Title: The Pleasure Principle

Author/Artist: Maria del Rey

Publisher: Nexus

Media: Book

Reviewer: Marcus Morgan

Detective story, sci-fi tale, erotic novel, this book truly is three in one. It details the endeavours of a Police Detective, Rey Coover, to track down a missing robot. But Pia is no ordinary robot, and Coover's no ordinary policeman. In this vision of the future sex has been banned following viral plagues that threatened the world, and instead the masses play with Virtual Reality simulations and Pleasuredroids, who are identical to humans in every detail but have only one thing on their limited minds: sex.

Coover has to overcome his disgust at the entire Pleasuredroid concept (it's too near bodyfucking for his conservative tastes), walk a political tightrope over the allegiances and high-placed friends of those involved and wade through the seething pool of perverse sexuality shown by the suspects. And before long it sucks him in...

It's a good book, I really enjoyed it. There's plenty of great sex, with people, robots, dildoes and in VR, and it's all described beautifully. I was happily surprised that the author managed to combine the 3 genres so well, and I'm looking forward with baited breath and one hand the sequel(s).