Helpful Score: 4
Interesting collection of Brite's earlier short stories spanning from the mid-80's to early 90's. Morbidly fascinating in general, though after a while even I was wishing someone would meet a death-free ending. 'His Mouth Will Taste Of Wormwood' and 'the Elder' were my favorites. I higly recommend this for anyone who enjoyed Drawing Blood.
Helpful Score: 2
**** This was a most definitely weird read. But..it was a good book. I had never heard of Poppy Z. Brite and I will definitely read more of her books..
Gorgeous prose, unforgettable images. These stories are very dark, heartbreaking and visceral.
On back cover: IN THE HEART OF YOUR DESIRE...In an old car rocking down a North Carolina highway with the radio on so loud you can't hear the music...Behind a dusty Georgia carny show...In a mausoleum in Baton Rouge, or in an alley in Calcutta...Here wanderers come to rest, the lost and lonely press their bodies up against each other, the heat rises, flesh yields, bones are bared, blood spills. This is the landscape of today's most brilliant young horror writer, Poppy Z. Brite. IN THE CRADLE OF YOUR FEARS... Now, in a collection that sings like cutting edge rock 'n' roll and shows the deft touch of a master storyteller, Poppy Z. Brite weaves her unique spell of the erotic, the frightening, and the forbidden... WORMWOOD
Erotic dark stories. As good as her novels. Mint condition
A collection of short erotic horror stories that will both tittilate and scare the living daylights out of you!
I liked this more than I expected to: in many cases the horror is almost arty. This isn't a slasher/gorey/blood and guts type collection of short stories: this is literature about the darker things in life, even when they aren't supernatural. I have to agree that "The Sixth Sentinel" and "Calcutta, Lord of Nerves" are among the best in the collection.
Annotation
In this intoxicating collection, Poppy Z revels in her favorite form--the short story. From the gaudy drunken landscape of New Orleans to the marshy graveyards of the Bayou, Brite takes readers on a dark tour of the American South. Each tale of lost souls living on the fringe of existence brings forth a world of passion, violence, and unforgettable images.
What People Are Saying
Poppy Z. Brite combines the sensibilities of a poet, the unflinching eye of a surgeon Brite's vision is disturbingly dark, deliciously erotic, sweetly savage, and uniquely her own.
- Dan Simmons
Big talent gives off thermal nuclear vibes. I can feel themthis is the voice we're going to be hearing for a long time.
(Harlan Ellison
In this intoxicating collection, Poppy Z revels in her favorite form--the short story. From the gaudy drunken landscape of New Orleans to the marshy graveyards of the Bayou, Brite takes readers on a dark tour of the American South. Each tale of lost souls living on the fringe of existence brings forth a world of passion, violence, and unforgettable images.
What People Are Saying
Poppy Z. Brite combines the sensibilities of a poet, the unflinching eye of a surgeon Brite's vision is disturbingly dark, deliciously erotic, sweetly savage, and uniquely her own.
- Dan Simmons
Big talent gives off thermal nuclear vibes. I can feel themthis is the voice we're going to be hearing for a long time.
(Harlan Ellison
Frightening and forbidden collection of short stories.
Some interesting stories but not my favorite by this author. I enjoyed reading about Steve and Ghost from Lost Souls.
Not recommended
Not recommended
Were you a "goth" in high school? If so, you'd probably like this book. It wasn't my cup of tea.
