S.P.A.R.

It had been almost 100 years since the World Government ruled that children should be produced by S.P.A.R. – Sperm Pollination Alternative Resources. Rather than carry naturally fertilized children in their bodies, couples reproduce by purchasing the synthetic sperm of a spermdroid, and having it used to fertilize the synthetic egg of a uterdroid. Reola Clark was one of those to be produced by this artificial means, at least, that’s what she had been told. Her parents were Charlie One and Lydia Two, the top of the line droids in the reproduction business at that time. But on her thirtieth birthday, her lifelong friend Stuart Whitager gives her a small silver key – a key that will unlock the secrets of her origins. With these secrets comes a great responsibility; will Reola be equal to the challenge?

I found this to be an intriguing story with the traditional futuristic science fiction theme of what might happen if the human reproductive process is mechanized. I find that the amalgam of science fiction and romance is always much more believable when the sexual theme is a natural outgrowth of the plot. The author has come up with an original plotline which I will not reveal, except to say that this story has no slow spots in its seventy-two pages. The love scenes are mostly “off-stage” and referred to in memory by the characters, so the immediacy of graphic descriptions is muted; however, these man/woman love scenes are quite explicit and very torrid in nature. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and recommend it to readers of futuristic or science fiction romance.

Reviewed by: Jean