Rohypnol Books

Well here I am reviewing another of Simon Logan's highly unique and gripping pieces of work. All the things I love about his style, and have mentioned in previous reviews remain true here.
Honestly, many who know me would be surprised by how much I like his stuff, due to its dark seemingly nihilistic feel. However, Simon's work reminds me a lot of Lovecraft, in that there is a joy, and a strange sort of "rightness" in his bleak world: it is as it is ment to be, and is beautiful for it.

Like its twin, Rohypnol Brides begins with a novella length story. This one is called "Wargasm" and is certainly the most "fetishy" of these fetishcore stories. It involves a group of people with a rather ill-defined fetish involving SWAT gear and opression, and features the punk girl Katja, who we met in "Rage Against the Machines."
Next is "Rohypnol Bride", one of Simon's patented very short stories revolving around obsession and cyclical repetition. The first and simplest of several in the collection.
After that is "Drainage", the only male/male homoerotic story in the collection. Obsession is again a strong theme here, and as often much is vague, but all the points that matter are very clear.
The next story, "Wrapped in Plastic", I really need to read again, as I dont think I fully understood it. It includes another elusive female figure, and a seeming switch of identity between antagonist and protagonist, another great example of Simon's vague-yet-crisp style.
"Closer to the Lung" features an interesting blend of fetish and industrial, telling the story of a "roach", a person naturally resistant to diseases and toxins, and his involvement with a blood-fetish group.
"The Antibiotic Pilgrimage of Prophet X" highlights another frequent element of the author's fiction; its a story that starts more or less in the middle, and is really seemingly part of a longer tale. It centers strongly on the author's viral/disease theme, as well as medical fetish. It creates a very interesting but unfinished mythology involving contagious profits and a super-sterile rival religion.
"The Binding" is another very short, artistic piece, like a word painting or a long koan. Some have said Simon's work has little in the way of plot, but this is an example of how not all stories need one. It reminds me in some ways of the story "Devastation" from "Nothing is Inflammable."
"Surgery" is actually the next story, despite a typo on the contents page. It is one of the most romantic stories I've seen from the author, and rather touching in that the two characters eventually seem to really care for one another, even if in a very strange way.
"Crash and Bleed Out" is one of my favorites, drawing on (possibly fictious) Eastern European folklore and viral contamination paranoia to create a strange sort of zombie/cannabilism/outbreak situation, with a little twist at the end. It also explores the idea that science and the supernatural may not be as far apart as some think.
Last is "Lithium", my personal favorite of the collection. It details a renegade ambulance driver/drug dealer's pursuit of a phantasmal bleeding girl, and his fateful encounter with another man also searching for a legend. The themes of obession/obssesive search (usually for a female character or force), and also the tendency of things to repeat themselves show strongly in this one. Urban legends, and the idea of peoples thoughts and beliefs becoming real are also interestingly explored.

Overall a great collection, I give it my highest recomendation for those who enjoy something strange and darkly joyful.