Carnal Surgery

by Edward Lee

Autopsy fetishes, crippled sex slaves, a serial killer who keeps the hands of his victims, government conspiracies, dead cops and doomed pornographers. From operating room morality plays to a town that serves up piss and cum mixed drinks, this is the strange and disturbing world of Edward Lee. From one of the most notorious, controversial, and extreme voices in horror fiction comes a new collection of depravity and terror. Carnal Surgery collects eleven of Lee's most sought after tales of sex and dismemberment.

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk, Fiction, Short Stories

165 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Edward Lee is an American novelist specializing in the field of horror, and has authored 40 books, more than half of which have been published by mass-market New York paperback companies such as Leisure/Dorchester, Berkley, and Zebra/Kensington. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee for his story "Mr. Torso," and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF 2000, Pocket's HOT BLOOD series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have sold translation rights to Germany, Greece, and Romania. He also publishes quite actively in the small-press/limited-edition hardcover market; many of his books in this category have become collector's items. While a number of Lee's projects have been optioned for film, only one has been made, HEADER, which was released on DVD to mixed reviews in June, 2009, by Synapse Films.

Lee is particularly known for over-the-top occult concepts and an accelerated treatment of erotic and/or morbid sexual imagery and visceral violence.

He was born on May 25, 1957 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. In the late-70s he served in the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, in Erlangen, West Germany, then, for a short time, was a municipal police officer in Cottage City, Maryland. Lee also attended the University of Maryland as an English major but quit in his last semester to pursue his dream of being a horror novelist. For over 15 years, he worked as the night manager for a security company in Annapolis, Maryland, while writing in his spare time. In 1997, however, he became a full-time writer, first spending several years in Seattle and then moving to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he currently resides.

Of note, the author cites as his strongest influence horror legend H. P. Lovecraft; in 2007, Lee embarked on what he calls his "Lovecraft kick" and wrote a spate of novels and novellas which tribute Lovecraft and his famous Cthulhu Mythos. Among these projects are THE INNSWICH HORROR, "Trolley No. 1852," HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD, GOING MONSTERING, "Pages Torn From A Travel Journal," and "You Are My Everything." Lee promises more Lovecraftian work on the horizon.

Reviews

[Anita Dalton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I discussed this book and Brain Cheese Buffet over on my site, I Read Odd Books. You can read the entire discussion here.

Review snippet:
But the final reason I just hated this story relates back to bad dialogue. It happens when the cop confronts the hillbilly pervert and notices his book shelf is filled with philosophy books by the likes of Sartre, Kant, Aquinas, Plato, Hegel, and begins a conversation with the redneck-torso-rapist-lobotomizer-killer-black-market-adoption-schemer-self-taught-philosopher:

“…An’ I’se ain’t no psykerpath.”

“What are you then?” Tipps’ question grated like gravel.

Calmly, Mr. Torso went on, “I’se a perveyer of sorts, ya know? A perveyer of objectified human dynamics. Volunteeristic idealism’s what they’se call it, son. See, the abserlute will is an irrational force ‘less ya apply it ta the mechanistics of casual posertivity as a kinda counter-force ta the evil concreteness of neeherlistic doctrine. What I mean, son, is as inderviduals of the self-same unerverse, we’se all subject to the metterphysical duality scape, and we must realize what we’se are as transcendental units of bein an’ then engage ourselves with objectertive acts, son, ta turn the do-dads of our units of bein’ into a functional deliverance of subjecterive posertivity in the ways of The Man Upstairs. No, I ain’t no psykerpath. I’se a vassal an’ perpetcheratorer of Kiergegaardian fundermentals of human purpose.”

Tipps stared as though he’d downed a fifth of Johnny Black in one chug. Holy fucking shit! he thought. Mr. Torso is… a teleologic Christian phenomenalist!


This story was nominated for a fucking Stoker award. And it’s clear why. This is perfect dialogue that maintains tension in a confrontation between the law and a killer and every word rings true and isn’t pompous, pretentious and incomprehensible in turns. As Mr. Oddbooks read this, he asked, “This is a joke, right? Is he having us on or is he just an asshole?”

