D.B. Story

The line between science fiction erotica and erotic science fiction is often a thin one, and riding the literary edge of that line can be a difficult task. Stray too far to one side, and you risk alienating those who readers who don’t want any intellectual roadblocks to their arousal. Fall too far to the other side, and you risk losing readers who are uncomfortable with arousal intruding on their philosophical musings.

D.B. Story not only knows precisely where that line runs, but he makes adhering to it seem almost effortless.

Far Future Fembot: Bill's Story is, quite literally, a mind-blowing read. It is very erotic – inventively so – but within the bounds of a very unusual romance that seduces you into the larger story arc. At its warm and fuzzy core, this is a love story about a man and his robot. It’s a romance that begins with moments of awkward, innocent curiosity; develops into a playful game of discovery and delight; and continues to the pinnacle of true love and soul-deep commitment . . . before coming full circle to do it all again.

Bill is a wonderful character. He seems (perhaps) a little too perfect, until you realise we’re only really seeing him through his lover’s eyes. He’s kind, gentle, devoted, giving, and fiercely protective of his family. He is a man who takes nothing for granted, no matter how many times he passes through this life. Bill grows and matures throughout the novel, evolving from merely likeable to entirely admirable, but he never stops being human.

While it’s Bill who keeps us firmly grounded in the story, it’s Anna who enables our imagination (and our libido) to soar. She is, in every possible respect, the perfect robot. Originally designed to be a sexbot in a human brothel, Anna is supremely knowledgeable, and equally talented in all matters sexual or erotic. Over the course of the novel she is gradually transformed by the enduring love of Bill, her eternal owner. Although we never forget that she’s a robot, her ongoing evolution into a sentient being is handled so well, we never question her place alongside Bill as his equal in the relationship.

Thanks to the longevity of human souls and robot circuits, this is a story that takes place over hundreds upon hundreds of years. The mystery of that longevity is certainly one of the driving forces behind the story, due largely to the unusual way in which it’s told. The chapters alternate between the entire span of the distant past, and (for the most part) a single night in the far future. Every ‘past’ chapter bring us a little closer to that far future, slowly narrow the initial gap of centuries down to a handful of years.

Like I said, it’s the romance of Bill and Anna that drives the story, but the way in which the story develops allows for far more intellectual exploration than most readers would expect. This is a novel about religion, politics, and philosophy. It’s a story of the human spirit and human rights, neither of which we discover is the sole prerogative of human beings. It’s not a heavy-handed or preachy tale by any means. Instead, it’s one that prefers to subtly exemplify and illustrate its teachings, rather than just talk about them.

If you’re uncertain about the concept of inter-species romance, especially one involving a robot, please don’t allow yourself to get hung up on the concept of a sex-toy with legs. Think, instead, along the lines of Star Trek’s Data, Robert A. Heinlein's Friday, Isaac Asimov’s Bicentennial Man, or even Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands – characters who become so endearingly human, we want them to actually be human.

There is so much more that I could – and want to – say about this, but explaining it all away does not do justice to D.B. Story’s writing. In order to fully appreciate what he’s accomplished here, you need to read it . . . savour it . . . and enjoy it. This is a story that will cause your heart to race, your chest to heave, and your mind to spin. It will arouse you, educate you, and (above all else) entertain you.… (plus d'informations)

This is the second story I read by D.B. Story on the female ‘bot universe. In a near future nothing much has changed of today world if not the introduction of the ‘bots, the new trend for people with too much money and too little to do with them. As the author herself said, in the beginning sentences “We—meaning robots like myself who find our awareness in strip clubs—are often lesbians. This is attributable to the coercive control measures used on us during our performances to keep us legal in the eyes of the authorities and to maintain tight control over large numbers of us at once.”

I found interesting these sentences, but I also think that these ‘bot universe is lesbian since these female ‘bot are strong women, and I find difficult that a man would accept such strong women as companionship. The other thing I like of these stories is that, even if they could easily lead to a D/s relationship, with the human owner using the ‘bot as nothing more than a gadget, that is not the case, on the contrary, the ‘bot is usually stronger than the human, and as such, she almost assumes the role of caretaker, arriving to “teach” to the human woman how to be a good owner. Humans indeed have the weaker role, and that is a slightly worrying point, because it implies that ‘bot are gaining momentum, they are becoming more and more independent, and being them also stronger and less incline to emotion, this could lead to a quite unsettling future.

But the author doesn’t arrive to such extremes, maintaining the story more on a personal level. She is more interested in writing about the awakening of consciousness in these female ‘bot, maybe with a parallelism on a different type of awakening; with the control of their mind and their mechanical body, the ‘bots gain also control over their sexual desires, and they are free not only to express them, but to reciprocate.

The men are not making a good impression in these stories, but truth be told I have read only two, so I cannot really have a strong opinion on this point; from what I read, it seems the female ‘bot can find truly happiness only with another woman, being her another ‘bot or a human. Better if the other woman is an human, since the female ‘bot have some “needs” that only another human can fulfil, making clear that, even if with a consciousness, they are, after all, robots.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004K6MISW/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (plus d'informations)

I was surprised by this story, even if indeed it was obvious already from the title: one of the female characters is a robot replica of Marilyn Monroe and as such she was programmed to have the past diva’s strengths and weakness. And I was, and still am, a big fan of Marilyn, and so I was really glad to read this story.

The author was very good in replicating who Marilyn was, the diva but also the troubled woman, into this futuristic Marilyn, but the female bot has something that Marilyn didn’t have, the chance to make big mistakes and be there afterward to correct them. On and off from male ownerships, Marilyn changes 3 owners, her 3 “husbands” as she calls them (exactly like the 3 husbands of the real Marilyn) and now she is yet again on sell in a resale facility.

Lynn enters the shop almost by chance, trying to avoid an abusive former boyfriend, and Marilyn recognizes in her the signs of a troubled and scared woman; she is kind with Lynn, and Lynn, maybe for the first time, feels safe with Marilyn. Lynn brings the female bot at home, but she doesn’t really know what to do with her, her decision is not taken with a sexual purpose, and it will be Marilyn that will teach to Lynn how to be her owner.

Again, like already in the past, I have to admit that I’m not an expert of lesbian romance, but I really liked Marilyn and I was impressed by not only the complexity of the characters, but also by the “technical” justification; I’m used to have some summarized reasons in the sci-fi novels, without no real base, because, after all, it’s fiction. But D.B. Story managed to give to this Marilyn’s bot, a somewhat realistic existence and also a concrete justification for her emotional development.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0041VXFVA/?tag=elimyrevandra-20… (plus d'informations)