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Pandora
2nd Edition
Haunted by the screams of the men he murdered, ex-Marine medic Riff Khora is serving a life sentence on board a prison ship. Seeking more punishment for his crime, he strikes a deal with the corrupt Captain Vidal—an exchange of pleasure and pain—and forges a new life leading the team that surveys space wreckage for salvage.
Ship engineer Zed Jakobsen’s psychometric abilities make prison a sentence worse than death, and the barrage of emotional stimuli is an unending torment. His only regret is that he didn’t kill the monster who sent him to prison, and only a glimmer of hope to escape a judgment he doesn’t deserve keeps him clinging to a brutal existence.
When they board derelict ship Pandora and discover a lone survivor, the hell of prison life plunges into abject horror. An epidemic of violence and insanity consumes their ship, driving the crew to murder and destruction. Mutual need draws Riff and Zed together, and their bond gives them the strength to fight a reality they cannot trust. But Vidal possesses the only means of escape from the nightmare, and he’s not letting anyone leave alive.
First Edition published as Pandora in the Deep Into Aliens, Alphas and Antiheroes Anthology by Smashwords, 2015.
Haunted by the screams of the men he murdered, ex-Marine medic Riff Khora is serving a life sentence on board a prison ship. Seeking more punishment for his crime, he strikes a deal with the corrupt Captain Vidal—an exchange of pleasure and pain—and forges a new life leading the team that surveys space wreckage for salvage.
Ship engineer Zed Jakobsen’s psychometric abilities make prison a sentence worse than death, and the barrage of emotional stimuli is an unending torment. His only regret is that he didn’t kill the monster who sent him to prison, and only a glimmer of hope to escape a judgment he doesn’t deserve keeps him clinging to a brutal existence.
When they board derelict ship Pandora and discover a lone survivor, the hell of prison life plunges into abject horror. An epidemic of violence and insanity consumes their ship, driving the crew to murder and destruction. Mutual need draws Riff and Zed together, and their bond gives them the strength to fight a reality they cannot trust. But Vidal possesses the only means of escape from the nightmare, and he’s not letting anyone leave alive.
First Edition published as Pandora in the Deep Into Aliens, Alphas and Antiheroes Anthology by Smashwords, 2015.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2015
4 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Marguerite Labbe
39 books128 followersMarguerite has been accused of being eccentric and a shade neurotic, both of which she freely admits to, but her muse has OCD tendencies, so who can blame her? Her husband and son do an excellent job keeping her toeing the line, though. Together with her co-author Fae Sutherland, Marguerite has found a shared passion for beautiful men with smart mouths.
When she's not working hard on writing new material and editing completed work, she spends her time reading novels of all genres, enjoying role-playing games with her equally nutty friends, and trying to plot practical jokes against her son and husband. Her son is learning the tricks too quickly and likes to retaliate. You'd think she'd learn.
When she's not working hard on writing new material and editing completed work, she spends her time reading novels of all genres, enjoying role-playing games with her equally nutty friends, and trying to plot practical jokes against her son and husband. Her son is learning the tricks too quickly and likes to retaliate. You'd think she'd learn.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 25, 2017
4 Stars
Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*
Though I enjoyed this book and have nothing but good things to say about it, I want to start off by saying I kind of had the wrong idea about it from the blurb. I was expecting, and wanted, more horror and chaos and intensity. Instead things started off nice and creepy with a salvage mission on an eerily empty ship, a mysterious new passenger, and the horror that Riff woke up to, but then it became more about trying to find a way off the ship, the romance between Riff and Zed, and the inner struggles of the characters. So this was not a fast-paced, action-packed book but rather a slow-paced, character-focused one.
But, luckily, I just so happen to like character-focused books and romance and don't at all mind a slow pace when the characters are interesting enough to make it work---and these characters were.
Riff was such an intriguing character, maybe even more so when viewed through Zed's POV. He was super intelligent and confident and caring and a great leader, but he was also tormented and carried a lot of guilt and was sexually submissive (which probably seems weird to mention here, but it was a really big part of him). Zed was also a great character. He too had intelligence and compassion, but he was also exactly what Zed needed. Their relationship seemed like a really healthy, caring one, despite the kind of odd circumstances in which it came about.
Now let's talk about the sex scene because, see, I'm not a fan of most types of BDSM in books (the exception generally being scenes involving vampires/biting/blood). I can tolerate scenes with other types of BDSM, but I don't think I've ever actually found them sexy... until I read this book. Hot damn. One thing I really liked about it was that the characters' enjoyment of it wasn't all related to tragic backstories. I feel like most people's reasons for whatever sexual kinks they have is probably simply because they like it, not because of a tragic backstory or a psychological disorder or some deep, meaningful thing, yet I see that so often in books. But in this book, yeah, part of the reason Riff liked pain was because it distracted him from his regrets and guilt, but he also just liked pain and had even before the regrets. And he liked being able to let someone else take control for a while. Those were believable reasons. Same for Zed being dominant---he was new to it, but, once he tried it, he just liked it and it turned him on seeing how much Riff enjoyed it. And being able to experience the scene through both POVs, plus having Zed's psychic/empathic ability give further insight into what Riff was feeling, really helped me to understand why they both enjoyed it so much. It also helped that it wasn't too extreme, it was safe, the two men communicated, and Zed clearly cared about Riff and made sure to keep things healthy on an emotional level as well. Plus it was just a well-written, sexy scene. I didn't mean to write such a long paragraph about one single sex scene, but I'm telling you, this scene has been revolutionary to my opinion, and if all BDSM scenes were written like this, I would actually be a fan!
