Book Reviews

Sew Sorry by Aron Beauregard and Daniel Volpe

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Aron Beauregard and Daniel Volpe work exceptionally well together, seamlessly crafting a fantastic and surprising two-person anthology. Sew Sorry tells two vastly different tales that begin at the same fateful point in time. While the skin might be different between the two stories, there are underlying similarities in the meat that stand out.
We begin with Aron’s contribution, Charity’s Cackle. “Hurt people, hurt people” was the adage that ran through my mind the whole time I read this component of the book. Henry was a good kid, a bright kid, and it wasn’t his fault that his mother was a terrible, compulsive, and judgmental bitch. None of that stops asshole kids from being the assholes we expect them to be, as Henry experiences extreme bullying in response to his mother’s revealed behavior associated with her ignominious death.
The theme of damage radiating further damage is pronounced in this story, and it’s heartbreaking to have that additional layer to the narrative. I can’t say more, without giving too much away, but there’s a certain sense that fate was at work by the time the reader finishes the first half of this book.
Daniel takes up the baton with The Strays, diverting from the initial hostile confrontation we’ve already witnessed, but from a profoundly different perspective. The homeless man we first felt sorry for in Charity’s Cackle turns out to be a bit less sympathetic than he at first appeared.
Garrison is a broken man who has allowed regret from his past to poison him, turning him into a truly awful human being, assuming he wasn’t that way, to begin with. With Mary and Desiree in tow, Garrison’s only concern is for himself and what he can gain from those around him.
The way these two stories diverge and come together at multiple points is masterfully achieved by Beauregard and Volpe. Reminiscent of movies like Crash (not the Cronenberg film) or Magnolia, an interconnectedness between people is on display. Regardless of our seeming differences and backgrounds, the world has a way of forming collisions and coalescence that we’d never anticipate.
As graphic and vile as aspects of these two stories are–and there’s a whole hell of a lot of them–there’s so much storytelling skill at work that one can’t help but admire the literary talent both authors bring to the project.

Sew Sorry is part of the 31 Days of Godless event taking place for October of 2021 at http://www.godless.com. You can pick this up for yourself by going to the website or by downloading the app. The link is below:

Sew Sorry by Aron Beauregard & Daniel J. Volpe

The Whorehouse That Jack Built Part Three: Bear Maiden by Kevin Sweeney

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As we journey into the third of Kevin Sweeney’s The Whorehouse That Jack Built stories, we again glimpse a revolting bit of training the albino priest underwent with Motherfucker Superior. From that degrading bit of conditioning, we move along to the even more disgusting sexorcism of Bear Maiden.
A mountain of flesh, Bear Maiden never stops eating as the albino begins his ascent, intent on conquering the second of the Vestal Whores. Her disgusting body riddled with sores, with larvae nesting in the chasms of her rolls, the climb might prove too treacherous for our albino priest.
Equipped with undaunted courage, cruciform dildos, and his massive, rainbow-colored cock, the albino will wade through all manner of vileness to accomplish his mission, or die in the jaws of the ravenous Bear Maiden.
It’s impressive how well Sweeney manages to avoid seeming tedious or repetitious with these stories. He accomplishes this, in part, by providing a backstory for the Vestal Whore in each story. It’s interesting to see those details fleshed out and manifested in how each of the monstrous whores appears on the page.

This title is one of the 31 Days of Godless releases for October of 2021. You can obtain it for yourself by going to http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app. The link is below:

https://godless.com/products/the-whorehouse-that-jack-built-part-3-bear-maiden-by-kevin-sweeney

The Whorehouse That Jack Built Part Two: Mary Maggie Darling by Kevin Sweeney

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The second installment of Kevin Sweeney’s The Whorehouse That Jack Built series begins with a glimpse of backstory into the life of our nameless albino priest and presumably the training he experienced leading to his current calling.
From there, we meet the first of the Vestal Whores. We have the pleasure of experiencing the piss-drenched, street trash Mary Maggie Darling in all her stigmatized glory.
There’s no sense in trying to predict where this one is going. You’ll never anticipate each new twist and turn, nor every unexpected crevasse Sweeney guides you through along the way. This story is a fluid-filled romp that’ll make you feel more than a little bit dirty by the time you reach the climax.

