Customer Reviews

This Symbiotic Fascination

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Welcome to the world of Charlee Jacob. After I stumbled over the other reviews here, I decided to pick this book up and give it a shot. I always love a good, gory horror novel. What I wasn't expecting was THIS----this ultra-sick, grue-filled extravaganza of blood and guts. Practically every page is filled to the brim with disgusting, multi-dimensional violence and perversion. There is stuff in here you've never imagined in your worst nightmares. Here is a sampling of what you will find in this book: cannibalism, murder, torture, dismemberment, disfigurement, suicide, and coprophagy. I think I left something out, and I really don't want to remember what it is. I am no babe-in-the-woods when it comes to horror books and novels, but this takes the cake. Is this what they are writing nowadays? This makes the sickest horror film look like a Disney feature. Don't be fooled by the cheesy cover or the fact that Charlee Jacob is a woman. This book is unbelievable in the gore category. It's off the charts.

That's my take on the gore. Now it needs to be said that this is an excellent horror novel, overflowing with great prose, great characters, and fascinating plot development. Essentially, the story is a vampire tale, but Charlee takes that tired genre and crafts a gem of a novel. There is no debonair undead duffer tooling around medieval castles in this book. Instead, Charlee introduces us to Tawne Delaney, a 37-year-old virgin who is angry at the modern world because its emphasis on beauty has left her out in the cold. No man wants anything to do with Tawne; she is a large woman with big hands who is usually seen, if seen at all, in the background of life. Tawne works in a clothing store, but only in the stockroom because the beautiful girls work as salesclerks. One of Tawne's coworkers, Arcan Tyler, also is a major character in the story. Arcan is also an outcast of sorts. The biggest reason for his social exile is the raving beasts running amok in his body. A cat, a wolf, and a ghoul all swirl in Arcan's diseased soul, leading him on a bloody rampage as a rapist and general sicko. It seems that Arcan inherited these particular traits from his dear old Mum, and he is barely hanging on as he tries to control these monsters. After Tawne sees a weird dude (a vampire with the power to change his looks) kill her only friend, she begs him to help her acquire the power to project images so she may do the same thing to attract men. The rest of the book describes Tawne's adventures as a vampire and her eventual relationship with Arcan. I am not really giving away much with this detailed description, something that would be impossible to convey in this review due to the gore and the number of twists and turns in the plot.

There are a few subplots that are great fun. Tawne's conversion to beast is captured by a local sleaze reporter on videotape. The story of the reporter and the subsequent incidents with the tape is very clever and entertaining, almost worth meriting treatment in a separate book. Arcan's victims, who were left alive to suffer from his attacks, also provide a good story on their own. Charlee attempts, with fair effect, to blend all of these story lines together at the end of the book. I don't think I need to spend too much time telling you the end of the book is grim and not at all pleasant (well, maybe Arcan finds some peace).

The chasm between the sexes certainly plays a large part in this book. Ideals of beauty and power are viciously attacked, as is the media that perpetuates sex roles. Jacob doesn't seem to favor one side or the other, as everyone is (or ends up) becoming a victim of some sort. Even Arcan's rape victims end up slaves to their own healing process and revenge.

This is Charlee Jacob's first novel, and there are some problems. As great as the plot and subplots are, they are a bit uneven. The videotape subplot starts out great but runs down towards the end. There is almost no explanation concerning Denise Cross's change from a good cop to a weird sicko. I am also still trying to figure out exactly what happened to Arcan's brother, Harry. Also, how could Tawne's car be left at a crime scene without bringing the police into the picture? These are problems, but for a first novel they are minor problems. I'm looking forward to her second novel.

Charlee Jacob, This Symbiotic Fascination (Leisure Books, 1997)

Whatever else This Symbiotic Fascination is (and it is many things), one word I see applied to it many times that it really isn't is "original." Fans of extreme horror (the term "splatterpunk" is far too overused and far too inaccurate; this is more Guinea Pig than Neuromancer) who have been reading Bob Deveraux's stuff for the past decade will be well-enough acquainted with Jacob's style to have recognized this. Fans of extreme horror who have not yet read Bob Devereaux's classic Deadweight need to get their heads out of the necks of their victims long enough to read the best extreme horror novel on the planet.

