Christopher Rowley

In the beginning God created the prose novel and He saw that it was good. The prose novel was lonely though and so God put it to sleep, tore out a page, and created the comic. The prose novel and comic lived together happily in the library of Eden and bore fruit that they named 'Graphic Novel'. Thousands of years later and a bastard hybrid of the graphic novel and the prose novel has somehow been born and it was not a day too soon.
'The Bloodstained Man', as you may have guessed, is a midway show more meeting point between a prose and graphic novel. Almost every page has a picture that ranges from about an eighth of the page space to about a quarter. Some pages have a couple of drawings. However, the pictures are the side salad whereas the prose is the meat and potatoes of this literary dinner. That dinner was easily digested and it tasted good with the cover and inside artwork making it pleasant on the eyes also.
From the back cover of the book...

"...Detective Rook Venner, Mistress Julia, and Plesur are on the run from the government troops trying to kill them and from a shadowy group that wants to capture Plesur alive for its own purposes. What secrets have been planted in Plesur's head - and why are they worth killing for?
Caught between these two powerful rivals, the trio hides out in the lawless New Jersey territory. Betrayed by gang members looking to collect the bounty on Plesur's head, the three are separated, and Rook and Mistress Julia find themselves in mortal danger. Julia, given as a prize to a gang member, finds herself in chains, but not without her own means of fighting back. Rook, forced to fight for his life in the gang's bloodthirsty gladiatorial games, must stay alive long enough to rescue Plesur, but time is running out."

I have to admit that I couldn't get into this book when I first picked it up and sat myself down. Something just wasn't right. You see, the day was warm and sunny with the smell of freshly cut grass in the air. Children were playing outside, laughing and giggling, enjoying the sunshine and the whole ambiance was just wrong for a book like this.
Out came the stereo.
In went the heavy metal CD.
Up went the volume.
Down the throat went a cold beer.
Now, this was more like it!

"Oh baby, baby
How was I supposed to know
That something wasn't right here
Oh baby baby..."

WHOA!!!! HOLD ON!!!!! WRONG FRICKIN' CD!!!!

With the setting turned from a wrong to a right I tried again to read the book and, in the correct state of mind, thoroughly enjoyed it. Think of this novel as the equivalent of an action packed, exploitation movie with more explosions and guns than an episode of the A-Team and as much sex and nudity as a bachelor party at the Playboy mansion. Make no mistake about it 'The Bloodstained Man' doesn't pretend to be anything other than an all action, in your face, kickin' your teeth out, high octane, roller coaster ride of sex and violence. Also, make no mistake about it this book succeeds in what it wants to be and I for one found it a refreshing change from the norm and hope that it has great success. show less

"The Bloodstained Man" is the second book in the Netherworld trilogy. Reading this book is akin to watching an action-packed science fiction movie. It's a few decades into the future and much of the country is in ruins - or at least most of New Jersey. Other areas have protected, insured cities, but Jersey is run by cutthroat gangs and swamps there are filled with alligators. Most of it is utter wasteland.
The main characters of this series include a policeman-Rook Venner, a dominatrix- show more Julia, and a pleasure mod who is so fresh out of the box that she is merely called Plesur. A mod is a kind of genetically engineered, factory grown person who is designed for giving its owner pleasure. They are generally barely intellectually functioning but often can get upgrades and abilities. These three, in any event, are on the run from warring forces who will stop at nothing to get info embedded in Plesur somewhere.

The story is a crazy science fiction action sequence that is filled with caged death matches, robot monsters, armed militias, and a world much like that found in Gibson's Mad Max movies.
There are few books you will read that feel so much like a live action movie. And it is clearly an R-rated movie.

Although it was not necessary to read book one to enjoy this one, it appears book three is necessary to bring it all to a conclusion. show less

I'm unfamiliar with Heavy Metal magazine, so I had no idea what to expect from Pleasure Model. What it was is unexpected, delicious fun.

Even though it's got a bit of a cyberpunk/sci-fi setting, it reads like a noir: gritty setting, sexy and amoral heroes, a strong sense of place, lots of shades of gray. The world building was just appropriate -- enough to give the reader a sense of what life is like without bogging anyone down with unnecessary details.

This is the first book in a series and show more I'm eagerly anticipating the sequel. show less

I read this, but I almost didn't finish it. At the start it is a strange mishmash of characters with no background, a strange world with a lot of missing backstory, and even stranger super aliens. As it turns out this is a sequel, and if you haven't read the previous book you'll be lost for a while. Its not a terrible book, and it did improve as it went on, but it really felt all along that I was missing too much to enjoy it. Way too much backstabbing, dirty politics, and out and out crime. show more In that way it reminds me of the Lensman books - but there's no good guys to save the day and round up the bad guys, just more bad guys to wipe out the little bad guys. Not recommended. show less