My answer is that I don’t know. If this is humor, it fails, and if it isn’t humor, it fails. All it is is fail.

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I read a collection, which I don't really care to do. Seems like it's just not enough story to develop a good idea and make it resonate with the reader. My favorite one,that I will most likely remember is Hands; about a killer who takes the hands of his victims. The police have been putting in work to find him, bodies are turning up everywhere, but as of yet, there have been no leads. It had a twisted, "hell, no," ending. Make A Wish has a few gross descriptions of what a new drug would do to you. The others were okay; some philosophical, but nothing special in my opinion. A semi-solid like-able read.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Lee is one of my favorite horror authors of all time, his work is horrifying, hilarious, and intelligent. I've read most of his novels and novellas, so I'm reading through as many of his short stories as possible. I have mixed feelings about his short story collections, they often have some of his best works, but also some of his weakest.

The Seeker:
The Writer has arrived in a small backwoods town to find the truth behind human nature and what lies beneath within us all. But he's soon exposed to a terrifying reality that is being manipulated by an outside influence. He has a decision to make and it's a choice that could change his life forever.

Edward Lee has written a bizarre and outlandish horror story that is both gruesome and hilarious. It is a story about two seekers coming together to try and find the truth. It is a very bizarre story and you get the sense that reality is being manipulated by the mysterious 'seeker'. It's a very entertaining story with a fascinating and wild premise. It was interesting to read about The Writer's origins and to see how agitated he can get, despite how calm and collected he usually is. 8.5/10

Please Let Me Out:
Joyce is a very insecure lawyer in her 50s with a lot of money, so when she finds out her beloved boyfriend Scott has been cheating on her, there's only one solution. Cheating is one thing, but kidnapping is quite another.

Edward Lee has written a story about a mentally insecure woman who kidnaps her boyfriend and forces him to love her. It's disturbing in tone and the ending is a shock in itself, but I do feel for this author this came across as quite tame. It's in some ways quite a sad tale, despite the main character being a yandere. But I will admit the most disturbing aspect of this tale is Joyce's thought process behind her actions and how she believes she's actually 'helping him'. 8/10

The Order of Nature:
Haggert is on his way to DC to make a statement, however, when he finds that the road is blocked he makes a change of plans and visits a bar. But inside a depressed individual with nothing left to lose is holding a bunch of customers hostage, it seems someone else has a statement of their own to make.

Edward Lee has written a very mature and bleak tale about the hatred and destruction that plague society and the sheer hopelessness of it all. It's a haunting tale with a lot to say about the current state of our world and how unfair it is. It's a well-written story that leaves you with a lot to think about. 8.5/10

Goddess of The New Dark Age:
Smith has lived the life of an author, alone but satisfied. But when he finds out he has cancer, he hasn't got long left to live, he's dying. However, the ghost of a mysterious woman is following him, and her strength in this plane of existence is getting stronger. Smith has one last question to answer before he dies, what is reality?

Edward Lee has written a brilliant and haunting short story about a mysterious apparition following a dying man as he tries to find the answer to an impossible question, as his mind too begins to break down on him. It's a really sad and creepy little story with a satisfying conclusion. Terrific stuff! 10/10

Hands:
Captain Jay Jameson is Seattle's best crime investigator, but he isn't very pleased with how the general public treats his department, and with a crazed killer on the loose chopping off the hands of his victims, it's about to get a whole lot tougher. So his best bet is to get in touch with a reporter by the name of Matt Hauge. But Matt has a story to tell about this investigator and it isn't very pretty...

Edward Lee has written an incredibly dark and bleak story about police prejudice and a disturbed serial killer with a sick kink. It's a very unsettling tale with some uncomfortable scenes and imagery. I had my suspicions about the twist of this story, but I don't think that's a bad thing considering how this tale is structured. It's another brilliant story and incredibly disturbing! 10/10

The Table:
Elaine has a sick kink when it comes to serial killers, so when she finds a date along with a dissection table that a young woman was raped and murdered, she becomes excited. Her partner thinks she's one sick individual, but he has a secret of his own.

