Swarm

Channeling Morpheus/Sweet Oblivion #9

by Jordan Castillo Price

For some time, Michael has suspected that Wild Bill’s done more than just dabble in art. As with every other piece of his personal history, Bill plays his cards close to his chest. But when he lets on that a mural he painted before his change might still exist, Michael’s dying to see it -- and Bill’s never been good at saying no.

Only fragments of the building remain, but it’s possible Wild Bill’s painting is still there. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more in the ruins than Bill and Michael bargained for.

Genres: M M Romance, Vampires, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Erotica, Urban Fantasy

57 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Author and artist Jordan Castillo Price writes paranormal sci-fi thrillers colored by her time in the Midwest, from inner city Chicago, to various cities across southern Wisconsin. She’s settled in a 1910 Cape Cod near Lake Michigan with tons of character and a plethora of bizarre spiders. Any disembodied noises, she’s decided, will be blamed on the ice maker.

Jordan is best known as the author of the PsyCop series, an unfolding tale of paranormal mystery and suspense starring Victor Bayne, a gay medium who's plagued by ghostly visitations.

Reviews

[Shurrn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This episode flew by in a flash of sex, tattoos, bullies, art, & blood.

Ink, dab, ink, dabe... the steady rhythm was hypnotic. The antiseptic smells of surgical soap and the rubbing alcohol almost masked the scent of fresh blood, but that familiar copper tang was still there, beneath it all.

I closed my eyes and tried to will myself not to get aroused. It wasn't easy. Blood and pain and vampire were in the air, my triumvirate of kinks.

Wild Bill was staring when I opened my eyes. He mouthed the words "I love you," and I worried I might bust out of my jeans, because that was the cherry on top.

Michael's vampish tendencies come to a head while working at the vet clinic. An ill-timed, bloody practical joke from a douchebag co-worker has him turning in his scrubs and cleaning out the Ketamine cabinet...

Michael finds himself dwelling on the idea of bullies and predators, and how the same qualities that attract bullies seem to attract vampires. He's deep in a funk by the time the sone goes down and Wild Bill wakes up...

Bill opens up about his former artistic aspirations in this episode of Channeling Morpheus. In fact, Bill does an awful lot of opening up. He takes Michael on a tour of his old Milwaukee stomping grounds in search of the last piece Wild Bill ever painted. A mural in the basement of a now burned out building, but the boys find more than art within the dark dank walls of that abandoned building.

Suddenly Michael is gaining a whole new appreciation for the predator/prey relationship...

Cause Michael is Vamp Heroin, and he and Wild Bill walk into a swarm of junkies...

Read all my Reviews in this Series:
01.0 - Payback - Read my Review Here.
02.0 - Vertigo - Read my Review Here.
03.0 - Manikin - Read my Review Here.
03.1 - Heaven Sent - Read my Review Here.
04.0 - Tainted - Read my Review Here.
05.0 - Rebirth - Read my Review Here.
06.0 - Brazen - Read my Review Here.
07.0 - Snare - Read my Review Here.
08.0 - Fluid - Read my Review Here.
09.0 - Swarm - You're reading it!
10.0 - Elixir - Read my Review Here.
10.1 - Jackpot - Read my Review Here.
10.2 - Canine - Read my Review Here.

Omnibus Reviews:
1-5 - Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary - Read my Review Here.
6-10 - A Bitter Taste of Sweet Oblivion - Read my Review Here.





***I read this book as part of the Bitter Taste of Sweet Oblivion box set which was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review***

[Marte - Thunderella · Rating 1 out of 5]

First part...

Hmmm, not suuuure I'm liking this...

65%
HOLY SHIIIIIT! *gasp*
Suspense!

76%


!!!!!!!!!???????????



Do NOT eat or drink when clicking this spoiler. Actually finish eating and drinking first. And brace...


Three vamps were in the corner, a guy with long brown hair on the floor, and two women kneeling, one in front, one in the back. I thought maybe it was a kinky threesome, what with his feet in the air. But then I saw the enema bag.

"We figured it out(...)", Charlie said. "How to get fucked up on practically nothing. Wine enemas. You get drunk hard, you get drunk fast. And there's no throwing it up, 'cos you don't waste it on your useless gut." (...)

