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aga_acrobat's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not really sure how to review this collection. I went from "I'm amazed" to "a little bit disappointing" to "I very much hope for improvement".
At first a very delightful kind of vile and disturbing but somehow a little bit disappointing in the end. There are some gems very much worth reading and it is overall a nice take on transgression. But maybe you can take transgression only so far before it looses its thrill?
At first a very delightful kind of vile and disturbing but somehow a little bit disappointing in the end. There are some gems very much worth reading and it is overall a nice take on transgression. But maybe you can take transgression only so far before it looses its thrill?
twerkingtobeethoven's review against another edition
4.0
Imagine going through the vilest stuff, and I mean the filthiest, most disgusting gross-out fucked up shit you could think of. Right, this is even beyond that! BUT the writing is MAGNIFICENT, in that Brian McNaughton really knew what he was doing when he sat at his desk to put down the ordure going through his head. I mean, this book reads like a cross between Edgar Allan Poe's [b:The Complete Stories and Poems|23919|The Complete Stories and Poems|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327942676l/23919._SY75_.jpg|30431], Jack Vance's [b:Tales of the Dying Earth|40866|Tales of the Dying Earth|Jack Vance|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432253533l/40866._SX50_.jpg|743153], and H.P. Lovecraft's [b:Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales|1335019|Necronomicon The Best Weird Tales|H.P. Lovecraft|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526671860l/1335019._SY75_.jpg|1324548] of course...only on steroids. Oh, and Cliver Barker's [b:Coldheart Canyon|108051|Coldheart Canyon|Clive Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347262524l/108051._SY75_.jpg|51342] & [b:Cabal|103035|Cabal|Clive Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405259936l/103035._SY75_.jpg|530471] with which "The Throne of Bones" shares the same sort of atmosphere.
This book is like a jazz rendition of Cannibal Corpe's I Cum Blood.
This book is like a jazz rendition of Cannibal Corpe's I Cum Blood.
cthuwu's review against another edition
1.0
hi i read this book in like 2018 and it left an extremely bad taste in my mouth. if you want to read gore and violence, at least bother to pick someone who kills men as often as they kill women.
molok's review
2.0
DNF. I don't think I'm gonna finish this one. maybe one day I'll come back I only have a few more short stories left. So far its been more boring/gross than scary. Big disappointment Made it 73% close enough...
cxanderson's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book that weaves a world of morbid terrors. Ghouls, necromancers, undead, and ghastly worms. Every short story being better than the last, ending in the grand finale. The final story was my favorite of all.
tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
3.0
Every so often there is a book that I chance upon which does not hesitate even a bit in grabbing hold of me and shoving me headlong down pathways that I never dared venture.Sure I call myself a fan of horror as a genre but am I deeply read in the genre ? Well since you put it that way...umm..no. Look at the standard props in horror that borders fantasy and there is an outpouring of certain cliches : vampires, werewolves, witches et al which are now no more scary. There was however one such denizen of the night who I had not read much about until this book : the ghoul. And now thanks to Brian McNoughton, I have had enough to last me a bloody long time. Exquisitely and garishly crafted, this set of tales is monstrous to behold !
The author of this book is a twisted literary genius. Allow me to explain : his genius for writing can be easily felt in the way he creates his fictional world and populates it with characters whose jibes at society and its dubious morals is a delight to behold. The throne of bones is one of those central stories of the book around which all the other tales revolve. The stories blend in seamlessly with one leading the way to another, well written and intricately plotted. Now we come to the twisted part and here is where McNoughton outdoes even Lovecraft for his ghouls are hideous monsters. Their lives are filled with cannibalism, necrophilia,incest and murder and the author does not spare any gory details. Every single pore of the stories spit out ghouls and they infest the stories like viruses. Some instances are greatly disturbing and the sex and gore are rather graphic but consider that these are stories about creatures which are closer to beasts than they will ever be to a human being.
The plotting and the writing skills deserve to be applauded but this is an incredibly graphic book. It will perhaps give GoT a run for its money if it ever gets made into a T.V. series (the chances for which are too remote to even contemplate !).
The author of this book is a twisted literary genius. Allow me to explain : his genius for writing can be easily felt in the way he creates his fictional world and populates it with characters whose jibes at society and its dubious morals is a delight to behold. The throne of bones is one of those central stories of the book around which all the other tales revolve. The stories blend in seamlessly with one leading the way to another, well written and intricately plotted. Now we come to the twisted part and here is where McNoughton outdoes even Lovecraft for his ghouls are hideous monsters. Their lives are filled with cannibalism, necrophilia,incest and murder and the author does not spare any gory details. Every single pore of the stories spit out ghouls and they infest the stories like viruses. Some instances are greatly disturbing and the sex and gore are rather graphic but consider that these are stories about creatures which are closer to beasts than they will ever be to a human being.
The plotting and the writing skills deserve to be applauded but this is an incredibly graphic book. It will perhaps give GoT a run for its money if it ever gets made into a T.V. series (the chances for which are too remote to even contemplate !).
grvhppr's review
The narrative is too hard to follow. The subject matter lost me. Loved the first short story, but it fell off a cliff for me.
ariskat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kathodus's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not entirely sure why I loved this book so much, but I did. It recalls Fritz Leiber, Clark Ashton Smith, HP Lovecraft, RE Howard, Vance, etc., etc., but with a modern flair. There's horrific necrophiliac sex, there's a lot of gore, NONE of the characters are likable - it's basically a world of evil wizards, evil professors, evil innkeepers, evil mayors... basically, evil NOUNs. It's the best tribute to the early days of SFF, before horror and fantasy had their nasty breakup, that I've read.