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sockmullet's review against another edition
2.0
Felt like it was just trying to be shocking in a not good way.
csmoke85's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, and Violence
larsvassy's review against another edition
3.0
This one was ok but I honestly think I'm just to desensitized.....I'm used to splatterpunk stuff so this was....cute
craftysnowman's review against another edition
Well, not sure if I've read anything as bonkers as this or will ever again...
Being a casual horror fan totally ignorant of a lot of the genres and subgenres represented here, jumping in with this particular collection was a deep and alarming plunge. Luckily, the author pairs his delightfully disgusting descriptions of gore, more gore, psychosis, depravity, eldritch beings and gore with lingering themes of loneliness, isolation, broken relationships and self-destruction that continue to haunt after you're done gagging on all that viscera.
My favourite stories in the collection (Placenta Bride, Stag Loop, A Feast of You) are the ones that touch on these themes and allow them time to really mesh with the horror elements. These stories often left me confused and disoriented, but with a sense that something fundamentally human was being addressed. In "A Feast For You", the concept of a terrible family that you can't escape or stop loving is taken to an extreme degree, with all the dread and mood swings inherent to familial relationships turned up to 11 with some vivid and memorable imagery.
Other stories (The Androgyne, Fuck Shock), also touch on some of these thematic ideas but don't linger on them, focusing much more on sometimes over-the-top descriptive vileness. The blood, gore and sexual fluid presented here is definitely not for the faint of heart, but is also compulsively entertaining in a Tarantino-esque pulpy way. I admit to laughing a lot during some of these stories (there might be something wrong with me), having a lot of fun parsing out the author's unique and creative methods of describing horrendous things in the most visually descriptive ways possible. There's a story in here about a tapeworm that made me literally applaud at the author's willingness to be so wonderfully gross.
Ultimately, the stories that will stick with me long-term are the initially mentioned tales, where a pervading sense of dread based on all too human themes takes its time threading through the narrative and complementing the monstrosities within. While a couple of stories didn't really seem to coalesce as well as others, the collection for the most part provides a thick chunky blend of the horrific, the spooky and the philosophical.
During my read-through of Nightmares in Ecstasy, I laughed, I cried, I barfed. My suggestion to the squeamish would be to guard your stomachs, but also your hearts.
Being a casual horror fan totally ignorant of a lot of the genres and subgenres represented here, jumping in with this particular collection was a deep and alarming plunge. Luckily, the author pairs his delightfully disgusting descriptions of gore, more gore, psychosis, depravity, eldritch beings and gore with lingering themes of loneliness, isolation, broken relationships and self-destruction that continue to haunt after you're done gagging on all that viscera.
My favourite stories in the collection (Placenta Bride, Stag Loop, A Feast of You) are the ones that touch on these themes and allow them time to really mesh with the horror elements. These stories often left me confused and disoriented, but with a sense that something fundamentally human was being addressed. In "A Feast For You", the concept of a terrible family that you can't escape or stop loving is taken to an extreme degree, with all the dread and mood swings inherent to familial relationships turned up to 11 with some vivid and memorable imagery.
Other stories (The Androgyne, Fuck Shock), also touch on some of these thematic ideas but don't linger on them, focusing much more on sometimes over-the-top descriptive vileness. The blood, gore and sexual fluid presented here is definitely not for the faint of heart, but is also compulsively entertaining in a Tarantino-esque pulpy way. I admit to laughing a lot during some of these stories (there might be something wrong with me), having a lot of fun parsing out the author's unique and creative methods of describing horrendous things in the most visually descriptive ways possible. There's a story in here about a tapeworm that made me literally applaud at the author's willingness to be so wonderfully gross.
Ultimately, the stories that will stick with me long-term are the initially mentioned tales, where a pervading sense of dread based on all too human themes takes its time threading through the narrative and complementing the monstrosities within. While a couple of stories didn't really seem to coalesce as well as others, the collection for the most part provides a thick chunky blend of the horrific, the spooky and the philosophical.
During my read-through of Nightmares in Ecstasy, I laughed, I cried, I barfed. My suggestion to the squeamish would be to guard your stomachs, but also your hearts.
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