Comet Press presents the ultimate collection of extreme horror from award winning masters and up-and-coming authors of macabre fiction. Authors include John Bruni, Garry Bushell, Ramsey Campbell, Randy Chandler, Tim Curran, Ralph Greco, Jr., C.J. Henderson, Z.F. Kilgore,Sean Logan, Graham Masterton, Angel Leigh McCoy, C. Dennis Moore, Stefan Pearson, Brian Rosenberger, and Jeffrey Thomas. Witness the history of a sexually rapacious zombie . . . A starving soldier descends into insatiable ghoulism . . . A concentration camp SS guard gets a taste of his own medicine . . . Recycling takes on a whole new grisly meaning when a man obsessed with going green discovers a regenerative serum . . . A man buys his alcoholic mother a bottle of tequila-with the wrong kind of worm . . . An occult detective moves to a town in the Pine Barrens and discovers its sinister past-and his own . . . A tenant gets revenge on a self-centered landlord-with irritating results . . . A fisherman discovers his rival's secret of always getting the biggest catch . . . and much more!
Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.85
Trade in Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.85, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"...a definite for any extreme horror fan. Full of terror, sex, and gore..."
Last week, I received a copy of VILE THINGS: EXTREME DEVIATIONS OF HORROR in the mail from Comet Press. The book is an anthology style collection of stories from a variety of writers including Ramsey Campbell, Graham Masterson, and CJ Henderson. I read horror almost everyday and very little actually disturbs me. That doesn t mean they aren t good, it just takes a lot to disturb me.
On Wednesday night, I was having my hair streaked purple. This is a long process that takes several hours, so before departing for my hair appointment, I grabbed the copy of VILE THINGS from my desk to peruse while I sat. I got to the salon, and as they started to turn my red locks to grape, I began reading VILE THINGS. This was not what I expected. This was intense.
Over the next few hours, I found myself cringing, shifting around uncomfortably in my chair, and even at times looking away to take a short break from the disturbing tales I was reading. This book is not just your basic horror stories. This is extreme s**t.
Edited by Cheryl Mullenax, VILE THINGS: EXTREME DEVIATIONS OF HORROR is not for the light horror fan. The stories are not just extreme horror, but also extreme gore and sex...a triple threat of fun in my eyes. Some of the highlights for me were The Worm by John Bruni, which involved so much icky incest that I thought I was going to put down my book in exchange for a nice clean copy of hair-salon Cosmopolitan. The Rat King by Jeffery Thomas put a nice new twist on Nazi/ Holocaust horror. I also really enjoyed Fungoid by Randy Chandler, which rivaled a short story from Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted as my most cringe-worthy reading material. Don t read that one on a full stomach or if you are really sensitive about your genitals. Let s just say when a monster fungus clogs up your plumbing , you may have to snake your snake .
The writers in the collection are a mix of award winning horror masters and some clearly up-and-coming writers. Quite a few of the authors are just starting their literary careers, and this immaturity sometimes glares through in the wording and structure. However, the intense story lines and disturbing plots shine over the sometimes awkward writing styles and occasional poor analogies.
This book is a definite for any extreme horror fan. Full of terror, sex, and gore, I don t recommend this for the faint of heart or for a light read at a beauty salon. --Fangoria Magazine, June 12, 2009
"...prepare to be disturbed and make sure you have a barf bag handy before reading!"
Horror anthologies are the perfect bite-sized treats to discover new authors as well as appreciate established ones. Though it's always nice to see a story by a "master of horror" I much rather like discovering new talent within a good horror anthology. Much to my delight, there was plenty of "fresh blood" to be found within the pages of the horror anthology Vile Things - Extreme Deviations of Horror.
