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Bleed
When Walt Blackmore moves into an old gable front house on the outskirts of a small town, things are really looking up for him; he has an adoring girlfriend to whom he plans to propose, a new job teaching English at the local high school, and an altogether bright future. His outlook and destiny are irreparably changed, however, when an unusual dark red spot appears on the ceiling in the hallway. Bit by bit, the spot grows, first into a dripping blood stain and eventually into a grotesque, muttering creature.As the creature grows, Walt finds himself more and more interested in fostering its well-being. At first he only feeds it stray animals so that the blood-hungry monster can survive, but this soon fails to satisfy the creature’s ghastly needs. It is gradually becoming human again, and for that to happen it requires human blood and human flesh. And once Walt has crossed the line from curiosity to murder, there is no going back."Page after stunning page, Ed Kurtz gets it right. This book was like memory lane for me, its luminous prose and unstoppable tension taking me back to the great small town horror novels of the '70s and '80s. I didn't think they made 'em like this anymore, but thankfully, I was wrong. For, with Bleed, Kurtz has not only written an intensely scary tale, but a timeless one as well."- Joe McKinney, author of Apocalypse of the Dead and Flesh Eaters
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First published March 5, 2011
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About the author
Ed Kurtz
56 books145 followersEd Kurtz is the author of THE RIB FROM WHICH I REMAKE THE WORLD and other novels. His short fiction has appeared in numerous collections, and has been honored in Best American Mystery Stories as well as Best Gay Stories. Kurtz lives in Minneapolis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
October 20, 2022
This book looks to take the haunted house story to a whole new horrific level, and sort of goes so much over the top, that it reads more like a very dark comedy! ...and just to confuse things more there's a weird mix of English English and American English terminology! Overall not a bad read, and once the book gets going, you can't help to want to know how the author ends it. 7.5 out of 12.
2019 read
2019 read
February 16, 2018
“It was no longer just a stain. It was a living entity. And it was feeding.”
Walt Blackmore has just moved into his brand new home, where he is met by an unusual brown stain that has formed on the ceiling. He tries to paint over it, but it keeps coming back – and its growing. As it grows it feeds on cockroaches, rats… but pretty quickly it moves onto human blood.
This book has been my favourite read of the year so far. SO. DAMN. GOOD. It’s clearly heavily influenced by Clive Barker’s “The Hellbound Heart”, so if you’re a fan of that kind of gruesome yet brilliant horror, then this book needs to make its way onto your TBR. However, it might not be for you if you have a weak stomach.
It’s simply unputdownable, the pages practically turn themselves! The pace is perfect, there’s never a dull moment, it constantly had my attention and dying to find out what happened next – and the fun thing is that I could never even predict what was coming. This book had me hook, line and sinker; I was along for the ride! And what a bloody, disgusting ride it was. Quite easily one of the most disturbing and unsettling books I have ever read. It will live long in the memory, and when it comes to horror, that is ALWAYS a good thing.
Watching our protagonist’s descent into insanity was incredibly addictive. I found myself thinking about this book a lot when I wasn’t reading it. A sure fire sign that I’m loving a book is when I tell everyone around me about what I’m currently reading (much to my mum’s disgust and concern, I’m sure she wishes my literary tastes were slightly less horrific).
I sometimes find it really difficult to write a review for a book that I really loved, all I want to do is exclaim “I LOVED IT. ALL OF IT.” over and over again! So I’ll stop before I become tedious… simply put – pick this up! I’m so glad the Nocturnal Reader’s Box included this book in one of their boxes, who knows if I’d have found it otherwise. BRILLIANT. 5 stars!
Walt Blackmore has just moved into his brand new home, where he is met by an unusual brown stain that has formed on the ceiling. He tries to paint over it, but it keeps coming back – and its growing. As it grows it feeds on cockroaches, rats… but pretty quickly it moves onto human blood.
This book has been my favourite read of the year so far. SO. DAMN. GOOD. It’s clearly heavily influenced by Clive Barker’s “The Hellbound Heart”, so if you’re a fan of that kind of gruesome yet brilliant horror, then this book needs to make its way onto your TBR. However, it might not be for you if you have a weak stomach.
It’s simply unputdownable, the pages practically turn themselves! The pace is perfect, there’s never a dull moment, it constantly had my attention and dying to find out what happened next – and the fun thing is that I could never even predict what was coming. This book had me hook, line and sinker; I was along for the ride! And what a bloody, disgusting ride it was. Quite easily one of the most disturbing and unsettling books I have ever read. It will live long in the memory, and when it comes to horror, that is ALWAYS a good thing.
Watching our protagonist’s descent into insanity was incredibly addictive. I found myself thinking about this book a lot when I wasn’t reading it. A sure fire sign that I’m loving a book is when I tell everyone around me about what I’m currently reading (much to my mum’s disgust and concern, I’m sure she wishes my literary tastes were slightly less horrific).
I sometimes find it really difficult to write a review for a book that I really loved, all I want to do is exclaim “I LOVED IT. ALL OF IT.” over and over again! So I’ll stop before I become tedious… simply put – pick this up! I’m so glad the Nocturnal Reader’s Box included this book in one of their boxes, who knows if I’d have found it otherwise. BRILLIANT. 5 stars!
March 30, 2019
HO-LY SHIT!!! This might just be the best damn book I read all year! This book had me hooked right from page one, it sunk its claws right into me and didn’t let go until I was finished and gasping for air from being utterly and completely mind blown. This is easily one of the most gruesome and gory books that I’ve read and I devoured every second of it. It’s absolutely addicting and impossible to put down! Horror fans, do yourself a favour and pick up this bloody brilliantly gem of a horror novel!
March 17, 2018
This book came in a Nocturnal Readers Box last year. I remember Vince and Jessica (owners of the NRB) told me that this book was "strange horror".
When my friend Mindi said she was reading it this month, I jumped on board.
Strange horror indeed.
This is a difficult book for me to review because there's a lot I didn't enjoy but the things I did like about it are really important to me. For instance, the premise is insane and original. I doubt I'll ever read anything like it again--Kurtz created a monster that terrified me to the core. Last night, I had visions of it coming up my stairs before I drifted off to sleep...I had to push those thoughts far from my mind. So as a horror novel, it's successful. It scared me and entertained me.
