Pleasure Model, (Heavy Metal Pulp/Tor Books), by Christopher Rowley

“Pleasure Model”, by Christoper Rowley, is the first installment of “Netherworld”, a new pulp series co-published by Tor Books and Heavy Metal Magazine. Combining the fantastic imagery of Heavy Metal Magazine with the grittiness of Noir fiction, “Pleasure Model” is a great guilty read that melds the best of both worlds: fantastic art and exciting storytelling. If nothing else, “Pleasure Model” is tremendous, pulpy fun.

Rook Venner has just been handed the kind of case that ends careers...in messy, not-alive-any-more sorts of ways. An assassinated sadist who also happens to be former Covert Ops has been dropped into his lap. To make matters worse, Rook's boss has ordered him to play coy with the federal authorities on this one. Something stinks worse than a bloody dead sadist, and Rook wonders if that's his cooked career.

At first, all leads hit dead ends...until Rook discovers an unlikely “witness” locked in the basement: an illegal “bod-mod”, still fresh from the box. Gene-grown clones grown to perfection, bod-mods exist for one thing only: to satisfy their owners. Grasping at straws, Rook takes the mod – named Pleasur, of course – to the station as evidence, which draws the wrong kind of attention. Suddenly, everyone wants Rook dead and Pleasur terminated.

As more and more people die around them, Rook becomes convinced: the answers he seeks are locked deep inside Pleasur herself. His best chance? Get Pleasur an “update” to raise her intellect in hopes of helping her survive, as well as uncover the secrets buried inside her. However, updating a sex-slave to a higher state of awareness of herself and the depraved world she's been built to serve? The potential backfires are countless...and perhaps even fatal.

“Pleasure Model” evokes strains of “Blade Runner” with a terse, authentic Noir tone, mixed with the ethical ambiguities of a futuristic, amoral world and a cyberpunk sensibility. The story moves well and is told with a steady, authoritative hand, guaranteed to leave fans of both Noir and cyberpunk waiting for more.

Visit http://christopherrowley.net/. Buy it today.