The bouquet Bridgett Nelson presents us with is indeed as visceral as the title implies. Eight stories unfold like the petals of carnivorous flowers, a cruel beauty on display no matter where you happen to look. It’s no wonder this collection was the 2023 Splatterpunk Award winning single-author collection, nor is it any surprise that “Jinx” was the winning short story. Both the collection itself and that particular story have a certain feel about them that seeps under the skin of the reader and makes us feel discomfort that only arises from exposure to something heartbreaking and…well…visceral.
There’s something here for everyone, assuming you enjoy your horror to feel intensely personal. Even when there’s a sea monster involved, it’s difficult to distance yourself enough to remember that it’s fiction you’re reading and that no one was harmed in the making of this book…though the same can hardly be said about the reading of it. If it doesn’t hurt, you’re hardly human. These are stories meant to hurt you and leave behind scars that remind you of the all-too-real abuses that pepper these pages. These may not be real victims, but the things that happen to them are far too often quite real.
I found it was best to read each story with a period of digestion between, allowing myself to really think about what I’d read and how it made me feel. This collection, though only eight stories, is a marathon…not a sprint…and it’s a marathon through a gauntlet that will leave the reader forever impacted.
Domus Necrophagous 