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This Symbiotic Fascination
When Tawne Delaney, an immortal and powerful woman beseiged by loneliness, encounters Arcan Tyler, a brutal rapist and murderer possessed by three animal spirits, she falls in love with him, and together they embark on a life of death and destruction. Original.
394 pages, Paperback
First published December 28, 1997
18 people are currently reading
742 people want to read
About the author
Charlee Jacob
66 books79 followersCharlee Jacob has been a digger for dinosaur bones, a seller of designer rags, and a cook - to mention only a few things. With more than 950 publishing credits, Charlee has been writing dark poetry and prose for more than 25 years. Some of her recent publishing events include the novel STILL (Necro), the poetry collection HERESY (Necro), and the novel DARK MOODS. She is a three-time Bram Stoker Award winner, two of those awards for her novel DREAD IN THE BEAST and the poetry collection SINEATER; the third award for collaborative poetry collection, VECTORS, with Marge Simon. Permanently disabled, she has begun to paint as one of her forms of phsycial therapy. She lives in Irving, Texas with her husband Jim and a plethora of felines.
Courtesy: http://www.williamcookwriter.com
Courtesy: http://www.williamcookwriter.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 12, 2022
I’ve finally done it! I’ve read a thoroughly enjoyable horror book of the “extreme” persuasion! Moreover, it’s one that truly feels of its era, that late 90s transition from the splatterpunk movement into the survivalist grime and cruelty that would come to define what “extreme horror” is today.
The experience here lies majorly in the prose, that grotesque, rococo flamboyance of liquids and tendons, paired with an acidic humor that moves as much as it repulses. I especially loved the taste of “hysterical realism” that we get here, which is equal times a Barker-esque jettisoning of the body and its hang-ups as it is a satirizing, postmodernist love/hate letter to the human condition that even gives airs of Zadie Smith.
One of its most captivating deconstructions is that of the gaze, in an era that was becoming increasingly concerned with video recording and surveillance. So much here is about how we see ourselves, how we want others to see us, and how seeing is aggression, judgment, rearrangement, and goring. This pairs well with one of our main characters (and my favorite), Tawne, who serves a raw and unfiltered insecurity that feels unnervingly vulnerable and horrific. Brilliant stuff.
I will say, some of the constant dream sequences got to be a bit repetitive, and the rhythm and pace of the story started to dull the senses until it picked back up after the halfway mark, but all things considered, this is brilliant, moving, and unabating horror that is sadly quite hard to come by. Notice that through this entire ramble I didn’t say a single thing about the plot. That is because I think the experience is best taken on completely blind. Just know: People explode and fall apart and their flesh sizzles and melts and bubbles like cheese on a lasagna, and it is brilliant and compelling.
The experience here lies majorly in the prose, that grotesque, rococo flamboyance of liquids and tendons, paired with an acidic humor that moves as much as it repulses. I especially loved the taste of “hysterical realism” that we get here, which is equal times a Barker-esque jettisoning of the body and its hang-ups as it is a satirizing, postmodernist love/hate letter to the human condition that even gives airs of Zadie Smith.
One of its most captivating deconstructions is that of the gaze, in an era that was becoming increasingly concerned with video recording and surveillance. So much here is about how we see ourselves, how we want others to see us, and how seeing is aggression, judgment, rearrangement, and goring. This pairs well with one of our main characters (and my favorite), Tawne, who serves a raw and unfiltered insecurity that feels unnervingly vulnerable and horrific. Brilliant stuff.
I will say, some of the constant dream sequences got to be a bit repetitive, and the rhythm and pace of the story started to dull the senses until it picked back up after the halfway mark, but all things considered, this is brilliant, moving, and unabating horror that is sadly quite hard to come by. Notice that through this entire ramble I didn’t say a single thing about the plot. That is because I think the experience is best taken on completely blind. Just know: People explode and fall apart and their flesh sizzles and melts and bubbles like cheese on a lasagna, and it is brilliant and compelling.
