Title: Dr. Morbid’s Castle Of Blood
Series: Masks 06
Author: Hayden Thorne
Genre: Young Adult, Superheroes
Length: Novel (173pgs)
Publisher: Queerteen Press (JMS Books) (19th August 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Following the attacks on Vintage City by the Deathtrap Debutantes, life quiets down, and the superheroes are temporarily without work. Unfortunately, unemployed superheroes mean bored superheroes, and with Peter’s birthday just around the corner, Eric asks for help in coming up with the most creative gift he can give a boy who’s got everything. Tapping into everyone’s fondness for computer games, Eric enlists the heroes’ help in experimenting with a video game in a desperate bid to amaze Peter with something unique.
What they don’t expect is a game that’s been sabotaged by an old nemesis. Eric and the heroes suddenly find themselves trapped in a horror game, forced to advance against the clock or be stuck in it forever. With three of their friends vanishing from the group, Eric and Ridley are forced to use their wits and their limited abilities to fight their way through monsters that are meant to keep them from finding the others. Outside, Althea as Spirit Wire, along with unexpected allies, scrambles to keep a delicate connection with her friends as she tries to save them all.
Purchase Link: http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66&products_id=574
Review: This book is part of a series and is best read in order. Eric is struggling to come up with a birthday gift for his superhero boyfriend, Peter; the guy who has everything he could ever want. So, Eric with the help of a few of his superhero friends sets out to get the coolest best present that a boy could ever want, a 3D interactive computer game. But, it goes wrong when an old nemesis sabotages the game and they are stuck inside fighting zombies and monsters, trying to find their friends with a time limit to finish the game and escape.
This is a great story for young adults and those not quite so young adults who love gay superhero stories and great fun. Eric just can’t think of anything to give Peter for his birthday (except the obvious, but then he is sixteen and horny. So, when he strikes upon the idea of a unique gift he pleads with his friend Althea to help him out. So everything is planned and the game seems to be going great and then everything goes wrong, as they find themselves trapped having to complete the game before the time runs out. then three of them go missing and Eric and Ridley have to battle their way through the rest of the game trying to find their friends with the limited help the Althea and two unexpected allies.
Okay, so I have to admit to being a fan of the Mask series. I just love being able to read a book that can take me back to my teenage years of dreaming about superheroes and the weird and wacky things of the teenage imagination. This story is great; Hayden Thorne really does manage to get into a teenage psyche to give us the weird and wonderful life of Eric and his friends. the adventures they have are unique and very funny in places. This story is no different. Eric and Peter are a great couple, but other than them being boyfriends and horny, most of the story is focused on Eric trying to find the perfect gift and then on the adventure of being stuck in a game.
This is a really well written story for those of us who love trying to recapture those fleeting teenage feelings and this is an excellent story for young adults who want to let their lives go briefly and sink into an imagination filled world which is fun, amusing and just a touch angsty. I know people will pull a face, but my favorite bit out of the entire story has to be the scene with the zombie baby. It was just so disgusting and amusing and oh, so wrong to laugh, that I still chuckle when I think about it.
So, I recommend this if you love a gay teenage superhero, their faithful not superhero boyfriend, angsty teenage problems, adventures that only a teenager could do, horny teenage boys, chuckles and laughter and an amusing story.