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scrollsofdragons's review
3.0
Should have been a longer novella, just to draw things out to be a little more realistic and I would have enjoyed it more.
gabi90's review
4.0
Anton bought a man. A slave. Though he didn’t exactly treat Petre like one, despite the collar on his neck. They ate at the same table and Petre was somewhat comfortable. Well, it was certainly better then in a mine shackled to the rocks.
There was so much work to do on the land and around the little cottage. They needed to split the work, but Anton was reluctant to leave Petre alone, he didn’t trust the man at first, he thought Petre would run once he freed him.
It felt like in a way Anton was a slave too, he was tied to his land and bound by his memories. The two of them were drawn to each other, because they were both lonely, and they understood each other. In the end they reached a level of companionship and were trying to survive together.
Beautifully written short story, totally worth reading it.
xiaxia's review
5.0
First of all I want to thank my friends for recommending me this short story because I absolutely loved it.
How is it possible that a 28 pages short story could make me feel like I've read a full novel in the space of an hour?
Anton is an impoverished farmer visiting the market to buy an ox, but who instead returns home with a slave, intended to go to the rock mines and spend the last of his days there chained to a rock. It was a stupid decision because an ox would have helped him with the plow and live through the winter, but his heart was weak because the slave reminded him of his former lover. Now he has two mouths to feed and no ox to help him farm.
This is their story, how the master and the slave work together side by side to build a future. We are left with a HFN, but I couldn't have been happier with the ending.
Pick this up, it takes you less than an 1 hr to read it and it's beautiful. It's not your average master/slave story because Anton is very kind to Petre. I didn't even feel he truly saw him as a slave.
When an author conveys so much in less than 50 pages it's a 5 stars from me.
How is it possible that a 28 pages short story could make me feel like I've read a full novel in the space of an hour?
Anton is an impoverished farmer visiting the market to buy an ox, but who instead returns home with a slave, intended to go to the rock mines and spend the last of his days there chained to a rock. It was a stupid decision because an ox would have helped him with the plow and live through the winter, but his heart was weak because the slave reminded him of his former lover. Now he has two mouths to feed and no ox to help him farm.
This is their story, how the master and the slave work together side by side to build a future. We are left with a HFN, but I couldn't have been happier with the ending.
Pick this up, it takes you less than an 1 hr to read it and it's beautiful. It's not your average master/slave story because Anton is very kind to Petre. I didn't even feel he truly saw him as a slave.
When an author conveys so much in less than 50 pages it's a 5 stars from me.
hartd's review
4.0
This is a good short romance, sort of a slice of life set in a fantasy world. Both characters do a lot of introspection, but the writing is also fairly atmospheric. I really felt the bleakness of Anton's isolated farm and the difficulty of his life. His relationship with Petre is extremely understated, but I believe they'll have a happy future together. I'll definitely seek out more of this author's work.
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