In Missing Mile, North Carolina, in search of supple young flesh and thirsting for blood, three beautiful vampires--Molochai, Twig, and Zillah--follow vampires Nothing and Ann on a mad, illicit road trip south to New Orleans. Reprint. AB. PW.
Lost Souls
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. Eligible products include select Books and Home & Garden items. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Launching the Abyss imprint for Delacorte, this stylishly written, daringly provocative first novel plays on the appeal of vampires as romantic antiheroes. Three bloodsuckers who might pass for rock stars roll into New Orleans for Mardi Gras and then disappear again, but only after their handsome leader, Zillah, has impregnated an adolescent girl. Fifteen years later, their offspring, who calls himself Nothing, is living with adoptive parents in the suburbs and wondering, like many other teenagers, why he feels so different. In this case the answer is that he's really a vampire, a fact he discovers when he runs away from home and meets up with none other than Zillah, accompanied by sidekicks Molochai and Twig. Together they seek out Nothing's favorite band, Lost Souls, for an explosive meeting that leads to a bloody, somewhat overdone climax back in New Orleans. Brite creates a convincing, evocative atmosphere in which youthful alienation meets gothic horror, but her prose sometimes turns purplish (for example, both sperm and the liqueur Chartreuse are likened to altars). More regrettably, the story lacks a moral center: neither terrifyingly malevolent supernatural creatures nor (like Anne Rice's protagonists) tortured souls torn between good and evil, these vampires simply add blood-drinking to the amoral panoply of drug abuse, problem drinking and empty sex practiced by their human counterparts. Rather than horror, Lost Souls prompts disgust mixed with morbid titillation, but it will surely be devoured by genre aficionados. BOMC featured alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
This book comes highly recommended by some of the best horror writers in the business, and deservedly so, but it is not for the weak of stomach. It is the story of a lost soul, a boy named Nothing, who was born of a vampire and is searching for his true family. But he dimly understands that joining his vampire brothers will cost him more of his humanity than he wants to give up. A mysterious, caring psychic named Ghost tries to save him from his fate and, because Nothing loves this man, he must choose to preserve his own humanity in order to save Ghost's life. The book is graphic in its presentation of kinky sex mixed with vampirism and murder but nonetheless compelling.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
At the age of 22, I am still caught up in a bit of my teen angst, but I was never so reminded as when I stepped into the whirlwind of PZB's, "Lost Souls". Whether you were a tragic outcast or not, you will be able to understand that nuances of a small town and how it feels to be misunderstood.
It's easy to fall in love with Ghost, simple yet complex, sensitive and mystical. To lust after Zillah, beautiful, passionate, green eyed, and brutal. To care so much for Nothing, to take him into your arms and show him that the world is not as fake and cruel as it seems (though it may well be sometimes).
Even though I knew the ending (unfortunately read a review that spelled it out for me), I enjoyed every moment of the book. It was at times confusing in it's madness, yet it was littered and sparkled with magic at every turn of the page.
I have not been able to get this book out of my mind. It's sensuality and overwhelming contrast of light and dark make this book an amazing read for anyone who isn't afraid of something that's a bit different.
The only problem is with letting go of the book when one is finished reading :).
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Several years ago I walked into a book store and my eyes fell upon Poppy Z. Brites Lost Souls. At the time it was her only novel. I bought the book initially just based on the fact that I liked the cover art. Now my original copy is held together with duct tape. I love this book. It is fascinating, original, dark, erotic, and in my opinion one of the best horror books out there. I have re-read this book more times then any other. I still get hooked into the story line and feel for the characters that I have grown to love. This novel explores many topics that are fairly common in horror fiction. Yet, Poppy breathes new life and fascination into both vampires, misguided youth, and rock n' roll. This book is almost the modern day tale of vampires. I recommend it to all dark horror lover, vampire fans, and anyone who loves a well crafted and executed story. If this is your first time trying Brite--be warned her words are potent, strong, and filled with images. This is the original Poppy book. I urge you to give it a try, and maybe, just maybe, a few years from now you will find your copy of this book held together with duct tape from too many late night readings.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a fan of Storm Constantine and other writers in this vein (pun not intended), I was recommended to PZB's works multiple times. I finally decided to start with the first-written, although others warned me that it was not her best.
And it was definitely interesting. This was definitely a new take on the vampire renaissance heralded by Anne Rice and others. These vamps are dark but not romantically so, decadent but not admirably so, and brutally cruel. I was wowed by the writing style, which was lush (not overly so) and yet very engaging; the uniqueness of the vampires, who truly are a different species (with their own subspecies); the blatant inclusion of homoerotic material that other writers often only touch upon glancingly, if at all (and which is very satisfyingly fulfilled here).
The problem? I hate the characters.
Call me jaded, or maybe just too old to understand. Nothing was very much a nothing, to me. I couldn't get into his teenaged angst---which, granted, had some real basis in his being "different". But some of his angst had to do with things like, "My parents want me to clean my room because I haven't bathed in days and it reeks." Or, "Nobody understands me except the singer on this underground tape I got from my friends, so I'm going to run away from home to find him." It's really hard for me to find sympathy with those kinds of laments, even though I remember feeling the same way when I was a teenager (well, I had no problem with baths). I guess it bothers me because I'm an adult, now, and this sort of pointless whining just seems stupid, not angsty.
I also hated Zillah, who's a psychopath but not even a particularly interesting one---just one who seems to be blessed with a kind of bizarre magic that helps him attract weaker souls and pervert them into strangeness or stupidity. He does this to every female character in the story; one of the women, Ann, was a strong and interesting character until she has a liaison with Zillah. Then her brains and strength just seem to... vanish. The other female character meets the same fate, earlier in the novel, but she didn't really start out as a strong character (her motivations were completely unclear), so I didn't really mind in her case. She was too uninteresting for me to care about her---which is the problem for most of the characters in the story.
I do like some of the characters. Christian, for example, is a none-too-subtle poke at the more romanticized, old-worldish vamps of other authors like Rice; he too falls under Zillah's spell, and is basically dragged into the more crude, brutal, modern vamp world PZB has created here. His corruption is actually interesting to watch. Ghost is fascinating---although his devotion to his uber-macho, rapist buddy Steve just leaves me cold. It's as if a subtle theme of this story is Why Smart People Do Really Dumb Things.
Still, I'll definitely recommend this story, if only for its fresh and original take on vampirism. Its takes on teen angst, relationship abuse, friendship, good/evil, etc., are more common.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
"Death is easy"
I was in the mood for something a bit messed up, so I gave Lost Souls a try. It certainly didn't disappoint in that regard. Incest, rape, murder, vampires; it has it all. Read more
Published 15 days ago by rantboi
my favourite
This is my favourite vampire book, and one of my favourite books of all time. It's hard to describe the depths of the beauty that Poppy Brite wrote with. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Adam
A sex fantasy that just managed to include "vampires"
This story about sex that just happened to include "vampires" was quite an amazing failure. It was recommended to me on Goodreads, and while I don't regret reading it, I plan on... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Newtz
Not at all what I expected
I received this audiobook for review from Crossroad Press through Audiobook Jukebox's Solid Gold Reviewer Program. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Darlene
Love her style of writing...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I don't know where to start.
I just enjoy her style of writing. Read more
I don't know where to start.
I just enjoy her style of writing. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Black_Cat
Great dark book
Great dark book with an unusual take on vampires. I love the writing, and the darkness portrayed with word usage. Read more
Published 11 months ago by A Customer
My favorite book:
Lost Souls has been my favorite book since I was 14 or so. Much more in depth character development than the lame vampire books coming out these days, but admittedly not for the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Valoren
GREAT READ
It has been quite some times since Ive read this book but this story has etched the name Poppy Z in my brain. This is fiction for my generation. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sheamus
Refreshingly raw
I first read this book 10 or more years ago. I recently re-read it, and I tried to force myself to read slowly, to absorb every word. Brite's writing style is mesmerizing. Read more
Published 13 months ago by C. Gagnon
Love it
This was my first Poppy Z. Brite book I have ever read. And I loved it! I wish she would continue with this story, but then I would just be setting myself up for dissapointment... Read more
Published 18 months ago by T. Ragsdale
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The night wind felt wonderful in Steve's hair. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sacred yew, clove cigarettes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Missing Mile, New Orleans, Miz Catlin, French Quarter, Mardi Gras, Violin Road, Wallace Creech, Arkady Raventon, Miz Deliverance, North Carolina, Steve Finn, Whirling Disc, Kinsey Hummingbird, Bel Air, White Horse, Burnt Church Road, Dylan Thomas, Robert Smith, Ann Bransby-Smith, Charlie Parker, Devil's Tramping Ground, Firehouse Street, Simon Bransby, Johnny Wiegers, Lovers Lane New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The night wind felt wonderful in Steve's hair. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sacred yew, clove cigarettes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Missing Mile, New Orleans, Miz Catlin, French Quarter, Mardi Gras, Violin Road, Wallace Creech, Arkady Raventon, Miz Deliverance, North Carolina, Steve Finn, Whirling Disc, Kinsey Hummingbird, Bel Air, White Horse, Burnt Church Road, Dylan Thomas, Robert Smith, Ann Bransby-Smith, Charlie Parker, Devil's Tramping Ground, Firehouse Street, Simon Bransby, Johnny Wiegers, Lovers Lane New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
59
books
cite this book:
See all 59 books citing this book
- The Darker Saints by Brian Hodge in Front Matter
- Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite in Front Matter
- Women of Darkness (Tor Horror) by Kathryn Ptacek in Front Matter
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding on page 30
- Consuming Youth: Vampires, Cyborgs, and the Culture of Consumption by Robert Latham on 12 pages
- Goth's Dark Empire by Carol Siegel on 9 pages
- Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin by Richard Treadwell Davenport-Hines on 8 pages
- Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture by Joan Gordon on 8 pages
- The Body's Perilous Pleasures by Michele Aaron on 6 pages
See all 59 books citing this book
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
