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Publisher: Delirium Books |
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With deft characterizations as intelligent and finely-honed as a bloodied razor, Gonzalez shows his impressive versatility with the first four tales: the Laymonesque nastiness of "Fan Boy" wherein a young male fan and his fervid fantasies are reunited with the source of his adoration, a female porno star whose heroin-laden corpse is housed at a funeral home - and if you think Gonzalez blinks or shows trepidation at necrophelia and the logical and heinous course of events to follow, think again; "Drink My Blood" is an effective - is somewhat predictable - Goth vampire tale; "The House" is a laudable homage to the more grand traditions of pulpy horror, and it's a welcome light respite to the bleakness of the others soul-wrenching stories; and "Tattoos" tells a tale that seamlessly blends a love story with Lovecraft, modern noir and tattoos - not an easy mix to pull off…but Gonzales manages it. Certainly, however, the star of the collection is the "Maternal Instinct" novella, which has echoes of Jack Ketchum's RIGHT TO LIFE but has enough of its own style and context to make it something quite different…and almost as potent. Similar to Ketchum's novella, "Maternal Instinct" examines the harrowing abduction and reaction of a pregnant woman, Lisa Miller, by a rapist and killer. In this instance, the purpose is for the filming of a snuff film, and the story deals unflinchingly with the ordeal of Miller and her fellow female abductee. More importantly, it focuses on Miller's unabashed, fervent inner commitment to do anything to save her unborn child…and herself. This is a solid piece of horror fiction that plumbs the depths of human depravity…and the height of human resolve.
Like many writers early in their career, Gonzales has a stylistic and thematical misstep here and there, but overall MATERNAL INSTINCT is a collection that should be on the bookshelf of any discriminating reader of extreme horror fiction.
Available in both signed/limited hardcover and trade-paperback format.
