What do you think?
Rate this book
Orphancorp #3
Prisoncorp
Mirii has been caught — along with the friends who were helping her find her partner, Vu.
Being in prison is just like her revisiting her childhood in Orphancorp — only worse. Under the beating heat of a desert sun, the prisoners fight for food, water and a safe place to sleep.
Our heroine begins to question her urge to fight back and rebel as all it seems to do is lead her and the people she cares for deeper into trouble.
Fast-paced, gritty and original, Prisoncorp is the final instalment in the Welcome to Orphancorp trilogy. It confirms Marlee Jane Ward as one of Australia’s best YA authors.
Being in prison is just like her revisiting her childhood in Orphancorp — only worse. Under the beating heat of a desert sun, the prisoners fight for food, water and a safe place to sleep.
Our heroine begins to question her urge to fight back and rebel as all it seems to do is lead her and the people she cares for deeper into trouble.
Fast-paced, gritty and original, Prisoncorp is the final instalment in the Welcome to Orphancorp trilogy. It confirms Marlee Jane Ward as one of Australia’s best YA authors.
180 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2019
42 people want to read
About the author
Marlee Jane Ward
16 books62 followersI’m a writer, reader and weirdo from Melbourne, Australia.
I grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales and studied creative writing at the University of Wollongong. I attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in 2014.
You can find my short stories at Interfictions, Terraform, Apex, The Sockdolager, Aurealis, Mad Scientist Journal, Slink Chunk Press, Feminartsy and the In Your Face, Hear Me Roar, Kindred and Best Summer Stories anthologies.
My debut novella, Welcome To Orphancorp, won Seizure’s Viva La Novella 3 and the 2016 Victorian Premiers Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction. It was shortlisted for The NSW Premiers Award, an Aurealis Award, and the Norma K Hemming Award. The sequel, Psynode, was released in May of 2017 and was shortlisted for Best YA Novel in the 2018 Aurealis Awards. The third and final book in the series, Prisoncorp, was released in 2019 and was nominated for Best Science Fiction Novella in the Aurealis Awards.
My non-fiction can be found at Overland, Kill Your Darlings, Writers Bloc, Going Down Swinging and more.
I grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales and studied creative writing at the University of Wollongong. I attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in 2014.
You can find my short stories at Interfictions, Terraform, Apex, The Sockdolager, Aurealis, Mad Scientist Journal, Slink Chunk Press, Feminartsy and the In Your Face, Hear Me Roar, Kindred and Best Summer Stories anthologies.
My debut novella, Welcome To Orphancorp, won Seizure’s Viva La Novella 3 and the 2016 Victorian Premiers Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction. It was shortlisted for The NSW Premiers Award, an Aurealis Award, and the Norma K Hemming Award. The sequel, Psynode, was released in May of 2017 and was shortlisted for Best YA Novel in the 2018 Aurealis Awards. The third and final book in the series, Prisoncorp, was released in 2019 and was nominated for Best Science Fiction Novella in the Aurealis Awards.
My non-fiction can be found at Overland, Kill Your Darlings, Writers Bloc, Going Down Swinging and more.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 6, 2019
Disclaimer: Prisoncorp is the third and final book in the series which began with Orphancorp. Prior to reading Prisoncorp, I had not read the previous two books.
Prisoncorp reads remarkably well as a standalone (though some portions of the book would've certainly had a larger impact had I been familiar with the characters) drop kicking the reader into a harsh and unrelenting women's prison set sometime in the future.
The less than humane living conditions the inmates are subjected to is well articulated and makes you feel like you're there; scorched earth from the blazing outback sun, gritty and unwashed bodies bumping shoulders among one another, the smell of death and slow decay all around. The confines are as deadly as the inhabitants.
The plot centers around Mirii, a woman recently incarcerated in the harsh desert prison who is forced fight, scratch, and claw her way through the days in order to see another. When she finally finds comfort in the arms of her comrades, the tables turn with escape no longer just a fanciful idea.
