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Depraved #1
Depraved
Welcome to Hopkins Bend, the remote little Tennessee town where the backwoods inhabitants are cannibals and the local law operates a sex-trafficking ring. Unlucky travelers are frequently ensnared in the town’s sinister web. Some are held captive and tortured while others face even more gruesome fates. And beneath it all is the town’s darkest secret, the curse of the depraved and mutated Kincher clan.
Includes Depraved The In-Between-Quel, a short story that reveals the grisly fate of two characters from the novel. The story is as spectacularly gory as the novel itself.
Includes Depraved The In-Between-Quel, a short story that reveals the grisly fate of two characters from the novel. The story is as spectacularly gory as the novel itself.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
293 people are currently reading
3988 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Smith
103 books759 followersBryan Smith is the Splatterpunk Award-winning author of more than forty horror and crime books, including 68 Kill, the cult classic Depraved and its sequels, as well as The Killing Kind, Slowly We Rot, The Freakshow, and many more. Bestselling horror author Brian Keene called Slowly We Rot, "The best zombie novel I've ever read."
68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.
Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.
68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.
Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews
April 2, 2022
Sooooo Good!!
This was my first read from Bryan Smith, and boy, it sure was an awesome one. A thrill a minute from beginning to end, with blood, guts, gore, rape, cannibalism, and all the other ‘great’ extreme stuff worthy of splatterpunk. If you like movies such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Wrong Turn’, and ‘The Hills Have Eyes’, then you’re gonna love this. The characters are pretty likeable, and the females kickass!! A strong 5/5!! Now where’s Depraved 2!!!
This was my first read from Bryan Smith, and boy, it sure was an awesome one. A thrill a minute from beginning to end, with blood, guts, gore, rape, cannibalism, and all the other ‘great’ extreme stuff worthy of splatterpunk. If you like movies such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Wrong Turn’, and ‘The Hills Have Eyes’, then you’re gonna love this. The characters are pretty likeable, and the females kickass!! A strong 5/5!! Now where’s Depraved 2!!!
November 14, 2024
Well, this was a lot better than I thought it would be. This is the first book I've read by Bryan Smith - and I didn't know what to expect. It's a cross between films like: Deliverance (squeal like a pig), Wrong Turn and The Hills Have Eyes etc.
After being viciously assaulted (Jessica Sloan) decides to unleash her own kind of justice on the person who attacked her (Hoke Mitchell). Instead of going to the authorities when Hoke let her go (big mistake), she goes back home, broods, gets her .38 and heads back to his place. Now the fun begins.
All she wanted to do; was buy a red 1963 Ford Falcon Futura from Hoke - but due to unforseen circumstances, she ended up in this clusterfuck. Jessica, who's never killed before - goes through one hell of a transition.
Peter Miller and his Girlfriend Megan - are on their way to a music-festival in Tennessee- but decide to take a detour that may save them an hour, at most. Take the scenic route. Doofus.
All the characters that ended up in Hopkins Bend (for one reason or another) went through a transition. How far can you push someone before they finally snap? What does it take for people to do things they never would have done under different circumstances?
My favourite character in this book (other than Jessica) is Garner. What can I say about this crazy aberration of hell? lol.
So, everyone in Hopkins Bend is totally nuts.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I had no idea where it was going - and the supernatural elements of the story worked well, surprisingly. It had quite a bit of humour in it as well, usually whilst listening to someone's inner ramblings as they try to make sense of their situation. Hoke had some amusing thoughts. His future is pretty bleak.
I really hope Mr Smith brings back Peter and Justine in Depraved 3, as I feel there is a lot
more to their story. And more Jessica, obviously. She's a woman who can kill two birds with one stone (or bullet) without even knowing it.
After being viciously assaulted (Jessica Sloan) decides to unleash her own kind of justice on the person who attacked her (Hoke Mitchell). Instead of going to the authorities when Hoke let her go (big mistake), she goes back home, broods, gets her .38 and heads back to his place. Now the fun begins.
All she wanted to do; was buy a red 1963 Ford Falcon Futura from Hoke - but due to unforseen circumstances, she ended up in this clusterfuck. Jessica, who's never killed before - goes through one hell of a transition.
Peter Miller and his Girlfriend Megan - are on their way to a music-festival in Tennessee- but decide to take a detour that may save them an hour, at most. Take the scenic route. Doofus.
All the characters that ended up in Hopkins Bend (for one reason or another) went through a transition. How far can you push someone before they finally snap? What does it take for people to do things they never would have done under different circumstances?
My favourite character in this book (other than Jessica) is Garner. What can I say about this crazy aberration of hell? lol.
So, everyone in Hopkins Bend is totally nuts.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I had no idea where it was going - and the supernatural elements of the story worked well, surprisingly. It had quite a bit of humour in it as well, usually whilst listening to someone's inner ramblings as they try to make sense of their situation. Hoke had some amusing thoughts. His future is pretty bleak.
I really hope Mr Smith brings back Peter and Justine in Depraved 3, as I feel there is a lot
more to their story. And more Jessica, obviously. She's a woman who can kill two birds with one stone (or bullet) without even knowing it.
August 9, 2017
Yes, this was the sickest book I've ever read, but it was well worth it.
Smith did a brilliant job of alternating characters to keep you from becoming bored or immune to the shit they have to go through.
The pace is relentless, the violence is unforgiving and the story great. This is a vision of complete Hell on earth, the true stuff of nightmares.
I can recommend it to any horror fan who can stomach this much extreme sick, because a lesser author would not have been able to pull this off.
Smith did a brilliant job of alternating characters to keep you from becoming bored or immune to the shit they have to go through.
The pace is relentless, the violence is unforgiving and the story great. This is a vision of complete Hell on earth, the true stuff of nightmares.
I can recommend it to any horror fan who can stomach this much extreme sick, because a lesser author would not have been able to pull this off.
March 29, 2014
Reading this again before I dig into
I want Rob Zombie and Quentin Tarantino to collaborate on a film adaptation of this batshit crazy town with endless potential for further storylines.
That should give a good indication of whether or not this would interest you.
Read 2009 & 2014
I want Rob Zombie and Quentin Tarantino to collaborate on a film adaptation of this batshit crazy town with endless potential for further storylines.
That should give a good indication of whether or not this would interest you.
Read 2009 & 2014
June 27, 2016
Horror can take many forms, but what ultimately defines horror as a genre is its capacity to disturb the reader. Disturbance through fright and unease is one method - or a horror novel can just plain ol' DISTURB.
Bryan Smith's DEPRAVED succeeds spectacularly in the latter department, not so much in the former - and I imagine that is exactly what the author intended.
For readers with a strong sense of decency, this novel may be impossible to finish. For those without (I'm guessing I fall into this camp), this book reads like a XXX comedy howler with a backwoods horror-trope setting.
And I loved every screaming technicolor cartoon moment of it.
Imagine a hybrid of Richard Laymon/Edward Lee along with a strong helping of Rob Zombie (a la House of 1,000 Corpses/The Devil's Rejects) and you're in the ballpark, though I'd say Bryan Smith takes things further than any of them and does it with such an innocent wide-eyed narrative voice (rather than Zombie's jaded grunge-filter and hipster dialogue) that you don't even see it coming.
Smith has some of the smoothest page-turning writing I've read in a while, surpassing even Laymon in both sheer readability and his capacity to juggle multiple story lines with nary a stumble. In some Laymon novels, all the fun is tucked away into a single plot thread while the others plod along. Not so here. Smith makes sure time spent with each and every group of characters is equally delightful.
The only extremely minor complaint I might have (and not related to my enjoyment in the least) is that I failed to discern the author's unique voice in the proceedings. The book read like an amazing homage to other authors, their foundational work taken to the next level. If you had given me this book without a cover, I'd have sworn it was written by Richard Laymon or Edward Lee, high praise to be sure, but I also wanted to see what makes Bryan Smith unique as an author. I'm sure Bryan has a signature style all his own, but I failed to detect it in this book, so successful was the Laymon impersonation (no easy feat to be sure). In retrospect, I believe the student may have bested the master.
