The Shipwreck of the Cerberus

by Joe Koch

This cursed chapbook was not meant to be. Limited edition novelette concerning the brazen head of Captain Jim Standard and the thief who absconds with him into the afterlife. Body horror, surrealism, absurd humor, necrophilia, and existential despair. Available only from the author and select independent bookstores in this limited, signed edition of 200.

Genres: Horror

88 pages, Paperback

Published June 7, 2023

About the author

Joe Koch writes literary horror and surrealist trash. Their books include THE WINGSPAN OF SEVERED HANDS, CONVULSIVE, INVAGINIES, and THE COUVADE, which received a Shirley Jackson Award nomination in 2019. His short fiction appears in numerous publications such as Vastarien, Southwest Review, PseudoPod, Children of the New Flesh, and The Book of Queer Saints. Joe also co-edited the art horror anthology STORIES OF THE EYE. He/They. Find Joe online at horrorsong.blog and on Twitter @horrorsong.

Reviews

[Anilea · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one wrote like Joe Koch.
The surrealism and bleakness induced prose with it imaginative and unique structure cannot be replicated or imitated.

The novella is a study of time, loss, masculine identity in a way that reminded me of both Jean Genet and William s Borough; vicious and poetic in their explorations of their own otherness.

This is a magnificent short story, a story to read and re-read because it’s layered so beautifully, you can’t help but to peel more of it.

[Max Restaino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm starting to realize that i will 100%, without fail, yearn to read every single thing that joe koch reads— it started with his story in The Book of Queer Saints Vol. 1 (ed. Mae Murray), and their writing has had a grip on me ever since! when they posted about releasing a limited-edition chapbook, i KNEW i had to snag a copy— so happily, #24/200 sits on my horror shelf:)

i didn't fully know what to expect when i started reading, but this story was full of macabre descriptions, absurdist dialogue, and spine-tingling character dynamics that left my head spinning in all the best ways. joe's the kind of author where i feel just a little bit smarter and more worldly every time i read his stuff— there's an overall sense of power and obsession that sneaks into each carefully-selected word, and i can't get enough <3

~haley
bookstagram: @spoonie.reads

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read one of Joe's books I feel like I've just experienced a dream. A twisting, bizarre, beautiful dream. Not many people can capture that thing like Joe can.

I also realize you really can make words and sentences do whatever you want them to do. You shouldn't be afraid to experiment with storytelling. Time jumps, body horror, love, spiders, all of these things can work together to make wonderful art, as long as you are not afraid.

If you can find this little book, get it and read it. I know I didn't actually talk about the book, I think I did that because you need to experience yourself. Just know you are in for a wild ride that will keep you glued to the page until it is finished.

[ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decadent meditation on masculinity, grief, and the boys we sacrifice to become men, sometimes by necessity, sometimes by folly. A poetic juxtaposition of the ridiculous and the serious. Well paced and structured, with a mysterious, haunting first half that seduces you into finishing the whole thing at once. The second half isn't quite as compelling as the first. A three-headed shapeshifting chimera of a novella.

[Ivy Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the surprising flurry of ideas and images conjured by this book...a weird sci-fi cosmic horror tale presents itself, but as the curtain is pulled back, we see we're in the presence of actors. The protagonist, Rex, finds himself in space and at sea and many other unwelcome places. This tale reminded me at various times of Pygmalion, Orpheus, Blood of the Poet, and Twin Peaks: The Return. You have to read this! The physical book itself is a lovely artifact, as well.

[Damien Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phillip K Dick by way of Cronenberg. Joe Koch’s The Shipwreck of the Cerberus feels like a gritty Sci-fi movie made in the mid 90’s. The mood here is dark and brooding, yet somehow also colorful and visceral. Koch’s writing voice is something you have to experience to understand. Every sentence is key to the narrative. Every word is in a conspiracy with the next to put together some of the most interesting prose I’ve read in a long time. K thx.

[J.D. Buffington · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if you fell through a black hole and saw all of time at once? Would it feel like you’re the god creating or being molded by a force either seen or felt, familiar and unsettling all at once? Take a tumble through the Kuiper Belt and see what it feels like to be made and unmade repeatedly. Such a weird, fun, and compelling read.

[Carina Stopenski · Rating 5 out of 5]

nasty, surreal, visceral, and absolutely delicious. joe koch is truly a star at body horror, encapsulating themes of grief and loneliness in some of the most grotesque ways possible. this was gross from start to finish and for me, that’s a win. stellar.

[Jason Donnelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most pretentious writing I've ever read. I tried getting through the first 10 pages and wow... I have absolutely no clue what's going on. This book must be aimed towards sci-fi (?) hipsters that belong in another dimension.

[Roth Schilling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit, I don't know what the fuck is going on here. I read it and put it on the shelf to ponder. Months later I read it again front to back then back to front. I still don't know but that's ok. Maybe like a Pollock painting, the knowing is personal and individual. The images Koch paints with words are vivid and intense, dark and bleak. Each sentence, paragraph, and chapter wrapped me in a detailed, claustrophobic world that assaulted my senses. This twisty tale has body horror, loss, grief, and lots of fluids. Koch's themes don't always resonate with me but I love the master class on using words in different ways to articulate haunted and haunting characters and build unique but unsettlingly familiar worlds. I do know that these words made me feel something and that's what counts.

[Alexander Pyles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Propelled by the frenetic prose and visceral images, Koch's novella is wild in imagination and style.

[Rick Claypool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surreal. Goopy. Horrifying. Absurd. Normally in order to enjoy a book I need to understand exactly what is happening. Joe Koch's books are an exception to this rule for me. I found this little gem particularly exceptional.