Lost Souls - Poppy Z. Brite

Above a dingy bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, a vampire child is born, killing his mother as he fights his way out of her womb. Fifteen years later, that same child, called Nothing, is being brought up by non-vampire parents, but knows that something is missing from his life. He leaves home, aiming to find his favourite group, Lost Souls, to see if they can help him find his way. He is picked up by a strange group of people, the beautiful Zillah, Molochai and Twig, who appear to live life by partying hard. Before long, it becomes clear that Zillah and Nothing have a strong bond. But is it a healthy one? And can his friends Ghost and Christian help him to see ...  Read the complete review

I'm a bit of a vampire fan, particularly vampire fiction, must be a touch of the goth still left in me!! I'm an avid reader anyway but have never gone out of my way to read Poppy Z Brites work until I found this book in a charity shop for a stunning fifty pence!! I avoided Brites work for a reason, perhaps I should explain. I find most vampires stories set in the present tedious, stereotypical and thouroughly unoriginal, a kind of read one, read em all, kind of thing. And Poppy Z Brite does not disappoint. The story centres around a teenager called Nothing, his mother had sex with a vampire called Zillah, who cams back later along ...  Read the complete review

My first point has to be that I found this book surprisingly erotic. I have come to expect sex and sensuality in books and films, and particularly in horror to be rather insipid, or at the very least a bit insulting. Butin Poppy Z. Brite world it is affirming and luxurious, at the same time as being dark and bloody. But this is not a book about sex... The story is pleasant and easy to read. The characters melodramatic and endearing, the metaphors colourful, kitsch, rich and delicious. Generally the plot has a 'road-trip' feel, with characters moving around, and several compelling subplots developing in different locations; including ...  Read the complete review

Someone I know has an obsession with this book so when I saw it in the library I decided to give it a go. This is not the kind of thing I would usually pick up, this is about vampires and bands and drugs, sex and alcohol. These vampires are not made, they are born. If they bite a human they can't change them into a vampire, it doesn't work like that. Vampire child Nothing comes into the world, killing his human mother with his birth and is left on the doorstep of a human family and grows up knowing he is different but not knowing why. When he is fifteen he runs away and meets a trio of bloodthirsty vampires who spend all their time killing, drinking, taking drugs ...  Read the complete review

As a fan of horror literature, I was overjoyed to find Poppy Z. Brite's first novel. Finally someone had come along and breathed in new life! I was rather bored with Anne Rice, and the more traditional vampire literature. It's a great twist on traditional vampirism. Poppy's characters are an odd grouping of punk/goth vampires, psychic country boys, and vampires that like to party. It winds from New Orleans to Carolina and winds up back in New Orleans. The gist is that three vampires impregnated a mortal woman. She dies in childbirth and years later her son, Nothing, begins to feel the vampirical pull. He eventually winds up with ...  Read the complete review