Customer Reviews

The Devil You Know

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Poppy Z. Brite has moved away from the horror genre in recent years, and in doing so has found an electrifying new voice. "The Devil You Know" is Brite's third collection of short stories, a style in which she excels. It is the best of her collections so far in that there are really no weak points to be found. The stories are incredibly diverse, some introducing new characters and others revisiting old favorites. Here's a rundown of the stories themselves:

"Dispatches From Tanganyika" is a delightful foreward by Brite, in which she discusses her move away from horror and how each story came to be written.

"The Devil You Know" is an interesting, slightly creepy/comic appetizer which features briefly a charcter from "Exquisite Corpse."

"O Death, Where Is Thy Spatula?" reintroduces the character of Dr. Brite, Poppy's alter-ego first seen in her previous collection, "Are You Loathsome Tonight?" A great fun read.

"Lantern Marsh" is an old style Brite tale, much more on the supernatural side than the others.

"Nothing of Him That Doth Fade" is simply one of the saddest, most depressing things that Brite has ever written. It can also be seen as a final farewell to the angsty gay characters that she made her name on in her early work.

"The Ocean" is, as Poppy herself says, her last story about rock stars. Quite disturbing it is too, and no, it's not about vampires.

"Marisol" is another great Dr. Brite story, and also a love letter to Poppy's favorite restaurant.

"Poivre" is a true restaurant story by Poppy, very light and humorous.

"Pansu" is an over the top demonic possession tale, and you can tell Brite had a good time writing it.

"Burn, Baby, Burn" contains probably the most interesting female character Poppy has written about to date, even though the character is not of her creation. A troubled girl who starts fires with her mind.

"System Freeze" is an eerie story set in the world of the movie "The Matrix."

"Bayou de la Mere," which stars "The Value of X" characters Rickey and G-man, and "The Heart of New Orleans," which stars Dr. Brite, compete to be the best pieces of fiction that Poppy Z. Brite has ever written. Together they are so honest, real, and beautiful. Well done.

"A Season in Heck" is the novella that concludes the collection, and it deals with Paul, a young gay cook who works for Rickey and G-man. Also incredibly honest about New Orleans and its people.

To conclude, "The Devil You Know" contains some of Poppy Z. Brite's most original, honest work to date. She is my favorite author, and I have no doubt that she will continue to grow into exciting new directions.

In her first new collection in a couple of years, Poppy Z. Brites "The Devil you Know" focuses many of its stories in and around her beloved New Orleans and often travels in the restaurant world (her husband is a chef). Less gothic than her previous works, one might even consider "The Devil You Know" somewhat whimsical in certain spots. She certainly is prone to using humor and irony more so than in the past. But don't think that Brite has lost her edge. While she continues to explore new avenues she can still hit you right between the head although she does so with a skillful, subtle hand in this collection of 13 stories.

Several of the tales feature Poppy's alter ego, Coroner Dr. Brite such as the black humor tale "Marisol" about a restaurant critic who writes an unflattering review of a restaurant and then promptly disappears as the chef introduces his newest dish. The "Ocean" brazenly shows the high cost of fame in a story about a dysfunctional, drug addicted rock band, being fed upon by their fans.

"System Freeze" seems a bit out of place with the other stories in the book, being as much a Sci-fi story as anything else. After a fatal fall from a mountain during a climb, a woman finds she's been given a second chance at life by the mysterious Agent Fine, as long as she completes the new AI program that she is working on. The story is supposed to be a Matrix-esque type tale and is short but effective

"Burn Baby Burn" will have people thinking of Stephen King's "Firestarter" with its tragic tale of pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (of Hellboy fame) and the destruction she causes to friends and family...not to mention her entire neighborhood when her powers go out of control. Liz finds her only place of comfort and safety is at the governments Bureau of Paranormal Research---with the other freaks.

My favorite story was "Lantern Marsh" as it evoked the feelings of youth when our own little worlds and suburbs were filled with mystery and enchantment. We firmly believed that the big old house down on the corner was home to a mad scientist. Set again in the Deep South, three young friends frequent a local swamp where odd lights are seen to float and dance about. Noel especially us drawn to the area over and over, even after he's warned to stay out by the man who owns part of the land it rests on. Years later, Noel returns home from college to find that Mr. Prudhomme now owns all of the land and plans to fill in the swamp for development. Noel knows he'll have to do something drastic to save the swamp, and whatever it is that lives there.

This diverse collection of short tales shows Poppy's development and comfort with various forms and settings as well as her enormous skill as a storyteller. A must have for her fans and a great place to start for new Brite readers!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Anyone who's ever read anything by Poppy Z. Brite knows that she's a sorceress of words, mesmerizing her readers with language, drawing them into her dark webs of storytelling. She is also a born native of New Orleans who eschews the typical trappings that plague much of the literature about the city, which mostly relies upon cliches involving Voodoo, decadence and Mardi Gras. The city and its inhabitants are so much more than that, she says, and so much stranger. And so, in this, her third short story collection, you'll be escorted into the real New Orleans and meet the hardworking, hard-partying people who make up the unusual fabric of a town that is just...well, different. These stories range from sad to shocking to uproariously funny, but the writing is always dead-on and in-your-face and jaw-dropping gorgeous. Even when she's writing within the proscribed universes of Hellboy ("Burn, Baby, Burn") or The Matrix ("System Freeze"), she makes these worlds her own rather than becoming subsumed by them, as often happens with a less talented writers. No matter the subject, no matter the style or structure, these stories are quintessentially Poppy, and you will love them. Sadly, they've been made even more poignant by the damage done by the recent hurricanes, but, as Poppy's characters will assure you, New Orleans will rise and rebuild. It's the character of the people, and the magic of the place. Immerse yourself in these stories. They are wondrous and satisfying, each and every one.

well short stories that is. This is a truly fine little book. The writing is lean and precise and fits well with her new series of books. This was my first encounter with her alter ego Doc Brite and I found him to be a wonderful character. It was also good to see Rickey and G-man and the additional Stubbs family story was excellant.

Here's hoping that Ms. Brite will give us many more of these shorts to enjoy.

I bought this collection because I am a Rickey and G-Man completist, and I was anxious to read "Bayou De La Mere" and "A Season In Heck." Of course both stories turned out to be excellent little windows into other aspects of the ever-growing Liquor milieu (particularly "A Season In Heck," which is a little more tangental as it deals with the travails of a young inexperienced Liquor cook), but fortunately this book also introduced me to Doc Brite, Brite's maverick foodie medical examiner alter-ego. With all these stories, Brite (the author) manages both to write great food porn and give lively insight into the intricate workings of New Orleans society and culture. Brite is, simply, a terrific writer.

Poppy's latest short story collection is arguably also her most eclectic in terms of subject matter and tone. Perhaps this eclecticism isn't surprising considering these stories were written during a period when Poppy was beginning to tire of and turn away from the horror genre and began heading in her newer direction in which she seeks to depict New Orleans as she has really experienced it, rather than perpetuating what she sees as the silly stereotypes about her hometown. Poppy provides an interesting discussion of this life-changing literary metamorphosis in the introduction of TDYK.

In response to a question from a reader, Poppy observed in a recent blog entry that her prose style has changed more noticeably over time than has her voice as an author. I agree. When I was reading one of the first stories, the thought hit me: "I can tell Poppy wrote this. It just SOUNDS like her." Yes, I recognized her style, but what I was reading actually felt like it came from her. While I think it is true that her so-called more ornate "purple prose" has given way for a "cleaner, simpler style" (review blurb on backcover), Poppy still retains an amazing ability through her prose for both providing vivid, poetic description and for setting and maintaining a mood. Also, it's worth noting that Poppy has a wonderful ear for dialogue as demonstrated in these stories.