What This Symbiotic Fascination is, however, is a whole lot of fun. Tawne, a largely-built and relatively unattractive girl (by her own admission), finds herself drawn into the mystery of the local serial killer when one of her few friends pops off with the guy one day after work; a guy who is, to say the least, stunningly ugly. Add to this plotline that another of her co-workers is a serial rapist possessed by animal demons, and, well, you've got yourself a whole brew of nastiness jut waiting to be chugged.

The one thing that didn't really ring true (in the "logic-inside-the-suspension-of-disbelief" way that these things do) is Tawne's pure, complete loneliness, her ability to find even a single human being who finds her attractive. Especially given the qualities Jacob invests her with. A six-foot-two, large-built redhead who lifts crates for a living? Try a personal ad, watch the responses come rocketing in.

Other than that, though, I can't stress how much good, clean, gore-spouting fun this book is. Most everyone who has something coming gets it, in spades, along with a few people who don't deserve it but get it anyway. (I will leave it to you, dear reader, to decide who's who.) Jacob's blood-gouting bile-spraying intestine-hurling(-for-distance) descriptions never stray into the juvenile, as these things sometimes do. The characters are well-presented (aside from the niggle above), the pace is cranked, the anger is righteous, and the blood never stops flowing. What more could you possibly want from extreme horror? *** ½

That would be my one-sentence review, if I only had one sentence to sum it up. This book will probably mess with your mind, too.

I actually probably wouldn't have picked this up if I hadn't gotten it from my book club- the title didn't do much for me. and neither did the cover art. I saw that Delirium Books made a comments about Charlee Jacob being the new hardcore queen of horror, I also flipped through and admired the prose, so I decided to give it a shot.

Straight up-do NOT eat while you're reading this book. I'm not saying that lightly, or to try to be funny. The fact that Delirium (home of the annual Gross Out Contest for horror stories) made a comment should have clued me in. If I had to describe the book it a few words, I'd say it was disturbing, original, well written, and stomach churning. I was not prepared for this book. It was the literary equivalent of being kicked down a flight of stairs, finally landing on the cement, then having someone drop an anvil on me just as I was starting to get to my feet. Several anvils. The Breeze Horror is the other other book written by a woman that had a similar impact on me (Exquisite Corpse, by Poppy Z. Brite, would be the runner-up); it was so merciless, revolting and depressing that I had to put it down a few times because it got to be too much-- but I couldn't put it down for long, even though I knew what I was getting into every time I picked it up again, because I cared what happened next and needed to know.

The story involves a lonely, unattractive woman in her thirties, Tawne, looking for anything to make her feel alive- especially wanting men to just once look at her and find her appealing. A serial killer--or a monster masquerading as one-- is terrorizing and mutilating women in the city she lives in. Meanwhile, a man named Arcan --or maybe not a man at all--who is responsible for doing the same is trying to hold himself together long enough to... to...uh...OK, I give up, just read the back cover for the plot description, I can't do it. It would take up too much room, anyway.

I'm not sure if I was supposed to care for the main male character, but I stopped once I realized how completely he hated women- just not a lot of sympathy, but not hatred, since the guy is so utterly wretched and haunted. The other male characters range from sleazeballs to literal monsters. There was maybe one male character who wasn't a complete bastard, but he wasn't around long. There are some very strong female characters, especially those who survived Arcan's vicious, nasty, brutal attacks (what he does to these women make the ugliest scenes in American Psycho seem tame). They were the ones I really ended up caring about- they've pulled themselves together enough to form a support group, and finally fight back. In one of the few scenes that wasn't completely depressing, a gang of scummy sexual predators makes the mistake of harassing them, and get the living *&^% beat out of them ("Hey, we're goin' already! Jesus, don't kill us, okay?" one of them begs by the end).

