Fiend

Fiend tells the story of Orfeo Ricari. A young man whose tutor teaches him poetry and literature during the day & sensual pleasure during the night. Yet, a journey to Paris teaches Orfeo something he's never known before...what it is like to be a vampire. Told in his own words, Orfeo tells you his story of life, death, and rebirth. He tells you what it is truly like to be a vampire, the realization of what it means to grasp immortality and what it is like to be a fiend. It's a coming-of age tale like no other and one I really enjoyed reading. I'll admit, I'm a big Anne Rice fan and, while there are definitely comparisons to Anne's "Interview with the Vampire" here, Jemiah takes the idea and runs with it. As it says in Fangoria's review of this book, "The author follows through on everything Anne Rice tempts us with, but never delivers" . That much is true but all writers have their own style of writing. Thankfully, I can be fans of both writers. While this is the third book in her series of vampire books, it is my very first novel of hers. At some point, I'll revisit her first two books, to be sure. Anyhow, Fiend is an excellent vampire novel. One that is reminiscent yet groundbreaking in its' own way. I really enjoyed the book myself and have to give Jemiah credit that she ranks up there with Anne Rice, John Saul, Dean Koontz and Stephen King. It won't be long til she's well known in homes across America.

"Fiend" is the tale of Orfeo Ricari, an Italian lad who falls into a world of confused lust, perversion, vampirism and, oh yeah, religion. You see Ricari is a devout Catholic, so devout, that he feels extreme guilt every time his tutor sodomizes him. As he gets older, he escapes with his older lover, Lorenzo, to find Lord Byron. What he ends up getting is being dumped in Paris. Luckily, he runs into two ladies, Maria and Georgina, who take him in as a servant. He serves them in many ways, and they eventually give him the gift of immortality as a vampire. The rest of this story is a sick, vampiric coming-of-age tale where Ricari falls into the trappings of love with another vampire. We are given a taste of the French Revolution and Nazi Germany. Jemiah Jefferson explains all of these things with vivid flare. It's almost as if we are there the entire time. The story moves along at a very swift pace and we run into the horrid beast that is Daniel Blum. He is truly one of the most dispicable and hateful perversions ever dreamed up. His character alone makes this book worth reading. Love him or hate him, you'll have to admit that he is the key to this book. Ricari is a likeable, if pitiful, character, who seems to have been stunted in his maturation by events that happen early in the book. For someone so old, he acts and reacts with the innocence of a child. He has a twisted vision of Catholicism, and continues to practice it after he is turned. Overall, a very interesting book to read. I should warn you that there are tons of homosexual acts in this book, so if that isn't your bag, stay away. Also, sacrilege, perversion, deceit, etc. are dealt with in volume, so keep that in mind before buying this book. If you can stomach all of this, you will definitely like this read. Highly recommended. The first book I've read by Jefferson, and probably not my last.

Jemiah Jefferson should consider this book her finest. After the intruiging "Voice of the Blood" and the somewhat confusing "Wounds", "Fiend" is definitely a glowing example of how much Ms. Jefferson is growing as a writer. Here she uses the character of Orfeo Ricari, the soulful, sad vampire from "Voice of Blood", to wonderful effect. This book has a completely different tone to the others. Orfeo's voice is a authentic from what we have learned of him in the past and is perhaps the most fleshed out of Jemiah Jefferson creations. His story begins with his childhood in Italy and progresses at a lively, quick pace to his transformation to a vampire at the hands of two female characters. Even though the middle section of the book seemed a little slow it didnt hamper the story at all. Orfeo remains interesting and engaging. Daniel is still the man we have seen in earlier books. A complex creation that Ms. Jefferson clearly has a strong affection for. He remains unsympathetic even in his early, human years, challenging Orfeo and giving us a glimpse of what we know will happen in the future. I hope very much that Ms. Jefferson continues with Orfeo's story sometime soon. He is without a doubt a wonderful character, full of an emotion that has been somewhat absent in her earlier works. Well done Ms Jefferson. You should be proud.