Which leads me to the next thing I loved about it, the writing. Ed is a deft hand at spinning a compelling story in an effortless, fluid way. His storytelling voice keeps me engaged and turning the pages. Not once did I feel there were any gaps or dead space, the pace was perfect.
Now for some of the critical comments,
I'm not a huge fan of gratuitous gore and this book is page for page the goriest book I've ever read; carnage galore. A blood fest. It started making me a little sick to my stomach.
The book *is* titled Bleed, so I mean, no surprise that it's *bloody* but it's a lot. Too much for me.
I know that some people enjoy that so you know who you are and you can add this book to your list of bloodlusty books but there are readers like me who are fine with some, enjoy it even, but we have a line and this went beyond that. There are still others who don't like blood and violence at all and so I'll caution you to *not* pick this one up. *wink*
Secondly, I approach books with a real drive to form connections with the characters, I'm an emotional reader. I like horror stories to have developed characters so that the risk factor is really high for me, I'm emotionally invested in these people so I want to see what happens to them. In this book, I had a hard time with the characters. Walt and Amanda were not very interesting people *before* things took a turn so when Walt's motivations shift, I found myself not caring very much and I wasn't asking myself basic reader's questions, like why would this happen to a seemingly normal person? It was strange to not invest in Walt or his relationship with Amanda considering where the story ultimately takes them. I feel like that could have had so much more tension if I could have gotten a better sense of their personalities early in the building phase of the book.
Lastly, the subplot from the 1900s that is our introduction and is then threaded through the book was a bit over the top. I'm not sure I bought into that, or maybe I just didn't want to. I don't know, it was rough.
Overall, this book has for sure hooked me to read more from Kurtz. I own his book The Rib From Which I Remake the World so I'm excited to read that. I'm just not sure this is a horror book I can just generally recommend to everyone--it comes with a bit of hesitation so, for those reasons, I rated it a little lower. I think most horror fans are not also Gore-Fest fans, that's a specialized taste.
When my friend Mindi said she was reading it this month, I jumped on board.
Strange horror indeed.
This is a difficult book for me to review because there's a lot I didn't enjoy but the things I did like about it are really important to me. For instance, the premise is insane and original. I doubt I'll ever read anything like it again--Kurtz created a monster that terrified me to the core. Last night, I had visions of it coming up my stairs before I drifted off to sleep...I had to push those thoughts far from my mind. So as a horror novel, it's successful. It scared me and entertained me.
Which leads me to the next thing I loved about it, the writing. Ed is a deft hand at spinning a compelling story in an effortless, fluid way. His storytelling voice keeps me engaged and turning the pages. Not once did I feel there were any gaps or dead space, the pace was perfect.
Now for some of the critical comments,
I'm not a huge fan of gratuitous gore and this book is page for page the goriest book I've ever read; carnage galore. A blood fest. It started making me a little sick to my stomach.
The book *is* titled Bleed, so I mean, no surprise that it's *bloody* but it's a lot. Too much for me.
I know that some people enjoy that so you know who you are and you can add this book to your list of bloodlusty books but there are readers like me who are fine with some, enjoy it even, but we have a line and this went beyond that. There are still others who don't like blood and violence at all and so I'll caution you to *not* pick this one up. *wink*
Secondly, I approach books with a real drive to form connections with the characters, I'm an emotional reader. I like horror stories to have developed characters so that the risk factor is really high for me, I'm emotionally invested in these people so I want to see what happens to them. In this book, I had a hard time with the characters. Walt and Amanda were not very interesting people *before* things took a turn so when Walt's motivations shift, I found myself not caring very much and I wasn't asking myself basic reader's questions, like why would this happen to a seemingly normal person? It was strange to not invest in Walt or his relationship with Amanda considering where the story ultimately takes them. I feel like that could have had so much more tension if I could have gotten a better sense of their personalities early in the building phase of the book.
Lastly, the subplot from the 1900s that is our introduction and is then threaded through the book was a bit over the top. I'm not sure I bought into that, or maybe I just didn't want to. I don't know, it was rough.
Overall, this book has for sure hooked me to read more from Kurtz. I own his book The Rib From Which I Remake the World so I'm excited to read that. I'm just not sure this is a horror book I can just generally recommend to everyone--it comes with a bit of hesitation so, for those reasons, I rated it a little lower. I think most horror fans are not also Gore-Fest fans, that's a specialized taste.
April 16, 2018
I buddy read this one with my friend Sadie, and I always love to see how different we both feel about the same book. Sadie and I are like sisters separated at birth, but we often have wildly different opinions about books, and I love that. My favorite part of our buddy reads is getting to read her reviews after we have finished.
Bleed begins with Walt Blackmore purchasing a house, a little cottage out in the middle of the country, and boy is it a fixer upper. But Walt is excited at the prospect of working on the house over the summer. He starts a new job in the fall teaching high schoolers, and he plans on proposing to his girlfriend, Amanda, by Christmas. For Walt, everything in his life seems to be falling neatly into place.
But then a small brownish stain forms on the ceiling of Walt's new home, and he can't get rid of it. He tries scrubbing it and painting over it, but no matter what he does the stain comes back. And then it starts to grow.
I really enjoyed the early parts of this novel. The stain is so bizarre in the beginning, and Walt tries hard to eradicate it from his new home. But then things start to fall apart, and that's when this book really lives up to its name. Bleed is absolutely dripping with blood.
I didn't have a problem with the gore. I've read books that are worse, even though most of the reviewers on here claim this is the goriest book they have ever read. I had to pause when I read that over and over because at no time while I was reading this book did I think it was overly gory. I've definitely read books that I felt were overly gory, so maybe I've just really read some messed up fiction, but I never thought this one crossed a line. The main problem I had with this novel are the number of unanswered questions that piled up by the end.
I enjoyed Bleed and thought it was an interesting and unique horror story, but I just had too many unanswered questions to rate this one higher.
