The Meaning of Blood: and Other Tales of Perversity

By: Chuck Caruso

Narrated by: Eric J. McAnallen

Length: 6 hrs

Publisher's summary

Fifteen tales of dark, transgressive fiction for fans of Elmore Leonard, Chuck Palahniuk, and Edgar Allan Poe.

In the Pacific Northwest, a sex robot helps a jealous wife reevaluate her relationship with her husband; in the Tennessee hills of 19th-century America, a zealous preacher forces a faithless man to demonstrate his devotion to God; and in the brothels of an Old West settlement town, a family discovers the true meaning of blood.

In The Meaning of Blood: and Other Tales of Perversity, award-winning author and Edgar Allan Poe scholar Chuck Caruso combines his deep roots in the American Gothic with his own contemporary sense of macabre humor. These 15 stories of dark fiction range from crime thrillers to western noir to grotesque horror. Each twisted tale displays Caruso's unique blend of wry prose, feverish storytelling, and tragically flawed characters discovering that even the most innocent encounter can lead to death. Or sex. Or both.

©2017 John Charles Caruso (P)2018 John Charles Caruso

Interesting

You have a mixed bag of stories here, all short. The reader has an interesting voice and I enjoyed his performance. As with all collections, some tales are more enjoyable than others.

I received this audiobook in return for my honest review.

Solid Collection of Varied Horror

A number of good to great horror stories live within this collection, each displaying horror no matter how disparate the settings and events seem, and showcasing the author's talent in terms of the sheer breadth explored within. The narration was solid and allowed each to feel more like an episode in the twilight zone or another anthology series than just a story, though the stories definitely stand on their own. Definitely recommended.

I received the review code for this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.

It was alright.

Not my favorite but included some stories I really enjoyed. Worth checking out for sure. Narration was good and I think suited the stories well enough. I think if this kind of of book shows up in your suggestions you'd probabaly like just fine.

Original stories

These stories weren't as perverse as I would have expected given the title. They were however very creative. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting through a cookie cutter story with no original plot or concept. As collections go, I liked some of these stories more than others. Other listeners will not like the stories that I enjoyed the most and vise versa. Several of the stories had old-western setting which is not something I see very often in this genre. What I enjoyed the most was how the author captured the emotions of real people. Thier cruelty, disgust, hatred and cowerdess toward others comes through as the most intimate parts of each character.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Not What I was Expecting

This book of short stories was interesting and not what I was expecting. They're not as dark and morbid as I thought they would be. I like some of the stories and not others. Like all collections, you're most likely not going to like all included. If you enjoy short twisted stories then you should check out this collection. They may not be as dark as the title incurs, they are still varying degrees of twisted. The narration is done well.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

An entertaining and cohesive collection of tales

This was a pretty good collection of tales, many of which seemed to take place around the 19th century. This sort of gave the collection a binding beyond the obvious, but even the more futuristic ones (meaning our present, or near future) stood fine on their own.

There's a bit of something for everyone here: zombies, cthulu, wereslugs, religion, scifi tech, humorous misadventure and outright gore.

The tales are pretty creative and engrossing, but some lack that "aha!" or similar ending to bring it home. They can sometimes end on a note similar to "so that's what happened". OK then. I felt the titular tale could have ended at around the protagonist's discovery and delivered on that "whoa", but instead it continued on. I didn't feel anything beyond that really offered anything the listener couldn't have figured out for themselves in much shorter time.

I found the narrator had a pleasant voice, but a flat and bland reading style. Sentences were often delivered matter-of-fact and toneless with no seeming connection to those that preceded or followed. It wasn't enough to pull you out of the stories however, and he did a pretty good job at various accents when needed.

I was provided this audiobook free of charge in exchange for my honest review. Minor shortcomings aside, I could definitely recommend this listen. It's a pretty cohesive collection that succeeds more often than not in interesting and entertaining the listener.

Different genres

Very well written stories that float between many genres. Some were more interesting than others for me, the way most story collections go. Was surprised at how many western stories there were, considering the cover art.

The Meaning of Blood

This was an interesting collection of short horror stories. Each one giving the listener a look into a new world and characters. The stories pull the listener into the different worlds and characters. Many are based on the old western frontier and its happenings. Each story stands on its own and is a complete story never leaving you wondering what happens. They move along at a good pace and never leave you bored. As with any collection there were some stories that I enjoyed more than others but as a whole this collection is a good listen. Narrator Eric J. McAnallen speaks clearly and keeps the narration flowing and keeps the listener engaged in the stories.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great stories and great performance

I love high quality short stories. This book does not disappoint.
Each story was excellent with attention grabbing qualities the entire way through.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.