The Prisoner

The Witches #1

by James Darke

It was a time of fear. The great Civil War which had split the country from top to bottom still raged. The King was rumoured to have fled but robber bands of his troops still lurked in the mist, marauding gangs of deadly spectres waiting for the innocent. In the absence of King and Parliament, terror ruled with mistrust and murder close behind. But there was no greater terror than the Witchfinders.

Living on torture, bribery and lust, they took rich pickings as they scoured each parish and hamlet for victims. John Ferris has sworn to fight their rule of bloody atrocities - to take revenge for his father's death and his lover's abduction - to fight the storm of darkness with the sword.

Genres: Horror

148 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1983

Reviews

[Alex (The Bookubus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prisoner (book one of The Witches series) is set in England in 1645. We follow the exploits of witchfinder Robert Monk and his assistants, the three Mendoza brothers and Liza Hall, as they travel from village to village interrogating and torturing people accused of witchcraft. Our protagonist is former soldier John Ferris who is on the trail of Monk to take revenge for wrongs Monk committed against him.

I found this to be well-written, compelling and entertaining. It's a great combination of horror and adventure with an interesting cast of characters, plenty of action and violence, plus sex and sleaze. What more could you want?!

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than I expected it to be. This is essentially a revenge tale during the time of Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins. It reads a little like a western, with the plucky hero travelling the land to deliver justice to the witchfinder who has killed his parents and kidnapped his girlfriend. It’s pacy and enjoyable, with enough sex and violence to keep it interesting, even if it doesn’t justify the soft porn cover.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than I expected it to be. The writing was pretty good and the story generally held my interest. It's the first in a series of at least six books. It's billed as an "adult" series but was printed in 1983 so it is relatively tame by today's standards. Most of the sex scenes are up near the front of the book and are pretty brutal, to both male and female victims, although the story doesn't really linger on them.

The basic idea is of a group of "Witchfinders" who are using their search for witches as an excuse to steal people's money and indulge their perversions. They end up torturing and killing the parents of a young man who sets out to seek vengeance. Although I liked this one well enough, I'm not inclined to rush out and purchase the rest of the series.

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

17th Century mayhem for the pseudo Harlequin romance book sect. Full of sex and violence and nary a plot be. Captain John Farris has his mother and father ( who was a doctor ) killed because they were suspected as av witch and warlock. Add to that, his fiance is taken by the witchfinder general. He rides out in search of vengeance. Quick book that could of been longer, but they wanted you to by the whole series so they made them short and sweet. I think I'll pass on looking for more in this series.

[Bobby Stringini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, but brutal men's adventure novel. Even though it is labeled as adult, that warning has more to do with the extreme torture scenes and less with actual erotic content. The book is short, and reads fast. Don't expect any closure, though. This is the first in a longer serial. Still, Darke gives you just enough to make you feel like the hero is making some progress without giving an actual ending. Now I just need to hunt down the second book.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the greatest read but entertaining. The cover had nothing whatsoever to do with the story. The title doesn’t fit either.

[Sean Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written Hammer horror style witchfinding, by legendary pulpmeister Laurence James (aka Mick Norman, James Axler). The first of 8 books, published in the mid-80s and out of print ever since. The first 4 are probably the best. (I still have books 7 and 8 to read, so I may revise that opinion.)