Customer Reviews

Ancestral Hungers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ancestral Hungers is a rewrite of the author's older book, called Dhampire, which has always been a favorite of mine. While most reviews think of this as a 'vampire' book, I think it's a broader canvas than that - it includes medieval grimoire sorcery, tantric occultism, and a lot of cool real vampire lore that never gets covered in the popular literature. Those who like the occult theories of Kenneth Grant will be thrilled by the stuff in here.
The book's greatest flaw is its ending, which wanders off into a full-scale tour of a halluncinatory hell without much rhyme or reason. This last section rather fails.
Still if you want a tale of black magic to curl your toes, I recommend it. Sexually depraved? You bet! Lunatic? Possibly... Steeped in elder lore? Fer sure!

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down i wish that there was a second part I would love to find out what happens next. It has been many years since this book was published and i hope that there will be another one.

Scott Baker's Ancestral Hungers" may very well be the first "Gothic, neo-Noir" Novel of our generation. Unlike the lush romanticism of Anne Rice or the creepy surrealism of Clive Barker, "Hungers" barrels across the page like a passenger train in a Edward Hopper cityscape that's haunted by characters out of a Bosch nightmare. Like classic Noir, Baker's most terrible "Gothic" secrets are hidden under the calloused soul of his main character, and there they fester until circumstances drag it all out of him in a paryoxym of lust, rage, hellfire and transcendent mysticism.

And that's when the real fun of "Hungers" begins. The novel begins in familiar territory, then explodes into a pathos that distorts the classic western battle of "Good vs. Evil" (desire vs. control) and turns it on its head, focing the main character to tumble headlong into a tortured wilderness of metaphysical plot twists that ooze with the sacred Horrors of eastern religion and philosophy. It's a wild ride!

Baker's tale is a Fever Dream. A tale laced with Absinthian nightmares that would make Poe proud - yet it forces readers to confront their own deep seated emotional fears by relentlessly tearing at the narrow realities that we inhabit every day. And when all the fear and terror is spent, it finally asks us this question: "In a world bursting with the weight of the most mundane little evils, are we capable of true consciousness?" Are we ready to see through the everyday Horror that surrounds us and see it for what it truly is...

This book is definitely interesting, but as someone here has already mentioned, the second half crumbles into a mishmash of Satanism versus Hinduism (a likely combination, right?) and is almost not worth reading. There is definitely suspense incorporated into the story, but it almost seems like the author is more interested in showing the reader just how much he knows about Satanism, listing such minute details, down to the costumes worn and the ingredients used, up to the different demons that are summoned and their servants, so - great! Now I can perform my very own Satanic ritual in my backyard!

Then there is also the matter of the villain, who is so evil you really, REALLY want to him to get what's coming to him. When he finally does, however, he accepts his fate almost gracefully, not kicking and screaming in indignity and terror like I was hoping for. As for the other characters, they are practically non-existent by the end of the novel. It's a strange, interesting, experimental blend of religions, sex magic, vampirism, and the occult, all tied together with an unusual plot that has promise, but ultimately fails to deliver the goods.

Recommended, but only for someone who's either a) tired of the mainstream or b) is interested in reading an anti-Anne Rice-based interpretation of the Vampiric myth.

This book began all right, but degraded into meaningless jumble of offensive sex and devil worship. I was looking for a good book, and the cover compared it to Interview With the Vampire, by Anne Rice. Interview being one of my favorite books, I started this one with high hopes. It was terrible!! The plot is this: David Bathory, heir to the family control of vampires. From there, it trailed off into describing (in extremely offensive detail) the sex he has with his uncle and his sister. I didn't care to finish the book.

The author should be sued for false advertising, comparing his book to one of today's top writers. I gave this book one star, but only because I couldn't give it less. To anyone not interested in literary pornography, don't even bother picking up this book. Read Anne Rice if you are looking for well-written vampires.

The plot of this book seems contrived to me, and the characters have no depth. The events in the plot seem overdetermined by the multiple improbable and unrealistic elements of the plotline. There is a lot of detailed description of ritual mumbo jumbo and of acts of sadism that contribute nothing to the plot. Hard to care about this one.

.... Started out interesting, then went totally off the wall, making no sense at all. . Absolutely worthless reading, I too didn't finish reading the book even though I was over three quarters of the way through. Do not waste your time.

as a hard core horror fan i think i speak for everyone when i say this book rocks!!!!!!!!!! i have read this book about six times and it keeps getting better!!!!!!! i think this book should be put into a movie!!!!!!!!!!!!! i will even throught in a rating for this book, i give it a ten. for all of you hard core horror fans such as myself, you should give this book a try!!!!! and just for the record, if you want to send me any e-mail aboout horror, you know, who's a fan just like me, my e-mail address is on the screen.its open to anyone and everyone who loves to read about vampric lifestyles, and ,off the record ,would die to live that lifestyle!!!!!!!!!! give me a big fat try!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!or, you can write me at 326 cumberland street brooklyn, newyork 11238