August 1, 2021
I found this to be a highly original and excellently written novel. In part it’s a vampire story, although not like any vampire story I’ve ever read. There is also a fantastical element but of the very dark and gritty kind that made me think of the work of Clive Barker. We have a character looking for love and acceptance, a character who along with his inner demons acts out violent sexual attacks on women, and a character who possesses some incredible shape-shifting abilities. This also featured an amazing VHS-related element to the story that I absolutely loved. It’s gory and gruesome, tender and touching, all working symbiotically to create this brilliant work of fiction. I need to read more Charlee Jacob.
June 14, 2019
Okay I just can't do this book. The descriptions are so long and drawn-out they are absolutely ridiculous. Even 100 pages in I am still completely lost as to what exactly is going on. I bailed.
So sad because I had heard such good things about this book that I had better hopes for it.
Also I feel that the over-the-top gore and sexual word usage was purely meant for shock value and filler. Or at least that is the feel that the book gives off.
So sad because I had heard such good things about this book that I had better hopes for it.
Also I feel that the over-the-top gore and sexual word usage was purely meant for shock value and filler. Or at least that is the feel that the book gives off.
April 21, 2024
Jacob's first novel transcends genre lines, flirting between horror, bizarro and urban fantasy, but I can see why people deem it hardcore horror due to the high splatter content. The story oscillates at first between two related story lines, one featuring Tawne Delaney, the other Arcan Tyler. Tawne and Arcan both work in a department store, shifting stock. Tawne, in her late 30s, has a serious image problem; she is a large woman, standing over 6 feet and close to 300 pounds, and still a virgin. I mention this here as Jacob must mention her body every time we return to her story arc. Arcan has other issues. Not only does he really hate women, it seems his body possess three symbionts-- a wolf, a cat, and a ghoul-- that have lead him to commit some nasty rapes around town.
The big news around town concerns the 'culvert killer', a serial killer who stuffs his female victims into (you guessed it) culverts among other tight places. One day when returning from work, Tawne notices a very ugly guy putting the make on a beautiful lady, who responds by practically throwing her panties at him. What gives? Tawne assumes he must be loaded, but when the ugly guy tosses a glance Tawne's way, she suddenly sees an Adonis. Obviously, there is something seriously hinky about the ugly guy...
While this does have an interesting plot, This Symbiotic Fascination gets its punch from the prose and the weird. Jacob liberally laces the novel with poetry and the prose itself is rather poetic at times. Why is Arcan possessed, or in a symbiotic relationship with two blood thirsty animals and ghoul? Jacob tosses us some hints, as well as having Arcan's brother being possessed by, or in symbiotic relationship with, Hindu gods; something he picked up from Nam. Arcan's struggles to contain his symbionts are akin to substance addictions. He has been 'dry' for almost a year, e.g., he has not committed any nasty rapes. Further, besides nightmares, he is haunted by the ghosts (souls?) of his victims.
I do not want to say much more about the story to avoid spoilers, but from the back blurb we pretty much know the ugly guy is some type of vampire, able to use glamor on his victims, and he will have a rendezvous sooner or later with Tawne. I would recommend this for horror and urban fantasy fans, although you must have a liking for weird as well. This Symbiotic Fascination packs a punch and made me want to try whatever Jacob was smoking when she wrote this. 4 symbiotic stars!
The big news around town concerns the 'culvert killer', a serial killer who stuffs his female victims into (you guessed it) culverts among other tight places. One day when returning from work, Tawne notices a very ugly guy putting the make on a beautiful lady, who responds by practically throwing her panties at him. What gives? Tawne assumes he must be loaded, but when the ugly guy tosses a glance Tawne's way, she suddenly sees an Adonis. Obviously, there is something seriously hinky about the ugly guy...
While this does have an interesting plot, This Symbiotic Fascination gets its punch from the prose and the weird. Jacob liberally laces the novel with poetry and the prose itself is rather poetic at times. Why is Arcan possessed, or in a symbiotic relationship with two blood thirsty animals and ghoul? Jacob tosses us some hints, as well as having Arcan's brother being possessed by, or in symbiotic relationship with, Hindu gods; something he picked up from Nam. Arcan's struggles to contain his symbionts are akin to substance addictions. He has been 'dry' for almost a year, e.g., he has not committed any nasty rapes. Further, besides nightmares, he is haunted by the ghosts (souls?) of his victims.
I do not want to say much more about the story to avoid spoilers, but from the back blurb we pretty much know the ugly guy is some type of vampire, able to use glamor on his victims, and he will have a rendezvous sooner or later with Tawne. I would recommend this for horror and urban fantasy fans, although you must have a liking for weird as well. This Symbiotic Fascination packs a punch and made me want to try whatever Jacob was smoking when she wrote this. 4 symbiotic stars!
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October 29, 2022Μου φάνηκε πιο ενδιαφέρον να μάθω ποιος είναι ο τικτοκερ red dragon και γιατί συνελήφθη, παρά να διαβάσω περισσότερες από 50 σελίδες...
January 9, 2011
Charlee Jacob is known for her use of extreme gore and nightmarish imaginery. After reading the great 'Haunter' and the still good but not that mind-blowing 'Dread In The Beast' I decided to give this novel a try. Did it disappoint ? Hell no !
The extreme violence, the surreal imaginery and great characterization again shine through in this novel as they did in Haunter. Prepare yourself for disturbing sequences with a Nosferatu-like vampire, an extremely disturbed -yet sympathetic- woman, an equally disturbed and sympathetic but insanely violent shapeshifter, a group of violently disfigured victims,...and to top it all off the author throws in a brilliant subplot about a The Ring-like videotape that either kills the people that watch the tape in The Mummy-like ways ( The Mummy gone NC-17 that is) or transforms them into a Daniel-Birkin-from-Resident-Evil-2-like golem. This book reads like a train yet it never lets down on atmosphere.
The only minor problem with the book is that the finale feels a bit underwhelming. 'Haunter' had a furious and insane finale, the finale in 'This Symbiotic Facination' feels more emotionally sad. Especially near the end.
Nevertheless, This Symbiotic Facination is one fine example how 'hardcore horror' ( and I too read that the author of this book doesn't like the word 'hardcore'...so my apologies) should be done.
The extreme violence, the surreal imaginery and great characterization again shine through in this novel as they did in Haunter. Prepare yourself for disturbing sequences with a Nosferatu-like vampire, an extremely disturbed -yet sympathetic- woman, an equally disturbed and sympathetic but insanely violent shapeshifter, a group of violently disfigured victims,...and to top it all off the author throws in a brilliant subplot about a The Ring-like videotape that either kills the people that watch the tape in The Mummy-like ways ( The Mummy gone NC-17 that is) or transforms them into a Daniel-Birkin-from-Resident-Evil-2-like golem. This book reads like a train yet it never lets down on atmosphere.
The only minor problem with the book is that the finale feels a bit underwhelming. 'Haunter' had a furious and insane finale, the finale in 'This Symbiotic Facination' feels more emotionally sad. Especially near the end.
Nevertheless, This Symbiotic Facination is one fine example how 'hardcore horror' ( and I too read that the author of this book doesn't like the word 'hardcore'...so my apologies) should be done.
May 17, 2013
The Good: Disgusting, disturbing, and utterly twisted, fans of really hardcore horror will love This Symbiotic Fascination. Everything about this book is extreme and graphic and over the top. You feel like you are in this middle of this book, living this nightmare. Totally in your face, engrossing.
The Bad:This book is so extreme, it occasionally feels like Jacob is trying too hard to shock readers. The writing and plot progression don't feel natural a lot of the time. And honestly, once a little time has past, the story itself is forgettable. All that you take away from this book is the skin crawling feeling you got while reading it.
