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kurt's review against another edition
3.0
Well, yeah. This kind of book... not really my thing. I'm not a big erotic horror fan at all (just the erotic genre in general, I just feel it is unnecessary). It was good, but I really feel like a lot of these stories would have been so much better if it were not in the erotic category of horror. A few of these short stories should have just remained as thoughts in the authors' heads, as they were just a waste of paper. Not much to say here, but I do have to mention that I think the crowning glory of all these stories was the last one, "The Braille Encyclopaedia" by Grant Morrison. This one was a little less on the erotic side, but it really reminded me of something akin to Clive Barker's Books of Blood, and a little of Hellbound Heart. Pretty good stuff. Otherwise, it's just not for me.
kurt's review
3.0
Well, yeah. This kind of book... not really my thing. I'm not a big erotic horror fan at all (just the erotic genre in general, I just feel it is unnecessary). It was good, but I really feel like a lot of these stories would have been so much better if it were not in the erotic category of horror. A few of these short stories should have just remained as thoughts in the authors' heads, as they were just a waste of paper. Not much to say here, but I do have to mention that I think the crowning glory of all these stories was the last one, "The Braille Encyclopaedia" by Grant Morrison. This one was a little less on the erotic side, but it really reminded me of something akin to Clive Barker's Books of Blood, and a little of Hellbound Heart. Pretty good stuff. Otherwise, it's just not for me.
tometrinket's review
5.0
Project Hot Blood, part 2
The Hot Blood series are tales of erotic horror, which is the best combination ever. When something as personal and sensitive as sex is mixed with horror, what could possible scare you shitless more? So I set out to explore them all, all 13 books of the series, thus Project Hot Blood.
First, some info about my rating system. The level of paranormal of each story is one to five, one meaning it surely can happen in real life, five meaning it’s utterly something paranormal. The level of sex describes how graphic is the sex in each story, one to five, one being tame a bedtime story told by a nun, five being a detailed script for a hardcore porn movie. My rating’s from one to ten, it’s based on the balance of horror and erotic, so getting five in ‘level of sex’ doesn’t automatically mean an above average rating from me. It’s based on the wtf-ness of the ending, how freaked out I am, how nightmare-generating it is. One being rubbish, ten being masterpiece.
Nocturne
Richard Laymon - author of the Best House Chronicles and Richard Laymon's Collection.
Hotter Blood was actually the first book out of the series that I read. The Tub is one of few that I remember clearly, it left such a huge impact. It was brutal and it hits that primal fear that I believe everyone has in their core (you know, being buried alive, being eaten alive and such). In The Tub that kind of fear manifested in an unusual but nonetheless terrifying way. While reading, it felt like a thousand bugs crawling on your skin. The ending was somewhat anti-climatic, cos it should have gone with the most brutal assumption the reader was making, but I still like it a lot.
Length: 20 pages
Level of Sex: 2 The sex itself was very brief, and what came after that I sure as hell won't count as sex.
My rating: 9 out of 10 Would have been a ten if not for pussying out a little bit in the end.
The Picture of Health
Ray Garton - an author of fine horror books such as Live Girls.
The modern day Dorian Gray. It is quite predictable because it was quite clear from the start what was going on. One thing I can't quite stand in horror is stupidity. How freaking stupid you can be to do all those stuff that our 'heroine' did? I didn't even feel bad for her in the end which was very sad for the mother though.
Length: 28 pages
Level of Sex: 3 Decent amount and quality.
My rating: 5 out of 10 If only I could get around all that stupidity.
Change of Life
Chet Williamson
An extremely strange story. No explanations, it just happened. And what happened wasn't very interesting either. And the sex seemed like something the author threw into the mix just to get into the Hot Blood series.
Length: 4 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Just because there was a little bit of sex.
My rating: 3 out of 10 At least it was short, so I didn't waste too much time.
Demonlover
Nancy A. Collins - author mostly known for her vampire novels.
Some girls just won't settle for normal guys, after all they're merely mortals, dirty meatbags. So if you're in need of something extraordinary, who knows what your needing might invite. In this case, our girl Sina found just what she needed. It's a beautiful love story really, and since it's in Sina's point of view, she got her happy ending. Only we readers, we outsiders, find the relationship disturbing.
Length: 10 pages
Level of Sex: 4 However disturbing, the sex was very erotic.
