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Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell
A gripping collection of six stories of terror—including the novella “The Visible Filth,” the basis for the upcoming major motion picture—by Shirley Jackson Award–winning author Nathan Ballingrud, hailed as a major new voice by Jeff VanderMeer, Paul Tremblay, and Carmen Maria Machado—“one of the most heavyweight horror authors out there” (The Verge).
In his first collection, North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud carved out a distinctly singular place in American fiction with his “piercing and merciless” (Toronto Globe and Mail) portrayals of the monsters that haunt our lives—both real and imagined: “What Nathan Ballingrud does in North American Lake Monsters is to reinvigorate the horror tradition” (Los Angeles Review of Books).
Now, in Wounds, Ballingrud follows up with an even more confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in “The Visible Filth” to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table,” Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.
In his first collection, North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud carved out a distinctly singular place in American fiction with his “piercing and merciless” (Toronto Globe and Mail) portrayals of the monsters that haunt our lives—both real and imagined: “What Nathan Ballingrud does in North American Lake Monsters is to reinvigorate the horror tradition” (Los Angeles Review of Books).
Now, in Wounds, Ballingrud follows up with an even more confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in “The Visible Filth” to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table,” Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 9, 2019
About the author
Nathan Ballingrud
69 books1,147 followersI'm the author of North American Lake Monsters: stories, coming from Small Beer Press in July 2013. I'm currently at work on my first novel and several more short stories. I live with my daughter in Asheville, NC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 550 reviews
April 29, 2019
Been looking forward to this book from the moment I finished the last Nathan Ballingrud collection, a few years back. And I read my copy of 'Wounds' right after the book arrived. One evening and the following morning was all it took and I didn't want the stories to end.
As with Nathan's first collection, I couldn't leave this one alone. Genuinely entertaining horror containing all of the dread and hideous aesthetics of the best in the field.
The final novella - 'The Butcher's Table' - is new to this collection and a work of the imagination that gave me genuine awe, bringing Conrad, Tolkien and early Barker to my mind. I'm still thinking about the portrayal of hell that has the epic feel of the classic depictions, the hells of Milton and Dante. A story worth twice the price of the hardback alone.
Get some.
As with Nathan's first collection, I couldn't leave this one alone. Genuinely entertaining horror containing all of the dread and hideous aesthetics of the best in the field.
The final novella - 'The Butcher's Table' - is new to this collection and a work of the imagination that gave me genuine awe, bringing Conrad, Tolkien and early Barker to my mind. I'm still thinking about the portrayal of hell that has the epic feel of the classic depictions, the hells of Milton and Dante. A story worth twice the price of the hardback alone.
Get some.
November 2, 2024
Wounds: Six Stories From The Border Of Hell is brutal, gorey, vivid, imaginative, had many genuinely creepy moments, and is probably my new favorite short story collection of all time. The prose was fascinating and kept me wanting to read more, but also had me stopping every now and then to think at the imagery conjured.
My favorite story is definitely the first- The Atlas Of Hell. In it, a man is forced to track down a stolen hellish relic, and madness ensues. This story especially was just insane and featured some really intense imagery. I had to just stare into space and let the scenes play out in my head, it was that good.
I also really loved the creep factor of The Maw, a pretty short story that gave major Silent Hill vibes.
The Visible Filth and The Devils Table were the longest stories of the collection, both coming in at around 100 pages, and were disturbing, thought provoking, and again had some really intense and unique sequences and thought provoking themes.
The other two, The Diabolist and Skullpocket were still solid and I really enjoyed them, but they didn't hit as hard as the others.
Still, this was everything to me and I will definitely be coming back to this collection often. I feel like most of the collections I've read have been more literary horror, but this was a crazy hellish joyride and I loved every second of it!!
My favorite story is definitely the first- The Atlas Of Hell. In it, a man is forced to track down a stolen hellish relic, and madness ensues. This story especially was just insane and featured some really intense imagery. I had to just stare into space and let the scenes play out in my head, it was that good.
I also really loved the creep factor of The Maw, a pretty short story that gave major Silent Hill vibes.
The Visible Filth and The Devils Table were the longest stories of the collection, both coming in at around 100 pages, and were disturbing, thought provoking, and again had some really intense and unique sequences and thought provoking themes.
The other two, The Diabolist and Skullpocket were still solid and I really enjoyed them, but they didn't hit as hard as the others.
Still, this was everything to me and I will definitely be coming back to this collection often. I feel like most of the collections I've read have been more literary horror, but this was a crazy hellish joyride and I loved every second of it!!
May 30, 2019
There are two unifying themes throughout the six stories in the spellbinding collection. The first should be obvious from the title: Hell. All of these stories in some way deal with a person having a hellish encounter. Sometimes this involves demons, other times it’s a little less obvious. What makes it fascinating thought is that while each story works well on an individual basis, they create a something of a tapestry when viewed together, creating something like a mythology of Hell. Little things mentioned in one story, are brought back in another, or the origin of an item shown in one story is explained in another. It’s fascinating, and makes the collection better that each individual story would be.
The second theme is far less obvious from plot descriptions, but it’s love. Each of these, in a very twisted fashion, is a love story. As one of our narrators explains, hell’s favorite emotion is love, as people will go to such great lengths for it. This theme is easily the most terrifying aspect of the book, because it adds to the hints of Hell’s true nature and adds an easily relatable aspect to the incomprehensible.
As I try to do with all short story collections I review, I will do a brief mini-review for each story as well as a rating.
The Atlas of Hell – This one is a very creative noir/horror combo that feels like something Clive Barker would have written. It focuses on a rare book dealer who is stuck working for some mobsters who are looking for the Atlas of the title, after a small time crook starts making a huge profit by selling artifacts from Hell. It's a story with some disturbing imagery, but really succeeded in how unique some of its ideas were presented (the atlas itself is truly unique). 4/5 stars
The Diabolist – This one is... different. It takes a rather strange narration route, in that it is a first person narrator, but the narrator is speaking to the reader the entire time as if they are a specific character in the story. It's not as good as the first story, but again I'm impressed with the ideas at play here. It focuses on a young girl whose father dies and when she explores his basement lab, she finds that he summoned an imp from the “Love Mills” of Hell. 3/5 stars
Skullpocket – I loved this story, but I imagine it will be easily the most hit or miss story for readers in the collection. It’s written in a simpler style than the previous stories, trying to imitate an almost Young Adult reading level. It focuses on fourteen children who are invited to a ghoul’s home where he will be throwing a festival. There, one of his servants tells the children how this yearly festival began so many years before. The story is child friendly at first, making it shocking after the previous two tales, but then the narration will interject a few comments that take away from that child friendliness, making it a bit of a mood whiplash dissection of YA stories. 4.5/5 stars
The Maw – While I had enjoyed every story prior to this, The Maw was the first one that genuinely creeped me out. This one has some truly disturbing imagery and some shocking scenes. It reminds me somewhat of a sci-fi novel I read years ago called “Roadside Picnic.” Both stories involves people who go into a dangerous territory that few can comprehend, to pull out items of value. In this case though it is homeless children, who go into a demon-infested city, trying to find items the refugees left behind. The imagery is terrifying and the idea that the demons never try to leave their territory, just build upon it only adds to the horror as you read on. This one could have been a five star read, but I was a little disappointed by the ending. 4/5 stars.
The Visible Filth – After The Maw reminded me that yes, this was a horror collection intended to scare the reader, The Visible Filth pretty much still sucker punched me, and then kicked me when I was down. This one is an EXTREMELY disturbing story about a bartender who one night finds a cellphone in his bar after a fight. He begins receiving strange messages on the phone from someone who claims there is “something there" with him and sends him pictures of pieces falling out of him. As he begins looking through the phone, he finds a series of pictures and videos… and I will not spoil a thing that happens from there. This one is shocking and brilliantly plotted. Some of these stories ended a touch on the abrupt side, or left me with questions… this one is damn near perfect. 5/5 stars
The Butchers Table – The final is also the longest tale, at over 100 pages. Unlike the previous stories, which all took place in modern day, this one feels like something of an R rated Pirates of the Caribbean. It follows a young Satanist, in love with the daughter of a cannibal priest, and how they intend to journey to Hell on a pirate ship and be married on its shores… the story is as batshit crazy as it sounds and is very enjoyable. The visuals of Hell presented in this story are stunning, and some of the landscape described strangely beautiful (I particularly liked the mountain/cave which is the corpse of an angel, with wounds in the chest forming the mouth of the cave). It also features one of the most disturbing creatures presented in these stories with the Carrion Angels. Of them I will say no more. A solid 4/5 stars
As you can see from my descriptions, most of the stories are rated highly and fairly close together. They are all consistently entertaining and as I mentioned before, they work together as a whole in a way that improves upon the entire work. I give this one a recommendation to all horror fans and a solid 4/5 stars.
But for those curious, I’ll close with a ranking of the stories from best to worst (in my opinion):
The Visible Filth
Skullpocket
The Atlas of Hell
The Butcher’s Table
The Maw
The Diabolist
The second theme is far less obvious from plot descriptions, but it’s love. Each of these, in a very twisted fashion, is a love story. As one of our narrators explains, hell’s favorite emotion is love, as people will go to such great lengths for it. This theme is easily the most terrifying aspect of the book, because it adds to the hints of Hell’s true nature and adds an easily relatable aspect to the incomprehensible.
As I try to do with all short story collections I review, I will do a brief mini-review for each story as well as a rating.