The Bad:This book is so extreme, it occasionally feels like Jacob is trying too hard to shock readers. The writing and plot progression don't feel natural a lot of the time. And honestly, once a little time has past, the story itself is forgettable. All that you take away from this book is the skin crawling feeling you got while reading it.
January 27, 2022
There's a joke in here somewhere: A Vampire, a ghoul and a cursed video tape walk into a goth bar....
This book is a piece of horror gold that needs to be experienced if you love depravity, "vampires" and a general distate of the human race. Manic violence that does not relent. Poetic visions of murder menance each page. "Vulva shrinking ugliness" abounds at every turn. One of those books where you know within a few pages just what kind of magic the author has and you know you'll be in good hands.
Seek this one out! It does not disappoint!
This book is a piece of horror gold that needs to be experienced if you love depravity, "vampires" and a general distate of the human race. Manic violence that does not relent. Poetic visions of murder menance each page. "Vulva shrinking ugliness" abounds at every turn. One of those books where you know within a few pages just what kind of magic the author has and you know you'll be in good hands.
Seek this one out! It does not disappoint!
June 12, 2013
A graphic, disturbing and poetic meditation on the nature of beauty, longing and loneliness. Thought provoking, melancholy and well worth it.
September 10, 2014
I love a good horror novel and This Symbiotic Fascination is one of those novels you have to read for yourself to truly understand. Jacob has written a complex novel that contains a variety of different elements that make it truly original. There is tons of gore but underneath that is a complex story that will no doubt entertain even the most jaded horror fan.
The strength here is Jacob's writing. In a novel like this the heroes don't show up until the end and even then they aren't your typical heroes either. These are woman who are broken and brought together because they're Arcan's victim's. They have that one common thread.
While the plot of the novel branches off into two stories they come together in the end rather unexpectedly. Make no mistake, this is a dark violent novel don't expect a happy ending. Jacob has presented us with characters that are all flawed in some way and that is where a lot of Fascination's strength lie.
A horror novel should be willing to break new ground once in awhile to keep the genre interesting and Jacob has done that here. This isn't a traditional horror novel and it isn't a straight up splatterpunk novel either. I look forward to reading more of Jacob novels.
The strength here is Jacob's writing. In a novel like this the heroes don't show up until the end and even then they aren't your typical heroes either. These are woman who are broken and brought together because they're Arcan's victim's. They have that one common thread.
While the plot of the novel branches off into two stories they come together in the end rather unexpectedly. Make no mistake, this is a dark violent novel don't expect a happy ending. Jacob has presented us with characters that are all flawed in some way and that is where a lot of Fascination's strength lie.
A horror novel should be willing to break new ground once in awhile to keep the genre interesting and Jacob has done that here. This isn't a traditional horror novel and it isn't a straight up splatterpunk novel either. I look forward to reading more of Jacob novels.
July 17, 2012
Charlee Jacob's imagination is wild, bizarre, disturbing, audacious; and her prose is gonzo-poetic, surreal, Grand-Guignol-gruesome, scatological, sexually twisted.
This Symbiotic Fascination is Jacob's debut novel and serves as a companion piece to follow-up Haunter (aka Soma); both deal with members of the grotesque (serious understatement) Tyler family (think shapeshifting and incest, for starters), with overlapping characters and timelines, and they can be read in any order.
Not for the squeamish!
This Symbiotic Fascination is Jacob's debut novel and serves as a companion piece to follow-up Haunter (aka Soma); both deal with members of the grotesque (serious understatement) Tyler family (think shapeshifting and incest, for starters), with overlapping characters and timelines, and they can be read in any order.
Not for the squeamish!
November 4, 2017
Good idea, buried under tons of needless gory description. The plot moved very slowly due to excessive use of graphic details. I found myself skipping chunks and paragraphs of the aforesaid description without missing anything.
