Amazing Stories featured a column by MD Jackson about Mechanical
Men and Women in science fiction. It's a fun snapshot of iconic
robot/android characters, plus other interesting facts involving sexy android
art. The post didn't cover the romance angle, but hey, that's where I come in!
I've blogged about this trope before, but the Amazing
Stories column inspired me to revisit it. Science fiction romance offers its fair
share of romances involving androids. It's a fascinating way to explore the
"Other," meaning that point in time when an android/robot becomes
capable of romantic love. Despite the relatively small number of stories
pairing humans and androids/robots, there's actually quite a bit of variety.
The stories range from sweet heat levels to erotic SFR. The
science fictional aspects are varied as well. Some stories, like Tanith Lee's
SILVER METAL LOVER (bittersweet ending alert!) focus on the
psychological/cultural/sociological themes, while others are hard SF in nature.
Catherine Asaro's books, such as THE PHOENIX CODE and ALPHA, incorporate the nitty gritty hardware involved. L.J. Garland's MECHMAN is all
about the action-adventure. I even wrote a couple of android romances myself:
THE WATCHMAKER'S LADY and HEROES ARE FOREVER. Both titles are squarely in
fantastical fantasy territory.
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