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Bump in the Night
Resurrection Man
Necromancy means never having to say good-bye.
Consumption has claimed the life of Adel St. Claire, cutting him down in his prime. But his lover, Josef Leitner, isn’t ready to let him go. To get Adel back, Josef is willing to risk the anger of Adel’s family, make unsavory deals with a corrupt mortician, and challenge the authority of death itself.
Even if he can reanimate Adel’s body, Josef’s next challenge may be more daunting when a man returns from the dead, what will it take to satisfy his needs?
( This is a standalone release of a story that originally appeared in the Bump in the Night anthology.)
Word 5,800; page 62
Consumption has claimed the life of Adel St. Claire, cutting him down in his prime. But his lover, Josef Leitner, isn’t ready to let him go. To get Adel back, Josef is willing to risk the anger of Adel’s family, make unsavory deals with a corrupt mortician, and challenge the authority of death itself.
Even if he can reanimate Adel’s body, Josef’s next challenge may be more daunting when a man returns from the dead, what will it take to satisfy his needs?
( This is a standalone release of a story that originally appeared in the Bump in the Night anthology.)
Word 5,800; page 62
19 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2014
14 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Laylah Hunter
28 books57 followers Laylah Hunter is a third-gendered butch queer who writes true stories about imaginary people in worlds that never were. Most of hir work deals with queer characters, erotic themes, and the search for happy endings in unfavorable circumstances.
Hir mild-mannered alter ego lives in Seattle, at the mercy of the requisite cats and cultivating the requisite caffeine habit, and dreams of a day when telling stories will pay all the bills.
Hir mild-mannered alter ego lives in Seattle, at the mercy of the requisite cats and cultivating the requisite caffeine habit, and dreams of a day when telling stories will pay all the bills.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 30, 2016
Adel St. Claire died prematurely of tuberculosis. Josef Leitner has the means and the tools to bring him back to life. But at what cost? Competently written, vividly descriptive, with an authentic historical feel. Technically, there was nothing wrong with the story, but I wanted less sex and more time spent exploring the consequences of Josef’s actions.
June 11, 2017
This asks the age old question of what would you do for love and how far would you go to keep it??
Adel is going to unfairly die way before his time, and in their desire to be together, he and Josef devise a plan for his resurrection when this happens.Unfortunately it works.
"He'd thought his greatest work would be accomplished tonight; now he realizes it's only beginning."
There's empathy for Josef's desperate longing to be with his lover, but the consequences are haunting and tragic as he seals his fate, locking him into a situation that one wonders if he'll ever come to regret.
Adel is going to unfairly die way before his time, and in their desire to be together, he and Josef devise a plan for his resurrection when this happens.
"He'd thought his greatest work would be accomplished tonight; now he realizes it's only beginning."
There's empathy for Josef's desperate longing to be with his lover, but the consequences are haunting and tragic as he seals his fate, locking him into a situation that one wonders if he'll ever come to regret.
October 5, 2014
(This short story appeared originally in the Riptide 2013 anthology Bump in the Night which is also worth a read for all you monster porn lovers)
An interesting turn on the Frankenstein story, this is a perfect example of the adage, “be careful what you wish for”… A young man desperately in love, practices the dark art of necromancy and sells his soul to bring a beloved lover back from the dead.
“The flesh is scarcely the trouble… the installation of a soul in flesh is the domain of God.”
This feels like a chapter out of a larger piece (which means I want more) but works fine as is. Chillingly horrific and melancholy.
Want to Read
January 4, 2016FREE..!
I don't know for how long.
http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/r...
I don't know for how long.
http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/r...
May 30, 2017
I really loved it but felt like it was too short. Hopefully the author writes a longer version of this.
June 11, 2019
2 hunky clean Saved men in love. Oooo baby hek ya. Aaron :o:
August 13, 2020
Sooo...this made me feel dumb.
Erotic horror is one of those weird sub-genres where when it's good, it's fantastic, and when it's bad it's just weird. This was the latter. Like was this bad or am I just an idiot because I understood nothing. Josef, I got (kind of). He wants to bring his love back and will do anything for him, cool. But like... is Adel some sort of possessed flesh-eating sex monster now? The world may never know. I'm not saying spoon-feed your readers but my guy, come on, you gotta give us something. I really wish there were just five or ten more pages. Maybe then I wouldn't be feeling like this.
2.5 stars because I am confessed and that's okay. However, I am rounding up because I am big enough to admit when this is a me issue.
Erotic horror is one of those weird sub-genres where when it's good, it's fantastic, and when it's bad it's just weird. This was the latter. Like was this bad or am I just an idiot because I understood nothing. Josef, I got (kind of). He wants to bring his love back and will do anything for him, cool. But like... is Adel some sort of possessed flesh-eating sex monster now? The world may never know. I'm not saying spoon-feed your readers but my guy, come on, you gotta give us something. I really wish there were just five or ten more pages. Maybe then I wouldn't be feeling like this.
2.5 stars because I am confessed and that's okay. However, I am rounding up because I am big enough to admit when this is a me issue.
January 9, 2018
What an adventure! Starting with a love that even death can't stop and ending with murder. There is a lacking of sorts. More of a "what happens next" feel. I would definitely like to read more about these two stories.
Otherwise, it is well written and flows nicely. It really drew me into the colorful scenery with its mysterious and mischievous characters. Good read.
Otherwise, it is well written and flows nicely. It really drew me into the colorful scenery with its mysterious and mischievous characters. Good read.
January 1, 2018
Short story. Adel St. Clair has died of consumption, but his lover can't let him go. But is the price of resurrection worth it to?
This is a very quick read. The writing is good, but it is open-ended.
