, but because these short tales jump right in to the world, assuming a certain familiarity with steampunk’s particular take on the Victorian Era.

From a Russian dominatrix with a penchant for domination and Tesla to devices designed to probe and exploit the baser desires of both men and women, Carnal Machines really has it all.  A surprising amount of characterization and world building went into this collection and while each piece is by a different author, the through-line of style and quality connected the pieces enough that I enjoyed reading straight through.

Carnal Machines is a must have for connoisseurs of erotica, both because of its quality but also because of the innovation within the pages.  The idea of an entire book about sex toys/devices, let alone ones powered via Victorian technology is as thrilling for the mind as it is the loins.

Available on Amazon.com in Paperback and Kindle