Lost Souls - Poppy Z. Brite

Above a dingy bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, a vampire child is born, killing his mother as he fights his way out of her womb. Fifteen years later, that same child, called Nothing, is being brought up by non-vampire parents, but knows that something is missing from his life. He leaves home, aiming to find his favourite group, Lost Souls, to see if they can help him find his way. He is picked up by a strange group of people, the beautiful Zillah, Molochai and Twig, who appear to live life by partying hard. Before long, it becomes clear that Zillah and Nothing have a strong bond. But ... more

Poppy Brite has a reputation as a violent author, one of dubious moral worth. Her books are very good but quality has tended to be overlooked in favoour of sensationalising their content. This certainly happened with her most recent novel, Extreme Corpse. Lost Souls, however is both very good, and not overly gory. Lost Souls is a vampire novel, albeit one with decidly unusual vampires. The first important thing to note is that Brite has no truck with the Anne Rice school of vampire literature. She is not interested in cuddly, pitiable creatures that are not evil but cursed and tend to spend ... more

I'm a bit of a vampire fan, particularly vampire fiction, must be a touch of the goth still left in me!! I'm an avid reader anyway but have never gone out of my way to read Poppy Z Brites work until I found this book in a charity shop for a stunning fifty pence!! I avoided Brites work for a reason, perhaps I should explain. I find most vampires stories set in the present tedious, stereotypical and thouroughly unoriginal, a kind of read one, read em all, kind of thing. And Poppy Z Brite does not disappoint. The story centres around a teenager called Nothing, his mother had sex with a vampire ... more

This is the first book by Ms Brite I ever read, and has permanently instilled a love for her writing in me. The best thing by far about this book is that Brite's vampires aren't the cuddly Anne Rice variety. They're filthy, dirty and downright evil and just the way vampires should be. Why else would people like the myth if it weren't for the freedom of being evil that these beings possess? The story begins with Nothing, a boy who was left on a doorstep as a baby and is now 16, in full knowledge of where he came from. He already exhibits vampire tendencies, likes blood and gothic clothes and ... more