Review: Fascinating story once it gets going, but it's certainly not for everyone
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 10, 2012
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 7/10PROS:- Lane has a knack for establishing setting with just a few well-placed adjectives and descriptive nouns. His writing is clear and precise.- The fantasy aspects of this story interested me. Granted, I'm mostly unaccustomed to reading stories of this sort, but Lane describes his world in a way that makes it seem quite intriguing: "Mages are men and women of the half-world, all cobweb and shadow..."- The author does a good job of establishing Tam's submissive craving for ruthless Dominance. The rougher Lucan is, the more Tam wants him. (see cons below also)- Many of Tam's comments are funny in a sad sort of way. When describing a mean horse, for example, he muses about whether she likes the smell of blood or "wishes she were carnivorous."CONS:- I understand Lucan's rough treatment of Tam, but I do wish Lucan weren't quite so careless and dismissive of his slave emotionally. Some of Tam's thoughts are rather sad: "I would have liked to matter--to either of them, really--just a little more than the furniture, but there's no point dreaming. Free men and women value slaves only for their usefulness."- Some of the treatment that the slave characters endure is incredibly cruel by most modern standards. For instance: "We were fed by the house just once a day, and by evening we'd do anything for a titbit tossed to the floor." I can read about cruel treatment of slaves fairly easily when I know they've CHOSEN to be slaves, like in a BDSM story. In a situation like this, it's difficult for me to believe a person could enjoy service or submission when he has no hope of ever escaping his lot in life.Overall comments: If you're bothered by crude treatment of submissive characters, then you'd better pass on this one. Tam is a slave not just in the sexual sense: he eats scraps when his Master deigns to feed him, performs all manner of tasks that many people would consider degrading, and is then tossed aside as though he were a dirty rag. There is sex, and a bit of an emotional attachment is formed, but for some readers, it will be difficult to view this story as a romance. This is the first book I've read by this author, but I'll definitely seek out more. Even though there are aspects of this story that I didn't enjoy, I liked Lane's writing style very much.