Beast of Burden

by Judith Sonnet

After their bassist decides to quit the band, Geriatric Genocide is low on morale. They want to be the next big thing in metal ... but the remaining members are just stuck at home. Growing old ... but not growing up.

It's decided that they will go into the forest for a photoshoot, which should lift their spirits ...

But things go wrong for the band members (Virtue, Mort, and Rufus) when they are forced into a cave. A dark place, where something evil, ancient, and hungry lurks!

From the twisted mind of Judith Sonnet, the author of NO ONE RIDES FOR FREE, comes a love letter to metal, horror, and unbreakable friendships. A coming of age story, laced with gory and demonic depravity!

Genres: Horror, Novella, Splatterpunk, Fiction

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2023

About the author

Used to write extreme horror but now I write WEIRD horror and I'm having a blast with it! Check out OUR SARNATH on November 22nd!

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced, grisly little tale of the macabre. I was a bit on the fence about my feedback here, but after I read Judith Sonnet's afterword, it brought everything together. And the story's ending, which felt flat at first, made a lot more sense. I would have liked the pace to be a bit slower, and maybe explore some more about each of the characters and even the creature, too. But, even without some additional fine-tuning, it was all still very entertaining. The monster was fairly unique and it brought the hurt to a whole bunch of victims. So, that alone, was worth the price of admission. And this brought me back to an old favorite, in Daniel Volpe's A Gift of Death, too. Rock n' roll, confused and aimless young adults, and a monster sending a little boy out to hunt for them. All in all, a nice seasonal sort of favorite for the whole family.

[Matty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short sad story about The Geriatric Genocides, a Black Metal band, composed of a few friends recently out of high school. A hideous demon in a nearby cave overtakes the mind of Leonard, a 32 year old mentally challenged man and sets in motion a series of gruesome events. In a short amount of time Judith develops a handful of characters that I enjoyed and came attached to.

It’s a coming of age story about the wickedness, harassment, and coercion that exists in society. Of course it has a gnarly monster and some gruesome scenes making it a perfect extreme horror novella.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries]

DNF because I'm tired of the constant body-shaming this author relies on. I keep giving her more chances and I think it's time to call it quits.

[Brendon Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beast of Burden is one of Judith's latest novellas and is a fantastic story. The members of Geriatric Genocide are a young black metal band dreaming of hitting the big time. To give them a push they meet a photographer to take some photographs to use on social media to promote themselves.

What better place to do this than the darkness of the woods nearby. The only problem is something ancient and evil is lurking nearby and it needs to feed.

The character development of our band members is what makes this. We have two best friends who started the band Mort and Virtue who whilst getting on each others nerves at times are tight and have there best interests at heart. Virtue could be considered the main character, we learn of his self doubt and worry about the future and there is some beautiful scenes involving his father who whilst not understanding the music is supportive of his son. These scenes in particular warmed my heart.

Leonard who lives in the town is an adult trapped in the mind of a child. He is so wonderfully written and with compassion. He is the first to encounter The Beast of Burden within the woods. His character arc is full of sadness as this sweet man is manipulated into doing the unthinkable.

Having read some of Judith's previous books I was expecting this to be a bit more extreme in the terms of violence, gore and mayhem. It has those elements at times but not on a level of some of her previous works. What it does however is provide characters you care for, a plot that is engaging with prose which makes you invested and visualize the town and the dreams of our band. The creature feature element is haunting and full of dread leaving the reader with a resounding sadness as it comes to its conclusion.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a short read but I went trough so many emotions with it. Judith Sonnet write such good characters and the intense bits hits harder.

[Hail Hydra! ~Dave Anderson~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

But that’s how life turns out sometimes.
We can all try and struggle and work … and sometimes, things just don’t work out.

Our favorite bands fall apart.
Our best friends move on.
Our hometowns are full of cruel bullies.
Our monsters are no longer satiated by the dark and bad dreams …

There is a lot of wickedness in the world. It can be overwhelming. It can hurt and sting.

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Tale From Sonnet!

BEAST OF BURDEN is a fast, tragic, and engaging novella that I ended up reading in one sitting. I also enjoyed this story immensely. If you haven't read Sonnet before, this would be an excellent place to start. Highly recommended!

[elli ⛧ yourspookymom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Sonnet book, and CERTAINLY won’t be my last. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about reading her work because of the content, but I’m really glad I took the chance.

Beast of Burden is well crafted, with fleshed out characters who exhibit tenderness and real, raw emotion. Which I find is not always common in splatterpunk or extreme horror. A group of boys, who have formed a metal band, go into the woods to take promo photos only to never come back. Don’t get me wrong, this story is gory and brutal, but the emotional connection between the characters was so well done that it’s so much more than a scary story.

Really looking forward to more of Sonnet’s work!

4.5/5!

[RoseDevoursBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m always on the lookout for Horror books based around Metal music and Beast of Burden did not disappoint. Sonnet delivered a badass novella that’s not only full of references to some of the best Metal bands but also writes a deeply emotional and disturbing story thats heartbreaking yet stomach-churning in all its gruesome violence. This book is just awesome!

I loved the main character Virtue and the relationships he had with all the characters that made up his Black Metal band ‘Geriatric Genocide’. They all had different personalities and emotions felt real and raw, especially when their bassist Clyde decides to quit the band and Virtue is left questioning things. Theres also the very tragic character of Leonard who is bullied by society and then manipulated by an evil being, I really felt for him and could feel his confusion and fright jump off the pages. As for the Beast that lurks in the cave, it’s truly a thing of nightmares! I love when there’s a head to toe description of a creature and this one is well detailed and creepy as hell! The acts of violence is not for the faint of heart, it’s graphic, gory and depraved - I was unsettled yet couldn’t turn away and that’s how I like my horror stories.

This is the second book I’ve read and enjoyed by this author and I definitely plan on reading more. If you’re into coming-of-age extreme horror don’t pass this up! Bonus points if you’re a fan of Black Metal covered in runny corpse paint!

[Mike (Hail Horror Hail) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black metal and murder are not strange bedfellows, at least not historically. But what happened in Norwegian Black Metal's 90s past stays in its past. Beast of Burden is not about those murderous glory days, at least not directly.

The members of Geriatric Genocide understand the past and want to be part of black metal's present. To do that, you need social media presence, and to do that, you need... well, let's just say their plan for black metal supremacy gets circumvented by a plan greater and more blasphemous than their own.

Beast Of Burden unpredictably pulls at your heart strings before pulling that same heart from your meat cave as an offering to a darkness that gurgles atrocities. The blood-soaked finale is like a fist in the face of God.

[shyra ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

cannibal corpse mentioned !! ☠️🔥

a fast read for death metal heads & fans of splatterpunk.

this was a demonic & gutted take of a demon beast creature taking over your soul then making you lure people to a cave where devilish things await.
every detail was described so wonderfully and the last few chapters were monstrous.

judith developed friendships, heartbreak & horror in one short story.
i’m a death metal lover forever. <3

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the books I've read this year I'd most love to see this made into a film. It would be short, of course, but MAN would it be good. This was so fucked up and creepy. I loved every second of this. not for the faint of heart because the gore at the climax is woweeeee. But this sucked me in HARD and I had such a good time!

[Allison Betch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy one day read with a sick boy at home.

This one was good! Not as brutal as the other Sonnet books I’ve read but still packed a punch. I loved the aspect of this small town metal band being best friends. LETS BE HONEST THO, THEY DID END IN THE MOST METAL WAY POSSIBLE.

Extra kudos for the description of the beast

[Asia Guerrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

I loved so much about this book. It wasn't as gross as what I'm used to reading from Judith, but I think what she delivers in this book proves how versatile her story telling is! So good!

[Xtina Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 chainsaw gut fucks

[carley mackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Great pacing, jaw-dropping, and I felt like all the characters had some sense of reliability. (#10/32 for the Brawl)

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cross section of music (especially black metal, it's just so suited to the genre) and horror is one of my very favorite things. The love of metal definitely comes through in this creature feature. I felt so much for the characters. They're all basically good people who you want to root for. I love a book that tugs at your heartstrings. Bonus points for the playlist at the end, too! 4.25 stars.

[Cody Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Beast of Burden by Judith Sonnet I swear on everything Judith doesn't miss at all with any of her books, absolute BANGERS. This one is one of my favorite (Ik I say that a lot but I absolutely love this genre lol) as a big metal head and I listen to metal and rock only, this one was a fantastic one, I love anything involving metal music especially black metal or death metal but when it's integrated with extreme horror then its just Chef's kiss lol. Absolutely adored this one. This one was sad also but I loved it
KINDA SPOILER IG:
wish we had seen more with Virtue and Brayden I was so upset towards the end POOR BRAYDEN
1000000000/5 stars loved this one ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Janelle Anakotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella follows four friends who want their band, Geriatric Genocide, to make it big! After their bassist quits though, they are at a low. They decide to keep moving on, and look to having a photoshoot in the forest. And of course, they aren’t alone…

Beast of Burden is the first book I’ve read by Judith and I loved it! I really liked the metal, the bond between the friends and all the gore… and Leonard! 🥹 And when I read the afterward from Judith…. oh my heart! When she explained her thoughts around this story, it really tied it all together.

Highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read more from her!

[Heather Dugger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cave to some...

Felt a connection to the characters being a metalhead over the years and being in a band long ago. It just hit home on the fantasy of making it big but not everything goes as planned. But in this case something had other legendary gore and suffer to deal out. Definitely worth the read if you like any of the author's previous work and into body horror.

[Mike Prewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a brutal and dark story about growing up and being part of a black metal band. To me, this story felt very slow, but when we get to the cave, that's when this story picks up. I liked it but didn't love it.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5, rounded down.

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I really loved this book. This is my first read by Judith Sonnet, and although splatter is not my thing, I will be seeking out anything that’s my speed written by her. I love how she writes horror so poetically. I can see how someone may just take her writing at face value, and it’s still good that way. Entertaining. But if you look a little deeper, she’s saying more than meets the eye.

[Aiden Messer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very different from what Judith usually writes. There is some gore, but it's way less extreme than most of her other books. The story is great, fast-paced and tragic, filled with touching, realistic characters.

[Ryan Rains · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should probably apologize for the low rating, but this book was terrible in my opinion! I had great expectations for this book because I'm a metalhead and a splatter-punk/horror enthusiast, but it fell short. Although I really wanted to DNF this book, I forced myself to wait for it to become better. I had a hard time finishing it. The narrative didn't really get going until chapter 20, and even then, it wasn't very compelling. "Overhyped" would be the perfect phrase to sum up this book!

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of my favorite Sonnet novellas so far! 'Beast of Burden' is a slow-burn coming-of-age horror story, with an explosive and bloody ending filled with gore! What makes this one special in my book is the pervading tongue-in-cheek sadness and underlying nostalgia throughout the narrative: instead of over-the-top scenes of her usual type, Sonnet includes a couple of rather touching family scenes between a father and a son, scenes which I found deep and insightful, some snapshots of true friendship, plus some quite realistic moments where the dilemmas of adulthood raise their head and undermine the dreams and ambitions of youth. That said, her take on young metal bands ("Geriatric Genocide," a name picked randomly from combining words from a sack), her understanding of mental development issues (the figure of Leonard comes across indeed as tragic, as Sonnet herself notes, which is an accomplishment, considering his actions!), her portrayal of folkish, yet batshit, horror, kept me on my toes, trying to see where we'd end up, as nothing is made clear until the end. Once again, Sonnet delivers a weird, yet violent ride into the depraved and the extreme - and it's waaaaay cool!

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One part coming of age, one part extreme horror, and all parts emotional, Beast of Burden surprised me in more ways than one.

Of course coming from Judith, I wasn’t shocked in the moments of blood and violence, but in just how well written and deeply heartfelt much of this book ended up being. Unlike many splatter punk and extreme horror authors who just write characters to slaughter them in the most grotesque and violent ways, Sonnet’s characters are so full of gravitas and reality that when they are invariably killed, it’s actually sad, especially when the guys in this book feel relatable (who hasn’t feared growing up and losing all the fun teenage years bring?).

Extreme horror isn’t much of my jam anymore but when a novella like this, that bridges the gap between contemporary fiction and borderline splatterpunk and melds the two genres almost seamlessly, it’s hard to not sing the praises of the story and the author.

In Beast of Burden Judith Sonnet once again proves that she is one of the most underrated authors working in the independent horror scene today.

[The Yeti Reads and Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about Judith's new novella? I can say it's one of the best books I have read this year. We all know how talented she is, and this book right here is, goddamn, great. The characters are incredible; I knew people like them growing up, and it really hit home with me. That awkward time in life figuring out who you are while dealing with the crap life deals to you. The fact that there is evil in the world, in many shapes and forms, affects all of us. Leonard is a character I won't soon forget. Funny, tragic, and unforgettable. She's once again shown us why she's one of the best in the business. Read it. 

5 severed fingers out of 5

[DH_reads_horror · Rating 4 out of 5]

After their bassist quits their band, the three remaining members of black metal band, Geriatric Genocide, decide to go to a forest for a photoshoot. They find a local man who has been missing for a couple of days in the forest. He asks them for help and leads them to a cave where something ancient and evil awaits...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The friendship between the band members, Virtue, Mort and Rufus, and Virtues relationship with his father are really well written. The sections of the book dealing with Leonard reminded me of a Richard Laymon book, but more sensitively written, and all the metal music references are perfect 🤘

[Paige Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming of age novella about a young black metal band involving the supernatural. Super fun quick read! Perfect for those who aren’t into the extreme side of Judith’s writing.
🤘🤘🤘🤘