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Do you like sex? The future? Political shenanigans? Murder? Mayhem? Then you will enjoy Sixty Positions With Pleasure, by Sahlan Diver.
In the year 2050, twenty-something IT worker, Charlie Gibbs, has a problem – several problems, in fact. His boss has just been killed in mysterious circumstances. Replacement boss, fifty-year-old Dutch cougar, Ilse Teuling, is writing an inspirational sex guide for the mature woman and wants Charlie to help with “the practical work”. Populists have declared a coup; people are seeing visions; the clock is counting down to environmental disaster, and a murderer is on the loose, providing Charlie with the biggest problem of the lot – he’s the intended next victim and he doesn’t know why.
Can Charlie simultaneously solve crime, survive political chaos, rescue the environment, expose a hoaxer and foil a murderer, not forgetting to service the needs of Ilse? Can he keep all his balls juggling and still come out alive?
REVIEW: Sixty Positions With Pleasure by Sahlan Diver
Do you like sex? The future? Political shenanigans? Murder? Mayhem? Then you will enjoy Sixty Positions With Pleasure, by Sahlan Diver.
It’s an entertaining book set in 2050, and takes place in the Irish town of Kilgarney (think Killarney). It’s also the site of political wrangling and posturing on an epic scale. And it’s where the main character, Charlie Gibbs, works.
Charlie is hired to fix the computer system at Cunningham’s, a local engineering company which has recently been sold to a Dutch conglomerate. Happenstance has it that Charlie speaks fluent Dutch. It’s his multilingual abilities that draws him into the intrigue surrounding the sudden death of his new boss, Lucas Meyers. Lucas’s replacement is Ilse Teuling, whose poor English means she needs Charlie as her Dutch translator. But that’s not all, she needs Charlie for. She’s compiling a book about the sixty best sexual positions for the mature woman, and she persuades Charlie to be her partner for her book — you know, for research purposes (wink, wink).
Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding Lucas’s death expands, and more people appear, disappear, reappear, and die — drawing Charlie deeper into the puzzle. But, if murder is not enough, Kilgarney is also undergoing a sea-change in their government including a referendum vote that may change their position within the EU. And pandemonium breaks out at the town’s religious shrine after a vision of The Virgin Mary appears. There is a lot going on in this book.
I enjoyed the title’s sixty positions storyline — the way that Ilse and Charlie approach the task of exploring and recording the positions — it’s almost military with its regimentation of positioning, timing, and frequency. Ilse is in charge, and Charlie accommodates her whims; he takes one for the team, happily.
The political subplot is also very interesting in that it is a combination of cautionary tale — think fascism and religious fundamentalism, but led by incompetents — and satire, reflecting the political climate in many areas of the world today. Also, watch for some fun plays on names. As well, look for Congo, and see if it reminds you of any other company.
Because the book is set in the future, I had hoped to see more futuristic nuggets. Sure there were robots, but I had hoped that tech would play a more important role in the day-to-day lives of the characters.
All-in-all a fun book. There are a lot of sub-plots and story arcs, with characters popping in and out of the narrative. So, if you like an entertaining book that keeps you busy trying to figure out what happened and why, Sixty Positions With Pleasure is a book you should enjoy.
My name is Tess and I love to read. Writing reviews is a great way to let authors know how others feel about their work. Every author deserves a bit of feedback -- feedback that isn't mean-spirited or ego driven -- feedback that I'd like to get on my own work.
In the year 2050, twenty-something IT worker, Charlie Gibbs, has a problem – several problems, in fact. His boss has just been killed in mysterious circumstances. Replacement boss, fifty-year-old Dutch cougar, Ilse Teuling, is writing an inspirational sex guide for the mature woman and wants Charlie to help with “the practical work”. Populists have declared a coup; people are seeing visions; the clock is counting down to environmental disaster, and a murderer is on the loose, providing Charlie with the biggest problem of the lot – he’s the intended next victim and he doesn’t know why.
Can Charlie simultaneously solve crime, survive political chaos, rescue the environment, expose a hoaxer and foil a murderer, not forgetting to service the needs of Ilse? Can he keep all his balls juggling and still come out alive?
I remember the summer of 2050 as the summer of heat: the heat of the last of those final glorious Irish summers before world-wide panic set in; the heat of revolution as a town went out of control; the heat of religious fervour gone insane; and the heat of the chase in the affair of the mysterious death of Lucas Meyers. But, above all, I remember the heat of Ilse’s body, as together we explored those sixty ritual positions.
Educated at the University Of Birmingham, England, where I studied microbiology and philosophy. After variously working as a shadow theatre manager and jazz saxophonist, I taught myself computer programming, becoming a freelance consultant. Started writing stage plays in 2008 and novels in 2014. view profile
Published on January 19, 2022
90000 words
Contains mild explicit content ⚠️
Genre: Mystery & Crime
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