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The Wolves That Live in Skin and Space
Set in Los Angeles amidst a dying adult film industry, real-life porn star and cam model Danny Wylde recounts the end of his career. He bears his last months with the death of a friend, a client's dangerous fantasy, a secret boyfriend, and a family bent on destroying him. Wylde's second novel moves the literature of pornography's narrative past its decadent history and into the world of disposable, tube-site celebrity, month-to-month living, and dissolving barriers between consumer and consumed.
198 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 2, 2015
I first heard about this book at my local Televangelist meeting, which I try to make every week in-between hunting for the lower intestines of pregnant squirrels and collecting my toenails in a jar, which I then consume because I like the way they feel as they slide down my throat. But let me tell you, I was nervous. As someone who frequently likes to masturbate on public benches and dig through garbage bags in order to find used tampons to wipe my ass with, I wasn't sure if this book would be the right fit for me. I tried to keep an open mind, though. After purchasing the book, I resisted the urge to jack off in order to really focus on the book. As someone with genital herpes, which are like mountainous pimples that look like they're filled with different layers of wandering puss, I try to ease my reading material into my sexual nature.
Reading this book is similar to being the bottom of the Human Centipede. At first, it's quite shocking, like having your mouth attached to the gaping anus of a stranger, but as you're forced to lap up every last bit of descending fecal matter and swallow the brown digested lumps that are occasionally juicy, you can't help but feel pleasure at knowing you'll end up shitting out the very same moist, putrid, and nutrient-filled mash that came from another person's butthole. Reading Danny Wylde's book is almost as enjoyable and stimulating as chowing on and chewing up someone else's anal waste. Both experiences are family-friendly and leave a bodily satisfaction. I'm proud to say that I have found a novel that is both great jackoff material and a wonderful bedtime story to read to my children.
Reading this book is similar to being the bottom of the Human Centipede. At first, it's quite shocking, like having your mouth attached to the gaping anus of a stranger, but as you're forced to lap up every last bit of descending fecal matter and swallow the brown digested lumps that are occasionally juicy, you can't help but feel pleasure at knowing you'll end up shitting out the very same moist, putrid, and nutrient-filled mash that came from another person's butthole. Reading Danny Wylde's book is almost as enjoyable and stimulating as chowing on and chewing up someone else's anal waste. Both experiences are family-friendly and leave a bodily satisfaction. I'm proud to say that I have found a novel that is both great jackoff material and a wonderful bedtime story to read to my children.
July 10, 2015
Full disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to Rare Bird Books for making this available to me.
The Wolves That Live in Skin and Space is troubling, haunting, a little bewildering, and immensely mesmerizing. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but I can't stop thinking about it.
Danny Wylde is a fairly well-known adult film actor who also does some work on cam for those willing to pay him. As he puts it, "Porno lights the stove top. Camming provides the stuff to throw in the pot."
While he tries to discourage his most profitable cam client from falling in love with him, Danny is conflicted about his feelings for his friend and fellow porn performer, Sara. When another client encourages to meet him in real time, and promises to make it worth his while financially, the decision seems easy for Danny. But he has no idea that taking this step will lead him into the man's bizarre, disturbing fantasy world, and put Danny and others around him in grave danger.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. As Danny struggles with the need to make money and his on-again, off-again desire to make more porn movies, he starts falling in love for the first time, with a young man who has more than his own share of troubles, including a mother bent on destroying Danny. He's not sure what he wants out of his life, his career, or anything, and he doesn't even realize how little control he has over his own destiny.
Christopher Zeischegg, also known as adult film performer Danny Wylde, is a tremendously talented writer. He has created a story that gets under your skin, disturbs you as it draws you in, and leaves you wondering what happened, much as his characters feel throughout the book. This is dark, almost phantasmagorical at times, and incredibly graphic. It's definitely not a book for everyone, but for those who enjoy this type of book, it will definitely affect you.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
The Wolves That Live in Skin and Space is troubling, haunting, a little bewildering, and immensely mesmerizing. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but I can't stop thinking about it.