Unlike some horror anthologies, there is no clear theme of zombies or vampires in Vile Things - just solid short stories from the likes of Ramsey Campbell, Graham Masterton, C.J. Henderson and many other horror authors, including some new names I'm now glad to be acquainted with. All of the stories are not for the faint of heart, as many times I found myself squirming and cringing at the disturbing and disgusting tales of horror held between the anthology's pages. The title of Vile Things definitely says it all! In this fast-paced collection of 15 stories, I thought all were horrific, but a few stood out more than the rest.
My favorite short story was Maggots by Tim Curran. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, both on the killing fields as well as the main character's hometown of Paris, Maggots is a grotesque tale of cannibalism and possession. Except that instead of a demon taking possession of the main character's body, the host's body is invaded and taken over by maggots that force him to eat the putrefied remains of humans. There is a lot of gore within this particular story, all made all the more disturbing in the detailed descriptions the author gives of the main character feasting on the bloated and rotting remains of corpses, all the while all too fully aware of the atrocities he is committing.
Another one of my favorites was Z.F. Kilgore's tale, The Devil Lives in Jersey. I love Jersey Devil stories and this one definitely doesn't disappoint. An ex-police detective moves to the Pine Barrens after inheriting a house from his deceased grandparents hoping to give himself and his son a fresh start. Soon, though, the town's dark secrets involving a witch burning, mysterious disappearances and grisly murders come to the surface, and the ex-detective discovers his family is inexplicably linked to the town's bloody past...and now it seems that something is killing again. This short story was extremely well-written, with heaps of disturbing imagery (characters eating baby corpses and a witch having sex with something otherworldly, among other graphic scenes) and felt like it had so much to offer that it would be better suited as its own book. I hear that Kilgore, a retired police detective himself, has more short stories planned around the main character, and I eagerly awa!
it them!
Other favorites included the cheeky Tenant's Rights by Sean Logan, in which an off-kilter, nerdy tenant gets revenge on his playboy roommate/landlord, but with disastrous results. I loved seeing the arrogant landlord get his comeuppance, but it was also satisfying to watch the creepy roommate get his at the end of the story! I also enjoyed Coquettrice, by Angel Leigh McCoy, a disturbing look at a satanic cult hatching their very own cockatrice...and watching the main character change from innocent to deviant was pretty jarring as well! What You Wish For by Garry Bushell was an extremely satisfying tale as well, and much like Tenant's Rights, we get to watch a vile character meet her bloody end.
I've only mentioned a few outstanding stories, but with few exceptions all the tales within Vile Things are marvelously macabre! They will make you feel nauseous (Fungoid by Randy Chandler), give you the creeps (The Worm by John Bruni) or just plain scare you (Again by Ramsey Campbell). The anthology's stories contain incest, rape, deformities, abnormalities, the disabled, infestations, demons, monsters and plenty of graphic gore, blood and other bodily fluids that will have you wishing you read it on an empty stomach! The book definitely lives up to its title of Vile Things - Extreme Deviations of Horror so prepare to be disturbed and make sure you have a barf bag handy before reading! -- Fatally Yours, August 7, 2009
Rue Morgue Magazine, September 2009
The most striking fiction is often rooted directly in reality, and this is especially true for the stories found in Vile Things. Most of these tales, collected by editor Cheryl Mullenax, begin with plausible, everyday situations and then darken quickly to trap the reader in twisted supernatural plotlines that teem with the imagination's most repulsive creations, including parasitic mutations, a spate of festering fungal rashes and many other rancid and, well, vile things.
But dismembered members aside, there are no cheap gross-outs here; even though the focus is clearly on the vile and unpalatable these don't feel like stories that were written with the sole purpose of being labeled "extreme horror" or to merely revel in their graphic, gory descriptions. Simply put, Vile Things is every deviant horror fan's wet dream. --Rue Morgue Magazine, September 2009
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By bonemonkey
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had my eye on this collection for a while and finally took the plunge today. A short story collection which promises nothing but extremely vile stories. Sounds good. I was ready for a big let down, but I have to say, these stories are vile. I decided to grade them in terms of how vile they are -
1) The fisherman (5/10) nice choice to get the old ball rolling. Local fishing champ uses a particularly gruesome method to catch the best fish.
