Dancing With Demons

Rating:
Summary: Sex mistaken for insight
Review: Here's a prime example of an author who should not confuse sex for insight. Just being graphic does not accord you the respect of, say, a Henry Miller or an Anais Nin. This was banal at best.

Rating:
Summary: Lucy Taylor can do a lot better than this, can't she?
Review: Lucy Taylor's second novel is not one to like. I couldn't find one character that I thought was worth rooting for. They all were a little bit evil. But this is no tale of supernatural evil, oh no. This is about the evil of addiction; be it alcohol, drugs, love, sex, violence. Whatever vice you've heard of, it's in here. Jessie, a recovering alkie, hooks up with Simon, a power junkie. Match made in Hell, right? Yep. Jessie and Simon's past are ripped right from the Dysfunctional As Hell Family Handbook. Simon wants Jessie pure, so he decides to eliminate all of her previous addictions...like sex, like group sex. It all ends with Jessie trying to save her father and son from the maniac Simon...but then the question is, "Who's gonna save us from Jessie's kid?" Again, this is an unflinching look at everyday horror. Lucy's strength is that she does not pretty up the problems with these people. She wallows in it, shows us the pain and torment with an unflinching eye to detail. The art inside the book is very well done by Jamie Oberschlake. And the cover and author's picture is done by Alan M. Clark, a very nice job! I, personally, did not buy into Jessie's ongoing attraction to Simon. But as I discussed this with someone I respect, he said it's probably because I was lucky enough never to have been involved in that kind of relationship. All told, a novel that I can't say I liked, due to it's graphic nature. If you liked Jack Ketchum's THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, then this is right up your garbage-strewn alley. Recommended but with warning.

Rating:
Summary: Lucy Taylor can do a lot better than this, can't she?
Review: Lucy Taylor's second novel is not one to like. I couldn't find one character that I thought was worth rooting for. They all were a little bit evil. But this is no tale of supernatural evil, oh no. This is about the evil of addiction; be it alcohol, drugs, love, sex, violence. Whatever vice you've heard of, it's in here. Jessie, a recovering alkie, hooks up with Simon, a power junkie. Match made in Hell, right? Yep. Jessie and Simon's past are ripped right from the Dysfunctional As Hell Family Handbook. Simon wants Jessie pure, so he decides to eliminate all of her previous addictions...like sex, like group sex. It all ends with Jessie trying to save her father and son from the maniac Simon...but then the question is, "Who's gonna save us from Jessie's kid?" Again, this is an unflinching look at everyday horror. Lucy's strength is that she does not pretty up the problems with these people. She wallows in it, shows us the pain and torment with an unflinching eye to detail. The art inside the book is very well done by Jamie Oberschlake. And the cover and author's picture is done by Alan M. Clark, a very nice job! I, personally, did not buy into Jessie's ongoing attraction to Simon. But as I discussed this with someone I respect, he said it's probably because I was lucky enough never to have been involved in that kind of relationship. All told, a novel that I can't say I liked, due to it's graphic nature. If you liked Jack Ketchum's THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, then this is right up your garbage-strewn alley. Recommended but with warning.