They are imprisoned until death, and their lives cannot get worse . . . or so they think. But when an unlikely alliance forms against their captors, the reformers risk losing what little comforts they possess.

Life Prison, a historical fantasy series about male desire and determination in Victorian prisons.

This series is part of Dusk Peterson's High Bookshelf | More fiction by Dusk Peterson | About the author | Contact information | Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this site. Site content label (with minor spoilers).

¶ Store: Love in Dark Settings Omnibus (all of Dusk Peterson's online fiction, nonfiction, and fiction recommendations in one e-book).

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CONTENTS

Resources.

Mercy's Prisoner: Life Prison, Coded Messages, Milord, Foreign Language, Curious.

Hell's Messenger: Trial, Tour, Initiation.

RESOURCES

Turn-of-the-Century Toughs, a cycle of historical fantasy novels that includes Life Prison.

Bibliographies for this series:

The Boer War and Turn-of-the-Century Firearms.

Masculinity, Crime, and Everyday Life in Victorian and Edwardian Times.

Mercy's Prisoner

All of these men have found their appointed places at Mercy Life Prison, where it is easy to tell who your enemies are. But a new visitor to Mercy is about to challenge decades-old customs. Now these men's worst enemies may be hiding behind masks . . . and so may their closest allies.

Friendship, erotic desire between men, and the costs of corruption and integrity are examined in this multicultural historical fantasy series, which is based on late Victorian prison life.

¶ Novel | Genre tags (with minor spoilers) | Reviews.

E-BOOK EDITIONS

Life Prison (Kindle e-book).
Coded Messages (Kindle e-book).

Both stories included in Love in Dark Settings Omnibus (HTML e-book).

ONLINE EDITION

Each part of Mercy's Prisoner can be read on its own, as a stand-alone story.

Mercy's Prisoner 1: Life Prison. In the unmerciful world of Mercy Prison, there is no rule but unending pain. For Merrick, the arrival of his new guard provides hope that he may break beyond the boundaries of his life prison. But appearances can be deceptive, and Merrick does not yet recognize the danger this guard poses to his future.

("Mercy's Prisoner 1: Life Prison" originated as a shorter novella. The earlier version of "Life Prison" is still available.)

Mercy's Prisoner 2: Coded Messages. One of them rapes prisoners. The other wants to help prisoners. So why are they talking to each other?

Mercy's Prisoner 3: Milord.

Mercy's Prisoner 4: Foreign Language.

Mercy's Prisoner 5: Curious.

Mercy's Prisoner: Historical Note.

Mercy's Prisoner: Back Matter. Credits, publication history, etc.

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Hell's Messenger

It had seemed for a while that the plan would work: a bold conspiracy by a group of idealistic prisoners and sympathetic guards to stop abuse at Mercy Prison. Then betrayal occurs, and Tyrrell finds himself in a new life prison, with new rules to be learned. No longer is he in a position of leadership; now he is surrounded by men who question his most fundamental values.

He has new allies as well: fellow prisoners who like what they see in him, a healer who refuses to accept current conditions, and guards who may or may not provide the help that the prisoners desperately need. But Hell's messenger, Death, visits Compassion Prison, keeping his face hidden until it is almost too late for Tyrrell to recognize his touch.

¶ Novel | Genre tags (with minor spoilers) |  Reviews.

E-BOOK EDITION

Included in Love in Dark Settings Omnibus (HTML e-book).

ONLINE EDITION

Each part of Hell's Messenger can be read on its own, as a stand-alone story.

Hell's Messenger 1: Trial. For fifteen years, he has striven to better the lives of his fellow prisoners. Now he must start all over again.

Hell's Messenger 2: Tour (Chapters 1-4) and Hell's Messenger 2: Tour (Chapters 5-7). He has taken his first step to being accepted by the other prisoners. But what is the secret of the missing prisoners?

Hell's Messenger 3: Initiation.

Hell's Messenger: Historical Note.

Hell's Messenger: Back Matter. Credits, publication history, etc.

To receive notice of book publications and free online fiction, subscribe to one of Dusk Peterson's e-mail lists or blogs.

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This text, or a variation on it, was originally published at duskpeterson.com as part of the series Life Prison. Copyright © 2002-2010 Dusk Peterson. Some rights reserved. The text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0). You may freely print, post, e-mail, share, or otherwise distribute the text for noncommercial purposes, provided that you include this paragraph. The author's policies on derivative works and fan works are available online (duskpeterson.com/copyright.htm).

Cover designs: Dusk Peterson. Art credits. Permission is granted for the reposting and reprinting of the banner, covers, and story summaries for the purposes of providing information on Dusk Peterson's writings. Please link to duskpeterson.com if possible.