ANIMAL INSTINCTS started out as a concept very similar to some of the key themes in Doctor Moreau’s Island of genetic freaks ? although it became more of a social than genetic study of cross pollination.
What would happen if you transplanted animal mores, needs and, yes, instincts into contemporary cultural settings. How would the reader perceive the twisted narrative? Could this animal mentality affect the way the stories were actually written. The way a panting gazelle is torn apart by hyenas, could the very fabric of the written sentence suffer grammatical shearing and tearing of structure when subjected to the animal passion of these tales?
In this jaw-dropping collection of pure animal lust you will find reflections of the horror of the whim of survival and how it could at any moment be upon us in its hordes, devouring our minds. Bears feed at salmon-fat summer beaches. A bullfighter is gutted open by his love for the joust. Crab shells hide emerging sexual swap. Macaque monkeys greet as only they know how.
It will all seem very confusing, disgusting, amoral and wrong ? and it is all you deserve.
Long one of my favorite writers, Chimera once again delivers his own uniquely pungent mix of surrealism, erotica and splatterpunk in this collection of 32 short stories that asks the question: "What would happen if you transplanted animal mores, needs and instincts into contemporary cultural settings?" The answer can scarcely be summed up in the few examples I have set below, but I hope to at least give you an idea of what to expect.
First off we have "Shrapnel Girl" where a middle-aged man stalks the woman of his dreams.and of his nightmares. Set in the grungy back streets of what can only be Los Angeles, this tale invokes the almost always-irrational thought process of a man who is obsessed and obsessive.
In "Misogynistiqe" we are warned about the dangers of adultery and deception, and how sometimes art imitates life.
"She Gives Me the Fear" chronicles a man's hellish descent into madness and the results of that fall.
My favorite piece in this collection is the experimental and bizarre "Dog Murder." Focusing on what can happen when humans and animals are brought together through unnatural processes this story is strangely reminiscent of H. G. Wells' "The Island of Doctor Moreau," and just as fascinating.
Overall, "Animal Instincts" is an excellent read and I highly recommend it but be forewarned, it's not for the faint of heart and it may cause the beast within you to come bubbling to the surface.
More of Hertzan Chimera's work can be found in The Dream People archives section including the "Animal Instincts" story, "Tourette's Widow." (April 2002) "Animal Instincts" is available through Double Dragon Publishing.
-Gary West
8.25 X 11 Inch Paperback:
Near the end of 2003 DDP will be offering Animal
Instrincts as a full size, 8.25 x 11 inch
paperback. Included will be all these amazing stories PLUS
32 orginal illustrations by the artist Mitch Phillips!
(Each to appear on a single page before each story) Here is
a sample of what you will get.
Introduction
ANIMAL INSTINCTS started out as a concept very similar to some of the key themes in Doctor Moreau’s Island of genetic freaks ? although it became more of a social than genetic study of cross pollination.
What would happen if you transplanted animal mores, needs and, yes, instincts into contemporary cultural settings. How would the reader perceive the twisted narrative? Could this animal mentality affect the way the stories were actually written. The way a panting gazelle is torn apart by hyenas, could the very fabric of the written sentence suffer grammatical shearing and tearing of structure when subjected to the animal passion of these tales?
In this jaw-dropping collection of pure animal lust you will find reflections of the horror of the whim of survival and how it could at any moment be upon us in its hordes, devouring our minds. Bears feed at salmon-fat summer beaches. A bullfighter is gutted open by his love for the joust. Crab shells hide emerging sexual swap. Macaque monkeys greet as only they know how.
It will all seem very confusing, disgusting, amoral and wrong ? and it is all you deserve.
Contents
ROSIE’S SAD STORY
LAST EXIT FROM SOUR TOWN
THE BEAST O? BUXTON COUNTY
IN OUR MIDST
FAMILY TRAIN
SHRAPNEL GIRL
TOURETTE’S WIDOW
CONFESSIONS OF HFU-SZI-AMA
THE GETAWAY GIRL
FIVE HORNED BULL
BEER GIRLZ
THE SHATTERED SPELL
CARAVAN BOY
THE LEPIDOPTERIST
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
MISOGYNISTIQE
THE MAN WHO STOPPED BREATHING
MY FUCKY SUCKY VALENTINE
KEVLAR KUBEZ
RUNAWAY
KETSU NO ANA DE YATTA KOTO ARU?
STAYER
SHE GIVES ME THE FEAR
GET ME OUTTA HERE
LOVE SONGS
PAINTER MAN
THE PUSSYCAT PYRE
LADY CHARMINGDALE’S LOVER
VISITORS
DOG MURDER
AIKIDO WHORE
BATTLESHIPS