As for the plot, it was there, the characters had a goal, weird things happened, bad things happened, there was a bit of gore and violence, there were a lot of dead bodies, but, as I said, this book was character-focused, so there wasn't a ton of action or horror or science---just enough of each to keep things moving forward. I'm even kind of tempted to classify the book as sci-fi romance.
So this book didn't turn out to be what I was expecting from the blurb, but the characters were intriguing and likeable, the sex was hot, the exploration of BDSM was interesting, the romance was sweet and healthy, and overall the book was a great read! And even though it's my understanding that this was a standalone, I'd happily read more about Riff and Zed if the author ever decided to write about them again!
Recommended For:
M/M sci-fi and romance readers who like slow-paced, character-focused books.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*
Though I enjoyed this book and have nothing but good things to say about it, I want to start off by saying I kind of had the wrong idea about it from the blurb. I was expecting, and wanted, more horror and chaos and intensity. Instead things started off nice and creepy with a salvage mission on an eerily empty ship, a mysterious new passenger, and the horror that Riff woke up to, but then it became more about trying to find a way off the ship, the romance between Riff and Zed, and the inner struggles of the characters. So this was not a fast-paced, action-packed book but rather a slow-paced, character-focused one.
But, luckily, I just so happen to like character-focused books and romance and don't at all mind a slow pace when the characters are interesting enough to make it work---and these characters were.
Riff was such an intriguing character, maybe even more so when viewed through Zed's POV. He was super intelligent and confident and caring and a great leader, but he was also tormented and carried a lot of guilt and was sexually submissive (which probably seems weird to mention here, but it was a really big part of him). Zed was also a great character. He too had intelligence and compassion, but he was also exactly what Zed needed. Their relationship seemed like a really healthy, caring one, despite the kind of odd circumstances in which it came about.
Now let's talk about the sex scene because, see, I'm not a fan of most types of BDSM in books (the exception generally being scenes involving vampires/biting/blood). I can tolerate scenes with other types of BDSM, but I don't think I've ever actually found them sexy... until I read this book. Hot damn. One thing I really liked about it was that the characters' enjoyment of it wasn't all related to tragic backstories. I feel like most people's reasons for whatever sexual kinks they have is probably simply because they like it, not because of a tragic backstory or a psychological disorder or some deep, meaningful thing, yet I see that so often in books. But in this book, yeah, part of the reason Riff liked pain was because it distracted him from his regrets and guilt, but he also just liked pain and had even before the regrets. And he liked being able to let someone else take control for a while. Those were believable reasons. Same for Zed being dominant---he was new to it, but, once he tried it, he just liked it and it turned him on seeing how much Riff enjoyed it. And being able to experience the scene through both POVs, plus having Zed's psychic/empathic ability give further insight into what Riff was feeling, really helped me to understand why they both enjoyed it so much. It also helped that it wasn't too extreme, it was safe, the two men communicated, and Zed clearly cared about Riff and made sure to keep things healthy on an emotional level as well. Plus it was just a well-written, sexy scene. I didn't mean to write such a long paragraph about one single sex scene, but I'm telling you, this scene has been revolutionary to my opinion, and if all BDSM scenes were written like this, I would actually be a fan!
As for the plot, it was there, the characters had a goal, weird things happened, bad things happened, there was a bit of gore and violence, there were a lot of dead bodies, but, as I said, this book was character-focused, so there wasn't a ton of action or horror or science---just enough of each to keep things moving forward. I'm even kind of tempted to classify the book as sci-fi romance.
So this book didn't turn out to be what I was expecting from the blurb, but the characters were intriguing and likeable, the sex was hot, the exploration of BDSM was interesting, the romance was sweet and healthy, and overall the book was a great read! And even though it's my understanding that this was a standalone, I'd happily read more about Riff and Zed if the author ever decided to write about them again!
Recommended For:
M/M sci-fi and romance readers who like slow-paced, character-focused books.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
April 25, 2017
This was a very strange read. I normally enjoy all genres, including sci-fi. The premise is that there is a prison ship which is full of evil leaders. We meet Riff and his crew, and all of them have secrets. A lot of secrets. When Zed joins the team
The storyline was slow, very slow. So many random twists that it was difficult to follow, and to stay interested. With the alternating point of view I was often confused about whose mind we were in and how they related to the story. Mainly Zed and Riff, but even between them it became frustrating. Don’t get me started on the black outs and whatever was going on with Noyes, just so much crazy.
And all of the secrets. Good googly moogly! Even when most things come to light (and still so many questions remain) I was left scratching my head. The end was an odd wrap up of a kind of sort of HFN, with just enough of a resolution to end the book for me. I’d definitely give this author another try.
The storyline was slow, very slow. So many random twists that it was difficult to follow, and to stay interested. With the alternating point of view I was often confused about whose mind we were in and how they related to the story. Mainly Zed and Riff, but even between them it became frustrating. Don’t get me started on the black outs and whatever was going on with Noyes, just so much crazy.
And all of the secrets. Good googly moogly! Even when most things come to light (and still so many questions remain) I was left scratching my head. The end was an odd wrap up of a kind of sort of HFN, with just enough of a resolution to end the book for me. I’d definitely give this author another try.
May 18, 2019
4.3 Stars
This book was so much better than I though it was going to be, and is criminally underrated IMHO. If you like SciFi, psychological thriller/horror and a touch of BDSM then this is your book. I wish I could word better to describe what was so great but scroll up (or down) to Kaje Harper's review for some coherency and the one by Novel Approach perfectly sums up my experience as well.
(I came for the SciFi and fell in love with how Zed was able to re-frame Riff's need for pain during sex into something that wasn't all about punishment for perceived failures, but completely pleasure-based.)
