Here is part 1 of book ten of the Hot Blood series, a little reading project to go through a 13-book series of erotic horror short stories. Here are links to my previous reviews:
Reviews for book 1-4
Book 5, part 1 and part 2
Book 6, part 1 and part 2
Book 7, part 1 and part 2
Book 8, part 1 and part 2
Book 9, part 1 and part 2
Reviews for book 10 will be divided into two parts. I will briefly review every short story, and also include the length, the level of the sex of each story and then a rating for the story. At the end of part 2, there will be a summary of the whole book. Let’s begin with part 1 for book 10 – Hot Blood X.
“In this tenth edition of Hot Blood, the “original” award-winning erotic horror series, fear has never felt so X-citing, X-quisite, or X-traordinary. Join seventeen of today’s top authors as they X-pose the evil side of human — and not-so-human — nature. “
Three in the Side Pocket
Lawrence Block
It’s a freud scheme gone wrong. Sometimes when you attempt to make a quick buck from a stranger, that stranger turns out to be more dangerous than you expect. This was a great little thriller story with turned tables but somehow didn’t get the memo that it’s supposed to be a Hot Blood story. The sex felt stitched on and plain.
Length: 15 pages
Level of Sex: 1/5
My rating: 7 out of 10
The Seductress
Ramsey Campbell
I don’t know whether I was too tired when I read this, I felt like this was somehow badly written. Like a barely high-schooler wrote it. In fact, two storiest that were thrown together that had nothing much to do with each other. One was a weird Satan worshipping witchcraft story, the other a abusive relationship with an older guy. There was a half-hearted attempt to combine the two but it still felt like a waste of 30 pages.
Length: 30 pages
Level of Sex: 2/5
My rating: 4 out of 10
Appetite
Nancy Holder
This was actually quite fun. I mean if cannibalism can be fun. I enjoyed it although I would have loved it to be more graphic and longer. The sex was quite quick. A lot of things about body image, Hollywood and such.
Length: 18 pages
Level of Sex: 2/5
My rating: 7 out of 10
Regeneration
Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins
Another great story but with minimal sex. What are you ready to do to regain your youth? This one company offers the whole package – a new body, a new career, a new life. They only asked for a big chunk of your salary. Doesn’t sound bad at all, right? Well, when something is too good to be true, it usually is.
Length: 32 pages
Level of Sex: 1/5
My rating: 8 out of 10
Strange Things
O’Neil De Noux
Five stories in, finally someone remember that Hot Blood is all about horror and sex. ‘Strange Things’ is definitely the combo of the two. Without further ado, the story started with throwing the reader into the midst of the action. Some ritualistic sex ensues and it was quite exciting. Pity that it was only for a short time and the fun continues on after the story.
Length: 13 pages
Level of Sex: 3/5
My rating: 6 out of 10
Body Piercing, by Ned
Marthayn Pelegrimas and Robert J. Randisi
A short and entertaining little story about a crazy story that a customer told the artist while having their tongue pierced. 😀 I bet tattoo and piercing artists hear some crazy stories all the time.
Length: 11 pages
Level of Sex: 2/5
My rating: 7 out of 10
The Sex Files
Michael Garrett
Now we are talking, a story by Hot Blood veteran and one of the editors Michael Garrett. We got a treat of a story about amateur porn, voyerism, a femme fatale, FBI and out of all things, aliens. It was entertaining, the sex was graphic and slimy. And all those alien scenes rivaled gore fest films. Bravo, Mr Garrett.
Length: 28 pages
Level of Sex: 4/5
My rating: 8 out of 10
The Cellophane Heart
Dawn Dunn
The beginning was all about a woman finding out just how much she enjoys watching wrestling. So much so that she followed a wrestler back to his hotel room. But it wasn’t really for sex (thus there was very little of it). The ending was kinda 180 from the rest, like it didn’t make much sense at all. I don’t usually mind surprise violence but it has to make sense.
Length: 17 pages
Level of Sex: 1/5
My rating: 4 out of 10
Invisible
Jeff Gelb
The second editor of the Hot Blood series and another veteran of Hot Blood stories, Jeff Gelb knows how to write an entertaining story. I guess if you are into voyerism, then this would be a very erotic story for you. A 40-year-old guy suddenly becoming invisible to young attractive girls exclusively? That’s totally a premise for a porn series. The ending was a little bit of a let-down but it was still an entertaining story.
Length: 15 pages
Level of Sex: 2/5
My rating: 7 out of 10
Here was the first batch of the stories, stay tuned for part 2 later this week. 🙂
Slap Ass For Motivation 