Somatesthesia by Ann Somerville

Title: Somatesthesia
Author: Ann Somerville
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Length: Novel / 180 pages
Buy the book: Publisher

Blurb:

Sensual overload can be a tactical disadvantage.

Devlin Grace’s experience with child exploitation cases lands him a new assignment with the Special Crimes Investigators unit of the Federal Justice Agency, plus a new partner who could make the job tougher than expected. Connor Hutchens possesses incredible, scientifically enhanced senses…and zero social skills. Word on the street is that his last partner left under a cloud—and it was Connor’s fault.

Connor blames himself for losing his previous partner, and wants to do right by his new one. But Devlin confuses and frustrates him, and he struggles to cope with Devlin’s swift intelligence, quirky humor and teasing sexuality.

With the dangerous, perplexing case facing them, there’s no one Devlin would rather have at his back than Connor. But the longer they work together, the higher the sexual tension rises—until attraction boils over and puts everything at risk. Their careers, the children they’re trying to save—and any chance of lasting love.

Review:

Somatesthesia has been previously published and I read a statement from the author that the book is essential the same as the previous edition. For those that didn’t get a chance to read this self published book, you’ll want to pick it up when it goes live at Samhain. This futuristic urban fantasy story hits all the right notes with some great characters, a wonderful setting, interesting plot, and happy ending. There are a few minor stumbles along the way with some odd phrasing and I didn’t particularly care for the ending, but for the most part Somatesthesia offers an absorbing, interesting read you won’t want to put down.

Set in the future, the world is not post-apocalyptic but the energy crisis and depletion of natural resources has made a significant impact on life. Almost nothing runs on gas and as such, few cars exist with the majority relying on public transportation. This futuristic world has a few pockets of farm communities that return to the basics of homemade self sufficiency while the major cities remain similar in many ways to current times. Among the changes is a new government agency that teams human investigators with enhanced individuals. These people, derogatorily called cyborgs, use mechanical enhancements to their senses –such as sight, smell, infrared capability, ultrasonic hearing, and so on – to overcome disabilities or simply increase their own abilities. The world building is incredibly complex, intricate, and fascinating. The subtle changes blend with a modern urban fantasy setting to give a recognizable future but one with conceivable and interesting changes. The rich use of detail is one of the best aspects of the book and the setting adds a layer of complexity that makes the story absorbing and hard to put down.

The plot is strongly character driven with a subplot of finding a murderer reeking havoc in Chicago. This subplot is well crafted with a good pace and solid action. There are no outrageous heroics or leaps in knowledge but the steady, interesting police work gives a framework for the two agents and their budding partnership. Both Connor and Devlin are well rounded, three dimensional characters with opposite but complimentary personalities. Devlin is young, good looking, and surprisingly mentally and emotionally stable despite a difficult childhood. His personality compliments the more rigid, socially inept Connor who is the mechanically enhanced part of the duo. For his part, Connor is abrupt and awkward due in equal parts to his isolated lab rat upbringing and his own difficult personality. His enhancements are an interesting, but very welcome to the story. They are used subtly, almost too subtly, which takes away some of their importance and the emotional impact on Connor. These changes are essential to Connor for many reasons but I wish their importance had been emphasized a little more; both because they are interesting and part of Connor’s complicated relationship with his father.

The relationship between Connor and Devlin is a nice progression as they start as co-workers, slowly becoming friends and more. The scenes with Devlin’s family on the farm are sweet and show another side to both men, keeping the pace of the story moving and adding a good contrast to the stressful police work. The two men are romantic while still keeping a masculine feel and only a handful of erotica scenes. There are several fade to black sex scenes which I appreciated as it kept the story moving without too much sex.

The story does stumble some at the ending which has to wrap up several loose ends. There is the murder case to resolve, the relationship to tie up, the issue with Connor and Devlin as partners and lovers, and Connor’s difficult relationship with his father. There aren’t too many threads but the ending does tie them all up realistically and neatly with a strong happy ending. Unfortunately I didn’t particularly like all the resolutions and this is difficult to say why without giving spoilers. Some of the emotional scenes between the two men didn’t make much sense in light of later actions and I just didn’t care for all of the solutions. However, this is a purely subjective response and even my mild dislike of the ending doesn’t hold up to the enjoyment of the story.

Overall Somatesthesia is a well written, interesting, and absorbing tale. The writing is crisp with a few awkward phrases and prose choices. Connor’s dialogue is intentionally stilted due to his personality but still some of the descriptions and dialogue in general are clunky. For the most part the engaging subject matter and well crafted story will draw you in immediately, keeping you hooked to the end. There is something really interesting about the urban fantasy settings Somerville offers and this story is no exception. If you’re looking for a solid, entertaining story definitely pick this up.