Bleed begins with Walt Blackmore purchasing a house, a little cottage out in the middle of the country, and boy is it a fixer upper. But Walt is excited at the prospect of working on the house over the summer. He starts a new job in the fall teaching high schoolers, and he plans on proposing to his girlfriend, Amanda, by Christmas. For Walt, everything in his life seems to be falling neatly into place.
But then a small brownish stain forms on the ceiling of Walt's new home, and he can't get rid of it. He tries scrubbing it and painting over it, but no matter what he does the stain comes back. And then it starts to grow.
I really enjoyed the early parts of this novel. The stain is so bizarre in the beginning, and Walt tries hard to eradicate it from his new home. But then things start to fall apart, and that's when this book really lives up to its name. Bleed is absolutely dripping with blood.
I didn't have a problem with the gore. I've read books that are worse, even though most of the reviewers on here claim this is the goriest book they have ever read. I had to pause when I read that over and over because at no time while I was reading this book did I think it was overly gory. I've definitely read books that I felt were overly gory, so maybe I've just really read some messed up fiction, but I never thought this one crossed a line. The main problem I had with this novel are the number of unanswered questions that piled up by the end.
I enjoyed Bleed and thought it was an interesting and unique horror story, but I just had too many unanswered questions to rate this one higher.
November 17, 2019
After two solid weeks into Cozy November, I needed something else. And boy, did this work!
Walt buys himself a fixer-upper cottage, and begins working on it in hopes that he'll be able to propose and move his fiancé in by the end of the year. But as is always the case, he keeps discovering more projects and fixes that need done. Then he finds a spot on the ceiling in the hallway. Cleaning doesn't work, painting over it doesn't work, and then it begins to grow bigger. But it doesn't stop there. The spot begins to grow...a face?!
Reading so many horror books has got me a bit jaded, so I love seeing new and interesting ideas. There is nothing about this book that is tried and true. At its heart, it is a haunted house novel. Except rather than being haunted by a ghost, it's haunted by a hideous creature that manages to manipulate his poor "roommate" into feeding it. And what does the creature want? Fresh blood, of course. I kept looking at the pages remaining book and thinking: "There's no way they are going to continue to get away with this. How can there be so many pages left?" But they do...
I enjoyed the hell out of this book!
Walt buys himself a fixer-upper cottage, and begins working on it in hopes that he'll be able to propose and move his fiancé in by the end of the year. But as is always the case, he keeps discovering more projects and fixes that need done. Then he finds a spot on the ceiling in the hallway. Cleaning doesn't work, painting over it doesn't work, and then it begins to grow bigger. But it doesn't stop there. The spot begins to grow...a face?!
Reading so many horror books has got me a bit jaded, so I love seeing new and interesting ideas. There is nothing about this book that is tried and true. At its heart, it is a haunted house novel. Except rather than being haunted by a ghost, it's haunted by a hideous creature that manages to manipulate his poor "roommate" into feeding it. And what does the creature want? Fresh blood, of course. I kept looking at the pages remaining book and thinking: "There's no way they are going to continue to get away with this. How can there be so many pages left?" But they do...
I enjoyed the hell out of this book!
April 4, 2017
Home-ownership is so much fun, let me tell you. If you ever feel like you have too much free time and too much money on hand, get yourself a house. Go on, get one. You can thank me later. There's always some damn thing or another to fix, and once you find one thing in need of repair, you can goddamn guarantee another ten issues, big and small, will erupt all around it. The roof leaks and needs to be repaired, while the sump pump is on its last legs, and the fairly new refrigerator just so happens it doesn't feel like working anymore, usually right after you've loaded it all up with fresh new groceries. And maybe, just maybe, there's an odd stain on the hallway ceiling outside your bedroom.
It's such a stain that captures the attention of Walt Blackmore, proud new owner of a fixer-upper farmhouse. Walt's a teacher, and just about ready to propose to his girlfriend, Amanda. Just as soon as he gets the house in order, and figures out what the deal with that stain is. He's tried cleaning it off, tried painting over it, even inspected the attic and failed to find the source, but nothing's working. The stain is still there...and the stain, well. The stain is growing. And it's also hungry.
And it seems to be driving Walt more than a little bit crazy.
Bleed, by Ed Kurtz, might be the single bloodiest book I can recall reading. This sucker practically drips blood, and I swore more than a few times that my Kindle was strangely squishy, but that might have just been from sweaty palms gripping the e-reader tightly as the story hauled me along. Or it could have been blood. Could be that freaky stain was spreading right through the wi-fi and through the Kindle itself...
So yeah, this is a gory, gory, gory book. Kurtz packs the pages chock-full of mayhem and murder, hardly letting a single chapter go by without somebody or something getting hurt, maimed, dismembered, butchered, or violated in some violent fashion or another. Some readers might find this off-putting, while others might find it too repetitive. I was OK with it...which is maybe not the best admission to make? But whatever.
I only have two complaints, really. One is the book carries on a little longer than necessary, but your mileage may certainly vary. Two, and here I'll issue a SPOILER warning
This caveat aside, I had a ton of fun with Bleed. It's a great, vicious, stomach-turning bit of classic horror, and one that I suspect will linger with me for quite a while.
[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher.]
It's such a stain that captures the attention of Walt Blackmore, proud new owner of a fixer-upper farmhouse. Walt's a teacher, and just about ready to propose to his girlfriend, Amanda. Just as soon as he gets the house in order, and figures out what the deal with that stain is. He's tried cleaning it off, tried painting over it, even inspected the attic and failed to find the source, but nothing's working. The stain is still there...and the stain, well. The stain is growing. And it's also hungry.
And it seems to be driving Walt more than a little bit crazy.
Bleed, by Ed Kurtz, might be the single bloodiest book I can recall reading. This sucker practically drips blood, and I swore more than a few times that my Kindle was strangely squishy, but that might have just been from sweaty palms gripping the e-reader tightly as the story hauled me along. Or it could have been blood. Could be that freaky stain was spreading right through the wi-fi and through the Kindle itself...
