A review by pn_hinton
Camp Slaughter by Sergio Gomez
3.0
Well the first thing I will say right off the bat is that this book lives up to the title. Slaughter is the only applicable thing for happened here. It read very much like a slasher movie only more in the Eli Roth vein with the sheer violence, gore, and mostly unlikeable characters.
The set-up is typical. Various groups of people head to a remote cabin for different reasons and meet up with a cannibal. Murder spree ensues. Ambiguous ending as to fate of the killer and the survivors. That said it is darker and more gory than others I've read, like Kill River. And it goes into fairly graphic detail with regards to the cannibalism. So if that is not your thing then you may want to skip this one.
One thing I didn't enjoy was the representation of the killer and that is what knocked off a star. They were obviously written to be neuro-atypical but the execution was, bluntly put. poorly done. It read very much like what you would expect in the early nineties when not a lot was known about that and was full of clichés. The constant reference to his mom calling him a special boy was a clear nod to Jason as well as another aspect of the story which I won't go into as it would be a spoiler. But all of it didn't sit well with me. It just didn't sit well with me and I feel it could have used a sensitivity reader or it would have been better to have a cliched neuro-typical killer.
Overall it was an okay read. It was engaging enough. While I feel the set up was a bit too much and too drawn out, when the action (meaning killing spree) started it kept at a fairly steady pace. However, it is a slasher book which means that there are not going to be a lot of survivors and it may not be who you expect. If you like horror novels and movies, then it will be right up your alley but be mindful with all the warnings given here before you do.
The set-up is typical. Various groups of people head to a remote cabin for different reasons and meet up with a cannibal. Murder spree ensues. Ambiguous ending as to fate of the killer and the survivors. That said it is darker and more gory than others I've read, like Kill River. And it goes into fairly graphic detail with regards to the cannibalism. So if that is not your thing then you may want to skip this one.
One thing I didn't enjoy was the representation of the killer and that is what knocked off a star. They were obviously written to be neuro-atypical but the execution was, bluntly put. poorly done. It read very much like what you would expect in the early nineties when not a lot was known about that and was full of clichés. The constant reference to his mom calling him a special boy was a clear nod to Jason as well as another aspect of the story which I won't go into as it would be a spoiler. But all of it didn't sit well with me. It just didn't sit well with me and I feel it could have used a sensitivity reader or it would have been better to have a cliched neuro-typical killer.
Overall it was an okay read. It was engaging enough. While I feel the set up was a bit too much and too drawn out, when the action (meaning killing spree) started it kept at a fairly steady pace. However, it is a slasher book which means that there are not going to be a lot of survivors and it may not be who you expect. If you like horror novels and movies, then it will be right up your alley but be mindful with all the warnings given here before you do.