Hot Blue Aliens
by Ruby Dixon
Why delve into sci-fi romance? Because in a galaxy far, far away, men are built like sex toys.
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The Ice Planet Barbarian books are B-A-N-A-N-A-S. This series is my first foray into sci-fi romance, a new-to-me yet giant, thriving sub-genre. I almost never read high fantasy or sci-fi in my other life as Not-Max, but given the right recommendation, I’m game.
As I’m sure you do too, I have a number of sources for romance reads. One of mine is author Sierra Simone, who writes smoking hot, cerebral-yet-accessible stories that often grapple with faith, power, bondage, and control. Simone has some serious mastery with words, so I’ve been mining the recommendations on her website.
In the wide and crazy world of romance, there are so many flavors and subtypes it can be dizzying. In general, I like contemporary works with a high heat level and average to excellent character development. I will accept flatter, 2-D characters if enough pacing and plot are there to fill up all my the holes.
The latter are what the author of the Ice Planet Barbarian stories, Ruby Dixon, has nailed. Her characters are definitely far superior to cardboard, but sometimes minimally constructed. Although there are hilarious moments that made me laugh out loud.
(Insert your own joke about getting nailed here: _____.)
Photo by Fausto Marqués on Unsplash
These page turners are insane-in-the-membrane, although at times the character internal reflection sections run a tad long or cross over into the Kingdom of Repetition. There’s adequate world building, but there are gaps in it that make me chuckle, as in how does the lighting work in their extensive cave systems, why doesn’t their shit stink, and how, pray tell, without modern day dry cleaning do they get the cum out of all their furs? I have to wonder if that’s my impatience talking, or why skimming was invented? (Both!)
Today I finished up the sixth in the series. Spoiler: there’s a scene in which the male alien lead wears the heroine in a DIY baby Bjorn during an epic walking journey back to the home cave. This sex contraption/infant harness is convenient because they can fuck every 30 minutes or so while they get their steps in, and boy do they want to! Jeepers.
I lay awake wondering how they handle sanitation on their planet—dubbed Not-Hoth by the abducted Earthling women (by other aliens, to be clear)—but the baby-mamma carrier/sex sling, I get! Go figure.
The first couple of books captivated me most, and it’s been a bit of the old law of diminishing returns after that. And yet I keep. Coming. Back. These are crazy, fun fast reads. The first one is pretty dark, given the fact that all these gals are abducted by evil aliens, there is rape, and there is a sexual consent red flag right off the bat between the leading couple. However, if you can power through the dark stuff and accept the character and world development, these might be just the thing to churn your ebook pages into intergalactic dust.
Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash
Not the most hospitable of planets but these aliens definitely make their women see stars.
