The Fallen Boys by Aaron Dries

The Fallen Boys
4 of 5 stars
This book lulls you in with a quiet, insidious sort of horror then takes a turn down torture lane and I was absolutely not at all prepared (despite being warned).

Honestly, as I was reading I was wondering why so many reviews were making such a big deal out of the gore level. It wasn’t any worse than most horror novels I’ve read and most of the terror came from real life fears. Sure, what happens was heartbreaking and tragic but what wimps these other people must be, thought I, all smug and desensitized. But then, just as I was feeling like nothing would ever bother me again (and wondering if the problem might be me), I was hit with some truly disturbing images and a despair that doesn’t ever let you go. Yep, it’s gross, it’s horribly disturbing and it’s all up in your face. Everything they said about this one? Trust me, it’s true.

I’m not going to ruin the plot mainly because I’m just too lazy. I’ll just say it’s about love, family, grief and all of the ugly emotions that’ll tear you apart. And then throw in a madman or two and some flesh eating piggies and a giant Mason jar that'll give you nightmares.

This was a rough read, I cannot lie, and it took me weeks to finish. Not because the writing was awful (it wasn’t) or because the character were jerks (the innocents were not) but because it was so incredibly bleak. I think I’m the one getting whimpy because I had to take breaks even before the atrocities and body horror smacked me in the face. There’s only so much despair one can take in a sitting . . .

This was the epitome of life: graceless torture.


View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tackling the To Be Read List (1)

Image
I was going to create a little feature where I'd have you vote on my next TBR book because I am still determined to read at least one of them this year but someone else beat me to it. This works perfectly for lazy me because now I can just sign up for Michelle @ Because Reading's meme instead! If you want to join all of the rules are here. I grabbed three random books from the top of the most embarrassing pile. So, what do you think I should read (or attempt to read) next? Let me know in the little poll down below. Also, please feel free to let me know if these are not worth reading! Remember this is the year of the DNF (at least for me!). Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow 3.76 Rating @ Goodreads Jill Kismet. Dealer in Dark Things. Spiritual Exterminator. Demon Slayer. Not everyone can take on the things that go bump in the night. Not everyone tries. But Jill Kismet is not just anyone. She's a Hunter, trained by the best - and in over her hea
Read more

The Bloody Chamber And Other Stories by Angela Carter | Horror Fiction Review

Image
Hmmmm The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Released January 1979, 162 pgs Source: Bought with my own $ Goodreads  |  Amazon For the 75th anniversary of her birth, a Deluxe Edition of the master of the literary supernatural’s most celebrated book—featuring a new introduction by Kelly Link Angela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, Kelly Link, and other contemporary masters of supernatural fiction. In her masterpiece, The Bloody Chamber—which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jordan’s 1984 movie The Company of Wolves—she spins subversively dark and sensual versions of familiar fairy tales and legends like “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Bluebeard,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” giving them exhilarating new life in a style steeped in the romantic trappings of the gothic tradition. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in
Read more

Got My Eye On (3)

Image
I saw a post over at  Mailbox Monday  that was encouraging readers to share their best finds of the week via their  Books That Caught Our Eye  posts. I love, love, love that idea so this is my warped version of it. Here are the books I've added to my wishlist with credit to my enablers :) Bob @  Beauty In Ruins   Spidermilk by Konrad Hartmann Eddie Stover, private eye, lives in a future where artificial humans called LifeMates serve consumers as a purchasable commodity. When Stover takes a wandering daughter case, the search for the missing woman plunges him into a world of hijacked LifeMates, psychedelic milk, and a bizarre spider-worshiping cult. As the thrall of his old addictions and the enticements of the woman he promised to protect threaten to consume him, Stover is faced with the realization that he cannot escape the choice love forces him to make. (M/F, F/F) ↞   I don't know where Bob finds these weird ass titles but I'm just thankful he does!
Read more