This book was so much better than I though it was going to be, and is criminally underrated IMHO. If you like SciFi, psychological thriller/horror and a touch of BDSM then this is your book. I wish I could word better to describe what was so great but scroll up (or down) to Kaje Harper's review for some coherency and the one by Novel Approach perfectly sums up my experience as well.
(I came for the SciFi and fell in love with how Zed was able to re-frame Riff's need for pain during sex into something that wasn't all about punishment for perceived failures, but completely pleasure-based.)
September 4, 2017
3.5 stars
September 1, 2017
As the book opens, both our MCs are prisoners for life on a penal colony salvage ship. Riff has been onboard for a while - long enough to have lost friends to the casual sadism of the captain and crew. And long enough to have found, in the captain, Vidal, a Dom willing to hand out the level of pain and punishment Riff craves. It's a fine line Riff walks, offering submission grudgingly and as little as he can, to a man he dislikes and doesn't respect, but who is his only chance for the things he needs. As a side bonus, he's also given command of some of the off-ship salvage missions, moments of release from the prison of the ship, and the direct oversight of the captain.
On his next mission, he has to add a new member to his away team. Zed is a good engineer, but a divisive figure, because he's in prison for the rape and murder of his young niece. That doesn't sit well with Riff's team, and also doesn't fit the snatches of personality that Riff gets from Zed. But they don't have long to adjust together, because this salvage trip is a bad one. The floating hulk is the scene of unknown violence - blood and destruction, mindless wreckage, and one hibernation unit holding a sole survivor. And when Riff's team comes back to their own ship, violence and insanity follow them.
The character reveals for these guys are slow and intriguing. Both men have hidden nightmares, past pain, and secret desires. Riff's time as the captain's plaything both saved and damaged him. Zed has a psi talent that complicates his life. And as violence spills over onboard, allies and enemies are hard to tell apart.
The book was a little more violent, and oddly a little less angsty, than I anticipated from the set-up. Part of that lack of angst was a tendency to underplay the effects and duration of physical trauma. Part was a feeling that the men made odd choices at times, not fully driven by the logic of the situation, setting themselves up for danger. But some of that could be explained by the fact that, despite their sentences for murder, neither man really was a natural killer, and even in the midst of violence it doesn't come naturally to them.
I did enjoy watching Riff and Zed come together as Dom and sub, beginning a relationship different from what either had with anyone else. The plot has a complete arc with satisfactory closure. If you like sci fi, have a tolerance for violence and minor-character death, and like complicated men, consider picking this one up.
On his next mission, he has to add a new member to his away team. Zed is a good engineer, but a divisive figure, because he's in prison for the rape and murder of his young niece. That doesn't sit well with Riff's team, and also doesn't fit the snatches of personality that Riff gets from Zed. But they don't have long to adjust together, because this salvage trip is a bad one. The floating hulk is the scene of unknown violence - blood and destruction, mindless wreckage, and one hibernation unit holding a sole survivor. And when Riff's team comes back to their own ship, violence and insanity follow them.
The character reveals for these guys are slow and intriguing. Both men have hidden nightmares, past pain, and secret desires. Riff's time as the captain's plaything both saved and damaged him. Zed has a psi talent that complicates his life. And as violence spills over onboard, allies and enemies are hard to tell apart.
The book was a little more violent, and oddly a little less angsty, than I anticipated from the set-up. Part of that lack of angst was a tendency to underplay the effects and duration of physical trauma. Part was a feeling that the men made odd choices at times, not fully driven by the logic of the situation, setting themselves up for danger. But some of that could be explained by the fact that, despite their sentences for murder, neither man really was a natural killer, and even in the midst of violence it doesn't come naturally to them.
I did enjoy watching Riff and Zed come together as Dom and sub, beginning a relationship different from what either had with anyone else. The plot has a complete arc with satisfactory closure. If you like sci fi, have a tolerance for violence and minor-character death, and like complicated men, consider picking this one up.
October 9, 2017
This was excellent. A clever mix of horror/thriller, sci fi and a little BDSM thrown in for good measure.
Fascinating take on first contact as well. Aliens may not be friendly!
Well developed characters, all of whom are marred and nothing here is black and white.
Exceptionally done visuals albeit somewhat disquieting, and perhaps not for the feint at heart.
Author did an excellent job keeping me guessing on how they were going to get out of all the barriers set before I he characters.
Well done!
Fascinating take on first contact as well. Aliens may not be friendly!
Well developed characters, all of whom are marred and nothing here is black and white.
Exceptionally done visuals albeit somewhat disquieting, and perhaps not for the feint at heart.
Author did an excellent job keeping me guessing on how they were going to get out of all the barriers set before I he characters.
Well done!
November 18, 2021
This book gave me nightmares. However, it also blew my mind so I have to give props to the author.
This story is an odd mix of sci-fi horror, psychological thriller wrapped up in a bdsm-lite, m/m romance. It was a mind f*ckery that I wasn’t prepared for.
Imagine you’re in space, a prisoner sentenced to live on a penal colony ship. You are used for your expertise in excavating abandoned ships for extra cash. You can’t trust anyone. While working on the next excavation, you hear drums, you see blood all over the walls, but there are no bodies. Your fellow prisoners start to hear the drums too.
Somehow, during all the horror, there is a beautiful steamy scene of trust between two men. I don’t understand how someone could wander off to use the restroom, let alone have sex in a situation like this!!
There is a decent ending, but I wasn’t quite happy with how it all turned out. I can’t even look at the book cover, it gives me the creeps.
This story is an odd mix of sci-fi horror, psychological thriller wrapped up in a bdsm-lite, m/m romance. It was a mind f*ckery that I wasn’t prepared for.
Imagine you’re in space, a prisoner sentenced to live on a penal colony ship. You are used for your expertise in excavating abandoned ships for extra cash. You can’t trust anyone. While working on the next excavation, you hear drums, you see blood all over the walls, but there are no bodies. Your fellow prisoners start to hear the drums too.
Somehow, during all the horror, there is a beautiful steamy scene of trust between two men. I don’t understand how someone could wander off to use the restroom, let alone have sex in a situation like this!!
There is a decent ending, but I wasn’t quite happy with how it all turned out. I can’t even look at the book cover, it gives me the creeps.
May 17, 2017
I think my favorite genre in M/M literature has to be a good mystery, but a sure bet for the runner-up would be sci-fi. When I find a novel that combines these two, and does it well, I must admit I’m happy as a pig in… Well, I’m sure you get my drift. If that novel then goes a step further and has to its credit intriguing characters, a fully realized setting that is both futuristic and believable, and not one but two nasty baddies, then you not only have grabbed my attention but you’ve probably written the book I just read–Pandora by author Marguerite Labbe.
Set on a floating penal colony in space, we are introduced to what is effectively a chain gang crew whose existence aboard ship is brutal, repetitive and carries a life sentence. With a sadistic set of guards led by a repellent captain who gets off on inflicting both emotional and physical pain, the inmates on board do whatever they can to survive. Riff leads a motley gang who manages to beat both the monotony and the torture by being the captain’s chief reclamation crew. Their job is to board the abandoned ships that are discovered in deep space in order to claim whatever booty they can find. On one such mission they come back with more than they bargained for when they find a loan survivor in a cryotube aboard the ship Pandora, which appears to have been the site of an ungodly massacre. The violence and bloodshed they witness is tantamount to a nightmare–one from which they cannot awaken.
Unfortunately for Riff, the evil they have returned with is not the only one he has to contend with in his life. He has struck a deal with the devil. In exchange for a pain which releases both his inner demons and affords him sexual release, he has chained himself physically to the captain, who can only be described as something just short of Satan himself. But Riff’s new crewmember, Zed, is determined to change all of that. Now, if only he can convince Riff that pain doesn’t just have to be meted out in order to make one forget, but also shared to draw one closer to the person they love.
I will fully admit that this is perhaps the worst synopsis I have ever written of what is an absolutely incredible novel. I simply can’t tell you too much more because to do so might minimize the impact both the horror and the mystery involved in the story will have on you. I was, quite frankly, on the edge of my seat throughout most of this book. What stood out most prominently was the desperation both Riff and Zed felt when faced with a life lived on the hellhole the ship had become for them. You could literally feel their emotional turmoil and fear not only while they tried to survive the bloodbath that the final journey the ship took would become, but also when any memory of their past pushed past the walls they had erected mentally in order to remain sane.
These were men who didn’t deserve to be on this ship, even though they may have done the violence that would’ve most certainly earned them a place. But, like most personal stories, there were extenuating circumstances for both Riff and Zed. But life is not always fair and in this case, a deal that Riff entered into knowingly will come to haunt him and spill over onto Zed in the most horrid of ways
The BDSM scenes in this story are not always pretty, but even more disturbing is the emotional scars that have been left behind inside the psyche of both these men. My heart wept for them and their circumstances. I hated the captain and his crew for the pleasure they took in tormenting those they should have been watching over. This was, perhaps, one of the best psychological thrillers wrapped inside a sci-fi horror novel that I’ve ever read. Author Marguerite Labbe knows her characters and she creates them with such incredible detail that they come to life before your very eyes. You wait with bated breath and watch in horror as she turns every corner in the ship into a floating nightmare and sacrifices one character after another so that her heroes can remain standing in the end, or so we hope.
Pandora is a powerful novel, one with depth and unending action. Once again, Marguerite Labbe proves that she can write an intelligent, clever story that sticks with you well beyond the last page.
Reviewed by Sammy for The Novel Approach
Set on a floating penal colony in space, we are introduced to what is effectively a chain gang crew whose existence aboard ship is brutal, repetitive and carries a life sentence. With a sadistic set of guards led by a repellent captain who gets off on inflicting both emotional and physical pain, the inmates on board do whatever they can to survive. Riff leads a motley gang who manages to beat both the monotony and the torture by being the captain’s chief reclamation crew. Their job is to board the abandoned ships that are discovered in deep space in order to claim whatever booty they can find. On one such mission they come back with more than they bargained for when they find a loan survivor in a cryotube aboard the ship Pandora, which appears to have been the site of an ungodly massacre. The violence and bloodshed they witness is tantamount to a nightmare–one from which they cannot awaken.
Unfortunately for Riff, the evil they have returned with is not the only one he has to contend with in his life. He has struck a deal with the devil. In exchange for a pain which releases both his inner demons and affords him sexual release, he has chained himself physically to the captain, who can only be described as something just short of Satan himself. But Riff’s new crewmember, Zed, is determined to change all of that. Now, if only he can convince Riff that pain doesn’t just have to be meted out in order to make one forget, but also shared to draw one closer to the person they love.
I will fully admit that this is perhaps the worst synopsis I have ever written of what is an absolutely incredible novel. I simply can’t tell you too much more because to do so might minimize the impact both the horror and the mystery involved in the story will have on you. I was, quite frankly, on the edge of my seat throughout most of this book. What stood out most prominently was the desperation both Riff and Zed felt when faced with a life lived on the hellhole the ship had become for them. You could literally feel their emotional turmoil and fear not only while they tried to survive the bloodbath that the final journey the ship took would become, but also when any memory of their past pushed past the walls they had erected mentally in order to remain sane.
These were men who didn’t deserve to be on this ship, even though they may have done the violence that would’ve most certainly earned them a place. But, like most personal stories, there were extenuating circumstances for both Riff and Zed. But life is not always fair and in this case, a deal that Riff entered into knowingly will come to haunt him and spill over onto Zed in the most horrid of ways
The BDSM scenes in this story are not always pretty, but even more disturbing is the emotional scars that have been left behind inside the psyche of both these men. My heart wept for them and their circumstances. I hated the captain and his crew for the pleasure they took in tormenting those they should have been watching over. This was, perhaps, one of the best psychological thrillers wrapped inside a sci-fi horror novel that I’ve ever read. Author Marguerite Labbe knows her characters and she creates them with such incredible detail that they come to life before your very eyes. You wait with bated breath and watch in horror as she turns every corner in the ship into a floating nightmare and sacrifices one character after another so that her heroes can remain standing in the end, or so we hope.
Pandora is a powerful novel, one with depth and unending action. Once again, Marguerite Labbe proves that she can write an intelligent, clever story that sticks with you well beyond the last page.
Reviewed by Sammy for The Novel Approach
May 15, 2017
Full review is at :
OptimuMM - Home of MM Book Reviews
From the blurb, I was in awe with this book.
The book is a Sci-fi Romance. The plot it’s happening somewhere in the future on a prison ship.
The ship is under the command of Captain Vidal who, we learn that is a sadistic awful man. His kink is breaking down the lifers to the point of no return. Him being sadistic has nothing to do with the need of Riff to be dominated. But Riff is punishing himself…
The story starts with Zed being recruited on a salvage mission lead by Riff. Riff can deny his attraction to the shorter man. It seems he has a type, short and dominant. Riff being the toy of Vidal (which Riff has agreed too) he doesn’t experience the emotion part of being dominated. He doesn’t like to be humiliated neither, him having a leader character. But Vidal humiliates him constantly. Vidal is harsh and has no limits, although Riff asks for more pain for more suffering…
Zed having some psychic powers, he’s able to sense the real need in Riff. He never considered himself dominant, but something inside Riff makes him want to dominate this strong, compassionate man. Zed carves Riff total submission.
Then on the mission, they rescue someone…thump thump thump…they’re bringing him to the onboard…thump thump thump…then all hell breaks loose…
Riff wakes up tied to his bunker, and he hurts everywhere. He doesn’t know what really happened. But the carnage around him makes him sick. He fears for his team, so he goes to find them.
The story is angsty with some violence in it. Although I tagged it as BDSM we can’t call it an erotic read. I loved how genuine was the relationship between Zed and Riff was. The author described Riff’s need for pain very nicely. Reading the scenes you don’t get the feeling of punishment, you see how a Dom seeks out every desire of the Sub, putting his own aside. For me, this is how a real Dom/Sub relationship really is.
***The ARC was provided by DSP Publications. My review is an honest opinion of the book***
OptimuMM - Home of MM Book Reviews
From the blurb, I was in awe with this book.
The book is a Sci-fi Romance. The plot it’s happening somewhere in the future on a prison ship.
The ship is under the command of Captain Vidal who, we learn that is a sadistic awful man. His kink is breaking down the lifers to the point of no return. Him being sadistic has nothing to do with the need of Riff to be dominated. But Riff is punishing himself…
The story starts with Zed being recruited on a salvage mission lead by Riff. Riff can deny his attraction to the shorter man. It seems he has a type, short and dominant. Riff being the toy of Vidal (which Riff has agreed too) he doesn’t experience the emotion part of being dominated. He doesn’t like to be humiliated neither, him having a leader character. But Vidal humiliates him constantly. Vidal is harsh and has no limits, although Riff asks for more pain for more suffering…
Zed having some psychic powers, he’s able to sense the real need in Riff. He never considered himself dominant, but something inside Riff makes him want to dominate this strong, compassionate man. Zed carves Riff total submission.
Then on the mission, they rescue someone…thump thump thump…they’re bringing him to the onboard…thump thump thump…then all hell breaks loose…
Riff wakes up tied to his bunker, and he hurts everywhere. He doesn’t know what really happened. But the carnage around him makes him sick. He fears for his team, so he goes to find them.
The story is angsty with some violence in it. Although I tagged it as BDSM we can’t call it an erotic read. I loved how genuine was the relationship between Zed and Riff was. The author described Riff’s need for pain very nicely. Reading the scenes you don’t get the feeling of punishment, you see how a Dom seeks out every desire of the Sub, putting his own aside. For me, this is how a real Dom/Sub relationship really is.
***The ARC was provided by DSP Publications. My review is an honest opinion of the book***
May 4, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
First, before I say anything else, I will caution you that this is a violent book. Riff is a masochist and Vidal a sadist and the scenes between them are bloody and written in all their brutal glory. This is very much a book in the grimark style with gore, pain, death and a glimpse at the monsters people can make themselves into. But… it does have a happy ending. For all it’s darkness, this is a beautifully written book. The very first sentence drags you in to a world of science horror with a lyrical touch.
As a fan of science fiction and horror, this book hit all the right buttons for me. The wounded hero — wounded, but not broken — Riff is a brilliant leader, snarky and prickly and yet… confident, even arrogant. Yes, he made a deal with Vidal he regrets, but he feels no shame in it. Why should he? Why should he feel any shame in getting what he needs, in being who he is?
