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Carnal Machines: Steampunk Erotica

by D.L. King (Goodreads Author), Teresa Noelle Roberts (Contributor), Elias A. St. James (Contributor), Essemoh Teepee (Contributor), Tracey Shellito (Contributor), Elizabeth Schechter (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Janine Ashbless (Contributor), Renee Michaels (Contributor) , more…

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 75 ratings · 23 reviews

The Victorians wrote some of the best and most enduring erotica. For such a tightly-laced age, people spent a lot of time thinking about things carnal. Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, et al enthralled us with their visions of new possibilities. The rich and slightly decadent visuals of the steam age lend themselves perfectly to the new carnal...more

Paperback, 244 pages

Published April 12th 2011 by Cleis Press (first published April 1st 2011)

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Mar 08, 2012 Vanessa Wu rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this anthology there are two stories that include smart, sexy Chinese women, and I like it for that reason alone. There are 14 stories altogether, which is quite a generous number. It's surprising, then, that they are of a consistently high quality. I did skip one of the stories, I must admit, and I suppose if I were being a conscientious reviewer I'd say which one it was, but it was no big deal, I just didn't like it. It's an anthology. It's okay to skip around.

Talking of skipping around, I...more In this anthology there are two stories that include smart, sexy Chinese women, and I like it for that reason alone. There are 14 stories altogether, which is quite a generous number. It's surprising, then, that they are of a consistently high quality. I did skip one of the stories, I must admit, and I suppose if I were being a conscientious reviewer I'd say which one it was, but it was no big deal, I just didn't like it. It's an anthology. It's okay to skip around.

Talking of skipping around, I first saw this as a paperback in a bookshop in Charing Cross Road and I nearly bought it but I was with a male friend and I didn't want him to feel threatened by my interest in sex machines.

So I bought a Kindle version. I really wish I'd bought the paperback. An anthology like this shows up the weaknesses of the Kindle. I kept wanting to flick through and dip in and out and I really couldn't.

The only author I'd heard of before I bought the book was Janine Ashbless. All the others were not only new to me but have really strange names like Elias A. St. James, Essemoh Teepee and Blue Poe Von Page. Unfortunately the Kindle version doesn't give the author's name with the story title in the table of contents, so this made it really hard to get familiar with their names and remember who had written what. To make matters worse, the author biographies at the back are in a different order from the stories and don't give the story titles.

I had to write my own table of contents in the end, which is really geeky, isn't it? But I suppose someone who can do that would also appreciate a steam-powered anal probe, so you could say this book and I were made for each other.

Like my review, this book should not be taken too seriously. But as a piece of fun, it's really very stylish indeed.

I was pleasantly impressed by the imagination and the craftsmanship that went into the stories. One story impressed me particularly. It was Lair of the Red Countess by Kathleen Bradean. The writing has a sensuous surface texture and shadowy depths that really got my attention. It isn't perfect. It is a bit rough in places. But I like its roughness and I like the deft narrative shifts that delve into the backgrounds of both main characters and flesh them out for us. It's quite a complex little story for all its playfulness, and there is a lot of flesh, as it were, packed into a very tight space.

But the other stories are also very well done and the theme of Carnal Machines is carried through them all with admirable panache. Now that I have my little home-made table of contents, I will definitely use it to look up some of the other writers on my list. (less)

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Nov 13, 2012 Ron Bird Jr rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-own

I have read some of the comments here at Good Reads saying this is not Steampunk. I do not think that this is true or false. Carnal Machines is just what is wrong with this genre right now. As Cyber punk/goth, goth and punk became more popular everyone got in on the act and started calling their writings that in this case throw in a time frame some gears, cogs and an air ship or two and call it Steampunk then package it and try and make some money from it. In my mind that is what we have here.

I...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Campbell Mcaulay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Carnal Machines is a collection of erotic short stories with a steampunk theme. If you don't know what steampunk is, imagine science fiction as it would be written by a Victorian author (e.g. Jules Verne); it's a growing genre of popular fiction. So, given that it's erotica and given the collection's title "Carnal Machines", you'll have a fairly decent (or indecent) idea as to what the machines are that the steam-power is powering. We are presented, therefore, by a veritable cornucopia (i.e. hor...more Carnal Machines is a collection of erotic short stories with a steampunk theme. If you don't know what steampunk is, imagine science fiction as it would be written by a Victorian author (e.g. Jules Verne); it's a growing genre of popular fiction. So, given that it's erotica and given the collection's title "Carnal Machines", you'll have a fairly decent (or indecent) idea as to what the machines are that the steam-power is powering. We are presented, therefore, by a veritable cornucopia (i.e. horn of plenty, wink wink) of clockwork, hydraulic or steam powered dildoes, designed to pleasure the orifices and protruberances of various Victorian ladies, dollymops and crinolined vixens and, in a couple of instances, the quivering nether regions of some Victorian gentlemen as well.

This is my first foray into written erotica (well, if you discount Razzle's Readers' Letters; "There's this really good-looking bird what lives next-door to me. You'll never guess what happened the other day when I went round to help her fix her telly aerial...") and I'm not entirely sure why I bought it. Well... I suppose I DO know why I bought it, but that's another (short) story. I suppose I was a little disappointed by the lack of good plot and original characterisation, but then, video titles such as "Debbie Does Dallas" never had much need of such ornamentation either.

I was never entirely convinced by the need for pr0n videos to flesh out (pun intended) the action with any sort of a story - you watch a mucky video for one reason and one reason only (or at least one reason, several times, if you had the stamina) and having to sit through five minutes of explanation as to why the lady needs her sump cleaning or her antenna adjusting before the real action starts only prolongs the agony. The same can be said of these short stories; the mini-plots are OK, but they seem a little superfluous, simple vehicles to transport you to the climax (as it were). I think what I'm trying to say is that let's do away with the half-hearted attempt at a plot and just get down to the sweaty humping. On the other hand, these stories are (I suspect) written for ladies and some sort of contextual overlay is a requisite for kindling the interest of the fairer sex (or so the latest issue of Ball Busting Beauties would have me believe), in which case I think there should be a little more effort put into the stories - a good, rip-roaring adventure WITH some mucky bits to spice it up.

Yes I know. I'm often hard to please, but then at my age, I'm pleased to be occasionally hard.

Ostensibly the stories are also /authored/ by women but, and please forgive my cyncicism, I have this strange feeling that they're quite probably male and I also wonder whether there may even be only one author (M or F) writing under multiple pseudonyms. I may be wrong, but that's just how they read to me.

Having said all that, the stories are quite well written - better than your average Readers' Letter, that's for sure - and also (as one would expect) rather mucky. Not your Mills & Boon throbbing corsets and passionate kisses and "And so, dear reader, I married him!" naughtiness but inventive, engorged, well-lubricated, fully penetrative, machine-assisted shagging.

No pictures though. I wish there were pictures.(less)

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Sep 17, 2012 Pavarti Tyler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: porn

I received a free copy of Carnal Machines while at the Book Expo America. No promise of a review was made, let alone a positive one.

As many of you know, I'm hard on erotica (hehe, I said hard). I expect it to have some literary value in addition to titillation and I'm thrilled to say that Carnal Machines didn't let me down. It is of consistently high quality, which is rare in most anthologies, and follows the standard of the steampunk genre perfectly.

If you aren't familiar with steampunk I'd rec...more

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May 24, 2011 Lisabet Sarai rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

This is a wry, delightfully naughty collection that blends the exotic technology and pseudo-Victorian manners of steam punk with red-hot erotic fantasy. In Teresa Noelle Roberts' "Human Powered" a female professor of "arcane engineering" from Wellesley College designs a mechanism to capture sexual energy in order to replace dirty, polluting coal - then tests it with the help of an old friend and colleague from MIT. "The Servant Question" by Janine Ashbless gives us domestic robots, Victorian-sty...more

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Apr 22, 2011 Marcus rated it 1 of 5 stars

Steampunk Erotica is a part of Steampunk fiction I have thus far only encountered on the website SteamyPunk. I did not really enjoy what I read there back then, when the site was pointed out to me.
Than I heard of Carnal Machines and purchased a copy.

The collection starts strong. Teresa Noelle Roberts Human Powered is quite a clever little tale. It is steampunk, it is lightly erotic and there is some chemistry between the characters. Quite enjoyable. It is also the only one I consider truely stea...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Natasja rated it 3 of 5 stars

Human Powered by Teresa Noelle Roberts
A female professor is one of the first women in America to become a professor of arcane engineering. She has developed a device that uses the energy of the human body to power itself. A little help from her dear friend Dr. Benedict Lowell will make this device work, but who would have thought sexual fulfilment and pleasure is the key.

The Servant Question by Janine Ashbless
The Tulliver’s Mechanical Servants provides households of mechanic staff, the owner and...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Erin O'Riordan rated it 4 of 5 stars

What is it about the Victorian era that we modern readers/writers find so compelling? For me, some of its allure is that it wasn't so long ago that it seems inaccessible. Victorians lived essentially as we do, with more restrictive social customs and a less evolved understanding of technological possibilities. They had some knowledge of electricity, but homes were still lit with gaslights. They rode in horse-drawn carriages, wore crinolines and waistcoats and had to hold perfectly still for long...more What is it about the Victorian era that we modern readers/writers find so compelling? For me, some of its allure is that it wasn't so long ago that it seems inaccessible. Victorians lived essentially as we do, with more restrictive social customs and a less evolved understanding of technological possibilities. They had some knowledge of electricity, but homes were still lit with gaslights. They rode in horse-drawn carriages, wore crinolines and waistcoats and had to hold perfectly still for long stretches to be photographed. Still, the inkling that there were brave new worlds to be explored using technology inspired the great early speculative fiction writers, from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to H.G. Wells, and that newly uncovered mindset of being on the cusp of innovation seems to drive the steampunk writers of today.

