Saturday, October 31, 2015

My New FutureOfSex Essay Is Live! 5 Sex Technologies From Sci-Fi Movies That Are Right Around The Corner

Now this is very exciting! My new article for FutureOfSex just went up on their very fun site. Click here to read 5 Sex Technologies From Sci-Fi Movies That Are Right Around The Corner!
Spaceships, aliens, robots—we all love a good science fiction film. But aside from a few lucky guesses on the filmmakers’ parts, we rarely think of them as being truly prophetic.

Especially when it comes to their depictions of futuristic sex.

However, with new developments in pharmacology, virtual reality, robotics, telepresence, and artificial intelligence, more than a few classic, and sort of classic,science-fiction films are getting very close to erotic reality.

Here is a subjective look at five science-fiction films where their depictions of futuristic sex are fast-becoming less cinematic fantasy and more everyday sexual reality.

[MORE]

Beyond Romance Likes Skin Effect!

This is very touching: the great Lisabet Sarai reviewed by brand-new erotic science fiction collection, Skin Effect: More Science Fiction And Fantasy Erotica, for Beyond Romance.

Thanks so much, Lisabet!


Normally, when I write a review, I treat the book as a stand-alone entity, without considering prequels, sequels or other books in a series. In reviewing Skin Effect, however, it’s almost impossible not to make some reference to The Bachelor Machine, M. Christian’s first collection of science fiction erotica, which I reviewed back in 2009. For one thing, there’s the subtitle, “More Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy Erotica”, pointedly implying the existence of the previous volume. Then there’s the author’s Afterword, which explicitly compares the perspectives in the first book to those in this one. Even the title is a reference to the earlier book, the name of one of the stories therein (which is not included here). In any case, I couldn’t really read this collection without being reminded of the earlier volume. The stories are equally inventive, but extremely different in tone. To me, they suggested a more mature, subtle and balanced vision of the future. 
The world of The Bachelor Machine is largely dystopic, a dark environment of crumbling infrastructure, poisoned nature, desperate individuals, oppressive and dehumanizing technology. The stories in Skin Effect reflect a greater degree of hope as well as the expected impact of more recent technological developments—constant data streams gathered by wearable sensors; software agents that relieve us of the need to learn or remember; the omnipresent social media-sphere, where every thought, action and emotion is immediately visible to one’s audience and one’s worth as a human being might be measured by the number of spectators one can muster. Like those in the earlier book, however, these tales ask difficult but intriguing questions about reality and human existence. What does it mean to talk about one’s life history, when memories can be implanted or erased at will? What happens to sex when changing gender is almost as easy as changing clothes and every possible sexual variation is available via simulation? Is there something special or unique about direct experience, unmediated by technology? Is that sort of genuine, first-hand, totally disconnected experience even possible anymore? 
One of my favorite stories in the collection is the simple and elegant “Prêt-à-Porter”. A rather shy, serious young woman purchases a – garment – made of the ultimate intelligent fabric, fabric that transforms itself into whatever sort of clothing or costume its wearer desires—and which shapes its owner’s desires in the process. 
--- 
It was ... warm, like a another person's skin. She knew it would be, but the comfort of it was still calming – making the release of that second breath slow and easy. It moved up her body like a splash from a shallow pool, the warmness of it making her relax even more. 
As it flowed, it stayed black – but just as she noticed that, it changed: rolling through a rainbow of hues, shades, and saturations. As it flowed, it stayed glistening like colorful latex – but as she noticed that, as well, it changed: tumbling through an array of textures, contours, weaves, and shapes. 
She couldn't help it: she laughed. It was like a puppy, fresh out of the box and eager to play. It didn't take her mind long to imagine the artificial, intelligent, endlessly chameleonic material as wagging a form of artificial, intelligent, endlessly chameleonic, tail. 
--- 
“LMS”, the last story in the volume, is another high point. Set in a nearer term future than most of the tales (a future in which humans still design web sites!), this tale features an insecure, depressed protagonist who is pried out of his fugue of self-loathing by an encounter with a transsexual who sincerely admires his work. This is a sexy but surprisingly sweet love story, set in a world where your Facebook numbers can determine your personal fate. 
“A Kiss Goodnight” presents the next stage in evolution, as an aging pioneer in the study of artificial intelligence is seduced by the “ghost in the machine”, the sentient, self-aware outcome of his own research. The language in this tale is utterly gorgeous, whether the author is describing the taste of a peach (a real peach, grown on an actual tree—something exceedingly rare) or the nature of the professor’s elusive partner. 
--- 
Shimmering shoals of software; ripples of digital entities flashing in and out of existence – some on a scale of centuries, others faster than anything alive could ever blink, the on and offs of their own basic (in its own way primitive) DNA coding drifting, merging ... vast snowflakes of algorithms wheeling and spinning against an infinite spectrum of quantum uncertainty ... breaking, splintering, only to merge into new complexities, new potentialities. It was a flashing, flickering, fairy kingdom of brilliant streaks, pops, swirls, cascades of illuminated data coming and going, evolving and learning, growing and refining ... flowering unique forms for unique tasks while deep, immense structures, eternally pondering monoliths of infinite potentials and possibilities, thought their long computational thoughts ... knowing every permutation and branch of possibility and, within it all, a cool and perfect understanding of their original architects, the first programmers, far more than they could ever know themselves. 
--- 
Despite this awe-inspiring vision of distributed intelligence, the physical coupling between the professor and his digital partner is compelling, even world-shattering, flesh and blood sex a kind of fundamental language that in some sense transcends species.
This is the message of “The Potter’s Wheel” as well, a fascinating tale in which a woman who supports herself by selling her experiences via social media is chosen to meet the Potter of Gujyo-hachiman, a Living Treasure renowned for his exquisite porcelain. Living off the ‘Net at his monastic retreat in rural Japan, more or less purely in the physical world, the Potter helps Peers reconnect with fleshly, unmediated desire.
Although a few are listed as previously published, all of the stories in Skin Effectwere new to me, with the exception of “The Bell House Invitation”, which I’d called out as one of the sexiest stories in The Bachelor Machine. I was delighted to have the chance to savor this unique ménage once again. Indeed, the story might be more consistent with the worldview spun by this volume than in its original home. 
All in all, Skin Effect is a solid collection of speculative erotica. I have to be honest and admit that I found it less erotic, overall, than The Bachelor Machine. However, that may say as much about me (years older than I was when I read the first book, and far more jaded) than it does about the book. I think it’s fair to suggest that the sex in these stories is sweeter and more sincere, less about thrills and more about connections. That’s fine, as far as I’m concerned. I want more than heat in my reading; I want original ideas and graceful language. In this regard, there’s no question that M. Christian delivers.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Up Now: 5 Science-Fiction Novels That Pushed The Limits of Sexuality On FutureOfSex!

