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Dusk
It settles over civilization with a blood red sun . . . over the landmarks of modern rational man, his freeways and skyscrapers, the yuppies, scumbags wannabes and pushers . . . over men and women yearning for someone else's flesh, and blood . . . They are the fictional attractive streetwalkers, the next-door neighbor you've wanted . . . the spoiled teenagers and sweaty workers, muscular men and slender, well-formed women, freed from restraints and seeking instant gratification into eternity. Some call them vampires, some call it Hell. The flesh is firm and searing and their caresses kill. They have spread from a Texas ghost town to the neon Dallas streets, driven by their hungers.
Samantha Borden, an INS agent has accidentally come upon these horrors while seeking the man who did her wrong, another INS agent who is MIA, and she finds far more than her worst nightmares come to undeath. Joined by police and criminals, and by a preacher and his wife who have known the fanged horrors before, Samantha battles life, death and undeath to retain her sanity and identity . . . her freedom.
And perhaps the freedom for a world unknowing of the true dangers that await it in the darkness, in the ghost towns, and now even in the lights of civilization.
Samantha Borden, an INS agent has accidentally come upon these horrors while seeking the man who did her wrong, another INS agent who is MIA, and she finds far more than her worst nightmares come to undeath. Joined by police and criminals, and by a preacher and his wife who have known the fanged horrors before, Samantha battles life, death and undeath to retain her sanity and identity . . . her freedom.
And perhaps the freedom for a world unknowing of the true dangers that await it in the darkness, in the ghost towns, and now even in the lights of civilization.
369 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 28, 2009
Ron Dee, Dusk (Abyss, 1991)
Back in the early nineties, Dell's Abyss line of horror got off to possibly every wrong start it could. It debuted about a year after the end of the big eighties horror boom, it didn't get nearly as much publicity as it should, it started out as a paperback-only imprint, and the monolithic Dell was trying to compete with a few smaller, far more agile publishers who'd been doing horror as long as they'd been around (Jove, Pinnacle, and Leisure, among others). But what Dell brought to the Abyss table was quality; whereas other publishers were known either for their cheesy offerings or for setting the bar of what they'd publish relatively low, Abyss set out to look for authors whose work was not only horrific, but good. As a result, they started off by discovering a young new talent named Kathe Koja (who is now a multi-award-winning teen fiction author) and publishing the third book by a then-unknown horror writer named Brian Hodge (now a greatly respected thriller writer). While not all of their publications were as momentous as those first two, the first year of Abyss did provide us with twelve fun, readable novels, of which Dusk was one.
Dee (Brain Fever) takes a look at the vampire genre that's become pretty common these days, but wasn't back then—the western vampire (popularized recently by both Douglass Clegg and Justin Gustainis). This one focuses on Samantha Borden, an immigration agent sent to a ghost town in the Arizona desert to try and track down her missing partner (and ex-lover), Walt. Walt went missing in that town a while previous, and with the help of Sheriff Bill, the laconic lawman from the nearest inhabited spot, she aims to find out what happened to him. Sheriff Bill has a strong warning for her, however: they can only visit the ghost town, Las Bocas, during the daytime. When Sam gets to the town, she finds out why: someone has crossed out the Las Bocas on the Hotel Las Bocas sign and written in Los Vampiros instead. Sam doesn't believe the town is inhabited by vampires, of course, and in a fit of pique tells Sheriff Bill she'll spend the night there to try and find out what happened to her partner. She's soon joined by a troupe of college students whose van broke down, and they all find out that vampires are all too real. When Bill returns to the town the next day, he finds Samantha, the only survivor, deeply dehydrated and at death's door. All the college students are dead... or are they?
