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Liquid Diet
Librarian's note: Alternate original cover edition of ISBN 1557738130.
MIDNIGHT CRAVINGS
Melissa heard the stories of the lonely boy on the edge of town, and what he does at night. She knows the stores are true. Now she shares his secret...and his desires.
And people are dying - mysteriously - in the town of Hanesburg.
No one could have known their final breath was one of exquisite pleasure. No one could see the living nightmare that had seduced the town. Not even Melissa could fully comprehend the changes within herself...
Until it was time to feed.
Liquid Diet
Some appetites cannot be controlled.
MIDNIGHT CRAVINGS
Melissa heard the stories of the lonely boy on the edge of town, and what he does at night. She knows the stores are true. Now she shares his secret...and his desires.
And people are dying - mysteriously - in the town of Hanesburg.
No one could have known their final breath was one of exquisite pleasure. No one could see the living nightmare that had seduced the town. Not even Melissa could fully comprehend the changes within herself...
Until it was time to feed.
Liquid Diet
Some appetites cannot be controlled.
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
66 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 16, 2021
"There'd be more spiders in the world," he said quietly, "if flies were as accommodating as you."
Teenager Melissa has been noticing some strange behaviour from her neighbour Troy. She starts to spy on him and discovers not only things about Troy but also some things about herself.
I thought this story had enough unique elements to set it apart from other vampire tales. There are some fantastic visuals and unsettling scenes that made me think this could make a brilliant film adaptation.
This novel has a bit of a science fiction element although not too much that I would think it would put off any non sci-fi readers. I believe the author mostly writes science fiction but I think he did an excellent job here writing what is primarily a horror novel.
There is a sexual component here that manifests in the way the vampire feeds. There is a two-way system in the vampire's needle-like teeth that infuses the victim with a substance that provides intense orgasmic ecstasy while the vampire feeds on their blood. Not only that but the more the vampire visits a certain person the more of a connection the vampire has into their mind and their dreams, allowing them a level of control over the victim. I thought this was a fascinating idea and really well written.
There was a part of the story where we are introduced to more characters that I felt lost its momentum but it did pick back up and everything came together really well. Another negative point was there felt like a level of fat shaming as every character with a larger body is constantly referred to as such, which I thought was unnecessary. Otherwise, I found this to be well written and quite a compelling read. I really liked the small town USA setting and there was a timeless quality to the story rather than it feeling like it was tied to a certain era.
Teenager Melissa has been noticing some strange behaviour from her neighbour Troy. She starts to spy on him and discovers not only things about Troy but also some things about herself.
I thought this story had enough unique elements to set it apart from other vampire tales. There are some fantastic visuals and unsettling scenes that made me think this could make a brilliant film adaptation.
This novel has a bit of a science fiction element although not too much that I would think it would put off any non sci-fi readers. I believe the author mostly writes science fiction but I think he did an excellent job here writing what is primarily a horror novel.
There is a sexual component here that manifests in the way the vampire feeds. There is a two-way system in the vampire's needle-like teeth that infuses the victim with a substance that provides intense orgasmic ecstasy while the vampire feeds on their blood. Not only that but the more the vampire visits a certain person the more of a connection the vampire has into their mind and their dreams, allowing them a level of control over the victim. I thought this was a fascinating idea and really well written.
There was a part of the story where we are introduced to more characters that I felt lost its momentum but it did pick back up and everything came together really well. Another negative point was there felt like a level of fat shaming as every character with a larger body is constantly referred to as such, which I thought was unnecessary. Otherwise, I found this to be well written and quite a compelling read. I really liked the small town USA setting and there was a timeless quality to the story rather than it feeling like it was tied to a certain era.
July 11, 2014
Thank you to Whitney Martin on behalf of the Zharmae Publishing Press for allowing me to read and review this book!
Liquid Diet almost reminds me of a horror story. Just the ideas that are presented are horrific in nature. I mean it does belong to the horror genre but you know what I mean! The thing I liked about it though was now it was presented in the book. It wasn't thrown in your face how horrible the situation is and how everything is terrible. It's just given to you as if it resembles normalcy. I've never really seen that done before, how characters can be so panicked about the situation and still accept things and not totally freak out.
Second thing - if you're touchy about reading books about lust or sex, I wouldn't recommend this. William Tedford's kind of vampire's are... definitely different than Stephanie Meyer's type of vampires. However if you're up for it, this is such an intense book and the pages just fly by. Mr. Tedford's vampire's are darker, more mysterious, and just more in tune with our animal side. They aren't human and he doesn't try and make them out to be.
Third thing - the ending. I loved the ending. I don't want to spoil anything but it ended with a sense of recurrence. Of cycles. If another book ended like this one but without that sense, I would have desperately begged the writer for a sequel. But for this book, it connects with it's ancient heritage and you understand what comes next without it having to be spelled out for you.
The one thing I disliked about Liquid Diet was the middle part when everything was escalating. Again, I'm trying not to spoil anything so I'm sorry if I'm being cryptic! It went from small problem to all of a sudden the whole town is gone. It just seemed a little sudden.
Along those same lines, I just loved the overall shape of the book. How it started by pinpointing one hitchhiker and widening the range gradually until at the end we learn of the whole society. It wasn't thrown at you, you were eased into it.
Liquid Diet was definitely a page-turner for me - 4 stars!
