Mortal Companion [Paperback]

Patrick Califia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2004

There are far worse fates than death. For Ulric, a pagan warrior who was turned into a vampire by a Christian crusader in the 14th century, immortality has come at the price of a deep and abiding loneliness. He cannot seek companionship from one of his own kind, because vampires like many other predators cannot tolerate one another's presence. The only person who shares his memories of home is his half-sister Adulfa, but she has spent the centuries sharpening her hatred of Ulric, for it was he who forced her to become a blood-drinker. It matters not to Adulfa that Ulric was also under duress when this tragedy occurred. Now Ulric has found his soulmate, a woman who loves him despite her own turmoil about the things that he must do to survive. Their passion for one another is tragically heightened by the fact that she cannot live forever. And she refuses to accept life everlasting, because becoming a vampire herself will force her to leave Ulric's side to establish her own hunting ground, where she would reign supreme, but alone. If anything makes Adulfa angrier than the prospect of Ulric being happy, if only for a few short years, it is his effrontery in raising a piece of prey to the status of his peer. Lost in a frenzied attempt to satisfy their desire for one another, Ulric and his lover, Lilith, do not realize that they are being stalked by a sadistic and amoral Valkyrie who has had centuries to plot her revenge. In Adulfa's eyes, Lilith may be nothing more than food, but her submissive charms are not lost upon Ulric's sister. Like a great cat, once she pounces, she plans to toy with her captive, if only because this will speed Ulric to his beloved's rescue. When brother and sister clash over the possession of Lilith, none of them will emerge unscathed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Look into the heart of horror...the infinite thirst for blood and love in the hands of Patrick Califia..." -- Susie Bright, editor of The Best American Erotica series

"Mortal Companion is like a big slice of Sacher torte: rich, sweet, dark, complex, and memorably delicious." -- Jeff Mann, author of Bones Washed with Wine, Edge, and Devoured

"This is Anne Rice on ecstasy, with all the stops pulled out!" -- Caitlin R. Kiernan, author of Threshold and Low Red Moon

Patrick Califia has been one of the bravest, most articulate, and most original voices in alternative literature for longer than many of today's writers have been plying their craft. His masterful touch and authoritative voice is immediately apparent in this new novel, and can only serve to further burnish his literary crown, adding the fantasy field to his many other conquests. --Michael Rowe, editor of the Queer Fear anthology series

Patrick Califia has crafted a lush and passionate tale of bloodlust, ennui, and immortality, fairly crackling with the erotic energy and gender bending that only lurk sedately beneath the surfaces of tamer vampire novels. This is Anne Rice on ecstasy, with all the stops pulled out! --Caitlin R. Kiernan, author of Threshold and Low Red Moon

Take one erotic master; open up a vein of eternal yearning. Look into the heart of horror, and find its greatest intimacy: the infinite thirst for blood and love in the hands of Patrick Califia's Mortal Companion. --Susie Bright, editor of The Best American Erotica series

Patrick Califia has crafted a lush and passionate tale of bloodlust, ennui, and immortality, fairly crackling with the erotic energy and gender bending that only lurk sedately beneath the surfaces of tamer vampire novels. This is Anne Rice on ecstasy, with all the stops pulled out! --Caitlin R. Kiernan, author of Threshold and Low Red Moon

Patrick Califia has been one of the bravest, most articulate, and most original voices in alternative literature for longer than many of today's writers have been plying their craft. His masterful touch and authoritative voice is immediately apparent in this new novel, and can only serve to further burnish his literary crown, adding the fantasy field to his many other conquests. --Michael Rowe, editor of the Queer Fear anthology series

About the Author

Caveat lector! Patrick Califia is the sadistic storyteller par excellence. In this erotic tale of love and vengeance, the author of Macho Sluts and Doc and Fluff sweeps the reader into a world of sinister magic and painfully intense pleasures. When he is not reading other people's vampire stories, Patrick is spoiling his kitty cat or disciplining deserving masochists. He says, "Cats, unlike people, are innocent."

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Suspect Thoughts Press (May 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971084696
• ISBN-13: 978-0971084698
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Avid Reviewer and Reader, July 19, 2004

By 

Alisa McCune (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortal Companion (Paperback)

Mortal Companion is not for the easily offended or those who are not comfortable with explicit sex. Subtitled as "an erotic tale of love and vengeance" like no other, Mortal Companion delivers. Patrick Califia has created a world where everything is possible and nothing is taboo. This world is opened up to the reader layer by layer - chapter by chapter - until the final climatic end which leaves us panting and waiting for the sequel.

