Slither by Edward Lee (Paperback Review)

Messed up, perverse, and over-the-top, Slither is a b-grade horror novel that opens with an interesting premise, almost ruins it by fumbling too many plot threads, and ultimately redeems itself with a polarizing twist in the final fifty pages. Edward Lee definitely has a flair for the macabre, not to mention a trashy, free-flowing style, that makes this a compelling, if uneven, read.



The story starts with four separate groups of people stranded on a deserted, nearly inaccessible island. Yeah, that's a lot of strangers on a deserted island. While a few of the characters do remark upon the situation, that doesn't save the story's roots from being so awkwardly mired in coincidence. Party number one is your typical slasher flick fodder - rich, horny teens looking for a secluded sexual hideout. Party number two is your typical sci-fi thriller fodder - overly geeky scientists, an over-sexed bimbo/bitch photographer, and a by-the-book army grunt. Party number three is your typical b-movie trash fodder - a pair of petty criminal brothers and the skanky whore with whom they so eagerly trade favours. It's only party number four that really distinguishes the story, but we don't find out just how a-typical they are until those aforementioned final fifty pages.



I won't even try to decipher the barrage of scientific nonsense being bandied about here, but I will say it sounds authentic and well-researched. I learned far more about worms and parasites than I ever wanted to know, and you can bet your ass I'll be well-armed with bug-spray and insect-repellent bracelets next time I decide to venture deep into the woods. That's a bit of an in-joke, since it's ridiculous how well they manage to protect party number two but I guess somebody has to have a hope of escape for the story to work.



As for the worms, they are damned creepy. Imagine your worst, darkest, most perverted fears about slender, creeping, malevolent creatures and amp that up to the max. This is tentacle-porn at its most sadistic, stripped of the psuedo-eroticism and reduced to its most primal, albeit sexual, elements. Cover your mouth, pinch your nose, and clench those butt-cheeks tight because the tiniest little twinge or tickle will have you paranoid by the end. Cliches and coincidences aside, Lee knows how to get under your skin.



While the book would have worked better with about a hundred-or-so pages cut out, there's enough here to keep you reading, even through the dry parts. As for that polarizing twist I mentioned? It's either the cheapest cop-out ever slipped into a story, a means of getting beyond the mental roadblock of one too many scientific impossibilities, or the most inspired bit of narrative invention, a development so bizarre that it actually works. For me, it was the latter, ultimately redeeming a story with which I was starting to lose patience.



Definitely a guilty pleasure, this was a ton of fun. Its flaws aside, Slither is a wild ride, full of gross-out horror, eye-rolling sex, brutal violence, and . . . oh, yeah, gross-out sex. Not recommended for weak hearts (or weak stomachs), but perfect for those who love the kind of b-movie drive-in horror flicks they simply don't make anymore.

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Paperback Review: Carnal Surgery by Edward Lee

In keeping with the spirit (pun intended) of the Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon, I'm pleased to present what will likely be my last horrific review of the week (unless I get time for a review of Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole). Today I'm offering up Carnal Surgery, a dark, twisted, over-the-top anthology of extreme horror short stories from the pen of Edward Lee.



Edward Lee is one of those rare authors who occupy a lot of space on my bookshelves (with the likes of The Minotauress, Incubi, The Haunter of the Threshold, Ghouls, and Succubi) but who has yet to make it into the 'read' pile. For that reason, I figured why not start with a sampling of his work and dive into the short stories of Carnal Surgery. After all, that's how I first became a Clive Barker fan, and it's a large part of what won me over to Stephen King so many years ago.



I won't go into detail on all the stories included here, but instead I thought I'd share some thoughts on my favourites:



The Seeker - A gory, graphic, disgusting tale that delivers exactly what I expected from Edward Lee. The casual way in which the depravities are handed out is entirely chilling, with the events in the bar (including the woman who deliberately throws up pizza and beer in the protagonists mouth) the most 'normal' atrocities we are doomed to encounter.



Please Let Me Out - Probably the most subtle and down-to-earth of all the tales, but also one of the most disturbing. Basically you have an insecure, older woman who likes to be in a position of power. Not only does she steal an employee's boyfriend, but she keeps him locked up as slave to her insatiable sexual appetites



Hands - This was one of my favourites, a classic tale of a reporter coerced into reporting on a serial killer who likes to take women's hands as a souvenir. If only he weren't so good at his job, and the police captain so clearly the perfect suspect, things might not have come to such a delicious twist at the end. A lot of atmosphere and suspense here, with a few genuine surprises at the end.



The Table - A very short story, with a great twist at the end . . . even if I did see it coming. Here you have a sadomasochistic young woman with a furniture fetish, a coroner's table with a gruesome history, and a bar pick-up who wants to play along. Most of it's talk, and the real horror comes beyond the final paragraph, but very effective.



The Piece of Paper - Quite possibly the strangest tale in the collection, an entirely pointless exercise in gruesome horror that is justified/redeemed by the twist-upon-a-twist at the end. This one made me laugh . . . and then feel guilty for doing so.



Make a Wish - Absolutely the best part of the collection, and a great way to end things. It's really three stories converging in a bar, with a bit of a morality play, a commentary on racial/social prejudice, and the nature of human greed. Again, Edward Lee is all about the twists, and here he layers them on top of one another until the glorious finale where all becomes clear.



A solid, if uneven collection, there was definitely enough here to make me want to give one of his novels a chance next. When the stories worked, they worked very well, and I wholly appreciate his willingness to go all the way, the follow the depravity to its logical end, and to just have fun with the material.

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"Waiting On" Wednesday: Witch House by Edward Lee

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:



Witch House by Edward Lee:



Many witches were burnt, hanged and tortured in seventeenth-century New England, including notorious coven-leader Evanore Wraxall and her incestuous father. Not all of them died. Now, on a trip to Wraxall House in Haver-Towne, NH, Stewart Fanshawe, cable television finance pundit, is about to meet them. [May 1]







Yeah, the release is a bit light on details, but Edward Lee, Richard Laymon, and Bentley Little are my unholy trinity, always good for an over-the-top, B-grade dose of horror and gore.

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