Firstly I noticed the
beautiful cover art and then noted at the back in the blurb that William Cook designs his
own, and others, covers – what talent.
I was only going to
read one story in this book to see if I would be interested or not, hahaha yeah
right! I came out of my Kindle many hours later a little staggered and wide
eyed.
How have I overlooked
this fabulous author for so long? I have read a few of his books but this
collection of shorts is intense and shows off his erudite flow and use of words
perfectly.
So, on with the stories
in this book.
The
Reader: my first thought when finishing the final sentence was
WTF! This was so brilliant and intense, I was not sure whether to “shut” the
book or carry on!
A man gets hooked on
reading after the birth of his daughter, what a wonderful thing you may
imagine, until it absorbs him in the most hideous way.
Delightfully gore laden
WC captures that feeling that US avid readers get when we find a new story or
author to indulge ourselves with, only he ratchets up the “forgot to eat dinner”
scenario and then bangs you over the head with it!
Kaleidoscope
Kid: I have always wondered if human monsters are nurture
or nature? This poor chap seems to be part of that question, with such a sad
start, middle and end to his life.
I almost wanted visions
of my own for the wonderful little critters that visit and chat with him,
almost.
I was so glad that Pa
got his justice but eeeew what a way to go! Intrigued? You should be! The stories
seem to only be getting better in this collection.
What
a Man wants: This little show stopping story is much
more the clipped, yet deep style I expect from WC (having read his other
novels).
A harsh life is
described and just as I started to feel sorry for the poor sap he twists his
tail (no miss spell!).
Fantastic ending to an
icky story.
Blinded
by the Light: Quite possible the most sickening first
line I think I have ever read, made my stomach knot and retch.
It does not get any
better or it becomes more brilliant depending on how you like your grotesque!
Amazing in all its disgusting
glory, yet still so full of story.
The
Night Terror: Much
more flowery and esthetic in its prose this story begins to soothe the thus far
shocked and tattered mind that is mine, but I cannot stop reading.
Don’t be fooled though,
the initial calm relaxes you into a stupor of rhythm before WC tosses you into
the pit of hell fire once more.
Legacy;
The Eternal Now and Hereafter: It
is kind of scary that these two loons thinking up a declaration of independence
and freedom for all using pipe bombs and destruction actually made sense, such
is the power of the authors writing skill.
This story lurches from
weird to horrific and then onto freaky. By far the longest story in this
collection I think “enjoy” would be the wrong word but I was totally engrossed.
Til
Death Do Us Part: Hugo does not take his wife’s request
for a divorce too well.
This has to be my
favourite story for all the mental visuals of gore, even had some smell and
touch in there too I think.
Almost tongue in cheek
complete with fumbling surgeon, shotguns and clueless cops. This story alone is worth the cost of the
collection.
Dead
Memories: WC manages to write about love lost in such a
beautiful way that you almost don’t notice the dull edge of pain as he then
rips your heart out.
As the nightmare
hauntings intensify I was not sure of the history but was too wrapped in the
destination to care.
The
Devil Inside: Poor young Jacob what an awful life he
has, but is seems he has an avenger, and they live under his bed.
The Beast has finally
matured and is hungry…..
A tale of revenge that
left me smiling.
Creeper:
The
poor crow or creeper bird gets blamed for all the bad things that befall this
stuck up idiot! Short and with no obvious outcome this was a snippet of a
moment, but wonderfully written.
Conceived
by Death: If you want well placed gore and stomach churning horror,
this is the read for you; from drug use, murdering of mums and babies to the
birth of something unknown WC wraps all of that horror into a great story with
a purpose and not just for the sake of more gore of puke factor.
Burnt
Offerings: WC does tales of abusive revenge like no
other. He is able to portray the pain so that any wrong doings done to the
perpetrators don’t feel at all excessive and possibly deserve one ounce more.
Short but not sweet a
strong female lead this time.
Pretty
Boy: Another bucket load of eeeeew!
Jasper is on the prowl
for more fresh flesh to rape and kill when the local police stop him and give
out their own brand of unique justice.
I would really like to
read the extended version of this! (hint hint)
Aspects
of Infinity: Really disliked this story as it was far
too abstract in writing style for me to connect with and I was getting bored
with my own struggle to keep up.
Am glad this was near
the end as not sure I would have continued with the book had it been first.
Just not MY thing, but
probably somebodies.
Dead
and Buried: Poor Donny and Max. This felt like a
really “nice” ending to the whole book, full of possible hope as well as the
spine chilling horror, not the usual WC gore and rub your face in it, this was
much more subtle and ultimately more intrusive.
Really enjoyed this
book of revenge with some strong drinking, smoking, drug and abuse themes going
on. I’m sure a shrink would have a field day with WC brain – maybe he should
visit Hannibal! That would be a certain match.