Danny Wylde is a fairly well-known adult film actor who also does some work on cam for those willing to pay him. As he puts it, "Porno lights the stove top. Camming provides the stuff to throw in the pot."
While he tries to discourage his most profitable cam client from falling in love with him, Danny is conflicted about his feelings for his friend and fellow porn performer, Sara. When another client encourages to meet him in real time, and promises to make it worth his while financially, the decision seems easy for Danny. But he has no idea that taking this step will lead him into the man's bizarre, disturbing fantasy world, and put Danny and others around him in grave danger.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. As Danny struggles with the need to make money and his on-again, off-again desire to make more porn movies, he starts falling in love for the first time, with a young man who has more than his own share of troubles, including a mother bent on destroying Danny. He's not sure what he wants out of his life, his career, or anything, and he doesn't even realize how little control he has over his own destiny.
Christopher Zeischegg, also known as adult film performer Danny Wylde, is a tremendously talented writer. He has created a story that gets under your skin, disturbs you as it draws you in, and leaves you wondering what happened, much as his characters feel throughout the book. This is dark, almost phantasmagorical at times, and incredibly graphic. It's definitely not a book for everyone, but for those who enjoy this type of book, it will definitely affect you.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
June 15, 2024
My 3rd book by this author, and I absolutely adore his prose. It's pretty much as dark as can be, but so beautiful at the same time. This story is messed up. Porn, violence, and a messed up family are some of the themes of the plot. That ending left my jaw on the ground, and not really sure how to interpret the ending.
June 30, 2015
Crushing. Damaged. Otherworldly. Perhaps the darkest book I have ever read. Not for the easily disturbed unless of course you enjoy being disturbed.
August 14, 2015
4.5 stars
Our protagonist, Danny Wylde, is a popular porn star. He fucks women on camera and jerks off for men online as a cam boy. He is just trying to make enough money to get through each day. Danny seems to have a very small circle of friends and is in a band. I wonder about his background, as we never fully hear about his life apart from these current events. Danny is a complex three-dimensional character. He has anti-hero attributes but at the same time there’s this altruistic behavior that would come in waves. I found myself wanting to pull him out of these situations and do what I could to help him.
A man with the screen name TheWolf propositions Danny. TheWolf wants to meet in person and offers him a ridiculous amount of money. Danny isn’t a hustler per se, but he’s broke and the money is good so he decides to see what exactly is up with this offer. This decision to check out this offer changes the trajectory of his life forever.
His introduction to TheWolf brings a new cast of characters into his life. He’s attempting to move past these events, and I’m going to go ahead and diagnose him with PTSD. Danny needs some sort of care or counseling to help deal with the fallout from this situation. Instead he gets involved with Joseph, an 18-year-old boy that becomes the center of Danny’s life. Joseph’s appearance affects Danny in a profound way. Watching their relationship evolve feels like being on a roller coaster that is going off the tracks. You’re hoping so hard it sets itself right again. Will it?
A common theme throughout this book for me was loss and pain. There are certain characters in this book that make me wish people came with warning labels. It’s quite alarming to believe a person is one way and then have them flip a switch and become someone completely different.
The events that unfold in this book were shocking. I was equal parts disgusted, turned on, horrified, sad, and hopeful. This book just completely blew my mind. It was an interesting look into the porn world and the effects of mental illness without treatment. While I don’t think this book is for everyone, it was a dark and gritty read that has stayed with me. I keep thinking about Danny, and I’m still rooting for him.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
Our protagonist, Danny Wylde, is a popular porn star. He fucks women on camera and jerks off for men online as a cam boy. He is just trying to make enough money to get through each day. Danny seems to have a very small circle of friends and is in a band. I wonder about his background, as we never fully hear about his life apart from these current events. Danny is a complex three-dimensional character. He has anti-hero attributes but at the same time there’s this altruistic behavior that would come in waves. I found myself wanting to pull him out of these situations and do what I could to help him.
A man with the screen name TheWolf propositions Danny. TheWolf wants to meet in person and offers him a ridiculous amount of money. Danny isn’t a hustler per se, but he’s broke and the money is good so he decides to see what exactly is up with this offer. This decision to check out this offer changes the trajectory of his life forever.
His introduction to TheWolf brings a new cast of characters into his life. He’s attempting to move past these events, and I’m going to go ahead and diagnose him with PTSD. Danny needs some sort of care or counseling to help deal with the fallout from this situation. Instead he gets involved with Joseph, an 18-year-old boy that becomes the center of Danny’s life. Joseph’s appearance affects Danny in a profound way. Watching their relationship evolve feels like being on a roller coaster that is going off the tracks. You’re hoping so hard it sets itself right again. Will it?
A common theme throughout this book for me was loss and pain. There are certain characters in this book that make me wish people came with warning labels. It’s quite alarming to believe a person is one way and then have them flip a switch and become someone completely different.
The events that unfold in this book were shocking. I was equal parts disgusted, turned on, horrified, sad, and hopeful. This book just completely blew my mind. It was an interesting look into the porn world and the effects of mental illness without treatment. While I don’t think this book is for everyone, it was a dark and gritty read that has stayed with me. I keep thinking about Danny, and I’m still rooting for him.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
September 2, 2015
I first heard about this book at my local Televangelist meeting, which I try to make every week in-between hunting for the lower intestines of pregnant squirrels and collecting my toenails in a jar, which I then consume because I like the way they feel as they slide down my throat. But let me tell you, I was nervous. As someone who frequently likes to masturbate on public benches and dig through garbage bags in order to find used tampons to wipe my ass with, I wasn't sure if this book would be the right fit for me. I tried to keep an open mind, though. After purchasing the book, I resisted the urge to jack off in order to really focus on the book. As someone with genital herpes, which are like mountainous pimples that look like they're filled with different layers of wandering puss, I try to ease my reading material into my sexual nature.
Reading this book is similar to being the bottom of the Human Centipede. At first, it's quite shocking, like having your mouth attached to the gaping anus of a stranger, but as you're forced to lap up every last bit of descending fecal matter and swallow the brown digested lumps that are occasionally juicy, you can't help but feel pleasure at knowing you'll end up shitting out the very same moist, putrid, and nutrient-filled mash that came from another person's butthole. Reading Danny Wylde's book is almost as enjoyable and stimulating as chowing on and chewing up someone else's anal waste. Both experiences are family-friendly and leave a bodily satisfaction. I'm proud to say that I have found a novel that is both great jackoff material and a wonderful bedtime story to read to my children.
Reading this book is similar to being the bottom of the Human Centipede. At first, it's quite shocking, like having your mouth attached to the gaping anus of a stranger, but as you're forced to lap up every last bit of descending fecal matter and swallow the brown digested lumps that are occasionally juicy, you can't help but feel pleasure at knowing you'll end up shitting out the very same moist, putrid, and nutrient-filled mash that came from another person's butthole. Reading Danny Wylde's book is almost as enjoyable and stimulating as chowing on and chewing up someone else's anal waste. Both experiences are family-friendly and leave a bodily satisfaction. I'm proud to say that I have found a novel that is both great jackoff material and a wonderful bedtime story to read to my children.
November 21, 2015
I'm having a hard time thinking of adjectives that adequately describe how deeply disturbing this book is. It's also extremely well written and utterly fearless.
July 24, 2015
If Tao Lin and David Wojnarowicz had a literary porn baby that smelled like gasoline "The Wolves that live in Skin and Space" would be that raped love child. The narrative is brutal and savage in the best way possible—an impossible intangible disconnect between a murderous desire to love and a life hopelessly disconnected from it. The wolf, the boy and various bodies scream to feel that which they cannot. Dialogue floats between lovers in places where skin meets skin. The story and the cum, spit and blood pumping throughout it the entire time call into question that rhetoric of romantic communication that parades as intimacy when it is everything but. Perhaps it is our biggest failure and skin is the only true love letter to spill forth.
September 28, 2020
I bought this book after reading The Magician. They’re both equally disturbing, but The Magician is much more wonderful.
March 29, 2020
This was interesting for a brief minute then gave way to something that I can only identify as 'gay tedium', a gay relationship mired in its own boredom. Lovers needlessly complicating their coupling with overly abstract histrionics, i.e. 'I'll only hurt you if you stay'. Just ridiculous melodrama, and to top it all off, there's a closet queen dad, probably the most interesting character in the story, but he's sentenced to prison early on and becomes this epistolary footnote in the story. I felt the author was trying to make some profound statement about exploitation and predator vs prey, but it was about as subtle as a mallet to the forehead. It ended up feeling contrived and forced.
September 8, 2019
Your reflection, as seen by others, in a puddle of blood, spit and cum.
Highest recommendation!
Highest recommendation!
October 25, 2024
A strong af 3.5, maybe a 3.75? This book is definitely not for everyone but if you're the exact target demographic (into the overall nihilism, critique of consumption in every sense, and doomy vibe of Swans' early music, body horror, male bisexuality and the ways it's stigmatized, the US porn industry on the cusp of change thanks to the explosion of tube sites, esotericism) it will very likely be your atmospheric, weird, transgressive cup of tea. Are there Lammys for evil books? This novel deserves one, and I say that with love and a delightful crawling sensation in my skin. Def gonna read the next Chris Zeischegg I can get my hands on.
May 15, 2026
once i read the sample i knew i had to read the full version. there were many times where this book had my jaw on the floor. its an amazingly written story with a lot of emotion. i’ll definitely need to reread soon
July 25, 2026
Literally… what the fuck Kyle.
Also truly the only reason it’s not rated lower is because those microscopically tiny chapters were like potato chips. Otherwise… yeah I guess the point of this book sorta went over my head.
Also truly the only reason it’s not rated lower is because those microscopically tiny chapters were like potato chips. Otherwise… yeah I guess the point of this book sorta went over my head.
June 21, 2025
Haunting.
September 26, 2024
This book has a few chapters with great tension and vivid descriptions that read a bit like Dennis Cooper. But these are few and far between. The rest of the book is just so dull.
September 2, 2015
Everything about Christopher Zeischegg's latest novel, 'The Wolves
That Live In Skin And Space', is gruesome, twisted and fucked up, which is all I ever ask for in any book. But his novel touched me so intimately, down to
my soul, everywhere I wanted it to touch me. My attention was surrendered to
the author after the first few pages. This novel was full of the deepest, darkest secrets that came spilling out in gore, blood and cum on every page. Sex, death, anger, love and hate bring you immediately into the author's
world from beginning to end. I felt as
though I was actually with him, lurking by his side during each sexually charged, emotional, and violent experience. I was truly a captive
audience for Chris Zeischegg's writing.
And how could you not be? What he
has done here is brilliant, taking parts
of his life and incorporating them into a fact/fiction novel for all of us. The love between the two men was intense, sacred and real. Many don't experience that in their own heterosexual
relationships. His descriptions of the emotions between them were very feeling, body tingling. You could sense it throughout your body, man or woman. I felt this novel was a fantastic, twisted turn on in some ways, as it left me wanting to become part of the intimate scenes described with the author. I wanted to be the one on my knees before him, giving him a blowjob and having him cum in my mouth. That's just how you get taken in by the story. The entire book is one incredible brain and body inducing orgasm that has changed me in so many ways I've had to stop counting. It's a dark mindfuck, but one definitely worth submitting to if you are into it.
That Live In Skin And Space', is gruesome, twisted and fucked up, which is all I ever ask for in any book. But his novel touched me so intimately, down to
my soul, everywhere I wanted it to touch me. My attention was surrendered to
the author after the first few pages. This novel was full of the deepest, darkest secrets that came spilling out in gore, blood and cum on every page. Sex, death, anger, love and hate bring you immediately into the author's
world from beginning to end. I felt as
though I was actually with him, lurking by his side during each sexually charged, emotional, and violent experience. I was truly a captive
audience for Chris Zeischegg's writing.
And how could you not be? What he
has done here is brilliant, taking parts
of his life and incorporating them into a fact/fiction novel for all of us. The love between the two men was intense, sacred and real. Many don't experience that in their own heterosexual
relationships. His descriptions of the emotions between them were very feeling, body tingling. You could sense it throughout your body, man or woman. I felt this novel was a fantastic, twisted turn on in some ways, as it left me wanting to become part of the intimate scenes described with the author. I wanted to be the one on my knees before him, giving him a blowjob and having him cum in my mouth. That's just how you get taken in by the story. The entire book is one incredible brain and body inducing orgasm that has changed me in so many ways I've had to stop counting. It's a dark mindfuck, but one definitely worth submitting to if you are into it.
July 18, 2015
FourStars
This is a dark book with a graphic and gruesome ending. It’s riveting and unsettling. I couldn’t stop reading even though I was distressed. There are funny bits too, and Danny is a witty protagonist, but make no mistake, this is a horror novel. An allegory.
Danny is a porn/cam star floating through life. He has friends he doesn’t get too close to, aspirations he can’t quite define, and a sex life that’s getting tedious.
A crazed fan manages to find him, and this starts a journey into psychosis and love. True love, with all the ups and downs. Danny begins to feel, perhaps for the first time in his life. But the deeper he goes, the stranger his world gets.
There’s plenty of sex in this novel. None of it’s erotic. There’s frank talk of STDs, mild drug abuse, and trigger warnings for manipulation, bad feelings, and rape.
Four stars instead of five because I think Danny Wylde can become an even better writer. The emotions aren’t quite there. Even for such a heavy book, I think it pulls its punches. It could go deeper. It could be more raw.
If you choose to go on this journey, gentle reader, I believe you will be rewarded.
I was given this in return for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads.
C.E. Case
This is a dark book with a graphic and gruesome ending. It’s riveting and unsettling. I couldn’t stop reading even though I was distressed. There are funny bits too, and Danny is a witty protagonist, but make no mistake, this is a horror novel. An allegory.
Danny is a porn/cam star floating through life. He has friends he doesn’t get too close to, aspirations he can’t quite define, and a sex life that’s getting tedious.
A crazed fan manages to find him, and this starts a journey into psychosis and love. True love, with all the ups and downs. Danny begins to feel, perhaps for the first time in his life. But the deeper he goes, the stranger his world gets.
There’s plenty of sex in this novel. None of it’s erotic. There’s frank talk of STDs, mild drug abuse, and trigger warnings for manipulation, bad feelings, and rape.
Four stars instead of five because I think Danny Wylde can become an even better writer. The emotions aren’t quite there. Even for such a heavy book, I think it pulls its punches. It could go deeper. It could be more raw.
If you choose to go on this journey, gentle reader, I believe you will be rewarded.
I was given this in return for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads.
C.E. Case
November 13, 2015
I went into this book knowing it was dark and gonna be a wild ride. However, I felt like even though there were quite a few emotional scenes, they were lacking. I didn't connect to the character and what he was going through since it was all described how the reader should feel instead of showing us how it would feel.
A lot of scenes seemed just thrown at the reader without any lead in or descriptions, just blank and blank happened and we are expected to understand why the characters felt a certain way.
There was a whole lot that made me go OMG, what just happened?! And a few times of thinking 'this book is sooooo weird and dark.'
However, over all, I think there was a LOT of promise there and I really felt like the author could grow into a very good, very well known writer with a bit more development and growth.
I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Inked Rainbow Reads.
A lot of scenes seemed just thrown at the reader without any lead in or descriptions, just blank and blank happened and we are expected to understand why the characters felt a certain way.
There was a whole lot that made me go OMG, what just happened?! And a few times of thinking 'this book is sooooo weird and dark.'
However, over all, I think there was a LOT of promise there and I really felt like the author could grow into a very good, very well known writer with a bit more development and growth.
I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Inked Rainbow Reads.
October 12, 2015
WOW. JUST WOW.
February 5, 2016
Fun story of cam star, murder, incest, bisexuality.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews