Fotografía de autor

Robert S. Wilson (3)

Autor de Shining in Crimson

Para otros autores llamados Robert S. Wilson, ver la página de desambiguación.

15+ Obras 232 Miembros 5 Reseñas

Series

Obras de Robert S. Wilson

Shining in Crimson (2011) 78 copias
The Quiet: A Novella (2011) 43 copias
Ashes and Entropy (2018) — Editor — 22 copias
What Happens in Vegas... (2011) 16 copias
Exit Reality (2013) 16 copias
Fading in Darkness (2013) 11 copias
Nox Pareidolia (2019) — Editor — 11 copias
Through the Mindhole (2019) 6 copias
Rising from Ashes (2015) 2 copias

Obras relacionadas

Gothic Lovecraft (2016) — Contribuidor — 6 copias
Campfire Macabre (2020) — Contribuidor — 6 copias
Daily Science Fiction: November 2017 (2017) — Contribuidor — 1 copia

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Género
male

Miembros

Reseñas

This is an awesome collection of cosmic horror, weird fiction, and neo-noir, and every story in this anthology is amazing in its own way. I am not sure I've ever said that before. I love anthologies, but there is usually a dud or three. Not in this one. While I did enjoy some more than others, every story is well-written. 22 twisted tales from some authors I already liked and a bunch I'd never read before. If you like weird and/or creepy short stories with a side of poetic prose, this is a must-read!… (más)
 
Denunciada
JosephVanBuren | May 17, 2022 |
In Wilson's dystopian world, the United States is no more and its place the American Empire rules the people. It is a theocracy ruled over by an emperor. The people are forced to live under strict morality laws and those who refuse to conform are sent to Necropolis the former Las Vegas and now home to a population of vampires. Hank Evan is sent to Necropolis as punishment for procuring a prostitute and he is determined to survive somehow because he is all that his son Toby has yet. What Hank does not realise is that surviving this night will cost him so much more than he ever imagined.

As an introduction to a trilogy, Shining in Crimson was not bad. Wilson gave us a sense of the dystopian world and its divisions. I would have liked to know more about how the American Empire came to be and more specifically how the truce with the vampires came into existence. We start the novel learning that the war has now been over for 20 years and that the government uses religious propaganda to prop up its rules, along with a fear that the alternative is to become prey to the sinning vampires.

The POV constantly changes throughout the book and though I normally find this irritating, it helped to bring the different elements of the story together. I found it interesting to see vampires who based on their long lives understand better than the humans, exactly what the American Empire is all about. For safety, the humans have traded their liberty. Hank has vague memories of a time when the world was different and a father who fought and died for the United States. He is tormented by the horrible bargain he is forced to make. Then we have Simon a devout member of the Empire, to the point that he even thinks of his own mother as a whore, finally coming to grips with the fact that he has been sold a book of lies and finally, Ishan who is determined to hold his vampire council together and bring down the empire.

The majority of the characters in this book are male. The only three female characters of note are Simon's mother, who viscously slut shamed. When she is raped by Peter, Simon is horrified and yet when Peter says that you cannot rape the willing, Simon is quick to agree. It is because of her dress and the fact that she didn't physically fight back and instead begged for her son's safety that Simon refuses to see her as the victim that she is. It is only after gaining empathy from Ishan, that Peter begins to understand he may have potentially wronged his mother. The second female character is the human vampire Rachel. As with Simon's mother, she is also a rape victim. Each day she is subject to rape and beatings by her father and her brothers, which she endures until Peter kills them. In turn, after being judged worthy, Rachel becomes a vampire, only to rape Hank in a bid to help Peter become the leader of the vampires. There is also Grace, the dead wife of Hank. Years later he is still mourning her loss. Grace is really little more than a footnote in this story. Finally, we have the Queen of the Ancients, the only ancient vampire to be sentient. We don't really learn much about her beyond this.

As you can see, we have one female character who is promoted to obscurity and two others who largely exist as victims of sexual violence and Grace whose death provides angst for the male characters. These characters are never really developed beyond their victimhood. Turning Rachel from victim to predator given that Simon's first reaction to Rachel is to shame her for his sexual attraction to her does not develop her whatsoever and instead is more to position Simon's frame of reference. Shining in Crimson doesn't so much have female characters, as it does cardboard cut outs who are either fridged for male angst or victims for male judgment.

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… (más)
½
1 vota
Denunciada
FangsfortheFantasy | 2 reseñas más. | Jan 1, 2015 |
Gripping cross-genre crime novella - very convincing with backdrop of a love story, and a lethal new game that attracts our cop/hero who is all too human. it's short and i read it all in one sitting - but i could not put it down, and i am glad it was succinct - i wanted to know what was going to happen. the author promises this is first in a series - i hope he will continue.
 
Denunciada
lesliejung | Jun 16, 2013 |
My first introduction to urban fantasy was through vampires. Vampires opened the door for me into a world of books I could not have even fathomed on my own. They are responsible for bring to light the world of werewolves, the fae, and all things magic through this fantastic genre I love more than any other. I have been waiting for a really good vampire novel for some time now, and this was a pretty good book for me.

I have to admit I haven't read a lot of dystopian books, I have read books that take place in the future, but in a world very similar to the world we have today. And for me lately I have been enjoying reading books I haven't read a lot of, you stepping out of my comfort zone. I think I could really get behind this whole dystopian thing, it really forced the reader to imagine a world where things have changed dramatically. Not only that but it forces the reader to really think about what they would do in a time and place where the world has changed. And I love anything that makes me question things, or what I would do in the characters positions. It's books like this one where you want to think about it after you are done reading.

I really like the world that was created in the book, it was innovative and unique. It's a really interesting way to put together the whole vampire genre, and their place in this new world is truly original. I really like the characters generally speaking. The author does a great job at making it clear how the reader should feel about the characters, which I consider a good thing because it shows that the author has thought the character through and that they have many different dimensions.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book is that even though the Empire has changed the form of government, if you will, you still see the same themes as you do in just about every government. You can find corruption and politics just about everywhere you look these days, in the past, and of course you would find it in the future dystopian vampire populated world.

My one big complaint about the book was there were some moments within the book that I felt a bit confused, I had a hard time keeping track of who was talking. I really don't like books where I have to go back a couple of pages and re-read in order to fully grasp what is going on. But in spite of me having to do this a couple of times, the story line was good enough for it not be a huge disappointment or not like me enjoy the book overall.

Overall, the book was pretty good, the confusion thing is the only reason why I gave the book a "Good" rating and not a "Great" rating. I will say that people who are really into having a lot of romance in their books, this is most likely not the book for you. But if you want a book that is going to make you think, or if you like dystopian books then I think you would enjoy this book without a doubt. I think urban fantasy readers would really enjoy it as well. I have to say I love a vampire book that makes me think.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
HomeLoveBooks | 2 reseñas más. | Feb 26, 2012 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
15
También por
3
Miembros
232
Popularidad
#97,292
Valoración
½ 3.4
Reseñas
5
ISBNs
24

Tablas y Gráficos