(Review excerpt from Cyber-Psychos AOD #6.)
LOST IN BOOTH NINE
by Adam-Troy Castro (208pp, Silver Salamander)
All it took was one story (Scars in Bizarre Bazaar) for me to know Adam-Troy Castro would be right up in the list of my top favourite contemporary writers. Of course I jumped on grabbing a review copy of this book when I saw it (jumped? More like the Silver Salamander folks couldn't fail to see me standing there drooling on it at the table & decided to offer before I soiled the cover). Oh, & my expectations weren't let down in the least. Not only is his writing very effective & emotive on all levels, he's one of the 2 writers I can think of off-hand (Brian Hodge being the other) who hasn't failed to surprise me lately. Every time I think I know where the story is headed & how it will end, I only wind up seeing how wrong I was. What can I say, the man packs some crucial intelligence into his prose, & he certainly doesn't hold back in any way whatsoever. Drowning in a flood of semen for sins of sexual perversion. What more could you ask for? This is a collection of 4 short stories (well, ok, some of the lengths are more like novella), 3 of which involve Les Girls XXX: an adult facility featuring red hot videos, marital aides, private booths, & hot coeds. Prepare for the believable supernatural to meld with the power of lust... Peepshow is a take on the energy vampire in a sense, a dancer who feeds off of the lust energies surrounding her & thereby gains longevity, until she feels an odd drain begin to effect her. The Girl In Booth Nine is the holographic spawn of the semen of countless masturbating men. From the videos she stars in she tries to find her selected father & wreak her vengeance for neglect upon him. Remember the consequences next time you jack off to pornos in one of those booths!
The Miracle Drug connects you to the cosmos in ways never intended to be fathomed & controlled by the piddly human mind... the ability to warp dimensions around you, thereby altering shape, existence, & time relativity. Even a hardened cop isn't much of a match for such a drug. The Pussy Expert delves further away from the porn sector of town, yet encompasses a cabby & his friendly, whilst overtly sexist, banter. It has a profound effect on the fare... Definitely a recommended read. I'll personally hunt for anything & everything by Adam-Troy Castro that I can get my innocent, virgin, little fingers on! -Jasmine Sailing
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