TSF isn't perfect; characters take time to be introduced to only to vanish later, and at least one seems to come out of nowhere; I was flipping back to see if I'd missed anything. A couple plot threads don't go anywhere, but they were still fascinatingly well written. Sometimes the narrative kind of goes all over the place; maybe that's the effect the author wanted, however. Though the book is unrelentingly graphic, enough is still left to your imagination or unexplained to give you chills.

This book is thoroughly original and unique. You won't forget some of the images in TSF for a long, long time. I actually had to SKIP certain passages because I was so horrified and/or revolted, and I never went back and read them, which only happens with me for about 1% of the books I read. If I ever meet anyone who says truthfully that nothing in the book made them cringe (I don't think such a reader exists, at least I hope not) I will run as far away from them as fast as possible. If you're tired of the same old themes, and want to read something different and haunting -and if you have a very strong stomach- definitely give this book a shot. It deserves it.

Just don't say I didn't warn you when it gives you nightmares.

I agree with the other reviewer who said not to eat while reading this. Don't. There are images in this book that can literally make you sick to your stomach. Still, this is a unique and original spin on the vampire myth. Its a brutal, shocking and well-written book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There is even some insightful social commentary as well not to mention, the prose is poetic at times and invokes images in a way few authors can't. I can't wait to read the next book she will write because she is a great horror writer.

I like a book written by a female author that can pack some punch and she puts out all the stops. The female characters are very strong, but the males are cretins in this book and I think there should have been one that wasn't. Still, the character of Tawne, the overweight thirty-something virgin was very indepth and I had sympathy for her. Arcan had no redeeming qualities whatsoever and their relationship is a sick and twisted love story that goes awry. I won't give too much of the plot away, but I'll say that its twisted and suspenseful and a very quick read. You won't be able to put this down once you start.

A brilliantly written and gutsy endeavor. If you are grossed out by violence, this will not be for you. There are scenes in this book that I had to skip because they were too much. Nothing is sacred in "This Symbiotic Fascination" and there is a little something offensive in this for everyone. Still that is what makes this such a great book. I would definitely recommend to anyone who isn't deterred by blood, guts and gore. A great read.

Dark, prosaic, tormented, twisted, sexual, bleak, poetic, challanging and very gross at times, "This Symbiotic Fascination" is not my usual cup of horror (I tend to favor old-fashioned pulp like Shannon's "Night of the Beast") but man, this lady can write. Disturbing stuff and bound to force you to wrestle with some uncomfortable concepts. Praiseworthy, if a bit overwrought.

A bit of a struggle to get through the Symbiotic Fascination because of the nausea factor, but if you are up to it and love extreme horror or just something unusual then you ought to give this a shot. Some parts were very disgusting and my wife had to quit reading it before she reached the half way mark. She commented that it was the grossest thing she ever tried to read. Still, kind of a cool story here filled with nightmares, monsters, demons, wannabe vampires etc. Plenty of warnings here but I say go for it!

There are two main characters in This Symbiotic Fascination whose stories intersect. First is Arcan, a man inhabited by 3 spirits; a wolf, a cat and a ghoul. The spirits force him to rape and mutilate women. When we meet him in the book, he is trying to control the spirits because he is feeling remorseful about the things he's done. The second character is Tawne, a large plain looking woman who has never known love and affection from a man. One evening she happens upon an ugly troll-like man who can change the way he looks. She watches him transform to entice a friend of hers, and then watches him kill her. Believing this power is the answer to her loneliness she asks for his help. He kills Tawne, turning her into the undead. There are a couple of tangential plotlines as well, but they never seem to mesh with the rest of the book, as though they were tacked on just to lengthen the story.

I wanted to finish reading this book to see how it ended but it was a struggle. I couldn't wait to be done with it. I'm not sure why it's called original because it rehashes themes done a thousand times before. The characters are interesting until they begin mindlessly killing people and then they are the same as characters from other novels. With the number of people being killed, the streets of whatever town it is should be running red with blood, but the police didn't seem to be busy investigating all the bodies turning up mutilated. The descriptions are disgusting and repulsive, but they don't advance the plot or provide interest. Jacob tried way too hard on that score. She made the story gross but not necessarily interesting.

Without giving away the story, all I can say is that it started out with an interesting premise and then went astray somewhere in the middle. The book in it's simplistic form is about a lonely woman falling in love with a recovering pyschopath. This is a very good idea and was presented in a very creative way in the book but the author took the creativity too far.
I'm a huge vampire novel fan but the whole vampire link in this story really was useless and just made a simple premise into a complicated one.

This Symbiotic Fascination was nominated for a Stoker award as well as a few more horror fiction awards. The book has been praised for its darkness, grossness, violence, beautiful prose... It seems that everyone in the horror field loves this book. So I ask you, what's all the fuss about?

This Symbiotic Fascination offers nothing new. The book is overwrought and its long-winded prose is often distracting. I have to admit that I didn't enjoy reading this book. Not because it's too violent (it's not- I've see much worse), not because it's too original (it's not - It's yet another vampire story), not because it's too dark (it's not - some authors have done the dark thing way better), but because it really has nothing to say.

The story is about two very strange characters. Tawne is an overweight woman who's shy, reserved and who never knew the full meaning of popularity. She is fascinated by beauty and wishes herself beautiful. Her wish is about to be answered when she is tortured and then made into a creature of the night by a strange shape-shifting man.

Tawne's infatuation revolves around a man named Arcan. He's dark, brooding, violent. He enshrouds more than one personality (its seems that he's part man, part animal. He has raped and brutalized many women, and the guilt of it all is slowly ravaging him whole.
These two characters are brought together, both becoming part of the undead world. But the thing is, you never care or feel for these two. In any book (even a horror novel), you need a character you can sympathize with. That doesn't meed that you need to love the character. You just needs someone who's experiences you can share and maybe even identify with. But Tawne is just a winy woman who needs to be pulled out of the misery state she's inducing on herself (her self-pity is just annoying at times). And Arcan... Well, there isn't much to love there either.

Jacob tries too hard to stuff as much as she can in her vampire novel. She even introduces a plot about a video tape that makes people go insane. As interesting as this plot is, it goes nowhere and just ends up feeling superfluous.

I understand that Jacob is primarily a poet. It shows in her writing. Her prose is often beautiful in its descriptions. Only, she has a tendency to over-describe everything. She has pages after pages of rambling that just slows down the pace of the book.

I love horror fiction. I love a good story that is original and interesting. I love a story that can frighten you, a story that can make you care about the characters even if they really are to be despised for the things they do. That said, it took me everything I had to finish this book. Nothing about this book really intrigued me. The story feels tired. It's been done before by better authors (Ed Lee, Jemiah Jefferson, Poppy Brite) much better. Reading This Symbiotic Fascination was a great disappointment. I just hope that Jacob's next effort will live up to the fuss.

I've enjoyed Charlee Jacob's poetry for years but didn't know until recently that she had written any novels. I immediately ordered the ones she has out and I read "This Symbiotic Fascination" first. It was a bloody good book. That is, it was both bloody and good.

One of the things that I've always enjoyed about Ms. Jacob's poetry is the juxtaposition of the beautiful and the grotesque, of the sublime and the gutter. She has the ability, in fact, to reinvision ugliness, to transform it in a way that turns flaws into the facets of a jewel. "This Symbiotic Fascination" does the same thing at novel length. It is a fascinating stew of violence and love, of horror and longing and human desperation. All of its characters are wounded, and those wounds are fascinating.

Although some reviewers have referred to this book as a "vampire" tale, and although the term is used in the book itself, "This Symbiotic Fascination" is not like any vampire book that I've ever read, or movie that I've ever seen. I highly recommend it. I will also say that the carnage level is pretty extreme if you are not used to horror fiction. I enjoyed it but some readers might be shocked by the graphic nature of the book.

Charles Gramlich
Author of Cold in the Light