So yeah, this is a gory, gory, gory book. Kurtz packs the pages chock-full of mayhem and murder, hardly letting a single chapter go by without somebody or something getting hurt, maimed, dismembered, butchered, or violated in some violent fashion or another. Some readers might find this off-putting, while others might find it too repetitive. I was OK with it...which is maybe not the best admission to make? But whatever.
I only have two complaints, really. One is the book carries on a little longer than necessary, but your mileage may certainly vary. Two, and here I'll issue a SPOILER warning
This caveat aside, I had a ton of fun with Bleed. It's a great, vicious, stomach-turning bit of classic horror, and one that I suspect will linger with me for quite a while.
[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher.]
September 7, 2017
this book had me all SORTS of disturbed and grossed out but in the best ways. I found myself clutching my pearls and grimacing often. and it never ended. it was relentless. the whole story hooked me and kept me entertained. I would love to see a tv/film adaptation of it great book and that ending...!
March 17, 2018
“It was no longer just a stain. It was a living entity. And it was feeding.”
After almost being a year in my possession, I finally decided to pick this weird; gory and horrific story.
Actually, I am probaly wrong about the whole ´a year in my possession´. Anyway, after my long break from the ole Horror book here an´ then, I was a little depserate about getting back into it. You see, I´m a mood reader, that´s why I don´t restriced myself to specific tbr, I need run wild when it comes to reading. So when I was reading a book and thinking to myself "I WILL read Bleed next!", that was when I was in the mood for something gory. But after it was time for me start reading Bleed, my mood had shifted completly and I no longer felt any type of desire to start reading Bleed. But I did it, I´ve read it, and it took me too long...
The whole point of a Horror book or movie, is to scare the shit out of you. Every page should scare you out of your skin and make you jump at the slightest sound. Although I could seee how this would scare someoene, it just didn´t happen for me. But to be fair, that does have alot to do with me. Because not only have I watched, but I´ve read quite alot of horror, it simply doesn´t scare me anymore. But I will say one thing, it weirded the shit out of me...
Don´t get me wrong, I love weirdness, I encourage weirdness.
If you are weird, then you are automatically a more interessting person or in this case book. By the way, when I say weird I mean the good kind. But this book, was to much for me. I can honestly say that I do not think that I have ever read something as strange as this. I won´t say what weirded me out because I don´t want to spoil anything but if you read this book, be prepared is all I can say.
Furthermore, something that confused me a bit was where that stain actually came from. And I don´t mean the source of it, I mean the actual history of the monster. The book did contain a few brief additions to the history at the beginning of each chapter, but what really confused me was the last "interlude". So I still don´t really understand who the thing is or what it is t0 be more precise.
However, the writing was great and really complemented the story itself and the characters. I loved the fact that when ever I was reading from another characters perspective, I actually got to feel their personality and read their thoughts. Aspects like that really help me connect with the character and the provoke a sense of empathy. But althought it was a tad to strange for me, I still really enjoyed reading the book. I really connected with the characters and felt for them, so whenever something horrible would happen to them I would feel something tug very lightly on my heartstrings.
Any horror fanatic would really sink their teeth into this!
After almost being a year in my possession, I finally decided to pick this weird; gory and horrific story.
Actually, I am probaly wrong about the whole ´a year in my possession´. Anyway, after my long break from the ole Horror book here an´ then, I was a little depserate about getting back into it. You see, I´m a mood reader, that´s why I don´t restriced myself to specific tbr, I need run wild when it comes to reading. So when I was reading a book and thinking to myself "I WILL read Bleed next!", that was when I was in the mood for something gory. But after it was time for me start reading Bleed, my mood had shifted completly and I no longer felt any type of desire to start reading Bleed. But I did it, I´ve read it, and it took me too long...
The whole point of a Horror book or movie, is to scare the shit out of you. Every page should scare you out of your skin and make you jump at the slightest sound. Although I could seee how this would scare someoene, it just didn´t happen for me. But to be fair, that does have alot to do with me. Because not only have I watched, but I´ve read quite alot of horror, it simply doesn´t scare me anymore. But I will say one thing, it weirded the shit out of me...
Don´t get me wrong, I love weirdness, I encourage weirdness.
If you are weird, then you are automatically a more interessting person or in this case book. By the way, when I say weird I mean the good kind. But this book, was to much for me. I can honestly say that I do not think that I have ever read something as strange as this. I won´t say what weirded me out because I don´t want to spoil anything but if you read this book, be prepared is all I can say.
Furthermore, something that confused me a bit was where that stain actually came from. And I don´t mean the source of it, I mean the actual history of the monster. The book did contain a few brief additions to the history at the beginning of each chapter, but what really confused me was the last "interlude". So I still don´t really understand who the thing is or what it is t0 be more precise.
However, the writing was great and really complemented the story itself and the characters. I loved the fact that when ever I was reading from another characters perspective, I actually got to feel their personality and read their thoughts. Aspects like that really help me connect with the character and the provoke a sense of empathy. But althought it was a tad to strange for me, I still really enjoyed reading the book. I really connected with the characters and felt for them, so whenever something horrible would happen to them I would feel something tug very lightly on my heartstrings.
Any horror fanatic would really sink their teeth into this!
May 30, 2017
If you are looking for a gruesome supernatural thriller that goes for the jugular and doesn't let up on the creep and slaughter factor, you will be hard pressed to find anything more suitable than Bleed by Ed Kurtz. It starts mundanely enough. Walt Blackmore, a teacher, has moved into an isolated cottage and is renovating it on his own. Walt tends to be a solitary person despite his luck in scoring a girlfriend and that is important to the plot as it develops. . He comes across a stain on the ceiling that eludes removal and actually start to grow with some alarming side effects. His girlfriend Amanda is first annoyed by the appearance and the stench of the stain and then becomes terrifyingly alarmed when it takes on some animal like effects including tentacles and a yearning for meat and blood. Walt is also repulsed but his repulsion soon turns into curiosity and then a nurturing for the still evolving creature. Of course this means nothing but bad things for everyone involved and especially for whoever crosses the path of Walt and his new companion
The “Ewww!” factor lies heavily in what the stain becomes but also in Walt’s insanely obsessive attraction and reaction to what the stain is becoming. There is at first a “Little Shop of Horror” aspect as the creature becomes increasingly demanding with its screams for blood substituting for the former’s cries of “Feed me!”. Yet my amusement with the comparison soon evaporates as Bleed continues into very dark and serious areas. The horror of Bleed is as dark, serious and gore filled as a novel can get. The horror is not so much in what the creature does as with Walt’s obsession and willingness to do the most sadistic and gruesome things to please his new friend. Several people, including his girlfriend, intrude into his madness and the results are never pretty. The violence and gore never lets up.
