Genre: Sci-Fi, Erotica, Space Opera (Not Romance)
LGBTQ+ Category: Bi, Gay, Lesbian, Non-Binary, Poly
Reviewer: Lucy
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About The Book
Resistance and Reverence
Mourning the loss of their fallen, the Lady Cassandra and her slaves resume their armed resistance to the Predicantor’s system-wide crusade against freedom, sex, and all forms of pleasure.
The battle against the Righteous Order of Piety Purists spills out of the spaceport, engulfs the streets of Abhinav Lanka, and destroys a women’s medical clinic. More and more of the local residents rise up to join forces against the Pietists.
In the midst of the madness, the Lady Cassandra and her slaves—which include a smuggler, a former assassin, an ex-military sniper, and a one-time thief—receive a panicked call for aid from one of Spyder’s old nemeses.
A BDSM erotica space opera, Spyder’s Torment pairs dramatic adventures on worlds light years away in a far-distant future with the age-old battle between purity and pleasure—and those who use one as a weapon against the other.
The Review
Note: contains spoilers for Book 3.
In Spyder’s Trial, book 3 of the series, I fell a little bit in love with Lady Cassandra as she tried to deal with her own grief and insecurities while trying to do what was best for her slaves and her crew. In this installment, Spyder’s Torment, I may have fallen all the way in love with a fictional character.
Spyder’s Trial was traumatic. Spyder and his crew lost a valued member of their team, and Lady Cassandra lost a beloved slave. The story was, necessarily, less about the BDSM and the sexual aspects of the series, and way more about the effect that loss had on the group’s ability to keep fighting the hypocrites known as theRighteous Order of Piety Purists.
Spyder’s Torment takes us back to the raucous story found in the first two books. If you haven’t read any of them, now is the time to go get your copies of those stories. These are not standalone novels. You will be glad that you’re taking the time to start at the beginning, because you’ll want to have read all of the nuances gained in the first three books to truly appreciate this fourth installment.
This is BDSM space opera erotica, so of course there is sex. And it is delicious, explicit hotness. Not just are they sexually arousing erotic scenes, but they also help advance the story. There was so much pain and loss in the third book, there had to be joy and redemption in this one. Lady Cassandra needs to reconnect with her slaves, not just for them to show they are cared for, but for herself. She has to rejuvenate and refresh her energy, because she is still fighting against the stranglehold of the Purists.
There is a bit of simplicity to the way Spyder and his crew put things to rights, after the ROoPP have damaged the communities they have taken over. But, this story calls for heroism too. This book is about rebounding after loss and moving forward in healthy, productive ways, so, the losers of the battle have to pay. The storyline is well-constructed and compelling. This isn’t just porn with a flimsy excuse for a story camouflaged by good sex. It’s a great story with well-written sex scenes.
I read a lot of series. Once I’ve committed, I’m usually all-in until the last book. But, that sometimes means I end up disappointed as the series continues – very often, the plot falls apart. Korin I. Dushayl does not let this happen. From book to book, the characters of “The Lady & The Spyder” are consistent, the story is well-written, and it flows nicely along its arc.
Yes, this one is a five book commitment, but the fabulous sex scenes, fantastic story, and excellent writing make it well worth your time.
The Reviewer
I’m an avid reader who loves pretty much all genres except math textbooks. As a kid, my parents exposed me to everything from fairies, hobbits, and dragons to the biographies of interesting people around the world, interspersed with poetry, plays, and music. Into adulthood, I spent a lot of years with my nose buried in various textbooks. Now, I read whatever grabs my fancy.