Rating: 
Summary: A Collection of Disturbing, Yet Intriguing Tales
Review: A collection of tales about the dead, the undead, and the deranged written by this remarkable 20th Century writer; Poppy Z Brite. Sixth Sentintel, one of the Tales in the book that I found to be most interesting depicted a girl in her 20's living in the intoxicating New Orleans with a broken past and a ghost for a roomate and a friend. As a lot of Poppys characters Rosalie makes her living by "performing". Though she may have the porcelain face of an actress the kind of performing she does is not so desirable. As her "roomate" Jean states she is performing for hundreds of starving drunken weasles. Jean soon develops a love for Rosalie but a deep selfish love it proves to be. Jean tells Rosalie he wishes for her to find his buried "treasures" so she will never have to work again, but something in Rosalie resists mingling with things that have been hidden or buried deep in the earth. This provokes Jean to get into Rosalie's head much like his lifeless hands flow through her body. Upon entering Rosalies mind Jean uncovers a horrifying past that frightens him and explains Rosalies fear for what lays beneath the earth. Jeans overwhelming love for Rosalie will soon release Rosalie from her pain and bind them together forever.
Rating: 
Summary: the girl with the silly fake name has talent
Review: Being familiar with Poppy Z. Brite's name but not her fiction, I decided to give "Wormwood" a shot. And, thinking it would give me some background on her style or life, I read the introduction before starting into the stories. That's one of the bones I have to pick with this--Dan Simmons (who wrote the introduction) may not resemble one of the black-clad Goths that populate Brite's fiction, but he writes with a smugness that reminds me of why I loathe the Gothic subculture so much--too many of its denizens are pompous and pretentious, and too self-consciously 'dark' to be looked at as anything more than a boogeyman caricature. This introduction reminded me of the silly introduction to the most recent printing of LaVey's "Satanic Bible," where a babbling sycophant tries to hold his idol up on high, and looks foolish in the process. In any case, Mr. Simmons' introduction would be harmless, if it didn't hamper my reading of Brite's prose, which, surprisingly, it did. It took a few stories to shake the aftertaste of that blather, but once it went away, I was surprised at how much I liked "Wormwood." Granted, this collection of 12 short stories swings up and down as far as quality is concerned, but what's good here is VERY good. "Xenophobia," about two people assigned to keep watch over a corpse; "How to Get Ahead in New York," where 2 men are beseiged by zombies in a bus station; "The Elder," about a father's devotion to his infant son; and finally, "The Ash of Memory, the Dust of Desire," an involving, tragic tale of a love triangle that ends the book. Unfortunately, Brite's failings pin her down as someone who has talent, but will probably never write outside the boundaries of the genre (or, I guess it would be fairer to call it a "niche"); her silly (fake) name and allusions to death, darkness, suicide, blood, etc. often seem to be pandering to the 14-year old Hot Topic set. But...if you're tired of Stephen King or have outgrown "Scary Stories (to Tell in the Dark)", this is the next evolutionary step.
Rating:
Summary: the girl with the silly fake name has talent
Review: Being familiar with Poppy Z. Brite's name but not her fiction, I decided to give "Wormwood" a shot. And, thinking it would give me some background on her style or life, I read the introduction before starting into the stories. That's one of the bones I have to pick with this--Dan Simmons (who wrote the introduction) may not resemble one of the black-clad Goths that populate Brite's fiction, but he writes with a smugness that reminds me of why I loathe the Gothic subculture so much--too many of its denizens are pompous and pretentious, and too self-consciously 'dark' to be looked at as anything more than a boogeyman caricature. This introduction reminded me of the silly introduction to the most recent printing of LaVey's "Satanic Bible," where a babbling sycophant tries to hold his idol up on high, and looks foolish in the process. In any case, Mr. Simmons' introduction would be harmless, if it didn't hamper my reading of Brite's prose, which, surprisingly, it did. It took a few stories to shake the aftertaste of that blather, but once it went away, I was surprised at how much I liked "Wormwood." Granted, this collection of 12 short stories swings up and down as far as quality is concerned, but what's good here is VERY good. "Xenophobia," about two people assigned to keep watch over a corpse; "How to Get Ahead in New York," where 2 men are beseiged by zombies in a bus station; "The Elder," about a father's devotion to his infant son; and finally, "The Ash of Memory, the Dust of Desire," an involving, tragic tale of a love triangle that ends the book. Unfortunately, Brite's failings pin her down as someone who has talent, but will probably never write outside the boundaries of the genre (or, I guess it would be fairer to call it a "niche"); her silly (fake) name and allusions to death, darkness, suicide, blood, etc. often seem to be pandering to the 14-year old Hot Topic set. But...if you're tired of Stephen King or have outgrown "Scary Stories (to Tell in the Dark)", this is the next evolutionary step.