This is very, very cool: my grand new article 5 Science-Fiction Novels That Pushed The Limits of Sexuality just went live on the excellent FutureOfSex site!

Here's a tease - for the rest click here.


Erotic visions of the future from renowned sci-fi literature.

Like a lot of genres, science fiction took a bit of time to discover that one special, yet very basic, component of humanity.

Yes, I’m talking about sex.

But unlike mystery, horror, romance, thriller—and every flavor of literature you can name—when these science fiction authors explored eroticism, it didn’t just change that genre. Using visions of the future, they changed the way many people came to look at sex itself.

While there are many writers working today who are exploring sexuality in science fiction (hint, hint), here are five works that I personally feel went way above and far beyond the known limits of both sex and science fiction.

Oh, and be prepared for some very minor plot spoilers—but I promise not to give too much away.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

GET A FREE COPY OF SKIN EFFECT!

Want to read my newest collection of science fiction erotica but don’t pay to pay the staggering amount of $2.99?

Well, here’s the deal: if you promise to review it - either on your site or on amazon - I’ll send you a free pdf of Skin Effect: More Science Fiction And Fantasy Erotica

Just send me your email address - and, later, a link to where your review appeared.


“Erotic, and original, state-of-the-art science fiction.” —Ernest Hogan, author, High Aztech

“A totally unique and truly fascinating voice.” —Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula Award winning science fiction author

At last! M.Christian’s highly anticipated sequel to his legendary erotic science fiction collection, Bachelor Machine!

