I agree with another review that this felt and read a bit like a torture fantasy. I did not quite like the premise of this one as I read more of it. DNF from me.

-- This review is several years past the release date due to the many issues of 2020, but a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of the book.

An interest take on a male version of A Handmaid’s Tale. The world building was difficult to get into at first. However a fun engaging read.

The Fortress by S.A. Jones was a conflicting book. Parts were very intriguing and parts were disjointed and sleepy. The premise is a dystopian world in which men can be sent or agree to go to female enclosed community called Vaik for a year. There they lose all free-will and must do as the women tell them (work, eat, sex, etc.). Jonathon agrees to go there after his wife finds out about his extramarital dalliances and tells him it is over unless he lives there a year. So much of the book deals with the day to day nonessential happenings of the Vaik and are simply dry and uninteresting. The last section of the book really picks up and you see some transformation and growth within Jonathon. There was a lot of potential for this book to be great but it fell short for me. Definitely a lot to think about and some interesting parts but overall it was lacking in depth and real character development for Jonathon and all of the female inhabitants of the Vaik.

The author built a wonderful science fiction world that was fun to explore alongside the characters.

I think it could have been a really interesting book, but I don't know that the idea of punishing all men with rape and sexual violence as a means to reform them is a message we want to have out in the universe.

The Fortress synopsis seemed very interesting to me. However, I don't thikn it fully encompassed what this book was about. This ended up being not what I expected at all and I did not finish it.

Book Review for The Fortress by S.A. Jones
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

The premise sounded interesting and the writing itself was ok. Maybe it’s because I am of a fan of dystopian fiction, but this book and the sexual violence was a turn-off.

I was expecting more of an epiphany from Jonathan when roles were reversed and while the concept of thinking men will change their ways of thinking and acting once they are put in positions where they are overpowered, this read like a torture fantasy.

This premise is deeply, deeply concerning. It's described as " and one of the first books I’ve encountered with truly autonomous female characters." by the author. The idea of the main character being called autonomous for promising to stay with her predator husband if he goes to "The Fortress" and gets raped for a year is disgusting. I was hoping there would be some sort of bigger message, but the ending felt totally wrong. I felt so sickened after finishing; it felt like I participated in something unforgivable just by reading.

The premise of this book was what drew me to it. It was an interesting story overall and felt atmospheric throughout. However, I’m not sure that I would recommend it. It was a quick read, but it hasn’t stuck with me.

The purpose of the arts - and here I would include literature - is to push the boundaries of our aesthetic senses. Jones has pushed the boundaries - too far. The Fortress was not worth the read.

The premise is that Jonathan is successful in the real world. He is married, expecting a baby and has a successful career. The problem is that he sexually abuses staff (”the poodles”) and cannot seem to stop. His wife has Jonathan go to the Fortress for one year for rehabilitation after which he should be cured of his peccadilloes.

There are a few pages at the beginning about Jonathan’s admission to the Fortress and a few pages at the end of his release. Otherwise, the book is about the Fortress - only inhabited by women and the book is full of sex. The book actually gets boring after a while and some might think it offensive.

The problem is the book drags. It is a sex act after sex act after sex act. Two points: (1) This is unnecessary as you can get the idea with fewer sex acts; and (2) This reminds me of the movie Eyes Wide Shut (screenplay written by Stanley Kubrik), which was also about sexual and moral discovery. And that is where the similarity ends. Kubrik knew how to balance sex acts with character and plot development, climax, and denouement. Jones should have watched Eyes Wide Shut before trying to write The Fortress. Eyes Wide Shut is art, in the true sense of my definition above.

My second point is that in creative writing programs we are also told to write what you know. If that is the case, I feel sorry for both men and women in Jones’ life. There is no doubt that Jonathan’s wife is treated disrespectfully and poorly, and that men in the Fortress are playthings or dominated by the women of the Vaik in the Fortress. On NetGalley, this book was listed as Sci-FI and Fantasy - at best I think this is a very dark fantasy. Is it Science Fiction because there is a society of women called the Vaik that we know little about? On Amazon, it is listed as either political fiction or women’s fantasy fiction. Still, a very dark fantasy. On Bookbub, I can’t find the book, which is the best classification yet.

My last point, also from creative writing classes, is to write to the reader. It follows then, that the best writers are also the best readers. I don’t know what Jones reads or how much, but The Fortress has all the trappings of being writing for the author as some sort of catharsis. Jones does not seem to have paid attention to the reader, or the reader’s needs (such as character and plot development), but has instead spewed out one perspective of an idea. Jones may have been treated wrong - in a terrible way - but the story has to be developed in a way that is accessible to the reader, not the writer.

Finally, having co-authored several books, I appreciate the difficulties and challenges, the ups and downs along the way, so I admire anyone who completes a project, and for this, I have to give Jones one star for trying. It is a wonderful gift to be able to tell dark stories, and Jones is just not yet there.

I want to thank the author, Erewhon books, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. I have voluntarily left this review.

I received a copy of this book from Erewhon Books through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The Fortress is an alternate world story about a man who has a successful job, coming from a good/money family, but after his wife discovered his multiple affairs, even though she is pregnant with their first child, she kicks him out of their home, wanting a divorce, but after the death of one of his business associates, she gives him a way to fix their marriage; he had to spend a year at the Fortress, a city on an island ran separate from the rest of the world by the Vaik, women.

Once living under the Vaik's rules, Jonathan cannot ask questions, hit anyone in anger, and he cannot refuse sex, thus making this book not suitable for readers under 18. There is mentions of rape, both women and children, along with what one would technically consider non-consensual sex.

The Fortress, by S.A. Jones, is an interesting story that explores right and wrong as seen through people's eyes and how different those views and opinions can be. It also touches on the topic of the questions, what is rape and what is consent and how those terms can have a broad definition, meaning different things to different people.

For me it was a slow read, not a whole lot of action, just Jonathan's daily activities at the Fortress, and his thoughts and of memories of his life, and how the rules of the Fortress went against his understanding of the rules. While it was a little interesting, I did have to force myself to sit down and read it.

The part of the story line that really got my attention was about the Vaik, who were they, their history, which sadly wasn't really explained, just touched upon, and how those in charge change the facts to suit their needs. I would like to see a book about the Vaik, their history and what really happened.

Overall, I wouldn't give this book too highly of a recommendation, the writing was really good, but the story was only ok, earning it 2 stars from me.

The Fortress was a very dystopian-type story, but the dystopian society exists behind the walls of The Fortress. Outside those walls, the world is very much like our world today. This book will piss people off and make others name it the best book of the year, which is why I loved it.

The Fortress is an enclosed community where the Vaik, a matriarchy society, live. Men from outside The Fortress can apply to live there temporarily for a variety of reasons. For men, the work consists of hard labor and being a sex slave. Jonathan has chosen to live there for one year to win his pregnant wife back after a ridiculous string of sexual encounters with office "poodles".

The entire story is told from Jonathon's perspective which was interesting, but also frustrating. We only learn what Jonathan learns, which leaves a lot of unanswered questions about the Vaik and their Fortress. We do, however, get a chance to see the experience through Jonathan's eyes. He's clearly a callous man, so he is hard to connect with, but that felt right for the story. I liked seeing glimpses of recovery within him, but also seeing his struggles throughout the process.

This story is fairly explicit. The sexual scenes are not long and drawn out, but there is use of explicit language for parts of the human body. Additionally, it does describe things being done between one, two, three, etc people. So, if that's not your thing, this book won't be for you, but if you can handle that, the story is really quite interesting!

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I thought it was an interesting idea with characters that elicited strong feelings from me. I would recommend this for readers that enjoy a dystopian-type story and are not deterred by sexual content.

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I enjoyed reading several aspects of this book! The pacing was wonderful, characters were well drawn, and the reading experience on the whole was delightful.

Interesting and well written story. S. A. Jones does a great job of showing the complete journey of Jonathon in The Vaik. I liked the characters and the alternate world building. I would definitely love to see the Vaik and its inhabitants revisited again at some point.

DNF

Ooof. I feel very bad for DNFing this but the amount of rape and violence so far made my stomach turn. I thought I could handle it and I was wrong. The ideas presented so far are very interesting so I'd encourage others to try this.

Definitely a challenging and gripping, often uncomfortable read. Reading right at start of physical, sexual invasion of protagonist Jonathan's body by groping hands made me squirm in imagining, myself a female, what that experience for a male might be like. Throughout those reimaginings from dominant male pov were enlightening if not pretty .. paedophilia was harder to accommodate, and I was lost th et re. Jonathan never really gets it about females but simply vis learning what it feels like to be dominated sexual being. It's about that and not about the female society's organisation etc .. so in that sense I'm not sure what I'm to take away except shared discomfort. I certainly wanted to know outcome! The fact that it's a tepid result in Jonathan's realisations etc is after all only realistic. An odd and unsettling novel ..

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for this eARC
I honestly am not sure what to make of this book. Initially I was drawn in but about halfway through I was not feeling the Authenticity of the main character Jonathon. He was there to learn, to grow and change his behaviour and expectations particularly towards women but I never truly felt that he was committed enough to make this changes. The only time I felt that he showed emotion and passion was towards the pedo and Uladia. The former was a hatred and disgust and the latter as a protector although I cringed at that part of the story where he still had a ‘duty’ to fulfil. .
It was an interesting read but not one that I would go back and read again

I could not read past the first chapter or so of this book because of the poor formatting of the egalley. There were sentences chopped off and parts missing it seems. I have a physical ARC and will definitely try reading that in the future, assuming it does not also have these errors.