Title: A Mere Formality
Author: Ilona Andrews
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Science fiction
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ilona Andrews
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: He pushed past the Duke and drew her outside.

Warning: this story is one big dirty joke. There is no actual sex, but there is a lot discussion about it. It was written on a dare. Someone told us that we couldn’t write a short story around one particular phrase, and we did. So I recommend this for people 18+. Because you know, we wouldn’t want to corrupt your minors.

You know that a short story is going to be good when there is a smut warning at the very beginning. And when it’s going to be science fiction. And just generally when it is written by Ilona Andrews. Which this was amazing. And fun, and not at all what I would have expected from the title and cover of this short story.

A Mere Formality reminded me a little of the world building in Clean Sweep – the idea of universal and planetary politics playing against one another. And the idea that there are a multitude of groups who all have their own agendas, well, it’s familiar to us, but far more fun when the different parties have fur and weird, alien rituals.

Although there is a smut warning at the beginning of this, the smut is not what I was expecting. At all. And at first I was like, huh. But then I loved it. And laughed, and just had a great time enjoying this tale. Definitely worth going and reading it from Andrews’ website. Something I’m a little disappointed that it took me so long to get into such a tale.

<- Small Magics

Of Swine and Roses ->

Image source: Ilona Andrews