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Squirm
Steve’s friend has exclusive access to a new substance to promote muscle mass. The plan is to get rich once the boys see how huge it makes him. But when Steve’s sweet girlfriend throws him across the room with freakish force, he knows something has gone terribly wrong. The dead bodies are piling up as Steve is swept from one bloody horror to the next. It will take more than brute force to survive the chaos of the night and to see his girlfriend once again. Discover SQUIRM, the first book in THE TALES OF GYMBRO HORROR series.
Grotesquely exhilarating stories of regular fitness guys and girls living supernatural horrors. ( Heavy on profanity, debauchery and violence…some gains may be unnatural .)
Grotesquely exhilarating stories of regular fitness guys and girls living supernatural horrors. ( Heavy on profanity, debauchery and violence…some gains may be unnatural .)
- GenresHorror
137 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2023
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 29, 2024
My gym experiences have made the concept of a gymbro quite fraught so I wasn't too sure about this one when I picked it up but I was pleasantly surprised.
Our MC is something of a shallow douche at times but not enough to make him entirely unlikeable and in a way it also makes him kind of endearing. The story was a quick, wild and occasionally really gross ride that didn't take itself overly seriously.
Would recommend for anyone looking for a quick shot of turn your brain off and enjoy horror.
Our MC is something of a shallow douche at times but not enough to make him entirely unlikeable and in a way it also makes him kind of endearing. The story was a quick, wild and occasionally really gross ride that didn't take itself overly seriously.
Would recommend for anyone looking for a quick shot of turn your brain off and enjoy horror.
November 8, 2023
Corny, campy and clever. First of all, a huge thank you to Hugo for sending this my way- it was right up my alley. Horror is such a diverse genre, with such a huge range of authors. Whilst I appreciate the detailed, thought-provoking work of the likes of Mark Z. Danielewski, sometimes I’m in the mood for short, sharp splatter. This itched that scratch.
Steve’s friend Tommy returns to Jersey from the West Coast… however, when the friend reunite something has changed. Once a gangly, unpopular teen, Tommy has (unnaturally rapidly) transformed himself into a tank of a human being. Eventually, he divulges to his friend that he’s been taking “Frogjuice,” a revolutionary new steroid generated in a lab in India. It’s new, exciting- and for the two friends? A business opportunity.
Squirm doesn’t take itself seriously. The plot is slightly bizarre, and had the focus been on the prose, or ensuring the characters are developed, this would’ve detracted from the deliberately cheesey horror-fest that I so enjoyed.
This is a great opportunity to support a self-published indie horror author. I can’t wait to see what Bernard does next in the niche but EPIC field of “gym bro horror.”
Steve’s friend Tommy returns to Jersey from the West Coast… however, when the friend reunite something has changed. Once a gangly, unpopular teen, Tommy has (unnaturally rapidly) transformed himself into a tank of a human being. Eventually, he divulges to his friend that he’s been taking “Frogjuice,” a revolutionary new steroid generated in a lab in India. It’s new, exciting- and for the two friends? A business opportunity.
Squirm doesn’t take itself seriously. The plot is slightly bizarre, and had the focus been on the prose, or ensuring the characters are developed, this would’ve detracted from the deliberately cheesey horror-fest that I so enjoyed.
This is a great opportunity to support a self-published indie horror author. I can’t wait to see what Bernard does next in the niche but EPIC field of “gym bro horror.”
April 17, 2024
This was so so fantastic! Body horror with a thrilling plot and fair amount of humour.
“His eyes honed in on me and his traps flared out, like the menacing hood of a cobra.”
Honestly I died laughing at that line. Especially as a gym goer I found the premise interesting. I’m always scoping out who might have augmentations, is using equipment incorrectly, or who might be on roids. I’m way too nosey haha.
The plot of the story focuses on some Gymbros and their new “get rich” scheme. There’s a new supplement they’re selling that will give guys all the gains. It’s called “Squirm” and it’s a bit of a medical mystery. Women cannot process it and cannot ingest it…. Or else!
I really can’t wait to read the second book in the series!
“His eyes honed in on me and his traps flared out, like the menacing hood of a cobra.”
Honestly I died laughing at that line. Especially as a gym goer I found the premise interesting. I’m always scoping out who might have augmentations, is using equipment incorrectly, or who might be on roids. I’m way too nosey haha.
The plot of the story focuses on some Gymbros and their new “get rich” scheme. There’s a new supplement they’re selling that will give guys all the gains. It’s called “Squirm” and it’s a bit of a medical mystery. Women cannot process it and cannot ingest it…. Or else!
I really can’t wait to read the second book in the series!
December 31, 2023
Squirm is the first in the Tales of GymBro Horror series written by Hugo Bernard. I was honestly hooked on this series by the idea of “Gymbro Horror.” There is something about going to the gym and seeing all of the gymbros and gym rats who spend so much of their life trying to get bigger, look better, get swole, and be attractive to their partners, potential partners, and hopefully themselves. Some of it is with good intentions, but like with any sort of culture, there is a dark underbelly. I look forward to reading horror stories based on the whole gym scene.
The basic concepts of Squirm fit into the desires that many people in the gym want: to be bigger, stronger, larger than anyone else in the gym. Most steroid use is not by professional athletes or fitness competitors, but by the guy next door who wants more muscles. Steve is a guy who is teetering on the edge of what he can do next to get bigger. He sees one of his friends getting huge at an alarming pace, and this friend introduces him to something called FrogJuice. He has also nicknamed it Squirm, due to the tadpole looking things that are swimming around in the drink. Squirm makes Steve pack on pounds of muscle in a short period of time, get a gym girlfriend, and start making a ton of money. Then the strange side effects begin, particularly when some of the women around him get it into their system. Before long, the semi-good idea of taking Squirm turns into a horrible idea, and Steve finds himself in more trouble that he ever expected.
There are some elements of good horror, but the bigger focus of the story is the danger that Steve gets into, from rival testosterone sellers, from scientists who studied Squirm, from women who have accidently taken it and turned monsters, from the military, from himself. There are good chase scenes, many kills, but the real interesting part, the dynamics of the infection, is just sort of glossed over. I would have liked to seen more concentration of the grisly body horror aspects of the story, because there really is some great potential that just seems passed by.
The second in this series, called Shredz, is coming out in March. I am not going to lie. I am all for another installment of Gymbro horror. This was fast paced, fun, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I cannot wait to see what Hugo Bernard does next with the series.
The basic concepts of Squirm fit into the desires that many people in the gym want: to be bigger, stronger, larger than anyone else in the gym. Most steroid use is not by professional athletes or fitness competitors, but by the guy next door who wants more muscles. Steve is a guy who is teetering on the edge of what he can do next to get bigger. He sees one of his friends getting huge at an alarming pace, and this friend introduces him to something called FrogJuice. He has also nicknamed it Squirm, due to the tadpole looking things that are swimming around in the drink. Squirm makes Steve pack on pounds of muscle in a short period of time, get a gym girlfriend, and start making a ton of money. Then the strange side effects begin, particularly when some of the women around him get it into their system. Before long, the semi-good idea of taking Squirm turns into a horrible idea, and Steve finds himself in more trouble that he ever expected.
There are some elements of good horror, but the bigger focus of the story is the danger that Steve gets into, from rival testosterone sellers, from scientists who studied Squirm, from women who have accidently taken it and turned monsters, from the military, from himself. There are good chase scenes, many kills, but the real interesting part, the dynamics of the infection, is just sort of glossed over. I would have liked to seen more concentration of the grisly body horror aspects of the story, because there really is some great potential that just seems passed by.
The second in this series, called Shredz, is coming out in March. I am not going to lie. I am all for another installment of Gymbro horror. This was fast paced, fun, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I cannot wait to see what Hugo Bernard does next with the series.
November 4, 2023
First off this is a great ride. A really fun book to read. I read it in one sitting, ok it is a novella of about 120 pages or so, so it’s is not the world’s longest read. However it is a very easy book to read. I think it has been mentioned that this is very much in the style of the awesome B-Movies from back in the day. If you like that vibe then this is for you!
So how far would you go to make serious gains in the gym? Well for Steve, pretty far. Steve’s friend has access to a new wonder supplement and embark on a marketing exercise to promote it. However, it all goes down hill pretty quickly after he notices some odd changes in his girlfriend. Steve then gets caught up in the middle of a fair few people who are after control of this new wonder drug. The body count rises quite quickly and all he wants to do is help the love of his life.
I would genuinely give this a read. I could see it as a story on “Cabinet of Curiosities” or “The Twilight Zone”. It would work well, but again that goes back to the B-Movie nature. So if you want a quick to read, fun horror with the world’s most random twist then this book is a must!
So how far would you go to make serious gains in the gym? Well for Steve, pretty far. Steve’s friend has access to a new wonder supplement and embark on a marketing exercise to promote it. However, it all goes down hill pretty quickly after he notices some odd changes in his girlfriend. Steve then gets caught up in the middle of a fair few people who are after control of this new wonder drug. The body count rises quite quickly and all he wants to do is help the love of his life.
I would genuinely give this a read. I could see it as a story on “Cabinet of Curiosities” or “The Twilight Zone”. It would work well, but again that goes back to the B-Movie nature. So if you want a quick to read, fun horror with the world’s most random twist then this book is a must!