The Atlas of Hell – This one is a very creative noir/horror combo that feels like something Clive Barker would have written. It focuses on a rare book dealer who is stuck working for some mobsters who are looking for the Atlas of the title, after a small time crook starts making a huge profit by selling artifacts from Hell. It's a story with some disturbing imagery, but really succeeded in how unique some of its ideas were presented (the atlas itself is truly unique). 4/5 stars
The Diabolist – This one is... different. It takes a rather strange narration route, in that it is a first person narrator, but the narrator is speaking to the reader the entire time as if they are a specific character in the story. It's not as good as the first story, but again I'm impressed with the ideas at play here. It focuses on a young girl whose father dies and when she explores his basement lab, she finds that he summoned an imp from the “Love Mills” of Hell. 3/5 stars
Skullpocket – I loved this story, but I imagine it will be easily the most hit or miss story for readers in the collection. It’s written in a simpler style than the previous stories, trying to imitate an almost Young Adult reading level. It focuses on fourteen children who are invited to a ghoul’s home where he will be throwing a festival. There, one of his servants tells the children how this yearly festival began so many years before. The story is child friendly at first, making it shocking after the previous two tales, but then the narration will interject a few comments that take away from that child friendliness, making it a bit of a mood whiplash dissection of YA stories. 4.5/5 stars
The Maw – While I had enjoyed every story prior to this, The Maw was the first one that genuinely creeped me out. This one has some truly disturbing imagery and some shocking scenes. It reminds me somewhat of a sci-fi novel I read years ago called “Roadside Picnic.” Both stories involves people who go into a dangerous territory that few can comprehend, to pull out items of value. In this case though it is homeless children, who go into a demon-infested city, trying to find items the refugees left behind. The imagery is terrifying and the idea that the demons never try to leave their territory, just build upon it only adds to the horror as you read on. This one could have been a five star read, but I was a little disappointed by the ending. 4/5 stars.
The Visible Filth – After The Maw reminded me that yes, this was a horror collection intended to scare the reader, The Visible Filth pretty much still sucker punched me, and then kicked me when I was down. This one is an EXTREMELY disturbing story about a bartender who one night finds a cellphone in his bar after a fight. He begins receiving strange messages on the phone from someone who claims there is “something there" with him and sends him pictures of pieces falling out of him. As he begins looking through the phone, he finds a series of pictures and videos… and I will not spoil a thing that happens from there. This one is shocking and brilliantly plotted. Some of these stories ended a touch on the abrupt side, or left me with questions… this one is damn near perfect. 5/5 stars
The Butchers Table – The final is also the longest tale, at over 100 pages. Unlike the previous stories, which all took place in modern day, this one feels like something of an R rated Pirates of the Caribbean. It follows a young Satanist, in love with the daughter of a cannibal priest, and how they intend to journey to Hell on a pirate ship and be married on its shores… the story is as batshit crazy as it sounds and is very enjoyable. The visuals of Hell presented in this story are stunning, and some of the landscape described strangely beautiful (I particularly liked the mountain/cave which is the corpse of an angel, with wounds in the chest forming the mouth of the cave). It also features one of the most disturbing creatures presented in these stories with the Carrion Angels. Of them I will say no more. A solid 4/5 stars
As you can see from my descriptions, most of the stories are rated highly and fairly close together. They are all consistently entertaining and as I mentioned before, they work together as a whole in a way that improves upon the entire work. I give this one a recommendation to all horror fans and a solid 4/5 stars.
But for those curious, I’ll close with a ranking of the stories from best to worst (in my opinion):
The Visible Filth
Skullpocket
The Atlas of Hell
The Butcher’s Table
The Maw
The Diabolist
February 19, 2022
"Oh, how I would love to go to a place made only for screams.”
Initial Thoughts
I've had Wounds:six stories from the border of hell sat on my TBR for quite some time now. I eventually picked it up because I wanted to intersperse it with some educational reading on philosophy. Well that didn't go quite according to plan. Let me tell you why.
Wounds is made of four short stories of pretty decent size and two novellas. One of the novellas, “The Visible Filth,” has been adapted into a movie titled wounds and I think this is the reason that this collection was given its name to tie them together. What was it originally to be called...Atlas of Hell. Believe me that would be a far more apt title.
"I remember, viscerally and immediately, the giddy terror that filled me when I was that boy, seventy years ago, summoned by a dream of a monster to a monster’s house."
The author himself, Nathan Ballingrud, is new to the horror scene having published one other collection before this called North American Lake Monsters. I really need to try some different authors and move away from King, Straub, McCammon and Simmons who I tend to stick to like they're crack cocaine. Plus Ballingrud is a single dad taking care of his daughter, much like myself, so I felt a certain affinity with him from the start.
The Stories
As I've said before, this is a collection of six stories that share a common theme and mythology that flows seamlessly throughout. Starting with...
Atlas of Hell - 4/5
This one is a mix of hard boiled, nourish crime fiction mixed with the occult. It actually reminded me a lot of Angel Heart staring Mickey Rourke. A backstreet bookseller, with mob connections, is "persuaded" to go on the hunt for a nefarious book located deep in the Louisiana bayou. It's a strong opening and one establishes a dark, brooding tone for what's to follow.
The Diabolist - 3/5
A daughter discovers her father shortly after he passes away, and decides to take a look in his laboratory for the first time. Inside is all manner of occult items amongst her finger paintings. Ballingrud uses his personal experience, along with a particularly unusual narrator, to add some originality and heart to the narrative. Even so it was the shortest and probably weakest story. Still good though and I think that suggests what I thought of the overall quality of the collection.
Skull pocket - 3.5/5
This one was a slow burn of a short story. At least in comparison to the other entries. It was also Ballingrud at his most creative and humourous, without upsetting the overall tone. In it he tells a strange tale of a smal town that plays host to a carnival run by ghouls. Very Something Wicked this Way Comes. The story takes off when the young ghouls decide to break the rules set by their elders. As usual, when an author gets really imaginative it tends not to land with me as I much prefer violence and darkness. But some readers will absolutely eat this up and perhaps rate it the best.
The Maw 4.5/5
The Maw was certainly the most brutal and nasty story of the bunch. In this one hell has broken out into our world and a 17-year-old girl is hired by an elderly man to guide him through the decimated streets of Hollow City as they search for his dog. It's now occupied by some truly terrifying entities that are only to happy to tear your soul apart. I absolutely loved this one.
"All life is a mass of wriggling grubs, awaiting the transformation to the form in which it will greet the long and quiet dark."
The Visible Filth 5/5
What can I say about this one? When a nasty fight breaks out in a seedy bar, Bartender Will is left cleaning up the mess. When finds a mobile phone the narrative goes on an absolute rollercoaster into pure darkness. Now that's my type of rollercoaster!
The central character of Will is morally grey and doesn’t seem to have anything going for him. This story is full of unsavoury characters and if you've read any of my Donald Ray Pollock or Joe Abercrombie reviews you know that's right in my ballpark. Some dark and disturbing messages start appearing on the aforementioned mobile that drags Will kicking and screaming into a terrifying nightmare that has to be read to be believed. Although this story is the most grounded in reality it still has some horrifyingly, warped stuff thrown in.
Absolutely brilliant! It does not get better than this...
The Bloody Table 6/5
...or does it? Devil worshippers, cannibalism, romance, mystery, pulse pounding adventure and, best of all, pirates! This bad boy has it all and then some.
Martin Dunwood is a member of the Candlelight Society, a bit of a gentleman's club for Satan worshippers. The story gets started when meets a group of pirates to make a deal to commence a dark and dastardly journey to find an atlas of Hell. Being a somewhat refined and cultured chap he soon finds himself in the company of thieves, murderers and cannibals on the Butcher’s Table, which is the ship taking them over to the dark side.
The general unpleasantness of the characters, rivetting plot, intense action and captivating setting makes this one of the best novellas I've read. I had to give "the Visible Filth" top marks and I liked this one more, hence the very special mark.
The Writing
What separates the great horror authors from the average, run of the mill, cheap shock horror authors? Great writing. And Nathan Ballingrud is a fantastic writer no question about it. He uses some gorgeously dark descriptions for some of the most disturbing acts. His dialogue, pacing, imagery all out of the top draw.
"He watched a cleaver rise and fall, over and over again, lifting bright red arcs into the air. He saw a stunned human face pressed against the bars of a metal cage. He heard a shriek so piercing that it launched him from sleep, upright in his swinging cot at some unknowable black hour of the night, panting and listening. He heard only the sound of the waves against the hull, the groan of wood straining against the deep. He closed his eyes again, and if he dreamed further, it was only of the abyss."
He sucked me into his world and had me fully immersed. He's created some very unique landscape and made them very real and given them a distinct, nightmarish quality that you dear reader will love.
Final Thoughts
In case you can't tell, I've been blown away by this one. Stuff the educational reading, this is where it's at. I was left speechless by the absolute quality of what I just read. That's right before I started to write this never ending review.
What makes this bunch of stories even better is there are subtle connection and an overriding theme that runs through each. Were talking about Hell and it's corrupting influence when it invades our world.
Ballingrud reuses names of locations and weaves in his own mythology, creating a cohesive environment for each narrative to exist in. It really impressed me and sets this one apart from the competition.
Bottom line - there's a new name in horror fiction and it's Nathan Ballingrud. Do what you have to do and get him moved up your TBR. That's an order! Cheers.
May 5, 2019
These stories emerge from the depths of mutated pyches, scarring the mind with indelible artistic configurations produced by the mutilation of accepted life forms. From the most remote corners of the abyss come sounds that can only be produced by torn and broken lives. These surfacing beings have been transformed into formidable and awe-inspiring atrocities. Beware the siren, as the song that emerges is as deadly as it is beautiful.
