Nathan Ballingrud

When I started this book, I initially thought, WTH am I reading? I didn’t think this author’s work was for me, but as I went further and got used to his way of world building, which is to drop the reader straight into the darkest depths of hell, I became engrossed. For those of nervous dispositions they’d likely say they’re grossed out, but gory descriptions aside, it was the imaginative creativity of the writer’s style. Bizarre, surreal, warped… the stories presented here are show more all these things and more. From the borders of hell, indeed. Strangely, I enjoyed each subsequent story more, starting with my least favourite to the best — to my knowledge, The Butcher’s Table being a vision of piracy we’ve never seen before. show less

Let's be honest and not kid ourselves that one reads tales like this for fun. One reads stories of nihilistic violence and extreme body horror as a catharsis from a reality that humanity seems too stupid to survive.

So, if the first part of the "Lunar Gothic Trilogy" was largely an examination of medical horror and hubris getting its comeuppance, the middle book has two angles of attack. One is that gang leader and all-round piece of bad news Goodnight Maggie needs extra firepower in her show more fight with the Mafia. On the other hand, designated minion Charlie Duchamp is staggering around as two entities, having had a massive lobotomy inflicted on him in the first book, and they are on a collision course. The results will be one hell of an explosion.

Anyway, I remain highly impressed by Ballingrud's concoction of Lovecraftian horror meets Radium-Age planetary romance, though I could attach a whole laundry-list of trigger warnings. show less

So...apparently I'm an idiot.

(Yes, I know, this is not news for anyone who has even a passing acquaintance will know...still, it should be stated, for the record)

Why am I an idiot? Because I started reading this collection, got through the first story and thought two things. The first was, wow, that was really freaking good. The second was, seems a bit familiar, though.

The same happened with the next couple. Amazingly good, amazingly familiar. So, I went digging and yep, turns out I read show more this book about two and a half years ago. Okay, well, I listened to the audio version. This time around, I've got the physical book in my hands.

This is why I enjoy physical books...because I can also go and look at my shelves and discover (over and over and over again) that, damn it! I already purchased this and read it.

This is one of those books that I've heard from several readers and authors that MUST be read. I guess that's the thought I had in my head enough that it stuck and...well, yeah, I read it again.

And you know what? It was just as good the second time through. Ballingrud presents a series of dark, bleak stories, often with ambiguous—yet still perfectly logical—ends. There are monsters here, but most of them are the humans and, in most cases, those people have no idea they're monsters. This is a dark, often bleak ride full of characters who are in deep, unrelenting pain.

That's where some of the best horror comes from.

I read some of the more critical reviews and honestly, I had to laugh because, in each case (whether it was complaining about the derogatory language, the misogny, the "characters were all the same", or the "terrible writing")...I had to ask myself...did I read the same book as you?

Because this book?

These stories?

They're absolutely incredible. This IS a book worth reading more than once. show less

Wow. wowowowowow Nathan Ballingrud blew me away with his world building and original ideas. Every story was a banger with subtleties that I thought might knit the whole collection together, but the finale that is "The Butcher's Table" ended up doing this and more. I'll be giving this a second read immediately most likely, to get the full view of how all the stories tie together. Cannibals and Satanists don't usually do much for me in the horror genre, but I was completely enraptured and show more terrified by the depth and realness given to them in this collection. I adore how much Ballingrud seems to adore 'La Louisiane'. show less