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Cythera
Cythera is a sacred courtesan, one of the fabulous Adepts of Menaechmi, famed through the Nine Worlds for their opulent beauty and decadence. However, when a fragile peace treaty hangs in the balance, the power to stop an interstellar war suddenly rests with her — a mission for which she is unprepared and unqualified. If she is to save thousands of lives, Cythera must not only rely on her wits and sensuality, but on a man she never thought she’d see again who has haunted her dreams for seven years.
Athain Kinslayer is a captain in the Calpurnian navy, a star voyager who has given up on personal happiness in pursuit of his duty. His job is to stop a war. The last thing he expects is to have to rely on a sacred courtesan, a woman with whom he spent one unforgettable night seven years ago and has never been able to forget. Together they must undertake a dangerous journey, face unexpected enemies, and delve into the deep and sensual waters of the most hidden rites in order to save their worlds — and find each other.
Athain Kinslayer is a captain in the Calpurnian navy, a star voyager who has given up on personal happiness in pursuit of his duty. His job is to stop a war. The last thing he expects is to have to rely on a sacred courtesan, a woman with whom he spent one unforgettable night seven years ago and has never been able to forget. Together they must undertake a dangerous journey, face unexpected enemies, and delve into the deep and sensual waters of the most hidden rites in order to save their worlds — and find each other.
156 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 9, 2017
(copied from Amazon review)
My impression of this book from marketing was that it was going to be a sci-fi erotica. The author (in a blog entry) talked about exploring the "Aphrodite archetype" in a world where sexuality and sensuality are accepted, comfortable subjects. Much like the short-lived "Firefly" TV series, courtesans are high-status artists who are a little bit therapist, a little bit diplomat, and a lot sexual artist.
I like erotica quite a bit, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Cythera is more of a 1960s/70s-influenced sci-fi adventure: Cythera and a delegation of diplomats are escorting a young, naive treaty groom (Hereu) from a sex-segregated society to his wedding on another planet (Agni), in order to end the war with Agni. Lots of political factions from Agni don't like that, and are actively working to impede it, in both political maneuverings and space fights.
There's also a romantic subplot, between Cythera and a widowed starship pilot (Athain), intertwined with a lot of the erotica. The lovely (dare I say feminist?) romance of equals, well-established in their careers, for whom there's never any conflict between career and romance, also contributes to the classic sci-fi feel.
Things I loved: all the characters learn from each other--it's not just the Wise Courtesan teaching the naive virgin about sex. Cythera makes mistakes and has things to learn from Hereu as well. The world-building is impeccable and engaging, especially for such a short work. The behind-the-scenes looks we get at the work it takes Cythera's temple to build erotic fantasies makes the erotic scenes themselves sexier and more grounded in reality.
Things I hated: Well, I wished it was about three times longer, with more plot and room for character development and interaction. It *feels* like the novella it is, complete with pacing problems. Graham does well in building coherent narrative and character arcs out of a handful of events and interactions, and the slow, luxurious world of the temple courtesans contrasts well with the hurry-up-and-wait space travel. But I still felt like the plot and the characters could have used more space to expand and breathe on the page, even with a fast-paced plot that only covers the span of a few days.
Overall: if you like classic sci-fi adventures with female protagonists, this is a great choice, even if you're not the biggest fan of erotica. If you like erotica (especially featuring exhibitionism, some light S&M, and a little humiliation) with sci-fi plot, this is for you. If you like political sci-fi and world-building, this is for you. It's definitely already on my re-read list!
My impression of this book from marketing was that it was going to be a sci-fi erotica. The author (in a blog entry) talked about exploring the "Aphrodite archetype" in a world where sexuality and sensuality are accepted, comfortable subjects. Much like the short-lived "Firefly" TV series, courtesans are high-status artists who are a little bit therapist, a little bit diplomat, and a lot sexual artist.