But it’s a sad, sick, and tangled relationship with Vidal. When the screaming is too much, when the pressure starts to break him, he turns to Vidal for the release of pain, of surrendering control. Vidal gives him that release, but the distaste of it, the lack of true emotional connection and the lack of humanity Riff needs only add to the unhappiness that causes him to brood back into the dark places of his mind… which lead him back to Vidal.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
First, before I say anything else, I will caution you that this is a violent book. Riff is a masochist and Vidal a sadist and the scenes between them are bloody and written in all their brutal glory. This is very much a book in the grimark style with gore, pain, death and a glimpse at the monsters people can make themselves into. But… it does have a happy ending. For all it’s darkness, this is a beautifully written book. The very first sentence drags you in to a world of science horror with a lyrical touch.
As a fan of science fiction and horror, this book hit all the right buttons for me. The wounded hero — wounded, but not broken — Riff is a brilliant leader, snarky and prickly and yet… confident, even arrogant. Yes, he made a deal with Vidal he regrets, but he feels no shame in it. Why should he? Why should he feel any shame in getting what he needs, in being who he is?
But it’s a sad, sick, and tangled relationship with Vidal. When the screaming is too much, when the pressure starts to break him, he turns to Vidal for the release of pain, of surrendering control. Vidal gives him that release, but the distaste of it, the lack of true emotional connection and the lack of humanity Riff needs only add to the unhappiness that causes him to brood back into the dark places of his mind… which lead him back to Vidal.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
May 13, 2017
I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this story more than I expected to on this blurb, I was hoping the violence would be handled with tact but fearing an all-out bloodbath. Luckily the former was the case mainly we saw the after effects of the violence. I enjoyed reading about the characters, the two main character the main antagonist and the secondary characters were well fleshed out will tertiary character and below were 2-d but that was acceptable for me. Riff Khora is an ex-medic, who even though serving his sentence on a prison ship that is also a salvage ship, still thinks Like a medic while trying to keep doing the salvage missions. On a salvage mission a new engineer, Zed Jakobsen, join his team. Zeb also has psychometric abilities. They discover one "person" alive in a hibernation chamber. turn out this "person', Noyes is an alien that cause madness that creates extreme violence.
In this New mad ship somehow Zeb and Riff survive and return to lucidness and fall in love with each other. All while battling with the Captain of the prison ship for survival and the ability to take a scout ship away from the alien induced madness.
I enjoyed this story more than I expected to on this blurb, I was hoping the violence would be handled with tact but fearing an all-out bloodbath. Luckily the former was the case mainly we saw the after effects of the violence. I enjoyed reading about the characters, the two main character the main antagonist and the secondary characters were well fleshed out will tertiary character and below were 2-d but that was acceptable for me. Riff Khora is an ex-medic, who even though serving his sentence on a prison ship that is also a salvage ship, still thinks Like a medic while trying to keep doing the salvage missions. On a salvage mission a new engineer, Zed Jakobsen, join his team. Zeb also has psychometric abilities. They discover one "person" alive in a hibernation chamber. turn out this "person', Noyes is an alien that cause madness that creates extreme violence.
In this New mad ship somehow Zeb and Riff survive and return to lucidness and fall in love with each other. All while battling with the Captain of the prison ship for survival and the ability to take a scout ship away from the alien induced madness.
May 11, 2017
It was a book that I really enjoyed. I didn’t loved it as I tough I would, but there were a lot of things that I liked a lot about it.
The plot was really interesting, and it was one of the things I liked the most. It wasn’t predictable at all, it was great to keep guessing what would happen. It was really intriguing and, at moments, a little scary. It had a slow pace for most of it, but I think it help keeping the mystery. There was some parts at the end that I wasn’t too satisfied by them, mostly at the end, but in general it was really good.
The main characters were one of the things that didn’t allow me to love the book. It was very hard for me to connect any emotions with them. They have great stories and it was nice to see how they deal with their own demons, but on terms of emotions towards, not only the whole situation they were into, but also their relationship was very hard for me to believe them. There was something that I just wasn’t connecting with them, I just felt a little indifferent about them, not liked them but didn’t hate them either. It was different with the secondary characters, I got to care a lot about some of them. Captain Vidal did generate some emotions in me, not pleasant ones, but emotions nonetheless. There was a character that made the difference for me and kept me hook to the story, I’m not saying much about him because he isn’t mention by name on the book description, but he was my favorite. He was very intriguing, mysterious and a little bit scary too. The only issue about him is that I would love for him to have a bigger part, there was so much about him I would love to know.
It had some BDSM but I wasn’t too much convinced by it, the one playing the submissive part just didn’t seem one to me, there was something lacking in his attitude and I would prefer if that was omitted from the book. Is not lack of interest on BDSM, just the contraire, it didn’t meet my expectations.
Overall it was really a nice book, I liked it a lot. And I think any reader who enjoy reading Sci-Fi books can like it. The book cover (by the way, gorgeous) makes a fantastic job showing the general emotion the book has.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through the DBML program of the M/M Romance group
The plot was really interesting, and it was one of the things I liked the most. It wasn’t predictable at all, it was great to keep guessing what would happen. It was really intriguing and, at moments, a little scary. It had a slow pace for most of it, but I think it help keeping the mystery. There was some parts at the end that I wasn’t too satisfied by them, mostly at the end, but in general it was really good.
The main characters were one of the things that didn’t allow me to love the book. It was very hard for me to connect any emotions with them. They have great stories and it was nice to see how they deal with their own demons, but on terms of emotions towards, not only the whole situation they were into, but also their relationship was very hard for me to believe them. There was something that I just wasn’t connecting with them, I just felt a little indifferent about them, not liked them but didn’t hate them either. It was different with the secondary characters, I got to care a lot about some of them. Captain Vidal did generate some emotions in me, not pleasant ones, but emotions nonetheless. There was a character that made the difference for me and kept me hook to the story, I’m not saying much about him because he isn’t mention by name on the book description, but he was my favorite. He was very intriguing, mysterious and a little bit scary too. The only issue about him is that I would love for him to have a bigger part, there was so much about him I would love to know.
