Customer Reviews

The Velderet: A Cybersex S/M Serial

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"Equality" -- what a great concept but what does it mean? In "The Velderet" it means a world where individuality has been sacrificed because of historical guilt and sexuality has become limited and government approved. But this is your average distopian novel where all sex is outlawed or what you do is so important as why you do it and with whom. Yes, there is the invasion of a foreign people who seem rather new guard or old guard in their approach to power relationships but that isn't really the focus of the story. Instead the two roommates who discovered shared kinks and give us insight into the power of fear and authority are the reasons to read this book.

I've liked Tan's writing in the past, but it doesn't carry well at this length. Not everyone can write novels. A bit precious, unbelievable s/f moments, much repetition. Not worth the read.

This book was incredible. I could not put it down from start to finish. I was actually upset that I finished it. I wanted to know more. Maybe if we are lucky she will write a volume two. In the mean time I highly recommend this book.

I have read many Ms. Tan's short stories and was looking forward to this, her first novel. She did not disappoint. For those familiar with Cecilia Tan's work, this will be a change in that it is straight third person narrative. The absence of a particular voice however, only helps us to follow our two main characters, roommates Merin and Kobi, as they seek to explore their desires for sexual servitude in a utopian society where inequality is forbidden.

The sex is wonderful and hot and, of course, integral to the plot. I especially enjoyed the playful elements in Merin and Kobi's experimentation with each other as they try to fulfill vague fantasies without any cultural guidelines. They are the ultimate BDSM newbies.

As a science fiction story it works well. There are no clumsy explanations of customs and technologies; everything is tightly written and assumes and intelligent reader. There is a plot other than sex (a trade agreement with another planet) but the two subjects, that of an erotic novel and the sci-fi save the world story, mesh together seamlessly.

I would recommend this book as a wonderful introduction to the Circlet Press list. They mainly publish anthologies, but I hope that this novel is the start of a new trend.

The Velderet is a story about two characters, Kobi and Merin, who live in a world where acts of dominance and submission are not only subversive, they are illegal. Kobi works at The Velderet, a government-subsidized sex house where citizens can fulfill their monthly pleasure quotas through cybersex as well as flesh-and-blood liaisons. When Kobi and Merin realize that they both share a desire to submit to others, they turn to the Velderet as a way to cautiously find others who share their outlawed proclivities.

Not only is Cecilia Tan's book wonderful as a work of erotica -- there is sex in every chapter and it's hot, arousing sex that varies so much I ended up turning page after page, eager to see what the characters would try next -- it's also a great science fiction story with believable alien worlds and advanced technology as well as the traditional tendency towards social commentary in a fictional form. Despite the theme of BDSM being outlawed in Kobi and Merin's world, The Velderet never felt preachy or moralizing to me. The characters felt real and the plot was believable. Even the sex scenes were an integral part of the plot rather than side-explorations parallel to the plot. All in all, this book is tight and well put together.

This is the first piece of Cecilia Tan's writing that I have read and I am eager to seek out more of her work now. I give this book two thumbs up though it's hard to hold the book open with your thumb extended and Tan's book is so hot it takes both hands to read it.