I like erotica quite a bit, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Cythera is more of a 1960s/70s-influenced sci-fi adventure: Cythera and a delegation of diplomats are escorting a young, naive treaty groom (Hereu) from a sex-segregated society to his wedding on another planet (Agni), in order to end the war with Agni. Lots of political factions from Agni don't like that, and are actively working to impede it, in both political maneuverings and space fights.
There's also a romantic subplot, between Cythera and a widowed starship pilot (Athain), intertwined with a lot of the erotica. The lovely (dare I say feminist?) romance of equals, well-established in their careers, for whom there's never any conflict between career and romance, also contributes to the classic sci-fi feel.
Things I loved: all the characters learn from each other--it's not just the Wise Courtesan teaching the naive virgin about sex. Cythera makes mistakes and has things to learn from Hereu as well. The world-building is impeccable and engaging, especially for such a short work. The behind-the-scenes looks we get at the work it takes Cythera's temple to build erotic fantasies makes the erotic scenes themselves sexier and more grounded in reality.
Things I hated: Well, I wished it was about three times longer, with more plot and room for character development and interaction. It *feels* like the novella it is, complete with pacing problems. Graham does well in building coherent narrative and character arcs out of a handful of events and interactions, and the slow, luxurious world of the temple courtesans contrasts well with the hurry-up-and-wait space travel. But I still felt like the plot and the characters could have used more space to expand and breathe on the page, even with a fast-paced plot that only covers the span of a few days.
Overall: if you like classic sci-fi adventures with female protagonists, this is a great choice, even if you're not the biggest fan of erotica. If you like erotica (especially featuring exhibitionism, some light S&M, and a little humiliation) with sci-fi plot, this is for you. If you like political sci-fi and world-building, this is for you. It's definitely already on my re-read list!
Read
December 29, 2014Straight-up erotica, which I discovered *after* purchasing. Not very good erotica, either, though I read it all the way through to see if there was a half-way decent *story*. There wasn't, but there was one I found laughably bad enough that I'll try to share for possible entertainment value.
November 6, 2013
Cythera is a sexy and fun read to be sure, but what surprised me the most is how good-hearted all the characters are. I loved the escapist draw of the courtesan, the luxurious descriptions, the pleasure. I also loved the heroism, the nobility, and all the trappings that went along with it. The sex scenes are diverse enough to be interesting throughout. It's my first foray into Jo Graham's work, and I can't wait to read more.
August 23, 2018
I read Jo Graham's
Cythera
in about two days. It's a light and fluffy read about a highly professional sex worker in a culture that values sex work, and her very strange assignment to teach a young man from a very different, and far more repressive culture, how to comport himself with a woman before he's offered as the ritual groom to yet a third culture. His engagement is a matter of state, as he's descended from some ancient muckity-muck and so by marrying the descendent of another ancient muckity-muck he can bring about Peace in the Galaxy™.
None of that really matters; we're here to read about the sex, and the sex is pretty good. Cythera's shown in a few professional moments, then whisked away to her assignment with the ambassadorial crew aboard a military vessel delivering our poor young man to his doom. She flirts with the captain, and the boy, and just about anything that moves, and there are a number of lovely sex scenes that work.
Cythera has the basic preachiness of a sex-positive science fiction novel; I recognized it because the Gods Know I've written a crapton of it myself, but it wasn't too bad. There was just a lot of it, over different topics: consent, cultural expectations, kink, maturing, that sort of thing.
If there's one thing that bugged me about the book, it was the Used Furniture. Graham has one really good science-fictional idea, but she doesn't do much with it. Instead, she has a very boring setting, "The Nine Worlds," without any explanation for why humans haven't gone much beyond them; she has boring religions, "The Void," "The Lady," "The Lord of the Dance," that last being Cythera's and every time I read it, I had to giggle. The most egregious Used Furniture issue in the book, written wholly to artificially inflate the tension of one crisis, is that these massive interstellar battleships land, as if shuttlecraft weren't a thing. Modern warships don't bother with amphibious capabilities because it's expensive in terms of tonnage, cubage, and maintenance, and the power requirements are very different from turning the screws; when you move this idea into space, the tonnage, cubage, maintenance and fuel costs of climbing out of a human-friendly gravity well are brutal, and much better spent on missile batteries and defense mechanisms. Seriously, shuttlecraft are a thing.
