Tribute: The Complete Collection

This gripping omnibus of three novellas goes all-out with a grim and fascinating erotic science fiction premise. In “Sacrifice,” Anna Lee is a human from Earth who has been imprisoned on the distant planet Mitan. The planet’s native species, the Ungrich, are threatening to kick out or destroy the human colonists and can only be appeased by the annual gift of human specimens for their scientists to examine. Anna is chosen by the government for Tribute, an elite group trained to endure and survive the sexual and physical torture inflicted by the tentacular, mind-reading Ungrich. Rehz Akran is her trainer and comes to care for her more than he should. In “Retribution,” trainer Kai Mexr must send trainee Aled Price as a sacrifice to the Ungrich. Though Kai brutally puts Aled through his paces, he begins to develop feelings for his charge. As the series concludes with “Triumph,” the Ungrich decide to force Anna and Aled to mate in order to create another human with Earth genes. Pearce inventively develops an array of scenes in which sex is used as a tool to achieve both domination and pleasure, and she seriously portrays the aftermath of trauma and makes space for her damaged characters to reclaim their agency. The unique combination of genres creates a mesmerizing story complete with well-developed protagonists. Fans of no-holds-barred erotic portrayals of non- and quasi-consensual encounters will devour this steamy triptych. (Nov.)