Poisoning Eros

Rating:
Summary: Soul shattering
Review: "O'Rourke digs down into some loamy soil-what she comes up with is disturbingly dark, and often, very funny" writes veteran horror writer Jack Ketchum in a blurb on the back cover of "Poisoning Eros." Since Monica O'Rourke co-wrote this deeply disturbing gorefest with Wrath James White, I guess the same description applies to him. Except for the "very funny" part; I found nothing about anything I read in this book worth chuckling about. In fact, you're probably wearing a straightjacket as we speak if you found anything remotely amusing about "Poisoning Eros." Don't get me wrong; I love extreme horror and dark fantasy just as well as the next psychopath, but White and O'Rourke explode so many boundaries, obliterate so many taboos, that even my iron shod stomach rumbled in a not so polite way as I meandered through the novel. I decided to pick up "Poisoning Eros" after reading "Teratologist," a novella Wrath James White penned in conjunction with goremeister supreme Edward Lee. Amazingly, this book easily eclipses the atrocities of "Teratologist." It arguably overshadows the sickening stories of Charlee Jacob, Poppy Z. Brite, Matthew Stokoe, and just about any other gore filled opus released in the last few years. That's saying something.

Welcome to the intriguing world of Gloria, a once beautiful and popular adult film starlet now slogging through a damaged world fueled by hard drugs and alcohol. The fast days of big money and fan conventions are long gone, replaced with work so degrading to the human soul that I refuse to mention it here. Gloria allows herself to wallow in depravity for a few measly bucks so she can continue her binges. The poor woman longs for her former glories, but she also longs to return to the only man who truly loved her and the daughter she gave up to pursue her sleazy career. Any hopes for a tearful reunion seem far off, however, until she meets a mysterious man who promises her huge paychecks if she agrees to engage in a physical union with a supernatural being. Gloria doesn't quite realize the implications of the deal let alone truly believe what she sees while doing it, but a buck is a buck and these fat checks will arrest those horrible narcotics withdrawals that pop up with frightening regularity. There is a catch in the deal, though. Gloria must promise to work for no one else ever again. She agrees without taking it seriously. After all, how will this guy know what she's up to?

Guess what? He does know what she's doing, and a whole lot more. Turns out this sinister chap made a deal with a demon in the underworld, the same demon showing up in one form or another to dally with Gloria. Our heroine (or anti-heroine depending on your view) discovers that she is caught up in a horrible pact fraught with eternal peril to her immortal soul. The second half of the book finds Gloria imprisoned in the pits of Hell, where she toils in the service of a fallen angel. Prepare yourself for page after page of intricate descriptions of the worst sorts of fleshly atrocities. We've all heard the hoary stories about the flaming pits, roasting souls, and screams without end; O'Rourke and White take them to heart and promptly shove them in your face. This is grueling, soul shattering stuff the likes of which you've never seen before. Just when you think you cannot possibly take anymore, the book shifts focus by examining themes of emotional healing, redemption, and tough personal choices involving the bonds between mother and daughter. I was quite surprised to discover that "Poisoning Eros" is a book that actually makes you think after you close the cover for the final time.

All fans of extreme horror need to pick this one up posthaste. That more buffs don't know the book exists is surprising. While I'd like to describe some of the juicy details in the story, the subject matter is so beyond the pale that public decency prohibits my doing so. I can say I found "Poisoning Eros" to be an extremely well written story, and one that doesn't toss aside character development and plot in favor of gore. We come to know Gloria as a fully developed human being who, despite her rock bottom life and low self-esteem, never loses her sense of self or the ability to love her daughter. She's beaten, cheated, mistreated, emotionally damaged, lied to, and generally treated like refuse but she never loses sight of something better in life or in the afterlife. I don't think it is a stretch to say you might actually come to like this lady's pluck. It's to the authors' credit that they manage to bring these themes to the surface of what is essentially an ocean of gore. Dig down into that loamy soil and give "Poisoning Eros" a shot; you might just end up liking the darn thing!


Rating:
Summary: Chicken Soup for the Dark Side
Review: I have not had the pleasure of reading Wraths earlier work - I have had the pleasure of reading Monica's work, though.... and Monica has always done something to shock me! This book is no different!

This colaboration between these two extremely talented writers is like nothing I have ever read.... the detail they use literally brings you into the darkest depths with the main character, Gloria. Never before have I gotten this vivid a glimpse of Hell.... which makes me wonder if Monica or Wrath have actually been there..... hmmmmmm....