July 30, 2023
Nathan Ballingrud's Wounds is the best book I've read this year.
It's not a competition, art isn't a race, but Nathan Ballingrud has won and I'm popping the champagne in advance.
I mean ...god damn.
If you love horror and you enjoy reading, this guy should be on every single one of your radars. He has the intensity of a Cormac McCarthy, the symbolic power of an Alejandro Jodorowsky, the assaulting poetic imagination of a Phil Tippett and the monstrous humanity of a Guillermo del Toro.
He's a total package nightmare machine.
This book has the most vivid imagery I have ever read in a novel. And I just read Naked Lunch. I don't know if Nathan's publishers lined the pages with Dimethylsulfoxide or something, because when I read this book I could taste the imagery.
Taste it.
There's vivid and then there's realistic and then there's whatever the hell WOUNDS is doing.
I felt the ashes in my mouth when a character is slammed face-first into a bunch of cigarette butts. I could feel the close humidity of a swamp on my skin as I passed by plants with human faces and terrified eyes budding on the lines of Virginia creepers. I could smell the decay and electricity in the air in a room with a living corpse with wounds that were a gate for a celestial being. I could hear hundreds of colonies of cockroaches and maggots buzzing under the floor-boards. Singing a melancholy tune as a ghoul with a patchwork skull and a borrowed tongue mourned their lost romance to a girl with a head that blossomed open like a flower. I could see and feel the heat radiating off of the shores of hell itself as I watched my ship approach the monolithic body of a dead angel splayed across the landscape of a nightmare.
Wounds is a collection of six short stories that are connected and yet stand alone. And this collection is magnificent. Hallucinatory. It speaks in a voice that I recognise my from PTSD night terrors. These stories have the artistry of a Dark Souls and old school Clive Barker. A sort of obsidian fantasy style that isn't 'grim' or 'dark', but instead is gleeful and bright and insane and obscene.
Imagination like daggers of black glass forged in the mouth of a volcano.
I've mentioned this before, but there's an old, cheap criticism that says real horror is never seen. That what's inside the head of the audience is scarier than anything an artist or writer could ever visualise.
In the case of a lot of artists and writers that is true. In the case of Nathan Ballingrud? No. It is absolutely not true. Imagination wise, I am not in his league. I am not batting for his team. I am in a completely different sport.
If we all had the imagination of Nathan Ballingrud we wouldn't need video games or 600 million dollar CGI blockbusters. If we all had dreams this large and immersive we would not need the world itself. Our entertainment industry would collapse and the owners of Disney would be out on the street with a tin-cup begging for change and sandwiches.
We would be a race of strange dreamers throwing ourselves into apocalypses in a field of flowers and tasting personal and planetary Armageddon in every drop of beer. Our cars would rust out in their parking lots as we danced into the midnight hour to the song of our inner horror.
It would be a glorious utopia. But it is not one that currently exists. Unfortunately. Perhaps in time and with sufficient genetic modification it might be possible.
But at the moment we have to rely on visionaries like Nathan Ballingrud to play the pied piper and lead us like lemmings through the thickets of hell. To build maps written in human flesh to guide us to the sights and tourist hot spots of our broken souls. To show us the humanity in the worst of places and ideas, and the immense celestial power in our fragile mortality.
We need visionary artists and writers to teach us to listen to the songs hidden in our trauma. The glorious cacophony that pours from our busted lips and broken hearts. To show us the music waiting to be born in our WOUNDS.
Now. Empty your pockets for Nathan Ballingrud.
11.5/10
Yes, this book has broken free from my rating system. Because art is chaos and magic and cannot be contained.
It's not a competition, art isn't a race, but Nathan Ballingrud has won and I'm popping the champagne in advance.
I mean ...god damn.
If you love horror and you enjoy reading, this guy should be on every single one of your radars. He has the intensity of a Cormac McCarthy, the symbolic power of an Alejandro Jodorowsky, the assaulting poetic imagination of a Phil Tippett and the monstrous humanity of a Guillermo del Toro.
He's a total package nightmare machine.
This book has the most vivid imagery I have ever read in a novel. And I just read Naked Lunch. I don't know if Nathan's publishers lined the pages with Dimethylsulfoxide or something, because when I read this book I could taste the imagery.
Taste it.
There's vivid and then there's realistic and then there's whatever the hell WOUNDS is doing.
I felt the ashes in my mouth when a character is slammed face-first into a bunch of cigarette butts. I could feel the close humidity of a swamp on my skin as I passed by plants with human faces and terrified eyes budding on the lines of Virginia creepers. I could smell the decay and electricity in the air in a room with a living corpse with wounds that were a gate for a celestial being. I could hear hundreds of colonies of cockroaches and maggots buzzing under the floor-boards. Singing a melancholy tune as a ghoul with a patchwork skull and a borrowed tongue mourned their lost romance to a girl with a head that blossomed open like a flower. I could see and feel the heat radiating off of the shores of hell itself as I watched my ship approach the monolithic body of a dead angel splayed across the landscape of a nightmare.
Wounds is a collection of six short stories that are connected and yet stand alone. And this collection is magnificent. Hallucinatory. It speaks in a voice that I recognise my from PTSD night terrors. These stories have the artistry of a Dark Souls and old school Clive Barker. A sort of obsidian fantasy style that isn't 'grim' or 'dark', but instead is gleeful and bright and insane and obscene.
Imagination like daggers of black glass forged in the mouth of a volcano.
I've mentioned this before, but there's an old, cheap criticism that says real horror is never seen. That what's inside the head of the audience is scarier than anything an artist or writer could ever visualise.
In the case of a lot of artists and writers that is true. In the case of Nathan Ballingrud? No. It is absolutely not true. Imagination wise, I am not in his league. I am not batting for his team. I am in a completely different sport.
If we all had the imagination of Nathan Ballingrud we wouldn't need video games or 600 million dollar CGI blockbusters. If we all had dreams this large and immersive we would not need the world itself. Our entertainment industry would collapse and the owners of Disney would be out on the street with a tin-cup begging for change and sandwiches.
We would be a race of strange dreamers throwing ourselves into apocalypses in a field of flowers and tasting personal and planetary Armageddon in every drop of beer. Our cars would rust out in their parking lots as we danced into the midnight hour to the song of our inner horror.
It would be a glorious utopia. But it is not one that currently exists. Unfortunately. Perhaps in time and with sufficient genetic modification it might be possible.
But at the moment we have to rely on visionaries like Nathan Ballingrud to play the pied piper and lead us like lemmings through the thickets of hell. To build maps written in human flesh to guide us to the sights and tourist hot spots of our broken souls. To show us the humanity in the worst of places and ideas, and the immense celestial power in our fragile mortality.
We need visionary artists and writers to teach us to listen to the songs hidden in our trauma. The glorious cacophony that pours from our busted lips and broken hearts. To show us the music waiting to be born in our WOUNDS.
Now. Empty your pockets for Nathan Ballingrud.
11.5/10
Yes, this book has broken free from my rating system. Because art is chaos and magic and cannot be contained.
October 28, 2019
Nathan Ballingrud's North American Lake Monsters was an excellent debut collection, but Wounds took his writing to the next level. You can see his increased confidence; he's gone from writing extraordinary events happening to ordinary people in ordinary places, to creating his own world, and placing these stories on it's fringes. It's not until the last story that it truly comes together, but when it does you see the entirety of the story of this collection; it's a really well executed revelation.
The horror here isn't taking it easy, either - these are the kind of stories that could list Clive Barker or maybe Poppy Z. Brite in their influences. There's moments of body horror, which I'm usually not a fan of - but the way it's presented and the bizarro context made it work. Don't get me wrong - it's still horrifying, strongly so, it's just that it never feels jarring or out of place.
Nathan Ballingrud has made an impression with his horror, and between his two collections it's not hard to see why. I'll be looking forward to what he brings out next - even if I'm looking from between my fingers.
The horror here isn't taking it easy, either - these are the kind of stories that could list Clive Barker or maybe Poppy Z. Brite in their influences. There's moments of body horror, which I'm usually not a fan of - but the way it's presented and the bizarro context made it work. Don't get me wrong - it's still horrifying, strongly so, it's just that it never feels jarring or out of place.
Nathan Ballingrud has made an impression with his horror, and between his two collections it's not hard to see why. I'll be looking forward to what he brings out next - even if I'm looking from between my fingers.
Want to read
April 3, 2019Contents:
001 - "The Atlas Of Hell" (2014)
030 - The Diabolist" (2014)
049 - "Skullpocket" (2014)
089 - "The Maw" (2017"
108 - "The Visible Filth" (2015)
178 - "The Butchers Table" (original to this collection)
277 - Acknowledgments
001 - "The Atlas Of Hell" (2014)
030 - The Diabolist" (2014)
049 - "Skullpocket" (2014)
089 - "The Maw" (2017"
108 - "The Visible Filth" (2015)
178 - "The Butchers Table" (original to this collection)
277 - Acknowledgments
July 26, 2019
How can I communicate the darkness of this book? "Sacs gravid with ochre liquid," "tooth-spangled pinwheel of limbs," or how about "meaty exhalations?" I must admit I don't read much horror but I make an exception for this author. He is truly one of the best.
Unlike the author's previous story collection, North American Lake Monsters, which I always thought centered humanity inside of emotional and fantastical horrors, this story collection takes humans where they should not be (turn back!) The stories contain evil depths and hellish landscapes, with creatures who have traded humanity for power or access or knowledge, or worse - the pleasure of death and destruction. I expect to have carrion angel related nightmares.
I previously read two of these stories in other publications (I own a novella of The Visible Filth and a short story collection that includes The Atlas of Hell.) It was very pleasing to discover how the final story in this collection - The Butcher's Table - connects to The Atlas of Hell. .
And now I need sunlight, some lemonade, maybe a puppy?
You can listen to an older interview with the author on Episode 041<?a> of the Reading Envy Podcast, or look for the film version of The Visible Filth featuring Armie Hammer (and titled "Wounds")
Unlike the author's previous story collection, North American Lake Monsters, which I always thought centered humanity inside of emotional and fantastical horrors, this story collection takes humans where they should not be (turn back!) The stories contain evil depths and hellish landscapes, with creatures who have traded humanity for power or access or knowledge, or worse - the pleasure of death and destruction. I expect to have carrion angel related nightmares.
I previously read two of these stories in other publications (I own a novella of The Visible Filth and a short story collection that includes The Atlas of Hell.) It was very pleasing to discover how the final story in this collection - The Butcher's Table - connects to The Atlas of Hell. .
And now I need sunlight, some lemonade, maybe a puppy?
You can listen to an older interview with the author on Episode 041<?a> of the Reading Envy Podcast, or look for the film version of The Visible Filth featuring Armie Hammer (and titled "Wounds")
November 12, 2021
Image Friendly Version
The Butcher’s Table by Nathan Ballingrud
★★★★★
Hideous beauty, confronting and objectionable grace - everything I ever wanted from Clive Barker.
The Visible Filth ★★★★☆
A bartender finds a cell phone with gruesome images that infect his life and those around him. You never find out if it’s Heaven or Hell at play but salvation is viewed as a life less ordinary.
The Atlas of Hell ★★★★☆
A gangster makes a bookbinder with experience in dark magic go after a map of hell in the Bayou. If I had not already read one of Ballingrud’s tales of hell this would have been shockingly weird.
The Diabolist ★★★½☆
A lonely woman tries to use her fathers dark arts to bring him back. The love that finds her is not the one she called.
Skullpocket ★★★½☆
A town is taken over by The Church the Maggot. It’s just as unpleasant as it sounds.
The Maw ★★★½☆
A lonely man hires a young girl to take him through hell ravaged lands to find his dog.
The Butcher’s Table by Nathan Ballingrud
★★★★★
Hideous beauty, confronting and objectionable grace - everything I ever wanted from Clive Barker.
The Visible Filth ★★★★☆
A bartender finds a cell phone with gruesome images that infect his life and those around him. You never find out if it’s Heaven or Hell at play but salvation is viewed as a life less ordinary.
The Atlas of Hell ★★★★☆
A gangster makes a bookbinder with experience in dark magic go after a map of hell in the Bayou. If I had not already read one of Ballingrud’s tales of hell this would have been shockingly weird.
The Diabolist ★★★½☆
A lonely woman tries to use her fathers dark arts to bring him back. The love that finds her is not the one she called.
Skullpocket ★★★½☆
A town is taken over by The Church the Maggot. It’s just as unpleasant as it sounds.
The Maw ★★★½☆
A lonely man hires a young girl to take him through hell ravaged lands to find his dog.
January 23, 2023
I don’t believe I’ve ever read such a disturbing collection of Horror outside of Lovecraft at his darkest or Craig Zahler at his most vicious.
The best story in this Anthology from Hell or at least the one I enjoyed the most was ”The Visible Filth” followed by ”The Maw”, ”The Diabolist” and ”The Atlas Of Hell”.
There was powerful prose at play in ”Skullpocket” and almost intolerable gore and violence in this hellish anthology’s epic tale of Satanists and Cannibalism and Pirates that sail the seas of Hell, ”The Butcher’s Table”.
These tales are intense and unsettling and unforgettable. The author, Nathan Ballingrud, is an unusually gifted writer. The depictions of everyday people faced with indescribably hellish horrors intruding uninvited into their realities (with the exception of ”The Butcher’s Table” where the principals find the object of their journey) is absolutely ingenious.
I can’t wait to read what the author has in store for us all next.
The best story in this Anthology from Hell or at least the one I enjoyed the most was ”The Visible Filth” followed by ”The Maw”, ”The Diabolist” and ”The Atlas Of Hell”.
There was powerful prose at play in ”Skullpocket” and almost intolerable gore and violence in this hellish anthology’s epic tale of Satanists and Cannibalism and Pirates that sail the seas of Hell, ”The Butcher’s Table”.
These tales are intense and unsettling and unforgettable. The author, Nathan Ballingrud, is an unusually gifted writer. The depictions of everyday people faced with indescribably hellish horrors intruding uninvited into their realities (with the exception of ”The Butcher’s Table” where the principals find the object of their journey) is absolutely ingenious.
I can’t wait to read what the author has in store for us all next.
March 27, 2019
My review of WOUNDS can be found at High Fever Books.
Nathan Ballingrud makes for one hell of a tour guide along the border separating life on Earth from eternal damnation. His collection, Wounds, brings together six stories all about the permeation between these two realms.
“The Atlas of Hell” kicks things off in remarkably strong fashion. Ballingrud delivers a work of Bayou noir that sees a rare book dealer pressed into service by his mob associates into recovering the atlas of Hell. There’s loads of terrific imagery here, and I flat-out loved the concept of Ballingrud’s “astronauts” from Hell. The atlas itself was totally unlike anything I had expected, and the author exhibits a knack for overturning expectations over the course of Wounds’ other stories. There were a few elements I wish were explored a bit more deeply, such as a briefly glimpsed lake monster. It’s a minor quibble, to be sure, but also a positive in its own right as I immediately wanted more!
“The Diabolist” follows the teenage daughter of a recently deceased occultist and her discovery of his misdeeds. We get a wonderfully unique narrator, and Ballingrud again subverts expectations with the particular choices he’s made here. “Skullpocket” was really the only story in Wounds that I didn’t much care for, and it felt a bit too Young Adult for me. It does have some nifty concepts, though, involving a small town and the literal monsters that live next door, the history of which is relayed to a group of children gathered to celebrate a ghouls deathday. It’s a mostly light-hearted, Gaiman-esque affair and a bit of midpoint palette cleanser before Wounds gets back to reveling in the darkness.
“The Maw” features a small town of a different sort, one that has been utterly devastated by the denizens of Hell who have crossed the border and driven out any traces of humanity. Mix, a teenage girl, agrees to help Oscar navigate the suddenly foreign terrain, acting as a coyote/tour guide as she smuggles him into this dangerous wasteland in search of his lost dog. Ballingrud, again, proves to be a master of imagery, and the work of his Surgeons is truly nightmarish stuff.
“The Visible Filth” is an incredibly potent story! Bartender Will finds a cell phone forgotten by a patron, and then makes the mistake of answering a text message on it. Darkness permeates this story the whole way through, and Ballingrud plays with our expectations of violence as the mental states of various characters shift in response to Will’s discovery of, and subsequent obsession with, this cell phone. There’s plenty of grisly imagery throughout, as well some hair-raising moments of pure haunting dread, such as a computer monitor broadcasting the image of a tunnel and what lurks inside. This one really got under my skin, and it’s a story that lingers well after you’ve finished reading it thanks to its ambiguities.
“The Butchers Table” ends Wounds on a high note as Ballingrud takes us back in time to the Colonial era, where a group of Satanists have boarded a pirate ship setting sail across the border into Hell itself, where they hope to dine with their Dark Lord. Once again, Ballingrud provides some great imagery, especially the finale’s dining hall, and while not all loose ends are tied up oh so neatly, he does bring the overarching story twisting throughout each of Wounds’ stories full circle.
As I noted above, permeability is key here and Ballingrud injects certain narrative strands in one story to be revisited later. Each of these six stories function well enough on their own, but when taken as a whole we’re presented with a richer tapestry and a fresh mythology on the nature of Hell on Earth that encompasses occult and cosmic horror, as well some dashes of fantasy here and there. The border separating us from Hell is highly diffuse, but thankfully the potent horrors pouring through are of the most engaging and entertaining sort. You might want to schedule a trip there soon.
[Note: I received an advance reading copy of this title from the publisher, Saga Press.]
Nathan Ballingrud makes for one hell of a tour guide along the border separating life on Earth from eternal damnation. His collection, Wounds, brings together six stories all about the permeation between these two realms.
“The Atlas of Hell” kicks things off in remarkably strong fashion. Ballingrud delivers a work of Bayou noir that sees a rare book dealer pressed into service by his mob associates into recovering the atlas of Hell. There’s loads of terrific imagery here, and I flat-out loved the concept of Ballingrud’s “astronauts” from Hell. The atlas itself was totally unlike anything I had expected, and the author exhibits a knack for overturning expectations over the course of Wounds’ other stories. There were a few elements I wish were explored a bit more deeply, such as a briefly glimpsed lake monster. It’s a minor quibble, to be sure, but also a positive in its own right as I immediately wanted more!
“The Diabolist” follows the teenage daughter of a recently deceased occultist and her discovery of his misdeeds. We get a wonderfully unique narrator, and Ballingrud again subverts expectations with the particular choices he’s made here. “Skullpocket” was really the only story in Wounds that I didn’t much care for, and it felt a bit too Young Adult for me. It does have some nifty concepts, though, involving a small town and the literal monsters that live next door, the history of which is relayed to a group of children gathered to celebrate a ghouls deathday. It’s a mostly light-hearted, Gaiman-esque affair and a bit of midpoint palette cleanser before Wounds gets back to reveling in the darkness.
“The Maw” features a small town of a different sort, one that has been utterly devastated by the denizens of Hell who have crossed the border and driven out any traces of humanity. Mix, a teenage girl, agrees to help Oscar navigate the suddenly foreign terrain, acting as a coyote/tour guide as she smuggles him into this dangerous wasteland in search of his lost dog. Ballingrud, again, proves to be a master of imagery, and the work of his Surgeons is truly nightmarish stuff.
“The Visible Filth” is an incredibly potent story! Bartender Will finds a cell phone forgotten by a patron, and then makes the mistake of answering a text message on it. Darkness permeates this story the whole way through, and Ballingrud plays with our expectations of violence as the mental states of various characters shift in response to Will’s discovery of, and subsequent obsession with, this cell phone. There’s plenty of grisly imagery throughout, as well some hair-raising moments of pure haunting dread, such as a computer monitor broadcasting the image of a tunnel and what lurks inside. This one really got under my skin, and it’s a story that lingers well after you’ve finished reading it thanks to its ambiguities.
“The Butchers Table” ends Wounds on a high note as Ballingrud takes us back in time to the Colonial era, where a group of Satanists have boarded a pirate ship setting sail across the border into Hell itself, where they hope to dine with their Dark Lord. Once again, Ballingrud provides some great imagery, especially the finale’s dining hall, and while not all loose ends are tied up oh so neatly, he does bring the overarching story twisting throughout each of Wounds’ stories full circle.
As I noted above, permeability is key here and Ballingrud injects certain narrative strands in one story to be revisited later. Each of these six stories function well enough on their own, but when taken as a whole we’re presented with a richer tapestry and a fresh mythology on the nature of Hell on Earth that encompasses occult and cosmic horror, as well some dashes of fantasy here and there. The border separating us from Hell is highly diffuse, but thankfully the potent horrors pouring through are of the most engaging and entertaining sort. You might want to schedule a trip there soon.
[Note: I received an advance reading copy of this title from the publisher, Saga Press.]
October 17, 2020
I basically inhaled Nathan Ballingrud’s first collection, “North American Lake Monsters” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), earlier this month, and I was still craving more of this man’s dark, weird work. So I ordered a copy of “Wounds” and waited by the mailbox until it showed up and immediately cracked it open.
The theme of this collection is Hell, and while many authors have explored the subject before, my own readings on the topic have been limited to Dante (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Let me tell you, this is no touristy stroll with Virgil! Because Ballingrud, unlike Dante, is not there to preach at you: he is here to scare your socks right off. So he doesn’t simply describe Hell, he also tells you why and how his characters end up there…
“The Visible Filth” was the basis for the movie “Wounds”, which I watched immediately after wrapping up “North American Lake Monsters”; and it was amazingly weird, disturbing and strangely human – and I couldn’t wait to read the original material (to which I must say, it is very faithful). The novella is the heart of this collection, and I found it to be a perfect horror story: a bartender finds a cellphone left behind by a customer after a brutal bar fight and absentmindedly takes it home - and the text messages he starts getting and the pictures he finds on it derail his life in a horrifying way. The character of Will, an unwilling participant in a Hellish experiment, is very finely drawn, and how real he feels makes his story just as heartbreaking as it is creepy. Just for that story alone, the book is well worth adding to one's library.
The collection is bookended by two loosely connected stories, "The Atlas of Hell" and "Butcher's Table", and I loved how gritty and original they were. In the first story, a rare book dealer must retrieve a particularly dangerous book from the bayou outside of New Orleans for a crime boss, and the second is the most hair-raising pirate tale I've ever read.
"The Diabolist", "Skullpocket" and "The Maw" are strange and well-crafted little stories but they didn't have me as glued to the page as the other three - hence the 4 star rating for the overall collection. But do not let that deter you: Ballingrud has an amazing gift for bringing together the strangest horror elements and the most visceral human emotions, especially love, but also grief, greed, loneliness and despair to make his stories rich and upsetting.
If you enjoy literary horror, this is an author you should absolutely be reading.
The theme of this collection is Hell, and while many authors have explored the subject before, my own readings on the topic have been limited to Dante (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Let me tell you, this is no touristy stroll with Virgil! Because Ballingrud, unlike Dante, is not there to preach at you: he is here to scare your socks right off. So he doesn’t simply describe Hell, he also tells you why and how his characters end up there…
“The Visible Filth” was the basis for the movie “Wounds”, which I watched immediately after wrapping up “North American Lake Monsters”; and it was amazingly weird, disturbing and strangely human – and I couldn’t wait to read the original material (to which I must say, it is very faithful). The novella is the heart of this collection, and I found it to be a perfect horror story: a bartender finds a cellphone left behind by a customer after a brutal bar fight and absentmindedly takes it home - and the text messages he starts getting and the pictures he finds on it derail his life in a horrifying way. The character of Will, an unwilling participant in a Hellish experiment, is very finely drawn, and how real he feels makes his story just as heartbreaking as it is creepy. Just for that story alone, the book is well worth adding to one's library.
The collection is bookended by two loosely connected stories, "The Atlas of Hell" and "Butcher's Table", and I loved how gritty and original they were. In the first story, a rare book dealer must retrieve a particularly dangerous book from the bayou outside of New Orleans for a crime boss, and the second is the most hair-raising pirate tale I've ever read.
"The Diabolist", "Skullpocket" and "The Maw" are strange and well-crafted little stories but they didn't have me as glued to the page as the other three - hence the 4 star rating for the overall collection. But do not let that deter you: Ballingrud has an amazing gift for bringing together the strangest horror elements and the most visceral human emotions, especially love, but also grief, greed, loneliness and despair to make his stories rich and upsetting.
If you enjoy literary horror, this is an author you should absolutely be reading.
July 26, 2019
Mr. Ballingrud is a gifted writer with a boundless imagination, and I respect his willingness to experiment. In five of these six stories, Mr. Ballingrud had dispensed with the standard horror trope of a character's hapless descent into evil and instead presents the evil as a fait accompli with which all the characters are already familiar. But the sixth story, "The Visible Filth," employs this shopworn technique, and demonstrates exactly why it's so shopworn: when there's no sense of revelation or discovery in a horror story, the genre gets deathly dull. "Skullpocket" is forty pages of exposition -- exposition about ghouls discovering a taste for human flesh, but exposition nonetheless. Neither major character in "The Maw" is interesting enough to make us care whether or not they'll survive their trip into the city neighborhood which has become a demon-haunted slaughterhouse. And "The Butcher's Tale" supposedly takes place on the borderline of Hell and Earth, but is actually on the frontier between and bathos, with cannibalism, Satan worship, mass murder and patricide all becoming so mundane that "the banality of evil" takes on an entirely different meaning. And all of this Gothic excess is only coarsened by the inclusion of "The Visible Filth," the most conventional horror story in this collection, and the best by about a light year as we join Will, a clueless New Orleans bartender, on his hapless descent into ultimate evil. Thus do we learn that Mr. Ballingrud can build suspense as well as any writer in the genre, and that some for of psychological realism is necessary to make horror genuinely scary. The good Mr. Ballingrud most likely learned that lesson from Stephen King, and would do well to remember it in the future.
July 10, 2019
i liked ballingrud's first collection a lot, but the story "the atlas of hell" (included in this volume) just makes my entire head vibrate wildly every time that i read it. a truly terrifying story... i mean there's a real, true, unearthly power to it and I can't even begin to understand where it comes from or how it works or why i'm responding to it so strongly. And then the other 5 stories are just as good-- maybe better?? I hope he writes 50 more of these.
September 11, 2021
I've said before that short stories are usually not a winner for me. But short stories collections is usually harder for me to enjoy but this one was different. A good creepy read in small doses
June 19, 2019
Nathan Ballingrud's debut collection North American Lake Monsters was one of the best things I read in 2014. I was surprised that a first collection would be so polished and confident but there is no denying it - Ballingrud's writing is something special.
His second collection, Wounds, more than lives up to the high standards set by NALM. Six lengthy stories, consisting of five reprints from anthologies and one original to the collection. I had only read two of the five reprints previously, and unless you are a weird fiction hound of the first order, I doubt you have read them all either. I loved and greatly enjoyed them all, even the two I had already read.
My favorite story, though, is the one original. "The Butcher's Table" is full of intrigue and adventure, pirates and demons, love and hate. It was a ton of fun with an unexpected poignancy that made my eyes a little leaky. Gothic action horror at its finest.
Ballingrud takes his time writing his stories, and I'm glad he does. I hope we don't have to wait another six years for his next collection, but if we do, I have no doubt it will be worth every second.
His second collection, Wounds, more than lives up to the high standards set by NALM. Six lengthy stories, consisting of five reprints from anthologies and one original to the collection. I had only read two of the five reprints previously, and unless you are a weird fiction hound of the first order, I doubt you have read them all either. I loved and greatly enjoyed them all, even the two I had already read.
My favorite story, though, is the one original. "The Butcher's Table" is full of intrigue and adventure, pirates and demons, love and hate. It was a ton of fun with an unexpected poignancy that made my eyes a little leaky. Gothic action horror at its finest.
Ballingrud takes his time writing his stories, and I'm glad he does. I hope we don't have to wait another six years for his next collection, but if we do, I have no doubt it will be worth every second.
October 26, 2020
5 bloody stars for 'The Butcher’s Table'. What a ride! It has the imagery of nightmares translated into words.
'The Atlas of Hell' is technically a story following up on 'The Butcher's Table'. I reread it after I realised this and it gave it a whole new (better) layer. 4.5 stars.
'The Visible Filth' scared the crap out of me. 4.5 stars.
'The Maw' was good but had a weird, unsatisfying ending. Loved the creepy atmosphere, though. 3 stars.
'Skullpocket' felt a bit like a collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker, 2 of my favourite authors. Somehow, it didn't manage to hold my attention throughout the audio version. I might try actually reading it to see if that makes it better, enjoyment-wise. 2.5 stars for now.
'The Diabolist'. This one was okay. Short but/and not very satisfying. 2 stars.
This collection definitely pushes me towards reading more of Ballingrud. The guy has one sick imagination ♥️.
'The Atlas of Hell' is technically a story following up on 'The Butcher's Table'. I reread it after I realised this and it gave it a whole new (better) layer. 4.5 stars.
'The Visible Filth' scared the crap out of me. 4.5 stars.
'The Maw' was good but had a weird, unsatisfying ending. Loved the creepy atmosphere, though. 3 stars.
'Skullpocket' felt a bit like a collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker, 2 of my favourite authors. Somehow, it didn't manage to hold my attention throughout the audio version. I might try actually reading it to see if that makes it better, enjoyment-wise. 2.5 stars for now.
'The Diabolist'. This one was okay. Short but/and not very satisfying. 2 stars.
This collection definitely pushes me towards reading more of Ballingrud. The guy has one sick imagination ♥️.
April 12, 2019
4.5 stars! This review will be up on www.scifiandscary.com on 4/9 - release day!
Here's the full review:
This collection contains five previously published stories and one brand new novella: “The Atlas of Hell” (2014), “The Diabolist” (2014), “Skullpocket” (2014), “The Maw” (2017), “The Visible Filth” (2015), and “The Butcher’s Table” (2019). Note: prior to reading this collection, I hadn’t previously read any of these pieces.
“The Atlas of Hell”
Jack is just a sweet used book seller who used to deal with some unsavory characters…or is he? This story is so much fun – Jack is roped into helping out some thugs “just one more time” as they search for the atlas of Hell. Don’t worry, that isn’t a spoiler, I’m always quite careful. I really enjoyed this one; a sense of adventure combines with hellish terrors, tentacles, and plenty of deception and gore. It left me hurrying to turn the page to see what else Ballingrud had in store for me.
“The Diabolist”
After this one, I really started to see the thread Ballingrud uses to weave these stories into a comprehensive collection. This time we hear the story from an unlikely narrator. Who this is is revealed early on, but I won’t tell you here…this is a fun discovery to make. I really enjoyed this one, I liked “Atlas” a little better, but again I found myself tearing through to the next one.
“Skullpocket”
Oh my goodness – when I finished this one I KNEW I had found one of my favorites. It is bizarre, unique, and just a beautiful story. This one deals with ghouls who have their own “city” and annual fair; the tale deals with explaining how things came to be and where they might go from here. This one? I’d read an entire novel or novel series built around this world. Loved every piece of it.
“The Maw”
This is a quiet tale of love and loss in a world gone to Hell. Literally. One of the shortest tales, it still packs a punch and is a strong middle to the collection. Sometimes in collections I find the stories kind of lag in the middle, not so here. Ballingrud also cements his ability to write as if one is experiencing his story on the big screen. No horrific detail is spared and he truly is able to build entire worlds in just a few pages. Definitely tugged at my heart strings.
“The Visible Filth”
Ohhhhh. This one. This one is right up there with “Skullpocket” for me. A more realistic world, to be certain, wonderful characters, and a premise that is at once familiar yet completely fresh. Will is just a bartender who wants to live his life in series of unplanned moments – just a laid back guy. He reminded me of some of the people I hung with in my own college years. Things go down in the bar one night and he ends up with a cell phone that is not his own. A cell phone he REALLY should’ve left alone. I’ll leave it at that. This story is also being developed for film; I am curious to see how they will interpret the nuances of the story.
“The Butcher’s Table”
As noted above, this novella is previously unpublished. It takes place years ago in a time of pirates and darkness. Of the six, I didn’t connect with this one as much. This is definitely just down to personal taste – the writing is still beautiful, the premise unique, and the characters are developed. One of my favorite parts of this one was the content – meaning Ballingrud goes dark here – darker (I think) than any of the others in the collection.
All of these stories deal with, in some way, the veil or border between this reality and Hell, as noted in the title. But it’s more than just throwing together some stories about hellish things and travelling, the author uses similar themes, some intriguing “easter eggs”, if you will, throughout almost every story. In fact, the last story (and a few others) do this quite well and I thoroughly enjoy the elegant way in which these discoveries are presented.
Looking for a few gripping tales to enjoy this spring and summer? This one fits the bill if you like your horror smooth, visceral, and altogether hellish.
Here's the full review:
This collection contains five previously published stories and one brand new novella: “The Atlas of Hell” (2014), “The Diabolist” (2014), “Skullpocket” (2014), “The Maw” (2017), “The Visible Filth” (2015), and “The Butcher’s Table” (2019). Note: prior to reading this collection, I hadn’t previously read any of these pieces.
“The Atlas of Hell”
Jack is just a sweet used book seller who used to deal with some unsavory characters…or is he? This story is so much fun – Jack is roped into helping out some thugs “just one more time” as they search for the atlas of Hell. Don’t worry, that isn’t a spoiler, I’m always quite careful. I really enjoyed this one; a sense of adventure combines with hellish terrors, tentacles, and plenty of deception and gore. It left me hurrying to turn the page to see what else Ballingrud had in store for me.
“The Diabolist”
After this one, I really started to see the thread Ballingrud uses to weave these stories into a comprehensive collection. This time we hear the story from an unlikely narrator. Who this is is revealed early on, but I won’t tell you here…this is a fun discovery to make. I really enjoyed this one, I liked “Atlas” a little better, but again I found myself tearing through to the next one.
“Skullpocket”
Oh my goodness – when I finished this one I KNEW I had found one of my favorites. It is bizarre, unique, and just a beautiful story. This one deals with ghouls who have their own “city” and annual fair; the tale deals with explaining how things came to be and where they might go from here. This one? I’d read an entire novel or novel series built around this world. Loved every piece of it.
“The Maw”
This is a quiet tale of love and loss in a world gone to Hell. Literally. One of the shortest tales, it still packs a punch and is a strong middle to the collection. Sometimes in collections I find the stories kind of lag in the middle, not so here. Ballingrud also cements his ability to write as if one is experiencing his story on the big screen. No horrific detail is spared and he truly is able to build entire worlds in just a few pages. Definitely tugged at my heart strings.
“The Visible Filth”
Ohhhhh. This one. This one is right up there with “Skullpocket” for me. A more realistic world, to be certain, wonderful characters, and a premise that is at once familiar yet completely fresh. Will is just a bartender who wants to live his life in series of unplanned moments – just a laid back guy. He reminded me of some of the people I hung with in my own college years. Things go down in the bar one night and he ends up with a cell phone that is not his own. A cell phone he REALLY should’ve left alone. I’ll leave it at that. This story is also being developed for film; I am curious to see how they will interpret the nuances of the story.
“The Butcher’s Table”
As noted above, this novella is previously unpublished. It takes place years ago in a time of pirates and darkness. Of the six, I didn’t connect with this one as much. This is definitely just down to personal taste – the writing is still beautiful, the premise unique, and the characters are developed. One of my favorite parts of this one was the content – meaning Ballingrud goes dark here – darker (I think) than any of the others in the collection.
All of these stories deal with, in some way, the veil or border between this reality and Hell, as noted in the title. But it’s more than just throwing together some stories about hellish things and travelling, the author uses similar themes, some intriguing “easter eggs”, if you will, throughout almost every story. In fact, the last story (and a few others) do this quite well and I thoroughly enjoy the elegant way in which these discoveries are presented.
Looking for a few gripping tales to enjoy this spring and summer? This one fits the bill if you like your horror smooth, visceral, and altogether hellish.
October 14, 2021
Uzun süredir beni bu kadar doyuran, sertliğinden ödün vermeyip bir taraftan da tüm yaşananları normal bir şeymiş gibi sunan bir eserle tanışmadım. Bir dram filmi düşünün ama evren Hellraiser. O derece ürkütücü ama bir o kadar da kabullenilmiş. İçinde sizi "Ohaa!" dedirtecek öyküler, novellalar, kurgular, o kurguların içine özenle ve ünik şekilde kakılmış karakter üretimleri var. Açıkcası çok beğendim. bu arada kapağın hakkını vereyim; kitabı harika özetliyor.
February 13, 2022
The most fun I ever had standing at the Border of Hell! This collection of four short stories and two novellas is just bizarre, insane, wild, hilarious, disgusting, irresistible, pitch black but at the same time enlightened by the flames of hell.
I´m sure this one won´t be for everyone but Wounds might be my favourite horror collection since Clive Barker´s Books of Blood - which is as well high praise as an appropriate comparison in my opinion.
Ballingrud really throws his readers into one strange scenario after another and you need to be completely open for his mind bending parallel universes - otherwise this trip through cities inhabited by ghouls or adventures on a pirate ship to hell (yes, that´s right) might just irritate you. Or as one character asks: "Are you ready for Skullpocket?" No, I won´t give away what that term is about!
Since I enjoyed this book cover to cover I don´t have complaints about any fillers, but I will name the two novellas "The Invisible Filth" (which was made into the faithful but underrated Netflix horror mood piece Wounds starring Armie Hammer and Dakota Johnson) and "The Butcher´s Table" as outstanding stories.
Nathan Ballingrud just blew me away!
I´m sure this one won´t be for everyone but Wounds might be my favourite horror collection since Clive Barker´s Books of Blood - which is as well high praise as an appropriate comparison in my opinion.
Ballingrud really throws his readers into one strange scenario after another and you need to be completely open for his mind bending parallel universes - otherwise this trip through cities inhabited by ghouls or adventures on a pirate ship to hell (yes, that´s right) might just irritate you. Or as one character asks: "Are you ready for Skullpocket?" No, I won´t give away what that term is about!
Since I enjoyed this book cover to cover I don´t have complaints about any fillers, but I will name the two novellas "The Invisible Filth" (which was made into the faithful but underrated Netflix horror mood piece Wounds starring Armie Hammer and Dakota Johnson) and "The Butcher´s Table" as outstanding stories.
Nathan Ballingrud just blew me away!
May 22, 2019
Scattered thoughts written under the influence (of this book, which I just finished): I loved this. Tore through it in days. Read it at night, on breaks, when I should have been working, whenever. It might not be for you, being weird as shit and dark as hell; but it's certainly for me.
I've been vaguely aware of Ballingrud's first book for years. North American Lake Monsters has lived in my wishlist for ages, in part because everyone else seemed to love it, but also because the cover drew me in immediately: it looked delicately strange, somehow, but distinctly classy; the kind of detached weirdness you might find at the outer edge of NYRB's catalogue. I knew nothing about Wounds before I stumbled across its Amazon page, but I quickly realized it was by the same author. The cover here suggested something entirely different, something distinctly horrific; the tension between the presentation of the two books somehow grabbed my attention, and I couldn't tell you why. On a whim, I bought it and immediately dug in.
True to its cover, Wounds is very much a collection of horror stories. While it's plenty literary in its aspirations and execution, there's a willingness to plunge past the barriers of good taste and reader comfort, which casts it more squarely as genre fiction, more so than I expected. If you warped back to Borders in 1991, this would definitely live in the "Horror" aisle, maybe with an Abyss logo on the spine. Genre or no, Ballingrud's prose is off the charts. And there's a depth of invention that burrows into your skull and bursts out the back, upending genre conventions and shitting on expectations, all in the best way.
Yes, the theme is Hell. As in the home of Satan, the Burning Prince; land of the damned and undying; unintended destination of many, promised land for a few twisted seekers. This unifying thread loosely binds the stories together, with a smattering of reoccurring elements and ideas spread throughout the book, particularly in the first and last stories. Despite the theme, there's an insane range of styles and tones on display. We have deadly serious modern horror, absurdist kitsch, gothic horror, surrealistic nightmares, even a touch of bizarro fiction. At times I found myself thinking of Laird Barron, Clive Barker, Paul Tremblay, Brian Evenson (just a whiff), and maybe even Jeremy Robert Johnson (whenever we swerve deep into the weird). If all that sounds disorienting and disjointed, well... it would be if Ballingrud didn't have such a deft hand.
There's an overstuffed novella about pirates and cannibals and angels at the gates of hell that I can't even begin to describe. There's one about a Louisiana bartender who finds a cellphone, and it could be from an entirely different author, like a Koji Suzuki story smothered in southern decay; it's told with a steadier cadence, reining in the excess but delivering a sharp thrust to the gut by the end anyway. Some of these tales roar like a blast furnace. Others yawn wide, letting the horror swirl like an intangible force before swallowing every last shaft of light, and you with it.
My favorite story by a mile shrugs all that aside to take a different turn. It's at turns the silliest thing here, the most lovingly stylized, and perhaps the darkest of them all. "Skullpocket" feels like Mervyn Peake gone pitch black, left to moulder in his grave until Brian McNaughton unearths him for a graveyard feast in October Country. We get history overlaid with loss, a non-linear mystery built off a macabre caricature of horror, all given a loving glow by the magic of actual feeling. Imagine Gormenghast-ly delights with the epic rot of Throne of Bones, and if that sounds absurd, it absolutely is--and it will still break your heart.
Speaking of heart: that's what brings it all back home. There's a richly beating heart at the core of every story, a penetrating melancholy that suffuses even the most ridiculous imagery with emotional weight. The imagery is fantastic, yes, but the pain is real. Gather round, ghouls and boys: it doesn't get much better than this.
I've been vaguely aware of Ballingrud's first book for years. North American Lake Monsters has lived in my wishlist for ages, in part because everyone else seemed to love it, but also because the cover drew me in immediately: it looked delicately strange, somehow, but distinctly classy; the kind of detached weirdness you might find at the outer edge of NYRB's catalogue. I knew nothing about Wounds before I stumbled across its Amazon page, but I quickly realized it was by the same author. The cover here suggested something entirely different, something distinctly horrific; the tension between the presentation of the two books somehow grabbed my attention, and I couldn't tell you why. On a whim, I bought it and immediately dug in.
True to its cover, Wounds is very much a collection of horror stories. While it's plenty literary in its aspirations and execution, there's a willingness to plunge past the barriers of good taste and reader comfort, which casts it more squarely as genre fiction, more so than I expected. If you warped back to Borders in 1991, this would definitely live in the "Horror" aisle, maybe with an Abyss logo on the spine. Genre or no, Ballingrud's prose is off the charts. And there's a depth of invention that burrows into your skull and bursts out the back, upending genre conventions and shitting on expectations, all in the best way.
Yes, the theme is Hell. As in the home of Satan, the Burning Prince; land of the damned and undying; unintended destination of many, promised land for a few twisted seekers. This unifying thread loosely binds the stories together, with a smattering of reoccurring elements and ideas spread throughout the book, particularly in the first and last stories. Despite the theme, there's an insane range of styles and tones on display. We have deadly serious modern horror, absurdist kitsch, gothic horror, surrealistic nightmares, even a touch of bizarro fiction. At times I found myself thinking of Laird Barron, Clive Barker, Paul Tremblay, Brian Evenson (just a whiff), and maybe even Jeremy Robert Johnson (whenever we swerve deep into the weird). If all that sounds disorienting and disjointed, well... it would be if Ballingrud didn't have such a deft hand.
There's an overstuffed novella about pirates and cannibals and angels at the gates of hell that I can't even begin to describe. There's one about a Louisiana bartender who finds a cellphone, and it could be from an entirely different author, like a Koji Suzuki story smothered in southern decay; it's told with a steadier cadence, reining in the excess but delivering a sharp thrust to the gut by the end anyway. Some of these tales roar like a blast furnace. Others yawn wide, letting the horror swirl like an intangible force before swallowing every last shaft of light, and you with it.
My favorite story by a mile shrugs all that aside to take a different turn. It's at turns the silliest thing here, the most lovingly stylized, and perhaps the darkest of them all. "Skullpocket" feels like Mervyn Peake gone pitch black, left to moulder in his grave until Brian McNaughton unearths him for a graveyard feast in October Country. We get history overlaid with loss, a non-linear mystery built off a macabre caricature of horror, all given a loving glow by the magic of actual feeling. Imagine Gormenghast-ly delights with the epic rot of Throne of Bones, and if that sounds absurd, it absolutely is--and it will still break your heart.
Speaking of heart: that's what brings it all back home. There's a richly beating heart at the core of every story, a penetrating melancholy that suffuses even the most ridiculous imagery with emotional weight. The imagery is fantastic, yes, but the pain is real. Gather round, ghouls and boys: it doesn't get much better than this.
May 2, 2019
In the introduction that he was kind enough to add to the hardcover reissue of my first collection, Never Bet the Devil & Other Warnings, Nathan Ballingrud wrote, "Orrin Grey is a writer who reminded me of things about myself, and about our haunted world, that I'd forgotten. He reminded me of my first loves, and he taught me that they can - no, that they should - still be honored. For that, I will always be in his debt."
If I had even the smallest hand in helping to usher into existence any of the stories contained in Wounds, a book in which, through six stories at once seemingly unrelated and intimately related nonetheless, Ballingrud charts a new vision of Hell as pure and potent as anything conjured by Dante or Barker, then I'll count it among the better achievements in my life to date.
If I had even the smallest hand in helping to usher into existence any of the stories contained in Wounds, a book in which, through six stories at once seemingly unrelated and intimately related nonetheless, Ballingrud charts a new vision of Hell as pure and potent as anything conjured by Dante or Barker, then I'll count it among the better achievements in my life to date.
September 22, 2022
Rahatsız edercesine iyi bir kitap. C. Barker ve H.P. Lovecraft sevenlerin beğeneceğini düşüyorum. Tuhaf olduğu kadar çekici bir eser. Karakterler de bir o kadar tuhaf ama bir insandan beklenebileceği gibi duygusallar. Yazar kendine bir Cehennem mitosu oluşturmuş ve her öykünün bu mitosa ufak tefek göndermeleri mevcut.
İlk öykü Cehennem Atlası: Jack Oleander isimli bir tuhaf kitapçının bir o kadar tuhaf olan Cehennem Atlası’nı bulmaya çalışmasını okuyoruz. Tabii ki bu görevi isteyerek kabul etmiyor. Yanında bir insan azmanı Patrick de var.
İkinci öykü Efsuncu: Allison isimli bir kızın babası öldükten sonra onun çalışma bodrumuna girmesiyle ve yeşil sıvı dolu bir tankın içindeki sesle konuşması ile başlıyor.
Üçüncü öykü Kafakovuk: Jonathan Wormcake’in Larva Kilisesi rahiplerinden biriyle Öcükondu’da buluşması ve 14 çocuk ile Kafakovuk Panayırının kutlanması ve bu panayırın geçmişine ışık tutmasını anlatıyor.
Dördüncü öykü Gırtlak: Bir şeylerin olduğu ve sisle kaplanmış Oyuk Şehre Mix isimli bir kızın ve ihtiyar bir adamın ziyaretini okuyoruz. Ziyaret sebebi ise ihtiyarın Maria isimli köpeğinin oraya kaçması.
Beşinci öykü Görünür Pislik: Will isimli bir barmenin barda çıkan kavga sonucunda bulduğu telefonu açması ve içindeki dehşet verici şeylere bakmasıyla hayatının altüst olmasını okuyoruz.
Altıncı öykü Kasap Masası: Mum Işığı Cemiyeti’nden Martin Dunwood, onu korumakla görevli Şişko Gully, Yamyam Rahip Benson Cobb, rahibin kızı ve aynı zamanda Martin Dunwood’un aşığı Abel Cobb ve son olarak bunların olduğu geminin kaptanı Toussand’ın hep birlikte Cehennemdeki Ziyafete gitmesini okuyoruz. Tabii ki başka karakterler ve her karakterin kendine özgü amacı mevcut. Kitabın son ve en iyi öyküsü. Hatta novellası.
İlk öykü Cehennem Atlası: Jack Oleander isimli bir tuhaf kitapçının bir o kadar tuhaf olan Cehennem Atlası’nı bulmaya çalışmasını okuyoruz. Tabii ki bu görevi isteyerek kabul etmiyor. Yanında bir insan azmanı Patrick de var.
İkinci öykü Efsuncu: Allison isimli bir kızın babası öldükten sonra onun çalışma bodrumuna girmesiyle ve yeşil sıvı dolu bir tankın içindeki sesle konuşması ile başlıyor.
Üçüncü öykü Kafakovuk: Jonathan Wormcake’in Larva Kilisesi rahiplerinden biriyle Öcükondu’da buluşması ve 14 çocuk ile Kafakovuk Panayırının kutlanması ve bu panayırın geçmişine ışık tutmasını anlatıyor.
Dördüncü öykü Gırtlak: Bir şeylerin olduğu ve sisle kaplanmış Oyuk Şehre Mix isimli bir kızın ve ihtiyar bir adamın ziyaretini okuyoruz. Ziyaret sebebi ise ihtiyarın Maria isimli köpeğinin oraya kaçması.
Beşinci öykü Görünür Pislik: Will isimli bir barmenin barda çıkan kavga sonucunda bulduğu telefonu açması ve içindeki dehşet verici şeylere bakmasıyla hayatının altüst olmasını okuyoruz.
Altıncı öykü Kasap Masası: Mum Işığı Cemiyeti’nden Martin Dunwood, onu korumakla görevli Şişko Gully, Yamyam Rahip Benson Cobb, rahibin kızı ve aynı zamanda Martin Dunwood’un aşığı Abel Cobb ve son olarak bunların olduğu geminin kaptanı Toussand’ın hep birlikte Cehennemdeki Ziyafete gitmesini okuyoruz. Tabii ki başka karakterler ve her karakterin kendine özgü amacı mevcut. Kitabın son ve en iyi öyküsü. Hatta novellası.
December 26, 2024
The first three stories didn’t make much sense to me, especially the second one, written in second-person narration, which made it harder to follow—particularly since I’m not a fan of avant-garde styles. However, the final two novellas were the highlight of the book and the reason I’m giving "Wounds" three stars instead of two.
September 22, 2024
4 out 5, as 4 out of 5 stories are absolute bangers.
My only regret is sleeping on Ballingrud’s work until last month.
My only regret is sleeping on Ballingrud’s work until last month.
March 6, 2020
Rating: 9.0/10
Wounds is a beautiful yet deeply unsettling collection. This set of stories is going to stay with me into the deepest dark of night, chilling me to the marrow and leaving me with a constant sense of unease. I can say without a shadow of doubt that I have not read anything like it.
I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a Noir at the Bar event in Birmingham last November and heard him read a passage from one of the collection’s stories, The Butcher’s Table. From the pure grittiness and atmosphere that the short passage exuded, I knew that I had to grab a copy of Wounds and stick it near the top of my TBR. Well, I did better than that. I grabbed the audiobook a few days back and ratcheted it up the mountain.
If you read tons of collections or anthologies, you sort of expect that there will always be a story or two that you don’t exactly connect with, let alone enjoy. Whether it has to do with characters, tone, pacing, plot, etc. It is an unfortunate thing that happens, but I don’t know many authors that can pull it off.
But Ballingrud did. HE DID THE DAMN THING.
Included are some of the most disturbing stories I have come across in my horror reading “career” and immediately cement the author on my must-read list. Tales of diabolists, ghouls, cannibals, artifacts from Hell itself, and much more. These lead to stories rich in cosmic, occult, and even fantasy horror.
The two (2) that stood out the most for me were “The Visible Filth” and “The Butcher’s Table”; the first being the basis for the Hulu original film “Wounds” and the second being a brand-new novella. The imagery alone in both of these stories are enough to keep you wanting more, but the prose mixed with the multitude of unsettling occurrences left me salivating.
I don’t enjoy going in-depth with every story because I want you to find out what happens for yourself. All I can say is that you may want to leave the lights on.
Wounds is a beautiful yet deeply unsettling collection. This set of stories is going to stay with me into the deepest dark of night, chilling me to the marrow and leaving me with a constant sense of unease. I can say without a shadow of doubt that I have not read anything like it.
I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a Noir at the Bar event in Birmingham last November and heard him read a passage from one of the collection’s stories, The Butcher’s Table. From the pure grittiness and atmosphere that the short passage exuded, I knew that I had to grab a copy of Wounds and stick it near the top of my TBR. Well, I did better than that. I grabbed the audiobook a few days back and ratcheted it up the mountain.
If you read tons of collections or anthologies, you sort of expect that there will always be a story or two that you don’t exactly connect with, let alone enjoy. Whether it has to do with characters, tone, pacing, plot, etc. It is an unfortunate thing that happens, but I don’t know many authors that can pull it off.
But Ballingrud did. HE DID THE DAMN THING.
Included are some of the most disturbing stories I have come across in my horror reading “career” and immediately cement the author on my must-read list. Tales of diabolists, ghouls, cannibals, artifacts from Hell itself, and much more. These lead to stories rich in cosmic, occult, and even fantasy horror.
The two (2) that stood out the most for me were “The Visible Filth” and “The Butcher’s Table”; the first being the basis for the Hulu original film “Wounds” and the second being a brand-new novella. The imagery alone in both of these stories are enough to keep you wanting more, but the prose mixed with the multitude of unsettling occurrences left me salivating.
I don’t enjoy going in-depth with every story because I want you to find out what happens for yourself. All I can say is that you may want to leave the lights on.
October 25, 2019
Very creative stories, richly visual, descriptive, and well-written. Ultimately, they were too bizarre to really engross me or successfully creep me out. I think a tale has to be a little bit relatable to do that, and these were pretty fantastical. Many of them just dropped the reader into a strange world filled with unknown creatures, and I would prefer a little more basis to go on. The Atlas of Hell and Maw were my favorites. Maw invoked the bit of humanity that made me feel invested, but then ended so abruptly. The Visible Filth was probably my third favorite, interesting to read and kept me curious, but with such a wild and unsatisfying payoff. The Butcher's Table was intriguing and kept me reading, but the strangeness was just so dense towards the end that it was hard to follow. I did like the tie in between Atlas and Butcher's. The Diabolist and Skullpocket were just too out-there for me. Very talented author; the nature of these stories are just not my cup of tea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2020
Nathan Ballingrud writes some deeply disturbing, epically gory shit and I think that's just great. This collection contains my beloved "Skullpocket" which is somehow better than I remember every time I read it, and "The Visible Filth," thank god not as flat out terrifying the second time around but still one of my very favorite horror stories ever (also now a movie on netflix that I will never have the spine to actually watch). The only dud is "The Diabolist," nice in that it sets up the concept of the Love Mills but ultimately never quite gets there. But oh boy let me tell you about "The Butcher's Table," a five-star read all on its own, the most supremely messed up pirate yarn to ever grace this reader, and the masterfully grotesque culmination of all of Ballingrud's musings on love and Hell. Just superb.
November 22, 2019
This was one of those collections that I felt compelled to continue reading at any cost.
Disturbing
Engrossing
So well written
Stories from the border of Hell is an apt subtitle
10/10
I'll leave you with this little morsel
Walking the perimeter of the building were three dark-robed figures, their heads encased in black iron boxes. They exuded a monastic patience, moving slowly and with obvious precision. The lead figure held an open book in his left hand, scrawling something into it with his right. The one in the middle swung a censer, a black orb from which spilled a heavy yellow smoke. The scent of marigolds carried over to him. The figure in the back held aloft a severed head on a pole, which emitted a beam of light from its wrenched mouth.
Disturbing
Engrossing
So well written
Stories from the border of Hell is an apt subtitle
10/10
I'll leave you with this little morsel
Walking the perimeter of the building were three dark-robed figures, their heads encased in black iron boxes. They exuded a monastic patience, moving slowly and with obvious precision. The lead figure held an open book in his left hand, scrawling something into it with his right. The one in the middle swung a censer, a black orb from which spilled a heavy yellow smoke. The scent of marigolds carried over to him. The figure in the back held aloft a severed head on a pole, which emitted a beam of light from its wrenched mouth.
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