rellwood74's review
5.0
Yeah, this took a while to get through because it is truly repulsive, but in a good way. If you like not just spatter gore, but disgusting images of oozing pustules, sex with rotting corpses, slurping down a bowl of "spontaneous abortion", guys ejaculating maggots (stuck in there through a straw slipped in the urethra), questionable activities involving a toilet brush, then you might be able to stomach this book.
It isn't all gross out though. It is an anthology of sorts, short stories written over time by the author. The characters are intertwined with each other in various ways throughout. There are two major players whose antics cover three main chapters. These are the most repugnant males ever written, Greg and Von. They are who Beevis and Butthead would grow up to be. They spend their nights dumpster diving behind the local woman's clinic in search of treasure in the form of used tampons and maxi pads. They are featured in three different stories which basically span a couple of days. These stories are the ones that contain the most graphic, disgusting, mental raping I have ever come across. They also have some of the most hilarious moments. Ryan Harding somehow managed to make these two idiots actually semi-likable. Oh, you would never be friends with them, but you don't wish death on them. Truly, they are Beevis and Butthead. The activities contained in their chapters give the book its name. It took me three attempts to finish this book, and I realize that each attempt stopped during those Beevis and Butthead chapters.
I must also warn you that any woman depicted in this book is never in a good light. There are no nice girls here, they are all “sluts and whores who deserve what they get”. No animals or kids are in the book, and no one sympathetic either, so don’t worry about feeling guilty about who gets what.
The other stories mixed between those main chapters are kind of standalones that have different themes. For the most part, they have minimal gross out in them and are more Twilight Zone than major gore. I enjoyed them all.
The first is in the first person POV of a guy trapped under the weight of the big woman he took home the previous night, she died on top of him and is slowly crushing him. He spends his last moments monologuing in his head, realizing that no one is coming for help. No real gore here.
Another story features a movie rental clerk who loves to watch those "Faces of Death" type movies. He is puzzled over the fact that he keeps seeing the people in the films who should have been dead, walking around town.
There is the dual POV story which is a mix of first-person journal entries, and the third person POV of a high school kid who realizes that his father is a serial killer who stopped years ago, but hasn't been caught.
As I finished reading this book last night there were a few scenes that I had to skim past simply because the gore was too much. There were other scenes that I highlighted on my Kindle because I laughed so hard, I probably woke up my neighbors.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes splatter gore, mixed with insanity and humor. The bumbling antics of Greg and Von had me in stitches as well as partially throwing up in my mouth.
It isn't all gross out though. It is an anthology of sorts, short stories written over time by the author. The characters are intertwined with each other in various ways throughout. There are two major players whose antics cover three main chapters. These are the most repugnant males ever written, Greg and Von. They are who Beevis and Butthead would grow up to be. They spend their nights dumpster diving behind the local woman's clinic in search of treasure in the form of used tampons and maxi pads. They are featured in three different stories which basically span a couple of days. These stories are the ones that contain the most graphic, disgusting, mental raping I have ever come across. They also have some of the most hilarious moments. Ryan Harding somehow managed to make these two idiots actually semi-likable. Oh, you would never be friends with them, but you don't wish death on them. Truly, they are Beevis and Butthead. The activities contained in their chapters give the book its name. It took me three attempts to finish this book, and I realize that each attempt stopped during those Beevis and Butthead chapters.
I must also warn you that any woman depicted in this book is never in a good light. There are no nice girls here, they are all “sluts and whores who deserve what they get”. No animals or kids are in the book, and no one sympathetic either, so don’t worry about feeling guilty about who gets what.
The other stories mixed between those main chapters are kind of standalones that have different themes. For the most part, they have minimal gross out in them and are more Twilight Zone than major gore. I enjoyed them all.
The first is in the first person POV of a guy trapped under the weight of the big woman he took home the previous night, she died on top of him and is slowly crushing him. He spends his last moments monologuing in his head, realizing that no one is coming for help. No real gore here.
Another story features a movie rental clerk who loves to watch those "Faces of Death" type movies. He is puzzled over the fact that he keeps seeing the people in the films who should have been dead, walking around town.
There is the dual POV story which is a mix of first-person journal entries, and the third person POV of a high school kid who realizes that his father is a serial killer who stopped years ago, but hasn't been caught.