Rating:
Summary: TERROR HAS A NEW NAME!
Review: Dark fiction has undoubtedly emerged in recent years as one of the most creative genres in contemporary fiction. And Poppy Z. Brite is, by a wide margin, the freshest voice to materialize out of this shadowy void in recent memory. Many of us know her best from her popular and controversial full-length novels like LOST SOULS, DRAWING BLOOD and - who could forget? - EXQUISITE CORPSE. But check out where it all began ... check out Brite's first collection of short fiction, WORMWOOD (formerly, and more aptly titled, SWAMP FOETUS). This remarkable anthology is perhaps the most disturbing, yet the most brilliant, collection of short fiction I have read in a very long time. If you're already a Brite fan, this is definitely a must for your collection. If you've never read her, this is a good place to start. Every entry in this compilation makes you squirm. Every story makes you want to stand up, shake yourself off and splash cold water on your face. Each story challenges you to wake up from the daydream, look deep into your own soul and confront those fears that lurk within you.I was hooked as soon as I started reading the first selection and reeled in completely by the time I closed the back cover. "Angel" is a disturbingly tragic tale about a pair of co-joined twins, surgically separated at birth, who desperately want to be one again ... no matter what the cost. In "Calcutta, Lord of Nerves" we confront the walking, flesh-eating dead amidst the leprous outcasts of this infamous West Bengal port city - and realize that they are perhaps the best-fed members of this tragic, famine-ravaged society. In "Missing" we encounter a young man who, like all of us, will do almost anything to keep the specter of loneliness at bay. Are we surprised when he opts to share his home with a corpse than be separated from his dearly departed? The rest of the selections are just as creepy, but equally as brilliant. They teach us that, yes, indeed, there are some fates worse than death. Reading this anthology is like biting down on a broken tooth ... it hurts like hell, but you simply can't resist it. Brite takes you places you probably don't want to go, and by the time you get there, you know you can never go home again ... because home will never look quite the same. As a writer, Brite takes risks. She tackles, head-on, subjects that most writers wouldn't dare to look in the eye. She tries new formats and experiments with new styles. Most of her critics get lost in Brite's macabre material. They take offense at her outcast, anti-heroes and her self-confessed obsessions with homosexual excess, addictions and bloody viscera. But in their knee-jerk response, they miss her sublime genius. She adeptly, yet subtly, weaves keen social and political commentary throughout her tapestries of terror. Admittedly, her work is subversive. And yes it challenges the status quo in the most irreverent manner. But it is not subversive for the reasons cited by her critics - it is not morally bankrupt simply because Brite writes with equally explicit zeal about taboo sexual acts and dismembered corpses. She is subversive because she forces us to own up to our own potentiality for corruption and decadence as she scrapes away the thin and illusory scab of propriety and exposes the raw meat of vulnerability and decay that lies beneath.
Rating: 
Summary: the gothic mind
Review: flawed, beautiful, and bloody--Poppy is this century's last hope for the gothi
Rating:
Summary: i adored this book.
Review: has any one else out there ever noticed the similarities between all of her work and the songs of the cure? His mouth will taste of worm wood reeked of the song lullaby.and you know what? thats beautiful.... all i need in this life is poppy, robert smith and vodka....
Rating:
Summary: Guess I'm not a Gothic fan...
Review: I read this book after being introduced to her in the "Love in Vein" series. I should have realized that the since Ms. Brite, edited, rather than wrote, the "Love in Vein" short stories, that they would not reflect her true work. So I picked up "Wormwood" expecting more erotica and less death than what I found. If I had known more about Ms. Brite's work, I probably would not have read this one. That said, I still found some of her stories enjoyable, particularly "The Sixth Sentinel" and "The Elder," both of which involve a lot of heartache and loss. I liked getting to know Ghost and Steve, as well. Overall, I did enjoy Ms. Brite's writing style, her ability to describe the sights, sounds, and smells of the world around her so vividly. If you like Gothic stuff, with lots of death and decaying bodies, then you will probably love her short stories. If not, you might still enjoy her writing style, but make sure you are in a very, very, good mood -- you'll be depressed when you're done!
Rating:
Summary: Five stars just for Steve and Ghost
Review: I stumbled upon a copy of Love In Vein, the vampire erotica collection edited by Poppy Z. Brite. I thought it would be silly, certainly of lesser merit than something Anne Rice could have edited. Boy, was I wrong. I loved it. So, then I thought, if this is what the lady can EDIT, think of what she can WRITE. So, I came to Amazon.com and looked up her novels "Lost Souls," and "Drawing Blood." I bought them both, and loved them. After that I wondered what of her work I could read next. "Exquiste Corpse" sounded kind of freaky, (sorry, Poppy.) But "Wormwood", despite a strange and dare I say, gory-looking cover, sounded good. Then I read that there were two stories in this collection featuring Steve and Ghost. Of course I bought it. I wish there was another full novel about Steve and Ghost. I mean I would read about them doing such boring things as TAKING OUT THE GARBAGE and SMOKING ANOTHER JOINT or STEVE GETS IN A CAR CRASH AND CRACKS UP THE T-BIRD. Luckily, Poppy didn't take advantge of that when she published this. The stories are good. There were other good ones that didn't feature Steve and Ghost. They are scarier than Stephan King and more erotic than Anne Rice. With Poppy, what more could you ask for? She's one of the best. She would be the best if only she would write another novel about Steve and Ghost. Or another story collection featuring only them. Plus, in New York, Steve has to fight hobos, and has a chance to buy severed human heads. By, this, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Five stars just for Steve and Ghost
Review: I stumbled upon a copy of Love In Vein, the vampire erotica collection edited by Poppy Z. Brite. I thought it would be silly, certainly of lesser merit than something Anne Rice could have edited. Boy, was I wrong. I loved it. So, then I thought, if this is what the lady can EDIT, think of what she can WRITE. So, I came to Amazon.com and looked up her novels "Lost Souls," and "Drawing Blood." I bought them both, and loved them. After that I wondered what of her work I could read next. "Exquiste Corpse" sounded kind of freaky, (sorry, Poppy.) But "Wormwood", despite a strange and dare I say, gory-looking cover, sounded good. Then I read that there were two stories in this collection featuring Steve and Ghost. Of course I bought it. I wish there was another full novel about Steve and Ghost. I mean I would read about them doing such boring things as TAKING OUT THE GARBAGE and SMOKING ANOTHER JOINT or STEVE GETS IN A CAR CRASH AND CRACKS UP THE T-BIRD. Luckily, Poppy didn't take advantge of that when she published this. The stories are good. There were other good ones that didn't feature Steve and Ghost. They are scarier than Stephan King and more erotic than Anne Rice. With Poppy, what more could you ask for? She's one of the best. She would be the best if only she would write another novel about Steve and Ghost. Or another story collection featuring only them. Plus, in New York, Steve has to fight hobos, and has a chance to buy severed human heads. By, this, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I think Ms. Brite's is comparable to Harlan Ellison in her ability to mix startling imagery with vivid emotion. This book is a steal at such a cheap price.
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