Blow-Up: And Other Stories

Book Description

A young girl spends her summer vacation in a country house where a tiger roams...A man reading a mystery finds out too late that he is the murderer's victim...In the stories collected here -- including "Blow-Up;' on which Antonioni based his film -- Julio Cortazar explores the boundary where the everyday meets the mysterious, perhaps even the terrible. This is the most brilliant and celebrated book of short stories by a master of the form.

Customer Reviews:

Literature at the Planck Scale.......2007-04-06

In this book are collected some of the most well-known short stories of the great Latin American writer, Julio Cortazar. Cortazar was a great experimental writer (his most famous novel, "Hopscotch", was a pre-cursor to future hyper-text novels) who drew his inspiration from French Symbolism, Surrealism and the improvisational nature of Free Jazz.

Fellow Argentine, Jorge Luis Borges, once famously stated that there was no way of retelling the plot of a Cortazar story - he was absolutely right. The plot is minimal for many of the stories in this collection and in a sense, it is subsidiary. The `essence' of a Cortazar story is largely ineffable. Attempting to capture it in words leads one to fumble just the way that his characters do (see, for example, the short story "The Idol of the Cyclades" or "The Pursuer"). In Cortazar's fictions, reality and fantasy are separated by a permeable membrane and the proper way to read his writing is to experience it, to exercise to the fullest extent possible one's sense of empathy with the writing, in a sense, to merge with it. Indeed, this merging of the fantastic and real, of several viewpoints, is a recurring theme in this collection of short stories - it is most fully manifest in "Axolotl" wherein the young boy becomes obsessed with the axolotls to the point where he actually becomes one. However, the theme also recurs in "The Distances", "A Yellow Flower" and "The Continuity of Parks."

Many of the stories are a bit like the Taoist parable of Chuang Tzu who dreamed that he was a butterfly but upon waking was no longer sure whether he was a man who dreamt that he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming that he was a man. Cortazar's stories seem to exist in kind of quantum superposition states where both one and the other are simultaneously being realized -- this is literature at the Planck scale. Probably no other author has managed to capture, in writing, the feel of the uncanny as masterfully as Cortazar has. There is a sense of unease, half-hinted, that permeates through almost the entire collection. This barely expressible sense of a discordant note is especially evident in "The House Taken Over", "Letter to a Young Lady in Paris", "The Night Face Up" (a stand-out story which for me had some similarities to Borges' story, "The South"), "Bestiary", "Blow-up" (on which the Michelangelo Antonioni film was loosely based) and "Secret Weapons."

I suspect that I will be returning to many of these stories in the future as they seem to welcome repeated visits. Not all of the stories were of equal quality for me - some were less enjoyable than others. In discussing Cortazar as a novelist Borges once commented "He is trying so hard on every page to be original that it becomes a tiresome battle of wits, no?" To a certain extent, I felt the same way about some of the short stories in this collection, though quite possibly this is because I am not a sophisticated enough reader of post-modernist literature.

Overall however, reading the collection was an enjoyable experience which I recommend to other readers. Some of the stories are sure to persist in one's memory as beautifully strange, haunting experiences, inviting repeated visits.

An early version of La Maga.......2006-11-05

The other reviews here cover Cortazazr's work and talent so well that I'm only going to add something about one of the stories. If you're a fan of his novel Rayuela, or Hopscotch in English, the last story in this collection will be of particular interest to you. In "Secret Weapons," the main female character, Michele, is obviously an early prototype of the main female character in Rayuela: La Maga.

Michele is described as being "like a cat," and she's late for her appointment with Pierre (who is somewhat like Horacio Oliviera from Rayuela) because she's been wandering around the city looking into store windows. Quote from the story: "Michele can't be much longer, unless she gets lost or hangs around in the streets on the way, she has this extraordinary capacity to stop any place and take herself a trip through the small particular worlds of the shop windows. Afterward, she will tell him about: a stuffed bear that winds up, a Couperin record, a bronze chain with a blue stone, Stendhal's complete works, the summer fashions. Completely understandable reasons for arriving a bit late."