The vamp on his back let loose, and wine gushed out. (...) His ass was right next to a grate in the floor. I tried to pretend I didn't smell the wine. That I didn't hear it dripping down the grate. If I'd had anything in my stomach, I think I would have puked.


No kidding...

*gag*




Buddy read with Marco. His review here!

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating for the whole series.

Wow this was the start of the final cresendo. I did not stop after reading this to write down my thoughts. I just opened up the next one to continue reading, couldn't leave the guys like that could I?


Overall thoughts on the series here

Channeling Morpheus 1-5 BR thread 12th June 2015

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohhh, this one I really like! We get a little more back story on Wild Bill, and harbors an increasing appetite for blood. Wild Bill and Michael are living in Milwaukee. Michael is working as a vet tech as a cover to steal supplies and drugs.

There is a hairy, bloody scene at the veterinarian’s.....some may be grossed out, I particularly enjoyed it due to Michael’s reactions.

Some reviews mentioned the slow pacing in this short story....I found nothing wrong with the pacing....there’s no need for action, action, action all the time. I was happy to see Michael and Bill together, talking and being together. And of course, having hot vampire sex!

Bill leads Michael to some of his old stomping grounds where they run into quite a surprise.....creepy, really.

Mmmmm....just one more full story in this amazing series. I’ve been drawing it out, making it last....edging, so to speak, because I don’t want it to be over.

If you’ve yet to start this series, you truly should. There is nothing pretty or glittery about the vampires in this world. Dark and delicious.

[Claudie ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely the best installment from Michael’s POV. Gripping and suspenseful, with some of the hottest sex scenes in this entire series. 🔥

4.5 stars.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Swarm', book nine in the 'Channeling Morpheus' series by Jordan Castillo Price, is, as far as I know, the final story in Michael's point of view. That's assuming, of course, that the author stays with the same pattern. Which, you know what they say about assuming? Anyway, in case you're wondering, yes, I still have sad face at the thought of almost being done. Curse my fast reading! I have mad skillz.

Michael is still working at the emergency vet hospital and gets called in for a day shift. He's assisting on a surgery and the monumental amount of hemorrhaging blood becomes too much for him. Oh, it doesn't make him sick. It makes him hungry, starving in fact. What is happening to him? Michael figures that's the end of that job and heads back to wait for Wild Bill to wake. Of course when he does, he's drawn immediately to the miasma of guilt and sadness rolling through Michael. Apparently, Michael is vamp crack especially when he's channeling the darker emotions.

Somehow they get on the topic of Wild Bill's artistic talent, with him trying to blow off Michael and claim he was just a wannabe. Michael knows better, though, he can see how talented Wild Bill is. Wild Bill takes Michael on a little drive into Milwaukee and tells him a little about his life before he was turned. They end up at an old storage building where Wild Bill used to hang and where the last thing he created was a mural on the wall. Michael can't risk losing this opportunity to get a better glimpse into who Wild Bill is, so they head into this burned out husk to look for it. Unfortunately, what they find is a whole lot of dangerous.

Michael is a different guy than he was in the beginning. He's more free, I suppose, from the restrictions which hold most humans down. This was really emphasized here and it was a bit of a revelation even though I've been watching his transformation all along. Once again, I'm in awe of the writing, the story, and the intensity of these characters. Again, thank you, Jordan.

[Heather C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that was DARK and DEPRESSING! But still sooooo good. These guys just break my heart sometimes.

Only one more story left and I'm getting really nervous about how all this is gonna end. Will there be a cure for vampirism?? Please no!! Wild Bill and Mikey better not disappoint me!!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the Sweet Oblivion series is not your every day series, this story tops it all. It was a weird combination of randomness and chaos. A lot of events accumulated to not much happening and at the end you're non the wiser.
Still: it was strangely satisfying...

[Ilhem · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

I love the characters, the atmosphere, the darkness and melancholy, their hotness, but I'm always a bit unsatisfied by the story arc.

[Relly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed this instalment. Both Michael and Bill got a reminder of who they are outside of their bubble. To some Michael will always be prey. I also enjoyed Wild Bill taking a trip done memory lane.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY raw notes, may contain spoilers but probably nothing major.


