Review: Upgraded by John Dylena

From Amazon: Cody's situation just went from bad to worse. The deadline to pay back the money he owed the mob was quickly approaching, and with a ways to go, he tried to close the gap by gambling and at the end of the night, he walked away with less then he started with.

With no money left, his only option was to hide. Instead of meeting with the mob, he chose to put on a dress, high heels and makeup, hoping that he could pull off hiding in plain sight.

But the mob's eyes are everywhere, and Cody's night out en femme is about to be cut short. 

Futuristic and suspenseful are the two words that would best describe this gender bending tale from John Dylena. When I first checked out the book I had no idea from the description that the book was set in the future, the year 2052 from how things are described in the book, but it was a fun discovery none the less.

Upgraded creates a fascinating future world where people can change their appearance at the drop of, well, a drop. Eye color, hair, makeup, it’s all easily interchangeable with products that transform the ordinary into things of beauty. It’s easily one of the most well written pieces of erotica I’ve read to date. The world is well crafted for being just under 10,000 words and I found myself thinking the book fit more with William Gibson’s Idoru than in the erotica genre.

That’s my only gripe with Upgraded. It reads like the beginnings of a phenomenal sci-fi novel rather than an erotica short. It walks a line between the two and there isn’t as much sexuality as erotica usually contains. Part of me felt the sex was an afterthought tacked on to the end of a fantastic piece of near future sci-fi. The crossdressing is well interwoven with the futuristic descriptions, but it feels more emotional than erotic.  It’s well written and an enjoyable read, but not as hot as I’ve come to expect from Dylena’s other work.

My Rating: ****/*****

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