You can pick this up by going to http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app on your mobile device. The link is below:

The Whorehouse That Jack Built (Part 2 – Mary Maggie Darling) by Kevin Sweeney

The Unclean Verses: Cantos 1 & 2 by John Baltisberger

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Whether you’re a fan of horrorcore rap, brutal poetry, splatterpunk horror, or you simply have an unhealthy obsession with serial killers and the atrocities committed by those degenerates, The Unclean Verses: Cantos 1 & 2 is definitely for you!
I come at this as a fan of John Baltisberger’s poetry–as well as his prose–and this introduction to The Unclean Verses still managed to blow me away.
We’re introduced to a man who feels compelled by demons to perform terrible, violent acts. The descriptive, graphic violence conveyed in verse is so damn impressive, and I’m not just saying that because I volunteered to be one of the victims when Baltisberger was first putting this whole project together. I probably deserved what I got, though, because I feel like I was probably a terrible coworker. I guess maybe I just didn’t have my head in the game.
In a sense, as I wrapped up my reading of Cantos 1 & 2, I felt almost like I’d just read the least remorseful death row confession ever. Imagine, if you will, an unrepentant spree killer or serial killer mocking both the families of the victims and society as a whole by unleashing a hideous, cruel rap detailing his crimes with passionate aplomb. You won’t be far off from what Baltisberger has in store for you with this release.
These first two Cantos will pummel you into submission with the rapid-fire, insidious rhythm by which Baltisberger delivers his barrage of violence and graphic imagery. You’ll quiver with equal parts anticipation and terror, knowing that this is only the beginning.

The Unclean Verses: Cantos 1 & 2 is being released on October 6th at http://www.godless.com as part of the 31 Days of Godless event for October of 2021. You’ll want to pick this one up for yourself by going to the website or downloading the Godless app. The link is below:

Unclean Verses Cantos: I & II by John Baltisberger

The Redwoods Ripper by Joshua MacMillan

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When Tony absconded with his father’s Remington 30-06 rifle and planned a venture into the redwood forest, he didn’t anticipate having his little brother, Timmy in tow. Hoping to make his father proud of him, he wanted nothing more than to show that he could behave like a man.
Wanting to spook his little brother, Tony tells Timmy about The Redwoods Ripper, a monster that preys on those who find themselves alone in the woods. Of course, a short while later Tony has to relieve himself.
Will the Ripper come for Tony or Timmy? Is it nothing more than a story Tony made up, or is it something more?
Joshua MacMillan shares a brief, but intensely heartbreaking story of childhood mistakes. The reader will see it coming before things go bad, and that makes it all the more awful to helplessly watch as the rest of the story unfolds.

This title is one of the two titles released for Day Five of the 31 Days of Godless event at Godless. You can get it for yourself by going to http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app. The link is below:

The Redwoods Ripper by Joshua Macmillan

Daddy by Iain Anderson

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Iain Anderson’s Daddy was as surprising as it was captivating, keeping the reader–in this case, me–guessing until just before the shocking pivot in the narrative.
Lauren is kidnapped and she’s certain it’s the work of a brutal murderer the press has dubbed The Callendar Man. Forced into a small, dark shed, Lauren soon learns she isn’t alone in the confined space.
This story has something for everyone. We have a father’s love. There’s a sinister string of missing people turning up dead in a gruesome fashion. And, finally, we have the mystery of who or what is in the shed with Lauren.
Iain Anderson might just answer the question that’s been plaguing you your whole life. Who’s your daddy?