New from Leisure, Fiend is an amazing book if you like vampire novels. Jemiah has written two novels before this one, Voice of the Blood and Wounds, and all three of these books follow the same characters, but they can easily be read as stand-alone novels. She has been called the middle ground between Poppy Z Brite and Anne Rice, and while it doesn't do her justice, it's the only description I've read that comes close. The novel is centered around Orfeo Guiseppe Vittorio Ricari, a whimsical, head-in-the-clouds Italian boy who runs away with his handsome young tutor and becomes lost in the seedy enticements of back alleyways. He acts as a male hustler for awhile until meeting Maria and Georgina, two beautiful lesbian vampires who take him under their wing and keep him as their personal pet. He works as a translator for Maria and acts as Georgina's lover until the vampires decide to turn him into one of their kind. Ricari is then swept into the world of French revolution, androgyny, sex, blood, and love. His exciting and heartbreaking life story leads him to Berlin in the 1930s, where he meets the charismatic and insane artist Daniel Blum. Daniel and Ricari fall in love and their torrid affair leads to Ricari transforming Daniel into a vampire. But can their turbulent, obsessive passion for one another survive an eternity, and can Ricari win the moral battle he's been waging within himself for over a century? An incredibly-written novel, it will suck you in from the first page. Jemiah has an extremely unique voice for each character she writes about, and Ricari is comparable to Louis of the Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice; tragic, beautiful, archaic, and longing for morality and release from his immortal existence. The plot moves much more quickly than an Anne Rice novel, however, and the characters are described with such vividness that you feel that you know them by the end of the book. Her sex scenes are incredibly erotic and sensual, well-told without being smutty, and the way she captures various time periods--- 1800s Italy, Paris, Berlin in the midst of the Nazi uprising--- is incredible. You'd think she was there from the detail and accuracy she uses to describe each of these settings. I highly recommend this book. I read it over the course of two nights, and am currently re-reading it for the third time since I purchased it about nine days ago. It is one of the best contemporary vampire books I've ever read, and the author is an extremely wonderful young woman who is certainly a name any true horror or vampire/erotica fan should know. Warning: The book contains a lot of homoeroticism, gay sex scenes, profanity, sacrilegious scenes (particularly on behalf of Daniel, who scorns all things religious), and gory descriptions. Not for the faint of heart, although Jemiah's poetic writing somehow seems to throw glitter over the grittier scenes in her prose.

I went through a phase a few years ago when I found myself digging vampire fiction. Its not like I'm a goth wannabe. In fact, I'm 40 and wear a suit everyday. Its just that sometimes, I suddenly notice I've been reading a lot of the same stuff. Its just what for whatever reason, I'm digging on at that point. I got lucky. I found Voice of the Blood, Jemiah's first novel. It stood out from the pack like nobody's business. In it, we are introduced to vampires Ariane, Orfeo and Daniel. Its really Ariane's story but its a great introduction to the universe contained in her fiction. The sequel, Wounds, explored Daniel's world. It extended brilliantly and Daniel (was he named for Daniel Ash? Can't tell why but the character reminds me of the Bauhaus/Love and Bullets fronter)was compelling. In Wounds, he takes front stage and the book is amazing. I've read it a dozen times. The only thing I wasn' clear on was the ending...what happened to my compelling character??? Darned if I know. Now in Fiend, we get Orfeo's history. Where there were flashbacks in the first two books, this one is all a flashback. Whatever story there remains for Jemiah to relate about her vampires (I hope there's a lot more) Fiend does nothing to extend the story. We don't get to find out what happens next in their history, instead, fiend paints a remarkable picture of the background to the first two novels. It paints it brilliantly in lovely, sensual colors and the scenes it depicts make you want to go there and see for yourself. I find myself comparing Jemiah to Anne Rice. It is not just the subject of vampires. It is not just the populating of those vampires with a sensuous love life. Jemiah's vampire remind me of Lestat and their ilk in her regard for rich back histories and deep inner lives. There is also a shared theme of gay love in both series which is not an interest of mine but Jemiah's sex scenes are awfully well written. I've read all of Rice. I've read all of Jemiah's books. I'll trade any four of Rice's (especially the New Vampire series) books for any one of Jemiah's any day of the week. Keep up the great work, Jemiah if you're reading this. You've a fan in me. _