Customer Reviews

Prisoner of Conscience

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I don't usually like books that romanticize evil. I tolerate them only when they are extremely well written. This one is.

Matthews presents a disturbing universe and asks us to care about a character who engages in sadistic acts. For the most part, we do care about him. He is psychologically interesting and, evil as are his actions, he is so much better than most of the other evil people around him. At least he has standards and limits.

Among the most fascinating aspects of this series are the reactions of other people to the main character. Victims who forgive and even love their victimizers are nothing new. But Matthews helps us see the psychology behind it.

I look forward to other novels in this series.

What would you do if you had the power of life and death over people every day? What if you felt guilty because you loved having that power?

This is the dilemma that faces the protagonist in Susan Matthew's "Prisoner of Conscience". Set in a universe where independent planets face conquest and suppression by a theocratic government and punitive slavery is enforced by biomechanical devices, Ms. Matthews relies on interesting moral conflicts and well written characters rather than complex scientific gadgetry to tell her story.

Given the strong psychological suspense and not so subtle sexual undertones, this book seems more like a BDSM novel than straight science fiction. Either way, this book makes an engrossing read and I would recommend it quite strongly.

I think that previous reviewers have put their senses of outrage on overdrive: let's remember that Miss Matthews' world is a FANTASY one - there is no Judiciary - and where do the Germans come in to it??? "Prisoner of Conscience" is actually a very interesting insight into the nature of wickedness (the old "two sides to every person" story), and wouldn't work at all if the writer were not sympathetic to her man. It's a bit grisly in parts but basically a fab read. Susan R Matthews is a really refreshing new(ish) talent on the sci-fi scene - and, my goodness, wasn't it about time for one?

Aside from a few minor quibbles with language and a slightly bumpy beginning, Prisoner of Conscience is superb. The characters we met and came to love and fear in An Exchange of Hostages grow and become more real. The dark study of An Exchange of Hostages is continued.

In the Amazon.com interview with Susan R. Matthews the author says that one of her favorite writers/ writing models was Joseph Conrad. While the prose styling (thankfully) does not betray this model, the thematic development and structure do. In this book I felt once again as I felt when I read Heart of Darkness--a gathering of horror and of revelation, and a profound reflection of society's truisms and foibles.

If An Exchange of Hostages held up a mirror to each person, Prisoner of Conscience holds up a mirror to society and asks the same hard questions.

This book is serious science fiction by a writer who is obviously skilled in her art and gifted at handling serious thematic material. From the first sentence you are drawn into the narrative and into the gradually unfolding horror of genocide, hatred, and in some very real ways the interior workings of corporate America.

Throughout the work I was reminded of Hannah Arendt's observation of Adolf Eichmann--"The Banality of Evil."

This book and its predecessor are two of the must-read science fiction books not just of the year but, perhaps, of the decade.

The second book in the 3-part series, it fleshes out Kosciusko's character and clarifies his moral code and courage. The only thing I found unsatisfactory about this book is the. points. in. the. dialogue. where. Ms. Matthews interjects periods. It's a good technique when used sparingly, but this book has about 50 uses too many. Irritating.

Prisoner of Conscience is not a delightful book, yet it is a book that keeps you mesmerized and enthralled to the end. It is a profound and deeply disturbing story of a young man set upon a task that he can not enjoy, overcoming the obstacles to come to grips of what he is and what he must do and not lose his humanity in the process. Susan R. Matthews weaves a story that captures the imagination and doesn't allow you to put it down until it is over, makes you want more.

As a kid I read lots of SF. Now my read of choice is horror. I read this book based on reviews here at Amazon. I was not disappointed. The book is well written and quiet different from what SF I have read in the past. I'm not going to summarize the plot, in that it has already been well done previously on these pages. I would have liked more detailed descriptions of the main characters. There are many of them with names that are less than memorable and a mental picture would have helped. What about the fish and ocean metaphors in regards to sex? Am I missing the symbolism intended? Was Ms. Matthews being shy or am I just to used to Laymon and Ketchum? Enough of the questions. Prisoner of Conscience is an outstanding book by a gifted writer. Without graphic descriptions of the cruelty meted out by the captors and inquisitor I was left with my own thoughts about the horribleness of the Nurail imprisonment. This is a book for thinkers have no doubts about it. Not a monster(non hominid) around and it was still horrific.

Exchange of Hostages and Prisoner of Conscience are not for the faint of heart. They are dark disturbing books. Having said that - I must say, I could not put this book down. The characters and story line are original and fascinating. I certainly hope the third book in the series is planned and on the market soon.

I've read both of these books, and I want more, but I have a strong, strong warning: Don't try to read this late. You'll have nightmares. At least I did.

The subject matter is repulsive. Torture, mass murder (or attempted genocide), the slow destruction of a man and his honor. Ugh.

But I couldn't put it down, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I just can't drop it, or the images it leaves me with. Imagine the gulag and the worst of the Nazi extermination camps, combined. Imagine a man whose accomodation to the worst thing he can do is to flip some mental switch, and taps into that place of dark, bloody, unacceptable erotocism that (I suspect, anyway) most men have inside them.

He is mad. No one can accomodate the rigid code of Andrej's upbringing, the ethics of a healer, and the inappropriate enjoyment of his work without being quite, quite mad. But his honor remains, because he is mad, it becomes the one true thing left him. When he betrays it, by torturing one of his security, the backlash shakes him. It also makes it possible for him to see past his psychotic pleasure, to the fact that something is rotten.

I couldn't put it down. It gave me nightmares. I'll read the next one. Buy it, read it.

Imagine Serbs given free hand over Moslem prisoners in a Nazi-style work camp, and you'll have some kind of idea of how Pyana relate to the subjugated Nurail, and what kind of mess the protagonist Koscuisko has walked into as he takes up his duties as medical officer and Inquisitor at Domitt prison. For all that his duty requires that Andrej be a monster and a curse to the Nurail, his honor leads him to individual acts of compassion at considerable personal risk. It is interesting to watch the author lay down additional threads, begun in the first book and continued here, in what one suspects she will pull together and weave into the Koscuisko Legend. But seeing the threads does not mean we can guess the tapestry. The author works subtle surprises, like the element of mysticism in a book that would seem on its face to be brutally "hard" science fiction. Unlike all those books jamming the shelves where you know how it's going to end almost before you get started, and unlike all those authors content to give us the umpteenth re-working of the predictable same ol' same ol', Matthews keeps her story fresh and keeps us wondering where she is going. Prisoner of Conscience is a worthy successor to An Exchange of Hostages and I'm looking forward with much anticipation to the next installment. There is every reason to expect great things.