2) Fungoid (7/10) fungus with ambition (say no more).
3) Tenants rights (8/10) think twice before giving a tenant the brush off, they may be hatching a plan to make your skin crawl (quite literally).
4) Again (6/10) grandma is not so innocent in this modern day "stay on the path, never enter the woods" type yarn.
5) Maggots (10/10) mind controlling parasites with a plan (extremely vile).
6) Going green (6/10) a novel way of generating green energy back fires, zombie style.
7) Coquettrice (7/10) sometimes it's better not to confirm your suspicions. Gives new meaning to "a strange relationship".
8) The fear in the waiting (4/10) interesting spin on the Roswell alien corpse.
9) The worm (7/10) more parasite action which gives a horrible new meaning to "motherly love".
10) Sepsis (8/10) love is a good thing but some couples just get too close for comfort. Never ends well.
11) What you wish for (6/10) wishes can come true, but beware if they do.
12) The Devil lives in Jersey (6/10) detective inherits a legacy that nobody would want.
13) Rat king (6/10) Nazi death camp guards horrible story.
14) The caterpillar (7/10) weird.
15) Poor brother Ed, or the man who visited (4/10) horny zombie. Had to happen one day I suppose.
A collection of vile short stories ranging from the quite vile, to the extremely vile. Anyone into horror stories (who doesn't mind abit of vileness thrown in) should definitely give this a go.
Vile, but nice!
1) The fisherman (5/10) nice choice to get the old ball rolling. Local fishing champ uses a particularly gruesome method to catch the best fish.
2) Fungoid (7/10) fungus with ambition (say no more).
3) Tenants rights (8/10) think twice before giving a tenant the brush off, they may be hatching a plan to make your skin crawl (quite literally).
4) Again (6/10) grandma is not so innocent in this modern day "stay on the path, never enter the woods" type yarn.
5) Maggots (10/10) mind controlling parasites with a plan (extremely vile).
6) Going green (6/10) a novel way of generating green energy back fires, zombie style.
7) Coquettrice (7/10) sometimes it's better not to confirm your suspicions. Gives new meaning to "a strange relationship".
8) The fear in the waiting (4/10) interesting spin on the Roswell alien corpse.
9) The worm (7/10) more parasite action which gives a horrible new meaning to "motherly love".
10) Sepsis (8/10) love is a good thing but some couples just get too close for comfort. Never ends well.
11) What you wish for (6/10) wishes can come true, but beware if they do.
12) The Devil lives in Jersey (6/10) detective inherits a legacy that nobody would want.
13) Rat king (6/10) Nazi death camp guards horrible story.
14) The caterpillar (7/10) weird.
15) Poor brother Ed, or the man who visited (4/10) horny zombie. Had to happen one day I suppose.
A collection of vile short stories ranging from the quite vile, to the extremely vile. Anyone into horror stories (who doesn't mind abit of vileness thrown in) should definitely give this a go.
Vile, but nice!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.4 out of 5 stars
15 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shock Room: Vile Things
10 Sep 2009
By S. P. Miskowski
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror
Edited by Cheryl Mullenax
Featuring new or recent fiction by a dozen authors and anchored by reprints from horror literary giants Ramsey Campbell and Graham Masterton, the 2009 Comet Press anthology Vile Things answers such questions as:
How can a mad scientist, who is also a family man, keep his household electronics running once he decides to go green?
Why should you never cross the threshold of an apartment that bears an obscene portrait of a rooster?
How do you get even with a roommate whose only crime is being irresistible?
Rarely does one volume of work by such a wide range of experienced and emerging writers offer the abundance of creepiness found in Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror. Maggots, animals and people slither this way and that, sometimes erotically, sometimes horrifically and occasionally both--as in Angel Leigh McCoy's devilishly sensual "Coquettrice." In addition to McCoy's story, I especially liked the ruthless wit of Stefan Pearson's "Going Green." But there are many delights to be found here.
In Sean Logan's geek revenge story "Tenant's Rights" a slovenly upstairs renter turns peeping tom, drilling holes in the floor to spy on the handsome roommate whose sexual charisma--and magnificent hair--have driven him to distraction. The anti-hero of "The Caterpillar" by C. Dennis Moore stumbles toward a state of grace and awe, thanks to an unexpected connection to his disfigured young cousin.
These are not typical or predictable tales of horror. While a couple of the pieces lack polish, there is no shortage of originality. If you think, as I do, that the most exotic images and disturbing acts lurk in the basement next door or the apartment across the hall, here is the material for your next nightmare.
Edited by Cheryl Mullenax
Featuring new or recent fiction by a dozen authors and anchored by reprints from horror literary giants Ramsey Campbell and Graham Masterton, the 2009 Comet Press anthology Vile Things answers such questions as:
How can a mad scientist, who is also a family man, keep his household electronics running once he decides to go green?
Why should you never cross the threshold of an apartment that bears an obscene portrait of a rooster?
How do you get even with a roommate whose only crime is being irresistible?
Rarely does one volume of work by such a wide range of experienced and emerging writers offer the abundance of creepiness found in Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror. Maggots, animals and people slither this way and that, sometimes erotically, sometimes horrifically and occasionally both--as in Angel Leigh McCoy's devilishly sensual "Coquettrice." In addition to McCoy's story, I especially liked the ruthless wit of Stefan Pearson's "Going Green." But there are many delights to be found here.
In Sean Logan's geek revenge story "Tenant's Rights" a slovenly upstairs renter turns peeping tom, drilling holes in the floor to spy on the handsome roommate whose sexual charisma--and magnificent hair--have driven him to distraction. The anti-hero of "The Caterpillar" by C. Dennis Moore stumbles toward a state of grace and awe, thanks to an unexpected connection to his disfigured young cousin.
These are not typical or predictable tales of horror. While a couple of the pieces lack polish, there is no shortage of originality. If you think, as I do, that the most exotic images and disturbing acts lurk in the basement next door or the apartment across the hall, here is the material for your next nightmare.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mostly conventional despite the title but a few stories do stand out
17 Jan 2010
By Whitt Patrick Pond
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror is something of a mixed bag. What you get out of it will largely depend on just what you're looking for when you want to read horror. If you want stories that will make you squirm, then Vile Things will definitely succeed on that level. Every story in this anthology has a fairly high "ick" factor and if that's what scares you, then this is definitely an anthology you'll want to read.
For myself, however, this anthology was a bit disappointing. When I see a sub-title promising "Extreme Deviations of Horror", I expect stories that will really push the envelope, that will be so unsettling as to generate controversy or come with a cautionary note. Vile Things is not, despite its title, one of those anthologies. Most of the stories were - other than the high ick factor - fairly conventional, and far too many rely on what I would term the 'outside agent' factor, i.e. horrible things happen but it's because of some third-party making them happen, which both distances the reader from the horror and removes any responsibility for the character's actions. It's the literary equivalent of "The devil made me do it!", which is not at all the same as a deal-with-the-devil story. For me, real horror, the best horror, leaves the reader unsettled, altering their world view in such a way that they don't feel quite as safe or comfortable as they did before reading the story. A really good horror story will stay with the reader long, long after the reading is done.
