Reviewed by Elizabetta

TITLE: His Whipping Boy
AUTHOR: J.A. Jaken
PUBLISHER: Forbidden Fiction
LENGTH: 50 pages
BLURB: Cedric de Breos was an average son from an average farmer’s family before he was chosen—by royal decree—to befriend Alain Tomolia, the solemn and enigmatic crown prince of Dunn. As Cedric dutifully pursues their strange friendship, he begins to suspect that Alain is haunted by a dark secret, one which has its roots sunk deep in the crown prince’s past. Cedric’s situation is complicated by the gradual realization that his intended purpose is not only to serve as companion to the crown prince but also as his surrogate in the whipping yard, taking the punishment for Alain’s misdeeds. Will Cedric find a way to come to terms with the resentment, pity, curiosity, and reluctant attraction he feels toward the crown prince, or will he allow the circumstances around them to command their fate?

REVIEW:

This is an intriguing, very grown-up take on the Newbery medal-winning children’s story, The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman.

The constant here is the device of one young man taking the punishment for another’s misbehavior. But with a very different flavor…

“The cuffs felt butter-soft as they closed around his wrists, warmed by the sun, and he rested his forehead against the pole in front of him… the muscles of his back… twitching, anticipating the pain that was to come.”

“Thin, silver-hot slivers of pain were etched into his skin like meticulously scripted words in an alien language, ancient and unfathomable.”

Definitely not a humorous children’s story of running away in search of adventure, and moralizing lessons of friendship — this tale has a touch of the paranormal and a lovely dose of BDSM to set it firmly away from the kiddie shelf.

When Prince Alain tries to run away, it’s from something much darker and creepier than his stultifying existence and looking for adventure. When Cedric de Breos (love the name!), is bought as companion to the prince, he enters a life of subservience and isolation, and he suffers through the bound submission of his beatings for the prince’s sake.

“The cuts from last time had healed readily enough… instead the scarring the whippings left seemed to be mostly on the inside, imprinted deep with the memory of heat and dust and murmuring voices.”

With only each other’s company, the odd and lonely prince and the sensitive farm boy discover a different type of role-reversal than Fleishman’s lads. This one is wrapped up in sweetly unfolding sexual discovery, and a trade in pain for payback.

Why doesn’t Cedric hate Alain for his constant betrayals, the pain he inflicts by his misbehavior? Why does he always give in to Alain’s gifts of hand-fed treats after each whipping, forgiving him again and again? These moments between the two are intimate and heavy with latent sensuality.

“… but he caught a whiff of something hot and spicy and Alain was holding a flaking pastry to his lips. Cedric opened his mouth and ate it in one bite, tasting meat and spices, and then Alain’s mouth was touching his, tongue licking across his lips to clear away the crumbs and sticky juices there.”

The writing wonderfully sets up a sense of place and mystery, with a thread of melancholy and oppression running through…

“The castle rose like a hulking behemoth behind the boys, its various wings stretched out insect-like through the darkness, wrapping them in… shadow.”

A whole world built in just fifty pages. The cherry on top is the author’s wicked way with BDSM scenes (also see the House of Silence series). She incorporates it here, cleverly twisting a silly children’s tale about poor against rich into a different take on power dynamics. The ending alludes to possibilities for the two young men, so has the flavor of happy-for-now. I did wish for a little more delving into Cedric’s acquiescence and Alain’s manic bouts, did wish this were longer for the study of them.

But maybe this is just greediness, I did enjoy this so very much.

Elizabetta rates it – 

BUY LINKS: Forbidden Fiction

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Elizabetta is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.

To read all her reviews, click the link: ELIZABETTA’S REVIEWS
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