Locus
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Faren Miller
...[Explores] the darkness at the heart of things....[F]eatures a number of superb stories, powerful in style and characters....fearlessly offbeat...
Locus -
Faren Miller
...[Explores] the darkness at the heart of things....[F]eatures a number of superb stories, powerful in style and characters....fearlessly offbeat...
horroronline
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horroronline
This slim second collection from Poppy Z. Brite displays considerable diversity in its twelve stories from a splendid writer who is, all too often, unfairly denigrated as some sort of Dark Mistress of Perversity. Although Brite lives delightfully up to her wicked reputation when writing, for instance, in first-person maggot with Baudelarian intensity ("In Vermis Veritas") or diving into decadent sex and bloody death with "Saved" (written with Christa Faust), she's often at her best when employing historical figures -- sixties British playwright Joe Orton in Entertaining Mr. Orton, a New Orleans serial killer from the second decade of this century in Mussolini and the Axeman's Jazz -- to broaden her range for puissant effect. Several short pieces present familiar characters from previous works, are set-ups for wry jokes, or both. Brite is maturing into a deeper mastery of her craft, and it will be interesting to see if Are You Loathsome Tonight? marks a transition for Brite. An unusual and oddly insightful collage of an introduction by Peter Straub, a personal afterword from Caitlin Kiernan, brief story notes by the author, and cover art and interiors (including graphically enhanced nudes of the author) aren't just padding for the obviously sparse word count, but truly enhance the book's appeal.
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