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garrity23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
etakloknok's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
draighean's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was the most disgustingly horrific book I think I have ever read. It was repulsive, yet I kept reading so it takes skill for an author to bring so far out of your comfort zone and yet compel you to go even further.
marigoldsol's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
kittyshep's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gareth_alan's review
5.0
This is a weird one. It's about a guy named Andrew who gets with one of his female workmates and he fails to get a boner. She laughs at him so he punches her out. His boss sends him away to a cottage in the Welsh countryside to get his act together. There, he discovers a stinkhorn mushroom that looks like a willy, which he becomes obsessed with.
There's some heavy stuff to get through in this book. Animal mistreatment, vivid detail of animal decomposition, sexual moments with a potential minor, sheep poo, dog diarrhoea... Jesus, that slimy dog diarrhoea was disgusting. I could almost smell it!
Speaking of almost being able to smell it, Stephen Gregory's descriptions made me feel dirty. Like I was actually in Andrew's damp cottage, surrounded by mould and erect penis mushrooms and smelly decomposing beasts. The copy of my book is also an old, second hand copy and it feels a bit manky and smelly, which only added to the putrid atmosphere of the story.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was proper weird, dark and original. You'll probably need a strong stomach to be able to appreciate it. I tell you what, it's made me scared of getting a flop on in the future in front of a woman. I don't want to have to go shaking maggots out of dead animals in order to grow stinkhorn mushrooms!
I think I've discovered a great author here, I shall check out more of his work in the near future.
There's some heavy stuff to get through in this book. Animal mistreatment, vivid detail of animal decomposition, sexual moments with a potential minor, sheep poo, dog diarrhoea... Jesus, that slimy dog diarrhoea was disgusting. I could almost smell it!
Speaking of almost being able to smell it, Stephen Gregory's descriptions made me feel dirty. Like I was actually in Andrew's damp cottage, surrounded by mould and erect penis mushrooms and smelly decomposing beasts. The copy of my book is also an old, second hand copy and it feels a bit manky and smelly, which only added to the putrid atmosphere of the story.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was proper weird, dark and original. You'll probably need a strong stomach to be able to appreciate it. I tell you what, it's made me scared of getting a flop on in the future in front of a woman. I don't want to have to go shaking maggots out of dead animals in order to grow stinkhorn mushrooms!
I think I've discovered a great author here, I shall check out more of his work in the near future.
the_bookubus's review
4.0
Andrew is taking some time off work due to an incident with a coworker he was involved romantically with. She laughed at his inability to get it up in the bedroom and he reacted violently. Andrew's boss lets him use his holiday cottage in Wales to get away for a while so Andrew heads off there with his dog, Phoebe, for company. Their days are spent in the surrounding woodland and one day he finds a stinkhorn mushroom and its phallic nature both embarrasses and fascinates him. During the course of Andrew's stay he meets some of the locals, finds some dead animals in the woods, and becomes thoroughly obsessed with the stinkhorn and a unique project that he devotes himself to.
This was a dark and disturbing read about a descent into obsession. Gregory's writing is absolutely wonderful and brings beauty to the grim details. The atmosphere, the feel of the damp cottage with its mouldy walls, the putrid smell of the stinkhorn, the visceral descriptions of death and decay, all make this a very sensory and immersive read. The slow burn builds to a brutal climax that I am unlikely to forget any time soon.
CW: animal maltreatment, animal death, hunting, a potentially underage character in sexual situations.
This was a dark and disturbing read about a descent into obsession. Gregory's writing is absolutely wonderful and brings beauty to the grim details. The atmosphere, the feel of the damp cottage with its mouldy walls, the putrid smell of the stinkhorn, the visceral descriptions of death and decay, all make this a very sensory and immersive read. The slow burn builds to a brutal climax that I am unlikely to forget any time soon.
CW: animal maltreatment, animal death, hunting, a potentially underage character in sexual situations.
charshorrorcorner's review
4.0
I just finished this literary gem and I don't even know what to think! This nasty little ball of maggots, flies and mushrooms is still bouncing around inside my head.
If you follow CHC, then you may have seen one of these earlier this week. For the rest of you, let me introduce you to the stinkhorn mushroom.
(This is the tamest picture I could find.) Now this may make you chuckle, it certainly made me. But laughter is where it all started; a woman laughed at Andrew Pinkney, and why? Because his manhood could not, would not, resemble this mushroom. Things didn't turn out so well with that woman. They didn't turn out so well for Andrew either.
After the incident, we join Andrew on his employer mandated vacation into the misty, damp, forested hills of Snowdonia. He is ordered to get some rest and get himself together. Instead, in the ever drizzly landscape, he becomes obsessed with the stinkhorn, and the reader is dragged along.
Andrew has no idea what he's doing, he's a young lawyer in the making, not an outdoorsman. His "finds" on his walks with Phoebe his dog are disgusting-I mean, even the dog doesn't like them. What's he doing? What is he thinking? These are the questions that forced me to continue reading.
Even when the descriptions of the scenery got a bit too lengthy. Even when things started to turn my stomach-my sick fascination with Andrew and his mission kept me reading. I'm usually not one to stare at a car wreck, but I stared at Andrew long and hard. (See what I did there?) I couldn't help myself, thanks to Mr. Gregory. I love his use of language and his descriptive prose-somehow some of these things were horrific and beautiful at the same time.
I still have that ball I mentioned bouncing around in my head, but I think I'm going to leave off this review here. This was a novel of psychological horror that was truly twisted. I found the thought processes of Andrew to be so fascinating I could not look away. You should read this book. I bet it will fascinate you.
Highly recommended for fans of quiet, psychological horror dealt out at a leisurely pace.
Find this review and others like it at www.horrorafterdark.com.
*A free ebook was provided to me by Valancourt Books in exchange for an honest review. This is it. *
If you follow CHC, then you may have seen one of these earlier this week. For the rest of you, let me introduce you to the stinkhorn mushroom.
(This is the tamest picture I could find.) Now this may make you chuckle, it certainly made me. But laughter is where it all started; a woman laughed at Andrew Pinkney, and why? Because his manhood could not, would not, resemble this mushroom. Things didn't turn out so well with that woman. They didn't turn out so well for Andrew either.
After the incident, we join Andrew on his employer mandated vacation into the misty, damp, forested hills of Snowdonia. He is ordered to get some rest and get himself together. Instead, in the ever drizzly landscape, he becomes obsessed with the stinkhorn, and the reader is dragged along.
Andrew has no idea what he's doing, he's a young lawyer in the making, not an outdoorsman. His "finds" on his walks with Phoebe his dog are disgusting-I mean, even the dog doesn't like them. What's he doing? What is he thinking? These are the questions that forced me to continue reading.
Even when the descriptions of the scenery got a bit too lengthy. Even when things started to turn my stomach-my sick fascination with Andrew and his mission kept me reading. I'm usually not one to stare at a car wreck, but I stared at Andrew long and hard. (See what I did there?) I couldn't help myself, thanks to Mr. Gregory. I love his use of language and his descriptive prose-somehow some of these things were horrific and beautiful at the same time.
I still have that ball I mentioned bouncing around in my head, but I think I'm going to leave off this review here. This was a novel of psychological horror that was truly twisted. I found the thought processes of Andrew to be so fascinating I could not look away. You should read this book. I bet it will fascinate you.
Highly recommended for fans of quiet, psychological horror dealt out at a leisurely pace.
Find this review and others like it at www.horrorafterdark.com.
*A free ebook was provided to me by Valancourt Books in exchange for an honest review. This is it. *