If you're looking for believable plots and nail-biting suspense, this might not be the book for you. But if you can handle a whole mess of backwoods redneck gross-out fun, buy your ticket today.
Is the whole thing ludicrous and unbelievable? Of course.
Is it frightening? Not in the least.
It is delightfully DEPRAVED?
You betcha.
***** 5 Stars
Thanks to my friend Kristopher Rufty for the excellent recommendation.
Bryan Smith's DEPRAVED succeeds spectacularly in the latter department, not so much in the former - and I imagine that is exactly what the author intended.
For readers with a strong sense of decency, this novel may be impossible to finish. For those without (I'm guessing I fall into this camp), this book reads like a XXX comedy howler with a backwoods horror-trope setting.
And I loved every screaming technicolor cartoon moment of it.
Imagine a hybrid of Richard Laymon/Edward Lee along with a strong helping of Rob Zombie (a la House of 1,000 Corpses/The Devil's Rejects) and you're in the ballpark, though I'd say Bryan Smith takes things further than any of them and does it with such an innocent wide-eyed narrative voice (rather than Zombie's jaded grunge-filter and hipster dialogue) that you don't even see it coming.
Smith has some of the smoothest page-turning writing I've read in a while, surpassing even Laymon in both sheer readability and his capacity to juggle multiple story lines with nary a stumble. In some Laymon novels, all the fun is tucked away into a single plot thread while the others plod along. Not so here. Smith makes sure time spent with each and every group of characters is equally delightful.
The only extremely minor complaint I might have (and not related to my enjoyment in the least) is that I failed to discern the author's unique voice in the proceedings. The book read like an amazing homage to other authors, their foundational work taken to the next level. If you had given me this book without a cover, I'd have sworn it was written by Richard Laymon or Edward Lee, high praise to be sure, but I also wanted to see what makes Bryan Smith unique as an author. I'm sure Bryan has a signature style all his own, but I failed to detect it in this book, so successful was the Laymon impersonation (no easy feat to be sure). In retrospect, I believe the student may have bested the master.
If you're looking for believable plots and nail-biting suspense, this might not be the book for you. But if you can handle a whole mess of backwoods redneck gross-out fun, buy your ticket today.
Is the whole thing ludicrous and unbelievable? Of course.
Is it frightening? Not in the least.
It is delightfully DEPRAVED?
You betcha.
***** 5 Stars
Thanks to my friend Kristopher Rufty for the excellent recommendation.
July 30, 2022
This is my second book by Smith and another fast-paced blood bath to be sure. Welcome to Hopkins Bend, a small town in Tennessee somewhere, but this town has a dark side full of inbred cannibal rednecks. Another tale of crazed rednecks? Surely this trope has been done a zillion times; you know the typical story as exemplified in films like Wrong Turn or the Hills have Eyes. Some strangers come to a place way out in the country where there is no escape, hounded by blood thirsty inbred rednecks. With Depraved however, Smith starts with something similar but really puts some interesting twists on it.
Our first 'victim', Jessica, arrives outside of Hopkins Bend with her recent rapist in the trunk of a car. After the rape, she promptly went home, got her gun, and plans for some deadly payback out in the woods. Things get a little crazy when some crazed rednecks show up, but she shoots her way out and is then on the run, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. There are various other 'victims', both male and female, who also manage to turn the tide in sometimes gruesome ways for sure. It is one long day in Hopkins Bend!
I liked the supernatural aspects of the story, and also the homage to Edward Lee (more than a few easter eggs tossed his way here), but Smith does not have the same dark humor of Lee, and that is a pity. You will need some hip waders to get through this blood bath; truly a sordid tale with an apt title. I was hoping for a little more, however, for even though Smith tries to spin some new life in this old horror trope, it did not really transcend it by any means. Lee's backwoods tales are creepier and possess a lot more dark humor; this was primarily a B rated, bloody romp. 3 depraved stars!
Our first 'victim', Jessica, arrives outside of Hopkins Bend with her recent rapist in the trunk of a car. After the rape, she promptly went home, got her gun, and plans for some deadly payback out in the woods. Things get a little crazy when some crazed rednecks show up, but she shoots her way out and is then on the run, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. There are various other 'victims', both male and female, who also manage to turn the tide in sometimes gruesome ways for sure. It is one long day in Hopkins Bend!
I liked the supernatural aspects of the story, and also the homage to Edward Lee (more than a few easter eggs tossed his way here), but Smith does not have the same dark humor of Lee, and that is a pity. You will need some hip waders to get through this blood bath; truly a sordid tale with an apt title. I was hoping for a little more, however, for even though Smith tries to spin some new life in this old horror trope, it did not really transcend it by any means. Lee's backwoods tales are creepier and possess a lot more dark humor; this was primarily a B rated, bloody romp. 3 depraved stars!
December 9, 2021
Whew this book is one wild ride of blood, gore, and screams. We are in Hopkins Bend, the remote little Tennessee town where the backwoods inhabitants are cannibals and the local law operates a sex-trafficking ring. Also it is the home of the curse of the depraved and mutated Kincher clan. Warning this book is not for the faint of heart. It is one heart pounding chapter after chapter of brutal mayhem. I read this in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Just when you thought you read the craziest thing you could think of Smith raises the bar. Excellent book for splatterpunk fans.
🐱🐱🐱🐱
🐱🐱🐱🐱
October 1, 2023
What a thrill ride. With a title like it has you know it's going to be crazy but wow. This is my second such read in the past few months the other being Kin by Kealan Burke and to be honest I don't know which I like more. PS this review will have spoilers but so does the jacket of the book, lol. I don't think it can be reviewed without spoilers......
So our instigator in all this is a character called Hoke. When Jessica goes to look at his car for sale he becomes more than an ass and decides to rape her. Yet Jessica comes from a military background and she decides she is going to get her gun, come back and deal with this idiot. She does just that travelling from the Nashville area and then driving into the backwoods with Hoke in the trunk of the car she was to buy. She is travelling to nowheres land so she can kill Hoke and when she finally gets to her remote destination in an area known as Hopkins Bend and is about to kill Hoke they are met by the inbred cannibals in the area. Jessica runs and escapes and becomes a bad ass from there on in asthey are hunting her. Hoke is captured and what happens to him is just unbelievable and it doesn't happen quick. Hoke is actually a very likeable character and as most authors do in such graphic horror he ends up being the comedic relief. Smith does such a great job with all his characters.
We are then introduced to Pete and Megan who stop in the area after deciding to take a wrong detour. They only need gas but when Pete goes in for it he is abducted and raped. Megan is left in the car and the inbreds are unaware of her presence. She ends up on the run much like Jessica, needing to get to civilization.
So Pete was abducted by the family known as the Preston's and they put him in a cage with another captive known as Justine. Justine was one of my favorite characters in the book. Just crazy nuts and a nympho to boot. This was a buddy read with MadameD and Leeanne who chimed in a lot as she read it before and we all loved it. The one issue I had with the whole book was the fact that all the characters were kind of obsessed with sex. The author tried to validate that position at one point saying that under stress we kind of resort to that. My buddies agree though that in our view sex would be the last thing on our minds when trying to save our lives. I will say though that the whole book is very well written including the sex scenes and they did make for very good reading 🤣
Also the book is basically written up from a POV stand in that our characters basically team up in pairs and it goes from chapter to chapter picking up on different pairings. You could clue in quickly enough but I would have preferred each chapter titled so you would instantly know that this chapter is about Michelle and Abby or Justine and Pete . Just my preference, something along the lines of what I see Catriona Ward do.
So towards the beginning we see our characters being depravedly treated but you can also see things start to change in their favour. Our group of abductees are working their way to becoming heroes and straightening things out in this backward cannabilistic little town. Their ride is a crazy one. Super crazy in fact and I loved every minute of it. It was hard to put this book down and it kind of stayed with me in the down times too.
My first read by Bryan Smith and book 2 has just arrived courtesy of Amazon asI am writing this review - what timing. The epilogue to our story creates a lot of possibilities and I am so looking forward to see where it goes from here. Just a great story. Clearly different but a lot of fun!! I remember when Leeanne and I read Kin and she inquired if I thought stuff like this really happened. Well I have a buddy who has a saying about crazy stories and such. He basically says that if a story is just too good and crazy "it's got to be true" and in this case there are just too many such stories so no off roads or detours in the Southern States, lol. Highly recommended and an easy five stars but you know what you are getting into just by the title!!
So our instigator in all this is a character called Hoke. When Jessica goes to look at his car for sale he becomes more than an ass and decides to rape her. Yet Jessica comes from a military background and she decides she is going to get her gun, come back and deal with this idiot. She does just that travelling from the Nashville area and then driving into the backwoods with Hoke in the trunk of the car she was to buy. She is travelling to nowheres land so she can kill Hoke and when she finally gets to her remote destination in an area known as Hopkins Bend and is about to kill Hoke they are met by the inbred cannibals in the area. Jessica runs and escapes and becomes a bad ass from there on in asthey are hunting her. Hoke is captured and what happens to him is just unbelievable and it doesn't happen quick. Hoke is actually a very likeable character and as most authors do in such graphic horror he ends up being the comedic relief. Smith does such a great job with all his characters.
We are then introduced to Pete and Megan who stop in the area after deciding to take a wrong detour. They only need gas but when Pete goes in for it he is abducted and raped. Megan is left in the car and the inbreds are unaware of her presence. She ends up on the run much like Jessica, needing to get to civilization.
So Pete was abducted by the family known as the Preston's and they put him in a cage with another captive known as Justine. Justine was one of my favorite characters in the book. Just crazy nuts and a nympho to boot. This was a buddy read with MadameD and Leeanne who chimed in a lot as she read it before and we all loved it. The one issue I had with the whole book was the fact that all the characters were kind of obsessed with sex. The author tried to validate that position at one point saying that under stress we kind of resort to that. My buddies agree though that in our view sex would be the last thing on our minds when trying to save our lives. I will say though that the whole book is very well written including the sex scenes and they did make for very good reading 🤣
Also the book is basically written up from a POV stand in that our characters basically team up in pairs and it goes from chapter to chapter picking up on different pairings. You could clue in quickly enough but I would have preferred each chapter titled so you would instantly know that this chapter is about Michelle and Abby or Justine and Pete . Just my preference, something along the lines of what I see Catriona Ward do.
So towards the beginning we see our characters being depravedly treated but you can also see things start to change in their favour. Our group of abductees are working their way to becoming heroes and straightening things out in this backward cannabilistic little town. Their ride is a crazy one. Super crazy in fact and I loved every minute of it. It was hard to put this book down and it kind of stayed with me in the down times too.
My first read by Bryan Smith and book 2 has just arrived courtesy of Amazon asI am writing this review - what timing. The epilogue to our story creates a lot of possibilities and I am so looking forward to see where it goes from here. Just a great story. Clearly different but a lot of fun!! I remember when Leeanne and I read Kin and she inquired if I thought stuff like this really happened. Well I have a buddy who has a saying about crazy stories and such. He basically says that if a story is just too good and crazy "it's got to be true" and in this case there are just too many such stories so no off roads or detours in the Southern States, lol. Highly recommended and an easy five stars but you know what you are getting into just by the title!!
January 7, 2016
What the actual
FUCK
did I just read?
4 ninja bunnehs bbq'ing
4 ninja bunnehs bbq'ing
February 23, 2014
You know what you’re going to get with a Brian Smith novel, a rip-roaring, blood soaked horror with loads of sex and it’s wickedly entertaining.
With Depraved we have a backwater redneck town called Hopkins Bend that really doesn’t like visitors, in fact they have a nasty habit of preying on people travelling through and cooking then up in a feast for the old families.
We join various characters as they strive to escape the clutches of the old families, get sold to a strip bar where they are put to work lap dancing, including various scrapes with the law, who are decidedly not on the side of anybody lucky enough to escape. All told it’s a decent read, my only complaint was the poor timing of a number of the sex scenes, I’m sure a girl whose been raped, killed lots of people and had a tough encounter with the locals is not going to be wanting to get off with someone, but she does. Tongue in cheek it may be, but it ruined it a little for me.
With Depraved we have a backwater redneck town called Hopkins Bend that really doesn’t like visitors, in fact they have a nasty habit of preying on people travelling through and cooking then up in a feast for the old families.
We join various characters as they strive to escape the clutches of the old families, get sold to a strip bar where they are put to work lap dancing, including various scrapes with the law, who are decidedly not on the side of anybody lucky enough to escape. All told it’s a decent read, my only complaint was the poor timing of a number of the sex scenes, I’m sure a girl whose been raped, killed lots of people and had a tough encounter with the locals is not going to be wanting to get off with someone, but she does. Tongue in cheek it may be, but it ruined it a little for me.
October 9, 2023
I loved it!
Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
Bryan Smith’s Depraved is a very good Extreme Horror story!
I liked everything about this book. The sinister atmosphere, the plot, and the characters development. Even if sometimes, certain characters behaviors faced to life-threatening situations, were totally unrealistic. These parts were fun!
I highly recommend it, it you’re looking for a gruesome, disgusting and vile Extreme Horror story.
The title says it all!
Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
Bryan Smith’s Depraved is a very good Extreme Horror story!
I liked everything about this book. The sinister atmosphere, the plot, and the characters development. Even if sometimes, certain characters behaviors faced to life-threatening situations, were totally unrealistic. These parts were fun!
I highly recommend it, it you’re looking for a gruesome, disgusting and vile Extreme Horror story.
The title says it all!
March 1, 2025
DEPRAVED [2012] By BRYAN SMITH
My Review 4.0 Stars
This novel was a Buddy Read with Ian [Moderator HGW]. I read it over a period of nine days concurrently with a second Buddy Read on another site. First, Bryan Smith is a new-to-me author, and therefore I found his May 2020 Introduction by the author to this new edition of “Depraved” by Grindhouse Press quite informative. This new edition of his 2012 cult classic (in addition to the Introduction) also contains a 7700-word short story which illuminates the fate of two of the peripheral characters in “Depraved” [2012].
It was interesting that the author was preparing to release “Depraved 4” at the time of his Introduction contained in this new edition. It was for this reason that I found it to be immensely interesting that his goals for the original novel “Depraved” in 2012 did little to prepare him for the fact that his novel written in “just over six breathless, exhilarating weeks” would catapult him to stardom and positively impact the trajectory of his career. His impressive achievements by the time of his Introduction to this new edition of his signature work “Depraved” {2012} are far too numerous to list.
Bryan Smith impressed me as being down to earth and certainly a man who is gracious for his legion of fans who appreciated his immense talent that was clearly showcased by his horror masterpiece. What were his expectations when he was wildly typing like a madman over those short but “breathless, exhilarating weeks”? A reader might be just curious to know, and Bryan fortunately answers that question:
“My only goal in the beginning was to write something that would feel like the prose equivalent of the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, a story that was raw, gritty, and unrelenting. A story unafraid to smash the reader in the face with its sheer brutality. Not just once, but over and over, almost all the way to the final page.”
Speaking for myself, I felt like a fish hooked by a Master Angler upon reading the first chapter. Or as I said in my first Status Update “Pulled in like a Largemouth Bass striking a “white mouse” lure skipping across a moss-covered pond”. The character of Jessica introduced in Chapter One remained my favorite protagonist throughout the novel. She was caught between permanently eliminating a low-life rapist and running for her life from freaks pouring out of the surrounding woods.