My rating: 8 out of 10
Confession
Kurt Busiek - another comic author (Avengers among others)
Confessions of a vampire who refuse to take the vein of a living creature. After all, what difference there is between human and animal if you obey your primal desires, right? The story was well-written, it's just we're heard one too many times about the struggles of vampires; the constant temptation, the thirst, the underlying beast within and bla bla bla. Booooooring! Thank the gods the ending saved the whole story.
Length: 12 pages
Level of Sex: 1 There was sex? I can't recall.
My rating: 6 out of 10 Thanks to the nice touch at the end.
Wolf in the Memory
Stephen Gresham
I really don't get it. It's about a young boy's fantasies about his teacher. But the rest of it? I just don't get it.
Length: 17 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Strictly speaking, there wasn't any.
My rating: 1 out of 10
To Have and to Hold
Gary Brandner - author of the Howling.
Funny little story. Very predictable, which was a pity. It was nicely built till the end. Only if I didn't guess what was going on right at the beginning... I blame my sick twisted imagination.
Length: 7 pages
Level of Sex: 3½ The fact that I guessed what was happening turned me off a bit.
My rating: 7 out of 10 For entertaining me.
Cruising
Lisa W. Cantrell
A story that has become a classic as it has been told so many times. You know, boy meets girl. Boy gets rejected and so on. The author didn't add anything new to the table.
Length: 8 pages
Level of Sex: 0
My rating: 5 out of 10 It wasn't bad, but it's just the same old story.
Dream On Me
Mick Garris (Author of 'Chocolate', an odd little story from Hot Blood - book 1)
The author's story in Hot Blood - book 1 was quite pretty, until it turned violent very unexpectedly. I kind of expected his second entry to the Hot Blood series to be along the line, but it seemed to be written from a different person. I get what the author tried to accomplish, but the atmosphere was left wanting. The sex describe here was quite good though, however creepy it was.
Length: 13 pages
Level of Sex: 5 The strangeness of it all add to the already graphic encounters.
My rating: 6 out of 10 When the sex part is the best part, the story can be better.
DeVICE
Steven Gallagher
The story was slow-paced and peaceful, though the DeVICE was quite innovative. If not for the brilliant ending, I wouldn't rate this so high.
Length: 13 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Quite disgusting.
My rating: 8 out of 10 Excellent ending.
The Best
Paul Dale Anderson
Interesting premise, could have been much better. Maybe I just don't like the main characters, especially the main male character is the opposite from my type.
Length: 11 pages
Level of Sex: 4 Graphic but still at the realm of vanilla.
My rating: 6 out of 10 More if not for the predictability.
Something Extra
J.N. Williamson and James Kisner
What the hell did I just read? The beginning was quite boring, potential adultery and office romance and bla bla bla. But when it became interesting, it became strange and I just didn't get it.
Length: 9 pages
Level of Sex: 3
My rating: 5 out of 10
Juice
Kiel Stuart
Why are there so many stories that I didn't fully comprehend? This one is about wrestlers, not the most interesting theme for me.
Length: 14 pages
Level of Sex: 0 There was sex?
My rating: 2 out of 10
Surprise
Rex Miller
About having it all and losing it all. The story didn't quite live up to its title. I wasn't that surprised.
Length: 10 pages
Level of Sex: 2 Quite tame.
My rating: 5 out of 10 Entertaining enough.
Rococo
Graham Masterton
The whole story has this nightmarish quality. Everything was absolutely absurd and ridiculous. I want to know more about the process, the how.
Length: 16 pages
Level of Sex: 2 Disgusting but quite brief.
My rating: 6 out of 10 A story straight from a nightmare.
Dear Diary
Elsa Rutherford
This is quite a unique piece. Filled with diary entries of famous powerful women who reveal their girly fantasies. I just wish if could have been longer.
Length: 5 pages
Level of Sex: 0+ Quite innocent just like a maiden's daydream.
My rating: 6 out of 10 For its uniqueness.
The Splicer
Don D'Ammassa
Interesting little piece especially fascinating for classic horror film lovers. I liked the way the story was built towards its climax. Now that I think about it, I should have guessed where the story was going, but I didn't see it, not until it surprised the shit out of me. The Splicer is one of those stories that makes you fall in love with the Hot Blood series. That is, if you like the twisted kind.
