Customer Reviews

Stalking Tender Prey (Grigori Trilogy)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Can Storm Constantine's work be described as belonging to any particular genre? I don't think so, and that's one of the things that makes her stories so wonderful. However, if I had to pigeonhole her work, then "Stalking Tender Prey" would definitely fit the role of "dark fantasy." No captured princesses, no magical kingdoms, no elves and hobgoblins. This stuff is raw, in-your-face. The magic is delicously seamy, at times unsettling. You can't even tell who the good guys or the bad guys are here; all of the characters have their own demons (literally, in some cases), their own motives. They make no excuses or apologies for what they do. If you're a new intiate to stories dealing with the occult (like I was when I first read this book), then you might feel a little uncomfortable at first, but the read is no less enjoyable, simply because it's not stuff you see much in fantasy. And for those who enjoy Constantine's trademark sexual undercurrents, you won't be disappointed. So if you're a Storm Constantine freak, a stray from the mainstream, or just your average lover of good stories, pick up this book. But if you're a prude (and living in the Bible Belt, I know my share) then stay away, lest your god smite you. He can smite me all he wants, I'm still gonna read this book, and the other two that follow it!

Well, JD, if you're a closet homophobe, this book is sure to rub you the wrong way, but that's no reason to give it one star. Storm has only written one weak book in her career, to my knowledge, and that WAS actually, in this series (Book #3 - Stealing Sacred Fire). Stalking, on the other hand, is one of her classics. I admit, the homosexual scenes are almost buffetingly strong, and extremely uncomfortable for those of us outside the lifestyle. But they are mind openeing. The closest comparison I can come to in this regard is Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel" trilogy, whose heroine, Phedre, is a sexual masochist and prostitute. When I read her first assignation I didn't know whether to cry, scream, or throw-up; but it definitely pushed my mental boundaries. So, I'm not going anywhere near a whip, or another man's, uh....pride; but I appreciate a book that pushes my buttons and keeps me thinking.

Finally, your most absurd claim was that she was trying to sound like Clive Barker. Storm does NOT try to sound like ANYONE else, that's why she's Storm. Storm is a goddess because she is so unrepentantly herself.

You shouldn't ruin a book's ratings just cause it rubbed you the wrong way.

I have never read any other book like Stalking Tender Prey, so there is really nothing I can compare it to. Truly original. There are only two downsides to this book, so I will start with those. It took me a long time to get through because it lost me in the beginning (the first 60 pages or so) and again at the end (the last 30). The rest more than made up for it. Completely sucked me in and left me panting for breath. The other semi-negative is that it doesn't really end, it just sets up for the next instalment. So really, it seems the story is just beginning. Now, the good: EVERYTHING else. The characters are engrossing on every level, very few are shallow or one-dimentional or simply good or bad. They feel so real and tangable. Even though their lives are something few of us can imagine, you can understand their feelings and reasonings because you get to know them so well and get inside their hearts and minds. Storm has the gift of words and description without a doubt. Everything was sensual, everything. It was also very sexual, and while very small amounts were explictly descriptive, it was the most arousing novel I have read. While, there are many scenes and themes revolving around homosexuality (some of the best I have read), it is by no-means simply a gay novel. It deals with sexuality on levels that the everyday person/writer shys away from. Storm manages to make every scene shocking yet comprehendable and honest. The story line goes all over the place, and at times scans centuries. Once you catch onto the overall flow of the story, it is easy to follow. I can not wait to read the second novel of this series, which is out of print, unfortunately, but I am sure it will be worth searching for. While not for the faint of heart or the easily offended, it is worth taking a chance on. Jump on for one intense, unparalled adventure!

I was extremely disappointed with this novel. I was expecting a dark fantasy that also contained elements of desire and sensuality. Although there was sex in this novel, none of it was sexy or sensual. Characters seemed to have sex with each other randomly with little emotion involved. The sexual encounters were usually not described but happened off the page and when they were described, it was done so briefly and clinically that it rendered the scenes almost uninteresting.
The relationships in the book did not seem to ring true at all. We are told that Pev is wanted by everyone who meets him but we are never shown why. Classic rule of story telling "Don't tell, show." We are told that the twins are in love with each other and have only had each other to rely on since their mother died. They are so intrinsically bound that they have a sexually relationship as well and live more like man and wife than brother and sister. Yet a couple of rolls in the hay with Pev and Lily betrays her brother, leaving him to be brutally raped physically and emotionally by Pev until he is a mere husk of his former self. Yet she is not so enthralled by Pev that she cannot protect her neighbor's cat from him. Several brutal rapes occur in the novel but no one seems to mind. There's some same sex scenes between willing partners which are again underdescribed and some between partners who maybe are willing or maybe are just bewitched. It's hard to tell because Storm doesn't really elaborate. I think she may just be trying to shock her readers with scenes that some might consider freaky or something. Whatever.