The author introduced a young couple in Chapter Three (Pete and Megan). They made the potentially deadly decision to stop for gas at Hopkins Bend General Store. The setting of the entire book is within the city limits of a small town in Tennessee named Hopkins Bend. In a nod to living legend Ed Lee, the author had Megan hunkered down in the passenger seat riveted to a paperback copy of “City Infernal”. The young man Pete was grabbed and bagged before a person could say one, two, three, while Megan initially avoided the same fate because she was so involved with her book that she lost all track of time. Pete had been daydreaming about Megan, but he wound up speculating that of course when he settled down it would need to be with a girl both smarter and down to earth. The reader would get to know both characters quite well until either the bell tolled for them or the drumroll at the end of the book.
Chapter Four introduces the reader to Abigail, the 20-year-old daughter of matriarch Carol Maynard of the Maynard clan in Hopkins Bend. The author executes what is excellent character development in my opinion. The character of “Abby” is fleshed out exceptionally well as the reader travels down the hazardous road the protagonists must attempt to navigate if any of them hope to survive. The character of Abby has a pivotal role in the outcome of the destinies of more than one of the protagonists.
The success of this novel is no surprise of any kind to me. Bryan Smith is an excellent writer but perhaps more importantly he knows precisely how to pace the plot so that the reader is never free of the feelings of stress and anticipation. Simply put, it is compulsively readable and a page-turner. The “why” is obvious and easy to explain. He is talented enough to alternate each chapter between the action scenes that are taking place with all of the “good guys” and the depraved perverts that hopelessly outnumber them. You will develop feelings for the characters and the need to reassess your initial impressions time and time again. It is on a basic level, but each chapter is in itself a “cliffhanger”.
Personally, I could have read this novel at one sitting if feasible, because it is such a propulsive plot and action-packed that you feel like you will miss something if you breathe. The enrichment of the characters to include the rehabilitation of at least one of the evil members of the cannibal sadists suggests substantial talent and the pace is absolutely relentless. Explicit violence, sexual depravity, and heinous acts of dehumanizing occur at a steady pace. There was one scene involving the Town Sheriff delivering an object lesson to one of his most reliable deputies. The Deputy simply could not keep his hands or other body parts off Megan, a strikingly beautiful young woman. He zapped the horny deputy with his Taser twice in a row, which in my way of thinking was certainly a punishment. The overweight sadistic Chief of Police had not even gotten started. The author exhibited an unhinged imagination which naturally was like candy kisses to lovers of extreme horror.
The appearance of an entity (?) called “Garner” appeared early on in the novel. I should have mentioned that the cretin rapist that Jessica was in the process of blowing away at the start of the novel was around for much if not most of the book. The reader is numb to any of the setbacks and horrors that Hoke encounters in Hopkins Bend. The deformed men who are suggested to be mutants who attack Jessica and Hoke in the beginning are a dirty secret of the town called “The Kinchers”. The mysterious man named Garner exerts total control over the “monsters” named Kincher and tells the sociopathic Hoke that he had cursed the family, and it was he who was responsible for the monstrous deformities. It would constitute spoilers to go into any additional detail. However, it is worth mentioning that the being called “Garner” did not appear to be a part of this entire plot scheme. In later chapters certain secrets would be revealed about him and his exact nature, which still not make this reader feel like he should be amidst the cannibalism, chaos, and all of the usual man-made criminal enterprises such as sex trafficking, prostitution, and just about any other crime which can be imagined. There was even a chop shop and reselling of the vehicles left behind by their owners. That said, I felt that the end of the line for “Hoke” was fulfilling and with gore galore while the destiny of Garner was nothing short of genius.
Anyone reading this review has to know by now I really liked this novel, and I am planning to revisit Hopkins Bend one of these days. It was not the book I had expected to read. It was not a run-on sentence of one violent stomach-churning act after another and cannibals chowing down on body parts. Make no mistake that the blood, gore, mutilations, torture, and everything you could want from an extreme horror novel with the goal of marrying the plot of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes was present in spades. But there is a big difference in that the author can write a really gripping novel of real to life human victims scheming and fleeing, and yes, killing to save themselves from fates worse than death. The characters were written with talent and skill. The despicable villains were also characterized in a manner in which the reader could relate and rejoice when they were ended. In short it was a captivating story to read, and I particularly enjoyed the character arcs of our protagonists. The reader is able to almost feel the changes that are taking place as the survivors scheme and plan, often in complete opposition to their core values. This kind of horror changes anyone, and the writer makes certain that these changes that occur are registering with the reader.
I loved how the author wrote scenarios of where the survivors landed after their brushes with being eaten, tortured to death, or worse than either of those options. It was a interesting summation of what happened at the end of the story. What happened to those characters who survived? My reading partner questioned the lack of follow up on one of the peripheral characters that were not mentioned in this review. He catches everything! It’s embarrassing. In any case, the author presented an additional narrative in the Bonus Material which tracked the ending of two of the survivors, including the one my reading partner referenced. I liked the short story at the end. It included closure for one of the ill-fated characters I pitied in addition to follow up on the
aforementioned two survivors who were on the periphery of the narrative.
One of my Goodreads friends who has been Buddy Reading with me was reading Depraved 2 and loved it. I am not at all surprised.
BRYAN SMITH’S CULT CLASSIC “DEPRAVED” REALLY DELIVERS THE GOODS AND IS A GREAT READ
My Review 4.0 Stars
This novel was a Buddy Read with Ian [Moderator HGW]. I read it over a period of nine days concurrently with a second Buddy Read on another site. First, Bryan Smith is a new-to-me author, and therefore I found his May 2020 Introduction by the author to this new edition of “Depraved” by Grindhouse Press quite informative. This new edition of his 2012 cult classic (in addition to the Introduction) also contains a 7700-word short story which illuminates the fate of two of the peripheral characters in “Depraved” [2012].
It was interesting that the author was preparing to release “Depraved 4” at the time of his Introduction contained in this new edition. It was for this reason that I found it to be immensely interesting that his goals for the original novel “Depraved” in 2012 did little to prepare him for the fact that his novel written in “just over six breathless, exhilarating weeks” would catapult him to stardom and positively impact the trajectory of his career. His impressive achievements by the time of his Introduction to this new edition of his signature work “Depraved” {2012} are far too numerous to list.
Bryan Smith impressed me as being down to earth and certainly a man who is gracious for his legion of fans who appreciated his immense talent that was clearly showcased by his horror masterpiece. What were his expectations when he was wildly typing like a madman over those short but “breathless, exhilarating weeks”? A reader might be just curious to know, and Bryan fortunately answers that question:
“My only goal in the beginning was to write something that would feel like the prose equivalent of the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, a story that was raw, gritty, and unrelenting. A story unafraid to smash the reader in the face with its sheer brutality. Not just once, but over and over, almost all the way to the final page.”
Speaking for myself, I felt like a fish hooked by a Master Angler upon reading the first chapter. Or as I said in my first Status Update “Pulled in like a Largemouth Bass striking a “white mouse” lure skipping across a moss-covered pond”. The character of Jessica introduced in Chapter One remained my favorite protagonist throughout the novel. She was caught between permanently eliminating a low-life rapist and running for her life from freaks pouring out of the surrounding woods.
The author introduced a young couple in Chapter Three (Pete and Megan). They made the potentially deadly decision to stop for gas at Hopkins Bend General Store. The setting of the entire book is within the city limits of a small town in Tennessee named Hopkins Bend. In a nod to living legend Ed Lee, the author had Megan hunkered down in the passenger seat riveted to a paperback copy of “City Infernal”. The young man Pete was grabbed and bagged before a person could say one, two, three, while Megan initially avoided the same fate because she was so involved with her book that she lost all track of time. Pete had been daydreaming about Megan, but he wound up speculating that of course when he settled down it would need to be with a girl both smarter and down to earth. The reader would get to know both characters quite well until either the bell tolled for them or the drumroll at the end of the book.
Chapter Four introduces the reader to Abigail, the 20-year-old daughter of matriarch Carol Maynard of the Maynard clan in Hopkins Bend. The author executes what is excellent character development in my opinion. The character of “Abby” is fleshed out exceptionally well as the reader travels down the hazardous road the protagonists must attempt to navigate if any of them hope to survive. The character of Abby has a pivotal role in the outcome of the destinies of more than one of the protagonists.
