Pass On This | Horror Review | AstraDaemon

HER NAME WAS AMBER by Matt Shaw begins with a note about domestic violence, which serves as an appropriate content warning. Seems ridiculous some readers need to be reminded this is a work of fiction and the characters are a creation of the author, not a reflection, but...at least they were warned.

While I'm not crazy about the back and forth on the timeline, Shaw does label the transitions, edging his readers on with his teasing writing style. Unfortunately, there's zero character development, which is something I look forward to with this author. Not sure what I expected him to do with the narrator, but the "nice guy" revenge persona is just a disgusting as Amber and her BS.

Shaw is usually much more creative than this...instead of this story, I recommend FROM THE FLAMES or BELOW DECK.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Shaw On Vacation

DEAD END by Matt Shaw is surprisingly tame compared to many of his other stories. I'm so used to an onslaught of horrific action from Shaw, this novella came across as fairly boring. There is a lot of narration about thoughts and feelings, and I wondered if the author wrote this on a bender because this is simply not what I've come to expect from Matt Shaw.

Aside from the one disturbing scene, Dead End is more of a crime drama than any kind of horror story. If you want to know what Shaw is really capable of, I recommend Octopus.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Tuesday Terror: Home Is Where The Heart Is

CAPTIVE HEARTS by Matt Shaw centers on the grief and anger of a man only known as The Doctor. He has lost his daughter in an accident, and Tony has something he wants. Stephanie is tasked with caring for Tony. The story switches between the three POVs. The horror lies within the hopelessness of their situation: none of them are going to get what they want from this situation.

Stephanie's broken spirit suggests she has been there a while, but there is some confusion about her living arrangement with The Doctor. There is a claustrophobic feel to the setting, and Shaw does such a great job describing the conditions Stephanie and Tony must live with, you can smell the human waste and taste the slimy, cold fish.

They do not live in a house. They live in Hell, with each room tailored to their suffering.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Lovecraft Mixed With Marquis De Sade

With mounting debt, and her career not going in the direction she'd hoped for, Jessica Ann took a modelling job at the Larsen's lavish party.

What should have been an easy evening soon takes a nightmarish turn when she finds herself embroiled in an insane plot to awaken The Old Great One...

OCTOPUS by Matt Shaw has been thoroughly ripped on for being torture porn. While the author has always been somewhat controversial, one has to remember horror comes in many forms. Also, when a story is described as "an extreme horror novel," readers should considered themselves warned. Just in case I'm not making myself clear, Shaw is for seasoned horror fans, not tourists of the genre.

With that said, while the story IS fiction, the most horrific part is knowing many of the events within the pages occur in the real world. Perhaps that is what makes people so uncomfortable with Shaw's storytelling: he reminds people of the ugliness and brutality of human nature. Throughout Octopus, Shaw mixes relationships, desperation and depravity in equal measure. The pace crawls in some places, becoming more frantic in other scenes, with the goal of luring readers into the mansion with Max and Helena.

The ending is not what I expected. Actually, I didn't know what to expect, aside from the level of terror only Shaw can deliver. If Lovecraft had a child with the Marquis De Sade, he'd probably be a lot like author Matt Shaw.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Sick Story For Saturday

Tentacle by Caleb Deschain

When I first came across this book (no pun intended), there was NOTHING about erotica in the description. I honestly thought this was just going to be a horror story like the movie Deep Rising. Imagine my surprise...

Tentacle by Caleb Deschain might prove popular with certain Japanese Anime fans, but not sure how other horror fans are going take this. Tammy, a junior researcher at a biotech corporation, wakes up in a concrete chamber with partial amnesia...and she is NOT alone. Subject #8472, a bioengineered life form, rises from the dark pool within the chamber and violates Tammy in some rather explicit ways. DEPRAVED SEXUAL CONTENT, interspecies rape - you have been warned.

Aside from the subject matter, I approached this story the way I would with any other. I found the repetition of phrases annoying; the dialogue could have been better. Additional editing would have improved this story. Regardless of genre or target-audience, a story should not resemble a rough draft full of typos.

Instead of spending so much effort on the details of the graphic sexual assaults on the female and male characters, the author should have spent more time developing the characters. For example, I don't know any guy who, regardless of how many Fleshlights he owns, would stick his member into a squid's mouth just because his boss told him to.

Despite my disgust, I have to admit the ending was pretty good - better written than the rest of the story. I gave three stars for creativity.

As always,
AstraDaemon