Mutant Circuit

by Mark Jaskowski

What is happening to Katherine?
Someone put something into her at the plasma center and took it back out again. By the time her friends catch up to her, she’s not exactly the person they remember. She has begun to change into something new, and if they’re going to help her escape the people who did this to her, they may need to transform, too.
Squarely in both the crime and body horror traditions, Mutant Circuit reads like Elmore Leonard and David Cronenberg meeting at 3 AM in a run-down strip-mall parking lot, and Mark Jaskowski is the conspirator who brought them there.

194 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2023

Reviews

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 3 out of 5]

The correct rating here would've been 3.5.

Some of you will DNF it because it takes too long to get to the point, but like a zombie horror movie, it delivers the crucial stuff in the proverbial last 10 minutes and makes it worth your while. It's a fun and overall simple body horror book about friendship, acceptance, transformation and fighting off "the man", which could've used less or/and better crafted characters. There's a lot of time spent simply just wrangling these cats and keeping them together. You're going to enjoy it better if you have a punk streak in you because the character's motivations are gonna be self-explanatory to you, but I don't.

So I thought it was fine. Not great, not bad. Just fine.

[Books For Decaying Millennials · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, a few Notes From a Decaying Millennial:
I received Mutant Circuit early, due to being part of the Weird Punk Books 2023 Subscription Club.
That said, THIS IS NOT A PAID REVIEW.
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Mutant Circuit leads the reader to unravel a mystery, and in doing so discover some truths about self, the queer connections we build we each other, and the bonds of intentional community we weave. People move through a fog enveloped urban world, peeking around corners in shadow filled hallways, reach out for others. As the threads of the story weave together, we are confronted with the looming darkness of the other.
At it's wet, pulsing core, Mutant Circuit is a Noir Tale of grief, rebirth and accepting change in the face of a cruel, uncaring world. Mark Jaskowski writes Body Horror extremely well, and i look forward to any future writings.

[Madison McSweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strip malls and inscrutable college campuses set the scene for a high-octane fusion of body horror and Weird fiction, pitting a likeable ensemble up against a chillingly faceless conspiracy. Never quite goes in the direction you think it will, and leaves a lot of its mysteries tantalizingly unexplained.

Jaskowski uses character dynamics to create a palpable sense of disconnection and alienation. The quartet of heroes fighting evil together consists of a rocky couple and two acquaintances whose involvement in the affair is almost random; their dynamic often feels like an awkward interaction at a house party. And the eerily composed villain is a small cog in a larger conspiracy that he may or may not be fully privy to the purpose of.

Reminded me a lot of Fever House.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read just a little too hard to follow. Some really creepy and interesting symbiotic body horror elements but jumping around from character to character learning who is who it was a little tough to follow everything that was going on. However I still enjoyed my time with the book and really enjoyed the world it built. I really liked the ending and the “later” section. I hope to read more from this author

[Casey O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this, but I found the ending very unsatisfying. Overall, I feel like it should have been more fun.

[Zack Wiggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody, fast, a modern body horror that will make you squirm with every twist.