The success of this novel is no surprise of any kind to me. Bryan Smith is an excellent writer but perhaps more importantly he knows precisely how to pace the plot so that the reader is never free of the feelings of stress and anticipation. Simply put, it is compulsively readable and a page-turner. The “why” is obvious and easy to explain. He is talented enough to alternate each chapter between the action scenes that are taking place with all of the “good guys” and the depraved perverts that hopelessly outnumber them. You will develop feelings for the characters and the need to reassess your initial impressions time and time again. It is on a basic level, but each chapter is in itself a “cliffhanger”.
Personally, I could have read this novel at one sitting if feasible, because it is such a propulsive plot and action-packed that you feel like you will miss something if you breathe. The enrichment of the characters to include the rehabilitation of at least one of the evil members of the cannibal sadists suggests substantial talent and the pace is absolutely relentless. Explicit violence, sexual depravity, and heinous acts of dehumanizing occur at a steady pace. There was one scene involving the Town Sheriff delivering an object lesson to one of his most reliable deputies. The Deputy simply could not keep his hands or other body parts off Megan, a strikingly beautiful young woman. He zapped the horny deputy with his Taser twice in a row, which in my way of thinking was certainly a punishment. The overweight sadistic Chief of Police had not even gotten started. The author exhibited an unhinged imagination which naturally was like candy kisses to lovers of extreme horror.
The appearance of an entity (?) called “Garner” appeared early on in the novel. I should have mentioned that the cretin rapist that Jessica was in the process of blowing away at the start of the novel was around for much if not most of the book. The reader is numb to any of the setbacks and horrors that Hoke encounters in Hopkins Bend. The deformed men who are suggested to be mutants who attack Jessica and Hoke in the beginning are a dirty secret of the town called “The Kinchers”. The mysterious man named Garner exerts total control over the “monsters” named Kincher and tells the sociopathic Hoke that he had cursed the family, and it was he who was responsible for the monstrous deformities. It would constitute spoilers to go into any additional detail. However, it is worth mentioning that the being called “Garner” did not appear to be a part of this entire plot scheme. In later chapters certain secrets would be revealed about him and his exact nature, which still not make this reader feel like he should be amidst the cannibalism, chaos, and all of the usual man-made criminal enterprises such as sex trafficking, prostitution, and just about any other crime which can be imagined. There was even a chop shop and reselling of the vehicles left behind by their owners. That said, I felt that the end of the line for “Hoke” was fulfilling and with gore galore while the destiny of Garner was nothing short of genius.
Anyone reading this review has to know by now I really liked this novel, and I am planning to revisit Hopkins Bend one of these days. It was not the book I had expected to read. It was not a run-on sentence of one violent stomach-churning act after another and cannibals chowing down on body parts. Make no mistake that the blood, gore, mutilations, torture, and everything you could want from an extreme horror novel with the goal of marrying the plot of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes was present in spades. But there is a big difference in that the author can write a really gripping novel of real to life human victims scheming and fleeing, and yes, killing to save themselves from fates worse than death. The characters were written with talent and skill. The despicable villains were also characterized in a manner in which the reader could relate and rejoice when they were ended. In short it was a captivating story to read, and I particularly enjoyed the character arcs of our protagonists. The reader is able to almost feel the changes that are taking place as the survivors scheme and plan, often in complete opposition to their core values. This kind of horror changes anyone, and the writer makes certain that these changes that occur are registering with the reader.
I loved how the author wrote scenarios of where the survivors landed after their brushes with being eaten, tortured to death, or worse than either of those options. It was a interesting summation of what happened at the end of the story. What happened to those characters who survived? My reading partner questioned the lack of follow up on one of the peripheral characters that were not mentioned in this review. He catches everything! It’s embarrassing. In any case, the author presented an additional narrative in the Bonus Material which tracked the ending of two of the survivors, including the one my reading partner referenced. I liked the short story at the end. It included closure for one of the ill-fated characters I pitied in addition to follow up on the
aforementioned two survivors who were on the periphery of the narrative.
One of my Goodreads friends who has been Buddy Reading with me was reading Depraved 2 and loved it. I am not at all surprised.
BRYAN SMITH’S CULT CLASSIC “DEPRAVED” REALLY DELIVERS THE GOODS AND IS A GREAT READ
November 29, 2013
Wow! I've read a few novels by Bryan Smith that really stood out, but this one was really took me by surprise. The action was constant--never letting up at any point. The chapters would alternate between some of the different characters, so you never had a chance of getting "tired" of one particular happening. The conclusion couldn't have been any better executed, in my opinion.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
May 27, 2020
Amazing book with all of the disgusting, pulpy, page-turning action that I love. The words flew off the page and whenever I wasnt reading the book I was looking forward to opening it back up. Im definitely going to be reading more Bryan Smith after this.
January 13, 2025
4.5/5 (rounded up for GoodReads)
This book has been on my wish list with the intention to buy and read it since 2022. I finally decided to pick it up and I'm so mad I waited so long. Reading this has also made me realize that I need to spend more time in 2025 reading older releases. When it comes to extreme horror, this ticks all the boxes. Its incredibly twisted but also incredibly well written. Generally, I'm apprehensive to pick up an extreme horror book with nearly 300 pages as I find the storyline is rarely strong enough to support that much story HOWEVER, this one is great. I also usually struggle with multiple storylines but I did not with 'Depraved'. I consumed the last 60% of this book in an afternoon as I could not put it down.
There is A LOT going on in this book. With multiple different POVs and storylines all ranging from different messed up circumstances. Lots of difficult themes/subject matter here so definitely check your trigger warnings however I just wouldn't recommend this read if you're easily triggered. I was captivated from the first chapter. Honestly one of the best first chapters I've read in a long time. Jessica's character is a fucking badass. As the story progresses you get introduced to more and more people. Victims and villain's a like. The lore of this town in the middle of no where is rich and depraved. Each character story is enthralling in it's own ways and each are different enough to where you're not getting confused.
I'm excited to have found out that this is part of a series, I will ABSOLUTELY be reading the other books. This has also peaked my interest for other books by Bryan, sad I've been sleeping on him for so long. I'll be changing that this year. I highly recommend this read, especially if you (like me) have found yourself disappointed in a lot of extreme horror lately. This will rejuvenate your love for the genre again.
This book has been on my wish list with the intention to buy and read it since 2022. I finally decided to pick it up and I'm so mad I waited so long. Reading this has also made me realize that I need to spend more time in 2025 reading older releases. When it comes to extreme horror, this ticks all the boxes. Its incredibly twisted but also incredibly well written. Generally, I'm apprehensive to pick up an extreme horror book with nearly 300 pages as I find the storyline is rarely strong enough to support that much story HOWEVER, this one is great. I also usually struggle with multiple storylines but I did not with 'Depraved'. I consumed the last 60% of this book in an afternoon as I could not put it down.
There is A LOT going on in this book. With multiple different POVs and storylines all ranging from different messed up circumstances. Lots of difficult themes/subject matter here so definitely check your trigger warnings however I just wouldn't recommend this read if you're easily triggered. I was captivated from the first chapter. Honestly one of the best first chapters I've read in a long time. Jessica's character is a fucking badass. As the story progresses you get introduced to more and more people. Victims and villain's a like. The lore of this town in the middle of no where is rich and depraved. Each character story is enthralling in it's own ways and each are different enough to where you're not getting confused.
I'm excited to have found out that this is part of a series, I will ABSOLUTELY be reading the other books. This has also peaked my interest for other books by Bryan, sad I've been sleeping on him for so long. I'll be changing that this year. I highly recommend this read, especially if you (like me) have found yourself disappointed in a lot of extreme horror lately. This will rejuvenate your love for the genre again.
October 29, 2023
A fun outback cannibal tale with all the blood and guts you'd expect from this aptly titled wild ride.