Despite how short this story is, it's actually very effective and horrifying. I can't say much without giving too much away, but the twist at the end was quite a shock! 9/10

Death, She Said:
A grieving husband has lost everything his wife, his children, and his job. Now he hopes to take his own life, but when a mysterious woman comes out to intervene it seems she might very well save him. But who is she and why does she want to show him the truth underneath all the evil? Only time will tell but sometimes even the truth can change within time.

Lee has written a really depressing story about suicide, it's a story that's at first really sad, before giving you a little bit of hope and then crushing it completely. I loved the concept of this one and the revelations at the end, including the twist behind the woman, it's a story that's not only depressing but actually quite messed up. 9/10

The Piece of Paper:
Scab has lived a miserable life of homelessness, poverty, and pain. He's always suffered from a disease, that's been slowly killing him throughout his entire life. But he doesn't much care, he doesn't much care about anything. However, that might all change, when a fleeing woman is killed by a pair of hired thugs...

There isn't much to say about this story, which makes this a hard one to review if I'm trying to avoid spoilers. But what makes this so impactful is the horrifying truth presented to us on a small piece of paper and what Scab decides to do with it. It's nothing amazing, but it gives you something to think about when it comes to the harsh reality behind government cover-ups. 8/10

The Blurred Room:
Frankie Poan is one sick motherfucker, he works for the vinchetti crime family and he has to make sure that all child pornography is of the best quality. However, his time has run out and he's finally been caught, but there's a horrifying surprise lying in wait for him.

I haven't read I.C.U. so I'll confess I don't quite get why Edward Lee criticized this story because honestly, I loved this one, it's disturbing, graphic, and brutal in typical Edward Lee fashion. The twist at the end is also brilliant and incredibly satisfying. I am interested in reading I.C.U now especially since I have heard good things about it from other people, so despite The Blurred Room being an earlier draft of that story I quite frankly thought it was terrific. I'm hyped to see what the rewrite is like. 10/10

Gut-Shot:
He's a young man who's finally become a cop. But when he hears about the brutal and painful reality behind getting gut-shot it seems reality itself is trying to send out a message to him, no matter the jokes and his hypocritical colleagues, he's having premonitions and soon he might have to face the consequences.

Lee has written a fun and gruesome little tale behind the harsh reality of what it's like working on the police force and how every day you're practically risking your life. It also deals with police corruption and perverts in the force, but these are kept fairly subtle to focus on the narrative. The ending was nice and it's interesting to see Edward Lee write a short story like this 8.5/10

Make a Wish:
Jessy's life has been a mess ever since she got hooked on drugs, her body is frail, worn out, weak, and crippled. So much has happened to her, she's been abused, controlled, nearly murdered and she's also homeless. But she's had one guy by her side for a year and now even he's dying. A shooting star races by and it seems she might finally make a wish.

Edward Lee has written an incredibly depressing and thoughtful story on homelessness, abuse, and the sheer cruelty of the world around us, it's also in a way a tragic romance. It's a very emotional tale with an equally emotional ending. 10/10

Overall: Carnal Surgery is by far Edward Lee's best short story collection, it's full of stories that are meaningful, brutal, horrifying, and emotional. It's a brilliant collection of equally brilliant short stories. 99.5/110.

[Sharon Leung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

As usual another great book by the great Edward Lee. I always know I'm in for a good read when I pick up his books and this again was no exception. Each storyline has its own unique voice that brings about the horror of terror of someone or something. Also the endings having that concept of not everything is as it seems at the endings. You never know what is going to happen, what endings of misfortune is going to happen. Always wonder and intrigue throughout the stories. I can't even pick a favourite as there are a few. But each one is unique in its own way, and that you enjoy about it. Definitely recommend

[Adam Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never considered myself an Edward Lee fan. I generally read his novels because they are planted firmly in the horror genre and I nearly always enjoy his books but usually lack respect for them. Carnal Surgery is the only short story collection I have read by Lee and it convinced me to never read another by this author. I didn’t hate it quite as much as I hated John Shirley’s Black Butterflies collection, but it was a near thing. I can honestly say that I didn’t enjoy a single story in this collection and the nicest thing I can say for it is that it’s good and short. Like Black Butterflies, every single story seemed to be about the exact same thing and they were all full of disgusting things meant to shock people. I don’t mind when authors go for shock value but in this collection, Lee demonstrates to the reader that that is the only thing in his arsenal. I also got tired of reading about a character “pissing their pants.” I was very disappointed by Lee’s efforts with the short story part of fiction. I will continue to read and most likely enjoy his novels but his short stories are not for me at all.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carnal Surgery is a short story collection from hardcore horror author Edward Lee and features 11 tales ranging from the extremely gory to the downright weird with everything inbetween.[return][return]Whilst I don't want to give away the contents of the 11 stories as that would only ruin the surprise written within; I can assure anyone reading this that they are all gems and this is a collection that contains no 'filler' stories. It has a superb mixture of tales which has a good mixture of styles with everything from the realistic to the extreme. However if you don't like strong gore in your stories then be warned as you'll find some too much.[return][return]If you are a fan of Edward Lee's other works or are looking for a good short story collection then this is for you.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the depravity and irony in these short stories. But I felt that many of them ended quite abruptly. There was decent build up and then suddenly the story ends without warning.

One of the best pieces written in my opinion so far is “Hands”. It was a nice build up, coaxing readers into concluding that Jameson was the killer, but in actual fact the real killer was right under his nose. “The Blurred Room” was also good if not better. It was not only an enjoyable but also an informative read about the horrors of the black market. I’m really impressed it was one of Edward’s earliest works.

“Please let me out” and “gut shot” was pretty lame.
The rest of the stories are not too bad.

Overall, though there were a few good pieces, I still felt the star factor was lacking. I didn’t manage to read a story that made me go “wow that was amazing, now I am satisfied even if the rest of the book is chum.”

[Sandra R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Sterne
Puh wilde Fahrt durch 11 Kurzgeschichten. Gleich die erste hat mich ja erstmal wieder verschreckt gehabt, die war ein ekliger Fiebertraum, die wahrscheinlich daran erinnern soll, dass wir hier immer noch bei Edward Lee sind. 😅 Die folgenden Stories waren dagegen schon fast zahm und manche kamen mehrere Seiten aus, ohne irgendwas gewalttätiges zu beschreiben, das ist auch ne Art Besonderheit bei ihm. 😄 Das soll übrigens gar nicht abwertend klingen, trotz das ich Lee tatsächlich eigentlich immer ein wenig too much finde, zieht mich ja trotzdem immer mal wieder etwas hin zu seinen Büchern. In dem Fall war es das Cover, das mich sofort gecatcht hat. Die Stories selbst waren solide, mich hat jetzt nichts richtig vom Hocker gehauen, aber schlecht fand ich auch keine.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best way i can describe the stories in this anthology is dark and gritty! Some of these stories borderline on supernatural or have supernatural elements to them, yet they are grounded in the disgusting underbelly of everyday life. Drugs, serial killers, sex slaves, disembodied voices, and government conspiracies, just to name a few topics you'll encounter in this collection of depravity. Deep dive into Carnal Surgery, and you might just wake up in your local morgue 💀

[Axl Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the darkest, grossest and most disturbing book I've read in a long time, probably since Coven by the same author. Edward Lee pulls no punches. His prose will leave you bloodied, bruised and wobbly.

[Noigeloverlord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Lee is usually a hit or miss with me this book is a home run. Every story is great. All with a different feel.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story collection. I really liked 9 out of the 11 stories.

[José Rafael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, at least the cover illustration looks great.

[Adolf Hitler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently I read a different book that was reviewed previously...

I'm not too sure if I was lost in translation with the reviews on this book. After reading Ryan Harding's Genital Grinder several months ago I didn't think I could find anything more sick and raunchy (sick and raunchy = awesome). So when I was tasked with finding another read I wanted something as equally entertaining. After reading several reviews of the Backwoods (also by Lee) and other of his novels, I decided on this one because it got the best reviews and was supposed to be "put it down disgusting". The only disgusting part of this set of shorts was that it was so long. Call me a sicko, or a pervert, but this was not what I signed up for. Every story was boring build-up then quick "twist" ending. Very few of the stories actually kept me engaged, wanting to know what was going to happen. I did give it 3 stars for readability. It was well written, albeit not very enjoyable for what I was specifically looking for. If you want something that will pass the time and only keep you engaged for short stories, this is it. If you want a lot of what the chapters were hinting at (gratuitous violence, gore, rape and murder), look elsewhere. I strongly recommend Genital Grinder for your fix. If you want something that is a step up from Twilight, look no further. Not much else needs to be said.

