Carnal Machines - book discontinued by Cleis Press Inc. - review by Jessica Elizabeth

This book is actually full of several short stories, as such one is unable to really get a feel for any one author. It is, however, edited very well.

The short stories in Carnal Machines are written in an erotic, steampunk fashion. Thus, you really should enjoy steampunk in order to fully enjoy and appreciate this book. Happily, for those unfamiliar with steampunk who wish to use this as an introduction, the editor D.L. King does provide a description of what steampunk is at the beginning of the book, so you have a bit of an idea what to expect before jumping into it.

Also, this book will be good for you if you want an anthology of very short stories, not something hundreds of pages long. This can be a tad frustrating, as once you are really getting into the story it ends. But, then you get to read the next one!

There are 14 short stories available and each are unique and wonderful in their own way. You don't get tired of one style or anything as each is from a different author and has a different plot and each also has a little different type of steampunk characterization be it different clothing styles, machinery or what-have-you.

Though it says right on the cover "steampunk erotica" the design of the picture on the cover is not at all sexual. So if one has it laying out, no one will know what it is unless they read the words on it. The book is a larger paperback size, so those who carry purses/bags you can still fit it in there, which is nice if you want a quick steamy story on your lunch break you can! (Which is where it's also handy that there's no nudity on the cover, or anyone in sexual positions.)