July 18, 2010
Simply put, this is the best horror novel Bryan Smith has written to date. DEPRAVED follows a handful of characters who for one reason or another end up in Hopkins Bend, a podunk town in Tennessee, not far from Dandridge, the setting for previous novels, and become prey to a whole host of psycho-sexual, deformed and inbred hillbilly mutants. Full of his trademark humor, graphic sex and violence, Smith's smooth narrative makes this for a very fast-paced and easy read (and the two months it took me to read this novel had nothing to do with the book itself, just a busy eight weeks in my personal life). A nice twist ending (a few, actually) and an Epilogue that leaves the possibility of bringing back a few of the characters for future novels, perhaps, left this Bryan Smith fan wholly satisfied. Highly recommended this one, folks, and the perfect introduction to his work for new readers!
February 11, 2025
Wtf did I just listen to…
Fantastic audio.. I love all the voices she did for the characters.
What a wild ride.. a wild fked up ride.
What happens when you got dysfunctional redneck cannibals who like to torture their victims.. well, you get this.
Audiobook had 5-6 chapters of the second book and now I need to find it.
Fantastic audio.. I love all the voices she did for the characters.
What a wild ride.. a wild fked up ride.
What happens when you got dysfunctional redneck cannibals who like to torture their victims.. well, you get this.
Audiobook had 5-6 chapters of the second book and now I need to find it.
October 11, 2025
A wrong turn
I love Bryan Smith books he can cast a spell on you in his books and keep you there this one is no different I had a hard time putting this book down. This book is about people that have an old way to doing things and the things they do will sicken you. Jessica a young woman who unfortunately becomes a victim to a man. From this point her life changed forever. A Great read for Halloween!!!
I love Bryan Smith books he can cast a spell on you in his books and keep you there this one is no different I had a hard time putting this book down. This book is about people that have an old way to doing things and the things they do will sicken you. Jessica a young woman who unfortunately becomes a victim to a man. From this point her life changed forever. A Great read for Halloween!!!
May 19, 2023
This is a book I acquired some time ago (from where, I don't remember) based on the premise of inbred cannibal hillbillies; a subgenre of horror I admittedly love.
I had never read anything by this author but I knew going into it that it was considered extreme horror / splatterpunk. I don't have much experience in this genre of literature, having only read a handful of titles by Richard Laymon and Jack Ketchum. Out of the few extreme horror books that I've read, though, this one was by far the the most graphic and disgusting. Maybe not as pervy or sex-oriented as Laymon's books tend to be, and perhaps not quite as bloody as Ketchum's Off Season - but this title was all-around the most disturbing and it was the most uncomfortable I've ever been reading a book.
So, what is Depraved about, exactly? Well, the story opens with a girl named Jessica Sloan driving into a small town in Tennessee called Hopkins Bend, with a man in the trunk of her car she plans to murder and ditch his body in the middle of nowhere - her crime justified as the man had previously raped her.
Her plans come to a halt though as she encounters deformed hillbillies that kidnap the man she was trying to kill and they then come after her. What ensues is a long and bloody fight for survival as she goes up against the seemingly endless clan of backwoods-living inbreds.
The story also follows a few other characters as they stumble upon the town of Hopkins Bend, and each chapter shifts perspective, moving through the cast as they endure the extreme depravity of the townsfolk and (try to) find a way to survive and/or escape.
There's not much in the way of intricate plotting or character development in this. It's ordinary people immediately thrust into one fucked-up situation, and showcasing the horrific things taking place in the small hick community.
I did somewhat care about the characters though, and want them to survive and escape, perhaps because of the terrible things they endured and witnessed.
There was a surprising amount of tension and suspense in this, and despite how difficult it was to read at times (due to the brutally graphic nature of it) I found that I couldn't put it down for very long and needed to know what happened next. This suspense didn't keep up throughout the whole book, unfortunately, as I found the last 50 or so pages to feel a bit rushed and the climax a bit disappointing and plot convenient, but it held my interest for the most part.
There was also a supernatural element to this that I was not expecting, and I'm not sure how I feel about it as it didn't seem to play a pivotal role in the story. It's only touched on in a few scenes and is tied to a certain character, and it also has to do with the origins of the inbred hillbillies. It was a mildly interesting angle as it avoided the usual tropes and expectations of this niche subgenre, but it didn't go into too much detail or utilize this element nearly as much as it could have. (Remaining vague to avoid spoilers)
I also have to give some kind of credit to this book and author for eliciting some kind of emotional response from me in terms of rooting for the protagonists and being horrified at certain scenes and acts that take place. While not constant in its shock value (thank God), it certainly had enough to make me feel edgy and grossed out most of the time while reading this.
There is one scene later on in the book that is so completely repulsive, disgusting, and absurd, that I didn't know how to take it. My reaction, as with the other scenes in this book, started out as one of utter disgust, but as it progressed, it seemed so unlikely and ridiculous that it was almost comical and I couldn't help but wonder if it was intended as some fucked-up dark humor. It had to be. At least, I'm telling myself it was for my own sanity. The scene involved the character Hoke, a demon, and an extremely obese woman. That's all I'll say. If you know, you know. (I hope you don't, for your own sake)
As for the writing, I found it to be a bit amateurish feeling in some regards. There's some repetitive words and character expressions, and some poor descriptions of things. It seems like characters in this book were "whining", "whimpering", and "yelping" in pain quite a lot.
There was also something that the author described as "largish". (I won't say what it is, but you can probably use your imagination).
Some of these poor and repetitive word choices weren't overly invasive, but it was something I couldn't ignore and I felt it worth noting.
I also would have liked a little bit more description of the setting and maybe some more atmosphere and breathing room. It seems like the author was tunnel-visioned on the action sequences and the character interactions.
But aside from that, the writing was mostly competent.
Overall this was... good, I guess. I enjoyed some of the suspense and tense moments in here, and the author succeeded in making me squirm and feel uneasy, but it did feel like it had the potential to be better. Still, this is probably better than anything I've read by Laymon (sorry, Laymon fans).
If you can handle extreme horror that is full of detailed violence and sex (I really can't, lol), then maybe give this a read. Apparently it has a couple of sequels but I don't think my mental health can handle much more of this variety of horror.
If you're newer-ish to splatterpunk and wanting to explore the genre, maybe try Ketchum's classic Off Season first, and if you want more, then try this. Otherwise, you'll do fine to steer clear.
3⭐
I had never read anything by this author but I knew going into it that it was considered extreme horror / splatterpunk. I don't have much experience in this genre of literature, having only read a handful of titles by Richard Laymon and Jack Ketchum. Out of the few extreme horror books that I've read, though, this one was by far the the most graphic and disgusting. Maybe not as pervy or sex-oriented as Laymon's books tend to be, and perhaps not quite as bloody as Ketchum's Off Season - but this title was all-around the most disturbing and it was the most uncomfortable I've ever been reading a book.
So, what is Depraved about, exactly? Well, the story opens with a girl named Jessica Sloan driving into a small town in Tennessee called Hopkins Bend, with a man in the trunk of her car she plans to murder and ditch his body in the middle of nowhere - her crime justified as the man had previously raped her.
Her plans come to a halt though as she encounters deformed hillbillies that kidnap the man she was trying to kill and they then come after her. What ensues is a long and bloody fight for survival as she goes up against the seemingly endless clan of backwoods-living inbreds.
The story also follows a few other characters as they stumble upon the town of Hopkins Bend, and each chapter shifts perspective, moving through the cast as they endure the extreme depravity of the townsfolk and (try to) find a way to survive and/or escape.
There's not much in the way of intricate plotting or character development in this. It's ordinary people immediately thrust into one fucked-up situation, and showcasing the horrific things taking place in the small hick community.
I did somewhat care about the characters though, and want them to survive and escape, perhaps because of the terrible things they endured and witnessed.
