Desmodus [Paperback]

Melanie Tem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999

In the shadows of the moon a bloodthirsty caravan is heading south. Aftera plentiful season of savoring the sweet taste of warm blood, the matriarchs sleep while the men carry them to their winter sanctuary. One boy begins the journey, a willing servant of the tribe. But before the trip ends he watches his faith in his vampire family begin to disappear. As a member of the weaker sex, Joel has always accepted his role as caretaker, but as the days grow colder his disillusionment builds. When Joel's loyalty is tested by his desire to save an innocent from his gruesome family's truth, he threatens to destroy the very thing he has always protected. Haunted by a relentless dream, Joel must decide where his real loyalties lie. Now as the tribe travels to their haven, their very survival depends on their weakest member.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Melanie Tem may well be the literary successor to Shirley Jackson and be destined to become the new queen of high-quality, psychologically disturbing horror fiction."-Dan Simmons, author of SUMMER OF NIGHT. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: e-reads.com (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585865621
• ISBN-13: 978-1585865628
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,684,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The dark side of a vampire family, April 19, 1998

By 

Catherine B. Krusberg ([e-mail]) (Athens, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desmodus (Mass Market Paperback)

Narrator Joel Desmodus describes life in his clan of humanlike beings: their matriarchal social structure, their occasional forays for blood (usually from cattle), and their southward migration in the fall, when the females hibernate and the males party.

But this year custom goes awry. Joel's niece Meredith, unlike all the other females, resists hibernation and thus gives birth surrounded by the irresponsible and indifferent males. Joel cannot ignore the danger -- especially when he notices that Meredith's antisocial brother Rory is taking an unhealthy interest in the clan's newest member. While trying to protect little Eli, Joel learns a horrific secret about how Desmodus babies are nurtured -- and how the Desmodus matriarchy perpetuates itself. Every step that Joel takes to help and protect the child puts them both into worse and more bizarre circumstances, finally leading to a nightmarish yet somehow inevitable conclusion.

Underlying DESMODUS is the ultimate biological explanation for vampires: a clan apparently descended from vampire bats ("Desmodus rotundus" is the scientific name of the common vampire bat). Yet Tem makes this alien species with its self-contained social system as real as our neighbors and as frightening as the evening news. Much of the horror of DESMODUS comes from Joel's own disarming meekness. He is an unlikely vehicle for describing a family falling in on itself: his introspective nature and somewhat wordy style underscore the hopelessness of his situation as the foundations of his life collapse. Yet his very ordinariness makes his horror and determination all the more compelling and his attempts at heroism all the more gripping, even when they are doomed to failure.

DESMODUS tells a powerful story with deliberate but subtle skewedness. Its horror builds slowly, almost casually; the nonchalance of its grotesquery makes it more unsettling than simple gore or violence. Such a blend of tragedy and perverse wonder will satisfy the most profound lust for the disturbing, leaving images that no reader's mind will quickly put to rest.