November 1, 2012

The Venus Complex

Barbie Wilde

Cover painting by Daniele Serra

Author Bio

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Watch the book trailer on youtube!

A man rises out of an abyss of frustration and rage and creates works of art out of destruction, goddesses out of mere dental hygienists and beauty out of death.  It’s also about the sickness and obsession that is LOVE.

“After purposefully killing his wife in a car accident, art professor Michael Friday finds his perspective on things has become a little…warped.  Via his personal journal, we’re allowed into his mind to slowly watch the disintegration of it, bearing witness to his unnerving sexual cravings and ideas about killing: intertwined with the paintings he loves so much. As Michael writes, he’s ‘turning into something dead’; but at the same time he wants to be somebody, not a nobody.

Using his diary to rant against the world in general – including everything from banks to popular culture, from national holidays like Christmas to politics – he reveals more about the big, gaping hole in his own life. But as the novel goes on the first person narrative tensely builds up, displaying his dark dreams and innermost thoughts; his way of filling that void and presenting his grisly ‘works of art’ to the world. As intelligent and cultured as Hannibal, easily as disturbing as American Psycho and infinitely less reassuring than Dexter, this is a sexually-charged real life horror story that will definitely stay with you.”

—review by Paul Kane, award-winning horror and fantasy writer

Enter into Michael’s world through the pages of his personal journal, where every diseased thought, disturbing dream, politically incorrect rant and sexually explicit murder highlights his journey from zero to psycho.

Interviews

The Clive Barker Podcast interview with Barbie Wilde

Reviews

Fear Magazine—November 2012

"… the Professor appears, even in his writings, to be a normal man, perfectly capable of living alongside any one of us without raising suspicion. And that is Wilde's genius in charting the rise of a sociopath of cleverness and cunning enough to match that even of Dr Hannibal Lecter (God knows where and how she did her research). She presents us with a normal human being capable of doing the most deviant atrocities, being able to justify them so that he can live with himself. And yet, as a reader, I found myself drawn to this character with an increasing degree of fascination...If you are a fan of both the crime and horror genres and want something special to read this Christmas, go for The Venus Complex."

Buy the issue here.

Starburst Magazine—December 2012

by Jon Towlson

"…The Venus Complex is also blackly comic and offers in its character’s disenchantment with the world around him some witty and acerbic social commentary. Wilde is definitely one to watch."

Read the entire review here

Ginger Nuts of Horror —November 2012

by Jim Mcleod

“ This is one hell of a novel, Barbie Wilde, has written one of the most tense and powerful stories I have read in a long long time. This is not a book for the feint of heart, there are passages in here that will truly shock you. Michael Friday is an angry man, he rants at everything from celebrity culture, politic and national holidays. I don't know from which dark recess of Barbie's mind she dragged this story from, but she is really beginning to scare me. It is as though some dark primal rage takes control of her mind when she writes stories like this."

"From reading her short stories I knew Barbie Wilde had a talent for writing.  With The Venus Complex, Barbie's talent has been given a much larger canvas to play with.  And Barbie has filled every square inch of the canvas with a stunningly brilliant work of fiction. 

Read the full review at Ginger Nuts of Horror.

Horror Talk —December 2012

by Gabino Iglesias

"While Wilde's smart-yet-unhinged character is definitely one of the main elements making The Venus Complex a must-read, it's really the author's writing chops that help this tome stand out ... The Venus Complex is a clever, grisly, art-infused, sexually-charged narrative that will keep you turning pages. I apologize, but I simply have to say this: Barbie Wilde's work definitely has some sights to show you."

Read the full review at Horror Talk.