I immediately found myself sympathizing with Gloria - which must be part of the Monica/Wrath TRAP! And her Hell on Earth is nothing compared to her Hell in Hell!

Throughout this book I found myself gagging, choking, looking away, questioning my own beliefs in good and evil, and yelling (out loud, not in my head!) at certain characters (Vlad, Ryan, Angela... all come to mind!) who deserved the punishment that poor Gloria endured.....

My ONLY criticism of this book is that I feel it ended too abruptly... some extremely critical decisions were made in the last 2 or 3 pages that I felt deserved a chapter of their own.... I felt sorry for myself after I read the last page because I wanted to read more.... I wonder if a sequel or continuation is in the works.....

Hopefully Monica and Wrath will be taking another trip to Hell soon to conjure up some more sick, twisted, and wonderfully demented ideas!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Eros did not die of poison, but degenerated into Vice...
Review: If you have been pursuing some dark paths like I have lately, perhaps you have treated yourself to some Hellish excursions like Edward Lee's City Infernal and Infernal Angel, or Jeffrey Thomas's Letters From Hades, which were all dark and succulent journeys into those nameless lands below.

So if you enjoyed your travelings with Lee and Thomas, you are going to absolutely love Poisoning Eros.

But this time bring your barf bag.

As with many books I enjoy, this treat by Wrath James White will leave you heaving over your commode for days, retching up the vile words that you so fiercly consumed, and running back for more.

Definitely as gross as Excitable Boys by Kelly Laymon, I strongly advise you against this book if you have a weak constitution. The are many beastly couplings, including demonic, that are explicitly drawn out by Mr. White and left on your plate for you to taste their exquisitely repugnant flavors. Make sure your antacid is nearby.

Gloria has been a working girl her whole life, and her life has run its course from where she once sat at the top of the heap as a Porn Movie Princess, to the present where she will do absolutely anything for enough money to get a fix.

Her looks are gone and her money is gone, and all that is left to her is the sweet bliss of drugs. But Gloria falls in with the wrong man, a demonic creature who will pay her well but demand her soul in return. When she tries to leave him, he pulls up the daughter from her past and threatens to destroy the girl that Gloria barely knew.

How far will Gloria go to right the wrongs of her life? What does her soul look like in Hell, and will she ever be able to salvage the love of her child that she so carelessly threw away so many years ago?

If you like well written stories with horrific visions that will haunt you long after you are finished, then make sure to pick up a copy of Poisoning Eros. Well worth the price, but remember to spend a little extra and have that barf bag on hand. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Poisoning the bookshelves
Review: There's a reason a lot of material never makes it to the big publishing houses and contrary to what a lot of fans like to believe, it has nothing to do with content. It's because it's garbage. You think you've read some stinkers from the "major labels"? You haven't seen anything.

POISONING EROS is the story of Gloria, an aging, washed-up porn star with artificial parts and a wicked drug addiction. In order to feed her habits she's been reduced to starring in increasingly extreme internet-distributed bestiality videos. Then one day a mysterious man offers her more money than she could ever imagine - but she has to work for him only. The consequences for breaking her contract would be terrible indeed.

It doesn't take a genius to work out that this guy's a demon in disguise. What he puts Gloria through makes her previous encounters seem positively mundane by comparison.

This is yet another half-baked extreme horror story where the authors take a paper-thin plot and characters, and simply throw in everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to disgust the reader. However, the only thing I found shocking was that something so inept ever got printed. I weep for the trees.

What's especially sad is that it took two people to write something this bad. In fact it might have been better had it been a solo effort (but only slightly.) There are several instances where it seems like the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. There's a scene where Gloria realizes the true nature of some creatures she's been "working with." Later in the book, she makes the same realization. The age of Gloria's daughter seems to fluctuate, and pieces of prose are repeated word for word at different points. Clearly no one bothered to proofread the final product. Meanwhile, some poor unemployed editor is out there starving.

The ending of the story is so sickeningly sweet that if the rest of the book didn't make you nauseous, that will.

I could go on, but then my review would be longer than the book itself. At least if you choose to read this, you'll only have wasted an hour or two.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Wrath James White is the prodigy of Edward Lee. He must be, because this is the most hardcore thing I've ever read. It was my first time reading Monica O'Rourke but I will look for her as well.