Rated “M” for “Mature Audiences 18+”

Ebullient teen, Ace lived a life of leisure and luxury with his adopted brothers, the gorgeous author, King Clayton, and King’s aloof lover, the arrogant and hypnotic J.  J taunted Ace, using all the guile he used to seduce male lovers.  J’s harassment and teasing of Ace only caused the boy confusion, so King sent Ace to a private boarding school until he turns 18.  Ace, however, can’t stop thinking about his adopted brothers, and as the day of his reunion approaches, he relives both his and his brothers’ pasts.  Oh, King and J might be vampires.

THE LOWDOWN:  Rarely are vampires as sexy as they are in Pathos, a yaoi manga from Mika Sadahiro.  Pathos (which means ‘blood”) is the over-heated, XXX, sexy, fantasy/thriller some readers wish Anne Rice’s legendary novel, Interview with a Vampire, or at least its 1994 film adaptation, was.  Fangs as penetrating penises, drinking blood as torrid sex, vampirism as homosexuality, and male friendships as incestuous relationships: there’s no shame in manga-ka Mika Sadahiro’s game as she teases the inevitable (assumptive) Ace/J relationship and depicts a violent vampire attack/sexual encounter (rape?).  It’s maddening, raunchy, and oh-so mesmerizing and drawn in a wild, emotive style full of passion and want.  Pathos could be cheesy, but it’s just hot, vampire fun.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of vampires and vampire sex will go crazy for Pathos.

A