Viscera: An Anthology of Bizarre Erotica with duana r. anderson Edited by Cara Bruce Published by Venus or Vixen,  San Francisco, 2000 Paperback Fiction: $12.95 Review by duana r. anderson

Cover Illustration by Trevor Brown

Viscera: An Anthology of Bizarre Erotica is the provocative anthology edited by the creator of Venus or Vixen, Cara Bruce.  Viscera is a lush paperback of twenty four wickedly sinful stories by such notorious authors of perverse prose as M. Christian, Cecilia Tan, Thomas S. Roche, Eve Rings and Michelle Scalise.  The stories are a dark feast of deviant fiction encompassing the taboos of necrophilia, rape and bondage, death, lust and fear.  From the humorous I Am Joe's Penis by Sue D'Nimm, to the sacrilegious with Wages of Faith by Michelle Scalise, to the creepy Fingers by David Beran and the bizarre Cheng by Cara Bruce, Viscera unearths the forbidden obsessions that are buried deep within our psyche.

I enjoyed many of the stories, some of which were exceptional and unforgettable.  Restoration by Heather Corinna is a richly painted story of an artist who has a yearning fixation with a beautiful stranger whose mouth is impossible to resist.

"Her fingers had traced over the edges of the lips on the canvas.  Something was tugging at me, something that didn't feel like the shiver I was getting from her lips, more like a shiver when someone touches you the wrong way, or when the air is too cold to be comfortable, and you can't pretend a nice draft is refreshing.  Breezes are one thing.  Icy winds are just cold.

But I couldn't say no.  Not to those trembling lips. . ."

M. Christian's The Bang Gang is a sexy lesbian lick-o-rama where a handful of scary dykes take the ladies's room hostage and force the women perform at gun-point to their delighted dismay.

"‘Take those out.'

The girl quickly responded, breathing heavily.  A left hand went into a right cup and pulled out a firm, soft tit.  She was definitely a big girl.  Right hand, left cup.  Her tits stood on the porch of her bra, suspended out like twin missiles at the smiling Ms. Mean.  The girl's nipples were hard, Deux noted from almost across the room, and easily the size and shape of half-marbles.

Ms. Mean smiled at the girl's tits and playfully poked her in the belly with her gun.  The girl squealed, high and sharp, and danced back, setting a jiggling motion through her high, big tits that--despite her fear and adrenaline--Deux found herself wishing that she was poking the girl herself, but not with a gun."

Bethlehem's Burning by Eve Rings is a story about a whorehouse that specializes in fulfilling the bizarre fetish fantasies of its twisted patrons.

"Death lays in Room Four, holding an Eternal Rest Tribute over her chest, her skin dusted pale blue and her lips white.  Candles burn in huge wrought iron holders, wax dripping on the heavily polished wood floor, organ music piped over the cheap sound system.  She has practiced slowing her breath, her chest barely rising with each exhale, her slight intakes inaudible.  The room is heavily air conditioned and the toe tag itches, yet her eyes remain closed, her body glowing against the satin lined coffin. . .

She thinks of going back to Kansas to her family, the feel of the solid metal tractor against her face as she rests her cheek against it, the miasmatic stench of sugar beets.  She feels the tears hot across her naked thighs, salty splashes of grief, warm mouth lowering to lick them off, the slow stream of saliva across her skin."

The stories in Viscera are as varied and unique as they are controversial and creepy.  This anthology is not the usual erotic-vanilla fare.  It is a more exotic banquet of spicy dishes that sizzle the tastebuds; a saucy aphrodisiac fuck-feast for those who have an appetite for the forbidden excesses of dark erotica.  I highly recommend it!