Dee's flashed it up with some elements that have obviously been influential in the intervening years, but when it comes right down to it, this is your basic vampire novel, borrowing a bit from here and a bit from there, and coming up with a predictable plot whose every twist you can see coming a mile off. It's not badly-written, though, and you'll keep turning the pages to see what happens next even if you know what it is. Not the best of the first twelve Abyss novels by any means, but not that bad, either. ** ½
Back in the early nineties, Dell's Abyss line of horror got off to possibly every wrong start it could. It debuted about a year after the end of the big eighties horror boom, it didn't get nearly as much publicity as it should, it started out as a paperback-only imprint, and the monolithic Dell was trying to compete with a few smaller, far more agile publishers who'd been doing horror as long as they'd been around (Jove, Pinnacle, and Leisure, among others). But what Dell brought to the Abyss table was quality; whereas other publishers were known either for their cheesy offerings or for setting the bar of what they'd publish relatively low, Abyss set out to look for authors whose work was not only horrific, but good. As a result, they started off by discovering a young new talent named Kathe Koja (who is now a multi-award-winning teen fiction author) and publishing the third book by a then-unknown horror writer named Brian Hodge (now a greatly respected thriller writer). While not all of their publications were as momentous as those first two, the first year of Abyss did provide us with twelve fun, readable novels, of which Dusk was one.
Dee (Brain Fever) takes a look at the vampire genre that's become pretty common these days, but wasn't back then—the western vampire (popularized recently by both Douglass Clegg and Justin Gustainis). This one focuses on Samantha Borden, an immigration agent sent to a ghost town in the Arizona desert to try and track down her missing partner (and ex-lover), Walt. Walt went missing in that town a while previous, and with the help of Sheriff Bill, the laconic lawman from the nearest inhabited spot, she aims to find out what happened to him. Sheriff Bill has a strong warning for her, however: they can only visit the ghost town, Las Bocas, during the daytime. When Sam gets to the town, she finds out why: someone has crossed out the Las Bocas on the Hotel Las Bocas sign and written in Los Vampiros instead. Sam doesn't believe the town is inhabited by vampires, of course, and in a fit of pique tells Sheriff Bill she'll spend the night there to try and find out what happened to her partner. She's soon joined by a troupe of college students whose van broke down, and they all find out that vampires are all too real. When Bill returns to the town the next day, he finds Samantha, the only survivor, deeply dehydrated and at death's door. All the college students are dead... or are they?
Dee's flashed it up with some elements that have obviously been influential in the intervening years, but when it comes right down to it, this is your basic vampire novel, borrowing a bit from here and a bit from there, and coming up with a predictable plot whose every twist you can see coming a mile off. It's not badly-written, though, and you'll keep turning the pages to see what happens next even if you know what it is. Not the best of the first twelve Abyss novels by any means, but not that bad, either. ** ½
September 11, 2019
Truly the most awful book I've attempted to read in years. The characters are awful, the language is awful, and the premise is awful. DNF after the absolute minimum 50 pages.
Paperback. I don't even know how this book came to be on my shelf, but I'm tossing it rather than inflicting it on someone else by putting it in the donation box.
I was attempting to read this book for the Booklikes Halloween Bingo 2019, for the square American Horror Story: Horror set in the United States, but will pick a different book instead.
Paperback. I don't even know how this book came to be on my shelf, but I'm tossing it rather than inflicting it on someone else by putting it in the donation box.
I was attempting to read this book for the Booklikes Halloween Bingo 2019, for the square American Horror Story: Horror set in the United States, but will pick a different book instead.
March 4, 2018
I would have expected the Dell/Abyss books to start dwindling in quality over time. I wouldn't have expected that to happen with their third book, but here we are. Dusk is a terrible novel, with nothing to redeem it.
Abyss was known for two things -- original ideas, and cutting-edge stories. Dusk is a typical vampire novel, and the only thing that could be considered cutting-edge would be how much sex it contains. I'm no prude, but I expect the sex in a story to be relevant; in Dusk, it's excessive. It's there just to show that the author can do it, and it reads like it was written for thirteen-year-old boys. In fact, it reads like it was written by one.
