American Casanova: The Erotic Adventures of the Legendary Lover

Celebrated sexual conquistador Giacomo Casanova dies peacefully in 1798, only to wake up in 21st-century Venice a virile young man again, with a mysterious invitation to an elegant, orgiastic masquerade. So begins this contemporary novel of Casanova, "directed" by Jakubowski, in which 16 erotica writers, including Sage Vivant and M. Christian, each contribute a chapter. In these writers' skillful hands, Casanova seduces a naïve barista who helps him navigate the modern world, becomes an expert in sadomasochism and falls hard for a stunning Amazonian woman named O. He travels across America, from slave auctions to cemeteries, drug dens to dungeons, in order to find O and wrest her from the clutches of the Power Company, an extensive network of leather-clad masters and slaves that may just control the world. Several contributors also write crime fiction, and their expertise shows in Casanova's hunt for the ultimate object of his lust. And of course, being Casanova, there are plenty of sexual conquests to detail along the way. While chapters vary in quality and content, there's much naughty, pulse-quickening satisfaction to be found. (June)