Walt’s own mental breakdown becomes an important point. He has already been portrayed as a bit of a loner and recluse despite his love for his girlfriend. In fact Amanda is kind of the weak point in the story. It is not quite certain what she sees in him and even more unclear why she has not introduced him to her friends, especially her business partner and close friend Nora. It is one of those odd things that challenges the belief suspension factor. Yet Walt’s own odd quirks feed, if you pardon the pun, right into his reaction to the growing and hungry stain. As the stain evolves it opens up a few other strange avenues including a very gross erotic attraction between man and monster. In this every relentless novel, the hits just speak coming.
Bleed is the kind of straightforward and never resting bundle of horror writing I love. Whatever development of the character exists ties directly to the plot. You can forgive those few inconsistencies because you are reading for the horrific thrills to come. It doesn’t try to be anything but terrifying and pummels you with that terror. The two characters that matter is Walt and that ever growing stain and it is in their disturbing and repulsive relationship where the success of this novel comes from. It is equal parts supernatural thriller, monster book and body horror. This just may be the book this year that friends give other friends just to see how much it will gross them out. But there is no question that, past the blood, violence and gore, there is a deeply disturbing and very entertaining horror novel. “Read it for the “Ewww!” but stay for the terror
The “Ewww!” factor lies heavily in what the stain becomes but also in Walt’s insanely obsessive attraction and reaction to what the stain is becoming. There is at first a “Little Shop of Horror” aspect as the creature becomes increasingly demanding with its screams for blood substituting for the former’s cries of “Feed me!”. Yet my amusement with the comparison soon evaporates as Bleed continues into very dark and serious areas. The horror of Bleed is as dark, serious and gore filled as a novel can get. The horror is not so much in what the creature does as with Walt’s obsession and willingness to do the most sadistic and gruesome things to please his new friend. Several people, including his girlfriend, intrude into his madness and the results are never pretty. The violence and gore never lets up.
Walt’s own mental breakdown becomes an important point. He has already been portrayed as a bit of a loner and recluse despite his love for his girlfriend. In fact Amanda is kind of the weak point in the story. It is not quite certain what she sees in him and even more unclear why she has not introduced him to her friends, especially her business partner and close friend Nora. It is one of those odd things that challenges the belief suspension factor. Yet Walt’s own odd quirks feed, if you pardon the pun, right into his reaction to the growing and hungry stain. As the stain evolves it opens up a few other strange avenues including a very gross erotic attraction between man and monster. In this every relentless novel, the hits just speak coming.
Bleed is the kind of straightforward and never resting bundle of horror writing I love. Whatever development of the character exists ties directly to the plot. You can forgive those few inconsistencies because you are reading for the horrific thrills to come. It doesn’t try to be anything but terrifying and pummels you with that terror. The two characters that matter is Walt and that ever growing stain and it is in their disturbing and repulsive relationship where the success of this novel comes from. It is equal parts supernatural thriller, monster book and body horror. This just may be the book this year that friends give other friends just to see how much it will gross them out. But there is no question that, past the blood, violence and gore, there is a deeply disturbing and very entertaining horror novel. “Read it for the “Ewww!” but stay for the terror
May 7, 2017
I seem to be reading Kurtz in reverse chronological order. Which is neat from the perspective of seeing how much he's evolved as an author (considerably), but also and maybe precisely due to that evolution it's something of a letdown. Not terribly so, mind you. Every book I've read by Kurtz so far has been very different in theme and execution. This one is his straight up guts and gore bloody disgusting frightfest fit for the most seasoned genre fans. Every places comes with a story and some fixer uppers just need more work that others. Walt Blackmore finds out both of the facts of life in a very gruesome fashion. Should have rented instead. In fact this book is like a huge quite convincing advertisement for renting in the city over buying in the boonies. But anyway...boonies is where things go bleed in the night the loudest or something. Guts and gore aren't really my thing at all nowadays, I'm all about psychological. But I'm so interested in this author, I overlooked that. No matter what genre aspects Kurtz's working at/in/with he does spin a fun tale and, much like with Angel of the Abyss, he does ignore some basic logic. The latter being a very frustrating factor for me. So let me go off on that for a while and please skip the next paragraph if you haven't read the book.
Just because the narrative is largely confined to the madness inside Walt's new place, doesn't mean the world around him ceases to exist. Are we suppose to just go along with the fact that no one seems to be investigating the numerous deaths and disappearances? No matter how inept the local police might be, at no point is Walt under investigation of suspicion? Seriously? Not even when his sister disappears after going to see him? Her spouse just doesn't report her? And Amanda's friend and coworker sits on an obvious clue for months (this is actually the only time Kurtz shows some sort of acknowledgement or awareness of his neglect of legal ramifications of his characters' murder spree) and then instead of reporting Walt to the police to check out, she just proceeds to play detective all on her own? And I can go on...because after a while this book requires repeated suspension of disbelief, but you get the idea.
Ok, back to it. Main thing is that despite all the detractions, it's still kind of a fun read. Pretty wild but entertaining. And it lives up to its title perfectly. A perversely romantic creature feature. Sort of.
Just because the narrative is largely confined to the madness inside Walt's new place, doesn't mean the world around him ceases to exist. Are we suppose to just go along with the fact that no one seems to be investigating the numerous deaths and disappearances? No matter how inept the local police might be, at no point is Walt under investigation of suspicion? Seriously? Not even when his sister disappears after going to see him? Her spouse just doesn't report her? And Amanda's friend and coworker sits on an obvious clue for months (this is actually the only time Kurtz shows some sort of acknowledgement or awareness of his neglect of legal ramifications of his characters' murder spree) and then instead of reporting Walt to the police to check out, she just proceeds to play detective all on her own? And I can go on...because after a while this book requires repeated suspension of disbelief, but you get the idea.
