![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weaselettOK, so I just read 'The Captive Prince' by C S Pacat - and that is one weird ass, slightly creepy book. Anyone who has not read it, trigger warnings for pedophilia, rape, sexual violence, violence and slavery.
I say that, but I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy, because I want answers.
It is not however an amazing, or brillant book. It lacks some of Fifty Shades' utterly terrible writing, but it's worse in the sense of lacking plot for the first half and the amount of almost casual sexual violence/references to sexual violence.
I read it because it gets mentioned so much, and people have raved and it's might be made into a film or something. It get touted as a really good m/m trilogy and for POC representation.
I knew there was some sexual violence, but yeah, wasn't expecting quite what it is. It also isn't a good m/m relationship (or any relationships in the first book) and the POC element is v awkward. And there are no women. And there's no mention of mothers, though they were apparently married to the main characters fathers.
I was a bit amused as it seems to be an attempt at Ancient Greece v Ancient Rome, if they'd been even more hardcore about slavery and sex. *face palms* You could do that, and it could be AMAZING, but this book seems to focused on the potential kinks of the reader to fully engage in the fantasy or cultural exploration.
I am curious as to what others think though, so if any of you have read it, let me know!
(And yeah, this post isn't crossposted to LJ)
I say that, but I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy, because I want answers.
It is not however an amazing, or brillant book. It lacks some of Fifty Shades' utterly terrible writing, but it's worse in the sense of lacking plot for the first half and the amount of almost casual sexual violence/references to sexual violence.
I read it because it gets mentioned so much, and people have raved and it's might be made into a film or something. It get touted as a really good m/m trilogy and for POC representation.
I knew there was some sexual violence, but yeah, wasn't expecting quite what it is. It also isn't a good m/m relationship (or any relationships in the first book) and the POC element is v awkward. And there are no women. And there's no mention of mothers, though they were apparently married to the main characters fathers.
I was a bit amused as it seems to be an attempt at Ancient Greece v Ancient Rome, if they'd been even more hardcore about slavery and sex. *face palms* You could do that, and it could be AMAZING, but this book seems to focused on the potential kinks of the reader to fully engage in the fantasy or cultural exploration.
I am curious as to what others think though, so if any of you have read it, let me know!
(And yeah, this post isn't crossposted to LJ)
no subject
Date: 2017-04-21 07:44 am (UTC)I think what you say about id is key, because it started out as a giant fanfic (I'm not sure what for) and I suppose it depends whether or not it's your id that's being catered to as to whether you love it or bounce right off it. I haven't read it and have no plans to, because it's never sounded like my thing, but I have a couple of (v nice!) flisters who read it from when it was on an LJ comm and it was a source of much happiness to them.
(I realise, not having read it, this isn't the most helpful comment, though.)
no subject
Date: 2017-04-21 05:40 pm (UTC)It isn't a terrible comment ;) - but yeah that's the impression I get (to be honest, I think as a fanfic, if I knew the characters, I would have been less bothered by some things? If that makes any sense.....) There's a lot of love or hate - and I kind of sit in the middle, I think if the other two books are more like the back half of the first book, I will enjoy them, 90% of the squick in the first half, it's like a survival test.