Mortal Companion introduces us to Ulric, a very depressed vampire. Life, as he experiences it has become drudgery. Nothing gives him pleasure - even feeding leaves him wanting. One evening, in an unknown small town, Mary Beth Wolcott reveals herself. Ulric is immediately smitten and begins a sensual assault that Mary Beth is unable to resist. Ulric wins her heart and soul and makes her his mortal companion, renamed Lilith.

Lilith and Ulric begin a journey to San Francisco and to Ulric's past. Lilith learns how Ulric was the victim of the Germanic Knights of the Sepulcher. He was made a vampire by rape of the mind, body, and soul. This horrific beginning culminated in the rape and a feeding from Adulfa, Ulric's own half-sister. Adulfa swore vengeance on Ulric for his rape and forcing vampirism on her.

Adulfa is more then just a vampire. She began life as a shapeshifter. She is a reckless woman bent on seeking pleasure through domination of the body and mind. She has been planning her revenge against Ulric for hundreds of years and nothing will stop her. Lilith is her ticket to making Ulric pay for violating her.

Lilith and Ulric are aware of Adulfa's rage, but are so caught up within their insulated world they have a false sense of security. Ulric introduces Lilith to the BDSM community and a sex slave is born. Lilith gives herself over completely to Ulric. This trust is pivotal in what is to come.

Mortal Companion is an interesting and entertaining book. While the sex is explicit and violent at times, it has a purpose. Lilith and Ulric continuously switch roles. Neither is completely dominate over the other. It is clear that complete domination is not love, but sharing roles gives Lilith and Ulric a true, heart wrenching, undying love. While it can be argued this their undoing, it is beautiful to read of that kind of bonding. Each chapter switches character point of view effortlessly, giving the reader a voyeuristic journey. Each perspective - male/female - top/bottom - draws the reader further into a San Francisco most have only heard of.

My favorite characters by far are the vampire cats; Luna, Anastasia, Charley, and Hecate. These cats guard Ulric's house in San Francisco and play a very important role in the ending of the book. Califia has created the cats with individual personalities and separates voices. Luna speaks so eloquently that her words are like poems within the book.

Parts of Mortal Companion have appeared is various anthologies. Author Patrick Califia has written many different short stories and books on sexuality and Lesbian issues. He currently suffers from fibromyalgia and lives in San Francisco. When he is not reading other people's vampire stories, Patrick is spoiling his kitty cat or disciplining deserving masochists. He says, "Cats, unlike people, are innocent."

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Move over, Lestat. Adulfa and Ulric are here!, June 26, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mortal Companion (Paperback)

I must confess I was more of a fan of the vampire sagas that camped up the vampire myth (Buffy forever!)--that was until I read Patrick Califia's Mortal Companion.

Califia has fleshed out and sexed up all the smoldering passion that simmered (and languished at times) in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Ulric and Adulfa, the feuding vampire siblings in this first book of the series, are (omni)sexual predators. (And wonderfully so.) Califia also takes the violence, even S/M scenes and themes found in Laurell K. Hamilton, and gives them new fangs.

There are also many revisions and refinements to the age-old cosmology of vampires. Califia introduces us to The Elders, vampires who guide and protect the lives of their mortal tribes. Even amazing vampire cats. And new villians: the awesome and awesomely wronged lesbian vampire fury known as Adulfa, Sir Hilbert and his Germanic Knights, and a very frightening ubervillian known as The Adversary.

I'd reveal more, but I don't want to give the plot away. Instead, I'll say that once you finish this book, you'll be craving book two. I can't wait.

(Also fans of other Califia characters, like Patrick Kelly and Davy from No Mercy, will not be disappointed. They make a wonderful cameo appearance here.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Promising at first..., July 28, 2007

By 

Brittany Covell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortal Companion (Paperback)

...but the more I read, the more I wanted to throw it across the room.

First of all, I am a fan of vampires, I'm in the BDSM lifestyle, and I love the gay community. Considering all of those things, I was VERY excited about this book. I knew it was basically erotica with a story, but I was ok with that. At first some of the dialogue was laughable and annoying, but it was entertaining. Ther farther I got, that feeling went away.

There are some VERY disturbing lesbian rape scenes that would have made me stop reading the book if I wasn't curious about the ending. I'm a masochist, and they were still hard to stomach. And the BDSM club scenes are pretty ridiculous. The going-back-in-time-memory episodes were just annoying and pointless for the most part. What really frustrated me was the ending. Basically, they nullify the entire point of the book and leave it open-ended for a sequel which is never going to be published because of Pat Califia's ailments.

I still won't say that it's entirely crap either, though. If you are looking for a steamy read with not a whole lot of substance, and if you can stomach some extremely graphic stuff, then I'd say at least give it a chance. But don't expect any literary genius in this one.