The Need

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282 pages

Average rating: 4

3 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
Apr 02, 2025
4/10 stars
The Need
by Andrew Neiderman


Horror? Psychological Thriller? It is hard to categorize this book. It is an interesting idea, a race of being both male and female in the same body. The male sucking the life out of humans to feed the females youth and beauty.

All the tension building elements are presented in the prologue and first chapter. Told in first person past tense, the story starts with a murder (Clea’s human lover Michael) and a confession. The rest is flash back as Clea confesses that she and her brother Richard are one and the same. He has killed her lover and she intends to never let him surface again.

She tells the skeptical detective everything - starting with the fact that she is of a ‘race’ called Androgyne. The detective is willing to listen skeptically because he is pursuing her brother for several murders.

She tells her story by going all the way to the beginning - her childhood in this case, insisting on the fact it is relevant. She describes her first transformation in great detail and reveal that Androgyne males feed on human women - draining their life directly like an incubus.

She tells her half of the story and conveniently, Richard’s part is recorded as a diary he kept. After reading about Richard’s first kill described in his own hand, Clea realizes the detective isn’t believing a word and Richard is trying to escape.

She leaves but the detective comes to her home and thy continue the story over dinner then back to back home. She spins a sordid tale that involves her brother’s jealousy and distain for all ‘inferiors’ as the Androgyne refer to human. It is also revealed that Michael was lovers with both Clea and Richard. The detective though skeptical just can’t help being drawn in to the salacious tale. To the point of the obligatory seduction of the detective (ostensibly to ward off Richard, but seriously just to get them in bed). There are minor points of action interspersed throughout her story telling but they don’t really add much.

The story is short and easy to read, but it suffers from a lack of sympathetic character. He poor dead Michael is sleeping with both brother and sister. The detective is sleeping with a woman he thinks is crazy. And Clea while guilty some time over her brother’s kills, actively participate in the murder of a rival. And worse than that by the end of the book literally nothing has changed except that Clea loses all remorse and embraces her life with her brother. The detective thread is just plot devise to describe details of the Androgyne.
ngocnm
Mar 31, 2025
4/10 stars
The Need
by Andrew Neiderman


Horror? Psychological Thriller? It is hard to categorize this book. It is an interesting idea, a race of being both male and female in the same body. The male sucking the life out of humans to feed the females youth and beauty.

All the tension building elements are presented in the prologue and first chapter. Told in first person past tense, the story starts with a murder (Clea’s human lover Michael) and a confession. The rest is flash back as Clea confesses that she and her brother Richard are one and the same. He has killed her lover and she intends to never let him surface again.

She tells the skeptical detective everything - starting with the fact that she is of a ‘race’ called Androgyne. The detective is willing to listen skeptically because he is pursuing her brother for several murders.

She tells her story by going all the way to the beginning - her childhood in this case, insisting on the fact it is relevant. She describes her first transformation in great detail and reveal that Androgyne males feed on human women - draining their life directly like an incubus.

She tells her half of the story and conveniently, Richard’s part is recorded as a diary he kept. After reading about Richard’s first kill described in his own hand, Clea realizes the detective isn’t believing a word and Richard is trying to escape.

She leaves but the detective comes to her home and thy continue the story over dinner then back to back home. She spins a sordid tale that involves her brother’s jealousy and distain for all ‘inferiors’ as the Androgyne refer to human. It is also revealed that Michael was lovers with both Clea and Richard. The detective though skeptical just can’t help being drawn in to the salacious tale. To the point of the obligatory seduction of the detective (ostensibly to ward off Richard, but seriously just to get them in bed). There are minor points of action interspersed throughout her story telling but they don’t really add much.

The story is short and easy to read, but it suffers from a lack of sympathetic character. He poor dead Michael is sleeping with both brother and sister. The detective is sleeping with a woman he thinks is crazy. And Clea while guilty some time over her brother’s kills, actively participate in the murder of a rival. And worse than that by the end of the book literally nothing has changed except that Clea loses all remorse and embraces her life with her brother. The detective thread is just plot devise to describe details of the Androgyne.
Anonymous
Mar 27, 2025
4/10 stars
The Need
by Andrew Neiderman


Horror? Psychological Thriller? It is hard to categorize this book. It is an interesting idea, a race of being both male and female in the same body. The male sucking the life out of humans to feed the females youth and beauty.

All the tension building elements are presented in the prologue and first chapter. Told in first person past tense, the story starts with a murder (Clea’s human lover Michael) and a confession. The rest is flash back as Clea confesses that she and her brother Richard are one and the same. He has killed her lover and she intends to never let him surface again.

She tells the skeptical detective everything - starting with the fact that she is of a ‘race’ called Androgyne. The detective is willing to listen skeptically because he is pursuing her brother for several murders.

She tells her story by going all the way to the beginning - her childhood in this case, insisting on the fact it is relevant. She describes her first transformation in great detail and reveal that Androgyne males feed on human women - draining their life directly like an incubus.

She tells her half of the story and conveniently, Richard’s part is recorded as a diary he kept. After reading about Richard’s first kill described in his own hand, Clea realizes the detective isn’t believing a word and Richard is trying to escape.

She leaves but the detective comes to her home and thy continue the story over dinner then back to back home. She spins a sordid tale that involves her brother’s jealousy and distain for all ‘inferiors’ as the Androgyne refer to human. It is also revealed that Michael was lovers with both Clea and Richard. The detective though skeptical just can’t help being drawn in to the salacious tale. To the point of the obligatory seduction of the detective (ostensibly to ward off Richard, but seriously just to get them in bed). There are minor points of action interspersed throughout her story telling but they don’t really add much.

The story is short and easy to read, but it suffers from a lack of sympathetic character. He poor dead Michael is sleeping with both brother and sister. The detective is sleeping with a woman he thinks is crazy. And Clea while guilty some time over her brother’s kills, actively participate in the murder of a rival. And worse than that by the end of the book literally nothing has changed except that Clea loses all remorse and embraces her life with her brother. The detective thread is just plot devise to describe details of the Androgyne.

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