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Pigheaded
The story of a young born with the head of a pig, raised by the shadow of isolation, and shut out from the rest of the world; who’s forced to face his inner demons, and overcome his greatest fears.
Rob Ryan is a poet, novelist, and comic book writer. The first issues of his two comic book series—Riders of the Sun and Feline Fellowship—are coming soon. His poetry can be found on Instagram @robryanpoetry. His PIGHEADED and MOONSTRUCK DESPERADOES are out now.
Rob Ryan is a poet, novelist, and comic book writer. The first issues of his two comic book series—Riders of the Sun and Feline Fellowship—are coming soon. His poetry can be found on Instagram @robryanpoetry. His PIGHEADED and MOONSTRUCK DESPERADOES are out now.
109 pages, Paperback
Published August 28, 2023
About the author
Rob Ryan
43 books15 followersRob Ryan is a British Paper cutter artist who specialises in papercutting, screen-printing and drawing and painting. He is now most famous for his detailed paper cut outs. Ryan was born on 5th November,1962 in Cyprus to Irish parents Doris and Buddy Ryan who divorced in 1966. He is the youngest of three brothers and his father was an RAF mess hall officer. He studied at Trent Polytechnic and has a Master of Arts in printmaking from the Royal College of Art/ He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1987.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 5, 2024
I read this book in paperback. This is an unsolicited review.
Having read Mr. Ryan's poetry on Instagram, and loving it, I was excited to pick up a copy of his novella. I was not disappointed. If there are other stories like this out there... I haven't read them or heard of them. It's a trip. And not in a bad way, or a drug-addled way... no, Rob delivers a wild ride which is both bizarre, mind-bending, and somehow feel-good, even with the gore. How does he do it? I'm not sure, but he's got a recipe that works.
The story follows the main character, born with the head of a pig, raised in an empty high-rise hotel, by his reclusive writer-father. Both being raging alcoholics. Both driven. Sebastian, the pig-headed boy-turned-man, wants the love of another, someone who accepts him for him. He desires the love and acceptance of his emotionally distant father. Thus he turns to alcohol and mind-numbing endless TV shows to help him forget. His father, in turn, is near-mad with his need to write. His stories taking over. He financially provides for his strange abomination of a son, but the emotional attachment is made with his (possibly) fictional characters... to the point you wonder if it is the imagination of the father which has created his son.
Isolation becomes the curse and salvation to both. Until it no longer covers them safely. I'm not going to provide any spoilers, but the you're in for a ride on this one. It crosses fantasy and reality and Mr. Ryan is masterful at interweaving the two, creating a dark (though not disgusting or sinister) landscape to immerse yourself in. I found myself rooting for Sebastian... hoping for some release for him. For the answers to come. For his dim and fear-filled existence to change.
The writing is pretty good. It's not that of someone just starting out storytelling, nor is it that of a seasoned veteran. I kind of liked that. It opened my imagination up to -possibility-. I did not care for the formatting, which, with its wide margins, 1.5 spacing, slightly large print, and unjustified formatting, felt like the author was attempting to draw out the length, without actually writing more. The book easily could have been half the length in page number had it been formatted professionally, thus making it feel more sophomoric than it really is. It feels self-published. And that's a shame and really does Rob a disservice because the writing is good and the story is unique and fun (though not light-hearted or jovial). The book stuck with me for long after I finished it. I wanted more.
I give the book 4.25/5 stars. With loss of stars coming from the poor, immature formatting but with gains in the awesome cover, title, and storyline. Highly recommended to those who enjoy novella-length stories which offer mind-bending realities without becoming grotesque or unbelievable.
Having read Mr. Ryan's poetry on Instagram, and loving it, I was excited to pick up a copy of his novella. I was not disappointed. If there are other stories like this out there... I haven't read them or heard of them. It's a trip. And not in a bad way, or a drug-addled way... no, Rob delivers a wild ride which is both bizarre, mind-bending, and somehow feel-good, even with the gore. How does he do it? I'm not sure, but he's got a recipe that works.
The story follows the main character, born with the head of a pig, raised in an empty high-rise hotel, by his reclusive writer-father. Both being raging alcoholics. Both driven. Sebastian, the pig-headed boy-turned-man, wants the love of another, someone who accepts him for him. He desires the love and acceptance of his emotionally distant father. Thus he turns to alcohol and mind-numbing endless TV shows to help him forget. His father, in turn, is near-mad with his need to write. His stories taking over. He financially provides for his strange abomination of a son, but the emotional attachment is made with his (possibly) fictional characters... to the point you wonder if it is the imagination of the father which has created his son.
Isolation becomes the curse and salvation to both. Until it no longer covers them safely. I'm not going to provide any spoilers, but the you're in for a ride on this one. It crosses fantasy and reality and Mr. Ryan is masterful at interweaving the two, creating a dark (though not disgusting or sinister) landscape to immerse yourself in. I found myself rooting for Sebastian... hoping for some release for him. For the answers to come. For his dim and fear-filled existence to change.
The writing is pretty good. It's not that of someone just starting out storytelling, nor is it that of a seasoned veteran. I kind of liked that. It opened my imagination up to -possibility-. I did not care for the formatting, which, with its wide margins, 1.5 spacing, slightly large print, and unjustified formatting, felt like the author was attempting to draw out the length, without actually writing more. The book easily could have been half the length in page number had it been formatted professionally, thus making it feel more sophomoric than it really is. It feels self-published. And that's a shame and really does Rob a disservice because the writing is good and the story is unique and fun (though not light-hearted or jovial). The book stuck with me for long after I finished it. I wanted more.
I give the book 4.25/5 stars. With loss of stars coming from the poor, immature formatting but with gains in the awesome cover, title, and storyline. Highly recommended to those who enjoy novella-length stories which offer mind-bending realities without becoming grotesque or unbelievable.
Displaying 1 of 1 review