The writers in this collection are also inspired by Victorian society's collective sexual repression, a great reserve of innocence, shame and untapped energies that had yet to produce Sigmund Freud to explain it. The juxtaposition of innocence and experience, of caution and desire, of social mores versus human needs create most of the tension in these tales.

Honestly, this isn't my favorite Cleis Press anthology. In any anthology, there are bound to be some short stories the reader responds to better than others. In the other 5-6 Cleis titles I've read, I've been delighted by almost everything. I actually thought a few of these stories were ho-hum. You wouldn't think a story about a steam-powered vibrator could be uninteresting, but once you read a few of them, you realize there are ways to write acceptable steampunk erotica, and then there are ways to write exceptional steampunk erotica.

The opener, Teresa Noelle Roberts' "Human Powered," is a rousing start, with a sympathetic heroine and sex that arises organically from the story. "Mutiny on the Danika Blue" by Poe Von Page, the only story in the anthology that takes its characters into space, is a wonderful meditation on power play. "Deviant Devices" by Kannan Feng has a rather nice male-female dynamic as well. Lisabet Sarai's "Her Own Devices," with its Chinese setting, is one of the nicest, and most sensually detailed, of the bunch. The other bookend, Elizabeth Schechter's "The Succubus," closes nicely by flipping the typical point of view on its head.

My true favorite is the collection's lone m/m piece, "Infernal Machine" by Elias A. St. James. Its begoggled tinkerer is Elijah Saloman, the son of a French rabbi. The young inventor's lover is Sasha, a Russian noble. At the exact moment Sasha is called away to perform the duties of his station, Elijah is entrapped by one of his machines, a helpless prisoner to exquisitely pleasurable mechanical torture. Pleasurable mechanical torture is the theme of many of these stories, but this one manages a certain stylish romance and charm among the clockwork and steam engines. It's like red velvet marred, or rather decorated, with Elijah's greasy thumbprints.

If you enjoy this book, you will also like the novella 'Hysteria' by Rushmore Judd, which you can find on Smashwords.

My husband thinks the woman on the cover looks like Lady Gaga. (less)

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Mar 08, 2012 Nigia Stephens rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished

It was fun but not fabulous. The last story was a nice ending to the book and a touch spooky. I wish there was far more of that one and of about seven others. "Her Own Devices" rocked! I enjoyed it even though the last line stank. I'd love to have seen this one as the first story. "Lair of The Red Countess" was perfect! Both of these were worth the price of the book. Those stories felt like true Steampunk Erotica.
I think if Carnal Machines had fewer stories of simple smut with devices thrown i...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Yy marked it as to-read

I won this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thanks.

2 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2012 Dana marked it as to-finish-reading

So Far from the sample i've read from the Barnes and Nobles this may def have some promise.

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 ♆ BookAddict ~ La Crimson Femme rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica, steampunk, bdsm, bdsm-book-reviews

Steam powered sex toys, energy sources powered by sex, human like steam powered robots, what isn’t in this book? Carnal Machines is an anthology filled with steamy hot stories. Each story increases in intensity. The cleverly written short stories are all tightly woven to deliver the maximum pleasure in the minimum amount of pages. This allows for the reader to experience fourteen wonderful stories from different writers all in one sitting. The steampunk technology used in each story clearly show...more Steam powered sex toys, energy sources powered by sex, human like steam powered robots, what isn’t in this book? Carnal Machines is an anthology filled with steamy hot stories. Each story increases in intensity. The cleverly written short stories are all tightly woven to deliver the maximum pleasure in the minimum amount of pages. This allows for the reader to experience fourteen wonderful stories from different writers all in one sitting. The steampunk technology used in each story clearly shows the author understands the steampunk genre. These devices used in sexual ways will blow the minds off of many a reader.

What is nice about this anthology is the mix of maledom and femdom. Not all the books were males dominating the proper and meek Victorian female. Several of the stories included a strong Domme perpetrating her wicked way on submissive males. Some of the stories are m/m or f/f which further enhances an erotic readers’ delight. For a reader who enjoys it all, this book is a winner. A few of the devices used in these stories showcased author creativity and ingenuity. A couple of the stories used device to harness sexual energy for power. It’s amusing to see how they diverge. One is to harness sexual frustration which is admittedly quite abundant. Another device sucks the sexual horny frenzy from young men. The added bonus of anal penetration for normally heterosexual men in this particular story heightens the smexy content.

This book can be read in one sitting. Each story flows smoothly with vivid imagery. There is a greater chance for the book to take several readings because the material is so arousing, the reader will need to stop for a little “playtime relief” before continuing to the next story. The BDSM elements are romanticized in each story. The creative ways of bondage and sexual torment are lovingly depicted. The story which contains a very hot bondage scene features a chair which renders the seated person completely immobile and then proceeds to anally and orally violate with vigor. This story alone would a cause a reader to melt into a puddle of goo. There are thirteen more stories just as sizzling erotic.

Even the locales in the stories are different. One in particular is located in the Far East. The scorching sexy reveal in the Orient is a lovely surprise. Every story is different. There is no repeat. The only tying motif is the steampunk theme. This is one of the best anthologies with every story a sultry winner. The anthology ends on a passionate note with an incredible room of perverted pleasure and gratification. It’s a den of iniquity which the reader will yearn to exist for a wicked visit. While the story indicates guests only visit once, this reader believes repeated appointments will be required to fully explore every deviant tool. This burning hot book is recommended for kinky readers who enjoy every facet of BDSM.

(less)

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Apr 08, 2011 Nathan Burgoine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthologies

I reviewed this for Erotica Revealed.

To me, “steampunk” has always brought to mind Victorian idealism – and repression – blended with a lovely mix of H.G. Wells or Jules Verne. It’s often a tough combination to do well and adding erotica into the mix seems like it would be quite difficult.

Happily, D. L. King gathered a group of authors up to the challenge. In the introduction, King describes this lovely contradiction of the Victorian culture – so incredibly wound up, so guarded and hidden betwee...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Michael marked it as abandoned

Mildly to moderately interesting steampunk-type scenarios begin to develop, and then degenerate into characters having moistly but not especially imaginatively described sexual encounters. I suppose that's what erotica mostly IS, but as such it doesn't seem terribly erotic, or interesting.

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Mar 12, 2012 Lexie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, steampunk, fiction

I recieved this book as a part of the Goodreads First Reads book giveaway.

You had me at sex and steampunk. Erotica isn't typically my thing, but I do love me some steampunk, so I figured why not, and I'm glad that I won a copy. This little book is filled with lots of short stories, they all aimed to please. Perfect for the kinksters out there.

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Jul 14, 2012 Raquel Leite rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: emprestados, english

Tem de certa forma contos interessantes, outros nem por isso. É interessante ver a orignalidade que alguns escritores que teem. enfim futuramente uma opinião de cada um.

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Jan 20, 2012 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bdsm, erotica, historical-romance, new-to-me-authors-in-2012, read-in-2012, read-january-2012, steampunk-romance

Odd but interesting collection of short little stories. If you're looking for romantic erotica, this isn't really for you.

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Feb 26, 2013 Rose Caraway rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the perfect anthology for anyone curious about the "Steampunk" genre. 14 very creative authors have come together to titillate us with delightful language and contraptions geared for carnal pleasures. Loved it!

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Aug 05, 2012 Yogi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, bdsm, erotica, romance, steam-punk

Steampunk and erotica should be together always! Love the creative fuckery in Carnal Machine.

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May 08, 2013 Christina rated it 1 of 5 stars

a collection of erotic short stories with a steampunk theme....one word - Boring!

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Feb 08, 2012 Kyle Wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Short stories with both steampunk and erotica elements. Started off really well, slowed down towards the last few stories...but a great idea to read a story before going to bed each night ;)

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Oct 07, 2012 David Schwan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Many of the stories carry a consistent theme. One that surprisingly is authentic to a book of steampunk stories. As steampunk literature this was about average. as erotica about average. The stories with Chinese ladies in them were some of the better stories.

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Jul 25, 2011 Karmen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica

Love steam punk and the erotica in this anthology is dead on.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 22, 2012 Chrissy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: rao-reviews, to-review-pile, steampunk, erotica, historical-fiction, 2012

review to come

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May 20, 2013 Tasia.winters marked it as to-read

May 15, 2013 Alyssa marked it as to-read

May 11, 2013 Kelly marked it as to-read

May 11, 2013 Moxie Hall rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 09, 2013 Breanna marked it as to-read

May 09, 2013 Silence Longing marked it as to-read

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About D.L. King

I'm a New Yorker. I write smut. Some people call it erotica and some people call it porn. I call it a good time. Oh, yeah, I don't just write smut; I edit it too. I also publish and edit an erotica book review site called Erotica Revealed . There's more to see on my blog and on my website.

In addition to the ones shown here, you can find my short stories in a number of anthologies such as The Mamm...more

More about D.L. King...

Books by D.L. King

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The Harder She Comes: Butch Femme Erotica

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