There was a surprising amount of tension and suspense in this, and despite how difficult it was to read at times (due to the brutally graphic nature of it) I found that I couldn't put it down for very long and needed to know what happened next. This suspense didn't keep up throughout the whole book, unfortunately, as I found the last 50 or so pages to feel a bit rushed and the climax a bit disappointing and plot convenient, but it held my interest for the most part.
There was also a supernatural element to this that I was not expecting, and I'm not sure how I feel about it as it didn't seem to play a pivotal role in the story. It's only touched on in a few scenes and is tied to a certain character, and it also has to do with the origins of the inbred hillbillies. It was a mildly interesting angle as it avoided the usual tropes and expectations of this niche subgenre, but it didn't go into too much detail or utilize this element nearly as much as it could have. (Remaining vague to avoid spoilers)
I also have to give some kind of credit to this book and author for eliciting some kind of emotional response from me in terms of rooting for the protagonists and being horrified at certain scenes and acts that take place. While not constant in its shock value (thank God), it certainly had enough to make me feel edgy and grossed out most of the time while reading this.
There is one scene later on in the book that is so completely repulsive, disgusting, and absurd, that I didn't know how to take it. My reaction, as with the other scenes in this book, started out as one of utter disgust, but as it progressed, it seemed so unlikely and ridiculous that it was almost comical and I couldn't help but wonder if it was intended as some fucked-up dark humor. It had to be. At least, I'm telling myself it was for my own sanity. The scene involved the character Hoke, a demon, and an extremely obese woman. That's all I'll say. If you know, you know. (I hope you don't, for your own sake)
As for the writing, I found it to be a bit amateurish feeling in some regards. There's some repetitive words and character expressions, and some poor descriptions of things. It seems like characters in this book were "whining", "whimpering", and "yelping" in pain quite a lot.
There was also something that the author described as "largish". (I won't say what it is, but you can probably use your imagination).
Some of these poor and repetitive word choices weren't overly invasive, but it was something I couldn't ignore and I felt it worth noting.
I also would have liked a little bit more description of the setting and maybe some more atmosphere and breathing room. It seems like the author was tunnel-visioned on the action sequences and the character interactions.
But aside from that, the writing was mostly competent.
Overall this was... good, I guess. I enjoyed some of the suspense and tense moments in here, and the author succeeded in making me squirm and feel uneasy, but it did feel like it had the potential to be better. Still, this is probably better than anything I've read by Laymon (sorry, Laymon fans).
If you can handle extreme horror that is full of detailed violence and sex (I really can't, lol), then maybe give this a read. Apparently it has a couple of sequels but I don't think my mental health can handle much more of this variety of horror.
If you're newer-ish to splatterpunk and wanting to explore the genre, maybe try Ketchum's classic Off Season first, and if you want more, then try this. Otherwise, you'll do fine to steer clear.
3⭐
October 20, 2021
If you're bored and you want something that will get your attention, get a hold of this book. All the characters were interesting, the flow of the story was quick and unapologetic and the bad guys were strangely amusing. The main character was not a damsel in distress, I can tell you that. She's smart and calculating, which I love so much. She didn't need anyone to save her because she could save herself. I just love her determination and spirit. If you get caught up in this crazy town, you need someone like Jessica Sloan by your side to survive.
I didn't hate anyone in this book. The main characters were written exactly as they should be and I was rooting for all of them to make it. The ending was perfect! Good job!
I didn't hate anyone in this book. The main characters were written exactly as they should be and I was rooting for all of them to make it. The ending was perfect! Good job!
Want to read
February 11, 2017This hardcover copy of "Depraved" is number 29 of 100 copies printed and is signed by Bryan Smith.
As far as I have been able to determine this is a list of the Altar 13 books published:
"Kingdom of Shadows" by Greg F. Gifune.
"Depraved" by Bryan Smith.
"The Beloved" by J. F. Gonzalez.
"Snow" by Ronald Damien Malfi.
"The Killing Kind" by Bryan Smith.
"Carnival of Fear" by JG Faherty.
"The Devil Next Door" by Tim Curran.
As far as I have been able to determine this is a list of the Altar 13 books published:
"Kingdom of Shadows" by Greg F. Gifune.
"Depraved" by Bryan Smith.
"The Beloved" by J. F. Gonzalez.
"Snow" by Ronald Damien Malfi.
"The Killing Kind" by Bryan Smith.
"Carnival of Fear" by JG Faherty.
"The Devil Next Door" by Tim Curran.
September 6, 2023
I didn't really know what to expect going into this one but really enjoyed it. My type of nasty. Felt like a good mix of the 70s/80s horror films I liked with the violence and aggressive nature of the character and settings. Will definitely give the rest of the series a read at some point.
* Read for a second time and liked it even more, especially knowing what happens after now having read all 4 books. Changed from 4* to 5*
* Read for a second time and liked it even more, especially knowing what happens after now having read all 4 books. Changed from 4* to 5*
November 15, 2020
Depraved!
Ive had this book on my kindle for so long, I really wish Id gotten to it sooner. Absolutely brilliant,, gory, shocking, horrific! I cannot wait to start the next in the series and I loved the "in-between-quel" too, I wasnt ready for the book to end and this topped it off nicely.
Ive had this book on my kindle for so long, I really wish Id gotten to it sooner. Absolutely brilliant,, gory, shocking, horrific! I cannot wait to start the next in the series and I loved the "in-between-quel" too, I wasnt ready for the book to end and this topped it off nicely.
March 12, 2025
I've read some of Bryan's books before and enjoyed them, so I thought it was time I went back and read his most widely known book.
This focuses on five different people/stories as they all occur at the same time in a backwoods redneck town in Tennessee. The local hillbillies are a law to their own and love nothing more than degrading and killing any outsiders that wander into the town. The local law is no better jumping at the chance to capture any good-looking females and selling them into slavery. As you can guess from it's title it's a pretty sick and twisted extreme horror novel that is better written than the majority of the books out there in that genre. It's got a ton of sexual violence, cannabilism, torture, and the like.
The thing that didn't work for me in this was the whole supernatural element. I felt it wasn't needed, and that story arc was boring to me and felt out of place with the rest of the book. Solid 4 stars.
This focuses on five different people/stories as they all occur at the same time in a backwoods redneck town in Tennessee. The local hillbillies are a law to their own and love nothing more than degrading and killing any outsiders that wander into the town. The local law is no better jumping at the chance to capture any good-looking females and selling them into slavery. As you can guess from it's title it's a pretty sick and twisted extreme horror novel that is better written than the majority of the books out there in that genre. It's got a ton of sexual violence, cannabilism, torture, and the like.
The thing that didn't work for me in this was the whole supernatural element. I felt it wasn't needed, and that story arc was boring to me and felt out of place with the rest of the book. Solid 4 stars.
May 3, 2015
From the first page in this book. To the first line, This book draws you in like a moth to a flame. It's Extremely violent, deviant and exciting! i couldn't put this book down.
you follow the plot of a town in middle of southen usa. called Hopkins bend think "The hills have eye's" And you get the vibe.Without revealing the plot, the book revolves around a number of characters and flips between them.The way Bryan smith does this is awesome!
The only thing i didn't like about this book was the ending. It sucked honestly. It almost felt like the author had a time frame or was bored or whatever, but it did go with one of the other chars in the book!
if you like a fast paced gore book with chars that make you laugh i highly recommend this book. Can't wait to get tucked in to Depraved 2!
you follow the plot of a town in middle of southen usa. called Hopkins bend think "The hills have eye's" And you get the vibe.Without revealing the plot, the book revolves around a number of characters and flips between them.The way Bryan smith does this is awesome!
The only thing i didn't like about this book was the ending. It sucked honestly. It almost felt like the author had a time frame or was bored or whatever, but it did go with one of the other chars in the book!
if you like a fast paced gore book with chars that make you laugh i highly recommend this book. Can't wait to get tucked in to Depraved 2!
