Review: PRISONCORP by Marlee Jane Ward

Publisher Seizure

Length 180 pages
Format paperback

Published 2019

Series Orphancorp #3
My Copy provided by the publisher

My Review

Disclaimer: Prisoncorp is the third and final book in the series which began with Orphancorp. Prior to reading Prisoncorp, I had not read the previous two books.

Prisoncorp reads remarkably well as a standalone (though some portions of the book would've certainly had a larger impact had I been familiar with the characters) drop kicking the reader into a harsh and unrelenting women's prison set sometime in the future.

The less than humane living conditions the inmates are subjected to is well articulated and makes you feel like you're there; scorched earth from the blazing outback sun, gritty and unwashed bodies bumping shoulders among one another, the smell of death and slow decay all around. The confines are as deadly as the inhabitants.

The plot centers around Mirii, a woman recently incarcerated in the harsh desert prison who is forced fight, scratch, and claw her way through the days in order to see another. When she finally finds comfort in the arms of her comrades, the tables turn with escape no longer just a fanciful idea.

There are some great scenes in this book; from Mirii's opening scene to the inevitable all out riot which leaves the pages blood stained and the characters scarred in more ways than one, to the emotionally deep connections the characters feel towards once another in the crammed comfort of their prison issued tents - all of it adds to the atmosphere packaged into this short novel.

Now to track down the previous books!