Although Poppy's voice has largely remained more constant over time, one very noticeable change has been the increased use of humor in her fiction. One reason why I've enjoyed reading her blog was because it was so obvious she has a sense of humor. A lot of times she's made me laugh right out loud. This is curious since in the pre-Liquor era fiction of Poppy's I've read, I don't really remember her making much use of humor. And I doubt that it was until she was in her early thirties that Poppy suddenly got a sense a humor! But apparently it wasn't until rather recently that her humor really started showing up in her work.
And thank God it has! Because it has really added a neat dimension to her writing. There were many points in her novels Liquor and Prime where I laughed out loud. And so too with the story "Pansu", which is a must read for my fellow fans of The Exorcist. Although Poppy does make a serious point about New Orleans society in the story "The Devil You Know", the high jinks of one of its characters keep you smiling through the story. I also enjoyed the dark humor in "Marisol" in which Poppy is able to take fictional revenge on a type of person who populates the local restaurant scene and who she dislikes in real life.

"Marisol" is also one of the three Doc Brite stories contained in this collection. Doc Brite is Poppy's fictional alter ego-a Wild Turkey drinking, Head Coroner for the city of New Orleans. Poppy is a fan of some mystery writers, and these stories are apparently her answer to the coroner/investigator genre. Like "Marisol", "O Death, Where is Thy Spatula?" was inspired by a real event in Poppy's life, and this story could be seen as a kind of despondent real life wishing via fiction. Although this story does include elements of the spooky New Orleans kind of story that Poppy now tries to avoid, it is an effective horror story that is not hackneyed in the least. In addition, the real life emotion that inspired this story fills it with a fire it might not have had if it had just been inspired by an interesting idea. For me, "The Heart of New Orleans" is the easily the creepiest of all the Doc Brite stories, and of those contained in this collection, for that matter. I wonder if it what makes "Heart" and another horror story "Lantern Marsh" so effective is the fact that Poppy keeps a real sense of mystery surrounding the supernatural elements in these stories, thereby adding to the creepiness factor. After all, what makes something scary is sometimes what you don't know. Indeed, both of the these stories also made me think about think what makes much of Poppy's horror fiction so effective is her considerable skill in being able to evoke and sustain a mood. "Lantern Marsh", a story that first saw print in an anthology of Halloween stories, evokes the mystery and magic this holiday holds for us-especially when we're young kids.

In "Nothing of Him That Doth Fade", we see a more mature Poppy at work in that I doubt a story like this could have been written by somebody who hadn't been around the block a time or two. This story chronicles a couple experiencing problems in their relationship who are desperate to make things work. The terror in this story comes from this couple's fear of being without each other after so many years together, and their fear is the possibility that their relationship might not salvageable. Really this story reminds me in both mood and theme of the lyrics to Joy Division's seminal song "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

If you're a fan of the fictional world of Poppy's Liquor novels, then chances are you'll be delighted with the two Liquor-related stories included in this volume. In addition to me liking to be able to reenter a fictional world that I already know and am interested in, I think both of these stories are able to stand by themselves both in terms of storyline and quality. In "Bayou De La Mere", Rickey and G-man go on a little vacation, during the narrative of which Poppy makes interesting use of religious imagery in order to make a certain point about our society. The last sentence of this story is not only very eloquent, but it's one of the most effective endings to a short story that I've ever read. "A Season In Heck" might be called a coming of age-type story, which chronicles the events surrounding a young man who comes to work at Liquor. I also really liked Poppy's use of humor in this story.

Poppy has occasionally written "on spec" for others, most notably her novel The Crow: The Lazarus Heart and her biography of Courtney Love. Poppy has commented that she doesn't see the two above pieces as part of her actual body of work in the same way her totally original fiction is, but rather was a way for her to earn extra money so she could do some traveling and write short stories.

Her latest collection also contains two stories that she was contracted to write in which she makes use of the fictional worlds and characters of others as a jumping off point to create some interesting fiction of her own. In "Burn, Baby, Burn", Poppy writes about Liz Sherman, a pyrokinetic character from Mike Mignola's comic Hellboy. (This character and her backstory reminds me-at least superficially-as kind of an older version of Charlie McGee from Stephen King's novel Firestarter.) In this story, one can identify familiar Poppy motifs such as cooking and restaurants, and using characters from very diverse backgrounds in terms of sexuality and race. In "System Freeze", Poppy does an interesting take on the world of Matrix. I really liked her interesting use of symbolism regarding the men in the black suits. Both stories also showcase Poppy's talent for interesting storytelling.

Speaking of using the fiction worlds of others as inspiration, just as Poppy based her story "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood" (from her first short story collection) on the H.P. Lovecraft story "The Hound", Poppy makes use of certain Greek myth in "The Ocean", a story chronicling a day in the life of a famous rock star. It seemed to me like Poppy used a part of this Greek myth in order to make this story an allegory about the high price of fame. You wonder if Poppy feels like the main character of this story at times.

The only story in this collection that threw me for a loop was "Poivre" because I was confused by what it was supposed to be. Was it a piece of fiction? Was it autobiographical account? After reading her foreword in which Poppy discusses each of her stories, I understood what her intention was. Don't get me wrong-I think it's beautifully written, but it just didn't really strike a chord with me. For me I thought this story would have been a lot more effective if she would have extended the "Bad Restaurant Curse" section to include the same kind of funny examples like she provided in Chapter 16 of Liquor. Maybe that would have given more context for the world from which this story springs.

Poppy has said that she thinks this collection is her best yet, and she might very well be right. Poppy is a very talented storyteller and prose stylist who has continued to grow and improve over the years, as witnessed by this collection. At the very least this volume is a very strong collection containing many good stories. If you're like me and you like both Poppy's older work in horror and you like her newer realistic restaurant-themed fiction as well, then you'll definitely enjoy this collection. Five Stars.

Initially I was disappointed to learn that Poppy Z. Brite, one of my all-time favorite writers, had decided to leave her gothic fantasy world of New Orlean's far behind in exchange for a toned down look at life from the point of view of the regular folks inhabiting New Orleans (mostly gay, hard-working cooks). I really enjoyed those dark, graphically violent books ~ especially Exquisite Corpse (hmmm, what does that say about me?!). But once I began this book I found myself enjoying her new style which is much less "purple" in its prose and contains a heavy does of unexpected wit and very little of the supernatural (it's still there in a few stories but much less the focus).

The stories contained within this book concentrate more on the people (none of whom are vampires) and the local color of New Orleans and they're all very interesting and slightly "odd" in their own way.

I even enjoyed "Nothing of Him That Doth Fade" which appears to be disliked by many readers. Yeah, it's bleak and horribly sad but that's the point. It paints a realistic portrait of a lovely love affair gone painfully bad. Love is like that sometimes. "Pansu" is a favorite of mine. It's bizarre and an oh-so-very-funny take on possession and exorcism. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories featuring coroner Dr. Brite (the last, about a child, was tough for me to read at times but worth the effort in the end) and I'm anxiously awaiting Poppy's next novel "Liquor" (many of the stories here feature characters from that upcoming novel). The only story that left me cold was the one set in the Matrix universe "System Freeze". I'm not a super huge fan of the Matrix and I'm sure that explains my lack of enthusiasm for this story. It was just an "eh" read for me ~ the details have already flown completely out of my head. "Burn Baby Burn" set in the "Hellboy" universe worked much better for me.

Make sure you're not hungry before starting the stories because most contain delectable descriptions of New Orleans cuisine.

I really enjoyed this book. However, who am I kidding? I am left in awe at everything Doc Brite writes and shares with us loyal readers.

After reading 'The Value of X' (which seriously sent me over the moon!) 'Liquor' 'Prime' 'Soul Kitchen' and 'Duck' I was needing a hit of Rickey and G-man like a major addict. I have gotten so attached to those two characters. So I bought this book after seeing that there was a Rickey and G-Man short story in it. I LOVED IT. I thought it was really hot and enjoyable. I most enjoy when Brite discusses their love and relationship. As well as romantic life... So I found the short story in this book to be a home run.

I also very much enjoyed the other short stories.

I have been collecting all of Poppy Z. Brite's work for a few years now. She is a great artist, and this book was wonderful.

This collection of short stories is an excellent introduction to this author's many talents. There's no sameness here. The stories are well crafted and tight. She has an uncanny ability to shift gears seamlessly keeping your interest and absorbtion factor high. She knows how to tell a story with style. Buy it. You won't regret it at all.