Sunday 13 May 2018

Sick, sicker, sickest....





Sicker and Sickest Bastards are the two follow-ups to Matt Shaw's Sick Bastards that I reviewed earlier this year, and which continue the story of John who in the first book of this series, ended up  discovering he wasn't who he thought he was and that he was, in fact, part of a secret experiment to test people's limits in the event of an apocalypse.
Sicker Bastards picks up where the first book left off, with John returning to his 'family' following the revelation he experiences that returning to the life he knew before is no longer an option. No less sick and depraved than the first book, and in fact upping the ante slightly this time around, it explores the ramifications of John's return and what happens when his new 'father' decides it is best for the 'family' to attempt to leave with potentially catastrophic results.
Sickest Bastards completes the trilogy in the form of a short story, told from a different perspective this time around, bringing the series to a twisted and equally shocking close.

I can not express this enough - THESE BOOKS ARE EXTREME AND NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH OR THE FAINT OF HEART. They feature EXTREME sex scenes including INCEST and CANNABILISM and are designed and written explicitly with making you squirm. If any of these themes offend, THESE BOOKS ARE NOT FOR YOU - MOVE ALONG!

Still with me? Good - because almost despite of this, or perhaps because of it, these books are very well written and a perfect showcase for Matt Shaw's talent and ability to shock.
I bought the 2nd book and when it ended, so needed to know how the series concluded, immediately purchased the final short story.

I look forward to reading more from this author - and love the way he even makes me feel uncomfortable, and yes, even a little bit dirty, reading these. 

Full marks out of 5 for both of these books!

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