As I finished reading this book last night there were a few scenes that I had to skim past simply because the gore was too much. There were other scenes that I highlighted on my Kindle because I laughed so hard, I probably woke up my neighbors.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes splatter gore, mixed with insanity and humor. The bumbling antics of Greg and Von had me in stitches as well as partially throwing up in my mouth.
gothichues's review against another edition
2.0
This is the first hardcore horror book that I've read and I will say that this is not for the faint of heart. It is very graphic, gruesome, disturbing and intense. I decided to pick this up because "typical" horror books that I read recently didn't scare me enough so I tried venturing into the extreme and, oh boy, did I get what I wanted. It didn't gave me nightmares per se but it did send some shivers down my spine that I have to take a break here and there because of the detailed descriptions of torture (mainly on a person's genitalia). I can't quite say that I enjoyed this entirely because I was bored in some parts but I got the grossness and the heebie-jeebies so I think it is alright.
bmacenlightened's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because I had heard it was the worst of the worst, and quite honestly it wasn't as shocking as I had hoped it would be. There were points where I was disgusted but the shock was all gone because it beat me over the head with how disgusting it could be. The writing itself was interesting enough, with good pacing, and nothing seemed like it went on too long outside of the disgusting passages. I guess its just in a context like this they never really go anywhere. I suppose my favorite would be Bottom Feeder just cause it was the first introduction to the style of the book and the rest were just more of the same. Recommended for a couple hours of disgust but there are surely better examples of shock horror.
stefanie_duncan's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Torture, Sexual violence, Excrement, Blood, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Rape, Cursing, Cannibalism, and Body horror
rachel_jozie's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
4.0
*I'm not going to give you the 'what this book is about' blurb - you can read that elsewhere.
1. This is a collection of short stories all written by the same author (Ryan Harding, clearly) and each has a small common thread. They're not all the same, and some are quick, as in, if you don't read carefully enough, you may miss it. The connections are all there though, trust me. Because Ryan is freaking great and so good at what he does.
2. While I enjoy the gory perversion of many of these stories, especially Greg and Vons escapades, I really loved the twists and turns of 'Sharing Needles' and 'Emissary'. Oh! and 'Development'. They have a similar flow/feel to them, but there's just something dark and twisted about them in a way I can't shake. A hidden sinister that creeps me out.
3. Greg and Von are such bumbling idiots. They're a darker, more depraved, version of Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber and it's disturbingly hilarious. You laugh, but then feel bad for doing so because such terrible things are happening. Oh, who am I kidding? If you choose to read this, you're not feeling bad, because that's just how we roll! :)
1. This is a collection of short stories all written by the same author (Ryan Harding, clearly) and each has a small common thread. They're not all the same, and some are quick, as in, if you don't read carefully enough, you may miss it. The connections are all there though, trust me. Because Ryan is freaking great and so good at what he does.
2. While I enjoy the gory perversion of many of these stories, especially Greg and Vons escapades, I really loved the twists and turns of 'Sharing Needles' and 'Emissary'. Oh! and 'Development'. They have a similar flow/feel to them, but there's just something dark and twisted about them in a way I can't shake. A hidden sinister that creeps me out.
3. Greg and Von are such bumbling idiots. They're a darker, more depraved, version of Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber and it's disturbingly hilarious. You laugh, but then feel bad for doing so because such terrible things are happening. Oh, who am I kidding? If you choose to read this, you're not feeling bad, because that's just how we roll! :)
questionablereads's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
This is a weird dark spatter punk short story collection that will leave you feeling completely grossed out, in the best of ways.
pacardullo's review against another edition
3.0
Rating from 1 to 4 stars, depending upon your preferences. Disgusting, disturbing, violent, horrific, darkly humorous. It is a collection of extreme horror tales titled "Genital Grinder". If that title and brief description appeals to you, then this is an excellent and fun collection of sick, twisted tales. If it doesn't, then this one isn't for you (but then again, you probably already knew that.)
tonyalalala's review
1.0
You didn’t have to write a whole book just to say you hate women, just say you hate women.
azeryk's review
3.0
Before reading this book I had never heard of Ryan Harding, but Deadite Press have a good history thus far of publishing only great authors and when the introduction is done by someone like Edward Lee then it was always going to be worth a try.
The book is a selection of short stories with most of them having a similar theme to them - hardcore violence - but this isn't just a straight forward gore fest as there is a story behind the tales which is not something you always get with the more extreme books.
Contents.
Introduction: Enjoy the Gang Rape by Edward Lee
Bottom Feeder
Damaged Goods
Sharing Needles
Genital Grinder: A Snuff Film in 5 Acts
Development
Emissary
Genital Grinder II: Dis-Membered
First Indications
Aftermath: About the Stories
I don't want to give too much away from the stories within this book as the surprises are all part of the fun. But Ryan Harding is one of those up and coming authors which could cement his name amongst the extreme authors like Wrath James White. So if you like your horror hardcore then try this book
The book is a selection of short stories with most of them having a similar theme to them - hardcore violence - but this isn't just a straight forward gore fest as there is a story behind the tales which is not something you always get with the more extreme books.
Contents.
Introduction: Enjoy the Gang Rape by Edward Lee
Bottom Feeder
Damaged Goods
Sharing Needles
Genital Grinder: A Snuff Film in 5 Acts
Development
Emissary
Genital Grinder II: Dis-Membered
First Indications
Aftermath: About the Stories
I don't want to give too much away from the stories within this book as the surprises are all part of the fun. But Ryan Harding is one of those up and coming authors which could cement his name amongst the extreme authors like Wrath James White. So if you like your horror hardcore then try this book