From that perspective, there are a few stories here that I can recommend, first and foremost being Ramsey Campbell's "Again" where a lone hiker takes the path less traveled and witnesses something that neither he nor the reader will ever be able to get out of their head. It is a mark of Campbell's mastery of the genre that he twists the knife at the very end with a single word that takes the reader from being merely repulsed to being truly horrified. Tim Curran's "Maggots" follows the descent of a French soldier in Napoleon's retreat from Moscow from desperation into damnation. While it relies on an outside agent, it is the best ghoul story I've ever read, all the more so as it is told from the ghoul's point of view. If you've ever wondered what it would be mean to be a ghoul - and why you'd never, ever want to be one - this is a must read. Jeffrey Thomas' "Rat King" takes on a seemingly overused plot - a Nazi concentration camp guard becomes the victim of his victims - but takes it in a very disturbing direction. And even as you realize that this isn't the story you'd expected it to be, you will not be able to stop until the very end, when the unnamed guard's parting words leave you feeling unsettled and unclean.
All in all, this is not a bad anthology. At least three of the stories are first-rate by any horror standard, and the rest are really a matter of just what in particular the reader is looking for in horror. If you want something that will make you squirm and keep you squirming from beginning to end, then this is a book you'll want to read. If you want something that will unsettle you, that will stick uncomfortably in your mind long after you've put the book aside, then the three stories I mentioned will make it worth your while.
For myself, however, this anthology was a bit disappointing. When I see a sub-title promising "Extreme Deviations of Horror", I expect stories that will really push the envelope, that will be so unsettling as to generate controversy or come with a cautionary note. Vile Things is not, despite its title, one of those anthologies. Most of the stories were - other than the high ick factor - fairly conventional, and far too many rely on what I would term the 'outside agent' factor, i.e. horrible things happen but it's because of some third-party making them happen, which both distances the reader from the horror and removes any responsibility for the character's actions. It's the literary equivalent of "The devil made me do it!", which is not at all the same as a deal-with-the-devil story. For me, real horror, the best horror, leaves the reader unsettled, altering their world view in such a way that they don't feel quite as safe or comfortable as they did before reading the story. A really good horror story will stay with the reader long, long after the reading is done.
From that perspective, there are a few stories here that I can recommend, first and foremost being Ramsey Campbell's "Again" where a lone hiker takes the path less traveled and witnesses something that neither he nor the reader will ever be able to get out of their head. It is a mark of Campbell's mastery of the genre that he twists the knife at the very end with a single word that takes the reader from being merely repulsed to being truly horrified. Tim Curran's "Maggots" follows the descent of a French soldier in Napoleon's retreat from Moscow from desperation into damnation. While it relies on an outside agent, it is the best ghoul story I've ever read, all the more so as it is told from the ghoul's point of view. If you've ever wondered what it would be mean to be a ghoul - and why you'd never, ever want to be one - this is a must read. Jeffrey Thomas' "Rat King" takes on a seemingly overused plot - a Nazi concentration camp guard becomes the victim of his victims - but takes it in a very disturbing direction. And even as you realize that this isn't the story you'd expected it to be, you will not be able to stop until the very end, when the unnamed guard's parting words leave you feeling unsettled and unclean.
All in all, this is not a bad anthology. At least three of the stories are first-rate by any horror standard, and the rest are really a matter of just what in particular the reader is looking for in horror. If you want something that will make you squirm and keep you squirming from beginning to end, then this is a book you'll want to read. If you want something that will unsettle you, that will stick uncomfortably in your mind long after you've put the book aside, then the three stories I mentioned will make it worth your while.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not for the squeamish
17 Mar 2010
By Kevin L. Kennel
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This anthology at first seems like a book that is built upon gross things and who wants a horror story where there is only gore? But if you get past the first couple stories or skip them, you will find there is some good writing in there. Particularly "The Devil Lives in Jersey" by Z.F. Kilgore and "Sepsis" by Graham Masterson. There is some humor in here. "Tenant's Rights" by Sean Logan will have you laugh and squirm at the same time and so will "Going Green" by Stefan Pierson. A good book for those looking for some blood, guts, and other sick things in their horror stories.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 15 reviews
3.4 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Anthologies
- Books > Fiction > Short Stories
- Books > Fiction > Women Writers & Fiction
- Books > Horror > Anthologies
- Books > Horror > Short Stories
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
