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Raw Pain Max

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From the author of Torture Tomb comes a terrifying novel of supernatural horror in which the reincarnation of a sadistic countess plunges a modern couple into a nightmarish labyrinth of occult terror. Realistically combines contemporary characters with the horror of the macabre.

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1988

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About the author

C. Dean Andersson

18 books24 followers
C. Dean Andersson writes Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. His day-jobs (and night) have included rock band drummer, television graphic designer, US Air Force band percussionist, robotics programmer, and technical writer. His Swedish-born father inspired the Viking Age studies he uses in his tales about the warrior Bloodsong, collected in HELx3: Warrior Witch of Hel, Death Riders of Hel, and Werebeasts of Hel. He is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and was a Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award finalist for his story about a modern encounter with the Goddess Hel, "The Death Wagon Rolls on By."
Website: www.cdeanandersson.com
Wikipedia, C. Dean Andersson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Dean_...
New interview with C. Dean Andersson: http://uparoundthecorner.blogspot.com...
Interview about writing the Hel Trilogy: http://kingsofthenight0.tripod.com/de...
facebook: Bloodsong: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloods...
Wikipedia, Bathory's "One Rode to Asa Bay," dedicated to C. Dean Andersson in honor of Bloodsong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_rode...

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Anthony.
271 reviews11 followers
November 27, 2024
Trashy 80s romp with gore, S&M, and afterlife reincarnation of The Blood Countess Elizabeth Bathory. The explanation of the duel between the 2 evil spirits got a bit confusing near the end. Quick read. Nothing outstanding. It would appeal to people with a fetish for torture.
Profile Image for Jacob B.
195 reviews5 followers
February 25, 2018
It's an S&M themed splatter punk story with lots of genital mutilation and some tentacle demons who live in a frozen lake of blood. I couldn't find much about it that I didn't like.
Profile Image for S.B. (Beauty in Ruins).
2,671 reviews246 followers
September 3, 2022
I can’t remember exactly where I first came across the mention of Raw Pain Max, other than that it was in one of those lists of books that someone felt should be banned, mutilated, and destroyed. Even if the very concept hadn’t piqued my interest, there’s no better recommendation for me than being told NOT to read something.

Yeah, I’m a little bit perverse that way - and if you're at all surprised by that, then you haven't been paying attention.

Yes, the critics are right - this is violent, sexual, sadistic, and bordering on the pornographic, but it has compelling take on the legend of the Countess Elizabeth Báthory to propel it along. C. Dean Andersson actually strays from the vampire mythology to which she’s so often tied, and delves instead into witchcraft and demonic possession. He sets up the Countess as a young woman at first in love, and then at odds with the sorceress who shares her bloody perversions. The lovers ultimately sacrificed one another to their respective demons, only to continue their rivalry through centuries of reincarnation.

We catch up with Erzebet (Elizabeth) and Darvulia in the late 80s (a time of corvettes, black leather, heavy metal, and a pre-internet amateur sex industry) through a pair of women who look as if they stepped out of a kinky dominatrix fantasy. In fact, that’s precisely the role Trudy plays in her life (whether it’s on stage, on screen, or within the insulated walls of her own private dungeon), and certainly the image Liz works hard to portray. Both women are sexy . . . and dangerous as Hell!

What ultimately gives the story the edge it needs to carry the reader beyond the bondage/torture titillation factor (which, despite some repetitive language, never really gets old), is the mystery behind the occult elements. Through Trudy’s memories/fantasies, Erzebet runs the gamut of sadistic villainess, tortured victim, and reluctant ally. We’re never sure of whose side she is really on, or what role her demonic Ally really intends to play. In fact, for a while, we're not even sure whether it's really Erzebet with whom Trudy shares a past life.

Fortunately, Trudy has a good man on her side in Phil, the silent loner who shares her stage, her screen, her dungeon, and (less frequently) her bed. He comes across as a realistic hero, a man who is far more interested in saving the life of the woman he loves than in trying to save the world. He’s definitely flawed, and probably suffers more than anybody in the book (at least, anybody who doesn’t end up a corpse), but he’s also what keeps the story grounded and the reader involved.

If you have fond memories of 80s slasher flicks and splatterpunk horror novels, a strong stomach, and a bit of a twisted sense of sexuality, Raw Pain Max is definitely a fun read. I can certainly see how some readers would be turned off by the violence and the sexual nature of the torture, but it’s never merely gratuitous, as hard as that may be to believe. My only regret is that I didn’t come across this in the 80s, when it was fresh and new, but I enjoyed it just as much now as I’m sure I would have then.


http://wtfrureading.blogspot.ca/2017/...
Profile Image for Thomas.
444 reviews30 followers
April 5, 2013
I read this years ago. I did a lot of traveling in the pre e-reader world and would often pick up a dozen thrift store novels for each trip. Covers do sell a book. I kept very few of these books - I kept this one.

This is fun, fast, and a bit perverse. Not as raunchy as some of the so called romance and thriller novels out today. I'm on book 41 of J.D. Robb's In Death series.

The switch-up from vampiric to demonic was a nice change of pace. The 80's are what they were and will always be.

Overall fun fun fun.
Author 52 books152 followers
March 24, 2013
The Best Elizabeth Bathory S&M Splatterpunk Novel Ever

This is better than it has any right to be. In part, that is because all of the scenes of fishhook genital torture are balanced out by surprisingly human interactions between the two main characters, a muscle-bound dominatrix and her submissive.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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