March 24, 2011
Bryan Smith's books just keep getting better and better. And while the story of inbred cannibalistic backwoods psychos is not entirely original, Smith makes it worth the read with compelling characters, excellent pacing, nonstop violence blood gore guts and of course, depravity. Also, I thought I'd mention that I'm impressed with Smith's consistently strong female characters, particularly in the genre so often populated by brainless bimbos. Depraved was a fun read and I definitely recommend it.
July 17, 2010
This is a great little pulpy horror story, with no shortage of gruesome violence and all manner of depraved sex. It's a quick read, not especially suspenseful or insightful, but nonstop entertaining nonetheless. If they still made horror movies like this book reads, I'd spend more time watching movies and less time reading. This book feels like a movie - it's very linear and visually direct, without barely any perspective written from inside any character's head.
The only reason this didn't get 5 stars was because as much as I enjoyed reading it, I don't think I'll read it again - I would rather spend my time on a new book that's every bit as bloody and sexy, but the plot wasn't unique or insightful enough to warrant revisiting it.
The plot does exactly as much as it's supposed to: create nonstop mass murder and sexual mayhem from cover to cover, and it delivers as promised.
This is the first Bryan Smith book I've read, and I'm looking forward to the rest of his canon.
The only reason this didn't get 5 stars was because as much as I enjoyed reading it, I don't think I'll read it again - I would rather spend my time on a new book that's every bit as bloody and sexy, but the plot wasn't unique or insightful enough to warrant revisiting it.
The plot does exactly as much as it's supposed to: create nonstop mass murder and sexual mayhem from cover to cover, and it delivers as promised.
This is the first Bryan Smith book I've read, and I'm looking forward to the rest of his canon.
February 9, 2010
I'm not such a big fan of "torture-porn." Granted, when it was fresh and new, films like House of 1000 Corpses and the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre raked in a lot of money. Wrong Turn did the whole "incest mutants" thing pretty well. But after a while, it just got old. When the actual story takes a back seat to rape, torture, and cannibalism, what the reader gets is a collection of sordid details without much to connect them.
Depraved certainly lives up to its name, in that every character (even the good guys) seems hellbent to have sex with, or kill (or both) everything that moves. The book opens with a woman, who has been raped, driving down the road with her rapist tied up in the trunk of her car. It's a good beginning, but one that quickly dissolves into a collection of disjointed plot lines and unbelievable coincidences, character choices, and clichés that leave most readers confused and unsatisfied. The story moves from there to a man and woman who stop in a tiny town to get a map when the man is raped, kidnapped, and his girlfriend is never noticed in the car outside. But then she gets raped too. Oh, and there's the rapist from the previous scene...He gets raped. And there's more raping to go around. With a minor dose of cannibalism, which takes a back seat to the joyous pursuit of rape.
The characters in this book start out likable, but then move into the realm of "WTF" when they all (yes, all) begin to screw and murder their way out of the town. It doesn't come across as desperation, nor does it come across as a choice they had to make to save their individual lives. It comes across as "well, things suck...Let's have sex and shoot people." It doesn't get any better in the end as (without giving anything away) the characters seem to forget about their lives interrupted and move in bizarrely unrealistic directions.
Which is not to say there's nothing likable about the book. Depraved gives vivid descriptions of every brutal moment. Smith is very good with descriptive detail and writes red-necks like no one else can. In fact, one of the most horrific scenes in the book (which is a rape scene, but of a sort I've never seen before) is told with such horrific brutality that one can't help but laugh to keep from being violently ill.
On the whole, Depraved is light on actual plot, light on realistic characters, and heavy on the gore, sex, and ass-rape. It doesn't shy away from the gruesome details, but it does seem to shy away on realistic character choices. While Smith is very talented in his ability to conjure images from written words, this book doesn't seem to conjure his best work.
Depraved certainly lives up to its name, in that every character (even the good guys) seems hellbent to have sex with, or kill (or both) everything that moves. The book opens with a woman, who has been raped, driving down the road with her rapist tied up in the trunk of her car. It's a good beginning, but one that quickly dissolves into a collection of disjointed plot lines and unbelievable coincidences, character choices, and clichés that leave most readers confused and unsatisfied. The story moves from there to a man and woman who stop in a tiny town to get a map when the man is raped, kidnapped, and his girlfriend is never noticed in the car outside. But then she gets raped too. Oh, and there's the rapist from the previous scene...He gets raped. And there's more raping to go around. With a minor dose of cannibalism, which takes a back seat to the joyous pursuit of rape.
The characters in this book start out likable, but then move into the realm of "WTF" when they all (yes, all) begin to screw and murder their way out of the town. It doesn't come across as desperation, nor does it come across as a choice they had to make to save their individual lives. It comes across as "well, things suck...Let's have sex and shoot people." It doesn't get any better in the end as (without giving anything away) the characters seem to forget about their lives interrupted and move in bizarrely unrealistic directions.
Which is not to say there's nothing likable about the book. Depraved gives vivid descriptions of every brutal moment. Smith is very good with descriptive detail and writes red-necks like no one else can. In fact, one of the most horrific scenes in the book (which is a rape scene, but of a sort I've never seen before) is told with such horrific brutality that one can't help but laugh to keep from being violently ill.
On the whole, Depraved is light on actual plot, light on realistic characters, and heavy on the gore, sex, and ass-rape. It doesn't shy away from the gruesome details, but it does seem to shy away on realistic character choices. While Smith is very talented in his ability to conjure images from written words, this book doesn't seem to conjure his best work.
December 18, 2009
Bryan Smith's latest novel, DEPRAVED, takes place in the backwoods town known as Hopkins Bend. Anyone passing through tends to not make it back out and most don't even survive. The town is full of inbred cannibalistic rednecks who tend to rape, torture, and/or eat their victims... not necessarily in that order. Those "lucky" enough to survive and not get killed are put to work in a special strip club that is also within the town of Hopkins Bend. And what is it with the Kincher family? They appear to not be quite human. It looks like they are half-man/half-monster. Have they been undergone some kind of mutation? Will any of the outsiders to Hopkins Bend be able to escape or find a way to stop the townsfolk or will these vicious acts continue to go on forever?
DEPRAVED is graphic, foul, smutty, trashy, and probably everything your mama told you never to read as a kid, but that's what makes it so great! Backwoods towns have always been depicted as creepy and if you add in rednecks, well... that just makes them even scarier! Just Kidding! Well, unless they're cannibalistic as Smith portrays them! That's the key. Smith adds in the twist of cannibalism and mutations to make these inbred rednecks be extremely scary, not to mention that they are so depraved. There is also one particular chapter in the book where Smith touches on the "bizarro". I won't spoil anything for you, but it's probably one of the most intense sex scenes I've ever read in a horror book. It's horrifically foul, but I loved every minute of it despite the voices in my head screaming "Oh my god! That did not just happen!!!". As far as I'm concerned, Smith has out done himself with DEPRAVED and I hope that he continues along this line of writing in the future. This is a must for fans of extreme horror. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Violence, Torture, Gore, Rape, Graphic Sex, Cannibalism
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com
Also available at MonsterLibrarian.com is an interview I did with Bryan Smith.
DEPRAVED is graphic, foul, smutty, trashy, and probably everything your mama told you never to read as a kid, but that's what makes it so great! Backwoods towns have always been depicted as creepy and if you add in rednecks, well... that just makes them even scarier! Just Kidding! Well, unless they're cannibalistic as Smith portrays them! That's the key. Smith adds in the twist of cannibalism and mutations to make these inbred rednecks be extremely scary, not to mention that they are so depraved. There is also one particular chapter in the book where Smith touches on the "bizarro". I won't spoil anything for you, but it's probably one of the most intense sex scenes I've ever read in a horror book. It's horrifically foul, but I loved every minute of it despite the voices in my head screaming "Oh my god! That did not just happen!!!". As far as I'm concerned, Smith has out done himself with DEPRAVED and I hope that he continues along this line of writing in the future. This is a must for fans of extreme horror. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Violence, Torture, Gore, Rape, Graphic Sex, Cannibalism
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com
Also available at MonsterLibrarian.com is an interview I did with Bryan Smith.
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