(I received a free copy of this book from Patchwork Press, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
So… I was really intrigued by the premise of this book, even though – being a Christian – I felt somewhat guilty for being so.
I didn’t have much trouble thinking of this world as a completely different one, though. My suspension of disbelief worked well enough that I found myself quite entertained by this book… even though I do think that pretty much all of the characters came across as masochists.
There was a bit of plot in this book, but most of it was about the different characters sleeping together. (I was half-expecting there to be an orgy by the end). The book became a bit more tense by the end and I found myself avidly reading, waiting to see what would happen to the characters.
The way the different characters related to each other came across quite well. Although I did feel like I’d been thrown in at the deep end of the world, I was quickly able to understand more or less what was going on.
I do think a bit more background would have been good in this. I kept getting somewhat confused about some of the characters who had similar names. (Why is he now fighting for the bad guys…? Oh, wait…)
The ‘good guys’ had fairly interesting back stories, but I felt that only one of the bad guys had a back story that was expanded upon. I’ve mentioned before that my favourite types of bad guys are the ones who have good reasons for doing what they do. I… didn’t really see that here. The bad ones were definitely bad with little that was redeeming about them.
For the most part, the book was really well-written, but there were parts I actually cringed at reading. I understand the pleasure versus pain thing, but not so much the pure-pain angle. (That does link to an earlier comment).
I think I would read a sequel to this book, especially if the cliffhanger it was left on is dealt with. The concept of good and evil is reversed, though, so not everyone will enjoy this book.
Ink of Blood 