Ok, back to it. Main thing is that despite all the detractions, it's still kind of a fun read. Pretty wild but entertaining. And it lives up to its title perfectly. A perversely romantic creature feature. Sort of.
September 15, 2017
Well, that was interesting.
Not the kind of story I connect emotionally to, but I've enjoyed many, many things about BLEED. The elephant in the room is the Clive Barker influence. BLEED isn't a proper homage to the original HELLRAISER but its influence is all over this attic monster story. I loved also the allegorical value of the novel. The monster is a 1950s drive-in goop monster (which is great), but also a metaphor for insecurities and abuse which come with stressful life moves like...buying a house for example! BLEED is cerebral, multilayered and clever. I've always called Ed Kurtz a pure storyteller, but he's proving to be a little more than that. He's a bit of a philosopher, too.
A cool, inspired horror novel that pays its respects to the masters.
Not the kind of story I connect emotionally to, but I've enjoyed many, many things about BLEED. The elephant in the room is the Clive Barker influence. BLEED isn't a proper homage to the original HELLRAISER but its influence is all over this attic monster story. I loved also the allegorical value of the novel. The monster is a 1950s drive-in goop monster (which is great), but also a metaphor for insecurities and abuse which come with stressful life moves like...buying a house for example! BLEED is cerebral, multilayered and clever. I've always called Ed Kurtz a pure storyteller, but he's proving to be a little more than that. He's a bit of a philosopher, too.
A cool, inspired horror novel that pays its respects to the masters.
November 22, 2017
This may just be the most gross horror I’ve ever read. And then I’m not only talking about the blood and gore, but also what Walt eventually does with the creature. Yep, I’m a horror fanatic, but this was definitely horror on a whole different level – Kurtz really exceeds ALL boundaries with Bleed. That’s also what made this horror one I’ll definitely remember for a long time (and maybe even reread someday in the future!).
At the beginning I was really curious what the stain on the ceiling would eventually turn into – a kind of alien creature from outer space, a human, or something entirely unknown to me? Although Walt doesn’t know this either, he’s quite fascinated by the bloody stain. Or maybe “obsession” is a better word for his relationship with it. On the one hand I can understand this fascination, but on the other hand I think I’d just run for the hills, screaming, like Amanda (Walt’s girlfriend) does. I guess that’s the only sane reaction one can have when encountering such a … demonic thing.
The personality development in Bleed was excellent. The story was one big escalation of events and sometimes it was really surprising how Walt, Amanda and even the creature dealt with these events and their outcomes. The climax of the book was a magnificent one, and when I started reading Bleed I didn’t expect it to end like this at all.
All in all: Bleed is one of the most macabre horrors I’ve read and that’s why I loved it. I’d just love to see a film adaptation of this book in the future!
At the beginning I was really curious what the stain on the ceiling would eventually turn into – a kind of alien creature from outer space, a human, or something entirely unknown to me? Although Walt doesn’t know this either, he’s quite fascinated by the bloody stain. Or maybe “obsession” is a better word for his relationship with it. On the one hand I can understand this fascination, but on the other hand I think I’d just run for the hills, screaming, like Amanda (Walt’s girlfriend) does. I guess that’s the only sane reaction one can have when encountering such a … demonic thing.
The personality development in Bleed was excellent. The story was one big escalation of events and sometimes it was really surprising how Walt, Amanda and even the creature dealt with these events and their outcomes. The climax of the book was a magnificent one, and when I started reading Bleed I didn’t expect it to end like this at all.
All in all: Bleed is one of the most macabre horrors I’ve read and that’s why I loved it. I’d just love to see a film adaptation of this book in the future!
April 19, 2012
Walt a promising english teacher had many visions and goals in teaching his students about great authors and works of literature.
He's a likable character and also his partner book-seller. They are about to be part of something that you would think only lies in the macabre horror books they love. Walt seems to be under a spell as time passes in the story, he transforms character in his new home in to that of a very unpleasant and unlikeable character. Its almost as if in a vampire like way this creature of horrific being has influenced and hypnotized him.
The story hooks you in from the offset with suspense and an eerie state of feeling. Then rather rapidly it all heads down a route of the macabre and forms a gory story of horror. A charnel house is created which has at the core a creature that wants blood and meat.
Who is willing to be the chopper/butcherer?
Definitely one that stays with you in your quietest hours.
"But the world was to be their abattoir. Their sex would be their snare. Blood will flow and flesh will be rent from the bones of those they butchered. They would feed then, and it would begin again."
Also @ http://more2read.com/review/bleed-by-ed-kurtz/
He's a likable character and also his partner book-seller. They are about to be part of something that you would think only lies in the macabre horror books they love. Walt seems to be under a spell as time passes in the story, he transforms character in his new home in to that of a very unpleasant and unlikeable character. Its almost as if in a vampire like way this creature of horrific being has influenced and hypnotized him.
The story hooks you in from the offset with suspense and an eerie state of feeling. Then rather rapidly it all heads down a route of the macabre and forms a gory story of horror. A charnel house is created which has at the core a creature that wants blood and meat.
Who is willing to be the chopper/butcherer?
Definitely one that stays with you in your quietest hours.
"But the world was to be their abattoir. Their sex would be their snare. Blood will flow and flesh will be rent from the bones of those they butchered. They would feed then, and it would begin again."
Also @ http://more2read.com/review/bleed-by-ed-kurtz/
July 20, 2016
3,5 Sterne
Rezi: http://chrissies-kleine-welt.de/?p=2463
Rezi: http://chrissies-kleine-welt.de/?p=2463
March 2, 2013
This book was a crazy blend of classic Stephen King and Clive Barker with Kurtz twisting around familiar elements to create his own brand of shocking gleefuly demented horror. I really had a good time reading it. I would recommend it highly to anyone with a strong stomach for gore. There's plenty of that here, folks. The storytelling is masterful, macabre and downright addictive. I couldn't put it down.
