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5.0 AVERAGE
5.0 AVERAGE
So bad.
Practically unreadable. Bad fake old-timey Scottish dialog. Corny, absurd sex.
Practically unreadable. Bad fake old-timey Scottish dialog. Corny, absurd sex.
By now it's no secret that Jeff Mann should be crowned the king of eroticism that balances the knife edge between so many dichotomies; death and the erotic, violence and love, dominance and compassion, fear and arousal. The outright poetry of Mann's words somehow partners with topics that can be brutal or tender (or a heady mix of both) and leads the reader along without respite. I've tried - I've honestly tried - to read just a bit of a Jeff Mann novel or collection at a time in a vain attempt to make it last, but I never succeed. I tear through, cover to cover.
If you'll allow me the pun, I devoured this.
Derek Maclaine is the ancient Scottish vampire that Mann has introduced a few times over in various anthologies, magazines, and novellas - I discovered the character in "Black Sambuca" in the anthology Blood Sacraments. Derek is so unique and refreshingly so - a vampire, yes, but no suave and debonair European. Derek is a Scot, displaced now to rural Virginia, and unapologetic in his love of all things rural and pagan. His desire - mixed with the blood lust of his kind and his penchant for dominance and bondage - led the way through a darkly intriguing story. After I read "Black Sambuca" I ran to the internet, and found the rest of the Derek Maclaine tales and buying copies of each appearance of the character. It was quite the trek, and the end result was bouncing around in Derek's timeline somewhat, but I had no regrets.
Fastforward a bit, and this book appeared. There are two new tales for those of you who've been as completionist as I have. The first is the bulk of the collection, the 92-page novella "Derek and Angus," which tells of Derek's origin and the moment he was changed into a vampire, and the man for whom he made that choice. Set in 1717, "Derek and Angus" hums with Mann's poetic turn of phrase with language and the spoken word and the obvious love of wild naturalism. Angus is such a key part of Derek's character through all the other stories, and reading "Derek and Angus" was such a bittersweet ride - you know (if you've read the other tales) where this is going, but you can't help but watch. "Derek and Angus" is a novella of love and revenge told with depth and brutality - the sense of the time is so well evoked, and the reality the two men face in being together isn't skipped over. Wonderful!
The other new tale is "The Last Crumbs of Sacher Torte" and brings Derek to 1897 Austria and shows a more mature Derek now - one who has grown into his abilities and his penchant for ropes and ties, dominance and submission, and - of course - blood. This story, alongside "Saving Tobias," are the stories holding the most visceral reminders of what Derek is. This is a beast as much as a man, and though there is kindness in him, it is unwise to earn his ire.
As I've mentioned, I had read "Hemlock Lake," "Saving Tobias," "Whitby," "Wolf Moon/Hunger Moon" and "Black Sambuca" before, but I re-read them. "Hemlock Lake" reveals a Derek yearning for his losses, but starting to see the potential in the world the remains for him. "Saving Tobias" is perhaps the most brutal tale - Derek deciding to punish a man who has helped strengthen the intolerance in this rural part of the world - but even this story has such fluid eroticism to it. "Whitby" sees Derek's reach growing, and by "Wolf Moon/Hunger Moon" and "Black Sambuca" there's a real sense of history marching to the present. I enjoyed the progression they presented - Derek growing more mature, reaching the present from his origins, and coming to new places almost full-circle in the collection. Derek is a character who walks the centuries between tales, and does so with a believable growth and consistency - not an easy balance to strike.
But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Like I said, Jeff Mann seems to have those balancing acts down pat.
If you'll allow me the pun, I devoured this.
Derek Maclaine is the ancient Scottish vampire that Mann has introduced a few times over in various anthologies, magazines, and novellas - I discovered the character in "Black Sambuca" in the anthology Blood Sacraments. Derek is so unique and refreshingly so - a vampire, yes, but no suave and debonair European. Derek is a Scot, displaced now to rural Virginia, and unapologetic in his love of all things rural and pagan. His desire - mixed with the blood lust of his kind and his penchant for dominance and bondage - led the way through a darkly intriguing story. After I read "Black Sambuca" I ran to the internet, and found the rest of the Derek Maclaine tales and buying copies of each appearance of the character. It was quite the trek, and the end result was bouncing around in Derek's timeline somewhat, but I had no regrets.
Fastforward a bit, and this book appeared. There are two new tales for those of you who've been as completionist as I have. The first is the bulk of the collection, the 92-page novella "Derek and Angus," which tells of Derek's origin and the moment he was changed into a vampire, and the man for whom he made that choice. Set in 1717, "Derek and Angus" hums with Mann's poetic turn of phrase with language and the spoken word and the obvious love of wild naturalism. Angus is such a key part of Derek's character through all the other stories, and reading "Derek and Angus" was such a bittersweet ride - you know (if you've read the other tales) where this is going, but you can't help but watch. "Derek and Angus" is a novella of love and revenge told with depth and brutality - the sense of the time is so well evoked, and the reality the two men face in being together isn't skipped over. Wonderful!
The other new tale is "The Last Crumbs of Sacher Torte" and brings Derek to 1897 Austria and shows a more mature Derek now - one who has grown into his abilities and his penchant for ropes and ties, dominance and submission, and - of course - blood. This story, alongside "Saving Tobias," are the stories holding the most visceral reminders of what Derek is. This is a beast as much as a man, and though there is kindness in him, it is unwise to earn his ire.
As I've mentioned, I had read "Hemlock Lake," "Saving Tobias," "Whitby," "Wolf Moon/Hunger Moon" and "Black Sambuca" before, but I re-read them. "Hemlock Lake" reveals a Derek yearning for his losses, but starting to see the potential in the world the remains for him. "Saving Tobias" is perhaps the most brutal tale - Derek deciding to punish a man who has helped strengthen the intolerance in this rural part of the world - but even this story has such fluid eroticism to it. "Whitby" sees Derek's reach growing, and by "Wolf Moon/Hunger Moon" and "Black Sambuca" there's a real sense of history marching to the present. I enjoyed the progression they presented - Derek growing more mature, reaching the present from his origins, and coming to new places almost full-circle in the collection. Derek is a character who walks the centuries between tales, and does so with a believable growth and consistency - not an easy balance to strike.
But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Like I said, Jeff Mann seems to have those balancing acts down pat.