I live this series. I've been saving these last couple of stories for probably a year now because I don't want it to end. I really like that they live out of an old cmvan. When you have to run for your life frequently and change your identity to simple disappear either for safety or because people were starting to notice you aren't aging, it would be hard to make and keep investments. It would be hard to get good jobs without a background and when you had really restricted hours. Night jobs don't tend to pay well. It would be hard to inherit your own money when producing a body that can't be embalmed is difficult. some people really suck with money and will never change. Plus, they may live for a long time and look young but he's like in his 40's or something in this book right? How many people that age are rich and how many are "working stiffs." So it really works for me.

My heart went pitter patter just when Bill mouthed to Michael that he loved him. It's so different than the extremely prevalent vampire stories with their fates mates (not that I don't read about a bajillion of those too because they have a certain appeal).

The sex is so hot.

You have to go to school yo become a vet tech. It's like a year and a half or two year program. Did I he fake credentials or something?

It's so great how complicated these characters are and how much Muchsrk has to finesse Bill to get him not to close up.

Why didn't he just st ask her to make him a different tattoo rather than modifying that one. Ask her to make a similar one on the other arm.

Couldn't Michael have driven them somewhere else after dawn so there was no way the vamps could follow?

I agree with everything the author said in her afterward and I think this definitely one of the best in the series.

5+ stars

[Emanuela ~plastic duck~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild Bill is a hell of a character and Michael is like the tool that lets us read Wild Bill. Michael can see many things in Wild Bill, but he doesn't always know what these things mean. As consummated and constant readers of this series we almost know what's going on in the vampire, that touch of humanity he's trying to hide - or that maybe he doesn't know it's there. The best thing of this series is that it involves the reader, as the only one who is partial to both sides of the story. I loved the tenderness, I adored that touch of darkness. What will happen next? I don't want to know because I don't want to finish this series.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 9th book in this series and it holds steady. Although there is clearly a change happening with Michael and in the dynamic between ichael and Wild Bill,which I have to assume will all become clear in the final book.

In this book we get a sense of where Michael is at mentally. We also see the boys in an almost stable location and get a little more on the human Wild Bill once was. Michael gets a tattoo and the guys go looking for a piece of Wild Bill's past. I continue to be engaged by these to and look forward to reading their last installment.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a wonderful cover! I got totally obsessed by the movement of Michaels hair... or was it the stubble? :)

Lots of unexpected action in this one, yay! Or should I say: non-action but crackling with tension. Man, i was on the tip of my seat when they meet the others! OMG! Michael gets broody, Wild Bill gets off on it... don't you love em? Fabulous duo. On to the last...

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one.

it was slightly more complex then the others and had two tattoos in it (hot). II am dev'ed that there is only one more. I dont see how the series is going to feel completed in just one book.

[JustJen "Miss Conduct" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael and Bill are getting more intense with each installment of this series. I don't want their journey to end, but I am really looking forward to the grand finale.

[Mare SLiTsReaD Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg I'm almost at the end.... Ugh my heart is cracking... Tiny little fissures..

[DeeNeez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may start of slow, but explosive in a dark wicked way. A whole new meaning to the term swarm.

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
My impression might be skewed since I fell asleep while reading and had a truly horrific vampire zombie dream...but I'm still standing by liking this one a lot.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title was provided free by the author or publisher for review purposes. Review originally posted at Brief Encounters Reviews.

Rating: A+

I have to admit, I was a bit wary of reading this story again as I remember having a really strong reaction to it the first time around. Along with Manikin, this is probably one of the instalments in the Channeling Morpheus series that most fits the term "horror", and I remember finding various incidents unsettling, creepy and sickening. However, I'm really glad now that I read it again because that gut reaction wasn't so overpowering this time around, and I was able to concentrate more on the story and the writing. I'm now happy to say that this is probably my favourite out of the latter half of the series!

Swarm is narrated by Michael, and it opens with him getting a tattoo from an ancient vampire. The atmosphere is gritty and tense from the start, with Michael observing the dodgy electrics in her studio and worried about the straight razor she uses to shave his arm. But Wild Bill is there with him, and it's one of his designs that Michael is having inked permanently. And of course, this being Channeling Morpheus, it doesn't take long before the two men's thoughts have turned to sex. Wild Bill ponders getting a Prince Albert piercing, and Michael finds himself getting turned on by the presence of his "triumvirate of kinks": blood, pain and vampire. However, Bill does show his usually well concealed romantic side too, and there are moments that made me feel warm inside.

