DNF at 28%

It is really a shame that I had to DNF this book. It put into a reading slump so bad that for about 3 weeks I despised reading. And to accept this, that I despised reading, it is really hurting me. Though I have tried so hard to understand and to see past those dry words! Past those hurtful words! I expected to read about strong women showing men how to understand the gravity of some of their actions and helping them to see that there are better ways to be a man in a dystopian society.
And what do you think I got?! At least for those 28% that I managed to get through.
I got a bunch of women treating men like slaves. Allowing pedophiles near underaged girls. Sexually herasing and assaulting men, men who did these things before to come to their so called Fortress. And these women, they are supposed to "heal" or something like this those men with this kind of behavior, and in some cases, like with pedophiles, to turn them into nothing, whatever that sould mean.
Now, my question is, how can you say, or assume, or suppose, or whatever, that your women only society is helping with the misbehavior of men, when they do the exact same things that the men did outside their Fortress, but with a smile on their faces and with sensual voice and the kind of sayings "Oh, whatever you are called, sorry I ordered you to fuck me but I didn't noticed that your knees were on the bare ground."?! And then sassy giggling! How is this supposed to better the men's thinking and behavior? How is, stripping them of all they have, material and psychological, supposed to make them understand that women are not sexual slaves?!
How, in the Universe's name, save the world if you put a bomb in the middle of those who put one in your society first?!...
I just can't understand this book, or what is trying to say. It's a mean and sick book, presenting itself with a superior smirk...
EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED by this book!

Jonathan comes from a world where men feel entitled to take sexual advantage of the women who work for them, who they call "poodles", without consequences. Upon his wife's discovery of his behavior she requests he spend a year at "the fortress" as his penance. While at The Fortress he will be at the complete will of the Vaik there in all means of labor, physical and sexual so that he can become aware of "his self". It's a strange observation of the roles of predatory men in society, power in the hands of women and our true natures.
Do I believe that the behavior of a group of men can go completely unchecked? Possibly but not to the extent portrayed.
Do I believe a community of women can exist with men solely serving a function? Not really.
Do I believe after a year with these woman Jonathan becomes a better man and realizes his true self? Definitely no.
I appreciate the fantasy of the story but don't feel I gained any satisfaction in the outcome. I wanted Jonathan to suffer consequences for his choices, not be rewarded for taking what seems like a small step towards redemption

This book was listed in an article called “Five Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Ease Your April Isolation” and it is definitely captivating. It takes some of the tropes from early feminist sci-fi (women only or matriarchal) and pulls it into the near present, in an era of #metoo and consent. The central character has been sent to The Fortress after his wife catches him cheating, again, and must submit to whatever happens there. In his former life he was a high powered executive so it is quite the change. I read it in a day and was uncomfortable and delighted simultaneously.

The premise of this book had a lot of promise. I liked the upending of the "man stranded in an all-woman society where the women are desperate for him" scifi trope, but the fact that none of the women characters in this book have any real depth to them stands in contrast to the presumed message we're supposed to take away from the protagonist's journey. The world building of the Vaik society is done well, but the idea that it's just neighboring a society that's identical to our own real society is rather inexplicable.

A great premise muddled in execution. I guess because Jonathon is already basically a cad, a tiger can't completely change its stripes, but a total transformation would've felt forced as well. There were nuances that just couldn't be teased out properly. The tables have been turned on him, but the effects over time are nebulous, probably because certain experiences are hinted at it and glossed over (basically intimate interactions with the Vaik). I questioned how much of the "insignificance" his wife hoped he'd experience actually happened, like whether he would really feel it deep down. He has some clarities about self, yet he still referred to interns at his former job as "poodles" throughout his supposed transformation. The story of what brought him to the point of entering The Fortress weave in and out of his current time and experiences there, and at times the back and forth is a little confusing. Other than visiting a couple of parts of the inner city within the Fortress, we learn little about Vaik society beyond what is discussed during his experiences as a field hand and potential farm stud.

I rarely come across a book that I so disliked as much as I did The Fortress by Australian author S. A. Jones.