Length: 15 pages
Level of Sex: 3 It's more of suggestion and build-up than actually describing anything too graphically. It's like watching a clip of staged 'chikan'.
My rating: 9 out of 10
A Hard Man Is Good to Find
R. Patrick Gates
Two great stories in a row! This one doesn't start strong, but it gets real good and creepy. And nasty too. A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. Lisa's solution surprised me, but that was the thing that made the story so gruesomely excellent.
Length: 9 pages
Level of Sex: 4 Female orgasms described quite in details. At least it still stayed in the realm of being realistic, unlike some Twilight fanfiction out there.
My rating: 9 out of 10 Excellent ending that makes you want more.
Bedroom Eyes
Michael Newton
Too long and quite boring. The build-up was long, but the 'climax' it let to was a disappointment. All in all, just a strange little story.
Length: 12 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Nothing really happened.
My rating: 3 out of 10 Points for trying.
Atrocities
Lucy Taylor
This creepy as hell little story is one of those reason I'm never gonna get kids. You just wouldn't know when they're gonna flip the fuck out. And I'm also glad I don't have siblings.
Length: 9 pages
Level of Sex: 0 Leaving it all to imaginations.
My rating: 7 out of 10
Pearldoll
John Shirley
A bit like a Stephen King story. After you've read through 550 pages of quite boring shit, you get to the final 50 pages. And that's when it all goes to hell, and stuff gets interesting. Then when you finally finish the story, you would be like 'What the fuck just happened'. Pearldoll is exactly like that, except that John Shirley is no Stephen King.
Length: 14 pages
Level of Sex: 4 That's just nasty.
My rating: 5 out of 10
The Kind Men Like
Karl Edward Wagner
The build-up was actually way more interesting than the actual big revelation. And that's never a good thing.
Length: 14 pages
Level of Sex: 2 Soft porn only
My rating: 6 out of 10 For the great build-up
The Braille Encyclopaedia
Grant Morrison
This is the Holy Grail of Hot Blood stories. I just couldn't imagine how big this series would've gotten if all of their stories are like this one. Absolutely terrifying, claustrophobic atmosphere that also explore our deep-rooted fear of absolute darkness and our willingness to do absolutely anything to avoid that. But what you want is never what you need, is it now? And don't even try to tell me that you don't want to read the whole encyclopaedia! This story was also been made into a comic book.
Length: 15 pages
Level of Sex: 5 I almost gave this a three and say that it's not that graphic. But then I remembered the little boy.
My rating: 10 out of 10 Absolutely terrifying.
Review of the whole book:
24 stories
Average rating: 5.8
Stories with a rating below 5 out of 10: 10
Stories with a rating 6-7 out of 10: 8
Stories with a rating 8-9 out of 10: 5
Best story: The Braille Encyclopaedia
Most erotic stories: Dream on Me & The Braille Encyclopaedia
Most memorable stories: The Tub & The Braille Encyclopaedia
The Hot Blood series are tales of erotic horror, which is the best combination ever. When something as personal and sensitive as sex is mixed with horror, what could possible scare you shitless more? So I set out to explore them all, all 13 books of the series, thus Project Hot Blood.
First, some info about my rating system. The level of paranormal of each story is one to five, one meaning it surely can happen in real life, five meaning it’s utterly something paranormal. The level of sex describes how graphic is the sex in each story, one to five, one being tame a bedtime story told by a nun, five being a detailed script for a hardcore porn movie. My rating’s from one to ten, it’s based on the balance of horror and erotic, so getting five in ‘level of sex’ doesn’t automatically mean an above average rating from me. It’s based on the wtf-ness of the ending, how freaked out I am, how nightmare-generating it is. One being rubbish, ten being masterpiece.
Nocturne
Richard Laymon - author of the Best House Chronicles and Richard Laymon's Collection.
Hotter Blood was actually the first book out of the series that I read. The Tub is one of few that I remember clearly, it left such a huge impact. It was brutal and it hits that primal fear that I believe everyone has in their core (you know, being buried alive, being eaten alive and such). In The Tub that kind of fear manifested in an unusual but nonetheless terrifying way. While reading, it felt like a thousand bugs crawling on your skin. The ending was somewhat anti-climatic, cos it should have gone with the most brutal assumption the reader was making, but I still like it a lot.
Length: 20 pages
Level of Sex: 2 The sex itself was very brief, and what came after that I sure as hell won't count as sex.
My rating: 9 out of 10 Would have been a ten if not for pussying out a little bit in the end.
The Picture of Health
Ray Garton - an author of fine horror books such as Live Girls.
The modern day Dorian Gray. It is quite predictable because it was quite clear from the start what was going on. One thing I can't quite stand in horror is stupidity. How freaking stupid you can be to do all those stuff that our 'heroine' did? I didn't even feel bad for her in the end which was very sad for the mother though.
Length: 28 pages
Level of Sex: 3 Decent amount and quality.
My rating: 5 out of 10 If only I could get around all that stupidity.
Change of Life
Chet Williamson
An extremely strange story. No explanations, it just happened. And what happened wasn't very interesting either. And the sex seemed like something the author threw into the mix just to get into the Hot Blood series.
Length: 4 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Just because there was a little bit of sex.
My rating: 3 out of 10 At least it was short, so I didn't waste too much time.
Demonlover
Nancy A. Collins - author mostly known for her vampire novels.
Some girls just won't settle for normal guys, after all they're merely mortals, dirty meatbags. So if you're in need of something extraordinary, who knows what your needing might invite. In this case, our girl Sina found just what she needed. It's a beautiful love story really, and since it's in Sina's point of view, she got her happy ending. Only we readers, we outsiders, find the relationship disturbing.
Length: 10 pages
Level of Sex: 4 However disturbing, the sex was very erotic.
My rating: 8 out of 10
Confession
Kurt Busiek - another comic author (Avengers among others)
Confessions of a vampire who refuse to take the vein of a living creature. After all, what difference there is between human and animal if you obey your primal desires, right? The story was well-written, it's just we're heard one too many times about the struggles of vampires; the constant temptation, the thirst, the underlying beast within and bla bla bla. Booooooring! Thank the gods the ending saved the whole story.
Length: 12 pages
Level of Sex: 1 There was sex? I can't recall.
My rating: 6 out of 10 Thanks to the nice touch at the end.
Wolf in the Memory
Stephen Gresham
I really don't get it. It's about a young boy's fantasies about his teacher. But the rest of it? I just don't get it.
Length: 17 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Strictly speaking, there wasn't any.
My rating: 1 out of 10
To Have and to Hold
Gary Brandner - author of the Howling.
Funny little story. Very predictable, which was a pity. It was nicely built till the end. Only if I didn't guess what was going on right at the beginning... I blame my sick twisted imagination.
Length: 7 pages
Level of Sex: 3½ The fact that I guessed what was happening turned me off a bit.
My rating: 7 out of 10 For entertaining me.
Cruising
Lisa W. Cantrell
A story that has become a classic as it has been told so many times. You know, boy meets girl. Boy gets rejected and so on. The author didn't add anything new to the table.
Length: 8 pages
Level of Sex: 0
My rating: 5 out of 10 It wasn't bad, but it's just the same old story.
Dream On Me
Mick Garris (Author of 'Chocolate', an odd little story from Hot Blood - book 1)
The author's story in Hot Blood - book 1 was quite pretty, until it turned violent very unexpectedly. I kind of expected his second entry to the Hot Blood series to be along the line, but it seemed to be written from a different person. I get what the author tried to accomplish, but the atmosphere was left wanting. The sex describe here was quite good though, however creepy it was.
Length: 13 pages
Level of Sex: 5 The strangeness of it all add to the already graphic encounters.
My rating: 6 out of 10 When the sex part is the best part, the story can be better.
DeVICE
Steven Gallagher
The story was slow-paced and peaceful, though the DeVICE was quite innovative. If not for the brilliant ending, I wouldn't rate this so high.
Length: 13 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Quite disgusting.
My rating: 8 out of 10 Excellent ending.
The Best
Paul Dale Anderson
Interesting premise, could have been much better. Maybe I just don't like the main characters, especially the main male character is the opposite from my type.
Length: 11 pages
Level of Sex: 4 Graphic but still at the realm of vanilla.
My rating: 6 out of 10 More if not for the predictability.
Something Extra
J.N. Williamson and James Kisner
What the hell did I just read? The beginning was quite boring, potential adultery and office romance and bla bla bla. But when it became interesting, it became strange and I just didn't get it.
Length: 9 pages
Level of Sex: 3
My rating: 5 out of 10
Juice
Kiel Stuart
Why are there so many stories that I didn't fully comprehend? This one is about wrestlers, not the most interesting theme for me.
Length: 14 pages
Level of Sex: 0 There was sex?
My rating: 2 out of 10
Surprise
Rex Miller
About having it all and losing it all. The story didn't quite live up to its title. I wasn't that surprised.
Length: 10 pages
Level of Sex: 2 Quite tame.
My rating: 5 out of 10 Entertaining enough.
Rococo
Graham Masterton
The whole story has this nightmarish quality. Everything was absolutely absurd and ridiculous. I want to know more about the process, the how.
Length: 16 pages
Level of Sex: 2 Disgusting but quite brief.
My rating: 6 out of 10 A story straight from a nightmare.
Dear Diary
Elsa Rutherford
This is quite a unique piece. Filled with diary entries of famous powerful women who reveal their girly fantasies. I just wish if could have been longer.
Length: 5 pages
Level of Sex: 0+ Quite innocent just like a maiden's daydream.
My rating: 6 out of 10 For its uniqueness.
The Splicer
Don D'Ammassa
Interesting little piece especially fascinating for classic horror film lovers. I liked the way the story was built towards its climax. Now that I think about it, I should have guessed where the story was going, but I didn't see it, not until it surprised the shit out of me. The Splicer is one of those stories that makes you fall in love with the Hot Blood series. That is, if you like the twisted kind.
Length: 15 pages
Level of Sex: 3 It's more of suggestion and build-up than actually describing anything too graphically. It's like watching a clip of staged 'chikan'.
My rating: 9 out of 10
A Hard Man Is Good to Find
R. Patrick Gates
Two great stories in a row! This one doesn't start strong, but it gets real good and creepy. And nasty too. A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. Lisa's solution surprised me, but that was the thing that made the story so gruesomely excellent.
Length: 9 pages
Level of Sex: 4 Female orgasms described quite in details. At least it still stayed in the realm of being realistic, unlike some Twilight fanfiction out there.
My rating: 9 out of 10 Excellent ending that makes you want more.
Bedroom Eyes
Michael Newton
Too long and quite boring. The build-up was long, but the 'climax' it let to was a disappointment. All in all, just a strange little story.
Length: 12 pages
Level of Sex: 1 Nothing really happened.
My rating: 3 out of 10 Points for trying.
Atrocities
Lucy Taylor
This creepy as hell little story is one of those reason I'm never gonna get kids. You just wouldn't know when they're gonna flip the fuck out. And I'm also glad I don't have siblings.
Length: 9 pages
Level of Sex: 0 Leaving it all to imaginations.
My rating: 7 out of 10
Pearldoll
John Shirley
A bit like a Stephen King story. After you've read through 550 pages of quite boring shit, you get to the final 50 pages. And that's when it all goes to hell, and stuff gets interesting. Then when you finally finish the story, you would be like 'What the fuck just happened'. Pearldoll is exactly like that, except that John Shirley is no Stephen King.
Length: 14 pages
Level of Sex: 4 That's just nasty.
My rating: 5 out of 10
The Kind Men Like
Karl Edward Wagner
The build-up was actually way more interesting than the actual big revelation. And that's never a good thing.
Length: 14 pages
Level of Sex: 2 Soft porn only
My rating: 6 out of 10 For the great build-up
The Braille Encyclopaedia
Grant Morrison
This is the Holy Grail of Hot Blood stories. I just couldn't imagine how big this series would've gotten if all of their stories are like this one. Absolutely terrifying, claustrophobic atmosphere that also explore our deep-rooted fear of absolute darkness and our willingness to do absolutely anything to avoid that. But what you want is never what you need, is it now? And don't even try to tell me that you don't want to read the whole encyclopaedia! This story was also been made into a comic book.
Length: 15 pages
Level of Sex: 5 I almost gave this a three and say that it's not that graphic. But then I remembered the little boy.
My rating: 10 out of 10 Absolutely terrifying.
Review of the whole book:
24 stories
Average rating: 5.8
Stories with a rating below 5 out of 10: 10
Stories with a rating 6-7 out of 10: 8
Stories with a rating 8-9 out of 10: 5
Best story: The Braille Encyclopaedia
Most erotic stories: Dream on Me & The Braille Encyclopaedia
Most memorable stories: The Tub & The Braille Encyclopaedia
More...