There are some great scenes in this book; from Mirii's opening scene to the inevitable all out riot which leaves the pages blood stained and the characters scarred in more ways than one, to the emotionally deep connections the characters feel towards once another in the crammed comfort of their prison issued tents - all of it adds to the atmosphere packaged into this short novel.
Prisoncorp reads remarkably well as a standalone (though some portions of the book would've certainly had a larger impact had I been familiar with the characters) drop kicking the reader into a harsh and unrelenting women's prison set sometime in the future.
The less than humane living conditions the inmates are subjected to is well articulated and makes you feel like you're there; scorched earth from the blazing outback sun, gritty and unwashed bodies bumping shoulders among one another, the smell of death and slow decay all around. The confines are as deadly as the inhabitants.
The plot centers around Mirii, a woman recently incarcerated in the harsh desert prison who is forced fight, scratch, and claw her way through the days in order to see another. When she finally finds comfort in the arms of her comrades, the tables turn with escape no longer just a fanciful idea.
There are some great scenes in this book; from Mirii's opening scene to the inevitable all out riot which leaves the pages blood stained and the characters scarred in more ways than one, to the emotionally deep connections the characters feel towards once another in the crammed comfort of their prison issued tents - all of it adds to the atmosphere packaged into this short novel.
Read
May 3, 2024The perfect end to the Orphancorp trilogy.
December 18, 2019
I love this series and this book. The characters are strong, the voice is consistent. I love the cute queer romance and the sense of hope in a scarily realistic dystopian world.
December 29, 2019
Imagine a bone dry wasteland where the government has completely corporatised the social welfare system, leaving the most vulnerable members of society completely at the mercy of money-hungry corporations. This is the world that Mirii and her friends inhabit. The third installation of her trilogy, Marlee Jane Ward's novella Prisoncorp sees Mirii imprisoned for her earlier attempts to protect her loved ones from the wealthy businesses that run her world. After Orphancorp, Prisoncorp is a brutal, dog eat dog world where prisoners must pay for their own necessities. Dont have access to cash to pay for a bed? Sleep on the ground out in the open. Dont have access to cash to pay for your water rations? Too bad. Here, prisoners are forced into back-breaking work for meagre rations and mere cents per day and everything possible is done to suck their humanity from them. It's bleak, but Mirii is a shining light of strength and persistence. Her determination to care for her friends and carve out a better future for them is inspiring and contrasts nicely with the physical and psychological wasteland surrounding them. With the climate change crisis, lengthening droughts and the privitisation of our prisons, Ward has composed an Australia that is rooted in contemporary issues and imagined the chaos that will bloom if all of this is unchecked. This novella is gritty and dark and dusty and Ward's vision of the future is a clear warning that we are defined by the way we treat our poorest and most vulnerable. It's a ripping read and a fantastic addition to the growing canon of Australian speculative fiction. Thanks to @briobooks for sending me this copy to review!
January 1, 2026
The third and final instalment of the Orphancorp trilogy, Prisoncorp delivers more of Miiri’s harsh reality, except this time she’s in an adult female prison that is harsh beyond the measures of even her shady and traumatic past.
I was surprised again by just how quickly I slipped back into Marlee’s unique and vivid prose, the Aussie-isms thick and fast, coupled with gnarly word choices that scream from the pages like a banshee.
This novella felt too short, some of the scenes fading out before they should have and lacking a lot of the emotional impact they should have had. I know Marlee can do it, she’s done it in the first two books.
This is a fine conclusion to the trilogy, it just needs a little more room to grow and delve deeper, to make the readers emotional buy-in stronger. Perhaps a little more lead up to the drama would help to build that bond between character and reader.
Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy and will recommend it to folks who enjoy sci-fi, dystopian, YA-ish type books or people who want to read unique and interesting protagonist POV works. 3 stars is still a good book, it’s just not quite as strong as the first two in the trilogy.
Thanks, Marlee, for taking me on this wild ride with Miiri! It’s been interesting!
