Chester 5000 XYV by Jess Fink
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The old cliche is that no one watches porn for the story. But books and comics have always had the ability to be more cutting edge; perhaps because the budget is so much smaller, making the stakes lower.

Somehow, Jess Fink elevates things in Chester 5000 XYV. It starts off with the unusual setting of steampunk Victorian times. While I’m sure tons of erotic fiction has been written to take place in Victorian times, it’s still a fascinating period considering the attitudes of gender roles and sex at the time. But what I think really makes this book special is it’s lack of dialog. There’s something special about a silent comic that requires extra emotion to be expressed with half of what makes up a comic missing.

Outside of that, there’s the story which tells the tale of newlyweds who seem to be sexually incompatible. It’s a story that serves as more than just the motivator for the sex, it is also a story about the need for better communication in a story with dialog. And, for extra fun, it had the classic question of whether robots can love and be like humans.

I can think of a few Goodreads friends who would probably enjoy this book – like Karen B. But if you’re not afraid of dirty pictures, it’s a great, fun little story.

View all my reviews