I also dislike the way these characters have absolutely no loyalty towards one another. Whether they are friends, lovers, or family members, once Pev comes to town they are willing to betray their loved ones at the drop of the hat. And that makes them seem so unrealistic to me. I am not saying that people wouldn't act this way, just that Storm does nothing to deepen the readers under standing of why they act that way.
The only thing that I liked about this book was the chick who got it on with her cat. At least they had a nice loving relationship. I wish there had been more scenes with the two of them.

Little Moor in Northern England is a quiet, serene place near a forest where rumor has it amongst the locals that ancient magic remains amidst the trees. However, something has finally changed to disrupt the delicate balance between the humans residing in Little Moor and the magic of the forest. Human twins, Owen and Lily Winter, behave differently because spirits seem to be calling them.

Further change hits the small hamlet when a traveler, rare in these parts, Peveral Othman, comes but cannot explain even to himself why he has ventured here. No one seems to realize how influential the stranger is on the townsfolk except the twins, who wonder if Peveral is a member of the Grigori, a species of people who possess powers beyond that of Homo Sapien? Could Peveral be coming to his peopleís home in the magical forest? If yes, what does his return forebode for the obviously inferior humans?

STALKING TENDER PREY is an incredible fantasy novel that is the equal if not the superior to the best of Anne Rice. The contemporary setting magically works even as an ancient race is described living within its environs. The Grigori are one of the best fictional races to appear in a novel in many years. Of particular enjoyment is the trouble the rebellious youths seem to cause for their elders. There is plenty of action to recommend this novel. However, it is Storm Constantine's precise use of interesting details that explain interrelationships (including homosexual love) between individuals that makes the first book in ìThe Grigori Trilogyî one of the top fantasy tales of the year. This is must reading for fans of the genre.

Harriet Klausner

Stalking Tender Prey is a story of the Fallen Angels, but has nothing to do with beautiful,benevolent beings that fly. Instead, the Grigori are the descendents of a non-human race that dwell among humans, and yet apart, but secretly wield power over human affairs. Being a history/archaeology buff, I liked the interweaving of ancient events with the modern day. Ms. Constantine's tale slowly, addictively seeps into your pores, then gradually accelerates into a whirlwind, which holds you suspended between the horrific and the glorious. It is not in my opinion a horror novel, but more along the lines of fantasy, since the stars also have their intriguing part to play. However, the prudish should take heed -- there is a lot of sex. This is the first of her books that I have read, but it will not be the last.

My wife had read this series several years before we met, and recommended them to me. The ideas bibliography included one of my favorite books, 'The Orion Mystery', so I gave it a chance. The story is sexually gothic, magically bloody, and leaves you hungry for more at the end. Thankfully, this is only the first of the trilogy.

I loved the way Constantine uses the cliches of the English rural gothic novel to play with the reader's expectations. Innocent youngsters preyed upon by sinister stranger, small country village containing Terrible Secrets, etc. -- all these staples of the genre are presented early on only so as to trick the reader into a false sense of security in preparation for later wackiness.

And simply put, Peverel Othman is the most diabolically seductive and utterly ruthless antagonist I've seen in print. The ambiguities of this character repulse and attract in equal measure (well, more repulse, actually, but still...). I think I spent more time, when I wasn't reading the book, thinking about his motivations than I did about the rest of the plot (the plot's good, too, though). Constantine's strong point in her novels has always been characterization, and she outdoes herself with Othman.

Stalking Tender Prey gripped me like few books in recent time. The story unfolds gradually to an ever increasing sense of dread and horror to come, driven by the characters' desires and expectations woven around the central Grigori character. At its core, the book deals with topics such as desire, sexuality, youth and the loss of it; this, together with the careful way in which the characters are described, is what lifts this book about the norm of horror or fantasy books.

I found this book when I was researching the Watcher or Grigori angels described in the early chapters of the apocryphal Book of Enoch, and I was delighted to find a fantasy author has drawn on the lore of these mysterious beings. Their legends are so intricate and full of meaning for our modern age, when good and evil seem less well-drawn, that they beg to be elaborated on in depth.

And Storm Constantine does just that. The pacing is slow and deliberate, but so too are the workings of the otherworldly. Dare I say, her Grigori characters are almost better-drawn than the humans whose lives they manipulate. They radiate with a strange, paradoxical balance of innocence and malice, but are perfectly poised and fascinating beings. The story, of an age-old struggle between those whose ambition drives them to unspeakable acts and those who would thwart them, draws you in and despite its length, keeps you wondering what will happen next? Who is Peverel Othman and what does he want with the sleepy British village of Little Moor? What secrets does Long Eden, the abandoned manor house, keep hidden? Who is Owen and Lily's real father and what does Othman want with them?

Granted, there are quite a lot of sexual scenes (many of them rather deviatory to some extent), but this is a given, since the Grigori were notorious for consorting with humans and seducing them. But the sexual matters never once bog down the story or run it off the rails: these scenes grow organically from the characters' personas and their interactions with each other, helping to drive the story forward.