Cerberus

by Otis Bateman

Sienna Davis had everything going for her, loving parents, a handsome, popular boyfriend, and her dream of becoming a veterinarian after she graduates from high school.

While heading to her dog sitting job, she runs into her adolescent friend Tommy DeMarco being bullied. After the no nonsense Sienna stands up for Tommy, he decides to go with her and help out so they can enjoy pizza and a movie afterwards. Tommy has a childish crush on Sienna, and he would do anything for her.

But their picturesque existence will shatter today in ways they could never have possibly fathomed.

Cruelty and pain can come in many surprising forms, today it will take the shape of two seemingly gentle German Shepherd’s, turning them into bloodthirsty hounds of Hell.

Turning them into Cerberus…

Genres: Horror

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2023

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a good deal of thoughts on this. Most of which I feel are fairly constructive, while others may be a personal preference. I've never read an Otis Bateman book before, so I went into this fresh. I liked his style of writing, although I didn't love the flow, pace, and content as much. The story itself wasn't bad, but it felt like it tried to accomplish too much within its hundred pages. It tried to be reminiscent of Cujo in its survival portion, while also delving out a relationship between Sienna and Gauge with Tommy as an outright admirer, and then tackled suicide and depression. And there's nothing wrong with aiming high, but this missed the mark by overcomplicating itself. It needed to be much longer to flesh out all the various themes and plot points, or it needed to remove a good deal of the excess, to consolidate into its runtime. Now the cover made me think that this was a horror story, which it wasn't at all. And I know what Cerebrus is, but I don't recall the use of the word in the story, especially as the antagonist animals were named Lucy and Bender. So looking at the cover and title, again, it screamed that this would be a book about a hound from hell, possibly with multiple heads, as per the classic depiction. Now we have two German shepherds who decide to viciously attack our lead, Sienna, and young Tommy, with no clear ambition or reason for doing so. And Bender seems to then escape and disappear from the book altogether. At the halfway mark, the story pivots very hard from a more thriller to following Sienna as she is mauled badly and recovering from her injuries. She suffers from terrible depression, but it was not linked to an earlier statement in the book where the author said she was having a troubled time dealing with the death of her cousin, John. I would have liked that to be a contributing factor that was made very clear, and even have some further showings of her wavering emotional stability throughout, leading up to the dog attack. So her boyfriend, Gauge, is a smooth, slick type who likes to drive fast. He seems like he's a typical stupid teenager with a fast car, but when he visits Sienna in the hospital, he suddenly breaks up with her and Sienna lashes out at him, and she even has a nasty confrontation with his mother later on. There was not much development in their relationship aspect, so this all seemed quite forced and haphazard. As the reader, I needed to see some real strain in their relationship before all that happened in the hospital, aside from her not liking how he drove. We are also introduced to a pizza delivery boy, Bruce, who gets a fair amount of pages, only to be contained to one chapter, with no real relevance beyond finding the aftermath of the dog attacks. And, on the actual attacks, it also felt very out of place when Sienna's vagina was detailed, as was Tommy's mutilated penis. Very unnecessary and took time away from other potentially nasty sustained injuries to both people. Also, on Tommy, his part of the story felt unfinished. He needed to be used a lot more later in the story, as another contributing factor to further show the absolute devastation Sienna felt about him, also contributing to her eventual, major life decision. So I know that it sounds like I'm just picking this apart, but there were quite a few inconsistencies and areas that a good development editor could have resolved. But, again, I enjoyed the actual writing and feel that with the right support and with some more practice that Otis Bateman could aspire to be a very good writer.

[Janie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am enjoying the emergence of Otis Bateman in the splatterpunk world. However, this book left me less than satisfied. Something was missing. I think it was a middle. The beginning and the end wrap the story up in an an acceptable way. There was plenty of action, heartbreak and violence. But I needed more meat. Which there was plenty of, by the way. I wanted to know how the dogs' owners responded to the incident. I found it hard to believe that the MC received so little empathy from the people surrounding her. Is the world really that cruel? I'm pretty much of a skeptic, but I wish that the MC had more on her side to keep her going. If that wasn't possible, then maybe the world does suck. But I am a bit more optimistic than that.

[Brian G Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

A brutal piece with an incredible story in the Bateman style. Characters hashed perfectly, this one will draw you in and set you on edge.

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ferocious!

A one-sitting read for me. This is a fast, brutal, and ultimately tragic story, and I loved it. Highly recommended!

[John The Crippledgimp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright...... This is my second read from Otis Bateman the first was Medusa's Son which was so bad ass that I went and bought Cerberus cuz of the cover so I was really psyched to read this one. This story is brutal bleak and really violent which I really liked. The only things that bothered me was the similarities to stories like Cujo and I want more middle... This just felt to short needed fleshed out.Those things being said this book is good its bloody and very violent and very much worth the read. Otis Bateman's a fuckin awesome writer and is on the rise.

[Stephen Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was fucking brutal in ways I wasn't expecting. Otis really is on a role of late with all these fantastic books but this one really punches you in the gut and then starts kicking you while you're down. Savage. Great though, definitely read it. :)

[Sarah Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent! 5⭐️

I am looking forward to reading anything that I haven’t yet read by this author… he surprises me every time! 5⭐️

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional punch to the gut!!

Wow, just Wow!! This one is fucking good guys!

I have been following this Bateman dude from the beginning. The Maggot Girl series is a ride of fun everyone should experience. But.....This right here hits you in the feels. I am not sure if I want to kick him in the nuts or give him a hug??? I may have shed a tear. Danm it Bateman! You threw the book at us on this one. I loved it! You MADE us like and hate the characters. Freaking excellent little story that packs a heck of a punch!!

Happy Reading and Splatter On.....

[Erica Summers]

Absolutely loved this terrifying novella. Its a great length for a one or two sitting read. The violence and carnage is outstanding. Even being the dog lover that I am, Bender freaks me out a little bit. Loved the ending too. I cannot wait to read more by Otis Bateman. 4.5 out of 5 (rounded up.)

[Eve L. Fell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cerberus is a bleak, wild and sad ride.

This book makes you question “man’s best friend” and if it’s even worth having a dog as a pet. At least a big honking one like Bender. I think within the dog community there’s a fear of big dogs because of how easily they could overpower you like in this book.

Sienna and Tommy are besties and Tommy is 6 years her
Junior. He tags along with her to go pet sit for a neighbor and things turn bloody quick. Tommy and Sienna are mulled to shreds by two humongous German shepherds who may have took them for intruders. Tommy courageously uses his body as a shield for Sienna so she can hopefully escape anymore of Benders fury.

It works but at what expense? Sienna is in pain and miserable after losing Tommy and looks like a creature after the attack. She wanders through life lost after being discharged from the hospital, just to livestream her suicide featuring a sawn off shotgun by the end.

I can’t imagine going through this and the book was very good at conveying her grief and lose she suffered. Why she worked her way up yo suicide. In a way it also reminds you to be kind to people. Even people who look different. You never know what someone is going through.

[Jeff Brodnax · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gut punch.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended when I was looking for an "animals attack" story for a readathon prompt. I didn't read it back then but finally got a chance to now and I'm really glad I got the chance to read this. The real horror in this story isn't the animal attack (although it is pretty brutal and horrifying in its own right), instead...the real horror for me is what happens in the aftermath of the animal attack. Such a great premise for a book and I think I will think about this one for a while.

Unfortunately, I didn't really love the writing style. Something just missed the mark for me. I say this all the time and it's definitely a person preference and not a "problem" with the book...but this would have worked SO much better for me if it had been told in first person. I would have loved to be inside Sienna's head and experiencing all her emotions as she went through this book. Not just being told about them but really feeling them alongside her as I read this. The way this was written I just felt disconnected from the characters and that just meant it didn't quite work for me.

But it's a great story and I recommend it for a quick read, especially if you like 3rd person POV. Even if it wasn't a new favorite for me, I'm still very happy I read it.

[Evelyn Arfeuille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man... this made me feel so many things... I would highly recommend this book!

Let me begin by saying that 'extreme horror' is not my absolute favourite. I find most extreme horror to be a little much.
This book however, was incredible!

For me, it had just the right amount of gore!
But what I will remember most about this book, is the fact that I had so many feelings while reading it! I felt so much empathy for one character, so much disgust and anger for another and overwhelming sadness for yet another.

This book really left an impression on me.
It does have some serious triggers, do it is not for everyone, but it is one of the first 'extreme horror'-books that managed to hit me right in the feels.

[Justin Boote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only ever read one doggie story before and that was Cujo so was curious to see what Otis Bateman could come up with! A lot of gory, brutal fun that's what.
Sienna agrees to dog sit two large German Shephards one day. She bumps into teen friend Tommy who happens to have a crush on her and they agree to sit the dogs together and order pizza. The two dogs are as friendly as they come. Until now. For some reason they snap and what ensues is an horrific bloodshed of mayhem and terror. And nothing it seems can stop them.
I enjoyed this one. A good build-up to the nasty stuff, introducing us to the characters first before everything goes to shit and the ending totally unexpected. Wasn't expecting that at all! Good, 'fun' read for extreme fans!

[Gerhard Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Cerebus, Otis Bateman threw any expectations I might have had going in, right out the window - and within the first few pages even. After having read his Magot Girl Trilogy (three books I thoroughly enjoyed), I thought I had this guy figured out. He was a very talented Splatterpunk author. He pushed the boundaries in some ways, and his trilogy was original. I expected the same from Cerebus, but what caught me off guard was how nuanced this new book is, and how much growth Bateman exhibits after only three short years. The Horror is more grounded, the characters are easier to believe in, and so I had no trouble suspending my disbelief to the point where this Hellhound followed me to my dreams.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this promising new writer!

[Sara Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me cry a little.

This was such a bleak ass read. Everything I kept thinking was going to happen to make it less depressing did NOT and for some reason everytime the perished character was mentioned it made me tear up cause WTF AND WHYYY?! Sadly this is absolutely 100% the horrific truth of how society would treat someone like this though and that just makes me wish the whole world would burn. Definitely recommend this if you’re wanting something truly hopeless to dive into that may even make you cry a little.

[J R · Rating 5 out of 5]

another excellent one by Otis Bateman. this felt a lot like what might have happened if Stephen King was into splatterpunk when he was writing Cujo. very very well done, and thanks so much for the Epub otis!

[Rachal Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond brutal, new fear unlocked that left me with dreadful anxiety, and ptsd. Loved it and cant wait to experience it again.

[JoeBob Trash · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a fun read. Thanks Otis!

[Andrea Sund · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring and full of dad jokes 😔