Making Love

Rating:
Summary: A good man is hard to find...um, make...
Review: Hmmmm...well, this is certainly an interesting premise. A kinky prometheus one ups his mistress. Tem and Holder write with an eloquence that is often lacking in modern-day horror; the novel is worth a look just based on that.
Now for the rest of the story. Lonely, codependent, dysfunctional Charlotte Tobias, knocking on the door of middle aged spinsterhood, ends up creating, literally, her ideal lover in Phanes. Lonely no more, Charlotte at first rejoices in her creation, revelling in Phanes' discovery of the world around him, and of their explorations of each other. He's gorgeous, he shares her interests, he's sensitive, he's a nonstop love machine. What more could a gal want? Unfortunately for Charlotte, "be careful what you wish for" is the moral of this little fable. Phanes becomes increasingly out of control. More and more bizarre creations pop up and are destroyed. Charlotte slowly slips into madness. Phanes wreaks evil all around her. In short, she created her dream man but forgot to give him a soul.
Again, the writing is haunting, even beautiful at times. The basic idea is captivating. But I had to keep forcing myself to finish this novel. It didn't pack the punch to keep my interest for very long. I'm not as familiar with Holder, but Tem's work is usually worth checking out. This one is a toss-up; you might want to find it at the library rather than making the investment.