January 9, 2018
Walk Blackmore, a high school English teacher, has just bought an old Gable front house on the outskirts of town. The house needs some work, but Walt is looking forward to the challenge of fixing it up. With his loving girlfriend and new job, things are looking up for Walt. Until he notices a small stain on the ceiling in the hallway. The stain grows, first into a dripping blood stain and ultimately into a monstrous being that feasts on human blood and flesh.
This was the bloodiest and most gore filled book that I have come across. Kurtz had me grossed out and creeped out.
This novel drew me in straight away, there wasn’t an over explanation of set up at the beginning, which I find many horror novels have, but rather it was intriguing and caught my interest instantly. Kurtz drip feeds the reader with enough information to keep them interested and invested in finding out what is happening.
The horror aspect of this novel starts straight away and doesn’t let up until the end. There’s hardly a chapter in this book that doesn’t have some kind of gore or creepiness in it. The writing is phenomenal, and Kurtz manages to create a subtle sense of unease throughout the book when the horror isn’t the main aspect of a scene or section.
The one tiny problem I had was the ending. Not so much the plot, but Kurtz left me with a number of unanswered questions, mainly how and why? Although this may have been Kurtz’s intention, I found myself wanting an explanation in this case. But aside from this, I couldn’t stop reading this book. The language was stunning and descriptive, and it was one of the best horror novels I’ve read, a favourite for sure.
This was the bloodiest and most gore filled book that I have come across. Kurtz had me grossed out and creeped out.
This novel drew me in straight away, there wasn’t an over explanation of set up at the beginning, which I find many horror novels have, but rather it was intriguing and caught my interest instantly. Kurtz drip feeds the reader with enough information to keep them interested and invested in finding out what is happening.
The horror aspect of this novel starts straight away and doesn’t let up until the end. There’s hardly a chapter in this book that doesn’t have some kind of gore or creepiness in it. The writing is phenomenal, and Kurtz manages to create a subtle sense of unease throughout the book when the horror isn’t the main aspect of a scene or section.
The one tiny problem I had was the ending. Not so much the plot, but Kurtz left me with a number of unanswered questions, mainly how and why? Although this may have been Kurtz’s intention, I found myself wanting an explanation in this case. But aside from this, I couldn’t stop reading this book. The language was stunning and descriptive, and it was one of the best horror novels I’ve read, a favourite for sure.
October 31, 2021
This was my second buddy read of the month with Ashley. 'Bleed' has been sitting on my shelves for a few years now. Story of my life! I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up. It's like Little Shop of Horrors, but with a monster instead of an alien plant. 4 stars all the way. I'm so looking forward to reading more by this author.
This is the kind of horror book, that you kind of want to go into blindly, so I'm not going to say to much about the actual story.
We start off in the past with two sisters. We hear a bit of their childhood and then the book takes us to the present. A man by the name of Walt Blackmore, buys a cottage, kind of in the boonies. He has gotten a job as a Freshman English teacher at the nearby school. He has a girlfriend Amanda that he has been dating for 3 years and he plans on marrying her. First, Walt needs to settle into the old Gablefront house of this small town and get situated. A day or so into unpacking, Walt notices a stain on the hall ceiling. He doesn't know where the stain is coming from. It becomes the bane of his existence and he tries everything to get rid of it. A few days later he seems fine with it. The story has a few more scenes with the two sisters from the past, but it's only occasionally. It helps paint a pretty clear picture of what is going on and why things are happening the way they are. The story has great pacing. It never becomes dull. The action continues through out the book and the speed then picks up toward the end. I loved the ending by the way. I was close to guessing what was going to happen. I loved the ending and the way there was a sharp twist to the plot.
That's all I'm going to say and the fact that it is a bit like "Little Shop of Horrors". Hopefully you guys will like this book as much as I did. I'm definitely adding this to my favorite horror books shelf. Great read for October. It's gory, but not too much. It had just enough blood and guts to creep you out, but it wasn't so over the top that you couldn't stomach it. Also in my old age, I'm starting to shy away from torture porn and this story wasn't like that. It's more of a slasher, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Definitely pick it up if you haven't already.
This is the kind of horror book, that you kind of want to go into blindly, so I'm not going to say to much about the actual story.
We start off in the past with two sisters. We hear a bit of their childhood and then the book takes us to the present. A man by the name of Walt Blackmore, buys a cottage, kind of in the boonies. He has gotten a job as a Freshman English teacher at the nearby school. He has a girlfriend Amanda that he has been dating for 3 years and he plans on marrying her. First, Walt needs to settle into the old Gablefront house of this small town and get situated. A day or so into unpacking, Walt notices a stain on the hall ceiling. He doesn't know where the stain is coming from. It becomes the bane of his existence and he tries everything to get rid of it. A few days later he seems fine with it. The story has a few more scenes with the two sisters from the past, but it's only occasionally. It helps paint a pretty clear picture of what is going on and why things are happening the way they are. The story has great pacing. It never becomes dull. The action continues through out the book and the speed then picks up toward the end. I loved the ending by the way. I was close to guessing what was going to happen. I loved the ending and the way there was a sharp twist to the plot.
That's all I'm going to say and the fact that it is a bit like "Little Shop of Horrors". Hopefully you guys will like this book as much as I did. I'm definitely adding this to my favorite horror books shelf. Great read for October. It's gory, but not too much. It had just enough blood and guts to creep you out, but it wasn't so over the top that you couldn't stomach it. Also in my old age, I'm starting to shy away from torture porn and this story wasn't like that. It's more of a slasher, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Definitely pick it up if you haven't already.
September 16, 2013
My review for this book disappeared. I don't know what happened, but that sure pisses me off! Anyway, I loved this book because it was the first time in quite a while that a horror novel was truly horrific and unrelenting in a way that wasn't outright torture porn. I recommend it to anyone looking for blood and guts AND story and characters that are well-developed. Some of the scenes in this book were so surprisingly brutal I was amazed. Very well done!