Cortazar doesn't develop this ability of Michele's into a deeper meaning, the way he does throughout Hopscotch, where La Maga's ability to become lost in the physical world intrigues and endears Horacio, who by contrast is so deep into his philosophies that he feels removed and lost from the world around him. But Michele and Pierre have a similar sexual interplay to La Maga and Horacio...in modern jargon it would be called sadism/masochism...but of course in Cortazar's descriptions it's something much more deeply felt and true than those words allow for.

Pierre isn't too much like Horacio...you could say they both smoke Gauloises, but pretty much every Cortazar character smokes them. But Pierre isn't so into philosophy and in fact he's blonde...that sounds superficial but it creeped me out to all of a sudden picture Horacio's doppleganger as blonde. I guess it's important to the story for him to be blonde. Anyway.

The characters Babette and Roland are here as well, straight from Rayuela. They're secondary characters in this story and not really developed at all, the way they are in the novel, but they're here nonetheless, a couple with the exact same names.

I of course loved this collection for all the reasons previous reviewers have mentioned. This story was an extra surprise at the end. It's really fascinating to see a writer explore a certain character in a short story and then expand the same character in a novel, to see how the character changes and how the writer's approach changes with the format.

A fantastic intro to Cortazar.......2006-09-17

Cortazar was one of the more unearthly literary geniuses of the 20th century; like Borges and Nabokov I return to his short stories often (more than a decade after first discovering them), and can still get new things out of them.

I agree with previous reviewers - Cortazar's precision with language rivals Nabokov, Kafka, Proust or Borges. I would add another comparison as well - though the intent is quite different, the very musical and rhythmic sensuality of the writing also recalls the best of Ferlinghetti - Cortazar is confident enough in his expertise to be willing to play with language in a similar fashion, and creates extraordinary and unforgettable worlds throught this (and other) collections.

This is a great introduction to Cortazar, with many personal favorites: "Night Face Up," "Idol Of The Cyclades," "House Taken Over" and "Axolotl" are all unforgettable short fictions. I wouldn't stop there - Cortazar's other writing is well worth investigating (especially the second story collection, ALL FIRES THE FIRE). Cortazar seems to be sliding into unfortunate obscurity as of late, with a number of key works currently out of print. Thankfully, and for the time being, this is not one of them.

-David Alston

A marvelous collection of short stories -- but what makes them so is not easy to explain.......2006-07-22

This book was my first experience with reading Cortazar. From the first story on, the excitement of encountering a new (to me) brilliant writer went through me like an electric shock. The book injected an excitement and alertness into what otherwise might have been a sluggish weekend.

I have found, however, that explaining the basis of this excitement to others is not easy. It comes down to the difficulty of explaining what it is that makes great writers truly great -- an elusive insight.

Part of it is simple virtuosity; Cortazar possesses that which also distinguishes the writing of other greats such as Nabokov and Proust: that facility with language, the ability to find and to manipulate exactly the right words, to create a precise, vivid image, and to make music out of prose. (Note: I could perceive his virtuosity even though I read this book as an English translation.)

But it goes beyond virtuosity. If Cortazar wrote about ideas to which I was indifferent, the writing would not matter to me. But his stories inspire those flashes of recognition that make reading exciting; he creates those "aha" moments through his ability to present a feeling or situation that you recognize on some level, even if it's one that never previously made it out of your subconscious and which you might not have thought to remark upon, had not Cortazar dug it up for you.

From the general to the specific: This is a collection of short stories, most of which contain an element of the fantastic. Some of the flashes of recognition that I mention above are recognitions of mundane, daily feelings, but others are not. Cortazar seems to have ready access as well to our subconscious fears and to our dreams.

To take but a few cases in point:

One story involves a brother and sister who share a large, old wooden house, once owned by their great grandparents. At one point in the story, they hear voices and commotion from another part of the house. They bolt the doors, shut off that section, and confine themselves to living in the front part of the house. It's all left quite mysterious: Cortazar never explains who "they" are, who have taken over part of the house. But someting about this story rings eerily true; it's that bizarre combination of vivid, mundane reality, and unexplained phenomena, and illogical reactions to those phenomena, that characterize dreams.

Another example is a story in which a young girl goes to live with distant relatives in their country house for a summer. The house has a tiger roaming the rooms, but let's put that aside: what is remarkable about the story is Cortazar's ability to bring the scene to life, of an urbanite or suburbanite who is new to this comparatively relaxed environment. In one small, but typically rendered scene, the main character finds a bug crawling in an antiquated wash basin. She flicks at it, it curls into a ball, and she easily washes it down with running water. This is classic Cortazar; with a few well-chosen sentences, he puts you in that world: a world where the reader senses the sunlight through the house, the smell of pollen in the air, the renewed emphasis on the freshness of vegetables at the local market, and the ease with such inconveniences as older plumbing and intrusions by bugs are encountered.

Comparison with other writers is a bit unfair, because Cortazar has a voice all of his own. But in case it's helpful to you, Cortazar's precise prose reminded me a bit of Nabokov, his sense of wonder and magic recalled Steven Millhauser, and his trafficking in paradoxes a bit like Borges. But he's not quite like any of them: his prose focuses less than Borges on logical contradictions, and is more weighted toward precisely rendering sensory images.

Several of the stories are outstanding. My favorites (in addition to the two mentioned above: "House Taken Over", and "Bestiary") included:

Axolotls -- in which the narrator identifies very closely with an exotic amphibian species on his trips to the zoo.

A Yellow Flower -- an encounter with a sort of reincarnation gone awry

Continuity of Parks -- a very economical, very short story with an eerie, paradoxical twist

The Night Face Up -- a story in which reality and dreams are very difficult to distinguish

Cortazar is a master of the short story form. I would recommend him to anyone who likes the works of Borges, Millhauser, Nabokov, or Bruno Schulz.

Amazing book, mediocre translation.......2005-10-06

Cortazar is one of the most amazing writers in Latin American literature. He is also almost completely unknown in the US. As far as this goes, then, this translation fills a huge gap; and one of this book's merits is that it makes Cortazar and his stories more widely known.
The translation itself, however, is subpar. You will certainly get the gist of the stories, and since a large part of Cortazar's stories hinge on the plot lines, you will definitely enjoy this book. However, just as much (in my opinion) of Cortazar's genius lies in his use of language as it does in his crazy imagination. And, I'm very sorry to say, this translation really doesn't do justice to him at all.
My recommendation, then: if you have never read Cortazar, this book will provide an excellent introduction to his works. Until a better translation is available, we must do with what we have: Cortazar is definitely worthwhile, no matter how much gets lost in the translation. Don't expect, however, full justice to be made to Cortazar's use of language. As is usual in these cases, the best way to read him is to tackle him in Spanish.

Blow-up and Other Stories by... Translated from the spanish by Paul Blackburn

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Blow-up and Other Stories by... Translated from the spanish by Paul Blackburn
J.* Cortazar
Manufacturer: Editions by Collier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ME4F8C

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Blow-up, and other stories
Julio Cortázar
Manufacturer: Collier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VHBOCA

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Blow-Up, and Other Stories
Julio Cort-Azar
Manufacturer: Macmillan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0020191804

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Blow-Up and Other Stories

Manufacturer: Collier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000H7LW1C

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Blow Up and Other Stories
Julio Cortazar
Manufacturer: Collier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000Q7QGC8

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Blow Up, and Other Stories
Julio Cortazar
Manufacturer: Collier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000WLQYCU

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Blow-Up and Other Stories

Manufacturer: Collier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000H05AA8

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Blow-up and Other Stories
Julio Cortazar
Manufacturer: Collier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JY5AE8

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Horses Blow Up Dog City & Other Stories
Richard Butner
Manufacturer: SMALL BEER PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SGKEHK

Book Description

In her steamy vampire romances, acclaimed author Susan Sizemore pits vampires against mortals, destiny against desire....By popular demand, all three novels are now available in this paperback collectible.