Michael and Bill are now living, temporarily at least, in the city, and Michael has a job as a vet's assistant. He tells us this is purely to help score drugs to hunt rogue vamps with, but it's clear from his actions that he's a talented worker who could make a career out of it. However, unfortunately for Michael the animals no longer like him, seeming to sense that he's now part vampire, and his colleagues aren't much friendlier. One of the most gory, horrific scenes in the entire series is set in the operating theatre with Michael assisting in an operation on a dog. When blood begins haemorrhaging everywhere, he is almost overpowered by hunger and realises just how much of a vampire he's become.

There's a real sadness to Michael's life, and this is the first book where I really started to understand just what he's giving up to live his "half-life" with Bill. While he has the love and acceptance of one man, he's losing all ability to interact with the wider world of "normal" people. Despite him having always been a loner, this is still a bitter realisation for him to have to come to.

The sex in this book is off the scale in terms of heat. Michael's depression over the incident at his workplace feeds Bill's lust--something Bill is refreshingly frank about--and this time they take a wander further into kinky territory. There's a strong D/s dynamic that Michael craves, and Bill's dirty talk is even filthier than usual.

Of course, as the blurb suggests, the theme that ties this whole story together is that of Bill's art, and Michael gently trying to prise more information about his past. This time we really do get to find out more about the elusive pre-vamp Bill, but in doing so the two of them take a journey into an incredibly dangerous place. I don't want to give any more spoilers, but suffice to say there was one moment that made me physically jump with shock the first time I read it, and my heart was racing as I tore through the book to reach the end.

In a sense there's almost not much point reviewing a book this far into a series as you can't start the series at this point (not without major confusion, anyway), and those who are already reading it will know themselves whether they want to carry on. However, I'm keen to talk about well written books that move me, and Jordan Castillo Price's Swarm definitely fits that description. If you haven't yet taken a chance on Michael and Wild Bill, I urge you to give them a go. This is a vampire road trip like no other, vividly written and utterly compelling.

[Elisa Rolle]

I had the feeling that for Michael and Wild Bill is coming the game over. Until now, Michael as faced all this adventure like a video-game, he is enjoying the ride and it seems that, as soon as he had a problem, Wild Bill was there with a spare life to play again. But now that they are almost settling in a “steady” life, Michael attending college (I think it’s college, since he is doing a practice as veterinary), things are starting to change for them.

Michael starts to be no more immune to the vamp bug, he has desires, blood desires, that are more of a vampire than a donor, and trying to deny this new side of his life together with Wild Bill, I think he tried to make Wild Bill more similar to him, more human. Michael questions Wild Bill on his previous life, before being turned, and in doing so, he upsets Wild Bill. I had the feeling that Wild Bill didn’t want to remember, maybe since he didn’t like his previous life, or maybe since he doesn’t want to regret what he cannot more have.

Aside from Michael searching reassuring in all things human, the sexual relationship between Michael and Wild Bill is always good. Michael pushes a bit Wild Bill, exactly in having him showing a bit his “wild” side, and both of them enjoy the result: Wild Bill during sex knows how far he can go, and Michael always enjoys to being a bit on the edge.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047DWZCC/?...

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!! Boy I was scared there for a minute. WB and Michael went to one of WB's old haunts where he painted a mural before he was turned. It was actually a very sweet moment since Bill never shares anything about himself with Michael. While making their way into the bowels of the warehouse, they stumbled upon a dozen vamps in the basement, where his mural was located. It was touch and go for a while, not knowing if they would make it out unscathed. But in the end they were accepted, offered rank blood, drugs, booze which could get vamps drunk if they took it by enema. One of the female vamps smelled a new tattoo on Michael and wanted to see it. She was an exceptional tattoo artist who only gave them out, never by request and she wanted to touch up/add to the new tat that WB designed that was on his arm. Michael said no and I thought she was going to kill him until Bill stepped in and said it was o.k. She ended up adding Wild Bill's name to it and it choked up Michael. He ended up loving it.

They hightailed it out of there and ended up not going back to hotel room out of fear of being followed by them. They ended up camping in a Christmas tree farm.

I'm scared to read the last book since this once ended on a dire note about being prey/predator. Is Jordan foretelling their demise. God, I hope not. I don't think I could take it.

