The Captive Prince, by CS Pacat

Obviously influenced by dark fantasy writers such as Anne Bishop, CS Pacat lacks her ability to create a fully formed alternate world. She fails to set the stage or build characters to care about before plunging into an orgy (literally) of violence that verges on torture porn. There is plenty of action but no-one to cheer for. The political intrigue is often nonsensical. The captive prince himself is not especially likeable or appealing, but most of the other characters are so revolting that he is all there is. Women are on the periphery, which at least means they are not the victims of the perverted violence for a change, but it leaves a picture of a society that is curiously unbalanced. There are a few female slaves and courtiers, with no real role in the story, but no princesses, queens, wives or female soldiers or powerbrokers of any kind. The geography is unimaginative; the character list is unnecessary; and a number of invented words are inserted into the narrative, to mysterious purpose. This is apparently the first book in a trilogy – don’t expect to read reviews of the next two on this blog.