Diana Trees, the woman who's motto is "My vampires don't sparkle, they kill people". She was someone I had heard of, or "seen" around, you know. Her name kept popping up on other people's Follow Friday suggestions on Twitter. I would see her name come up in someone's Twitter timeline. Then she followed me on Twitter. I followed her back. Round and round, if you're on Twitter, you know. We're aware of each other, but we really haven't gotten to know each other. She had kind of been filed away on the "to read, eventually" list. Then I saw Dianna Mcheck's review for her novella Divine Wine on her blog (alas no more), and decided to move Trees up on my list.
First off I have to say that Divine Wine is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended. This story is extreme horror at its most extreme, bordering on that much reviled "torture porn" genre. So my first word of caution is to have a strong stomach and an open mind, or don't bother. The subject matter, which includes a serial killer who sexually assaults his victims postmortem, is sure to turn many away. Yeah, I know the first thing that probably comes to mind is sick, but it's a sick fucking world and most of the time what a horror writer is going to give you is a reflection of that.
Set in a gritty part of Atlantic City, the story is told from the point of view of a female vampire who stalks her prey, a twisted serial killer with a small penis, for who she has plans. She observes the scenes of necrophilia, which though graphic are not presented in a way that is meant to arouse or titillate. Oh, she has plans for him that are almost as sick and twisted, giving him a taste of his own medicine and forcing him to endure a torturous living death that will make even the most hard core gore hounds, and even torture porn lovers, cringe.
Trees has a definite way with words, although her present tense POV through an exceptionally long narrative seems a little tedious at times, and I did have the feeling she let her tenses slip at points, although I can't site an instance that stuck in my mind. The fact of the matter is it is one of those stories you feel you just have to finish, so it keeps you going forward instead of looking back.
If you like a good, gruesome and edgy story this one is for you. I give it Four and One Half Stars overall, and can't wait to read more of what Diana Trees has to offer.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Wine-ebook/dp/B0050YUZTM
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/divine-wine-diana-trees/1102799447
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/59804
eBook Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/diana-trees/divine-wine/_/R-400000000000000401826
Blog: http://dianatrees.blogspot.com/
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| Master Vyle |
This week I had a chance to read a short story by an up and coming independent horror writer, Jeremiah Coe, and I have to say that he didn't disappoint the vampire lover in me. Having found him on FaceBook I already knew he was a hardcore Twit-light hater, so I went into Vampire's Retribution with high hopes. In this short story Jeremiah Coe makes a great effort to steer fans back to the things that make vampires vampires and away from stuff that makes them sparkle. Coe gives us his own unique ideas on the vampire condition and does his best to take you into the gritty little towns of post Civil War America in 32 pages.
The story opens with gambler turned card dealer Carl Tamell being unceremoniously being tossed off the Southern Queen by a pair of thugs under the orders of the boat's owner, Walter Uptoll, as the captain idly lets it happen, because Carl and the house have been having a bad night at the Black Jack table. Of course from the word go this story spoke to Me, hearkening back to My days as a cage banker at the St. Joe Frontier Casino. Carl makes it to dry land, despite getting his head nailed on the dock on his way into the water. He makes his way to the next town wet and broke, and immediately starts looking for a job with no more luck than he was having at the Black Jack table. Then, just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse, he is attacked by a vampire while falling to sleep in a back alley.
The Vampire Gaius show Carl mercy when he begs for his life, so he helps Carl turn instead of bleeding him dry and letting him die. Afterward the two begin a several day's ride to one of Gaius's refuges, and along the way Gaius teaches Carl some of the ways and history of the vampire. Once settled in the refuge house, however, Carl is overcome with the need to take revenge on the people who have cost him his old life and to ensure that they never do the same to anyone else. Despite Gaius's doubts that he is ready to face the world on his own he lets Carl ride out in search of his vengeance.
Overall I give Vampire's Retribution Four Stars because as well written, and as entertaining as it is, it is not without a few flaws. The story's pacing is excellent almost all the way through, however Carl's need for revenge seems to come fairly suddenly and unannounced, especially considering the amount of time the story spends detailing the two vampires' journey to reach Gaius's refuge. Plus Coe uses a few concepts just a little out of sync when you consider that the story is a period piece, set 5 years after the American Civil War. Coe introduces an interesting take on where zombies come from as well, although the old term ghoul would have been more appropriate for the period. Nit-pickers will point out that "millions" was not as common as a concept as it is today, and vampires themselves where not as well known at that time, despite the fact that Carl seems to understand much about them. America only has one folk tale that mirrors incidents from the time of the European "Vampire Craze". Vampires themselves really didn't enter popular culture in America (and worldwide) until after the publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which was published in 1897, 27 years after the setting of this story. Le Fanu's Carmilla would be published a year after this story takes place. That is not to say that Carl Tamell would not have been familiar with Padori's The Vampyre or Rymer's Varney The Vampire, but again the more defined notion of the modern vampire, their powers and weaknesses does come from Dracula.
Anyway, I'm sure that most readers will enjoy this story and will not be bothered by those little details, just as I did. As for Carl Tramell and Gaius I'm hooked and would love to see more of their adventures, or even better, see this story turn into a fully flushed out novel. I look forward to greater things from Coe in the future and so should you.
Vampire's Retribution is available for eReaders and PC download:
Amazon.Com: http://www.amazon.com/Vampires-Retribution-ebook/dp/B004XQWLWC
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vampires-Retribution-ebook/dp/B004XQWLWC
Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/Vampires-Retribution-ebook/dp/B004XQWLWC
SmashWords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/55548
Be sure to check out a great story from one of the new voices of horror.
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| Master Vyle |
