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Cannibal vs. Ah Long : And Other Bloody Stories
In this deliciously twisted compilation of short stories, a string of murderers, blood drinkers, assorted meat eaters, the occasionally dead person and other generally unsavoury types take turns to indulge in anti-social behaviour. And they are not even on an online forum. But, really, who needs Facebook when you have friends like Ghostgirl?
145 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 28, 2015
Best short story collection ever! Love every one of it. I love that each story has mystery and unpredictable twist.
Worth reading this.
Worth reading this.
May 19, 2020
This was brutal and quite thrilling, a bit gore and surreal as well. Majority of it revolves around marriage life with conflicts and broken hearts. I love how the author started all his stories with a bit of behind the scene on how he gets the idea. Love most of the stories-- Respect and Fork were my favorite, and I find Grotto and Paula a bit depressing but having a strangely satisfying ending. I fancy the pinch of supernatural in few of the stories-- grippingly suspense and twisted. Most of the characters were mysterious, but I kind of like the secretive and absurdity of each personalities.
Great collection nevertheless. 3.7 stars.
Great collection nevertheless. 3.7 stars.
January 21, 2014
Whether Dark Highways is worth the money depends on whether you have read Cannibal Vs. Ah Long And Other Bloody Stories, as a chunk of the stories here are taken from that collection. Then again, how many copies of that book were in existence anyway? Just like the previous collection, this one has short stories of the macabre, sometimes gory, sometimes just creepy kind.
The first story isn't bad at all. Grotto has our hero taking a new highway home, only to discover that there are strange things afoot along that highway. This one has a deliciously wicked concept, although a part of me snorts in derision at the idea of the Malaysian civil service being capable of sorting their heads from their rear ends, much less doing the things described here.
Cloud Sparkle has three dolts getting way above themselves when they mess with an alien cloud-thing. This one is supposed to be a homage to body horror classics, but I feel that the author hadn't done more than to take common tropes and slap some Malaysian names and settings on them. Also, he never went beyond the superficial here - the horror feels watered down.
Respect is basically about a killer avenging his dead Uncle Yon by going on a rampage. This was first published in Esquire, so it's actually tame than anything else.
Fork is about a cannibal who just wants to be loved. Some violence, some gore, but this story isn't memorable due to the length and the similarity of the protagonist to most of the sociopath males the author has written.
The Lake is taken from the previous collection. As I said in the review of that collection, this one could have been a beautiful tale of a man searching for his wife, who went missing while taking a swim at a lake, if I hadn't watched a certain movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo before. While these two stories are not identical, the twists are similar and, therefore, I saw the one in this story coming from a mile away.
Next is Ghost Girl, also taken from the previous collection. Let me just cut and paste my comments from the review of that collection: it isn't very ghostly at all. Rather, it's an amusingly set up tale of a typical male fantasy: getting back at the man that stole his wife while getting several other women vying for his affections at the same time. Only, the whole story ends up being too tortuous for its own good. Too many twists are introduced for the sake of being clever, and it feels pointlessly long to get to its denouement.
Next is something new: Signature Chocolate, the sequel to Ghost Girl, where our hero is rid of his wife thanks to the machination of his old enemy, but don't worry, he gets a new girlfriend just because. Maybe it's because the protagonist is the embodiment of every guy's sweetest fantasy and there is no need, therefore, to show me any believable reason why anyone would want to sleep with the protagonist. Just like the previous story, this one just brings on some pretext of horror to give the protagonist an excuse to lose the old ball and chain and find a new one.
The Movers is just pointless gore without much context. The author has done the cannibal angle several times before, and he's just rehashing things by now.
Paradise Lost, I guess, is supposed to be some kind of psychological horror, but it just ends up being some kind of wet dream for guys everywhere.
Next up: The Contract With Mr. Cadeer, taken from the previous collection. As I said back then, this is a ghoulish tale of an unfortunate sod who goes to the house of a client that hungers for something more than the poor sod can provide in terms of services. This one isn't bad, but the hero becomes unconscious one time too many and I can't help wondering whether there is a punchline in there. Also, by this point, the whole "I eat people, ha, ha, ha!" angle is getting old due to the overwhelming similarity in these stories.
More gore with Paula, this one combining talking heads (literally) and assassins. I'm far more concerned with how the hero, supposedly a superb killer, can sleep through his beloved getting raped and killed right next to him.
Mr. Bolero is a futuristic story telling the twisted romance of two killers. This one is okay, although I see the ending coming.
And that's a wrap. Just like the author's previous effort, Dark Highways lacks a distinct stamp of the author. The stories feel like popular tropes cobbled together to produce weak imitations of more established horror and urban fantasy stories, and some stories give me this impression that they have been hastily written in under an hour without much thought having gone into them. The author also has a tendency to repeat his formula too obviously, making many of the stories feel too similar for their own good. At the end of the day, Dark Highways is too self indulgent and not good enough.
The first story isn't bad at all. Grotto has our hero taking a new highway home, only to discover that there are strange things afoot along that highway. This one has a deliciously wicked concept, although a part of me snorts in derision at the idea of the Malaysian civil service being capable of sorting their heads from their rear ends, much less doing the things described here.
Cloud Sparkle has three dolts getting way above themselves when they mess with an alien cloud-thing. This one is supposed to be a homage to body horror classics, but I feel that the author hadn't done more than to take common tropes and slap some Malaysian names and settings on them. Also, he never went beyond the superficial here - the horror feels watered down.
Respect is basically about a killer avenging his dead Uncle Yon by going on a rampage. This was first published in Esquire, so it's actually tame than anything else.
Fork is about a cannibal who just wants to be loved. Some violence, some gore, but this story isn't memorable due to the length and the similarity of the protagonist to most of the sociopath males the author has written.
The Lake is taken from the previous collection. As I said in the review of that collection, this one could have been a beautiful tale of a man searching for his wife, who went missing while taking a swim at a lake, if I hadn't watched a certain movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo before. While these two stories are not identical, the twists are similar and, therefore, I saw the one in this story coming from a mile away.
Next is Ghost Girl, also taken from the previous collection. Let me just cut and paste my comments from the review of that collection: it isn't very ghostly at all. Rather, it's an amusingly set up tale of a typical male fantasy: getting back at the man that stole his wife while getting several other women vying for his affections at the same time. Only, the whole story ends up being too tortuous for its own good. Too many twists are introduced for the sake of being clever, and it feels pointlessly long to get to its denouement.
Next is something new: Signature Chocolate, the sequel to Ghost Girl, where our hero is rid of his wife thanks to the machination of his old enemy, but don't worry, he gets a new girlfriend just because. Maybe it's because the protagonist is the embodiment of every guy's sweetest fantasy and there is no need, therefore, to show me any believable reason why anyone would want to sleep with the protagonist. Just like the previous story, this one just brings on some pretext of horror to give the protagonist an excuse to lose the old ball and chain and find a new one.
The Movers is just pointless gore without much context. The author has done the cannibal angle several times before, and he's just rehashing things by now.
Paradise Lost, I guess, is supposed to be some kind of psychological horror, but it just ends up being some kind of wet dream for guys everywhere.
Next up: The Contract With Mr. Cadeer, taken from the previous collection. As I said back then, this is a ghoulish tale of an unfortunate sod who goes to the house of a client that hungers for something more than the poor sod can provide in terms of services. This one isn't bad, but the hero becomes unconscious one time too many and I can't help wondering whether there is a punchline in there. Also, by this point, the whole "I eat people, ha, ha, ha!" angle is getting old due to the overwhelming similarity in these stories.
More gore with Paula, this one combining talking heads (literally) and assassins. I'm far more concerned with how the hero, supposedly a superb killer, can sleep through his beloved getting raped and killed right next to him.
Mr. Bolero is a futuristic story telling the twisted romance of two killers. This one is okay, although I see the ending coming.
And that's a wrap. Just like the author's previous effort, Dark Highways lacks a distinct stamp of the author. The stories feel like popular tropes cobbled together to produce weak imitations of more established horror and urban fantasy stories, and some stories give me this impression that they have been hastily written in under an hour without much thought having gone into them. The author also has a tendency to repeat his formula too obviously, making many of the stories feel too similar for their own good. At the end of the day, Dark Highways is too self indulgent and not good enough.
March 2, 2014
what can I say? 13 dark stories that (for me) just wiped away the KL Noir series (Red and White) easily without leaving a mark. 5/5. Enough said.
March 21, 2019
A few short stories inside which are mostly gory and weird with creatures, ghosts, spirits and so on... but the most amazing thing is, they were all set in Malaysia.
My utmost favourite is the last story. Very romantic death.
My utmost favourite is the last story. Very romantic death.
January 15, 2014
"Deliciously twisted" stories of gore, weird creatures, weirder plots, and more, all set in Malaysia? Oh yes, please. Cannibal Vs. Ah Long And Other Bloody Stories is a slim volume and, therefore, quite expensive for its cover price, but I guess some allowances could be made for indie publishers. Too bad the stories here don't feel like they are worth the money paid.
Cannibal Vs Ah Long is a tale of a cannibal who preys on independent, often illegal, moneylenders called Ah Longs. Like a bad horror movie, body parts are ripped apart and bones are snapped like they are all made from cardboard. Still, there is nothing like a pointlessly gory tale to start off things.
Dawn Cafe has our hero stumbling upon a mamak shop in the middle of a shabby neighborhood. The environment is far from good, but he becomes infatuated with the waitress. Thing is, this mamak shop may not be what it seems to be. I could see the twist coming from far away, and it doesn't help that the twist is actually a commonly used plot device in urban ghost stories.
Skies At Night is the first story that makes me go, "Okay, so maybe things can be interesting after all!" Our hero's friend tells of an unusual sighting that he made while flying in a plane. Despite his initial skepticism, our hero soon realizes that things are... weird out there in the skies when one is in a plane. This story is genuinely different for a change, and it's creepy too, especially since I'm claustrophobic and plane flights worry me sometimes.
A Head Story is a pretty cool story involving murderous disembodied heads and all the gore one can eat, but the author is so far ahead of himself here that I am left scratching my head at the "twist" moment. He knows the punchline, but I am left trying to catch up.
Alice has a cool concept - the hero discovers a strange number in his contact list while transferring numbers from his old mobile phone to his new one, and can't resist making a call. What happens next is pretty predictable, but still outlandish enough to fit the theme of "anything cray cray goes" in this compilation. Only, the logistics make this story far-fetched and hard to believe. Sure, I can believe that these people do what they do, I just find it hard to believe that they can do it in the way the author describes.
Corridors At Night is a dark, disjointed yet easy to follow tale best described as a "mindfuck", only the hero is the one at the receiving end as he ends up in a hospital run by crazy people who would conduct gruesome experiments on their patients. This one is pretty alright, although it still has that "I've come across this before" vibe that I can't shake off.
Ghostgirl isn't very ghostly at all. Rather, it's an amusingly set up tale of a typical male fantasy: getting back at the man that stole his wife while getting several other women vying for his affections at the same time. Only, the whole story ends up being too tortuous for its own good. Too many twists are introduced for the sake of being clever, and it feels pointlessly long to get to its denouement.
Number 7 pits an assassin who wants out against his superiors. Nothing new here.
The Contract With Mr Cadeer is a ghoulish tale of an unfortunate sod who goes to the house of a client that hungers for something more than the poor sod can provide in terms of services. This one isn't bad, but the hero becomes unconscious one time too many and I can't help wondering whether there is a punchline in there.
The Lake could have been a beautiful tale of a man searching for his wife, who went missing while taking a swim at a lake, if I hadn't watched a certain movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo before. While these two stories are not identical, the twists are similar and, therefore, I saw the one in this story coming from a mile away.
Finally, Utero Indigo has a zombie movie fan getting more than he bargained for when a zombie flick he introduces his friends convinces them that the movie is real and eating humans confers some kind of enlightenment. They are not amused when he does not share their zeal. This story ends abruptly - it doesn't have a climax so the pay-off is nonexistent after the admittedly solid build up. Also, there are some editorial problems - a female character turns into a "he" and "him" midway through a scene, and conversations by different people can sometimes be lumped together in a single paragraph. Confusion ensues.
At the end of the day, it's nice to see a fellow Malaysian trying his hands at writing urban horror and fantasy stories. Unfortunately, this collection lacks a distinctive voice or style or even a sense of macabre that make the stories distinctly the author's. Instead, this one feels like the effort of someone who is trying to be like everyone else.
Cannibal Vs Ah Long is a tale of a cannibal who preys on independent, often illegal, moneylenders called Ah Longs. Like a bad horror movie, body parts are ripped apart and bones are snapped like they are all made from cardboard. Still, there is nothing like a pointlessly gory tale to start off things.
Dawn Cafe has our hero stumbling upon a mamak shop in the middle of a shabby neighborhood. The environment is far from good, but he becomes infatuated with the waitress. Thing is, this mamak shop may not be what it seems to be. I could see the twist coming from far away, and it doesn't help that the twist is actually a commonly used plot device in urban ghost stories.
Skies At Night is the first story that makes me go, "Okay, so maybe things can be interesting after all!" Our hero's friend tells of an unusual sighting that he made while flying in a plane. Despite his initial skepticism, our hero soon realizes that things are... weird out there in the skies when one is in a plane. This story is genuinely different for a change, and it's creepy too, especially since I'm claustrophobic and plane flights worry me sometimes.
A Head Story is a pretty cool story involving murderous disembodied heads and all the gore one can eat, but the author is so far ahead of himself here that I am left scratching my head at the "twist" moment. He knows the punchline, but I am left trying to catch up.
Alice has a cool concept - the hero discovers a strange number in his contact list while transferring numbers from his old mobile phone to his new one, and can't resist making a call. What happens next is pretty predictable, but still outlandish enough to fit the theme of "anything cray cray goes" in this compilation. Only, the logistics make this story far-fetched and hard to believe. Sure, I can believe that these people do what they do, I just find it hard to believe that they can do it in the way the author describes.
Corridors At Night is a dark, disjointed yet easy to follow tale best described as a "mindfuck", only the hero is the one at the receiving end as he ends up in a hospital run by crazy people who would conduct gruesome experiments on their patients. This one is pretty alright, although it still has that "I've come across this before" vibe that I can't shake off.
Ghostgirl isn't very ghostly at all. Rather, it's an amusingly set up tale of a typical male fantasy: getting back at the man that stole his wife while getting several other women vying for his affections at the same time. Only, the whole story ends up being too tortuous for its own good. Too many twists are introduced for the sake of being clever, and it feels pointlessly long to get to its denouement.
Number 7 pits an assassin who wants out against his superiors. Nothing new here.
The Contract With Mr Cadeer is a ghoulish tale of an unfortunate sod who goes to the house of a client that hungers for something more than the poor sod can provide in terms of services. This one isn't bad, but the hero becomes unconscious one time too many and I can't help wondering whether there is a punchline in there.
The Lake could have been a beautiful tale of a man searching for his wife, who went missing while taking a swim at a lake, if I hadn't watched a certain movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo before. While these two stories are not identical, the twists are similar and, therefore, I saw the one in this story coming from a mile away.
Finally, Utero Indigo has a zombie movie fan getting more than he bargained for when a zombie flick he introduces his friends convinces them that the movie is real and eating humans confers some kind of enlightenment. They are not amused when he does not share their zeal. This story ends abruptly - it doesn't have a climax so the pay-off is nonexistent after the admittedly solid build up. Also, there are some editorial problems - a female character turns into a "he" and "him" midway through a scene, and conversations by different people can sometimes be lumped together in a single paragraph. Confusion ensues.
At the end of the day, it's nice to see a fellow Malaysian trying his hands at writing urban horror and fantasy stories. Unfortunately, this collection lacks a distinctive voice or style or even a sense of macabre that make the stories distinctly the author's. Instead, this one feels like the effort of someone who is trying to be like everyone else.
April 30, 2020
i first read hardcore and i liked it so i was pretty excited for this. to be honest, this book had a potential to be a good book but you did eventually get sick of it when the author kept throwing the same elements in the next stories. good time, never again.
September 7, 2013
The stories mostly played around on the occasion of a man being left by his wife. Too much of the same theme between the front and back cover of a short stories compilation, and it doesn't make it a varied one.
"Respect" shall be turned into a full-fledged novel. It was totally like reading a synopsis rather than a short story. I have a feeling that it can be a good piece, but too bad that it was not in this book.
The Lake was exceptionally good. A good point to bring the reading onto a new level after a pretty flat start in the first few stories.
Overall? 2.8/5
"Respect" shall be turned into a full-fledged novel. It was totally like reading a synopsis rather than a short story. I have a feeling that it can be a good piece, but too bad that it was not in this book.
The Lake was exceptionally good. A good point to bring the reading onto a new level after a pretty flat start in the first few stories.
Overall? 2.8/5
October 28, 2015
This guy is a freaking psycho. He does write well in segments, but the overall story structure and character developments are just so messed up. They're like really bad summaries for cheap Malaysian horror short films.
February 15, 2012
Book needs a good editor. Some stories seem to be disjointed due to grammatical mistakes. Good effort nonetheless.
October 16, 2013
what is the name of the main character in Ghost Girl and Signature Chocolate?
September 3, 2013
Finished it in just a few hours. Awesome read! Really enjoyed it. My favourites are The Lake, Signature Chocolate and Mr Bolero.
October 31, 2013
worth book to read. Love it
March 17, 2014
Beautiful and glorious murders, hocus pocus gone wrong and cold-hearted revenge. Full of blood and gore horror, best not to read during or after a meal.
June 22, 2014
awesome...just awesome.
July 3, 2014
Guwa suka cerita The Lake, Ghost Girl, Paula and Mr. Bolero.
December 24, 2014
I find the stories very interesting. When I read the not-much-or-not-at-all a synopsis at the back I knew this book would be good. This book is totally better than Horror Stories by Tunku Halim.
January 30, 2016
Entertaining to read. Stories I enjoyed - 'grotto'. And I liked how the story goes for 'the lake', 'the movers', and the atmospheric reading of 'paradise lost'.
May 6, 2015
Brainless fun
March 27, 2017
It was kinda okay-ed for me. Not gory enough, a bit let down. The cover screamed 'Blood + mayhem + slasher + B Grade Hollywood splatter' and the synopsis is catchy enough, buuutt.... it's okay. I do enjoyed reading it, twice. Good job, Megat Ishak!
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