This is a very quick read. The writing is good, but it is open-ended.
May 26, 2022
WTF????!!!! THATS IT???
Can't be! What happens next?? Did he create a monster or a man??? Is it really Adel???
THIS CANT BE IT!!!!
Can't be! What happens next?? Did he create a monster or a man??? Is it really Adel???
THIS CANT BE IT!!!!
October 4, 2014
This is a creepy short story (only 19 pages) which crosses ideas of Frankenstein with Pet Semetary. The period is historical of some flavor, 1800s maybe. When Josef's lover dies, he claims the body, paints (celestial?) symbols on it, puts in a garnet for a heart, and pours a cordial of their own making into its lips. And it works--he comes back to life--but he comes back altered. And Josef agrees to do anything for him just so they can continue to be together. It was nice for what it was, but it sort of left me wanting. 3.5 stars.
In the individual story release, the ebook is 63 pages, but only 19 of those pages are the story. More than 1/2 the ebook is a several-chapter preview of Hunter's coming story, Gabriel's City: A Tale of Fables and Fortunes.
In the individual story release, the ebook is 63 pages, but only 19 of those pages are the story. More than 1/2 the ebook is a several-chapter preview of Hunter's coming story, Gabriel's City: A Tale of Fables and Fortunes.
May 17, 2015
Josef's lover, Adel, has died, but he is not ready to be parted with him forever. He takes many risks to practice dark and forbidden magic to bring him back. But can the magic bring Adel back exactly as he was? Or does death do something to a person that can never be undone? And to what lengths is Josef willing to go for the idea of keeping Adel by his side?
A bit on the darker side of fantasy, this is an interesting story that manages a unique voice, even though it contains motifs that are not unknown to horror readers. In a few short pages, Laylah Hunter brings these two characters to life (that was intentional) and I found myself easily pulled into the story. It's not graphic (in any way, really), but it's not a bright and shiny romance, if that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for something dark and intense, this is a good bet.
A bit on the darker side of fantasy, this is an interesting story that manages a unique voice, even though it contains motifs that are not unknown to horror readers. In a few short pages, Laylah Hunter brings these two characters to life (that was intentional) and I found myself easily pulled into the story. It's not graphic (in any way, really), but it's not a bright and shiny romance, if that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for something dark and intense, this is a good bet.
October 28, 2014
2.5 stars round up. I enjoyed the writing style and vivid descriptions in this macabre, historical (AU?) short. However, I would have liked more to the story. It seemed to just end, as if it were the setup to a longer book. Only about 40% of the book is this story, and quite a bit of it is a kind of freaky sex scene. The rest of the book is a sneak peak at Gabriel's City: A Tale of Fables and Fortunes. It did set a scary mood for Halloween.
October 3, 2017
This little short story kind of strained my rule not to downgrade stories because I wished they were longer. Yes, I liked it a lot. It's rather Pet Semetary-y in the sense that we're never quite sure if the resurrected Adel actually is himself or *something* that's just hitching a ride in his body.
Which is why I begrudge the cliffhanger that leaves this question unresolved. Yes, yes. It's a short story in an anthology. But it reads like it's Chapter 1 of a story I'll never get to read!
Nevertheless, 5 stars, since the story is very good for what it is: a nice, athmospheric little bite of a story to be consumed in-between the bigger ones.
Which is why I begrudge the cliffhanger that leaves this question unresolved. Yes, yes. It's a short story in an anthology. But it reads like it's Chapter 1 of a story I'll never get to read!
Nevertheless, 5 stars, since the story is very good for what it is: a nice, athmospheric little bite of a story to be consumed in-between the bigger ones.
November 23, 2015
A middling erotic mix of Frankenstein and Pet Sematary. The writing is florid and reads well, but the twist is visible to anyone with eyes and, ultimately, the story left me feeling profoundly indifferent. Aside from the fact that it's two men in this story, this really doesn't innovate much beyond the average moralistic "just desserts" of an EC horror tale. But at least those had a ghoulish sense of humor and macabre energy to spice up the proceedings. This piece just feels like a corpse, cold and limp.
June 17, 2017
Overall not bad, but it did end on a bit unresolved. The premise is interesting, though. How far would you go for love? Josef goes pretty far indeed to bring back his lover, Adel, after he dies young of TB.
June 5, 2019
The porn is good, but also super...uncomfortable.... Why would anyone have sex with a fresh zombie? And not only that, but lick the fresh zombie's fresh incisions? Or let the fresh zombie scratch and bite them?
The story would have been insanely cooler if it ended with the zombie eating his boyfriend.
The story would have been insanely cooler if it ended with the zombie eating his boyfriend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2015
Over all it was good, would like to have more involvement from Abel, the man that had died but his lover brought him back with spells, stones and phases. Josef wanted his lover back form the dead but at what cost will he have to pay up just to keep Abel from killing him instead of loving him.
January 8, 2016
This short story came closest than most to be in the horror genre, which I loved. The price was more than the necromancer thought, but his love makes him willing to pay the price. I think? It was left open at the end & had me wanting more. I definitely recommend reading this book!
September 16, 2015
A very interesting idea, but I feel like the plot would have suited a longer story better than it does a short one.
August 6, 2016
In my version the actual story was only 37% on the whole book. The rest was apparently advertisements by the publisher. Not kosher.
May 13, 2016
The writing was good but this was just too short for a story, more like a scene.
October 7, 2016
Strange and disturbing.
December 29, 2021
I liked the story, but it's WAY shorter than it's labeled. (MOST of the file being a preview for something else.) Outside of that complaint, I was intrigued enough to want more.
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February 26, 2019I read this years ago and came across it recently, still marked as "to-read." I remember that it was creepy and quite short.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews