Horror List Book Review: Drawing Blood

Remember my post about working my way through the Nightmare Magazine's Top 100 List? (Plus another list, and now we've found another list with more recent books on it. You'll find my updated list of books read from each list at the end of this post.)

The first book I read was Poppy Z. Brite's Drawing Blood, because that's the first one I found at the library. I also thought I'd already read it, but it turns out I hadn't.

First, let me say that I enjoy Brite's writing. I already knew this from having read other books by her. She writes dark, lush, fertile words, setting scenes that are simultaneously putrid and beautiful. Her characters are fully fleshed out, not the cream of society, but relate-able.

Despite the characterization and rich words, it was slow going for me, and took me awhile to get through. I kept waiting for the horror. It does start with a bang (or a pow...a slam?) when the main character's father murders his family, leaving Trevor alive, then kills himself. Then it segued into a romance between the two main males in the story, Trevor and Zach. I kept waiting for the scary stuff to begin, but it didn't come around until about 50% (on Kindle) of the way through the book. Even then, it was few and far between. One scene here, with something minor. Another here, maybe escalated a little. Quite frankly, there was more sex than there were scares. There were also far more joints smoked than chills given. I tired of reading about them getting stoned, taking shrooms, etc. Especially when one of them did so with a concussion, while on the run from the law. Really?

clker.com, Wendy Owens & Netalloy

It simply didn't do it for me. The scares weren't all that scary. They were dark, yes, but not frightening. This is a haunted house story on the one hand, psychological horror on the other, but neither is as developed as I would have liked to see it. It was more character driven than plot driven, by far, which could have lent itself to the psychological aspects. But it didn't. Following a man who is crawling into the recesses of his dead father's mind to find out why he spared his life and left him behind could have been blood curdling, but it fell short. I wasn't drawn into that portion of the story. And the haunted house? Meh. There was only one time anyone really felt in jeopardy from spirits, and it was fleeting.

One other problem I had was the ease with which the unusual was accepted. Zach accepts everything he's told. His boyfriend tries to murder him, and he instantly buys the reasoning behind it and calmly deals with it. This is someone he's just met. Furthermore, each person they tell about the events occurring buys them instantly. I didn't find that believable.

All I can conclude is that it made the list for the beauty and depth of the writing, not because it's particularly scary. It was cotton candy--pretty, with good elements, but not filling. It's worth a read if you're okay with the explicit sex scenes, but if it's fright you're looking for, well, let's just say I read this in the dark while my husband was on a business trip, and it didn't faze me in the least.

Note: I should point out that this was only her second book, as far as I'm aware. I'm sure she's improved quite a bit since then. Still, this is one of the books that made the list.

Updated list of books I've read from the THREE lists:

clker.com, Ted & OCAL

American Psycho

The Bad Place

Bag of Bones

Best New Horror, 1st Edition

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Dracula
Drawing Blood

The Exorcist

Floating Dragon

Flowers in the Attic

Frankenstein

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Grimm's Fairy Tales

The Haunting of Hill House

Heart-Shaped Box

I Am Legend

Interview with the Vampire

It

Joyland

Jurassic Park

The Least of my Scars

Lightning

Lord of the Flies 

Lost Boy Lost Girl

Love in Vein

Needful Things

Night Shift

Nos4atu

Odd Thomas

Pet Semetary

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Red Dragon

Rosemary's Baby

Salem's Lot

The Shining

The Silence of the Lambs

Skeleton Crew

Something Wicked This Way Comes

The Stand

Strangers

Sunglasses After Dark

The Vampire Lestat

Velocity

Watchers

Have you read Drawing Blood or any work by Poppy Z. Brite? What did you think? Did you check out the new list to see what you'd read on it?

May you find your Muse.