Bitter Things

Andrew Valentine has an erotic vampire novel out - Bitter Things.

I listened to his radio interview today, and I thought it was interesting. The actual interview can be viewed here.

The interview was pretty interesting - a little bit scattered, but I think that's quite normal with radio interviews.

Early vampire myth and culture was talked about, religion, psychology, and Western though was discussed.

It was interesting to hear the theory that vampires are vessels for our fears and concerns; Dracula was for xenophobia, True Blood for minority groups, etc. Vampires often become what the culture is concerned with.

Being a Jung fan, I was delighted when he was mentioned as well. Referencing Jung's Modern Man in Search of a Soul, what people can't find in religion, they turn to fiction - which may be why vampires are so popular right now. It was mentioned that in times of turmoil, confusion, and conflict, and interest in the paranormal peaks.

Towards the end of the interview, the feminization of the vampire myth also came into discussion. According to Valentine, 22% of household have women bread-makers, 1/3 of married households include women who are better educated and only 40% of college grads are men. It was theorized that vampire novels are somewhat of a rejection of what choices of men women have.

The interview touches on some old vampire tales and myths, talks a bit about certain vampire fiction and cultural implications, and discusses a bit about why our culture is so interested in vampires.

I would recommend listening to it. The commercials are pretty horrible though. I believe one ad for a flower shop used the description "very great" or something odd. The ads were oddly description. And the hardware store jingle sounded like it belonged on some of my old cassette tape radio recordings. It seemed like the radio host also kept calling Valentine's book "Bitter Rites" (or rights?).

I hope to get my hands on the book soon. Apparently Valentine has a Masters in Psychology from the New School of Social Research. That right there makes me a bit intrigued.

Review of Private Midnight by Kris Saknussemm

Private Midnight, by Kris Saknussemm is being released March 5th and is definitely worth the read.

Ritter is a police detective who has been through two divorces, lots of death, and plenty of guilt and fear. He is feeling lonely and tired. One day an old cop friend who is nothing but trouble drops off a business card on his desk; which will forever change his life.

Ritter meets a seductive woman who is mysterious and desirable. Now he only has her on his mind and things are starting to become very strange…

When I first started reading this book it felt like a 1920’s detective story – I thought of Dick Tracy: the smoke, the night, the ominous narrator, the dingy bars and the loud precinct. I thought it had the classic comic book detective story feel to it – it didn’t last that way.

Soon I wasn’t sure what to believe; I didn’t know what was really happening and what was being imagined. The story then started to remind me of The Machinist. Ritter seems obsessed, he is quickly losing weight, and odd things are happening. I kept expecting the end to reveal that Ritter was crazy and he was imagining everything.

Ritter becomes increasingly distressed. None of his clothes fit him, he can’t eat, he has no one to talk to, and he has blackouts and disturbing dreams and when he wakes up he is usually covered in an odd substance. All the while, his obsession with the mysterious woman becomes stronger and more dangerous.

I don’t think giving a no spoiler review can give this book justice. It is by far the weirdest book I have ever read. I think I uttered the words “what in the …” several times outloud. Some of the things in this book were absolutely disturbing.

When I got about half-way through the book I really didn’t want to keep reading. About two-thirds through the book I really didn’t like it much. When I finished the last page of the book I was so stunned I couldn’t hate the book and wanted everyone to read it so they could go through the same thing I did.

I don’t usually cuss, but if I had to give a one statement explanation of this book I would have to say it’s a psychological mind !#$%. I had a hard time getting through it, but the end was worth it. The psychological warfare is pretty intense and interesting. And I have never read an ending like this one.

Without knowing anything about the author I figured the writer was male, when I ended the book I thought the writer might be a woman! Which I think is quite genius and fitting. I won’t tell you if Kris is male or female, I think you should read and guess yourself, then read the bio! Primeval and psychological elements of sexuality, manhood, control, violence, fear, and darkness make this book quite fascinating.

I just finished Private Midnight and could go on and on about it, but I don’t want to give anything else away. Let me know if you read this. I would love to have a conversation about it!

Oh, and to address the "vampire" element. I was expecting this book to have the present popular vampire character, which it didn't. I do however, believe that describing a vampire in it's most basic and primeval form is quite fitting. Read it and tell me what you think.