Lost Souls
by Poppy Z. Brite
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Book Reviews of Lost Souls
Book Review: THE DARKSTYLE SUBLIME
Summary: 5 Stars
As an advance reviewer, I've read and reviewed (for Kirkus Reviews) all of Poppy Z. Brite and find LOST SOULS still her best. As with many first novelists, her heart sings more freely than it ever will again, without cunning and the need to equal herself. And there is no way any novelist can recapture that rapture sublime when first tearing the skin off her heart, although Thomas Wolfe is the exception since his second novel clearly equals his first. Poppy here carries the surreal grotesque into wild hillsides of humor and ghastliness, with hillbilly vampires wheeling through the South in a jalopy and swilling bottles of blood as if whisky. It's the prose though, green stars caught on black velvet, that equals the story's bizarrely rocketing skywhiz and trail of gold fire. Her second novel, DRAWING BLOOD, about R. Crumb and Charlie Parker, has its far, far out moments, and perhaps should not be compared with LOST SOULS since it compells more intellectually than the fireworks of LOST SOULS. Sure, as some reviewers above make clear, this novel's not for everyone. But those who like it will really see LOST SOULS for the unique work of art it is, one not to be duplicated even by its author. So far it's her highest point of excellence. The only horror or fantasy stylist to equal her is the early Kim Newman of THE NIGHT MAYOR, BAD DREAMS and ANNO DRACULA. That's high praise.Book Review: Brite star in the world of vampire lore
Summary: 4 Stars
Of all the vampire books I have ever read, Lost Souls is among the finer gems. The characters are brought to life by vivid descriptions in modern jargon, and the turn of events is extremely plausible (minus perhaps the vampirism).I was impressed by how quickly the books reads. Its simplicity is one of its finer points...and is perhaps what seduces the reader into wanting to learn more about Nothing, the half-human, half-vampire in search of his past--and future.
All of the characters are extremely memorable, making this a book you'll want to sit of the shelves. The rock band, Steve and Ghost, exemplify a lot of the traits that make us human. Ghost, the seer, has an implicit understanding of nature--both human and unhuman--that is uncanny.
Compared to the esteemed Anne Rice, this book will give you a different flavor to the lives of vampires and their world view. In many ways, the authors are not comparable because of Brite's focus on comtemporary times. She depicts vampires not as gods, but as a separate race without Rice's romanticism and eroticism. This does not in any way detract from Lost Souls. It puts Brite in a category of her own.
This book is a definite must for anyone interested in vampire lore. I look forward to reading other books of Brite and encourage anyone to use this book as a spring-board into her novels.
Book Review: Simply Amazing.....
Summary: 5 Stars
Ms. Brite describes the surroundings and the strange smells of the world so clearly that you could practically feel the things she describes. Her style of writing is unique and exquisite. I'd bought Lost Souls after reading Drawing Blood and when I knew so well that my Monthly tests were coming, I did the biggest mistake - I opened the book and read the first page. Then, it was all pure torture. I couldn't put the book down for even a minute no matter how much I'd tried to convince myself that my tests were just the following week! So there I was, struggling - half studying and half reading the book. I'd read lots of books by other writers and it was very simple for me to put them down, for usually, studying is more important to me. I finished Lost Souls in one day, for the fact that I didn't get anything I'd studied into my head. I really felt drawn into the book. It felt as if you're IN the story, invinsible, and watching the characters. Some parts even made my eyes brim with tears. Especially Steve's undying love for Ann. Ann just doesn't deserve it, it seems. This book is probably about souls which are struggling to keep themselves sane and at the same time experience the sensualness and perfectness of life. It is a very good book - an excellent masterpiece by Ms. Brite and it ranks five times higher than Drawing Blood. I highly recommend this book.
Book Review: Wow
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes a book hits you so hard that you don't have words to describe the emotions it evoked. Lost Souls, poppy Z Brite's first novel, is definitely one of those books.We are given three sets of main characters. The first is the trio of vampires, Molochai, Twig and Zillah. The are dirty, redneck vampires, rough and rotten. The second charter, who can't really be a set all on his own, is Nothing. He is Zillah's baby, but they don't know that when they become lovers. The third set of characters is the Missing Mile Crew, Steve, Ghost, and Ann. Ghost has ESP in a very big way. Unfortunately he finds that he can't help everyone. Sometimes he can only feel their pain and turn from it before it swallows him too.
I don't care what anyone says about Steve. he wasn't a bad guy. he went too heavy on the drinking and that caused him some problems, but he wasn't a villain like some other reviewers *coughs* *one star hinted. Sure, he raped Ann, but the sad part was that he still loved, he tried to make things better.
The story is fairly twisted and you have to be in a sort of dark mind set to read it, but you don't have to be a goth. you also don't have to be a social outcast. if you like a book with characters you can love and feel for, or if you liked something with twisted, dark romance, or just something different, I defiantly recommend this.
Book Review: Creepy, gothic and it adds to vampire lore
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the first book I've read by Poppy Z. Brite, after hearing good reviews of her writing I decided to pick it up. This book is worth reading. Brite writes wonderful descriptions and interesting characters. The book is written about several compelling characters, mainly Nothing a young boy who never fits in and leaves home to seek out where he belongs, Ghost a young man with an uncanny "psychic twinkle" and his best friend Steve and three vampires Zillah, Molochai and Twig who are decadent, violent predators. Brite adds some new twists to the world of vampires, for starters vampires are not turned but rather born from mother's that die giving life to their offspring. Basically they are mutations and have never been human, and cannot turn humans into vampires. The book is fast paced and very interesting to read. Brite is a talented author and the fact that this was her first book I can only imagine how her later works will read when she is given even more time to work on her craft. I would suggest this book for any horror or vampire fanatics. My only complaint (and the reason the book got 3/5 stars) is the ending is a bit anticlimatic and it ends fairly quickly after establishing such rich characters. I did want a little more from the ending. But it still is a great novel and shows that Brite had considerable talent even in her first book.