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alyssalizarraga's review against another edition
3.0
When I met Chad Stroup at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last year and bought his book, he assured me that it would be grotesque. Boy, did he deliver. The story follows a group of friends as they realize that the costumes that they wore to a Halloween party become permanent. What will come of the dude who came as a hot dog? The film geek who chose a recreation of a slasher villain? The girl who decided that an accidentally-purchased costume imitating a debilitating disease couldn’t have just been ditched? What follows includes some of the most interesting body gore and cringe-worthy young adult dialogue I have ever read. Reader, beware.
Something very cool could have been done here, including what I was expecting and waiting for: some commentary about the masks that we choose to wear and the fates that befall us because of them. Unless I’m missing something massive, I don’t think it was delivered. Instead, we get a slasher/cult(?)/sex comedy about horny twenty-somethings in Hollywood. Not scary, just gross (which is not necessarily a bad thing). There were a lot of loose ends and the antagonist was underdeveloped, but the passion in this small-press book clearly comes through. Originally, I was going to give this book two stars, but the author’s absolute dedication to horror with consequences was impressive and a few lines genuinely made me laugh. I would recommend this book to people who love “B” horror movies from any decade and love to hate on the underdeveloped frontal lobes of young adults.
Something very cool could have been done here, including what I was expecting and waiting for: some commentary about the masks that we choose to wear and the fates that befall us because of them. Unless I’m missing something massive, I don’t think it was delivered. Instead, we get a slasher/cult(?)/sex comedy about horny twenty-somethings in Hollywood. Not scary, just gross (which is not necessarily a bad thing). There were a lot of loose ends and the antagonist was underdeveloped, but the passion in this small-press book clearly comes through. Originally, I was going to give this book two stars, but the author’s absolute dedication to horror with consequences was impressive and a few lines genuinely made me laugh. I would recommend this book to people who love “B” horror movies from any decade and love to hate on the underdeveloped frontal lobes of young adults.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
I have to say at the opening that Chad is a local homey. But as we are both straight edge hardcore kids I have no problem busting his balls, and if I didn't like his novel I would tell him. His first novel Secrets of The Weird shocked me. I expected to like his first book but it blew me away how amazing it was. I truly deeply thought it was an incredible novel.
At the time it was one of my top ten reads of the year "Secrets of the Weird is a fantastic read. This novel paints an erotic and dangerous picture of a city that you would only want to visit in the safety of a novel. I hope you'll take the trip and check it out."
That book was a fantastic Cliver barker-ish dark fantasy with a punk edge, A very sexy a weird vision of a fantasy world that had vivid characters and setting that was so Good I wondered what did he do to follow up. In Sexy Leper he went in a different direction. This is is a bizarro dark comedy that feels like one of the more tongue in cheek episodes of the twilight zone in tone. This is not your "Menstruating mall or "Insert dick here in title" style bizarro. It is horror but in the more surreal style that at times feels more in vein with a Swallowdown style of Bizarro lit.
The story has a Breakfast Club type of set wear a variety of Hollywood types (LA residents not industry) end up stuck together and trapped in their Halloween costumes. The store where they buy the costumes is kind of a perfect clique annoyed me and made me laugh at the same time. The humor is mostly subtle with a few knee slappers but it is creepy tone mixed in that gives this book a special feel.
Chad is a great writer and I will get everything he puts out. Personally, I think you should read Secrets of the Weird first but Sexy Leper is a different and bold follow-up.
At the time it was one of my top ten reads of the year "Secrets of the Weird is a fantastic read. This novel paints an erotic and dangerous picture of a city that you would only want to visit in the safety of a novel. I hope you'll take the trip and check it out."
That book was a fantastic Cliver barker-ish dark fantasy with a punk edge, A very sexy a weird vision of a fantasy world that had vivid characters and setting that was so Good I wondered what did he do to follow up. In Sexy Leper he went in a different direction. This is is a bizarro dark comedy that feels like one of the more tongue in cheek episodes of the twilight zone in tone. This is not your "Menstruating mall or "Insert dick here in title" style bizarro. It is horror but in the more surreal style that at times feels more in vein with a Swallowdown style of Bizarro lit.
The story has a Breakfast Club type of set wear a variety of Hollywood types (LA residents not industry) end up stuck together and trapped in their Halloween costumes. The store where they buy the costumes is kind of a perfect clique annoyed me and made me laugh at the same time. The humor is mostly subtle with a few knee slappers but it is creepy tone mixed in that gives this book a special feel.
Chad is a great writer and I will get everything he puts out. Personally, I think you should read Secrets of the Weird first but Sexy Leper is a different and bold follow-up.
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