Overall, I am glad I gave it a chance, as I enjoy horror. Since this was her first novel, maybe her following ones are better. But I certainly won't attempt to read another now. I need a breather. I feel I spent days marinating inside an old colostomy bag someone used to store rotten meat, vomit, feces, fur, insects and a variety of viscous fluids.
Overall, I am glad I gave it a chance, as I enjoy horror. Since this was her first novel, maybe her following ones are better. But I certainly won't attempt to read another now. I need a breather. I feel I spent days marinating inside an old colostomy bag someone used to store rotten meat, vomit, feces, fur, insects and a variety of viscous fluids.
June 9, 2007
Not as good as Dread in the Beast - but interesting enough. Loneliness, longing, belonging, vampires, murder and mayhem.
May 12, 2020
Μια υπέροχη φρίκη! Αριστούργημα για γερά έντερα!
June 12, 2022
Another great novel by Charlee Jacob. A very interesting take on vampires. This novel has a lot of triggers. Very gory and filled with sex.
February 4, 2024
I had this paperback collecting dust and thought I needed to get absorbed in an extreme horror novel. But, you know what, I really didn't. Or at least I didn't need to try and do it with This Symbiotic Fascination which is just the worst written, terribly paced (was there a pace), with awful and repetitive descriptions that I had to force myself to finish it. The characters are truly awful people but I think you're supposed to sympathize with them occasionally. The descriptions just go on and on but most of the time are dreams or a level of surrealism that they just don't matter. For me the whole novel is pointless. I really need to get more selective with horror.
January 22, 2008
Charlee Jacob, This Symbiotic Fascination (Leisure Books, 1997)
Whatever else This Symbiotic Fascination is (and it is many things), one word I see applied to it many times that it really isn't is "original." Fans of extreme horror (the term "splatterpunk" is far too overused and far too inaccurate; this is more Guinea Pig than Neuromancer) who have been reading Bob Deveraux's stuff for the past decade will be well-enough acquainted with Jacob's style to have recognized this. Fans of extreme horror who have not yet read Bob Devereaux's classic Deadweight need to get their heads out of the necks of their victims long enough to read the best extreme horror novel on the planet.
What This Symbiotic Fascination is, however, is a whole lot of fun. Tawne, a largely-built and relatively unattractive girl (by her own admission), finds herself drawn into the mystery of the local serial killer when one of her few friends pops off with the guy one day after work; a guy who is, to say the least, stunningly ugly. Add to this plotline that another of her co-workers is a serial rapist possessed by animal demons, and, well, you've got yourself a whole brew of nastiness jut waiting to be chugged.
The one thing that didn't really ring true (in the "logic-inside-the-suspension-of-disbelief" way that these things do) is Tawne's pure, complete loneliness, her ability to find even a single human being who finds her attractive. Especially given the qualities Jacob invests her with. A six-foot-two, large-built redhead who lifts crates for a living? Try a personal ad, watch the responses come rocketing in.
Other than that, though, I can't stress how much good, clean, gore-spouting fun this book is. Most everyone who has something coming gets it, in spades, along with a few people who don't deserve it but get it anyway. (I will leave it to you, dear reader, to decide who's who.) Jacob's blood-gouting bile-spraying intestine-hurling(-for-distance) descriptions never stray into the juvenile, as these things sometimes do. The characters are well-presented (aside from the niggle above), the pace is cranked, the anger is righteous, and the blood never stops flowing. What more could you possibly want from extreme horror? *** ½
Whatever else This Symbiotic Fascination is (and it is many things), one word I see applied to it many times that it really isn't is "original." Fans of extreme horror (the term "splatterpunk" is far too overused and far too inaccurate; this is more Guinea Pig than Neuromancer) who have been reading Bob Deveraux's stuff for the past decade will be well-enough acquainted with Jacob's style to have recognized this. Fans of extreme horror who have not yet read Bob Devereaux's classic Deadweight need to get their heads out of the necks of their victims long enough to read the best extreme horror novel on the planet.
