Stainless

By Todd Grimson

Book Overview

"The greatest horror writer you've never read . . . In Stainless, Todd Grimson set out to write 'the Ultimate, Final Vampire Novel'--and succeeded." (The Guardian)

Justine is a vampire. Keith just lives like one. An ex-junkie and ex-rock star, his hands mangled by his dead ex's own jealous ex, he's let go of his ambitions. He's content to be Justine's live-in Renfield, helping her pick up dinner when she needs a bite, keeping an eye on her lavish L.A. manor when the sun is out and she's down for her beauty sleep. It's true that Justine has been around for a few centuries and Keith barely three decades, but they're good for each other: Justine is teaching Keith to take the long view; Keith is reminding her how it feels to be alive. Yet a cohort of criminals, desperate artists, dead-enders, hangers-on, and wanna-bes, undead and otherwise, threaten their curious union. Can love stay untainted in a world of monsters?

First published in 1996, Todd Grimson's Stainless is a noir fantasia, a symphony of bloody horror, and a woozy, erotic tour of night-side L.A. Not only is it the greatest vampire novel of the twentieth century, it may be the last, best farewell to the mythic Los Angeles of Bette Davis, Dennis Hopper, and Less than Zero. In a league with the best of James Ellroy and Raymond Chandler--and closing the coffin for good on poor old Bram Stoker--Stainless is the final word on fangs, hangovers, and heartbreak.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 196134145X
• ISBN13: 9781961341456
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: McNally Editions
• Length: 240 Pages

Customer Reviews

The Best Vampire Novel Ever Written

Stainless is brilliant. Find a copy anywhere you can and read it. You will be blown away.

More than blood and fangs: it reaches your soul.

I passed Stainless to a friend who at first wasn't that enthousiastic about reading "another vampire novel". She was blown away.It was so deep and moving that she didn't want it to end.Stainless goes way beyond the genre. While keeping the codes of the vampire fiction, it transgresses its clichés and makes it a truly deep literary novel, brilliantly served by Grimson's poetic and original prose.A romantic tragedy (in the best highest sense) for both vampire lovers and lovers of contemporary literature.

Beautiful Heartbreaking Tragedy

Never in my life have I read a book that has managed to embrace so much pain, longing, and beauty in my entire life. The protagonist, broken rock musician Keith, is symbolic of the heavy hearted, hurting soul in all of us after the rejection and aftershocks of the cruel thing called Love. Set against the underside of L.A.'s music scene, "Stainless" tells the story of a talented man broken by the suicide of his girlfriend and the loss of the use of his hands (which were cracked one by one in a Venezuelan prison). Enter Justine, the soul sucking vampire with a sensitive side who can't save Keith, so she merely drags him further into a bleak, dark world of misfits, abuse, and lost denizens filled with longing. Through his beautiful descriptions, dream like visions, and painful metaphors, the author manages to present the reader with a raw view of life, unapologetic is its grief and sorrow. If you're looking for a book that touches your soul and brings you to tears, look no further. This is a definite masterpiece that will haunt the depths of your consciousness.

Stainless was completely superb

Never in my entire life have I read such a creative, heartbreaking book. Grimson's characters were so believable that I actually felt the broken rock musician protagonist's sadness. The plot, although not 100% original, was a nice change of pace from the usual bore and lore that can be found in Anne Rice's books. It's nice to know you won't find any whiny, "why must I continue to kill?" vampires here. The writing was pure poetry and I love his unusual style. Thanks for your contribution to the horror genre, Mr. Grimson.

Man, does this guy give good syntax!

Okay, so the story is a bit gauzy. So there is nothing redeeming about this romp in gore and amoral sex and depravity. What do you want? This book is a five unit class in advanced composition. I mean it. This guy can work language. If you want to write you owe it to yourself to wade through this little book. He freed me from conjuction and gerund sentence hell and he can do the same to you. Thanks, Todd, baby, and next time give a little more thought to content, huh?