Queer Horror

Such Pain


book      fiction

  • Such Pain
  • Author: Don Bassingthwaite
  • Publisher: Harper Prism
  • Year: 1995
  • Country: US
  • 325 pages
Warnings
 
Nudity:2
Sex:3
Violence:3
S&M:2
book cover

Description:
Yesterday Aaron Barry was an international playboy. Today, with his father's death, he assumes control of a giant financial empire.

Step One - fire all his father's advisers. Men he hated anyway.

Step Two - establish relations with the press. Particularly the sexy young reporter from KKBA.

Step Three - go home. Literally. To the mansion he has been terrified to enter for more than a decade. Where something waits for him in a dark hallway. Something small, dark, fetid; a childhood friend summoned from the darkness that never went away.

And begin Step Four...

Qvamp says:

A 'World of Darkness' Mage novel, which is based upon a specific role-playing game. Mages are people who are able to wield magick in the real world in subtle ways. In the game there are many types of mages that focus on wielding magic in specific ways, so the overall plot might not make sense unless you are familiar with this game and these types of books.

Overall, this was a good story, which almost exclusively featured a world of magickal gay men.

Rating B
Queer Vampire Rating A
Amount of Gay Content making out

 

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User Ratings

By: HealingHandsSD ( healinghandssd@aol.com )
Overall Rating: A+     Queer horror Rating: A    

An incredibly well-written book from cover to cover. The story was interesting, with plenty of reversals and twists to keep the reader motivated to continue. The characters were all well-drawn and interesting. Stefan is the queer character that can truly be listed as one of the most tragic characters ever created in the history of gay literature and Saffleur is truly one of the most overtly evil characters ever to grace a queer novel (although, in context to his Mage Tradition, Euthanatos, I suppose he is simply doing what, for him, is natural...and that makes him ever more frightening!). Kate is an interesting character, a Technomancer fighting her 'faith,' but Aaron (an Ecstasy Cult Mage) and Stefan remain the heart and soul of this novel.

My only gripe is that Aaron's over-reaction to Stefan at several points makes him less sympathetic overall, even when you find out just why he IS over-reacting. That twist wasn't a shock (especially if you subscribe to the psychological theory that people who overreact to something are usually responding out of a desire to deflect attention to the possibility that they would react favorably to it) and thus, wasn't as powerful. It did NOT detract from the book, though...and that in itself says something about the author. Even moreso, this was Mr. Bassingthwaite's FIRST novel. I, for one, have decided to seek out all his others. If they are even half as good as this and his Werewolf novel, Breathe Deeply, then this is a writer to keep on your shelf!

 

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