What This Symbiotic Fascination is, however, is a whole lot of fun. Tawne, a largely-built and relatively unattractive girl (by her own admission), finds herself drawn into the mystery of the local serial killer when one of her few friends pops off with the guy one day after work; a guy who is, to say the least, stunningly ugly. Add to this plotline that another of her co-workers is a serial rapist possessed by animal demons, and, well, you've got yourself a whole brew of nastiness jut waiting to be chugged.
The one thing that didn't really ring true (in the "logic-inside-the-suspension-of-disbelief" way that these things do) is Tawne's pure, complete loneliness, her ability to find even a single human being who finds her attractive. Especially given the qualities Jacob invests her with. A six-foot-two, large-built redhead who lifts crates for a living? Try a personal ad, watch the responses come rocketing in.
Other than that, though, I can't stress how much good, clean, gore-spouting fun this book is. Most everyone who has something coming gets it, in spades, along with a few people who don't deserve it but get it anyway. (I will leave it to you, dear reader, to decide who's who.) Jacob's blood-gouting bile-spraying intestine-hurling(-for-distance) descriptions never stray into the juvenile, as these things sometimes do. The characters are well-presented (aside from the niggle above), the pace is cranked, the anger is righteous, and the blood never stops flowing. What more could you possibly want from extreme horror? *** ½
May 1, 2008
The author has a gift for language but I actually didn't like this book as much as I liked HAUNTER. I thought HAUNTER had a superior plot, better characters, and nicer (more grotesque) imagery.
Still, it's above average as far as horror novels go.
Still, it's above average as far as horror novels go.
April 4, 2009
This is the most grotesque book I have ever read. The characters are compeling enough for me to want to finish reading the book even though I thought it was disgusting.
September 17, 2014
There were parts that were a bit confusing, but I enjoyed this overall. Jacob paints a very vivid landscape with lots of gore and inner character dialogue.
December 22, 2016
Disturbing, sick , twisted, poetic gore. Splendid
November 23, 2025
3.35 stars
I think the prose in this was so lyrical despite describing in depth such gory scenes of viscera, piss and gummy entrails. However I felt that the imbalance between prose and plot ended up detracting from the story as every time something happened or a new setting was entered into, you things were going to be explained in tedious detail. This meant that the story’s pace felt sluggish and you lost the sense of horror you felt initially reading the story. I think this is especially the case towards the middle or 60% onwards. We also kept seeing each person who found the tape and then have the same scene where the ugly man breaks Tawne’s legs and looks back at the camera. I think it would have been better to just cut that part and just explain in detail what each individual person saw. I also don’t know how to feel about the inclusion or likening of Arcan’s three split spirits to Hindu and ‘eastern’ deities in the story, I’m not sure it was done respectfully. But I did like the idea of a soul splitting and become inhabited after enduring the childhood trauma Arcan did. He did such heinous things like raping and mutilating women, and his childhood of being raped by his mother helped inform how he developed feelings of hatred for women almost as a self defensive mechanism for Arcan to stay away from them to avoid inflicting violence on them. But then the fox, wolf and ghoul also hated women, and were the side of him that craved enacting violence on women. It also explained why was momentarily drawn to Tawne because once he saw her ‘monster’ form that others had died of fright from, he no longer saw anything likened to the human woman, she could be an inhuman woman, who looked like mush and clots and pus, being in her proximity was a way for him to gain control over his fear of women. Tawne herself was someone obsessed with physical beauty and she was drawn to Arcan because he was the only one who accepted her as she was, but she assumed it was her human self that she thought so hideous. But he actually loved her monstrous side, and yet she was still so consumed with being seen and seeing herself as beautiful by society’s standards that she presented Delilah’s face to him. Even when she had someone who accepted her, and Arcane did like Tawne as a human being but loved her monstrous side, she still was infected with beauty standards. That was the real curse that prevented her from finding love or self acceptance. It just also shows how issues like body dysmorphia and self hatred can make you so unwillingly self absorbed, to the point where you don’t notice things in others or don’t care, hence why she presented Deliah to Arcan, turned him into a vampire against his consent because she didn’t want to be lonely and essentially raped and killed all those men by presenting a different face to them to use and leech off of them. This book had such interesting topics explored and done in such a unique way. I was initially drawn into this because I’ve never read a story where a woman is so completely physically and ‘hideously’ monstrous but an object of desire so I wanted to read a romance with that. Plus some solatterpunk. I did kind of get what I wanted- I actually thought the scenes of Arcan and Tawne meeting at the 62% was such a good scene and I just loved seeing a woman so physically monstrous be revered. I also just wanted their descent into Arcan being turned and running away and Tawne being selfish and using him to have taken more time. Specifically because I wanted to see a slower descent into their toxicity. I wanted to see how right they felt with the other on the surface but it be revealed how they brought their inner monsters to their relationship, they didn’t just dissipate because they find another monster like them.In that case they should have got together much earlier and the whole sequences with the tape could have been narrowed down. The constant segments of Tawne or Arcan feeding could have been edited down too. The sequence with the support group was concise and well done. And I’m so happy they wacked sadist Denise for me. Overall this needed to be much shorter and edited down to prevent the the pacing and the story from being lost in the bloody sauce of nightmarish fever dream prose. I think the way it was though perfectly captured the nightmare feeling where things feel like they’re repeating, so surreal and vague then explicitly detailed and then hazy again. This also had one of the most interesting iterations of vampires I have read. Vampires as gory gummy tapioca starched bulbous pus infested lumps, that leech off of the world.
I think the prose in this was so lyrical despite describing in depth such gory scenes of viscera, piss and gummy entrails. However I felt that the imbalance between prose and plot ended up detracting from the story as every time something happened or a new setting was entered into, you things were going to be explained in tedious detail. This meant that the story’s pace felt sluggish and you lost the sense of horror you felt initially reading the story. I think this is especially the case towards the middle or 60% onwards. We also kept seeing each person who found the tape and then have the same scene where the ugly man breaks Tawne’s legs and looks back at the camera. I think it would have been better to just cut that part and just explain in detail what each individual person saw. I also don’t know how to feel about the inclusion or likening of Arcan’s three split spirits to Hindu and ‘eastern’ deities in the story, I’m not sure it was done respectfully. But I did like the idea of a soul splitting and become inhabited after enduring the childhood trauma Arcan did. He did such heinous things like raping and mutilating women, and his childhood of being raped by his mother helped inform how he developed feelings of hatred for women almost as a self defensive mechanism for Arcan to stay away from them to avoid inflicting violence on them. But then the fox, wolf and ghoul also hated women, and were the side of him that craved enacting violence on women. It also explained why was momentarily drawn to Tawne because once he saw her ‘monster’ form that others had died of fright from, he no longer saw anything likened to the human woman, she could be an inhuman woman, who looked like mush and clots and pus, being in her proximity was a way for him to gain control over his fear of women. Tawne herself was someone obsessed with physical beauty and she was drawn to Arcan because he was the only one who accepted her as she was, but she assumed it was her human self that she thought so hideous. But he actually loved her monstrous side, and yet she was still so consumed with being seen and seeing herself as beautiful by society’s standards that she presented Delilah’s face to him. Even when she had someone who accepted her, and Arcane did like Tawne as a human being but loved her monstrous side, she still was infected with beauty standards. That was the real curse that prevented her from finding love or self acceptance. It just also shows how issues like body dysmorphia and self hatred can make you so unwillingly self absorbed, to the point where you don’t notice things in others or don’t care, hence why she presented Deliah to Arcan, turned him into a vampire against his consent because she didn’t want to be lonely and essentially raped and killed all those men by presenting a different face to them to use and leech off of them. This book had such interesting topics explored and done in such a unique way. I was initially drawn into this because I’ve never read a story where a woman is so completely physically and ‘hideously’ monstrous but an object of desire so I wanted to read a romance with that. Plus some solatterpunk. I did kind of get what I wanted- I actually thought the scenes of Arcan and Tawne meeting at the 62% was such a good scene and I just loved seeing a woman so physically monstrous be revered. I also just wanted their descent into Arcan being turned and running away and Tawne being selfish and using him to have taken more time. Specifically because I wanted to see a slower descent into their toxicity. I wanted to see how right they felt with the other on the surface but it be revealed how they brought their inner monsters to their relationship, they didn’t just dissipate because they find another monster like them.In that case they should have got together much earlier and the whole sequences with the tape could have been narrowed down. The constant segments of Tawne or Arcan feeding could have been edited down too. The sequence with the support group was concise and well done. And I’m so happy they wacked sadist Denise for me. Overall this needed to be much shorter and edited down to prevent the the pacing and the story from being lost in the bloody sauce of nightmarish fever dream prose. I think the way it was though perfectly captured the nightmare feeling where things feel like they’re repeating, so surreal and vague then explicitly detailed and then hazy again. This also had one of the most interesting iterations of vampires I have read. Vampires as gory gummy tapioca starched bulbous pus infested lumps, that leech off of the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2020
Have you ever had a burger so good you felt like you were eating a burger for the very first time, even though you've really had about five thousand of the things? In THIS SYMBIOTIC FASCINATION, Jacob takes some very well-known monsters and does amazing and unexpected things with them, making them seem fresh and exciting once again. I won’t go into detail or it will spoil the fun, but take it from me, if you’re a fan of horror – especially splatter punk or extreme horror – you definitely need to check this out. Jacob’s writing is superb throughout – witty, adventurous, and often downright hallucinatory. She simply never writes a boring sentence, and the emotional range she offers her audience is truly impressive. This is not a monochrome grimdark experience like so much horror. By turns this book is sexy, disgusting, hilarious, repulsive, charming, and frightful. The characters, while not always likable, are always interesting, dynamic, and a joy to read about, even if they’re doing something that makes you cringe. Jacob navigates through their psyches at will with masterful ease, showing that head-hopping can be done right in the hands of a skillful author. Honestly I’m ashamed of myself for not having read this sooner – it came out in 1997 and I didn’t read it until 2020! If you haven’t read it either, you need to do so now. What are you waiting for?!
March 18, 2022
This book had some really interesting themes that I wish had been explored a little more. Without spoiling anything, the idea of the separation of the soul from the living body due to trauma was one aspect of the story I found fascinating and would have liked to see more developed. One of the dominant themes that I was able to appreciate was that of appearance, both inward and outward. Admittedly, I just didn't connect with the story and the writing the way I wish I had. The extreme horror was definitely present, but I found it a little hard to keep track of some of the characters and plot as the narrative bounced between perspectives.
January 1, 2023
This was one of the worst books I’ve attempted. I read 3/4 and the entire time was forcing myself to get through. Terribly difficult to follow along and the descriptions are so drawn out and absurd. Terrible read.
June 10, 2024
finally finished this godforsaken book whole time i’m like yeah we gotta put him (author) on a list come to find out a WOMAN wrote this i’m like girlypop slay but we’re absolutely putting you on a list this took 10 years off my life
July 14, 2018
The gore and styling of this book is beautiful in that nasty, Clive Barker sort of way. But I had a hard time really caring for most of the characters, and the plot seemed a bit all over the place.
December 30, 2018
At times it was an interesting read although I did feel towards the end the need to "just finish it". Still, some cool and unusual ideas about the supernatural.
August 25, 2020
This book is a non-stop gore fest. Filled with vampires(?), haunted video tapes, sex, and body parts galore. Kudos to Charlee Jacob for writing a novel that is a mix between Kafka and Cronenberg.
April 22, 2022
One of my favorite cover art I did, its a fun read.
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