Review: Blood Sisters: Lesbian Vampire Tales
Cece Ross (ed) Blood Sisters: Lesbian Vampire Tales
Published by Alyson Books
Reviewed by Paul Shephard
There are two very different ways to review these Lesbian Vampire Tales. The first, is to regard them as simply a collection of lesbian erotic fiction, and the second, is to look at the stories as a lover of the Gothic genre. As a male lover of Gothic, I was tempted to regard most of the tales as merely exercises in soft porn and to simultaneously savage some of the content, but I was also acutely aware that I would be completely missing the point. Most of the tales show a considerable degree of sensuality although a few are simply raw sex. There is stalking of victims by vampires, love, lust, jealousy, betrayal, intense relationships, sadomasochism, excessive violence, some humour, and lots and lots of blood pouring from various parts of the body including the genitals. All the tales offer graphic descriptions of lesbian love making and combine the vampire's lust for blood with the sexual climax. It's all very erotic and macabre indeed! Some of the authors use Gothic to considerable effect and two use sci-fi themes as the basis for their stories. For the connoisseur of Gothic, no, but for lovers of soft porn and vampires, a must!
Paul Shephard is a freelance writer and reviewer of Gothic Literature, Art, British and Modern European History, and International Relations.
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posted by Eric Anderson @ 10:54 AM
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collects together twenty-two of Dodie Bellamy’s essays, many of them autobiographical in nature. What is present in all is Bellamy’s lambent intelligence: she is adept at taking the minutiae of her own life, the most banal everyday incident, or seemingly anything that attracts her attention, and finding therein a springboard for interesting, insightful formulation. And many of her flights of thought are quite breathtaking.
, and they live their lives according to certain Gospel Rules. One is “At all times be mysterious”, another “Never act too interested. Make them beg for it.”
shows that, like the late Susan Sontag, she has a mind and a sensibility able to turn any situation to fruitful advantage.
