This was my introduction to Jack Ketchum. Although it is definitely not for the faint of heart or for the squeamish, it is brilliantly written and immediately placed him in my list of favorite authors. He will be missed. ( )

Fast-paced and easy to read. Well, easy in readablilty. The descriptions were sometimes very hard to get through, being so graphic and intense. I almost had a few "cover my eyes, I don't want to see this part coming," moments. Definitely worth a read, and if you can, getting the uncut, unedited version. ( )

So, it seems I need a few new shelves to deal with the horror books I have been reading.
This book came to my attention while reading another anthology (can't remember which one), the author was named as being a "pioneer" in the horror genre. Apparently, this particular book was edited when it was first published because the publisher wanted to "tone it down" and change a few details. However, this particular edition that I read was the original, unedited draft. Also, this book was a major big deal in horror and gore when it first came out in 1981. There hadn't been any other books with the descriptive gore and subject matter. So, when I was hearing about it in a modern anthology, I checked to see if Amazon had it, and it was available in Kindle Unlimited. So, I checked it out.

So, in a nutshell, if "The Hills Had Eyes" took place in a sea side town that was "off season" and only partially populated, this would be the book.

Comparing the book to modern day extreme horror and gore, it doesn't compare in the gore and cringe factors, however it is very psychological. It is a modern rated "R" to "NC-17". Whatever was in the modern 'The Hills Have Eyes" is probably in here. However, instead of stealing women to procreate, it's about taking people to eat, and unlike "The Hills Have Eyes", it takes place where there is a police presence.

So, I would say to read this book because it was good and kept my attention from the beginning. It was not predictable, you may have an idea of how things turn out, but for the most part, you won't be right. That was refreshing. I hate being right and not being so surprised.

There is cannibalism, violence, and sex - but the sex isn't quite sexy and erotic for the sake of sexy and erotic, but it was going on when the $hit hit the fan. I don't know if a trigger warning should be included. If you are wondering if you should read this book and are afraid of triggers, then I would probably choose something else. Also, there are children in the book, but they are the children of the cannibals and are not ever sympathetic. These cannibals live in a seaside cliff-cave, like humans who grew up without any knowledge of anything modern. They think and act primitively, like a pack of wolves almost. They have learned to hunt, and keep under the radar. They have no notions of taboo behavior.



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2.0

Just a collection of old-school sexism and mindless torture porn and gratuitous gore. But hey, it was well-paced. It suffered from some bad editing, and the characters were not well rounded or defined, how could they be? Definitely doesn't make a good recipe book. I am pretty sure they ignored proper seasoning throughout. LOL

Enjoy my kindle notes. ( )

Oh my god what a disturbing book. There were moments when I dreaded to continue reading it because I just knew that things would go horribly fucked up with a lot of gore. And it did. This is not the kind of books I usually read and I honestly don’t know if I want to read more of its kind. Not that the book was bad, it was good, just a bit too disgusting for my taste I must admit. I prefer paranormal horror that makes you wonder if you should check under the bed and the closet before you sleep not the kind that makes you feel sick.

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