Title: Ein
Author: Sorcha Black
Publisher: Belfry Publishing (22 March 2014)
ASIN: B00J6S8YSW
Reviewer: Jane
Quiet.
That’s the word that springs to mind when I reflect upon Sorcha Black’s first solo novel, Ein. It seems like an unusual adjective to apply to an ‘erotic’ fantasy – I can’t recall a time I’ve ever thought of describing a story from this genre in such a way – but against all odds given the content (torture, sadomasochism, non-con), it just seems to fit. And this lack of literal ‘noise’ in Ein is in no way negative. Far from it. As a writer, it takes some serious, serious skill to wield a club weighed down with a heavy storyline and stop yourself from beating readers over the proverbial head with it.
If I’m going to read fantasy, I generally prefer the urban kind. It’s not that I have a rubbish imagination, rather that I tend to enjoy those books that have some sort of link to my own reality. There’s a level of grittiness to a novel that’s only a few steps removed from real life that I just don’t seem to be able to find in one that’s infested with plagues of elves and goblins. Creatures that breathe fire and have hairy feet don’t really get my engine going. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is about my limit.
So is Ein an urban fantasy, then? Well, no. Somehow, it manages to sit smack bang in the middle of an erotic fantasy no-man’s (or should I say ‘no dragon’s’) land. And that’s a place that I’ve not visited before. It’s as if Sorcha Black’s gone a hundred metres towards Graceling, hung a left up the hill towards Comfort Food, crossed the bridge towards Robin Hood’s house, and finally pitched the Ein tent on a patch of land about a mile down the road from all three. Perhaps the reason the story feels so relatable is the mediaeval undercurrent that seems to flow gently through the world that the author has created.
The mold-breaking doesn’t end there, either. Einan, our heroine (Ein for short) isn’t, despite the hellish ordeals she goes through, a damsel dishrag in need of rescuing.
Halle-bloody-lujah.
The girl has a backbone of pure steel and is able to compartmentalise the sacrifices she makes with her body for the sake of her children in a way that we rarely see. She loves her man (and her woman) fiercely but her relationships don’t define her personality or her well of inner strength. Even when they’re not there, she survives and endures.
The BDSM content is intriguing, to say the least. There are clear markers for the modern D/s lifestyle – such as Ein’s simple and beloved rope collar – however, as with her characterisation, Sorcha doesn’t go for the obvious. This is definitely not the standard male Dom, female sub story. I won’t say any more than that to avoid introducing spoilers but even if switching and F/F are not normally your bag Ein is still worth your time; the characters’ relationships are twined together so beautifully that I’m pretty certain you won’t find the time to get hung up on who is topping and who is bottoming.
The sharp-eyed amongst you may have noticed that I wrapped the word ‘erotic’ in the first paragraph in quotation marks. That’s not unintentional. Even though Ein does have erotic elements (capture fantasy, D/s, polyamory) I would tentatively suggest that if sits closer to the dragonless fantasy genre than traditional erotica. Why? Because the Gutrian/Cedesian tapestry into which Ein’s love stories are woven is just too colourful and rich to ignore and, to my mind, supersedes the sexual content.
A wonderful, albeit intense, read and the perfect book to drag me out of the erotic romance cookie cutter funk I’ve been drowning in lately.
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*Please note that a copy of Ein was provided free of charge by the author in exchange for a fair review.
