Scan barcode
drskspawn's review
4.0
“The Haunting of Harry Peck” is a brisk horror novella the jumps between the present day, focused on the titular Harry Peck, and past events that are the subject on ongoing superstition and debate, such as the mysterious event at Roanoke and Australia’s Great Emu War, in which the book’s absolutely bonkers theme of animals returning from the grave for vengeance is framed. This is the situation poor Harry Peck finds himself in after being encouraged by this Uncle John to “man up” and kill an innocent chicken. The fowl’s vengeful spirit really gives the story a bizarre edge through a masterful balance of comedy, horror, and homage to horror films. The chicken’s ruthless targets Harry’s crotch whenever it bursts to unlife, forcing him first to turn to veganism and then the mysterious “Vegan Shaman” to try and appease the spirit.
This is all intercut with the aforementioned flashbacks in with other unjustly killed emus, raccoons, and rats return to take a bloody revenge and the gory details are presented unapologetically throughout. The concept is very intriguing and the book’s message is clear: cruelty to animals is inhumane and carries a heavy toll, though obviously this is taken to a horrific extreme with even the use of shampoo evoking the chicken’s wrath. Still, this was certainly an entertaining read throughout; Harry’s character has enough quirks and backstory to be likeable and relatable, and I found the gory imagery and horror tropes evoked to be both familiar and imaginative, so I’d absolutely recommend “The Haunting of Harry Peck” to fans of the genre or as a pallet cleanser between longer reads.
This is all intercut with the aforementioned flashbacks in with other unjustly killed emus, raccoons, and rats return to take a bloody revenge and the gory details are presented unapologetically throughout. The concept is very intriguing and the book’s message is clear: cruelty to animals is inhumane and carries a heavy toll, though obviously this is taken to a horrific extreme with even the use of shampoo evoking the chicken’s wrath. Still, this was certainly an entertaining read throughout; Harry’s character has enough quirks and backstory to be likeable and relatable, and I found the gory imagery and horror tropes evoked to be both familiar and imaginative, so I’d absolutely recommend “The Haunting of Harry Peck” to fans of the genre or as a pallet cleanser between longer reads.
drakaina16's review
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Thank you to the author for providing a review copy.
For fans of: animal revenge, Poultrygeist
This book takes a ridiculous premise and makes it really serious. It's also fun (and funny) too. It's fun in a B-movie schlock kind of way, but that also does the book a disservice because it is very well-written. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
For fans of: animal revenge, Poultrygeist
This book takes a ridiculous premise and makes it really serious. It's also fun (and funny) too. It's fun in a B-movie schlock kind of way, but that also does the book a disservice because it is very well-written. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
jirving89's review
5.0
Whatever I expected this book to be, it was not, it was 100x better. Funny and quirky with a strangely scary hook, David-Jack has developed a unique combination of genres into an absolute blast.
Who’d have thought a book about chicken haunting could be so gripping.
Honestly haven’t read another book like it and highly recommend. David-Jack’s writing style is natural and smooth and yet they bring in an odd situation that works perfectly.
I’ve sent this book to fantasy, thriller, and comedic genre lovers alike and they’ve all got a kick out of it. I will now dream of freaking scary chickens WTF! Seriously da fuq…
Who’d have thought a book about chicken haunting could be so gripping.
Honestly haven’t read another book like it and highly recommend. David-Jack’s writing style is natural and smooth and yet they bring in an odd situation that works perfectly.
I’ve sent this book to fantasy, thriller, and comedic genre lovers alike and they’ve all got a kick out of it. I will now dream of freaking scary chickens WTF! Seriously da fuq…
vblack's review
4.5
This book started out humorous. It slowly evolved into demented and bizarre. The further I read, the more wrapped up I got. It combined horror, humor, and fictionalized versions of real history. I'm a huge fan of The Tell-Tale Heart, so it seemed a no brainer that I'd love this too, but it diverged SO FAR from that. I normally hate cliff hanger endings, but this one leaves me hoping there might be more to this tale.
More...