With Bachelor Machine, M.Christian set the bar for erotic science fiction stories. Now he has returned to the genre with a brand new collection that will amaze as well as arouse: Skin Effect—tales that push the envelopes of both science fiction and erotica in innovative and stimulating ways. Here are stories voyaging to the near and far future, exploring the ultimate limits of sex and arousal.

With an introduction by the Chicano Science Fiction legend Ernest Hogan (author of High Aztech and Cortez on Jupiter), the stories in Skin Effect—some never before seen—are beyond BDSM, beyond fetish, beyond kink … and even beyond the limits of science fiction!

Story contents include:

[Title Forgotten]
Prêt-À-Porter
The Subsequent State
The Bell House Invitation
The Potter’s Wheel
Double Toil And Trouble
A Kiss Goodnight
–and more!

Plus a special, and very thoughtful Afterword by the author: “It’s ‘Not’ The End of the World as We Know It – And I Feel Fine”.

“M.Christian is a hybrid artist and knockout stylist on the order of Jonathan Lethem. Hard-boiled, sharp-edged, funny and fierce, his tales brim with unbridled imagination and pitch-perfect satire.” —Jim Gladstone

“M.Christian is a writer who takes you for a long walk down a dark wet street at midnight. You can’t get much more edgy and still be legal. His fiction never disappoints.” —Nancy Kilpatrick, author, The Power of the Blood series and In The Shadow of the Gargoyle

$2.99

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Up Now At FutureOfSex: Part Three of The Ten Greatest Sexual Innovations to Come!

This is fantastic news: part three of my three part series on The Ten Greatest Sexual Innovations to Come is live!

Check it out at the Future Of Sex site ... in the meantime here's a teasing taste:
Our first series on future sex technologies took a gander at developments in sensory tech: virtual reality, augmented reality, and direct neurostimulation. Then we journeyed into a future erotic world of cyborgs, body switching, and genetic engineering.

We’ve looked at what changes may come to our senses, including the changes to how we’ll experience eroticism. Then we explored the possible coming changes to our physical selves: how we’ll interact with the world.

So what’s left?

As that old chestnut goes, the greatest sex organ in the human body is the brain—and the future promises incredible changes to that very special part of ourselves. Hang on for a ride into the future of our erotic mental landscape with an exploration into neurochemistry, memory manipulation, personality reproduction, and artificial intelligence.

Friday, October 2, 2015

I'm Going To Be At Con-Volution!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)


This is gonna be a blast! If you're going to the great Con-Volution convention in Daly City look me up - I'll be doing more than a few panels, a reading and teaching a class on mixing sex in science fiction!

Here's my schedule:

Actual Science in Science Fiction
Saturday 10:00 - 11:15, Sumac (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Should we expect 100% accurate science from authors who are telling a story?
M Christian (M), Jay Hartlove, C. Sanford Lowe, Edward Pizzini Ph.D., Heidi Stauffer

Secret Panel
Saturday 11:30 - 12:45, Harbor B (Hyatt Regency SFO)
If we told you, it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?
Steve Libbey, Matt Marovich, Steven Mix, M Christian, Jennifer Nestojko, Emerian Rich, Sumiko Saulson, Linda Kay Silva, Frank Wu, Carrie Sessarego

New Wave SF
Saturday 13:00 - 14:15, SandPebble D (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Bradford Lyau (M), Dario Ciriello, M Christian, Chuck Serface

Video Games: Past, Present, Future
Saturday 16:00 - 17:15, Harbor A (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Rev. Dr. Christopher Garcia (M), Rob Miles, M Christian, Beau Safken

Reading
Sunday 11:30 - 12:45, Wine Room (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Dario Ciriello, M Christian, Jason Malcolm Stewart, Tyler Hayes

Writers Workshop: Let's Talk About Sex
Sunday 13:00 - 14:15, SandPebble D (Hyatt Regency SFO)
This class will focus on how to write credible and non-awkward sex and love scenes. How to write about the heaving bosoms without blushing and convulsing in giggles.