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Infection
When Julia Dane is hired to locate a lovely attorney's missing step-sister, she finds herself drawn into a world of bondage and supernatural terror.
- GenresHorrorErotic Horror
51 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 8, 2013
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 3, 2022
This is a book that came my way via a friend, who is a huge fan of Lyka Bloom's less horrific gender-bending erotica. Our tastes don't often overlap, but we're generally very much in sync on the horror and fantasy shelves, so her recommendation was all I needed to give Bloom a try.
While Infection is not without its flaws, it's a solid, entertaining story that delivers on its basic premise. Really, the initial concept of the missing sister is something we've all read before, but even if other authors have toyed with the idea of a dark fetish cult, Bloom gleefully embraces that dark potential. I won't spoil the demonic nature of the dominatrix who leads the cult, but I will say that the way in which she (and her impossible club) is explored is quite remarkable.
There's a lot of build-up to this story, and it's done well, creating as much dread as suspense. Bloom keeps the erotic elements largely off-the-page for most of the story, making them that much more effective when they do finally bleed through. The characters have some personality to them, the dialogue is decent, and it's clear from the visual descriptions that Bloom is a taste for the fetish side of things. I also found it quite clever the way she plays with the duality of piercings and body modifications, driving home the unsettling aspect with the supernaturally-driven impulses, while successfully demonstrating the side which arouses and intrigues.
It's a shame that the story just stops, with so much potential left unexplored, but I'd definitely be up for checking out the impending sequel.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
While Infection is not without its flaws, it's a solid, entertaining story that delivers on its basic premise. Really, the initial concept of the missing sister is something we've all read before, but even if other authors have toyed with the idea of a dark fetish cult, Bloom gleefully embraces that dark potential. I won't spoil the demonic nature of the dominatrix who leads the cult, but I will say that the way in which she (and her impossible club) is explored is quite remarkable.
There's a lot of build-up to this story, and it's done well, creating as much dread as suspense. Bloom keeps the erotic elements largely off-the-page for most of the story, making them that much more effective when they do finally bleed through. The characters have some personality to them, the dialogue is decent, and it's clear from the visual descriptions that Bloom is a taste for the fetish side of things. I also found it quite clever the way she plays with the duality of piercings and body modifications, driving home the unsettling aspect with the supernaturally-driven impulses, while successfully demonstrating the side which arouses and intrigues.
It's a shame that the story just stops, with so much potential left unexplored, but I'd definitely be up for checking out the impending sequel.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
October 9, 2016
I don't read nearly enough mystery, thriller, and horror fiction as I should, given that I seem to sink easily into any premise based upon a hint of mysterious happenings. For that reason, I'm shy to guess how the fans of those genres would size up the treatment of that side of things in "Infection." We have the calm and collected detective Julia, the distraught Blake, looking for her missing stepsister, and the goofy but capable guy friend who peers inside the mysterious online world of the missing Carly. At the center of the mystery, we have an obviously demonic cult whose possessive activities mean transforming normal mortals into sexually voracious fetishists, whose modus operandi includes a fusion of chic rubberwear and piercings with sometimes frightening displays of self-harm and probably the loss of their immortal souls. "Infection" balances these erotic and horrific elements well enough that we can feel the lure of temptation while basically hoping that the good guys can manage to escape unharmed. I found it all pleasurably immersive, and I admire Bloom's writing, from her ease at describing nondescript apartments to her evocations of the "glory of corruption." A fun ride!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews