Richard Laymon Same Vein
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Publisher: Leisure Books |
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WETBONES by John Shirley
Wetbones by John Shirley combines the 3 Ms - murder, mutilation (to the point of maceration), and mind control into an erotic, yet extremely graphic splatterpunk novel probably too strange for the mainstream. In fact, it's the gutsiest splatterpunk novel since The Kill Riff by David Schow.
And it all centres around a cult-like group which is able to manipulate people by stimulating their brain centers and doling out Punishment or Reward.
When down-at-heels screenwriter Tom Prentice identifies his ex-wife Amy in the morgue, she's 50 pounds underweight and mutilated. Then when Prentice pitches a banal cop-show to studio head Arthwright, Arthwright is oddly not dismissive of the dumb idea. But then again, Arthwright isn't just a studio CEO...
Meanwhile, Reverend Garner, a recovering doper/alcoholic who runs a ministry in Oakland, finds that his teenage daughter Constance is missing. She's been kidnapped by Ephram Pixie, a ghoul with many secrets who turns Constance into a pleasure addict by psychic pressure on her pleasure-center brain cells. Ephram likes to have Constance enjoy sex in his presence while she murders folks in nasty ways in motel rooms.
Mitch Teitelbaum, the missing young brother of Tom's roommate Jeff, turns up in a hospital after deliberately laying bare his chest muscles and slitting open his leg, among other enjoyable self-injuries, after a strange party.
These people with nothing apparent in common all find their paths crossing at the cult's compound. At the compound they discover unspeakable rituals and the cult's secret of mind control.
However, Wetbones does more than just describe the horror of hacked-up human bodies; it is also a study of addiction and the depths of despair. Its intensity and flat out weirdness make this book a highly recommended read for the slice-and-dice horror set.
It's no wonder John Shirley has made a cult name for himself in the horror field. You just never know what's going to be on the next page! With its graphic gory detail, John Shirley knows which buttons to push...and when.
If you like it down and dirty and bloody, you'll have to read Wetbones!
Just don't blame us for your nightmares.
P.S.: Look out for the wet furniture!!!!!!!!
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