I Burn for You

Battling the dark hollows of his soul, vampire Alec Reynard undergoes secret medical treatments that allow him to bear daylight. Living a double life as a bodyguard, he must also battle his powerful attraction to Domini Lancer, a mere mortal -- and, unbelievably, his soul mate. When danger threatens, he kidnaps Domini to protect her but wonders: will she accept the darkness within him -- or is she a vampire slayer who's cleverly infiltrated his clan?

I Thirst for You

Josephine Elliot knows only that the stranger who appeared out of the dark desert night and took her captive is named Marcus Cage and that he's on the run. A vampire, Marcus is overwhelmed by his thirst for Josephine and instantly recognizes her as his soul mate -- but when she unwittingly betrays him, both are thrust into mortal danger. Can their newfound love survive or is their insatiable desire doomed?

I Hunger for You

Mia Luchese, who comes from a long line of vampire hunters, doesn't know that Colin Foxe broke off their blistering affair because he's a vampire. After she's attacked by evil vamps and Colin rescues her, their real identities must be revealed for them to get to the bottom of the attack. But even a generations-old enmity that should rip them apart cannot break the bond that has their souls hungering for an eternity of ecstasy in each other's arms....

Customer Reviews:

Anaemic vampire anthology.......2006-11-13

This collection is the first three vampire romances from Susan Sizemore which have been bundled together in one volume, "Crave The Night", although they are also available separately.

"I Burn For You" is the story of Domini Lancer, a woman who works for her grandfather's company which is a security/bodyguarding service. Domini's parents are both dead and she and her grandfather have a close and sparky relationship.

The story begins with Domini having a strange dream or premonition. We learn that she sometimes gets these and they tend to be true - she has some psychic powers which she tries to ignore. Domini's compulsion is to walk to the local market to buy some peaches - when she arrives there she sees a strange man and sees a voice in her head. She's a little spooked and rushes back off to work.

Alexander Reynard is the man she saw across the marketplace - except that he's not a man, he's a vampire. Vampires are able to live in daylight and avoid their problems with garlic and silver if they take the right series of drugs. Alec is discovering that his drugs aren't working entirely properly for him, but he suddenly bumps into Domini and realises instantly that she's his bondmate - the woman he is destined to partner. It's a bad time with him because of his health problems - the imbalance in the drugs can cause him to become a feral vampire and out of control.

Alec is a former Delta Forces operative and is hired by Domini's grandfather for bodyguard detail. Of course as soon as he walks into the building and meets Domini his problems escalate. Domini's friend Holly, a singing star, has had death threats and both Domini and Alec are detailed to protect her. It takes a little while before they realise that the death threats are actually a little closer to home, and that there are secrets in Domini's family history which can be dangerous.

The beginning of this book was pretty good - I found the explanation of the bodyguarding detail interesting. However it pretty soon degenerated into a love-fest with descriptions of Alec as Mr Dishy and übermale and various psychic/telepathic thoughts of sex between them. Domini seems pretty dense not to realise he's a vampire and he seems pretty dense not to explain things to her earlier - although this would have been disadvantageous to the plot. There's a thin line trod between masculine eagerness and violence towards Domini and I'm not sure the line was in the right place - somehow I didn't find him a very engaging hero; it was all about his looks and body and his actual personality seemed a bit one-dimensional. Equally I couldn't see what was so great about Domini - she seemed to spend a lot of her time getting angry with him, apart from the time she was in bed with him.

The book moves towards a crescendo ending which was actually rather a damp squib. There is some interesting world-building in that there are different kinds of vampires and Alec's actually the member of a group who serve mortals and try to keep them safe, but it wasn't enough to redeem a rather thin plot. Overall I found the book disappointing.

I Thirst For You is the second of Susan Sizemore's vampire romance novels set in the modern day. In this world, vampires live alongside mortals, pay taxes, have normal jobs, but their vampire nature is hidden from humans. This is an interesting new take on vampires and mortals and I like the way it's panning out so far.

Josephine Elliott is a former pilot who was flying a plane which crashed, causing some fatalities. Since the accident which left her with some scars she has been unable to fly and spends a lot of time camping on her own out in the desert - this is partly because she's developed some psychic abilities since the accident which mean she can read minds. Not very restful.

At the beginning of this story she's camping out again when she is kidnapped by a large, scary man. This man, Marcus Cage, keeps her prisoner in the car and then in a hotel room. She initially fears rape but eventually discovers that the situation that she's in is not that of a traditional kidnappee. Marc Cage is a strange person and she tries to understand what's going on, especially when she discovers she can communicate with him telepathically. Like all good vampires in fiction, he doesn't explain to her what's going on so she's always rather in the dark about things.

Marc has escaped from a group of people who are carrying out experiments on him and he knows it's vital that he gets clean away. However, discovering his bondmate, Jo, has rather put a spanner in the works.

Like the previous book by this author, "I Burn For You", the major thread of this book is the bondmate relationship between the two principal characters and their sex life together. There's a lot of sex in this - too much really, it got repetitive - and not really too much character development or understanding. Again the motif of dreams that are partly telling the future is used and there are vast tracts of conversations held all in the mind between the two of them, signified by writing in italics; I often found it difficult to keep track of who was saying what.

I found this book overall a disappointment, as with the previous one. There are some fairly exciting scenes when they escape imprisonment and another time when they are running from a forest fire but mostly it's a bit sedentary and repetitive. There are a couple of interesting side characters, one introduced at the end is the hero of the next book, but there's nothing really deep and engaging about our main characters. They meet, they fall in lust, they have lots of sex and it's all a bit boring really. There's plenty of potential in the world she's built with the Clans, Families and Tribes - I just wish the author had made better use of it.

I Hunger For You is the third of Susan Sizemore's vampire stories and it mentions some of the characters from her previous books, I Burn For You and I Thirst For You. It also introduces a couple of new characters and I have a strong suspicion there might be books about them in the offing.

There are good things about this series - the worldbuilding is interesting: vampires live alongside mortals and have jobs (the hero of this book, Colin Foxe, is a SWAT police officer), they can go about in daylight if they take particular drugs and they sometimes have relationships with mortals.

The heroine of this book is Caramia Luchese, a fit young woman who finds herself involved in a hostage situation to which Colin Foxe is called. After they meet they have a three month affair which Foxe eventually breaks off - he is a vampire and doesn't want anything long term with a mortal.

However neither of them are able to forget about the other and Colin finds himself virtually stalking Mia and comes to her rescue when other vampires of the Tribe (who treat mortals as lunch) try to attack her. It's not entirely clear initially why the Tribe are so interested in Mia and she and Colin don't ever seem to get much opportunity to actually discuss anything as they are always jumping into bed.

Like in the previous two books, the main thing that seems to bind heroine and hero together is sex. In this book, however, Colin doesn't want to even consider Mia as a long-term partner as he is dismissive of mortals. Over the course of the book he learns that some things are more powerful than his preconceived ideas. Mia is from a family of vampire hunters whose mission is to rid the world of all vampires, even those from the Clan (who work to protect mortals), such as Colin. There is the tension between the two of them, an antagonism, that is there when they aren't having sex; fortunately for them they seem to spend most of their time having sex so get along quite well.

This book revisits the case of the Patron who escaped Colin at the end of the last book (I Thirst For You). Colin is focused on finding the Patron and stopping him but he finds Mia is both a spanner in the works and an aid to his mission. But can either of them trust each other?

I found parts of this book rather slow and, like the other two novels, the characterisation seemed rather one-dimensional. The author evidently likes her Alpha Males (or "Primes") in these books and the vampires tend to seem rather caveman-like over their women. This book did improve and get more exciting towards the end but the plot always felt rather like something to hang the sex part of the book around, rather than the major point of the novel.

It's an OK read but, like the other two books, nothing very special. There are many significantly better vampire books out there which have a plot and some characters alongside the worldbuilding that is important in these stories.

I Thirst for You (Primes Series, Book 2)

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I Thirst for You
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I Thirst For You
Anaemic vampire romance
Annoying Heroine

I Thirst for You (Primes Series, Book 2)
Susan Sizemore
Manufacturer: Pocket Star
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 1416523545

Book Description

No one sets fire to the page like Susan Sizemore! In this sensual vampire romance, an unsuspecting mortal is embraced in darkness and passion. . . .

He appears out of the dark desert night -- a huge, dangerous stranger who sparks desire and fear in her like she's never known. Josephine Elliot knows only that her captor's name is Marcus Cage, and that he's on the run. But who is chasing him, and why? Is Marcus protecting her by taking her hostage . . . or is he planning to use her to buy his own freedom? And why, above all, is she so inexorably drawn to him, body and soul?

Marcus is overwhelmed by his thirst for Josephine and instantly recognizes her as his soul mate. Desperate to evade enemies intent on destroying him and his kind, Marcus has no choice but to take Jo on the run. But when she unwittingly betrays him to his enemies, both are thrust into mortal danger. Can their newfound love survive her deceit and spare them a dark fate? Or will their insatiable desire burn for eternity?

Download Description

" No one sets fire to the page like Susan Sizemore! In her sensual new vampire romance, an unsuspecting mortal is embraced in darkness and passion.... He appears out of the dark desert night -- a huge, dangerous stranger who sparks desire and fear in her like she's never known. Josephine Elliot knows only that her captor's name is Marcus Cage, and that he's on the run. But who is chasing him, and why? Is Marcus protecting her by taking her hostage...or is he planning to use her to buy his own freedom? And why, above all, is she so inexorably drawn to him, body and soul? Marcus is overwhelmed by his thirst for Josephine and instantly recognizes her as his soul mate. Desperate to evade enemies intent on destroying him and his kind, Marcus has no choice but to take Jo on the run. But when she unwittingly betrays him to his enemies, both are thrust into mortal danger. Can their newfound love survive her deceit and spare them a dark fate? Or will their insatiable desire burn for eternity? "

Customer Reviews:

I Thirst for You.......2007-09-28

This is the second book in the Prime Series, of which I have read the first three. This one gives you a look into the Families, while the other two give you Clan vampires.

I really liked the action in this book. The story was pretty good, although the heroine is a bit week for my tastes.

Susan Sizemore's books are good at building an enjoyable and believable world for her characters.

Super Reader.......2007-08-31

Another book of the largely lacking in plot variety. A Prime Vampire is the head tough male macho dude of a vampire clan. The one here is a bit stuck, and finds himself a woman because he needs blood.

He finds out she is psyhically resonant of sorts, so ensues some bloodsucking, and lots of dream s*x and the 'you bastich you captured me but you are hot take me now' sort of relationship.

In the second half, something actually happens. She starts to learn what is going on, gets away from him and into the hands of a vampire hunting group, including a human member of the one of the vampire clans that now has a bit of a grudge.

I Thirst For You.......2007-05-10

Great book... The vampires are so cool. They seem real. Ms Sizemore can keep you reading. I didn't want to put this one down, and couldn't wait for the ones after this. Has everything you need in a good romance book. Sex, love, danger, and excitment. What's a good read without sex? This book has it all.

Anaemic vampire romance.......2006-11-02

This is the second of Susan Sizemore's vampire romance novels set in the modern day. In this world, vampires live alongside mortals, pay taxes, have normal jobs, but their vampire nature is hidden from humans. This is an interesting new take on vampires and mortals and I like the way it's panning out so far.

Josephine Elliott is a former pilot who was flying a plane which crashed, causing some fatalities. Since the accident which left her with some scars she has been unable to fly and spends a lot of time camping on her own out in the desert - this is partly because she's developed some psychic abilities since the accident which mean she can read minds. Not very restful.

At the beginning of this story she's camping out again when she is kidnapped by a large, scary man. This man, Marcus Cage, keeps her prisoner in the car and then in a hotel room. She initially fears rape but eventually discovers that the situation that she's in is not that of a traditional kidnappee. Marc Cage is a strange person and she tries to understand what's going on, especially when she discovers she can communicate with him telepathically. Like all good vampires in fiction, he doesn't explain to her what's going on so she's always rather in the dark about things.

Marc has escaped from a group of people who are carrying out experiments on him and he knows it's vital that he gets clean away. However, discovering his bondmate, Jo, has rather put a spanner in the works.

Like the previous book by this author, "I Burn For You", the major thread of this book is the bondmate relationship between the two principal characters and their sex life together. There's a lot of sex in this - too much really, it got repetitive - and not really too much character development or understanding. Again the motif of dreams that are partly telling the future is used and there are vast tracts of conversations held all in the mind between the two of them, signified by writing in italics; I often found it difficult to keep track of who was saying what.

I found this book overall a disappointment, as with the previous one. There are some fairly exciting scenes when they escape imprisonment and another time when they are running from a forest fire but mostly it's a bit sedentary and repetitive. There are a couple of interesting side characters, one introduced at the end is the hero of the next book, but there's nothing really deep and engaging about our main characters. They meet, they fall in lust, they have lots of sex and it's all a bit boring really. There's plenty of potential in the world she's built with the Clans, Families and Tribes - I just wish the author had made better use of it.

Annoying Heroine.......2006-07-30

Whatever happened to sex after you loved and trust someone? Josphine, a traumatized pilot, is out in the desert by herself. She is taken prisoner by an escaping vampire in order to save himeself. There is a lot of angst on her part. Although she distrusts Marc and is always trying to escape, this does not stop her from voluntarily having sex with him. He lets her go even though it lessens his chance of surviving. Finally her stupidity gets him recaptured and her thrown in with him. Then she pouts because he shot in her directionalthough he was unaware of this. When they finally escape, she endangers everyone.

As you can tell, the heroine really annoyed me. It makes me feel sorry for Marc that has no choice in his life mate. Unfortunately, he is stuck with her. I really prefer books where the female is a brighter and better adjusted.

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I Thirst for You
Susan Sizemore
Manufacturer: Pocket Star Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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I Burn for You (Primes Series, Book 1)

ASIN: 0739442953

If You Could Drink From My Fountain...I'd Quench Your Thirst

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If You Could Drink From My Fountain...I'd Quench Your Thirst
f shepbyrd
Manufacturer: ByrdStone Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Entering into the depths of someone's heart and soul is like becoming quenched in the flowing waters of a beautiful fountain...it's invigorating, refreshing and exciting. Written over the past 10 years of life's happenings, this collection of candid, heartfelt poetry expresses the various thoughts and emotions experienced during the infatuating newness of relationships, along with the times of disappointing reality that often follow. Most of all, there are the moments of reawakening and rekindling which precede the passion that's always been there...These are the four seasons of love.

World Hunger: For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food; I Was Thirst and You Gave Me Drink

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World Hunger: For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food; I Was Thirst and You Gave Me Drink

Manufacturer: B&H Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

4 - SUSAN SIZEMORE -MASTER OF DARKNESS - - I BURN FOR YOU - I THIRST FOR YOU - I HUNGER FOR YOU

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4 - SUSAN SIZEMORE -MASTER OF DARKNESS - - I BURN FOR YOU - I THIRST FOR YOU - I HUNGER FOR YOU
SUSAN SIZEMORE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RDONEY

5 - SUSAN SIZEMORE - PRIMAL HEAT - MASTER OF DARKNESS - - I BURN FOR YOU - I THIRST FOR YOU - I HUNGER FOR YOU

Average customer rating:

5 - SUSAN SIZEMORE - PRIMAL HEAT - MASTER OF DARKNESS - - I BURN FOR YOU - I THIRST FOR YOU - I HUNGER FOR YOU
SUSAN SIZEMORE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RDONJY

Product Description

**** ($3.99 USA POSTAGE FOR ALL 5 BOOKS, WHICH WILL BE MAILED AT THE MEDIA - BOOK RATE WHICH IS SLOW SURFACE MAIL, 7 - 21 DAYS DELIVERY TIME).

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