Title: Milord
Author: Dusk Peterson
Length: 10,000 words
Publisher: Love in Dark Settings Press
Genre: m/m historical fantasy D/s romance
Rating: B
Blurb:
He was the model prisoner, respectful to his guards and loyal to his fellow prisoners. What no one knew was that he held the key to destruction.
Having pledged himself to assist in a popular movement by prisoners and guards to reform Mercy Life Prison, Llewellyn fears the future, when it is likely that the reform movement will face stiffer opposition from Mercy’s Keeper. But Llewellyn’s fear of the future is overwhelmed by the present knowledge that he is not what he appears to be. Until now, he has managed to hide his secret and to sway his guards to follow his chosen path.
Now he has been placed under the power of a guard who cannot be swayed and who is intent on bringing Llewellyn under his control. Can Llewellyn escape from his new guard’s control? Will he really want to, once he has seen the door open to a world filled with true respect, loyalty, and love?
This novelette can be read on its own or as the third story in the “Mercy’s Prisoner” volume of Life Prison. Friendship, desire between men, and the costs of corruption and integrity are examined in this multicultural historical fantasy series, which is based on late Victorian prison life.
Review:
As it says in the blurb this story is part of a series of books set in a AU similar to that of a Victorian prison. It can be read as part of the whole story arc, or as a standalone and I found no trouble slipping into the world that the author has created.
As the story begins Llewellyn is in conversation with another prisoner. Both have been working towards a set of rules which prevents prisoners from being beaten for minor infractions. However, Llewellyn secretly craves the beatings and manipulates the guards to get what he wants, until he’s paired up with Milord, a guard with honour and a tight control on his emotions.
This story deals with the tricky subject of violent BDSM and I know it’s not a topic which appeals to everyone, even those who like their BDSM to be a bit dark. However, whilst this story gives us a glimpse of the minds of two men – one who is fighting a sadistic nature and one who desires to be beaten – the violence itself is only suggested to the reader, with most of the beatings themselves being behind closed doors. I thought this was an effective way of allowing the reader to see the feelings of the characters without having to read graphic accounts of beatings.
The AU world itself was very interesting. It’s a mix of historical and fantasy, with enough detail given in this short format to be able to understand what’s happening in this story but with other details that are only alluded to and which made me want to seek out other stories. The story ends with some things resolved and some threads which are left to be picked up in future stories, presumably.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. The author has rather a literary style of writing that appealed to me. If I have any niggles it’s that there was a long section where we are told the back story of one of the characters. Whilst this allowed us to get a lot of information in a short period of time, it did detract a little from the overall story. I would have liked to have seen more focus on the pair together, but maybe that’s just the romantic in me. If you like dark romance stories then this would be a good one to pick up.