It had some BDSM but I wasn’t too much convinced by it, the one playing the submissive part just didn’t seem one to me, there was something lacking in his attitude and I would prefer if that was omitted from the book. Is not lack of interest on BDSM, just the contraire, it didn’t meet my expectations.
Overall it was really a nice book, I liked it a lot. And I think any reader who enjoy reading Sci-Fi books can like it. The book cover (by the way, gorgeous) makes a fantastic job showing the general emotion the book has.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through the DBML program of the M/M Romance group
December 4, 2017
2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Pandora Marguerite Labbe
1) It became quickly apparent that this story would be a blending of genres, and often times that is a tricky adventure. However, Labbe mastered incorporating elements of Horror, Thriller, and Sci-Fi into one story. The romantic subplot even had a little BDSM woven into it, but the sex never felt gratuitous or unnecessary. The characters were all morally gray, which I totally appreciated given the setting of a space prison. The ship was dark, filled with shadows and had me turning the pages as quickly as I could get through them. Even the depiction of the alien - however superficial - felt like its description was purposely left ambiguous so that the reader created more of a monster than what the author described on the page. Well done!
1) It became quickly apparent that this story would be a blending of genres, and often times that is a tricky adventure. However, Labbe mastered incorporating elements of Horror, Thriller, and Sci-Fi into one story. The romantic subplot even had a little BDSM woven into it, but the sex never felt gratuitous or unnecessary. The characters were all morally gray, which I totally appreciated given the setting of a space prison. The ship was dark, filled with shadows and had me turning the pages as quickly as I could get through them. Even the depiction of the alien - however superficial - felt like its description was purposely left ambiguous so that the reader created more of a monster than what the author described on the page. Well done!
July 3, 2017
** 3.5 Stars **
June 5, 2017
A very creepy, mind warping, and nightmarish read that I found quite enjoyable.
June 9, 2017
Wow, strange and horrifying. In a good way. The book read like a sci-fi horror movie. I was impressed. Close quarters. Alien presence. Death (vicious, violent, brutal death) all around. And in between Riff and Zeb building a relationship and trying to survive. If you like sci-fi and horror, this book is for you.
November 30, 2022
2022 re-read:
I forgot to mark this one as finished, whoops. Adjusted the reading dates.
Upped the rating to 4 stars on this one. Still very captivating and well-written. The author doesn’t overindulge in their writing style, and the words used paint a powerful picture.
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3.5 stars. A captivating story with intense, emotional scenes that sucked me right in. I felt like it was a bit rushed in the final few chapters, but this was an overall decent read.
I forgot to mark this one as finished, whoops. Adjusted the reading dates.
Upped the rating to 4 stars on this one. Still very captivating and well-written. The author doesn’t overindulge in their writing style, and the words used paint a powerful picture.
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3.5 stars. A captivating story with intense, emotional scenes that sucked me right in. I felt like it was a bit rushed in the final few chapters, but this was an overall decent read.
April 27, 2017
(Originally reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews. Rated 4.5 out of 5.0 Love Bytes.)
I’m not usually a fan of the type of sci-fi where things are jumping out and the characters are living on the edge, trapped in a tin can far from any planet or other hope of escape. That said, this one worked for me. Ms. Labbe has done a fantastic job of leading the story along with just the right amount of suspense, mixing it in with a growing relationship between two very different, and very broken men.
Riff was a complex character. Ms. Labbe wrote him as a man trying to atone for his sins. He feels he needs pain to make the screaming in his head stop. He is a ‘lifer’, a prisoner sold to the Captain of the ship he is serving on, and there is no hope for a parole… ever. He has let himself be used sexually by the evil ship’s Captain in a twisted BDSM arrangement which the Captain sometimes allows the video screen to broadcast. The entire crew knows he is the Captain’s toy and they treat him with contempt. But he also works behind the scenes to help with the lives of the other ‘lifers’ on board, and because of his ‘relationship’ with the Captain, he is in charge of a salvage team.
Zed recently arrived on the ship. He was sentenced to life on trumped up charges, but is protecting someone, so can’t fight the punishment. When Riff’s salvage crew is down a member, and they encounter a derelict ship named Pandora, Zed is recruited to join the team.
Things go very badly, very fast. I really enjoyed how Ms. Labbe kept us guessing what was going on, while dropping hints as she went along. This was one of those books that kept you cheering on the heroes, right up until the end. As the body count climbs, no one is safe. Who will make it to the end of the story… if anyone?
There is some relatively light BDSM in the story, and quite a lot of violence, some of it a little graphic, but not so far over the top that it should put anyone off. It isn’t a sticky sweet romance, although there is a romantic element that develops. I highly recommend the book for anyone who is a sci-fi fan, and likes their reads on a slightly darker and more suspenseful side.
I’m not usually a fan of the type of sci-fi where things are jumping out and the characters are living on the edge, trapped in a tin can far from any planet or other hope of escape. That said, this one worked for me. Ms. Labbe has done a fantastic job of leading the story along with just the right amount of suspense, mixing it in with a growing relationship between two very different, and very broken men.
Riff was a complex character. Ms. Labbe wrote him as a man trying to atone for his sins. He feels he needs pain to make the screaming in his head stop. He is a ‘lifer’, a prisoner sold to the Captain of the ship he is serving on, and there is no hope for a parole… ever. He has let himself be used sexually by the evil ship’s Captain in a twisted BDSM arrangement which the Captain sometimes allows the video screen to broadcast. The entire crew knows he is the Captain’s toy and they treat him with contempt. But he also works behind the scenes to help with the lives of the other ‘lifers’ on board, and because of his ‘relationship’ with the Captain, he is in charge of a salvage team.
Zed recently arrived on the ship. He was sentenced to life on trumped up charges, but is protecting someone, so can’t fight the punishment. When Riff’s salvage crew is down a member, and they encounter a derelict ship named Pandora, Zed is recruited to join the team.
Things go very badly, very fast. I really enjoyed how Ms. Labbe kept us guessing what was going on, while dropping hints as she went along. This was one of those books that kept you cheering on the heroes, right up until the end. As the body count climbs, no one is safe. Who will make it to the end of the story… if anyone?
There is some relatively light BDSM in the story, and quite a lot of violence, some of it a little graphic, but not so far over the top that it should put anyone off. It isn’t a sticky sweet romance, although there is a romantic element that develops. I highly recommend the book for anyone who is a sci-fi fan, and likes their reads on a slightly darker and more suspenseful side.
April 26, 2017
3.5/5 stars...
This was a.... different type of book than I usually read, but I was intrigued by the synopsis. The story starts out slow with lots of twists and turns that sometimes confused me. So, there's this seemingly abandoned ship, evil things afoot and two men, Riff and Zed, trying to navigate the chaos and horror while also dealing with their growing attraction to one another. Riff is smart and kind, but also a tortured, submissive soul. Zed is Compassionate and more dominate and as their mutual attraction grows, so does the danger they are in.
It's a bit syfy with suspense, intrigue and sadly, often confusion. I had to go back a few times a read a line or paragraph again to make sure I knew who's POV I was in at the time as the book is told through alternate POV. There is blood, death and violence littering many of the pages, but that was balanced with the relationship between Riff and Zed. I think my favorite part of this book was when these two came together physically. Riff needs to be submissive, needs someone else to be in charge in the bedroom which is the one place he is not. With Zed's psychic abilities he goes from an inexperienced dom to the man in charge quickly, using Riff's emotions and ques to please his lover. I'm not a huge BDSM fan but I really, really liked that aspect of this book because of the way it's conveyed and then acted out. It was one of the sexiest things I've ever read.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were a few hurdles, the story started out a bit slow, but once you figured out the setting and characters, it flowed better. There were times where I was confused as to which character I was reading, but not often enough to make me not want to continue reading. Honestly, I was intrigued by Riff and Zed and how they would move through the obstacles laid out before them in the story as well as their chemistry. I'd still recommend this read to fans of syfy, steaming hot romance, suspense, intrigue and a suspenseful story. I won't say full on horror, though there was some horror story here.
This was a.... different type of book than I usually read, but I was intrigued by the synopsis. The story starts out slow with lots of twists and turns that sometimes confused me. So, there's this seemingly abandoned ship, evil things afoot and two men, Riff and Zed, trying to navigate the chaos and horror while also dealing with their growing attraction to one another. Riff is smart and kind, but also a tortured, submissive soul. Zed is Compassionate and more dominate and as their mutual attraction grows, so does the danger they are in.
It's a bit syfy with suspense, intrigue and sadly, often confusion. I had to go back a few times a read a line or paragraph again to make sure I knew who's POV I was in at the time as the book is told through alternate POV. There is blood, death and violence littering many of the pages, but that was balanced with the relationship between Riff and Zed. I think my favorite part of this book was when these two came together physically. Riff needs to be submissive, needs someone else to be in charge in the bedroom which is the one place he is not. With Zed's psychic abilities he goes from an inexperienced dom to the man in charge quickly, using Riff's emotions and ques to please his lover. I'm not a huge BDSM fan but I really, really liked that aspect of this book because of the way it's conveyed and then acted out. It was one of the sexiest things I've ever read.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were a few hurdles, the story started out a bit slow, but once you figured out the setting and characters, it flowed better. There were times where I was confused as to which character I was reading, but not often enough to make me not want to continue reading. Honestly, I was intrigued by Riff and Zed and how they would move through the obstacles laid out before them in the story as well as their chemistry. I'd still recommend this read to fans of syfy, steaming hot romance, suspense, intrigue and a suspenseful story. I won't say full on horror, though there was some horror story here.
May 2, 2017
teaser
I must say I was pleasantly surprised to find myself totally captivated by my first sci-fi novel within only a few pages. Marguerite Labbe doesn’t make it difficult in Pandora with imagery so precise you can picture walking the decks of the prison ship yourself.
Labbe‘s feeling, descriptive words and attention to detail are so incredible you don’t even notice they’re there until your mind sighs. It’s crisp, clean, precise, vivid, filling every crevice of your mind as your read.
Readers are treated to non-stop, thrilling suspense throughout. And when Riff and Jakobsen finally succumb to desire it’s all systems go. It is fascinating watching two men determined to satisfy one another’s desires while trying to meet in the middle of pleasure and pain.
With talented writing like this I can’t wait to read more!
Read Full Review at Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter
http://bit.ly/2pBpI0c
I must say I was pleasantly surprised to find myself totally captivated by my first sci-fi novel within only a few pages. Marguerite Labbe doesn’t make it difficult in Pandora with imagery so precise you can picture walking the decks of the prison ship yourself.
Labbe‘s feeling, descriptive words and attention to detail are so incredible you don’t even notice they’re there until your mind sighs. It’s crisp, clean, precise, vivid, filling every crevice of your mind as your read.
Readers are treated to non-stop, thrilling suspense throughout. And when Riff and Jakobsen finally succumb to desire it’s all systems go. It is fascinating watching two men determined to satisfy one another’s desires while trying to meet in the middle of pleasure and pain.
With talented writing like this I can’t wait to read more!
Read Full Review at Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter
http://bit.ly/2pBpI0c
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