March 12, 2018
Ehhhh. I’m torn. I could maybe give this 3.5 stars. But I cannot go with 4. I’ve not read any Clive Barker but I’ve seen enough of his movies to know this is the love child of Hellraiser and Little Shop of Horrors. For real. A quick and engaging read. And I consider myself to be pretty smart but the ending rolled around and I’m like ... 🤔 I’m not entirely sure I’m understanding or tying this up the way I should be? And that kind of pisses me off. Either be a vague ambiguous ending — or be clear. I don’t want to be going wait “it was XYZ right? Is that what you thought? Because I’m not sure? Did I miss a bit of important info? Am I overthinking this?” But aside from my potential lapse in reading IQ — I thought there were a lot of holes in the book. How do SO MANY people go missing in such a small area and with so many friends and family essentially knowing exactly where the hell they went and ... yet the story drags on and on? What was Walt’s shady background that made his sister find him so deplorable and Amanda did not (until his madness spiral from the monster)? I won’t belabor it but there were a lot of annoying or just unrealistic holes in the parts that should be realistic in order for the reader to embrace the unrealistic and go along for the ride. The editing had super glaring errors also (you cannot call a character Harold and then like 2 paragraphs later call him Howard and not catch that mistake, very distracting). So the blood, the gore, the slow burn to insanity ... yes yes I loved all that. I didn’t hate this read, but there was also lot of really poor things here. Which is a shame. Feels like a missed opportunity to have had something excellent versus good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2012
I read this book with our horror group at Shelfari.
The main character, Walt, buys a fixer-upper house. He has a new job as a teacher and once the house is ready he plans to propose to his girlfriend and has already purchased her a ring. This house is Walt's first step to obtaining the life he really wants. Then he notices a small stain on his ceiling. A stain which, within a few days, starts to spread and drip down. The stain looks like blood.
And so the nightmare begins.
This story was extremely gory and brutal which I didn't mind at first because it seemed integral to the story. I did reach a point, though, where I thought the story was going a bit too far and the body count was still continuing to rise. Also, I don't feel like what happened was adequately explained-and sometimes I'm ok with that and happy to come up with my own ideas. In this case, however, I felt a bit like I was left hanging.
This was a decent read. It kept me engaged and the pacing was fast; the book went by in no time. It did have some portions that were just not believable. If you are willing to suspend pretty much all of your disbelief, this is a good read. If you can't, or if you need all the loose ends tied up, this may not be the book for you.
The main character, Walt, buys a fixer-upper house. He has a new job as a teacher and once the house is ready he plans to propose to his girlfriend and has already purchased her a ring. This house is Walt's first step to obtaining the life he really wants. Then he notices a small stain on his ceiling. A stain which, within a few days, starts to spread and drip down. The stain looks like blood.
And so the nightmare begins.
This story was extremely gory and brutal which I didn't mind at first because it seemed integral to the story. I did reach a point, though, where I thought the story was going a bit too far and the body count was still continuing to rise. Also, I don't feel like what happened was adequately explained-and sometimes I'm ok with that and happy to come up with my own ideas. In this case, however, I felt a bit like I was left hanging.
This was a decent read. It kept me engaged and the pacing was fast; the book went by in no time. It did have some portions that were just not believable. If you are willing to suspend pretty much all of your disbelief, this is a good read. If you can't, or if you need all the loose ends tied up, this may not be the book for you.
August 18, 2017
I got this from 'The Feast'-Box of the Nocturnal Reader's Box (which by the way I highly recommend to everyone who is interested in horror, psychological thriller and sci-fi!).
I really liked this book, although I have to say that this is clearly not for everyone and especially not for the fainthearted. This book is full of blood and gore. If this doesn't discourage you, then you will find an excellently written book which is fast paced and never gets boring. There was not one scene which I thought was boring or unnecessary.
I am going for 4,5 stars because I am not fully sure who is who at the end and I don't know if this is just me or if there is some information lacking. If anyone got this, please let me know!
I will definitely look for other books by Ed Kurtz which entertain me hopefully as good as this one did.
I really liked this book, although I have to say that this is clearly not for everyone and especially not for the fainthearted. This book is full of blood and gore. If this doesn't discourage you, then you will find an excellently written book which is fast paced and never gets boring. There was not one scene which I thought was boring or unnecessary.
I am going for 4,5 stars because I am not fully sure who is who at the end and I don't know if this is just me or if there is some information lacking. If anyone got this, please let me know!
I will definitely look for other books by Ed Kurtz which entertain me hopefully as good as this one did.
May 14, 2011
Awesome book! Started this morning and couldn't put it down until I finished a few minutes ago. Review to come soon.
January 12, 2022
I decided to give this one only 3 stars because it’s not quite exactly my type of horror. There were parts I enjoyed, and there were parts I didn’t quite care for. It is definitely a gruesome book (and for me, the gorier the better), but just the way the creature evolved was almost childish in my opinion. I will say that the writing style was great! There were a few scenes throughout the book that had me sitting on the edge of my seat to find out what happens next. Sadly, I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending… but that’s pretty common for a lot of horror novels.
September 9, 2017
I went into this book expecting a haunted house story, and while at the base of it the story does sort of resemble a haunted house novel, it escalated so much from there. In the beginning I kept thinking the author had shown his hand and given away too much too fast but boy, did he prove me wrong. You just need to read it to understand, and it's better going into it if you don't know much about it.
October 18, 2020
Without a doubt the goriest book I have ever read. People talk about Ketchum's Off Season, but this has waaay more extreme violence and it keeps it up the entire novel. It was a quick, fun read. It read a bit unpolished to me, the dialogue was a bit cheesy or maybe cliche, the story itself is not bad, its very similar to the first Hellraiser in its back-from-the-dead logic. I have to assume Kurtz is a big Clive Barker fan! I think Clive would dig it.
August 4, 2017
One of the more terrifying and brutal horror books I've read recently. The story really stuck with me... I'll never look at a ceiling stain the same again.
October 2, 2017
This book was creepy and unique in all the right ways. Love that I didn't see the ending coming at all, and the subplot that gives more background to the origin of the stain on the wall.
February 28, 2018
Surprisingly good!
April 28, 2025
Not what I expected at all. This was perfectly weird and just the right amount of camp. The gore was perfect. The characters twisted. The story strange and addicting.
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