[Tam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild Bill and Michael have been hanging out in Milwalkee (why I ask) and Michael’s working for a vet clinic where he’s stealing drugs/supplies and being bullied. After a particularly nasty episode he grabs everything and takes off. After getting a tattoo he starts asking Bill about his past and seems that Bill was an art student and one night they head out to look at one of Bill’s murals he painted in an old brick factory. They get there and the place is burned out but they explore and ack, find 12 vampires standing around waiting for their blood to arrive. Bill and Michael are kind of freaked out but play it cool and eventually get out fine after some weird shit but are kind of freaked out. Lots of development of Michael craving blood more and wondering what’s happening to himself. Next book is supposed to be the last one. Boo. So we’ll see where they end up. Same quality as usual for JCP, she just hooks you in and drags you along (certainly not kicking and screaming).

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaaaaaaaaand another really brave one: Seriously gritty, dark, unique, melancholic with lots of layers, nuanced depiction of co-dependency - and that scene, the one at the vet, that was fucking brilliant. Well, Michael, full circle.


Review of the whole series:

Ok, the main selling point for me here is the fact that I seriously didn't know where this was going, all the way through to the last installment - because nothing about this - not the characters, the story line, the sex - followed standard genre rules, whether it be erotica, paranormal or m-m.

The sex for example has a peculiar mix of too filthy (literally filthy, not only dirty - that, too) and too profound for erotica, the characters begin to show a psychological depth and ambivalence that you don't usually expect from paranormal and the romance is way too non-formulaic for m-m.

And that mix just makes this wonderful.

[Jae Jaggart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swarm is 9 in the excellent Channeling Morpheus series. There are, yep, warrior vamps, angst ridden, history laden vamps, rich, glossy vamps, and with Jordan Castillo Price, there are gritty, real, compelling vampires that inhabit an un-pretty, grimy and noirish world. Vampire Wild Bill and his human lover, Michael, infected with the Dracula Bug (one way and another) are an intriguing combo. There were terrific scenes in this novella. Amongst them, Michael in the vet’s clinic trying hard to remain in control in the doggy surgery scene. The basement they clamber into only to find themselves faced with a vamp nest, dubcon inking and a reminder of Bill’s old self. I’ve read other books in this series and they all share sharp dialogue, hot sex, and a great sense of place and character. Recommended reading, especially if you’re looking for an addictive vamp series that’s something different.

[Julesmarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this one! I love how much closer Michael and Wild Bill get. I love that we got a glimpse into their life together in their apartment. I especially love that the choices they had to make and the sacrifices they both made were for the sake of each other, and not BECAUSE of each other as has been the case in some of the recent books.

Man! And that sex scene at the end where bill finally gets to hear Michael say he loves him! And how tender and sweet that was, especially when Michael had been worried the roughness might come to a head, and how Bill gets to use his same line from the very first time they were together... That's some amazing stuff right there.

What an amazing ride this series has been! I'm not ready for the next book to be the last one already!

[Tamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the difference in the story telling between the characters. Michael often seems so unsure, but from Bill's point of view he is often following Michael's lead. This was a rough one, finding his mural in a nest of semi-nasty vampires. What a shocker for Bill. Maybe he wasn't the only victim Ambrose left behind.

I was surprised to read that Bill thought of himself as a pacifist. Maybe it's because he is often so confrontational with people, or just plan snarky :)

Another good one and the only downside is the looming end of the series :/
====================================
1st read - Nov 18, 2011
2nd read - Dec 28, 2015

[Cheryl]

I'm not sure how to rate this one. If you've never worked in the veterinary field it's probably great. If you've ever worked in a veterinary hospital in any capacity then you can still read this book, you just have to skip chapter two. Trust me, the inaccuracies will curl your toes. Read chapter one, then send me a message and I'll tell you what happens in chapter two minus all the silliness, and then go ahead and read chapter three. If you do this, you'll love this piece of the Channeling Morpheus/Sweet Oblivion series.

[Sadonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this series is just ramping up to an either really satisfying or really shattering conclusion - and right now I'm not sure which and maybe they are the same thing. The whole run-in with the vamps was scary as hell. Again, Michael and WB's connection just burns off the page. Cannot get enough of these two.

[Bookwatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

IMO after book 7 he series became MUCH better. Less focus on sex scenes, more plot and character story.
Book 7 is still my fav of the series... must read the last to said it for sure, but I believe no book can be better than