Publisher's Synopsis
Young Morrigan, the daughter of a local aristocrat, is full of innocence and life. Angus Wulfe is an eccentric and devious doctor who stalks her while he cultivates a plan to win her affection. Their two worlds collide in a grisly twist of fate when the Plague arrives on the shores of their town. With no cure in sight, and bodies dropping incrementally every day, the doctor uses his influence, along with his reputation in medical advances - stemming from his clandestine and macabre experiments-to manipulate Morrigan's father. In return for her hand in marriage, the doctor would save her life. Clinging to life, Morrigan begins to feel a change. Has the doctor cured her, or did her father make a deal with the Devil? Reviews: "The Unfleshed: Tale of the Autopsic Bride is an exquisite dive into the madness brought on by love ... a rose nourished with blood, rendered with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. A compelling blend of Mary Shelly, Baz Luhrman and the Grand Guignol!" -John Palisano, Bram Stoker-winning author of NERVES Like many other popular writers, Lisa Vasquez presents us with a twisted alternate history tale. At least one would like to assume it is alternate history. If such a monstrous thing occurred, well, we would not have any way to know for certain if it did or didn't and that is a bit terrifying. But it is definitely twisted. I will state for the record that I find the official synopsis to be an oversimplification of the book. For example, people say there is a fine line between love and obsession and this book not only plays on that line, it plays with that line. I feel that more accurately describes how the main story line plays out. Additionally, the characters within the book are so well fleshed out that one can feel and almost empathize with the madness, the emotions, and the thought processes presented throughout the story. The Unfleshed has many twists and microplots and I found it as a whole to be delightfully more complex as it progressed than I anticipated based on the synopsis. This is definitely a story that builds. I also have to say that I found the book to be more horrific than scary, and I mean that in a most complimentary way. While the graphic nature of some of it is shocking, it is shocking in a horrific way because it is graphic and well done. The well-presented characters and unexpected follow through of the story keep it from being shock-effect scary, so don't look for that. The most horrific part of the story for me was the completely unexpected ending. Full marks to Lisa Vasquez for that ending. It is one of those endings that causes one to exclaim out loud and hope no one heard. To be crude, I fornicating love that ending! The only drawback to the story for me was the unclear setting in time, and I deliberated reducing this to 4 stars because of it. The story was explicitly set in the plague years of the 1300s, but the descriptions and overall tone mix in things from the outbreak a couple of centuries later. If you don't know, then you wouldn't know and much of it does make for easier flow and reading. I decided finally that this was obviously alternate history and my brain resolved the issue on that premise. So, if you have entirely too much historical information in your head, read this as alternate history and enjoy! If you do not know the difference, well then just read it and enjoy! Lisa Lee, Bibliophilia Templum