Liquid Diet almost reminds me of a horror story. Just the ideas that are presented are horrific in nature. I mean it does belong to the horror genre but you know what I mean! The thing I liked about it though was now it was presented in the book. It wasn't thrown in your face how horrible the situation is and how everything is terrible. It's just given to you as if it resembles normalcy. I've never really seen that done before, how characters can be so panicked about the situation and still accept things and not totally freak out.
Second thing - if you're touchy about reading books about lust or sex, I wouldn't recommend this. William Tedford's kind of vampire's are... definitely different than Stephanie Meyer's type of vampires. However if you're up for it, this is such an intense book and the pages just fly by. Mr. Tedford's vampire's are darker, more mysterious, and just more in tune with our animal side. They aren't human and he doesn't try and make them out to be.
Third thing - the ending. I loved the ending. I don't want to spoil anything but it ended with a sense of recurrence. Of cycles. If another book ended like this one but without that sense, I would have desperately begged the writer for a sequel. But for this book, it connects with it's ancient heritage and you understand what comes next without it having to be spelled out for you.
The one thing I disliked about Liquid Diet was the middle part when everything was escalating. Again, I'm trying not to spoil anything so I'm sorry if I'm being cryptic! It went from small problem to all of a sudden the whole town is gone. It just seemed a little sudden.
Along those same lines, I just loved the overall shape of the book. How it started by pinpointing one hitchhiker and widening the range gradually until at the end we learn of the whole society. It wasn't thrown at you, you were eased into it.
Liquid Diet was definitely a page-turner for me - 4 stars!
January 15, 2019
A very unique view on vampires. A sultry read that is very engaging.
March 23, 2015
Several years ago, I purchased the 1992 mass market paperback edition, but somehow never managed to actually read the book (a sad fate it shares with large stacks of equally neglected books, as I have to admit ruefully).
Then, out of the blue, I was asked whether I would like to read and review an e-copy of the re-published novel. This was the opportunity to finally give the book its well-deserved chance to entertain and fascinate me, and now that I am finished reading, I wonder why I abandoned this book for so long (ok, there are several pratical reasons, but still...).
First let me assure you: don't judge this book by its cover! Or if you want to do so, judge it by its first cover from 1992 (Liquid Diet), which is much more fitting imho. I don't know whether the publishers made the right choice by selecting this new cover, which at first glance may attract a lot of teen vampire groupies, to put it mildly. However, those readers may be put off by the sometimes graphic scenes. On the other hand, readers that may enjoy the horror presented in this book might be prevented from giving it a chance at all...
The story itself presents vampires from a very original and different point of view - the creatures in this book are kind of split personalities, passing as humans by day and going on the hunt at night. While they don't necessarily have to kill their prey, this may happen during their coming-of-age phase, when their nightworld self is completely new and at the same time fascinating and horrifying. Also, the feeding is accompanied by sharing vivid erotic fantasies with the victims, who experience the greatest pleasure and are mostly unaware of the parasite feeding off them.
However, when Troy and Melissa experiences the awakening of their true nature, a whole town is put into chaos and subdued to their will. An investigation about the suddenly rising number in unexplained deaths uncovers an unbelievable truth. The outcome is both unexpected and surprising, and a very unusual happy ending, though maybe not for all mankind...
(I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
Then, out of the blue, I was asked whether I would like to read and review an e-copy of the re-published novel. This was the opportunity to finally give the book its well-deserved chance to entertain and fascinate me, and now that I am finished reading, I wonder why I abandoned this book for so long (ok, there are several pratical reasons, but still...).
First let me assure you: don't judge this book by its cover! Or if you want to do so, judge it by its first cover from 1992 (Liquid Diet), which is much more fitting imho. I don't know whether the publishers made the right choice by selecting this new cover, which at first glance may attract a lot of teen vampire groupies, to put it mildly. However, those readers may be put off by the sometimes graphic scenes. On the other hand, readers that may enjoy the horror presented in this book might be prevented from giving it a chance at all...
The story itself presents vampires from a very original and different point of view - the creatures in this book are kind of split personalities, passing as humans by day and going on the hunt at night. While they don't necessarily have to kill their prey, this may happen during their coming-of-age phase, when their nightworld self is completely new and at the same time fascinating and horrifying. Also, the feeding is accompanied by sharing vivid erotic fantasies with the victims, who experience the greatest pleasure and are mostly unaware of the parasite feeding off them.
However, when Troy and Melissa experiences the awakening of their true nature, a whole town is put into chaos and subdued to their will. An investigation about the suddenly rising number in unexplained deaths uncovers an unbelievable truth. The outcome is both unexpected and surprising, and a very unusual happy ending, though maybe not for all mankind...
(I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
March 31, 2014
I'm sorry First I have say like these books I can't write anything,I can thought anything. I starting to write something but I can't like what I wrote and I'm deleting all of the writing.So I'm trying to write short and noticeful(I hope).
The book orginally published on '92. Cover and Synopsis is making your curiosty high. There was some chapter that also making you curious and can be bored. Sometimes Boring sometimes you totally being page-turner. Slowly-Faster I finished the reading.I hope what I wrote make sense :)
The book orginally published on '92. Cover and Synopsis is making your curiosty high. There was some chapter that also making you curious and can be bored. Sometimes Boring sometimes you totally being page-turner. Slowly-Faster I finished the reading.I hope what I wrote make sense :)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews