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Corpse Mountain
A slag is what survivors are calling the slug-like maggots raining from the sky, burrowing inside people, and hollowing out their flesh and their sanity. Slag Attack features four visceral, noir stories about the living, crawling apocalypse. "The Devastated Insides of Hollow City" - Hack detective Shell joins in the insane search for a girl named Pearl, who just might hold the key to restoring order. "Vincent Severity" - A woman is taken hostage by a very severe man in a sleazy El Camino. "Corpse Mountain" - Two guys named Cobra and Commando chug gasoline and help build grotesque robots to save the world. "All Alone at the End of the World" - Re-introduces Shell in a radically different light, building to a ferocious conclusion.
148 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 19, 2010
13 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Andersen Prunty
51 books669 followersAndersen Prunty lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He writes novels and short stories. Visit him at notandersenprunty.com, where he posts a free story every Friday.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 1, 2016
Apocalypse has seldom been grosser. Prunty's end of the world is told through four interconnected stories taking place around the eponymous attack. This must be bizarro, sometimes the plots are odd enough to tell immediately, sometimes they are too close to horror to discern. This one was odd enough to qualify. My first read by Prunty and I must say he's a good writer, but most of it gets buried under the repulsiveness of the context. It's like looking for jewels in giant piles of steaming fecal matter, almost exactly like it, considering the amount of it this one featured. I'm not reading horror as much as I used to and this one requires maximum gore/guts tolerance. Solid writing, but too disgusting and bleak to entertain. Acquired taste sort of thing, definitely.
February 25, 2012
So I will not sit here and pretend I know anything about bizarro fiction. I certainly know of it, and am familiar with the authors etc but I am no expert.
I loved this book. 4 short stories interconnected (a concept I really like) that deal with life during and after the apocalypse created by the raining down of creatures from the sky called "slags", a cross between a maggot and a slug (that got me right away as I hate both..lol..) so the creepiness factor was amped up for me.
I loved the way Andersen used classic noir riffs but managed to make something completely original, horrible and beautiful at the same time. There is no sense of being weird just for the sake of it here--I dislike that--it comes off pretentious to me--but that is not the case here--weird? yes--very much so. But the language often strays into the beautiful--"He becomes aware of life's grim march. Onward. Forever onward. Meeting whatever cruel fate awaits but it is through this cruel fate that true beauty can shine. No death is a good death but all death is inevitable." Gorgeous. Combine this with some revolting visuals, (people both eating and smoking the slags), a chaotic but connected storyline and you have something truly amazing. I also did not see the end coming.
2 bonuses for me--I am now using the term "fuckmunch" as much as I can and I adore that 3 of the characters share names with Stallone and Schwarzenegger's characters (Cobra, Rambo and Commando). Highly recommend.
I loved this book. 4 short stories interconnected (a concept I really like) that deal with life during and after the apocalypse created by the raining down of creatures from the sky called "slags", a cross between a maggot and a slug (that got me right away as I hate both..lol..) so the creepiness factor was amped up for me.
I loved the way Andersen used classic noir riffs but managed to make something completely original, horrible and beautiful at the same time. There is no sense of being weird just for the sake of it here--I dislike that--it comes off pretentious to me--but that is not the case here--weird? yes--very much so. But the language often strays into the beautiful--"He becomes aware of life's grim march. Onward. Forever onward. Meeting whatever cruel fate awaits but it is through this cruel fate that true beauty can shine. No death is a good death but all death is inevitable." Gorgeous. Combine this with some revolting visuals, (people both eating and smoking the slags), a chaotic but connected storyline and you have something truly amazing. I also did not see the end coming.
2 bonuses for me--I am now using the term "fuckmunch" as much as I can and I adore that 3 of the characters share names with Stallone and Schwarzenegger's characters (Cobra, Rambo and Commando). Highly recommend.
September 26, 2022
I think this might be my favourite Prunty yet (mostly because of Corpse Mountain - WOW). This author can switch it up from calm to crazy in an instant. He really keeps you on your toes and if you aren’t BAM - death, carnage, throw the kitchen sink on the page. That being said Prunty can also be subtle and slow (check out Neon Dies at Dawn). Every book is so different, from pace to plot to genre. It’s cool to read someone so versatile.
Above all though, I’m really getting into his writing style. Effective. No fluff. People always doing and saying shit. The plot always moving. (A dramatic oversimplification of his writing style I assure you it is great!)
Maybe I’ve finally read enough Prunty and crossed a threshold, the point of no return. Maybe that’s why I’ve finally given one of books five stars - he’s words and weirdness have corroded through my defences leaving me at their mercy!
I’m at the end of this review and realised I haven’t really talked about this book specifically so, um, READ IT, IT’S GREAT.
Above all though, I’m really getting into his writing style. Effective. No fluff. People always doing and saying shit. The plot always moving. (A dramatic oversimplification of his writing style I assure you it is great!)
Maybe I’ve finally read enough Prunty and crossed a threshold, the point of no return. Maybe that’s why I’ve finally given one of books five stars - he’s words and weirdness have corroded through my defences leaving me at their mercy!
I’m at the end of this review and realised I haven’t really talked about this book specifically so, um, READ IT, IT’S GREAT.
February 13, 2012
I got a copy of Slag Attack not knowing anything about this book. All I knew was it’s written by Andersen Prunty and I haven’t read anything from him that I didn’t like. It turns out this worked in my favor since this book was cool as hell. I’ve said it before, Prunty is a master of the dark and depressing. He puts his characters through some serious crap, and he does it like the expert he is.
The Slag’s fell from the sky, they look like a cross between slugs and maggots, and they basically feed on people. The first story, The Devastated insides of Hollow City, we have Shell, a detective hired to find Pearl who is either eight years old or eighty years old depending on who you ask. It’s very noir, but bizarre and twisted like we expect from Prunty. This may be my favorite story of the book.
The second story, Vincent Severity, we have a man who is very severe, who kidnaps a woman with a problem, if she can’t yell out the names of male singers the world may end. It’s a twisted tale of the beginning of the Slag Attack from one woman’s viewpoint.
Corpse Mountain, the third story, focuses on three survivors. One believes he has been given instructions to build robots, and drink gasoline, that this is how the Slag’s will be defeated.
The final story, All alone at the end of the world is the longest of the bunch. Here we have Darren slowly withering away in his house all alone. He thinks he may be the last person alive. At the end of his wits and in desperation Darren leaves his house and stumbles into what may be humanity’s last stand against the Slag’s.
The book itself is pretty short, I would have liked to continue to read more of this wasteland that the Slag’s created. Prunty has a real handle on his characters. He knows how to craft interesting and believable people, and I’ve said it before, he’s at his best when he’s putting them through hell. There is so much about this collection that I liked, and I am sure that any fans of Prunty’s or post apocalyptic stories, or just plain good fiction would enjoy it as much as I did.
The Slag’s fell from the sky, they look like a cross between slugs and maggots, and they basically feed on people. The first story, The Devastated insides of Hollow City, we have Shell, a detective hired to find Pearl who is either eight years old or eighty years old depending on who you ask. It’s very noir, but bizarre and twisted like we expect from Prunty. This may be my favorite story of the book.
The second story, Vincent Severity, we have a man who is very severe, who kidnaps a woman with a problem, if she can’t yell out the names of male singers the world may end. It’s a twisted tale of the beginning of the Slag Attack from one woman’s viewpoint.
Corpse Mountain, the third story, focuses on three survivors. One believes he has been given instructions to build robots, and drink gasoline, that this is how the Slag’s will be defeated.
The final story, All alone at the end of the world is the longest of the bunch. Here we have Darren slowly withering away in his house all alone. He thinks he may be the last person alive. At the end of his wits and in desperation Darren leaves his house and stumbles into what may be humanity’s last stand against the Slag’s.
The book itself is pretty short, I would have liked to continue to read more of this wasteland that the Slag’s created. Prunty has a real handle on his characters. He knows how to craft interesting and believable people, and I’ve said it before, he’s at his best when he’s putting them through hell. There is so much about this collection that I liked, and I am sure that any fans of Prunty’s or post apocalyptic stories, or just plain good fiction would enjoy it as much as I did.
January 12, 2012
RUN THE SLAGS ARE COMING!
4 stories from the hollow city where people are extinct due to these maggot looking slugs. People who are infected may show signs of vomiting, bleeding from the eyes and things crawling outta of there crevices. Anderson ties together. Gasoline drinking, kidnapping, action and just plan out gross that will make you quiver. Kinda like a movie straight outta of Tromaville.
4 stories from the hollow city where people are extinct due to these maggot looking slugs. People who are infected may show signs of vomiting, bleeding from the eyes and things crawling outta of there crevices. Anderson ties together. Gasoline drinking, kidnapping, action and just plan out gross that will make you quiver. Kinda like a movie straight outta of Tromaville.
October 7, 2010
Finally, an apocalypse story devoid of any religious messages. No Satan vs god nonsense, just a bunch of slags and people forced to deal with them.
August 30, 2010
Excellent book! Very entertaining. The story, CORPSE MOUNTAIN, is worth the price of the book alone!
Want to read
March 22, 2021Strange book very very weird but highly enjoyable interconnected stories about creatures called slags that infest human beings turning them into jibbering wretches. 4 stars.
January 6, 2020
The end of the world bizarro style
If you like all things strange and gross this is for you
Well narrated by the man himself highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
If you like all things strange and gross this is for you
Well narrated by the man himself highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
April 11, 2020
Reading about the world falling down as the world falls down...
I didn't stop reading until the story ended... Leaving me wanting more of this dark little gem. Not for those who lack gallows humor or a sense of irony.
I didn't stop reading until the story ended... Leaving me wanting more of this dark little gem. Not for those who lack gallows humor or a sense of irony.
February 7, 2017
This is a great book. It's very well written, characters are good.
One of the best bizarro books I've read.
One of the best bizarro books I've read.
September 24, 2018
Surreal horror with some vivid and difficult to read sections but extremely memorable.
January 25, 2024
4 connected bizarro short stories that you don't realize are connected until the end. Prunty is so bizaare!
March 22, 2024
A solid read, there’s a good twist or two. This idea of an apocalypse leaves a weird sense of dread. It was very well conveyed and definitely left me thinking at the end.
8/10
8/10
May 8, 2023
I like bizarre fiction and I like horror. I did not like this particular manifestation of bizarre horror.
April 26, 2014
The book contains four stories. The first of these, I had originally read in an alternate collection and enjoyed, so I purchased the book for the full effect of what Andersen Prunty's Slag Attack was really all about. Four interconnected stories span the book, and for a review's sake, I thought it best to rate each individually.
The Devastated Insides of Hollow City was the story which first attracted me to the book. It paints quite an entertaining and original setting in Hollow City and even the post-apocalyptic world outside of Hollow City, and is very well writen, entertaining, and the best story here. Five stars.
The next story, Vincent Severity, brings it down a notch. I enjoyed parts of this tale of an unusual woman kidnapped by a curious (and severe) character in an El Camino, but found it to be much less consistent than the previous story. While feeling a bit underwhelmed, I still found some appreciation for it. Three stars.
Corpse Mountain is an interesting, high-octane wad of story about men who drink gasoline and plan to exact a grand master
plan which even they don't fully understand. Four stars.
The final story, All Alone at the End of the World, brings back some of the characters from the first story, but what could have been a grand finish seems to stagnate, and my interest waned over the course of it. Two stars.
3.5 stars overall, rounded up, brings the book to an overall four stars. There is some excellent material here, but not all of it was my cup of java. Still, fans of horror, science fiction, and bizarro should all find something of interest here.
The Devastated Insides of Hollow City was the story which first attracted me to the book. It paints quite an entertaining and original setting in Hollow City and even the post-apocalyptic world outside of Hollow City, and is very well writen, entertaining, and the best story here. Five stars.
The next story, Vincent Severity, brings it down a notch. I enjoyed parts of this tale of an unusual woman kidnapped by a curious (and severe) character in an El Camino, but found it to be much less consistent than the previous story. While feeling a bit underwhelmed, I still found some appreciation for it. Three stars.
Corpse Mountain is an interesting, high-octane wad of story about men who drink gasoline and plan to exact a grand master
plan which even they don't fully understand. Four stars.
The final story, All Alone at the End of the World, brings back some of the characters from the first story, but what could have been a grand finish seems to stagnate, and my interest waned over the course of it. Two stars.
3.5 stars overall, rounded up, brings the book to an overall four stars. There is some excellent material here, but not all of it was my cup of java. Still, fans of horror, science fiction, and bizarro should all find something of interest here.
October 17, 2011
Technically, I would have rated this book 3.5 stars...
This book is comprised of four short stories all linked to one topic...the world has been attacked by slags, sluggy worm-like creatures who devour anything they can wrap their mouths around. In the first story, "The Devastated Insides of Hollow City," we meet Shell. He is new to Hollow City and is on the search for Pearl, the Queen of Town. One little problem, everyone else in Hollow City is looking for her too, and oh yeah...she supposedly so small, she could hide in your pocket. In "Vincent Severity," we find Amber being kidnapped by Vincent, who strips her and keeps her locked up in a room, crawling with slags and other dead goodies. Rambo, Cobra, and Commando are trying to make it in the new apocalyptic world by drinking gasoline, driving around aimlessly, and building robots in "Corpse Mountain." And last, but certainly not least, Prunty gives us "All Alone at the Edge of the World." Darren believes he is the last man on earth as he dwindles away in a home on the ocean, awaiting his imminent death by the house-size slags. To his surprise, he is met by Shell and Pearl (from the first story), along with an ultimatum where he has to give up a certain body part.
All of the stories were interesting, but I found the last story to be the most interesting. This is the second Prunty book I have read, and I really like his work. The different perspectives and experiences in this book was a great approach to the topic at hand. Not perfect but definitely worth reading.
This book is comprised of four short stories all linked to one topic...the world has been attacked by slags, sluggy worm-like creatures who devour anything they can wrap their mouths around. In the first story, "The Devastated Insides of Hollow City," we meet Shell. He is new to Hollow City and is on the search for Pearl, the Queen of Town. One little problem, everyone else in Hollow City is looking for her too, and oh yeah...she supposedly so small, she could hide in your pocket. In "Vincent Severity," we find Amber being kidnapped by Vincent, who strips her and keeps her locked up in a room, crawling with slags and other dead goodies. Rambo, Cobra, and Commando are trying to make it in the new apocalyptic world by drinking gasoline, driving around aimlessly, and building robots in "Corpse Mountain." And last, but certainly not least, Prunty gives us "All Alone at the Edge of the World." Darren believes he is the last man on earth as he dwindles away in a home on the ocean, awaiting his imminent death by the house-size slags. To his surprise, he is met by Shell and Pearl (from the first story), along with an ultimatum where he has to give up a certain body part.
All of the stories were interesting, but I found the last story to be the most interesting. This is the second Prunty book I have read, and I really like his work. The different perspectives and experiences in this book was a great approach to the topic at hand. Not perfect but definitely worth reading.
December 2, 2010
I can't believe I won this with just two being given away, and I can't wait for it to show up. I also bought Jack and Mr. Grin, and Morning is Dead that I've been meaning to read, so I'll likely be reading all three within the next 3 weeks or so and getting real reviews up for them all. The first two I got were on the Kindle, so it's awesome I'm getting a signed paperback for free.
Big thank you to Andersen Prunty, Goodreads, Eraserhead Press, and anyone else involved.
Big thank you to Andersen Prunty, Goodreads, Eraserhead Press, and anyone else involved.
May 12, 2012
It starts off as a strange noir-ish tale and then expands into a post apocalyptic tale involving maggot slugs or slug maggots coming down and turning the insides of people into goo, a junkyard owner who believes robots will be immune, a house of Mike's, a biker deux ex machina and slugs for arms.
Constantly absurd and surreal, I found it enjoyable the whole way through.
Andersen Prunty writes good books, and this is one of them.
Constantly absurd and surreal, I found it enjoyable the whole way through.
Andersen Prunty writes good books, and this is one of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2015
I really liked how Prunty linked the separate stories together. It made for an interesting read. The disturbing maggot-like slags are taking over and the struggle of each set of characters was diverse. I have yet to read anything I didn't like from this author. I am just sad that I have nearly read everything he has published, and will soon be reduced to slobbering in anticipation of all things new. This one does elude to a possible sequel. We shall see.
November 10, 2010
Thank you Andersen and Goodreads for this free copy to read. I have just recieved the book and have alreeady read the first story. This is a great book and is perfect for my reading enjoyment. Thanks again.
December 29, 2011
+ The slag invasion
+ A couple of scenes and ideas
- Present tense
- A bit boring
2,5 stars. I would give it three stars, but I'm too tired of present tense narration. It's a trick. It's overused. Stop it.
+ A couple of scenes and ideas
- Present tense
- A bit boring
2,5 stars. I would give it three stars, but I'm too tired of present tense narration. It's a trick. It's overused. Stop it.
June 23, 2015
Cuatro historias que se unen bajo la premisa de que el fin del mundo se produce por la aparición de unos seres que parecen una mezcla de babosas con gusanos los cuales devoran todo y todos. Me gusta que no haya moraleja o algo similar, las cosas simplemente pasan y ya.
November 2, 2010
Disturbing and fun.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews