Customer Reviews

Midnight Hunger

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There are 2 prior books in this "midnight" series of gay vampire short stories: "Masters of Midnight" & "Midnight Thirsts". Unlike these 2 prior entries in the series, "Midnight Hunger" only has 3 stories by 3 authors (whereas previous books had 4). The only returning author is Sean Wolfe. That is a pity, for Michael Thomas Ford had written a truly creepy & original take on vampirism in his story "Sting" (from "Masters of Midnight"), while his story "Carnival" (from "midnight Thirsts") was truly evocative as a period piece of freakish carny sideshow. I would have loved to read another story by him. The other prior authors were also mostly good, among them Timothy Ridge's "The Vampire Stone" from Midnight Thirsts", William J. Mann's "His Hunger" from "Masters of Midnight" (a story very similar to the 1960's show "Dark Shadows") and Greg Herren's "The Nightwatchers" from "Midnight Thirsts". "The authors in Midnight Hunger" truly miss having the creativity of the authors of the previous books in the series. Whereas I have read "Masters of Midnight" and Midnight Thirsts" several times, finding them mostly eerily interesting, and being able to recall story plots, I cannot say the same of "Midnight Hunger". This one I could stand to read just once, became bored with it & forgot storylines almost as soon as read. As previously stated, "Midnight Hunger" has 3 stories: "Blood on the Moon" by Todd Gregory starts in an interesting premise that quickly degenerates into a somewhat predictable bland bondage story. "Night of the Midnight Sun" by Chase Masters has a wonderful title and the story begins interestingly & with much potential, however, it falls short by dwelling rather quickly into S/M but that done in a bland way while being also predictable. Hopefully Mr. Masters will at some point rework the story since the premise has much potential. "The Dark Heart" by Sean Wolf is much longer, perhaps a short novella. It moves back & forth in time, seeking to link his story to the Hebrew legend of Lillith (a blood-drinking demoness of Jewish folklore that fed upon Adam's descendants after being spurned by him). Unfortunately the story falls flat in scare factor & seemed forced while predictable. There was a time when I would read anything gay for there was nothing around gay to read, resulting in emotional starvation. But times have changed and gay subjects and authors abound. Now we can be more discriminating with our taste. While "Midnight Hunger" would have been a good gay vampire book if it had been the 1st in the series, it pales in comparison with its 2 predecessors.

Although I'm far from a diehard (pun intended) fan of vampire stories, let alone gay vampire erotica, I was still significantly impressed by the originality and creativity of the three stories in this collection.

Todd Gregory is first with "Blood On The Moon," a tale about a closeted frat boy who is hoping the crowds and confusion at New Orleans' Mardi Gras lets him explore his sexuality. He meets a mysterious, sexy man who invites him home, satisfying all of his desires, but leaving him with a strange hangover and other feelings he can't explain.

Chase Masters' "Land of the Midnight Sun" is an ambitious tale of a shy 18 year old farm boy who tags along with a sexy farmhand on a trip to California, where the farmhand needs to search for his sister, who disappeared mysteriously. The girl, who was a model, vanished along with a male model, and their would-be rescuers learn that they might be the featured "guests" at the notorious "Red Party" held by the vampire community.

Finally, there is Sean Wolfe's "The Dark Heart," a somewhat overly-complicated tale of how one vampire's life has been affected by his ancestry, going back to the dawn of man. Don't read it before walking down dark streets at night.

The stories are all well-written, although I found it a bit confusing that the three authors had different ideas of what a vampire could actually do (such as going out in the daylight, their "feeding" requirements, etc.) Obviously not meant to be taken seriously, the stories were a pleasant escape from reality which I enjoyed very much. I'll give it four Twilight stars out of five.

- Bob Lind, Echo Magazine