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Desmodus
While the sated women of his vampire family hibernate, the men oversee their southern-bound convoy, and one son, compelled by a dream that leaves him no peace, must overcome a great personal weakness in order to save an innocent life. Original.
351 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 5, 1995
58 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Tem
117 books51 followersMelanie Kubachko was born and raised in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. She received a degree at Allegheny College and went on to earn a master's degree in social work from the University of Denver. Apart from a varied career in social work she has published short fiction in numerous publications, including Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Skin of the Soul, and Final Shadows. Her work has also been included in such anthologies as Women of Darkness and Women of the West.
Married to Steve Rasnic Tem.
Married to Steve Rasnic Tem.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 22, 2020
Tem writes horror about dysfunctional families, and Desmodus shows the most dysfunctional of them all, based on what I've read of her work. Yes, this is a vampire book, and yes, Tem's mythology is unsettling, but the most disturbing part of the book is how this family treats one another.
The cover, though, does little to prepare the reader for what's inside. Tem's vampires aren't human, or even human-like; they resemble bats, not the woman on the cover. The vampires' society is matriarchal, so at least the woman prepares you for that, but don't be fooled by the cover; there are no sexy vampires in this book.
The last three Tem books I've read have played around with the classic horror tropes: werewolves (Wilding); Frankenstein's monster (Making Love); and now vampires. She doesn't rely on the standard, romanticized mythologies, though, creating her own to great effect. They reflect the dysfunction of the characters, and their monstrous nature.
Desmodus, though, is a fairly boring read. I like what it has to say, and I found myself moved by the ending, but it felt very procedural. The story doesn't engage, and I found myself having to force myself to finish it. As far as the horror goes, Tem nails it, though it comes late in the story, making the rest of the book feel like filler getting to that point.
Overall, I think this a solid middle-range read for 2.5 stars, but I rounded it up because it's better than just a two-star book. Readers already familiar with her work will find a lot of familiarity here, but for readers new to Tem, I'd suggest they start elsewhere.
The cover, though, does little to prepare the reader for what's inside. Tem's vampires aren't human, or even human-like; they resemble bats, not the woman on the cover. The vampires' society is matriarchal, so at least the woman prepares you for that, but don't be fooled by the cover; there are no sexy vampires in this book.
The last three Tem books I've read have played around with the classic horror tropes: werewolves (Wilding); Frankenstein's monster (Making Love); and now vampires. She doesn't rely on the standard, romanticized mythologies, though, creating her own to great effect. They reflect the dysfunction of the characters, and their monstrous nature.
Desmodus, though, is a fairly boring read. I like what it has to say, and I found myself moved by the ending, but it felt very procedural. The story doesn't engage, and I found myself having to force myself to finish it. As far as the horror goes, Tem nails it, though it comes late in the story, making the rest of the book feel like filler getting to that point.
Overall, I think this a solid middle-range read for 2.5 stars, but I rounded it up because it's better than just a two-star book. Readers already familiar with her work will find a lot of familiarity here, but for readers new to Tem, I'd suggest they start elsewhere.
February 15, 2021
More obviously flawed than WILDING (so far my favorite of Melanie Tem's novels), but also more ambitious and bizarre. I enjoyed the xenofiction elements-- Tem's vampires are a separate culture of matriarchal bat-people, a few of whom are just barely able to pass as ugly, awkward humans with the help of baggy clothes and taped-down ears. Tem uses the vampire society to comment on the ways in which gender-based systems of oppression make all their subjects worse people, although this commentary does become a little obvious and repetitive in the middle section of the novel.
The characters here are, typically for Tem, complicated and broken, fallible and cruel and, often, abusive to the point of real monstrousness, and also handled with a non-judgmental, uniformly sympathetic authorial eye (even as the narrator, Joel, is extremely judgmental: sometimes in morally important, incisive ways, but much more often in petty ones). The novel's tragic, surreal ending was intensely moving, although the plot meandered an awful lot on its way there.
The characters here are, typically for Tem, complicated and broken, fallible and cruel and, often, abusive to the point of real monstrousness, and also handled with a non-judgmental, uniformly sympathetic authorial eye (even as the narrator, Joel, is extremely judgmental: sometimes in morally important, incisive ways, but much more often in petty ones). The novel's tragic, surreal ending was intensely moving, although the plot meandered an awful lot on its way there.
July 7, 2012
Ugly, hairy, inbred, totally deranged vampires. Not the best read but a welcome change of pace. No romance. No gratuitous sex lasting four or more pages. Very few repetitive terms. And words I actually had to look up coupled with psychological disorders and time/space theories I had to read a little on before progressing in the story.
I purchased this book from the dollar rack outside of Strand bookstore last year, so it's safe to say that I had no expectations when I brought it to the cash register.
It took a lot longer to read than any novel of its length that I have previously encountered, partly because other titles came my way, and partly because the main character (Joel) meditations on his non-life depressed me. I was very hesitant to continue reading most days or only managed half a page. Now that I've finished reading it, I don't feel that sense of accomplishment that usually follows when I complete a title.
The metaphors and meditations on social norms, or maybe calling it a "forced matriarchy" works better, were so heavy handed that I couldn't even enjoy a shift in the power (if there even was one).
I think that sums up this novel perfectly, heavy-handed.
I will give one very large token of credit to Melanie Tem: her vampires are vampires. No seductive beauty to anyone other than themselves and one mentally damaged human). In fact, if I imagined the descriptions accurately, they are even uglier than Nosferatu. This came as a welcome relief after so many titles involving beautiful star-crossed blood suckers who refuse to drink blood.
I purchased this book from the dollar rack outside of Strand bookstore last year, so it's safe to say that I had no expectations when I brought it to the cash register.
It took a lot longer to read than any novel of its length that I have previously encountered, partly because other titles came my way, and partly because the main character (Joel) meditations on his non-life depressed me. I was very hesitant to continue reading most days or only managed half a page. Now that I've finished reading it, I don't feel that sense of accomplishment that usually follows when I complete a title.
The metaphors and meditations on social norms, or maybe calling it a "forced matriarchy" works better, were so heavy handed that I couldn't even enjoy a shift in the power (if there even was one).
I think that sums up this novel perfectly, heavy-handed.
I will give one very large token of credit to Melanie Tem: her vampires are vampires. No seductive beauty to anyone other than themselves and one mentally damaged human). In fact, if I imagined the descriptions accurately, they are even uglier than Nosferatu. This came as a welcome relief after so many titles involving beautiful star-crossed blood suckers who refuse to drink blood.
January 6, 2021
This book rocks.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here.
Above is its conclusion.
Three stars for goodreads, but five stars from me for brilliant dysfunction!
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here.
Above is its conclusion.
Three stars for goodreads, but five stars from me for brilliant dysfunction!
February 2, 2015
Ugh...second hand book store find. Don't read it. I forced myself to finish it. The whole book is forced in narrative.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews