Customer Reviews

Kiss Me, Judas

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Will Christopher Baer has succeeded in taking this urban legend to the limit. From the moment we wake with Phineas Poe - naked and violated in a blood-stained bathtub full of ice - KISS ME, JUDAS opens the door to an underworld seeped in depravation. It's true that several variations on this popular theme have emerged over recent years, but I doubt that many can boast such a mix of wit, grit and thought-provoking surrealism. Poe's drug-tarred struggle to accept his wife's death, whilst falling for the woman who has become his doctor, lover and attacker, is beautifully told. Jude is both the angel and devil incarnate - a staple in the ex-cop's side as he balances on the edge between blurred reality and mental instability. But read between the lines and KISS ME, JUDAS is more than just a thriller, more than just a love story, more than just a tale of drugs and lust - it lifts the taboo on a host of subjects that most of us would be happy to forget but, perhaps, do well to remember. Although the ending is more bizarre than it is climatic, this book deserves full marks for freshness and originality. Baer's writing style ensures an easy read; snappy dialogue and short, punchy paragraphs make this a dangerous book to put down. Pick up a copy for yourself and see! Check out Baer's KISS ME, JUDAS! Another recommendation I need to make is an oddball, very entertaining novel called THE LOSERS CLUB (Complete Restored Edition) by Richard Perez.

I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up. Wow was I surprised. This story is completely original. Phineas is a very strange character. I found myself wondering if this all was a brief hallusination, or if these things were in fact occuring. I would love to see them weave this story into a movie. This book is not for all. I loved to be grossed out, and read things just for pure shock value. Any book where the protagionst awakens with a missing kidney-is a book I love to read. I would reccomend this to anyone who enjoys anything out of the norm.

This, to me, was like reading Bukowski pumped with steroids. This is a true noir and an excellent book.
This was a little difficult to read quickley, being a first-person, limited present narrative. The reader finds themselves slowed down quite a bit, stumbling over which character said what or if something wasn't spoken at all; this makes for a very conscious read. This is an almost dizzying writing style, but when it is done well IT HAS A VERY POWERFUL EFFECT. Baer is certainly a great writer.

Its not a backward moving story but it is about a dark journey by a man in search of something he has lost. This time, its his kidney. The femme fatale this time around is a cute asian woman with a military background who gets off on harvesting black market organs. She picks on our hero, Phineas Poe, and so begins a fantastically dark and deep story.

There are two stories here: the story of the kidney (who has it, who wants it, whose the fat guy with the gloves?) and the unfolding back-story of Phineas Poe's tragic past.

Not to everyone's palate, but if you dig dark and moody, you'll dig this!

So it's noir written in the late 90s. So it's written like a dream (a nightmare, actually), no quotations marks, paragraphs that attempt no meaning, etc. So it's Baer; who the hell is he?!?!?! One of the most promising authors today, that's for sure. I'm from Argentina, so you can imagine than when I bought this book in Italy (I bought the English version), I didn't know who this guy was or anything. Let me tell you this is not an easy read, but it is an AMAZING journey to the depths of a psychotic mind (Phineas, that is). I found the non quotation marks added to the "I'm not going to make things easier for the reader" possition Baer took. I'm very delighted with the novel, which is not only an hypnotic tale but a love story at it's best (so you can imagine it's full of peverse, cynical thoughts and actions). READ IT.

I can't really find the words to describe this book, something that has never happened to me before. This book takes you into a dark underworld that you can't possibly imagine. It challenges what you have already been told and dares you to think or question anything. I would definatly recommend this to anyone who wants to be dragged into a strange world of sex, drugs and love.

This is truly a brilliant piece of work that successfully places the reader in a vivid, hallucinatory nightmare. "Kiss Me, Judas" will probably be compared to the later works of James Ellroy, but this author has a true voice of his own. This book weaves a dark spell and captures reality as a twisting nightmare. The author deftly combines jolting plot twists with sharp, accurate characterizations. Also, he skewers the typical hard-boiled cliches into a dark, hellish poetry. This book defies categorization by any genre. Read it and you will feel the effects of a morphine/heroin injection at the base of your spine. Go ahead. I dare you.

I'm not a big noir fan, but I picked up this book because I like urban legends and I was interested in what Baer could do with the stealing-the-kidney legend. He does not disappoint. His prose is simple, dark, yet deceptively beautiful, and he is capable of interweaving past and present, real and hallucinations, in a way that keeps readers guessing without confusing them. I kept wondering, though, what kept Poe from total collapse. Next time someone steals a body part, Phineas, stay in the hospital, okay? I was worried about you...

One shouldn't have to wait so long to read books as good as this. Baer's prose is as exruciatingly clean as the snow falling over Denver, falling onto cars, falling past the streetlights -- dark, sweet shimmering sentences, like candy that could kill you. When is this guy's next book coming out? Who is this guy? Great!

Baer's book demonstrates post spiritual awakening. The characters are thrust upon a world void of emotional responsibility. They suffer. This is an act of textual transparenty. Poe's perspective guides the reader through the book. An act of mistrust. The reader must not belive the narrartor. Istead trust in reading. A great read.