Tortured" by Amanda McIntyre will stay with me for a long, long time. I couldn't have picked a better time than Memorial Day to read this book. "Tortured" is about loss of personal freedom, survival instinct, and the timeless hunger for omnipotence in those humans who live to dominate others. The story takes place in a time when Christianity, hedonism, and superstition were at war with each other, and mankind was the prize. However, it is also an unforgettable love story. Dryston is a wounded warrior whose gentle touch and loving passion bring back to life a young woman who willed so much of herself into submissive oblivion. It is the unconquerable spirit dwelling deep within Sierra which captivates her captive. All she loved was taken from her as a girl, as her mother was hung before her eyes and her young brother dragged away to be killed. Nothing was left for her to keep. Even her long hair was chopped off. She was forced to dress as a boy and become the apprentice to a master executioner. Together, Sierra and Dryston form a bold plan of escape, heading toward their predetermined fate. This is a vivid, well-told tale of the rawness and uncertain times of the Dark Ages. Would we have acted in the same manner as Sierra and Dryston and others around them? Amanda McIntyre places us right in the middle of the story line, making us see how human spirituality and physicality become twisted under ceaseless torment and cruelty. Although the setting of the story goes back in time more than fifteen hundred years, humans still act in much the same way. There will always be those who quest for dominance, but mercifully, there will always be love and lovers to offer hope for mankind.
Keep on reading and I'll keep on writing!
Amanda