November 5, 2023
Well calibrated b movie comedy horror vibes
November 24, 2023
Squirmy
This was a fun little read. Not too gross, but not for the squeamish either. Looking forward to reading the next one.
This was a fun little read. Not too gross, but not for the squeamish either. Looking forward to reading the next one.
October 28, 2023
Only a few authors are capable of writing really good B-movie horror. B-movies come to it naturally as they're a product of too small special effects budget, underwritten characters, and ridiculousness that must be taken seriously through the acting of the people involved. B-movie horror must always be sincere and yet have the charm of a child who is certain he's actually beating you at laser tag or some other sport you're letting him win at. This is why it's impossible to do A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and FRIDAY THE 13TH reboots because they keep trying to make the movies good when they're at they're best when they're kind of bad.
SQUIRM (TALES OF GYM BRO HORROR #1) by Hugo Bernard attempts to walk that Grady Hendrix MY BEST FRIEND'S EXORCISM or Stephen King's THINNER line of attempting to be B-movie horror in a literary form. Asking, "Are you saying it's as good as these books?" Is kind of missing the point. No, it's not but it's fun, well-written, and deliberately schlocky in a way that would make a very entertaining low-budget movie on HBO or Netflix. It's deliberately stupid and yet sincere with its characters and intelligent with its ridiculousness, like the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer before they stopped parodying old horror films.
The premise is Steve is a gym bro. He is neither particularly intelligent or stupid but has the mundane goal of wanting to get jacked so he can score with women impressed by that sort of thing. His friend Tommy claims to have the answer in Frog Juice, an all-natural supplement that looks like tadpoles swimming around in clear white fluid. Lured by the oh-so-believable claim of no side effects, Steve immediately starts showing improvement and starts getting the physical body as well as confidence he's always wanted. He also gets roped into trying to import the stuff from India so they can make a fortune selling it.
If you guess that Frog Juice has some horrifying heretofore unknown side effects then congratulations, you are familiar with at least one horror movie or book. Steve turns out to be surprisingly sensible once he finds out that he's gotten more than he bargained for and much of the book is attempting to dig himself out of the hole that he's found himself in. Even though he's a wannabe drug dealer and not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I found myself reasonably sympathetic to his plight.
The book is a quick read at 112 pages and probably closer to a novella than a novel but just long enough that it probably would make a decent 1:30:00 movie were someone to adapt the events onscreen. They could probably shorten it to an hour long TALES FROM THE CRYPT episode too or MASTERS OF HORROR were someone inclined to adapt it. The Frog Juice is suitably visceral and there's a decent amount of foreshadowing as to what the stuff really is (albeit I'm pretty sure people would have figured it out by the taste or smell).
In conclusion, it's a fun book and I recommend people looking for a quick fun horror read should check it out. I don't know if there's room enough to do a sequel as the author seems to be planning but I certainly don't regret my purchase. There's even a few surprising twists in the story, which I wasn't expecting.
SQUIRM (TALES OF GYM BRO HORROR #1) by Hugo Bernard attempts to walk that Grady Hendrix MY BEST FRIEND'S EXORCISM or Stephen King's THINNER line of attempting to be B-movie horror in a literary form. Asking, "Are you saying it's as good as these books?" Is kind of missing the point. No, it's not but it's fun, well-written, and deliberately schlocky in a way that would make a very entertaining low-budget movie on HBO or Netflix. It's deliberately stupid and yet sincere with its characters and intelligent with its ridiculousness, like the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer before they stopped parodying old horror films.
The premise is Steve is a gym bro. He is neither particularly intelligent or stupid but has the mundane goal of wanting to get jacked so he can score with women impressed by that sort of thing. His friend Tommy claims to have the answer in Frog Juice, an all-natural supplement that looks like tadpoles swimming around in clear white fluid. Lured by the oh-so-believable claim of no side effects, Steve immediately starts showing improvement and starts getting the physical body as well as confidence he's always wanted. He also gets roped into trying to import the stuff from India so they can make a fortune selling it.
If you guess that Frog Juice has some horrifying heretofore unknown side effects then congratulations, you are familiar with at least one horror movie or book. Steve turns out to be surprisingly sensible once he finds out that he's gotten more than he bargained for and much of the book is attempting to dig himself out of the hole that he's found himself in. Even though he's a wannabe drug dealer and not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I found myself reasonably sympathetic to his plight.
The book is a quick read at 112 pages and probably closer to a novella than a novel but just long enough that it probably would make a decent 1:30:00 movie were someone to adapt the events onscreen. They could probably shorten it to an hour long TALES FROM THE CRYPT episode too or MASTERS OF HORROR were someone inclined to adapt it. The Frog Juice is suitably visceral and there's a decent amount of foreshadowing as to what the stuff really is (albeit I'm pretty sure people would have figured it out by the taste or smell).
In conclusion, it's a fun book and I recommend people looking for a quick fun horror read should check it out. I don't know if there's room enough to do a sequel as the author seems to be planning but I certainly don't regret my purchase. There's even a few surprising twists in the story, which I wasn't expecting.
November 8, 2024
ⓇⒺⓋⒾⒺⓌ
Squirm ‘Tales Of Gymbro Horror’ - Hugo Bernard
Steve is a Gymbro, his aim is to get as buff as possible to get all the honeys!
When his, once scrawny now ripped old friend Tommy returns to town with a new workout supplement - which he guarantees will have him jacked in no time, Steve can’t resist the temptation to have the body (and girls) he’s always desired.
Frog Juice, all natural with zero side effects looks like tadpoles (i.e the name), swimming in a murky liquid but is in fact something far more gross. Can you guess what it is yet?
Frog Juice, later renamed as Squirm (a much more appealing brand name) is for men only as it has severe side effects if consumed by those with two XX chromosomes.
Tommy and Steve go into business selling the muscle magic, and make a killing, that is until they realise that Squirm can be transferred during the act 🙈
Will Steve and Tommy survive when all hell breaks loose? You’ll have to find out for yourselves.
You can’t take Squirm too seriously, it’s a horror B-Movie in book form. It’s fun, gross and at times extreme so if that sounds like a bit of you I’d certainly recommend picking this novella up.
Squirm ‘Tales Of Gymbro Horror’ - Hugo Bernard
Steve is a Gymbro, his aim is to get as buff as possible to get all the honeys!
When his, once scrawny now ripped old friend Tommy returns to town with a new workout supplement - which he guarantees will have him jacked in no time, Steve can’t resist the temptation to have the body (and girls) he’s always desired.
Frog Juice, all natural with zero side effects looks like tadpoles (i.e the name), swimming in a murky liquid but is in fact something far more gross. Can you guess what it is yet?
Frog Juice, later renamed as Squirm (a much more appealing brand name) is for men only as it has severe side effects if consumed by those with two XX chromosomes.
Tommy and Steve go into business selling the muscle magic, and make a killing, that is until they realise that Squirm can be transferred during the act 🙈
Will Steve and Tommy survive when all hell breaks loose? You’ll have to find out for yourselves.
You can’t take Squirm too seriously, it’s a horror B-Movie in book form. It’s fun, gross and at times extreme so if that sounds like a bit of you I’d certainly recommend picking this novella up.
January 15, 2024
💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽/5
It’s the beginning of January so I said what could be scarier than the parking situation at any & all gyms right now? “Squirm” was the answer to that. I’ve been accused of being a gymbro, I’ll admit I have some gymbro tendencies. So when I saw “gymbro horror,” I said sign me up. This was a short but comically entertaining story of the conquest for the gains, by any means necessary. Even if that means downing some questionable “supplement” here or there. Especially after you find out that the source of that performance enhancer may or may not of have come from the Paleolithic era. Fast, campy, ridiculous, & lots of good body horror elements throughout aka exactly what I would expect from a horror story of the gymbro variety. I am definitely looking forward to more tales to follow!
It’s the beginning of January so I said what could be scarier than the parking situation at any & all gyms right now? “Squirm” was the answer to that. I’ve been accused of being a gymbro, I’ll admit I have some gymbro tendencies. So when I saw “gymbro horror,” I said sign me up. This was a short but comically entertaining story of the conquest for the gains, by any means necessary. Even if that means downing some questionable “supplement” here or there. Especially after you find out that the source of that performance enhancer may or may not of have come from the Paleolithic era. Fast, campy, ridiculous, & lots of good body horror elements throughout aka exactly what I would expect from a horror story of the gymbro variety. I am definitely looking forward to more tales to follow!
August 6, 2024
I bought this book from the Spring Box that was available on the Facebook group Club Thrillror made by the lovely Alix. I read this in one day as I could not put it down. It's definitely different than all of the other horror I am used to as it has to do with the gym, the least likely place you would think horrible things can happen. This book was funny, a bit disgusting at times, and creepy at others. It kinda gave me the vibes that The Troop by Nick Cutter gave me but a bit less. I really don't want to give too much away, but if you're looking for something different, definitely give this one a go. I'm probably going to read the second book. Also, this author is from Québec, where I am from as well, and he did an amazing job with this!
November 13, 2023
Ewwww!
Creepy crawlers galore! Squirm is definitely a good name for this
one! Tight story - I can definitely recommend it.
Creepy crawlers galore! Squirm is definitely a good name for this
one! Tight story - I can definitely recommend it.
January 19, 2024
Equal parts comedy and thriller, Squirm got my juices flowing. It's a wild romp, very much in the vein of a Quentin Tarantino movie. And you don't have to be a body builder to enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews