Summary:
Burning icy-blue eyes alight with defiance, the decadent, tainted windows into a debauched soul…
In the exotic, sun-drenched Mediterranean town of Taormina, a young Englishman scrutinizing sensual images of bronze-toned young men is enthralled by the photographic portrait of the nefarious nobleman, Count Eyolf d’Magnus-Eriksson. “Who is Eriksson…?” he innocently asks his host, eliciting an erotic tale of decadence and desolation set on the Isle of Capri, a “paradise of vices.” On the cliffs overlooking the crashing waves of the Tyrrhenian, Count Eriksson, an obscenely wealthy, hedonistic, and coldly beautiful young aristocrat builds a home in adulation to the Roman wolf god, Lupercus, where he fearlessly invites and willingly embraces the carnal beast, Lupo. Theirs is a forbidden union of volatile passions and destructive desires, a tale that arouses an exquisite flame in the blood of the young Englishman.
Reviewer: BlackTulip
Just be warned readers that once you've reached a certain point in this book, there will be no turning back from a deliciously intoxicating madness! Nobody will be able to save you, you'll be on your own ... with your mind.
The incomparable Scot D. Ryersson is back with a tale more insane than ever. He offers us a journey back in time to ancient Rome and into the very torturous mind of mysterious Count Eriksson, who's an avid and insatiable worshiper of the Roman god, Lupercus!
The staging is perfect from the start. You're given a taste of what's to come with a breathtaking and so realistic description of a beautiful young man, whose photo, like many others, hangs on the wall in Baron Wilhelm von G--.'s photography studio. He is a very alert old gentleman with a fine sense of humor. The picture captivates a young man with brown eyes; he finds himself lost in the picture for a bit ...
The studio itself is another vivid description that stands out to me, with all of its usual bric-a-brac of wonderful objects made of wood, brass and leather. Even more magical is when your eyes go from one object to another; you carelessly allow your finger to brush lightly against a collection of lenses and you're able to feel the thin layer of dust on your fingertip, a wave of melancholy sweeps through you because you're feeling the loss of something you will never see or experience, something which belongs to a past long, long gone ...
Later the same pair of eyes wanders to another part of the room discovering more photos until their attention focuses on a face completely different from any other: more striking, captivating with mesmerizing, provocative and challenging eyes ...
This begins an incredible story told by an older gentleman to a younger and fascinated Englishman ... Brace yourself for the unexpected, the bizarre, the shocking, the outrageous, the frightful and the unimaginable ...
"Who is Count Eriksson?" the young and innocent Englishman asks ...
Beautiful like Adonis, rich like Croesus, but with a heart cold like ice, he lives unrestrained and only for the forbidden. Was he even born with a soul?
Perhaps the answer can be found in the few words of a song you'll find in the book:
"What are you then? I don’t know, an angel, a demon, a man? But what does it matter to me after all; Make joy or suffering burst into bloom in my soul, O enchanting sphinx".
Page after page, the author spins his magic with words using description after description just like a spell, drawing you irresistibly away from reality even without you even realizing it.
There’s no other description of the ending other than explosion of your mind reaching insanity.
"... and all hell broke loose!"
You're sucked into a frenzy, a poetic madness until the final breaking point ...
I swear, if you read Scot D. Ryersson’s descriptions, it is like becoming high without even consuming a drop of wine or any kind of prohibited substance! No words will ever be able to translate what I felt and what I saw come to life before my very eyes; it's something you've got to read to experience. You have to discover it by yourself.
This is the third book I’ve read by this author and each book experience becomes more unusual and unique. Once again, it's a whirlwind of emotions and visions and it's completely decadent. I highly recommend it and give 5 big stars.
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