In such a light book that's actually a minor quibble, but it's one that blew up my suspension of disbelief every time I read it. But it is a light, sexy romp, and it's fun, and it was over too soon.
None of that really matters; we're here to read about the sex, and the sex is pretty good. Cythera's shown in a few professional moments, then whisked away to her assignment with the ambassadorial crew aboard a military vessel delivering our poor young man to his doom. She flirts with the captain, and the boy, and just about anything that moves, and there are a number of lovely sex scenes that work.
Cythera has the basic preachiness of a sex-positive science fiction novel; I recognized it because the Gods Know I've written a crapton of it myself, but it wasn't too bad. There was just a lot of it, over different topics: consent, cultural expectations, kink, maturing, that sort of thing.
If there's one thing that bugged me about the book, it was the Used Furniture. Graham has one really good science-fictional idea, but she doesn't do much with it. Instead, she has a very boring setting, "The Nine Worlds," without any explanation for why humans haven't gone much beyond them; she has boring religions, "The Void," "The Lady," "The Lord of the Dance," that last being Cythera's and every time I read it, I had to giggle. The most egregious Used Furniture issue in the book, written wholly to artificially inflate the tension of one crisis, is that these massive interstellar battleships land, as if shuttlecraft weren't a thing. Modern warships don't bother with amphibious capabilities because it's expensive in terms of tonnage, cubage, and maintenance, and the power requirements are very different from turning the screws; when you move this idea into space, the tonnage, cubage, maintenance and fuel costs of climbing out of a human-friendly gravity well are brutal, and much better spent on missile batteries and defense mechanisms. Seriously, shuttlecraft are a thing.
In such a light book that's actually a minor quibble, but it's one that blew up my suspension of disbelief every time I read it. But it is a light, sexy romp, and it's fun, and it was over too soon.
October 24, 2018
This book's world building immersed me immediately! It was as carefully detailed as any David Weber/Honor Harrington universe story, or a Anne McCaffrey/Pern book. And the main character was instantly rendered complex and deep and just got deeper as she moves from her familiar life into the possible role of reluctant heroine. I was gripped from the opening page to the last. Finished it inside a week. Sexual behaviors and cultural mores are a huge part of the plot's many twists and turns, and a peace treaty hinges on Vythera finding a balance between differing cultural norms regarding sex. The moment she realizes, and makes everyone else realize, how that can be accomplished, is immensely satisfying.
June 27, 2018
3.5 Stars. SF erotica, reminded me a *lot* of Jacqueline Carey
July 26, 2018
This was an amazing mix of political intrigue, space travel and battle, sensuality, and relationship building. It was very well written, exceptionally well paced, and a true joy to read.
November 11, 2018
I only managed to get through the first chapter of this. The whole "prostitute but actually it's a high-class very artistic and respected profession" does not work for me.
July 3, 2016
I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi stories as I tend to find myself overwhelmed, if not a little lost, in the world building. However, a combination of the cover, title, and blurb drew me to this story. Am I glad it did. The author did a marvelous job of bringing the characters, spaceships, and planets to life. The vivid descriptions planted me smack bang in the middle of the story. I could feel the g-forces each time the crew had to buckle up for a ‘drop’.
The first chapter is about Cythera and Athain, and involves what I’d call a femdom scene. A bonus for me, but not what others might expect to find in this type of story. With that said, I was fascinated reading about the training and explanations of Adepts and Blossoms. I quote “It is a defect for an Adept to only respond to a narrow range of gender.”
Chapter two jumps ahead seven years and thus begins the journey of Cythera and her crew, her reuniting with Athain, and their pursuit to end a war. When they end up on an unknown planet, action and adventure ensues. Again I was riveted to the pages.
I don’t want to rehash the plot as I’m loathe to give away spoilers. I will say it held my attention from start to finish.
Even though I read this story to review for a same sex blog, I’m not sure what category it falls into. I don’t want to pigeon hole it as it would be a shame for readers who don’t like MM or FF not to take a chance because I label it as one or the other. This story is tagged as bisexual, and while there is a very brief FF scene and equally brief MM scene this story is very much a FM story. The erotic content is subtly inserted, no pun intended, and at no time overwhelmed the story for me.
I recommend ‘Cythera’ to readers who enjoy well crafted sci-fi stories, regardless of the characters’ genders.
Copy provided in exchange for an honest review
The first chapter is about Cythera and Athain, and involves what I’d call a femdom scene. A bonus for me, but not what others might expect to find in this type of story. With that said, I was fascinated reading about the training and explanations of Adepts and Blossoms. I quote “It is a defect for an Adept to only respond to a narrow range of gender.”
Chapter two jumps ahead seven years and thus begins the journey of Cythera and her crew, her reuniting with Athain, and their pursuit to end a war. When they end up on an unknown planet, action and adventure ensues. Again I was riveted to the pages.
I don’t want to rehash the plot as I’m loathe to give away spoilers. I will say it held my attention from start to finish.
Even though I read this story to review for a same sex blog, I’m not sure what category it falls into. I don’t want to pigeon hole it as it would be a shame for readers who don’t like MM or FF not to take a chance because I label it as one or the other. This story is tagged as bisexual, and while there is a very brief FF scene and equally brief MM scene this story is very much a FM story. The erotic content is subtly inserted, no pun intended, and at no time overwhelmed the story for me.
I recommend ‘Cythera’ to readers who enjoy well crafted sci-fi stories, regardless of the characters’ genders.
Copy provided in exchange for an honest review
March 5, 2014
If you like your science fiction erotic with a touch of bisexuality, you might enjoy Cythera. The sex scenes are a real turn-on, but the characters are not fully realized and the story is too predictable. The nonsexual parts of the story are relatively unimaginative. The grammar fails in places. The book is extremely sex-positive, but the scant bisexuality is subordinated to different-sex relationships, almost as a means to the end of achieving a mystical different-sex union. Cythera does get points for feminism and for focusing on male bisexuality, however, when the market might favor exploitative female-female sex for the male gaze. And again, good sex writing. Did I mention the sex? Sexy.
July 31, 2017
I just finished this book last night and quite enjoyed it. It's very different than what I usually read. I loved the peek we received into this world and hope we see others set in it. I liked how matter of fact people were about their sexuality for the most part -- and how it wasn't so easy to define either the main characters. I do believe I called it "Phedre in space" (i.e. Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series) -- not quite but very much the same lush quality to it.
April 20, 2016
I find myself thinking of it as Kushiel's Dart in space, although Cythera is very much her own character and not Phedre at all. Lovely look at various culture clashes and the role religion could play in the far future. And several very hot scenes that probably had the folks in the airport curiously watching me blush. I hope for a sequel/companion novel!
September 21, 2014
While I would have liked to see the bisexual aspects explored in more depth, there's no question this was a fantastic read. The world building, especially the creation of different cultures was handled nicely, and the character development was outstanding. The narrative itself could have benefited from a bit more detail in places, but I really did enjoy the story.
November 3, 2013
Cythera reminds me a lot of Inara and the Companions from Firefly crossed with Phedre from Kushiel's Dart. She is educated, sophisticated and acquits herself well in her mission.
As always, love Jo Graham's work.
As always, love Jo Graham's work.
December 6, 2015
2014 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
November 4, 2013
Quite porny, I actually wished for more plot. Still enjoyed it though.
February 1, 2016
One of the very best erotica I've ever read.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews