Reviews

El alma del vampiro by Poppy Z. Brite

reaperreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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thomasgammon's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I enjoyed how the novel immersed and surrounded you in the  90's alt scene and I enjoyed the book most when it was this dark, edgy hitchhiking story about a very lost boy at the lost characters he ran into. Unfortunately the story reached its emotional and thematic conclusions around half way through and it felt like it then just stagnated there. For a book that's more sensory, meditative and introspective, when there is almost no plot apart repeated scenes that would be described with the more unsavoury  content warnings, finding your emotional and character conclusions very early on leaves very little to draw you through the rest of the novel. That being said, the composition of the novel itself seems to speak to a bleak cynicism, self-certainty and sense of defeated inevitability felt by those in the novel and people that engaged in the emo/alt-scene and is incredibly effective at capture the atmosphere of that time. 

dirigitive's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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7seventythree3's review against another edition

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3.0

I read this when I was 19. I remember liking it at the time, but I doubt I would like it today. I just don't find a lot of interest in this genre anymore. Things I remember about the book: vampires, a van (a tour van?),someone named "nothing", Kudzu, teen angst.

isyrein's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

z0diackiller's review against another edition

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5.0

“Nothing gazed around at the kids in the club. They were all so beautiful. He loved their choppy hairstyles, their costume jewelry, their ragged black or multicolored clothes. He loved the way they all somehow looked like him, and he wished he could make friends with every one of them.”

Another -WILD- ride from Poppy Z... and I loved every minute of it. Written with the same seductive flow as Exquisite Corpse, the reader follows quite a few lost souls as they make their way to New Orleans all for very different reasons.
When I started this book, I honestly didn't know what to expect. Drugged club kid vampires? A violent, graphic oversexed horror? Capes and blood-drinking? Thankfully, it was a pleasant surprise. Yes, cliché goth tokens are mentioned quite frequently, but, hey, Robert Smith is pretty great ;)

I signed up for dark obsessions, gore, and rape, and I got it. Not as much as Exquisite Corpse, but Lost Souls had extra angst.

What I really got and loved most about this book was the "doing drugs at 2 a.m. energy," self-destruction, and the search for belonging. Not only do you get nostalgic for your teen years (I took my share of 3 a.m. bus rides through the city) but mostly I felt the yearning for a community. I don't feel like I really found my own community until my adult years, but I did eventually. And I'm thrilled Nothing found his place with his family.

sigynmoon's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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ninevehthecat's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was grimy, gay, and goth as hell—and I loved it. My only qualm is that some of the content is a little…questionable…in my opinion. But other than that, so good! PZB’s writing and use of language is so gorgeously grotesque and addicting.

11corvus11's review against another edition

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4.0

I haven't read any of Doc Brite's books again in adulthood except this one. And in adulthood, it definitely wasn't the same. I was more annoyed by the characters and didn't relate much, like adults tend to be with youth. But, in my teen years, this book was everything. Probably too adult, probably too messed up, but made me feel so met by the dark world he created. So, it being that important to me then means a lot now. And regardless of what he's writing about, Brite's writing style is always a pleasure to experience.

I think Doc Brite's later novels about the chef's like Prime are what are better for adults. Though I was pretty young when I read that, too.

nadiastanley's review against another edition

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4.0

Bisexual vampire incest? A magical abortion gone wrong? All in all, an interesting way to start the year.