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 2 out of 5]

WOW! This book has perverted priests, autopsies, naked angels, ghosts, homeless people with crabs & lice so if you are easily offended then this is not the book for you!

I am a bit disappointed in this book. I had heard that Mr. Lee’s horror books are “To die for”. However I feel whoever told me that must have not read this one! This is a collection of stories that I think could gave had more depth to them. In reading some of these stories I was left thinking “that’s it, Did I miss something ????!!!!” Most of them ended abruptly. I think a lot of these stories would be great stand- alone books. Mr. Lee definitely has a talent for horror writing. I did enjoy his gruesome descriptions, after all that’s what horror stories are supposed to be about right? Here is one off of one the stories in here: “he picked the scabs off his body and ate them”. Gross right?!

There were 3 stories in this collection that I really did enjoy though and they were: “The Truth”, “The Blurred Room” & my favorite “The Piece of Paper” (this one made me laugh at the end). I wish these were longer stories I was really into them.

I do have more books by Mr. Lee and being that I do like his writing style I think I will enjoy them more because they are longer stand-alone books.

[Daniel Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a massive fan of Ed Lee and couldn't wait to get into this short selection with the great cover.

The book was on the whole an enjoyable read, but I felt the selection, and sometimes ordering, of the tales was its weak point. For example, there are two stories with a very predictable ending, and these tales are placed next to each other, which kinda causes a double-hit of disappointment. Also, as Lee in this collection dwells on the homeless, prostitutes and drug users, a lot of the scenes and descriptions can come across as repetitive. This is no fault of the author, as these stories have spanned decades and offer a skewed view when placed together, but perhaps a more general selection could have solved this? The stories aren't as graphic as promised either in my opinion, but then I do like my extremity.

Despite this review, which I agree comes across as negative, I did enjoy the book and there are some nifty ideas to be found among the gore and vomit. Can I recommend this? Yes, I can, but I'll be seeking out a more balanced Ed Lee collection next time.

[Brian Mcclain · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was significantly less disturbing than brain cheese buffet and quite honestly that was a good thing for me. I like Edward Lee's writing style when its allowed to blossom like in works like this or city infernal as opposed to when he's writing in the guise of philosophical scholar inbred rednecks. Now I gave brain cheese buffet a good rating as well but for different reasons. These stories were good, they flowed quickly and the way he put information into them in such a way that it wasn't a huge info-dump is to be commended. I don't have too many thoughts on the individual stories, and I had already read the seeker which was the longest of the bunch. Definitely something I'd recommend to anyone with a strong constitution, it just doesn't need to be as iron-clad as his other collection.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book really wanting to enjoy it. It was described as "extreme" and "horrific" and "intense" and "perverse" and I thought: "Awesome! I love the sound of that. I love horror movies and twisted gore and perverted, sick shit". But these stories fell flat. They were interesting enough and reasonably well written but not nearly anything I'd consider "extreme". I kept reading this just waiting to get to a story that was even remotely "extreme" but I finished the whole book never being more than ever so mildly tickled by it. If you want "extreme", go check out the scenes of hell in Iain Banks novel Surface Detail (Culture series). Now that is some truly horrific extreme writing.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed Lee is an acquired taste and his stories/novels can be hit or miss. Overall I enjoyed this collection of stories. Of course there were some that just did not make the cut but that is true in any short story collection.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME! Normally, i don't care too much for short stories but Ed Lee is sooooo incredible!

[sonny (no longer in use) · Rating 3 out of 5]

really really good collecting

[Josh Warfel · Rating 4 out of 5]

And Woodley has no limits in this shows with his store stories that he'll go anywhere. Recommended for those starting out with his work.