Try Dying

by Rajeev Singh

A gorehound with loads of money runs into the ultimate prize of a sadist – a woman who loves being cut within an inch of her life.

But there is more to her than the average world-weary broad with a death wish.

She has made a habit of the business of dying.

A habit that she wants to kick with a vengeance.

Join the duo on a wild ride where blood is thinner than water and death is as elusive as the holy grail.

(This book contains violence and disturbing content of a sexual nature. Readers’ discretion is advised.)

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Dark, Erotic Horror

135 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2021

About the author

I'm a compulsive reader, not-so-regular writer, introverted dreamer, onanist, fetishist, occasional weirdo and a movie enthusiast with a hankering for great ideas and demolition of creative boundaries - which, incidentally, also applies to what I read and write. I've a preference for the shocking and what most people would call disturbing. Think of the axe-murder in A Serbian Film and the accident-fetish in J G Ballard's Crash and you get the drift.

However, I can appreciate the brighter side of life too - like your neighbourhood serial killer with the face of a choir boy. I've read Nobel laureates like Mario Vargas Llosa with the same passion that I have for a splatterpunk master like Wrath James White. I straddle two worlds, it seems.

I get my rocks off on erotic horror, dabble in pornhub when life gets too boring (onanist, remember?) and am still writing three days a week since publishing my first novel, The Erotic Muse, in 2018. I sublimated a truckload of pre-middle-age angst in writing it and it shows, albeit in a less autobiographical way than a Charles Bukowski or a Henry Miller.

I give out free copies of my work all the time. Anyone interested may contact me at rajeev.writer1985@gmail.com. I'm also open to chats of a no-holds-barred nature.

My Amazon author profile where you can find my books:

https://www.amazon.com/RAJEEV-SINGH/e...

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 33%. I just could not get a handle on the writing style. The first 10% of the story was written in a way that overly detailed every tiny tidbit and had an incredible amount of comparisons (This was like, resembled, etc), which kept taking my attention away from the main premise. Things began to take shape a bit more after that, but even still, the pacing and flow were not smooth. I really liked the concept here and thought both Aiden and Nikita were great leads. However, it really just came down to how this was written that really made me unable to continue with it. I really believe that if the author simplified their approach and focused more on the core plot, this would have been a much better experience.

[Hail Hydra! ~Dave Anderson~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A final act of having her throat cut for the masturbating public, bidding adieu to her crew at the Dog Company who had stood by her with coin-encrusted pleasure and sealed lips? Blacking out into an endless ocean of bliss as applause shook the walls of an underground theatre in Prague?

[Y.D. Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

carnal desires.

Dripping with blood and reverie.

The magnets that pull you together. Mutual benefits that tease.

Don't get caught with your pants down now, you might slip on the blood.

...or maybe you want to get drenched? Helps it slide better.

The hisses, the constriction. Losing breath or catching it?

I was dying for another taste, another peek, but was left wanting so much more.

there must be something in the water.

>>Fans of Yolanda Olson will love this book<<

*5 stars. I rank this book dark dark/border pitch black by my scale.*

EDIT TO ADD: this has to be one of the few times...the cover is lighter than the story inside much to my delight :)

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try Dying by Rajeev Singh is the first book by this incredible erotic horror author that didn't bode well with me. Let me explain...

Normally, I'm totally all in with Rajeev's books. If you haven't picked his books up, he's a master at erotic horror. His books are creepy, disgusting, mind boggling, menacing and disturbing - the way erotic horror should be. I'm honestly always blown away by his talent! Normally, his kind of horror doesn't sit well with me at all and I (essentially) run away screaming. But his books? The writing style and tone always pulls me in and keeps me hanging on.

Then in walks Try Dying. The writing style, the tone, the word choice - all of the essence of the book is incredible. It just gets a little too brutal for me and I had to walk away numerous times to stomach it. Why? Well, the weird fetishes of wanting to murder a woman viciously while you have sex with her made me ill. If that's the kind of horror you're going for, Rajeev does it well. That kind of horror bothers me - I'm a woman who fears this. I will say, Rajeev Singh does horror well for this topic. I give him all the props, this just isn't the plot line or story line that I should personally be reading. I can't give him enough props, bonuses and compliments for how he made this into a story and made it work. Once I was able to slowly but surely get through this book in little chunks (pun intended), I realized how well written and intriguing it is.

So, what is in store for you, oh mighty reader:
- The Dark Web
- "Walrus-moustached" as my new favourite description
- Fetishes
- An adventure surrounding a curse
- An awesomely designed cover image
- A niche book perfect for it's niche market

Overall, the book plot wise sat at a solid 3 for me. The adventure and curse side of things brought me in, but the brutality against women grossed and creeped me out. The writing? 5 out of 5, which is exactly what you expect from Rajeev Singh.

My final rating is going to sit evenly at a 4 out of 5. I'm not the audience for that book and I can accept that. I still want to read all of Rajeev Singh's books because he's one of the few horror authors that I can (normally) sit through the whole book and enjoy reading. He also just has a really nice writing style that makes the books easy to read. I find I don't get that a lot within the horror genre.

Four out of five stars!

I received this book for free from the author, Rajeev Singh, in exchange of an honest review.

[Angel Gelique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aiden Moore is not just filthy rich, he also possesses a rather filthy fetish. He finds sexual fulfillment in savagely hurting women. Bringing them to the point of death brings him to the point of orgasm. Naturally, when he learns about Nikita Cleaver, a performer who seemingly defies death on stage, he is anxious to meet her. Before long, the two forge a mutually beneficial friendship, one that takes them on a journey for answers and the ultimate discovery.

Singh’s books never disappoint. The juxtaposition of debauchery and poetically beautiful writing serves to deliver an absolutely entrancing, albeit horrific, adventure. It is immersive from the very start and continues captivating until that final page. I think what I love and appreciate most about Singh’s stories (aside from the impeccable writing) is the ability to take me on an unforgettable journey, one that ignites my imagination every bit as much as it satiates my passion for gore and depravity. This book has such an original, clever premise and is well-executed. The pacing is perfect and the characters have depth, personality and relatability. There is plenty of carnage to satisfy even the pickiest extreme horror enthusiast, plus action, suspense and even scenes of fright and terror. I honestly cannot do this amazing book justice in a mere review, suffice it to say that I highly recommend it to all lovers of horror.

[Corrina Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by Rajeev Singh, and I absolutely loved it!
I really liked his writing style, and the story itself was an interesting concept!
A woman who can't be killed, and a man who gets off on hurting women, brutally, and grotesquely, for his own sexual gratification. The two get together, and try to kill her, in oh so many bloody and horrible ways!
This story had me totally hooked, I couldn't put it down. Horrifying, brutal, and completely gripping! I'd love for there to be a sequel, telling of Aidens new journey.

[Lisa Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story!

Try Dying by Rajeev Singh is thrill ride of erotic splatter horror. The backstory of Nikita is an incredible horror tale on its own; the story as a whole is a riveting journey into death, depravity, and mystery.

Singh’s main character is a relatively unlikeable man with a gore fetish, and the author brings him to stark and evocative life in such a way that you are drawn to him regardless. All of the characters reach out from the pages to grip your emotions, much as the sequences grip your mind. No one and nothing are quite as they seem.

The supernatural elements of Try Dying create compelling mystery and suspense that kept me glued to the story from start to finish. The graphic sexual content and violent sequences, which often are combined, are both titillating and stomach-churning, a wicked invasion of your mind and morals, but not at all gratuitous. These elements combine to make the story what it is, and it is not a story for the faint of heart. The story is unpredictable, and the ending is not anything like what you might expect it to be.

This is erotic extreme horror at its finest and highly recommended for readers who enjoy such.

[Bara B · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the best tradition of Rajeev Singh there comes another tale of horror and pursuit of pleasure. The book has it all - the gore that slaps you in the face starting with chapter 1, the peculiar cravings of human nature as we see in its main character millionaire Aiden Moore, the sexiness of the mysterious Nikita Cleaver, a pinch of history, the adventures to the remote parts of the world, and an oh-so-clever twist in the end that makes you wonder what the heck is in that water.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird tale depicting the off-beat, salacious tryst between an extreme sadist, in search of the ultimate turn-on, and a seemingly indestructible actress who thrives on enjoying the experience of feeling the throes of death, but who secretly harbours her true desire which is to be left to simply die.

If you like the idea of mixing a 1980’s ‘Hammer House of Horrors’ production with the extreme erotic possibilities that may be found in ‘50 Shades of Grey’ then you should get an accurate view of the picture.

Some good points such as the idea of introducing an ‘external type of cancer that can keep you alive’ but, despite the abundant flow of bloody mutilation and abomination, I was left feeling that this quick jaunt of random scenarios, set in various places, ultimately just didn’t quite completely ‘float my boat’.

A young writer with lots of talent - undoubtedly one to watch in future.

Rating: 3.3 stars.

[Leslie Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very intense, dark, and sensual tale about a wealthy man with some devious kinks that he has been unable to satisfy. That is until he sees a live underground performance by a woman, Nikita. She is not like other girls. The writing is visceral, descriptive, and at a slower pace. If you appreciate this style of writing, you will love this story. The author did an excellent job telling this in his own way. I also enjoyed the history lesson. This is not a style of writing I would typically seek out, but I can certainly recognize the talent required to undertake such a feat. This novella kept my interest as the pace picked up. Erotic horror fans of this writing style and dark romance fans who don’t require a HEA ending will love this work. I also want to say that I am an avid reader of extreme horror and have made friends with many other authors. I know this is fiction, but Rajeev Singh scares the hell out of me!

[Christina Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try Dying is a story of a man named Aiden who wants to fulfill his carnal desires while watching a person be brought to the brink of death. It’s not something he can ask of just anyone…he has to find that perfect person. So he searches the Dark Web and finds videos featuring Nikita Cleaver that look too real to be fake. He decides he has to find her because she could be his perfect person.

Their meeting is not what Aiden expects. Nikita reveals to Aiden she has the unnatural ability to cheat death. Excitedly, he wants to push her to her final limits and she wants him to help her get there and end her life for real.

Singh weaves us a fantastic tale of horror, eroticism and an understood loyalty between the two main characters. This story can definitely be characterized as Splatterpunk and is full of blood and gore! I enjoyed reading about the escapades of Aiden and Nikita and I think you will too! Singh does not disappoint on this one!

[Pyropatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

Loved it. Extreme horror with so much sex and gore , I couldn't put down. Such a great story line. I have never read anything like it.

[Malcolm9989818 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful gore. Shame there wasn't more of it. It's too rare to find gore described from the perspective of someone like Aiden. I could've stood to read many more chapters of Aiden and Nikita testing the latter's resurrective capabilities in inventive and erotic ways. There's so much more they could've tried.

I didn't like the direction the plot took once Pedro started blackmailing Aiden. A nosy scientist trying to study the immortal woman to discover what makes her tick would be a fine enough premise for some other story, but in this one, it was an annoying twist.

And it felt kind of rushed, the way things turned so quickly to Aiden scheming to replicate Nikita's immortality for himself, and how easily he found the macguffin needed to do so.

[Fiona Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love gore and guts ... end of 😁 This is the first of Rajeev's books I've ever read and I enjoyed it, so I'll be seeking out his other books, which will hopefully be equally as good 🙂

[Mico Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read from Rajeev Singh but it definitely won’t be my last. This book was beautifully written, with a unique plot. The MC was tough to cheer for, but I think that was the point. And the author made it easy to sympathize with Nikita and her “curse”.

I’ll be looking into this author’s backlog and keeping an eye out for future releases.

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like Blood Rain, my first encounter with Rajeev Singh, Try Dying is as imaginative as it is deviant, another well-written slice of erotic horror, but one that will leave you feeling even more guilty about enjoying it. It is most definitely not for the squeamish, but beneath all the blood and sex and gore is a fascinating character study.

Aiden is a wealthy businessman who is excited by violence and aroused by death. The more he indulges his fantasies of violence, however, the more he craves the ultimate realization of everything he desires. It's that insatiable thirst that brings him to an exclusive snuff performance by an underground theatre troupe, in which the beautiful Nikita Cleaver is tortured and beheaded for the audience's pleasure . . . night after night.

While Aiden is the protagonist/antagonist here - the abuser, the murderer, and the molester - he's not a villain. Yes, he does deplorable things, gets off on the most despicable acts, but Nikita is a willing, enthusiastic participant. With several lifetimes behind her, she's tired of her curse, weary of cheating death, and she's eager to indulge Aiden's increasingly more destructive fantasies in hopes that he'll find a death the curse can't cheat. As for Aiden, what began as an infatuation borne of a dark fetish becomes something closer to love, and that emotional attachment slowly changes their dynamic.

As disturbing as the graphic necrophilia is - and Singh's imagination comes up with some brilliant deaths - it's Nikita who makes Try Dying so fascinating. It's her personality that elevates the story, and her history that gives it meaning. Once that emotional dynamic shifts, and Aiden begins pursuing death for the sake of her peace rather than her pleasure, the story finds its heart - its bloody, broken, still-beating heart.

I loved the story's climax and the way it brought the story of Nikita and her curse full circle, but I'm not so sure how I feel about the final scenes. I think the story was stronger without that descent into the monstrous, more fascinating when it was about the dark side of humanity. Metaphorically, it has some resonance, especially in terms of Aiden's personality, but it just felt like too much . . . which is saying something for a story where a reader could cry 'too much' on just about any page.


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