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highkingmargo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
great if you like grimdark, atmospheric punkgoth navelgazing horror but it's seriously not for everyone. the content warnings will contain spoilers, but better safe than sorry.
if you like darkfic and nasty grungy bisexual disaster vampires though, give this a try.
if you like darkfic and nasty grungy bisexual disaster vampires though, give this a try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Stalking, Abortion, and Murder
stormywolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I picked this one up as my first participation in Maven of the Eventide's (aka Elisa Hansen's) Vampire Book Club, wherein she offers her extensive library of as yet unread vampire literature as choices for a monthly vote and subsequent livestreamed discussion. After seeing her book club's discussion of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampiresfrom a couple months back, I decided a monthly dip into vampire fiction sounded like fun, so requested the upcoming book from the library. Despite my best efforts, the ebook didn't become available to download until the morning of the livestream, so I only managed to read about 45% before the stream started. Looking back, perhaps the universe was trying to warn me...
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this slice-of-life horror story followed some of the most unlikable characters and produced some of the most disturbing content I've ever had the misfortune of reading. I regret reading this book. In fact I think the consensus of the discussion was that most people shouldn't read it. I'd only really recommend it if: you are really into vampires, particularly of The Lost Boys variety; are really into vampires and want to research more into their historical progression as a genre; like mature horror and aren't triggered by any of the warnings I listed above; or have read it before and are wondering what it reads like 30 years later. It's not completely devoid of value, obviously, but there is a lot of context and problematic content that should be addressed before attempting a readthrough. Then again, I'm not very well versed in horror, let alone vampire horror (this literally being my 2nd foray ever), so take my squicky feelings as they are. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this slice-of-life horror story followed some of the most unlikable characters and produced some of the most disturbing content I've ever had the misfortune of reading. I regret reading this book. In fact I think the consensus of the discussion was that most people shouldn't read it. I'd only really recommend it if: you are really into vampires, particularly of The Lost Boys variety; are really into vampires and want to research more into their historical progression as a genre; like mature horror and aren't triggered by any of the warnings I listed above; or have read it before and are wondering what it reads like 30 years later. It's not completely devoid of value, obviously, but there is a lot of context and problematic content that should be addressed before attempting a readthrough. Then again, I'm not very well versed in horror, let alone vampire horror (this literally being my 2nd foray ever), so take my squicky feelings as they are. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Infidelity
charlie_w's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Incest, and Rape
Moderate: Gore and Violence
sarahcax's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Incest and Rape
lemonbalmgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Gore, Incest, Rape, and Violence
cecja's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Entertainingly bad. But also very, very gross.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Racial slurs
angelicathebookworm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The novel essentially weaves together three distinct storylines that all relate to a journey that each group finds themselves on—one that’s a mix of the physical, emotional, and psychological—that leads to an explosive collision between all parties which I thought was very well written. I’ve read a fair few narratives that interlock multiple perspectives and in this instance, the flow and pacing were just right and done in a way that wasn’t jarring. One of the biggest highlights of this novel is that Brite’s vampires are so different from what we’ve seen before from this classic Gothic monster. They are a blend of the Gothic, classic vampire lore, and genuine human experiences and emotion. They’re an evolution of vampires as we know them, a new generation unafflicted with many of the clichés. This makes for Brite’s reinvention of this Gothic creation just as frightening and we’d expect but refreshingly so. I also appreciate how many of the characters are not as you’d expect: Zillah, the leader of the small group of vampires, is short yet incredibly charming rather than the commonly seen tall and brooding vampiric type; and his lackeys—Molochai and Twig—are not very cunning and are definitely not the sharpest tools in the shed. My favourite aspect of the entire novel has to be the relationship between Ghost, a boy with true psychic abilities, and Steve which I was really hoping would grow into something a little more obvious but I guess—since the whole novel is heavy with the graphic and the explicit—that would’ve been overkill.
While the characters are well written and many develop well through the narrative, they’re definitely not likeable characters. That itself relates more to personal reading preferences but if you add that to the gloomy descriptions of the atmosphere and the intense darkness of the plot then it becomes a very intense read intended for a very specific audience. The novel also features a multitude of content/trigger warnings and features multiple particularly graphic sexual scenes, some of which are also extremely violent, so I’d proceed with caution when it comes to picking this one up. Many of these triggering topics that are explored within the narrative, and the fact they’re explored so explicitly and with so much detail, had a huge impact on my rating of this novel despite the fact that it’s constructed well with some elements that I did rather enjoy.
For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/
While the characters are well written and many develop well through the narrative, they’re definitely not likeable characters. That itself relates more to personal reading preferences but if you add that to the gloomy descriptions of the atmosphere and the intense darkness of the plot then it becomes a very intense read intended for a very specific audience. The novel also features a multitude of content/trigger warnings and features multiple particularly graphic sexual scenes, some of which are also extremely violent, so I’d proceed with caution when it comes to picking this one up. Many of these triggering topics that are explored within the narrative, and the fact they’re explored so explicitly and with so much detail, had a huge impact on my rating of this novel despite the fact that it’s constructed well with some elements that I did rather enjoy.
For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma