Monday, April 09, 2007

Review: Blood Sisters: Lesbian Vampire Tales

Cece Ross (ed) Blood Sisters: Lesbian Vampire Tales
Published by Alyson Books
Reviewed by Paul Shephard

There are two very different ways to review these Lesbian Vampire Tales. The first, is to regard them as simply a collection of lesbian erotic fiction, and the second, is to look at the stories as a lover of the Gothic genre. As a male lover of Gothic, I was tempted to regard most of the tales as merely exercises in soft porn and to simultaneously savage some of the content, but I was also acutely aware that I would be completely missing the point. Most of the tales show a considerable degree of sensuality although a few are simply raw sex. There is stalking of victims by vampires, love, lust, jealousy, betrayal, intense relationships, sadomasochism, excessive violence, some humour, and lots and lots of blood pouring from various parts of the body including the genitals. All the tales offer graphic descriptions of lesbian love making and combine the vampire's lust for blood with the sexual climax. It's all very erotic and macabre indeed! Some of the authors use Gothic to considerable effect and two use sci-fi themes as the basis for their stories. For the connoisseur of Gothic, no, but for lovers of soft porn and vampires, a must!

Paul Shephard is a freelance writer and reviewer of Gothic Literature, Art, British and Modern European History, and International Relations.

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