Harry Redwine has been sent to cook the books of the Velvet Comet, an orbiting pleasure palace singled out for sabotage by an unnamed, power-hungry bureaucrat in the upper echelons of parent company Vainmill. Despite the science fiction backdrop, this is more of a thriller, full of complex power struggles and intrigue. I wasn't all that satisfied with the ending, but it's only the first in a series so I can't really complain too much. Not Resnick's best work, but still a decent read. ( )

The first of four books set aboard the Velvet Comet, a massive spaceship resort-brothel, Eros Ascending tells the story of financial saboteur Harry Redwine, sent to rig the Comet's books as part of a power struggle within the galaxy-spanning syndicate that owns it. Unsurprisingly, things don't go as planned; There are forces in play aboard the Comet that he doesn't suspect, and he hasn't planned on falling in love with the madam, whose nom-de-boudoir is The Leather Madonna.

Resnick is a seasoned pro who very rarely tells an uninteresting story. Much of the interest in this one comes from seeing the Comet through Redwine's eyes, as various employees explain the behind-the-scenes details of its operations. The corporate espionage story is competently handled, though not especially engaging, and the romance that blossoms between Harry and the Madonna feels more like a plot contrivance than a logical outgrowth of the two meeting and working in close proximity. The climax of the story, powerful and well handled, has (thanks to Resnick's skill as a writer) more of an impact than it probably deserves to.

All-in-all, this a solid but unremarkable piece of SF entertainment, elevated by its unique setting. The chance to revisit the Comet is, for me, more than enough reason to pick up the second book in the series.

This is an intriguing book. It is obviously one that you have to come to having set aside all politically correct sensibilities.

Resnick sets the story in the known galaxy’s most famous brothel, and surprisingly enough he more or less succeeds in making prostitution feel amoral. The sex trade here is just another business, into which workers enter informed and willingly, and in which the they enjoy fair pay, excellent benefits, training, employment rights, physical protection, effective screening from disease and abuse, etc. The book also offers a surprising ending that provides a completely unanticipated set up for sequels (and which left me at least moderately interested in moving on to book two of the series, which I wouldn’t have expected based on how I felt about the book 20 pages from the end).

Unfortunately, however, this is a book which has to live or die on the interest created in the two main characters, a saboteur accountant and the brothel’s madame, and their romantic relationship. And in this area Resnick falls rather flat. ( )