Set in the near future, the book is set in a world much like ours, class system, sexism, and all. Jonathan Bridge is a highly successful executive, happily married (he would say) who enjoys all the perks of success, including an endless flow of attractive interns. Jonathon's world exists alongside a vast, self-sustaining city-state called The Fortress where the indigenous inhabitants–the Vaik, a society run and populated exclusively by women–live in isolation.

After his pregnant wife discovers his history of sexual betrayals and the vicious sexual activity that goes on unchallenged in his company, Jonathon is given a choice - divorce or a year's exile to The Fortress where women rule and men are assigned to grueling hard labor, forbidden to ask questions, to raise their hand in anger, and to refuse sex (with women or men of any age).. These conditions have been created to help a man like Jonathon change, to learn how the other half lives to value women based on who they and not sexual objects, in exchange for a second chance with his wife when he returns home.

Intriguing? Yes. Successful? No. The book lacks a much needed sense of conclusion, After all the sexual encounters (in graphic and vivid details) throughout the book, Jonathon's transformation. seems like an afterthought. Hollow. Unsatisfying. I left the book feeling dirty. I wanted to wash my hands. Repeatedly. In a novel which decries the objectification of women, it does just that.

I received this title as an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

For fans of Atwood and Rand, this book provides a unique glimpse into a possible future where women rule at the fortress. The book takes place in the not so distant future, where traditional gender roles are apparently still a thing. With one exception: if you make questionable choices--such as cheating on your wife--you can choose to repent for your sin by going to live at the fortress. There women rule and men have no rights. To enter the fortress is to let go of everything that means anything to you. I enjoyed the premise of the book but elt the ending tied everything up a little too neatly.

The entire time I was reading this book, I kept thinking to myself, THIS is the kind of book that's going to immediately be put on reading lists for university classes all over the place. A high-powered misogynistic executive named Jonathon gets found out by his pregnant wife, who demands he spend a year in the matriarchal society The Fortress as a supplicant, or she will leave him.

I can see how this book would have made a lot of people, particularly men, uncomfortable. Jonathon is reminded constantly in The Fortress that, as a male supplicant, he has no autonomy over his own body and actions, and we are constantly reminded of how uncomfortable and powerless he is with windows into internal panic and fear. It crosses lines of consent and pushes boundaries. And all I could think to myself was that there have been so many books written about women being in this same position - at men's mercy, powerless, used for their bodies and minds and strength against their consent or under the guise of coerced consent - that people laud and scream about how the whole world has to read them and study them to understand. Why are we comfortable witnessing women's pain and discomfort, but not men's? Why are we more comfortable reading about Offred being raped in The Handmaid's Tale than we are reading about Jonathon being used in The Fortress?

I think this was an excellent book that will get people talking, and no matter what, it will get a reaction.

A fantastical new take on sci-fi dystopia! This novel was riveting and enjoyable and terrifying all at once.

Not exactly my cup of tea, but it was still an interesting story. The worldbuilding was lacking and the societal commentary on gender roles, sexuality, power, and rape left much to be destined but I saw what the author was trying to convey. However, that sex scene with an underage child wasn't necessary.

The Fortress - a closed society where the rules are made and enforced by women to make men obey without asking questions, raise their hand in anger or refuse sex.

Jonathan has agreed to be a supplicant for a year to save his marriage and be a good father to his unborn child. He will face many challenges - can he do it? It's worth reading to find out the answer.

I highly recommend The Fortress, by S.A. Jones.

This story has the possibility to provoke both interesting discussions and heated arguments. In other words, my favorite kind of read. The Fortress is the home of the Vaik, a civilization of women. The men in The Fortress consist of National Servicemen, residents (allowed to stay indefinitely), supplicants (temporary residents serving the Vaik), and isvestyii (the unredeemed/prisoners). Our main character, Jonathon Bridge chooses to spend a year at The Fortress as a supplicant, after his pregnant wife Adalia realizes his infidelity and maladroitness to the debasement of women in his workplace. Adalia says she will take Jonathon back after his supplicant year.

The Fortress is not a first-person tale, but it is told from Jonathon’s perspective. You will not learn the history of the Vaik or The Fortress in this book; however you should know not to expect that from the blurb. This is Jonathon’s story, and it’s a good one.

It’s hard to like Jonathon. He’s self-absorbed, philandering, and careless. He has no empathy and cannot see past his actions to their inevitable consequences. As such, he is a difficult narrator, but if you can stick with him, it’s worth it. It is mentioned that Jonathon needs to learn insignificance; I would add he also needs to learn humility.

The cultural norms of the Vaik are not the same as ours; this will be extremely difficult for readers who are inflexible regarding sexual consent. It is however, relevant to a big turning point of the story, as Jonathon has to recognize the difference between what is expected of him during his tenure, and what landed an isvestyii in The Fortress. Please note: parts of this book may make some readers uncomfortable, but the scenes are not explicit. Reading these passages rather than skipping them will give you Jonathon’s frame of mind and may help you understand better how he is processing what is going on. After all, it is his story and his interpretation that is important.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erewhon Books, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Fortress in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @ for this advanced reading copy. Unfortunately I am baffled by what I just read. The novel presents a world in which women run an alternate state called The Fortress. They have control over everything and are considered the superior sex. The only way men enter The Fortress is through if they have committed a crime so severe their punishment justifies something beyond our legal system or if they apply to be a supplicant (slave) for a year.

Enter Jonathan, a Wall Street business type who has lost touch with what’s important in his life. He cheats on his wife Adalia and gets caught soon after she reveals she’s pregnant. The only way Adalia will take him back is if he goes to The Fortress for a year and proves he’s learned the value of treating women properly and as equals.

I thought this concept had a lot of potential. Instead I had this screwed up look on my face the whole time because the author failed to make any meaningful commentary about the gender role reversal and dominance. There was mentions of pedophilia, sexual assault and gender violence. I wouldn’t recommend The Fortress as it failed me with unnecessary graphic sexual content and pointless social analysis.

This has an interesting concept and world building but there were too many holes in the logic and plot for me to truly enjoy it. Johnathan's banishment to the Fortress for his sexual transgression led to...more sex. There's a certain entertainment factor but this fell short for me because he wasn't a sympathetic character and because I wanted to understand the Valk. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fans of dystopian fiction might give it a try.

Jonathon is deeply in love with his wife. Truly, he thinks she's amazing and the best thing that ever happened to him. But that doesn't stop him from participating in what amounts to a rape culture in his high-powered corporate world. Did he himself ever actually rape one of the "poodles" (as female junior analysts are called) in his office? It doesn't seem so, but he certainly engaged in activity where "consent" was not exactly voluntarily given. And, as is pointed out to him, he doesn't do anything to stop other women from being raped either, even though he's fully aware of what's going on around him. When his wife finds out, she kicks him out and agrees to take him back only if he does a year as a supplicant at The Fortress, a nation-state ruled by the all-female Vaik.

The Vaik play by their own rules, the most important of which seems to be that the men who live with them can never say no, to any of them, about anything. Shockingly, Jonathon doesn't find it hard to "submit" to their will when they slip out of their diaphanous gowns, although he does struggle with the rule against asking any questions. Somehow, the rules, and the hard physical labor are supposed to reform him into being the kind of man who doesn't objectify every woman he sees. How that's supposed to happen when women are propositioning him regularly is unclear, but the system does make him submissive, even to the point of doing things that violate his own moral code, which may not be exactly what his wife had in mind.

Where this book really fails, though, is in helping the reader understand how these changes happen, or even how they're supposed to happen. Jonathon moves rocks to learn to control his emotions, yes, and is able to move rocks in his mind to simulate the control even when there are no actual rocks to hand, and he wears a technically advanced piece of clothing that fits him like a glove and, we are told repeatedly, leaves very little to the imagination. But the remainder of the Vaik's program is left to the reader's imagination. We are told that it works, not shown how it works, which makes the results not entirely believable.

I wish I could recommend this book. The premise is really interesting, which is why I read it in the first place. Unfortunately, the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Fortress in exchange for an honest review. The views presented herein are my own and may not reflect the opinions of the publisher, author, or distributor.

Boy. That was weird.

Usually I try to start my reviews a little more formally, but man. I’m still processing what I read.

Okay, here’s the thing. This is the time and the sociological climate in which to discuss consent, toxic masculinity, and the lack of power women have in a lot of fields (still) among many other things that, unfortunately, are not common sense yet--like how it’s definitely not okay to seduce interns/low-level employees with the promise of a promotion should they obey. But as much as this book said it discusses those things, I don’t think it did. Or, rather, it did on a very confused, contradictory plane.

The main character, Jonathan, has seduced many of the junior analysts in his office, despite having a pregnant wife, Adalia. She agrees not to divorce him if he willingly submits himself to a year of servitude in what’s called The Fortress. The Fortress is a (walled city? Isolated community?) walled isolated community run by a race consisting of only women, I’m pretty sure.

Do I sound confused? I am. Something that wasn’t given a heck of a lot of attention was the world building. I know a lot about Goosen’s Trial, and moving rocks, but not about where this race, The Vaik, came from, the language they speak, why they’re only women (I think), who/what the electii are, why the electii can choose their gender or no gender at all, why men from the outside are sent specifically to The Fortress after gross sexual misconduct, and why Vaik sexual practices are so...laissez faire, for lack of a better term.

Jonathan goes to The Fortress to develop as a person. Which doesn’t really happen. He starts to understand, a little, about the inappropriate pressure he put on the junior analysts to bow to his whims, but other than that, he just comes to realize that he misses his wife and wants to see his child. Okay. A trip to Alaska for a year could have solved that problem. Why The Fortress? Adalia flipped--and rightly so--when she discovered his office daliances, but going to a place where one of the rules is no one can refuse sex, that was okay with her? Maybe I’m not seeing the point. Maybe I’m not smart enough to “get it.” But in light of that, let’s analyze a few more cracks in the veneer that make this book more revenge porn (in the literal sense) and less a message we need to sit down and discuss.

The #MeToo movement highlights the abuses of men in power over the women who work with and for them. This book has been touted as something fans of The Handmaid’s Tale will love. I’m inclined to disagree, because this book feels more like a “how do you like it?” than an attempt at educating and sending a hard truth. If this was meant to educate men about the way women are subjugated to unwanted sexual advances, wouldn’t it make more sense to not set this in a place where men are essentially raped every day?

(Watch me drop the “r” word.)

Yes, the argument can be made that consent is given when the men sign their paperwork and crap at the door. Yes, it can be contrived that consent now means anytime a Vaik wants a man, she can have him because of that consent. But the men have no say now. If they’re too tired, if they want to say no, if they’re asked by an UNDERAGE VAIK GIRL to have sex, men can’t say no.

This is rape. Between two married people, making your spouse have sex with you is rape. In a romantic relationship, it’s rape. Making someone have sex with you is rape. Period.

After this revelation, I’m dropping my initial two stars to one. Because it’s not a message. It’s revenge. And revenge doesn’t educate or reform. Revenge harms, and nothing else.

Sorry, S.A. Jones. You won’t change my mind.

When I started reading this book I thought it was challenging, but that it would likely pay off in the end. Honestly, by the time I finished this novel I realized that the discomfort I slogged through because of the subject matter didn't offer any reward.

The main character, Jonathon Bridge, is an irredeemable chauvinist who agrees to enter The Fortress to redeem himself to his pregnant wife after his true view of women and his complacency in their abuse is brought to light. The Fortress is a closed-off society of women who accept supplicants like Jonathon for the duration of a year during which time the men can ask no questions, must obey ever order of the Vaik (the women inhabitants of The Fortress), and under that last term they must also submit to any request for sex.

Probably the biggest theme in this work is consent and what it really means. If that strikes you as odd that a book about consent has the set-up that no men in The Fortress can refuse sex, then you're not alone. In his pre-Fortress life, Jonathon doesn't understand that the women in his corporate job sleep with him not because he is irresistible, but because the culture dictates that they must just to get ahead, making their "decision" to sleep with him an inauthentic choice. Likewise, while Jonathon "willingly" submitted to the laws of the Vaik he does so because it is the only way he can win back his wife and future child. That being said there is a LOT of non-consensual sex scenes once Jonathon enters the Fortress, and they all seem to be written as if the author expects them to be erotic for the reader instead of horrifying.

I had high hopes for this novel. I thought, "This will be satisfying, bad men getting a hyperbolic taste of what it is like to live as a woman in a patriarchal society." Instead, I felt that the novel itself was too much like its main character. While trying to be some kind of "great feminist read" it constantly used the pain and trauma of women to future the plot for the male character, Johnathon. In the course of the novel four different rapes are mentioned and all of them are simply plot points that either move Johnathon to action or show his apathy. All of the girls that are raped in the course of the story also die, either from rape related injuries or by their own hand. The book even goes so far as to almost praise the girls for "taking their bodies back" in this act of defiance. While I'm sure that many victims of sexual assault do feel this way, I think it is horribly irresponsible and dangerous to frame such a serious issue in such a positive light.

Three of the girls raped in the course of the novel are children, and the man who did it is the main antagonist to Jonathon. Near the end of the novel the author seems to want you to pity the child rapist who's deeds are described grotesquely earlier on the work. Not only that, but in another weirdly forced parallel of what consent really means, Johnathon later has sex with an underage Vaik girl because she tells him too. I guess because she is Vaik and raised in an entirely different society the audience is supposed to forget that this would still constitute statutory rape in the world outside of The Fortress.

My last major issue is the lackluster backstory of Daidd, Johanthon's only male friend inside of The Fortress. At the beginning of the novel we find that half of his face is badly deformed, likely burned, but we don't find out why until the end of the novel. It comes to us in a flashback. It's sloppy, it's poorly written, it's cliché, and honestly it doesn't fit the character of Daidd at all.

Like I said earlier, I was initially excited about this book, and I did read it considerably quickly for how little I actually enjoyed it in the end. After nearly 300 pages of discomfort with no satisfying pay-off though I just feel like I put myself through a lot of unpleasantness to see the main character "redeemed" in the end without actually learning anything or even really changing.

I'll be honest, I didn't finish this book. So I don't know whether I am qualified to review it. But, from the 50something pages I managed to slog through, here are my thoughts.
Firstly: I feel like there are a few chapters missing. We're plopped into the middle of the action with little exposition as Jonothan enters the Fortress. We only know from him why he is there, and it is only mentioned briefly in one sentence. That setting change could have been an introduction to a central tension in the story, but, instead, I just felt slightly disoriented.
Secondly: The writing. I can normally get through books. Giving up on them is not common for me. But every sentence of this felt painful to me. There's a phrase I learned my first week in writing workshop: "Show, don't tell." Every sentence of this felt like it was telling. Every piece of dialogue was thoroughly stilted and robotic. It made reading the novel very difficult.
Lastly: The setting. While the idea of male sexual slavery to maintain female autonomy may seem appealing from a very TERFy standpoint, the immediate heteronormativity of the novel presented itself within two chapters. Jonothan's questioning the gender of a nonbinary individual and being "bothered" by not being able to tell whether they were male or female irked me. Maybe I didn't get far enough, but this book read like a flat, straight man written from the perspective of a self-righteous woman who was sticking it to the proverbial man. Overall, not a huge fan. I tried, I really did. Sorry.

This is a difficult book to review. I think it's because we're so deep in the main character's mindset all the time. There's no block between us; we're feeling and seeing and experiencing everything he feels and sees and experiences. And he's not an especially nice person, so sometimes it's hard to be that deep in his mind.

I wondered for a while if they might be on another planet, or something. The backstory doesn't arrive until very late in the story, and it doesn't all make sense even when we get it. It's an odd thing.

There's also something I didn't understand, maybe I just missed something. This is a SPOILER, so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled on this minor issue.

The Vaik are all female. They depend on the men who come in as supplicants to continue their race. But men who choose to stay there forever - are castrated? Because suddenly they're not needed as sperm donors any more?

I may have missed something that explained this, and if I did, please let me know! I'd love to know what it was.

I'd love to know more about the civilisation, maybe in another book sometime. There's some unanswered questions, after all.

As far as I can tell - this could be quite wrong, because there's not much worldbuilding until quite late in the book - this is set in an alternate present, where the prospective invasions of America were repelled by the people who lived there, forcing an uneasy truce. I think. It's hard to say, exactly.

It's hard to judge the main character; he doesn't actively mean harm, but he manages to passively hurt a lot of people, and really his only redemning feature is that he loves his child. Also, a scene I can't really talk about because it's a spoiler, but it's a nighttime scene and Clare is involved.

I'm not unhappy I read it, and I think the concepts are really clever, but I won't be rushing to reread it. If there's another book in the series, I'd pick it up, because I'd like to know more about the backstory.