Jex Lane

Captive asks the question "What would BDSM look like to people that can heal in a matter of minutes from breaking every bone in their body?" It answers that question with a lot of fantastic fight scenes--or are they sex scenes? (Often, they're both). Lane melds the sex and violence of vampirism together in an enthralling way. The politics of the book's incubus court are complex and bitter. The supernatural war it presents between succubi and vampires feels truly massive in scale, and the battle choreography frequently surprised and delighted me with its inventiveness. It's a real pleasure to see the main character learn and grow within his powers.

Above all, the book has a distinctive cast, perfectly balancing the main character's relationship with his "master" against the relationships he's developing with other characters around him. The main character has been living in isolation for seven years of his life, having to kill people to survive, and when you consider the shit he goes through in this novel on top of all that, it makes sense that his approach to personal relationships is deeply strange. He's a messed up guy. He's doing his best. He's an absolute monster, and so is his lover. This book left me feeling like that there's something scandalous and perverted about love and friendship, and I'm absolutely obsessed with it.… (meer)