What's also unfortunate about this book is how it portrays its women and minority characters. Women are oversexed (even before the vampirism), and the black characters are frequently called "niggers". Dee uses this term to show how terrible some characters are, but it still felt like he was using the term just because he could. Joe Lansdale uses the word in his Hap & Leonard books, but it's used with more subtlety. Hell, that scene with Alan Tudyk in the Jackie Robinson biopic used the word with more subtlety than Dee does here.
That the Abyss line survived beyond this book is a shock to me. That the Abyss line even agreed to publish this book is a shock to me. The plot is pedestrian, the characterization is weak to nonexistent, and it relies far too much on telling to be engaging. That I've read this before, and had no recollection of anything from it is telling. Fans of Richard Laymon might like what Dee does here (sex and violence just for the sake of sex and violence), but beyond that, I don't know what the target audience is for this book. It's one of the worst books I've ever read.
Abyss was known for two things -- original ideas, and cutting-edge stories. Dusk is a typical vampire novel, and the only thing that could be considered cutting-edge would be how much sex it contains. I'm no prude, but I expect the sex in a story to be relevant; in Dusk, it's excessive. It's there just to show that the author can do it, and it reads like it was written for thirteen-year-old boys. In fact, it reads like it was written by one.
What's also unfortunate about this book is how it portrays its women and minority characters. Women are oversexed (even before the vampirism), and the black characters are frequently called "niggers". Dee uses this term to show how terrible some characters are, but it still felt like he was using the term just because he could. Joe Lansdale uses the word in his Hap & Leonard books, but it's used with more subtlety. Hell, that scene with Alan Tudyk in the Jackie Robinson biopic used the word with more subtlety than Dee does here.
That the Abyss line survived beyond this book is a shock to me. That the Abyss line even agreed to publish this book is a shock to me. The plot is pedestrian, the characterization is weak to nonexistent, and it relies far too much on telling to be engaging. That I've read this before, and had no recollection of anything from it is telling. Fans of Richard Laymon might like what Dee does here (sex and violence just for the sake of sex and violence), but beyond that, I don't know what the target audience is for this book. It's one of the worst books I've ever read.
April 22, 2020
Gross - could have done without the descriptions of sloughing off skin and pork taste with the oral stuff - but well written for a horror book that's all about the evil vamp lore.
April 18, 2024
OK, this is my third on Dee book, and two of his novels currently occupy my bottom 5. I typically like vampire horror, but Ron Dee's not exactly the kind of vampire novelist you would want to check out unless you plan on constantly changing your underwear. Stephen King said that he "writes from the seat of his pants." Ron Dee writes from the other side of his pants. And he's been doing this since his success with Dusk.
Ironically, the two novels of his that I readbefore were written AFTER Dusk (no pun intended), and those were Shade and Blood. If you've been paying attention to this review, you'd know that I found both to be quite terrible. But it's obvious to me now: Shade and Blood were failed attempts at revitalizing the success he found with Dusk. Unfortunately, Dusk is the only one of these books with an attempt at a plot and some decent prose (for the most part). The plot is a typical vampire story that goes where you expect it to go, but gets a little exciting on occasion. Otherwise, it's too predictable. On top of that, while some of the prose is pretty and occasionally gorgeously gothic, the sexual content is high, and Dee never once considered that there are VARIANTS of expressing that you'd like to "bleep" someone, but nope. Always the f-word, and it comes out as unrealistic.
Well, this is easily the best of the three Ron Dee novels I've read thus far, but that doesn't mean it's a good book. In fact, it's vampire fodder for vampire fodder fans and White Wolf cosplayers. Read this crap in one day just to see if it was an actually good Ron Dee novel like people said.
Ironically, the two novels of his that I readbefore were written AFTER Dusk (no pun intended), and those were Shade and Blood. If you've been paying attention to this review, you'd know that I found both to be quite terrible. But it's obvious to me now: Shade and Blood were failed attempts at revitalizing the success he found with Dusk. Unfortunately, Dusk is the only one of these books with an attempt at a plot and some decent prose (for the most part). The plot is a typical vampire story that goes where you expect it to go, but gets a little exciting on occasion. Otherwise, it's too predictable. On top of that, while some of the prose is pretty and occasionally gorgeously gothic, the sexual content is high, and Dee never once considered that there are VARIANTS of expressing that you'd like to "bleep" someone, but nope. Always the f-word, and it comes out as unrealistic.
Well, this is easily the best of the three Ron Dee novels I've read thus far, but that doesn't mean it's a good book. In fact, it's vampire fodder for vampire fodder fans and White Wolf cosplayers. Read this crap in one day just to see if it was an actually good Ron Dee novel like people said.
October 28, 2019
Dell Abyss Reading 3/43
As expected, I knew the Dell Abyss lines would be hit or miss, however I did not expect this big of a miss this early on. A vampire story taking place in Dallas, Texas may not have been what I had in mind when this publishing line promises weird and different stories from your usual 80’s horror fare, but I was willing to give it its fair shake. Then it quickly hits that the only thing cutting edge about this novel is how much sex there is in it, and how many times Ron Dee can squeeze incest, vampires sucking dick and the n-word into each chapter. It’s a shame that this got published, honestly. The only saving grace of this whole thing is that it reads like a 13 year old wrote it, and it’s incredibly easy to blow through 100 pages at a time. but i dont think having the prose of some dudes Creepypasta is a good thing.
Anyways, this one’s certainly a real stinker and is worrying me for the books to come. Koja’s Cipher is a hard bar to beat for sure, Nightlife by Brian Hodge fell short for me but at least it had heart in its goofy macho bullshit. I’m okay with more flawed concepts, but this line will surely be testing me if I have to deal with more Dusk’s to come
As expected, I knew the Dell Abyss lines would be hit or miss, however I did not expect this big of a miss this early on. A vampire story taking place in Dallas, Texas may not have been what I had in mind when this publishing line promises weird and different stories from your usual 80’s horror fare, but I was willing to give it its fair shake. Then it quickly hits that the only thing cutting edge about this novel is how much sex there is in it, and how many times Ron Dee can squeeze incest, vampires sucking dick and the n-word into each chapter. It’s a shame that this got published, honestly. The only saving grace of this whole thing is that it reads like a 13 year old wrote it, and it’s incredibly easy to blow through 100 pages at a time. but i dont think having the prose of some dudes Creepypasta is a good thing.
Anyways, this one’s certainly a real stinker and is worrying me for the books to come. Koja’s Cipher is a hard bar to beat for sure, Nightlife by Brian Hodge fell short for me but at least it had heart in its goofy macho bullshit. I’m okay with more flawed concepts, but this line will surely be testing me if I have to deal with more Dusk’s to come
Want to read
July 21, 2011Stephen King endorsed the entire Dell Abyss Horror line. Here is his blurb:
"Thank you for introducing me to the remarkable line of novels currently being issued under Dell's Abyss imprint. I have given a great many blurbs over the last twelve years or so, but this one marks two firsts: first unsolicited blurb (I called you) and the first time I have blurbed a whole line of books. In terms of quality, production, and plain old story-telling reliability (that's the bottom line, isn't it), Dell's new line is amazingly satisfying...a rare and wonderful bargain for readers. I hope to be looking into the Abyss for a long time to come."
"Thank you for introducing me to the remarkable line of novels currently being issued under Dell's Abyss imprint. I have given a great many blurbs over the last twelve years or so, but this one marks two firsts: first unsolicited blurb (I called you) and the first time I have blurbed a whole line of books. In terms of quality, production, and plain old story-telling reliability (that's the bottom line, isn't it), Dell's new line is amazingly satisfying...a rare and wonderful bargain for readers. I hope to be looking into the Abyss for a long time to come."
January 3, 2022
A quick read.Creepy;but the snacking on used tampons was a tiny bit disgusting.The rattlesnakes were a nice touch.Reasonably good vampire horror.
March 16, 2026
Dusk is about a group of sex vampires that begin spreading throughout the south. But not the subtle and suave kind like many incarnations of Dracula have been or the kind Anne Rice might write about. No, these vampires are blunt, aggressive, and crass just like Ron Dee’s writing is overall.
He goes full throttle into sex and death like a teenager trying (badly) to imitate Clive Barker. His characterizations are as basic as it gets. Characters sometimes get some kind of traumatic backstory with a hint of truth, but it’s all clearly a thin smokescreen to focus on their sexual proclivities. And you know it’s bad when he outright describes certain moments by comparing them to the shower scene in Psycho or the chest burster sequence from Alien. Way to let better stories do your heavy lifting for you.
Early in the book, a group of college students get turned into vampires. They are vapid and extremely racist, and I think that is supposed to encourage readers to root against them even more by the end. But in a book that is written so poorly, trying to incorporate this kind of real world prejudice into a silly fantasy just feels jarring and incongruous.
Otherwise, I don’t even think Dee had smoothed out the rules for these vampires. Sometimes, people immediately turn, sometimes they don’t. It seemed like it was more about whether the story needed more vampires or survivors at any given moment. And speaking of mindless nonsense, how do you stab someone with a dildo?
Considering Dusk is another book from the Dell Abyss line, I kept looking for more depth anywhere in its almost 400 pages. And the book does flirt with the way vampirism can represent drug addiction or the emptiness of individual lives. It also showcases moments of female autonomy where a prostitute could be making an active and positive choice in her life or a woman’s sexuality could be just as valid as a man’s libido. But it’s all pretty superficial and, again, I really just think it’s an excuse to make every character super horny.
Even with all these criticisms in mind, there is still some fun to be had with this book. And I do appreciate that by the end, Dee was killing off main characters left and right in a way that felt at least a little bit wild and unpredictable. But the book spends most of its time trying so hard to be shocking, and aside from some graphic moments of incest (ew!) and characters eating used tampons (ew!), it mostly fails.
He goes full throttle into sex and death like a teenager trying (badly) to imitate Clive Barker. His characterizations are as basic as it gets. Characters sometimes get some kind of traumatic backstory with a hint of truth, but it’s all clearly a thin smokescreen to focus on their sexual proclivities. And you know it’s bad when he outright describes certain moments by comparing them to the shower scene in Psycho or the chest burster sequence from Alien. Way to let better stories do your heavy lifting for you.
Early in the book, a group of college students get turned into vampires. They are vapid and extremely racist, and I think that is supposed to encourage readers to root against them even more by the end. But in a book that is written so poorly, trying to incorporate this kind of real world prejudice into a silly fantasy just feels jarring and incongruous.
Otherwise, I don’t even think Dee had smoothed out the rules for these vampires. Sometimes, people immediately turn, sometimes they don’t. It seemed like it was more about whether the story needed more vampires or survivors at any given moment. And speaking of mindless nonsense, how do you stab someone with a dildo?
Considering Dusk is another book from the Dell Abyss line, I kept looking for more depth anywhere in its almost 400 pages. And the book does flirt with the way vampirism can represent drug addiction or the emptiness of individual lives. It also showcases moments of female autonomy where a prostitute could be making an active and positive choice in her life or a woman’s sexuality could be just as valid as a man’s libido. But it’s all pretty superficial and, again, I really just think it’s an excuse to make every character super horny.
Even with all these criticisms in mind, there is still some fun to be had with this book. And I do appreciate that by the end, Dee was killing off main characters left and right in a way that felt at least a little bit wild and unpredictable. But the book spends most of its time trying so hard to be shocking, and aside from some graphic moments of incest (ew!) and characters eating used tampons (ew!), it mostly fails.
July 25, 2019
I liked this book. But I was disappointed with the ending.
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