Daddy is the Day Four release for the 31 Days of Godless event celebrating October 2021 at http://www.godless.com and you can obtain this story for yourself by going to the website or by downloading the app. The link is below:

Daddy by Iain Anderson

Snuff by Ash Ericmore

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The second installment of Ash Ericmore’s Smalls Family series is somehow more engaging and intense than the first. Previously introduced to Edward Smalls as he experiences some peculiar circumstances in his attempt to produce a snuff film for a client, we’re now introduced to Daniel Smalls. Daniel’s nickname, Snuff, has nothing to do with the sort of films his brother was making, but is rather because he is really good at killing people.
By the time you’ve finished reading Snuff, you’ll be convinced that he’s earned the nickname. The Smalls family is a dangerous group, for sure, and Daniel is almost frighteningly competent and nonchalant about taking lives.
The story begins with Daniel having drinks with Megan, a woman he suspects might be into him. There’s no reason to suspect things will go sideways, but they certainly do. All Daniel knows is that it has something to do with his brother, Michael, and Eastern Europeans.
The killings are fantastic in this story. It’s a short thing, but Ericmore packs so much graphic violence and death into these pages that it’ll feel like it has to be a much larger work.
Megan’s fate leaves a reader feeling gutted and there’s a particular death of one of our Eastern European antagonists that will really fuck with your head.
You have to check this shit out!

You can obtain this story for yourself by going to http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app. The link is below:

Snuff (The Smalls Family II) by Ash Ericmore

The Pied Piper by Harold Schechter, Narrated by Steven Weber

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Harold Schechter’s The Pied Piper tells the sordid tale of Charles ‘Smitty’ Schmid, Jr., The Pied Piper of Tuscon. A strange, diminutive man, Schmid developed a carefully crafted bad boy image and a demeanor reminiscent of Elvis Presley that aided him in drawing attention and devotion from other loners and outcasts.
With the assistance of two of these friends circling in his orbit, Schmid committed his first murder in 1964. He didn’t stop there, murdering two sisters only a little over a year later. Bragging about these killings whenever the occasion arose, he displayed neither shame nor remorse over what he’d done.
Schechter’s portrayal of Schmid and his friends is less than flattering, though much of what he shares seems to be descriptions of these people from either Schmid himself or others in his circle or involved with the case. It’s interesting to see so much detail packed into such a short narrative, and it was fascinating to learn more about one of the lesser-known serial killers from the annals of American criminal history.
Steven Weber provides terrific narration, proving again to be articulate and eloquent in his delivery of the story.

Panic by Harold Schechter, Narrated by Steven Weber

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Harold Schechter’s Panic showcases an early American example of moral panic, mass hysteria, and pattern recognition gone horribly awry.
This well-researched narrative begins with details of a tragic event, the result of the sort of irrational, hysterical panic arising in the 1930s surrounding the fear of child rapists and murderers surging across the American landscape. One father’s need to protect his daughters from a danger he perceived as being right around the corner erupts in a disastrous and heartbreaking conclusion.
From that awful event, Schechter traces backward to the small number of isolated incidents that had been blown up and made to seem like part of a growing trend. Each of these individual cases was certainly terrible, but they were hardly part of a nationwide surge in that sort of criminal activity.
Looking at the world we live in today, one can see that we haven’t grown beyond this sort of outrage-driven crusade where we perceive the boogeyman du jour in every shadow.
Steven Weber’s narration is perfectly suited to this gripping non-fiction essay. I’m pleased to see that he continues to narrate other short samples of Schechter’s larger body of work contained in Bloodlands.

Night Shift by Lindsay Crook

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Lindsay Crook tells us a tale that’s a little bit Hostel, a little bit Nightcrawler, and a whole lot of unpleasantness. Does that sound amazing to you? It really should!
As important as it is to love what you do, Hank loves his job perhaps a little too much. As a guard in the high-security facility where the most depraved desires are fulfilled, Hank witnesses atrocities that would shatter the spirit of most people. He is not like most people.
What happens when watching simply isn’t enough?
We’ve all taken liberties at work. There’s no sense in pretending we’re innocent of that. Unfortunately for Hank, his employers are far less forgiving than most. One might expect such a thing from a shadowy, secret organization that caters to only the ultra-wealthy and decadent when legal pleasures are no longer sufficient.
Come walk the halls with us and tune into the monitors as we watch horrors unfold.

Day 2 of 31 Days of Godless brings us this fantastic title from Lindsay Crook. You can pick it up for yourself by going to http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app. The link is below:

Night Shift by Lindsay Crook