I was surprised again by just how quickly I slipped back into Marlee’s unique and vivid prose, the Aussie-isms thick and fast, coupled with gnarly word choices that scream from the pages like a banshee.
This novella felt too short, some of the scenes fading out before they should have and lacking a lot of the emotional impact they should have had. I know Marlee can do it, she’s done it in the first two books.
This is a fine conclusion to the trilogy, it just needs a little more room to grow and delve deeper, to make the readers emotional buy-in stronger. Perhaps a little more lead up to the drama would help to build that bond between character and reader.
Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy and will recommend it to folks who enjoy sci-fi, dystopian, YA-ish type books or people who want to read unique and interesting protagonist POV works. 3 stars is still a good book, it’s just not quite as strong as the first two in the trilogy.
Thanks, Marlee, for taking me on this wild ride with Miiri! It’s been interesting!
June 21, 2019
Prisoncorp being the final chapter for Mirii, I was a little worried from the outset as to whether it would do rest of the series of novellas justice. But honestly, I actually really enjoyed it in its entirety.
Ward manages to keep the reader enthralled regardless of the length of the novel. Although this was only around 150 pages long, it told Mirii's story with precision and grace.
I was so happy with how it ended. All the loose ends were tied up in a neat bow while still taking the reader on an emotional ride that's guaranteed to keep even the most discerning reader happy.
Thankyou to Brio Books for providing me with an early reading copy in exchange for an honest review
Ward manages to keep the reader enthralled regardless of the length of the novel. Although this was only around 150 pages long, it told Mirii's story with precision and grace.
I was so happy with how it ended. All the loose ends were tied up in a neat bow while still taking the reader on an emotional ride that's guaranteed to keep even the most discerning reader happy.
Thankyou to Brio Books for providing me with an early reading copy in exchange for an honest review
March 22, 2019
Disclaimer: I read an advance copy of this book
Oh. Wow. What a trilogy. Marlee Jane Ward has really packed a punch with these books. I have been lost in these for longer than I expected as I didn’t want to leave her world. What could be better than a strong female protagonist, full action, a completely believable world, clever ideas and tight plot? Her language in this is so on point that I found myself thinking it before too long. I’m so glad I waited to read the first two until I had the third in my grabby hands. Go get this set of books and read it.
Oh. Wow. What a trilogy. Marlee Jane Ward has really packed a punch with these books. I have been lost in these for longer than I expected as I didn’t want to leave her world. What could be better than a strong female protagonist, full action, a completely believable world, clever ideas and tight plot? Her language in this is so on point that I found myself thinking it before too long. I’m so glad I waited to read the first two until I had the third in my grabby hands. Go get this set of books and read it.
March 9, 2019
The perfect end to Marlee Jane Ward’s brilliant Orphancorp trilogy. This series is so original, assured and electric. The fluid, understated way Ward writes about race, sexuality, disability and power is wonderfully modern and filled with care and empathy. The novella is a unique form and this is a perfect example of why it works so well for certain stories. Mirii’s world is a dark and awful place but I’ve loved being in it with her as my guide.
April 16, 2019
A powerful ending to the Orphancorp trilogy. A dystopian heavily influenced by some people's reality. Well researched and wonderfully written. Marlee is an incredibly insightful author and I'm glad to read her work.
September 23, 2023
Final book in the trilogy carries through moderately closely from the second book in both characters and story. Maybe the strongest entry in the trilogy? As per the title, the theme is near future privatised prisons.
April 1, 2019
I love this series. And the final book did not disappoint. If you haven't read it yet, then I recommend you do!
April 18, 2019
An intensely good end to the series. Read it in an arvo - I couldn’t stop!
April 30, 2019
An excellent end to the trilogy, the best book of the three for my money.
June 11, 2020
DESTROY THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! Each of the three books in this trilogy has had such a different tone, but in a way that makes perfect sense. The Prisoncorp is almost a character in and of itself here, and I loved this story of uprising and resilience.
Kinda wish there was a long epilogue though? I need closure.
Kinda wish there was a long epilogue though? I need closure.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews