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Empties
A detective discovers bodies without brains—and wonders if he’s losing his mind—in this tale of nightmarish terror.
What do you tell yourself when impossible things begin to happen? What can you say? You’re a police detective, but maybe you’re just not good enough and that’s what you have to admit, whether you like it or not. You see evidence of things that can’t be real, but you just don’t observe well enough to explain it in any natural way. Can you ask rational questions and still be crazy? Does it help any that you know your mind is gone? You’re trapped in a black comedy with a beautiful but fatal woman right out of an old poem by Keats, hoping to wake up from the nightmare, even if on a cold hillside—as long as you wake up sane.
Detective William Benek is faced with an impossible bodies are turning up without their brains and without any indication of how the organs were removed. His only lead—an attractive woman—becomes more than a lead, and then drives him into a world of terror, where his sanity is questioned and he must stop a monster he can barely comprehend.
Listed as a Best Book of 2009 by Edge Boston.
What do you tell yourself when impossible things begin to happen? What can you say? You’re a police detective, but maybe you’re just not good enough and that’s what you have to admit, whether you like it or not. You see evidence of things that can’t be real, but you just don’t observe well enough to explain it in any natural way. Can you ask rational questions and still be crazy? Does it help any that you know your mind is gone? You’re trapped in a black comedy with a beautiful but fatal woman right out of an old poem by Keats, hoping to wake up from the nightmare, even if on a cold hillside—as long as you wake up sane.
Detective William Benek is faced with an impossible bodies are turning up without their brains and without any indication of how the organs were removed. His only lead—an attractive woman—becomes more than a lead, and then drives him into a world of terror, where his sanity is questioned and he must stop a monster he can barely comprehend.
Listed as a Best Book of 2009 by Edge Boston.
- GenresHorrorScience Fiction
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2009
9 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
George Zebrowski
139 books24 followersGeorge Zebrowski was an American science fiction writer and editor who wrote and edited a number of books, and was a former editor of The Bulletin of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He lived with author Pamela Sargent, with whom he co-wrote a number of novels, including Star Trek novels.
Zebrowski won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1999 for his novel Brute Orbits. Three of his short stories, "Heathen God," "The Eichmann Variations," and "Wound the Wind," were nominated for the Nebula Award, and "The Idea Trap" was nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.
Zebrowski won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1999 for his novel Brute Orbits. Three of his short stories, "Heathen God," "The Eichmann Variations," and "Wound the Wind," were nominated for the Nebula Award, and "The Idea Trap" was nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 10, 2015
DNF
A third of the way in and I'm ready to go to sleep. There's not enough here to make me want to skip to the reveal scenes, let alone finish it.
A third of the way in and I'm ready to go to sleep. There's not enough here to make me want to skip to the reveal scenes, let alone finish it.
August 28, 2016
Empties is very noir in tone, something Hitchcock might have cooked up. Although it's a contemporary setting, the story could just as easily have been set in the 40s or 50s, and actually might have benefited from the shift.
When the first "empty" corpse is autopsied, the coroner barely thinks a body with a missing brain is worth mentioning (because he assumes it's a prank), and mentions they only did the autopsy in the first place because they were bored. I'm no legal beagle, but my understanding is that if the cause of death is unknown, as it would be for a body found on a park bench, an autopsy is required by law. At least, it is where I live, and I'd assume that even if other places fluctuate on the matter, they'd still check out a man found dead in those circumstances, especially considering the bits of fleshy material found on the fence near where he sat. I'm pretty sure a corpse missing a brain, especially one with no indication how the brain would have left the skull, would be the talk of the office. They might well suspect a prank, but it's unusual enough to intrigue more than just one loner detective.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the introspective viewpoint of Benek. Like most of us, he questions himself, his life, everything, while doing his mundane activities, but instead of skipping over, the narration of Empties delves right in there. As a result, his slow descent into what he suspects might be insanity but isn't sure is enthralling and poses some very potent questions.
Dierdre was far less complex, one of those people who thinks she should be able to do whatever she wants. She's a dark, twisted little soul, and while she has some interesting potential, I'm not sure all of it got truly explored.
Readers should be warned there's a part of the novel wherein Deirdre drugs Benek, handcuffs him to a bed, and repeatedly rapes him. The scenes aren't graphic, but rape is rape, and neither character seems to recognize it enough to call it what it is.
The book is dark and wonderfully moody, with some great imagery and a very different protagonist, but ultimately the idea that Benek was the only person who'd think twice about a series of empty-headed dead bodies drew me right out of the story.
When the first "empty" corpse is autopsied, the coroner barely thinks a body with a missing brain is worth mentioning (because he assumes it's a prank), and mentions they only did the autopsy in the first place because they were bored. I'm no legal beagle, but my understanding is that if the cause of death is unknown, as it would be for a body found on a park bench, an autopsy is required by law. At least, it is where I live, and I'd assume that even if other places fluctuate on the matter, they'd still check out a man found dead in those circumstances, especially considering the bits of fleshy material found on the fence near where he sat. I'm pretty sure a corpse missing a brain, especially one with no indication how the brain would have left the skull, would be the talk of the office. They might well suspect a prank, but it's unusual enough to intrigue more than just one loner detective.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the introspective viewpoint of Benek. Like most of us, he questions himself, his life, everything, while doing his mundane activities, but instead of skipping over, the narration of Empties delves right in there. As a result, his slow descent into what he suspects might be insanity but isn't sure is enthralling and poses some very potent questions.
Dierdre was far less complex, one of those people who thinks she should be able to do whatever she wants. She's a dark, twisted little soul, and while she has some interesting potential, I'm not sure all of it got truly explored.
Readers should be warned there's a part of the novel wherein Deirdre drugs Benek, handcuffs him to a bed, and repeatedly rapes him. The scenes aren't graphic, but rape is rape, and neither character seems to recognize it enough to call it what it is.
The book is dark and wonderfully moody, with some great imagery and a very different protagonist, but ultimately the idea that Benek was the only person who'd think twice about a series of empty-headed dead bodies drew me right out of the story.
December 22, 2013
Okay so this short little "scare" was easy to finish and kinda disturbing but alas just alright..Okay so this book starts out with the seemingly simple death of a homeless man--seemingly of a heart attack until the autopsy reveals he was emptied of his brain with no forcible entry..Laughed off as a medical student prank the police seek to dismiss it, everyone except diligent and bored Detective Benek who decides it is worth exploring and begins asking questions; As he gets people to get interested with him and starts to stumble upon other disturbing coincidences like another man found without a brain he decides to follow up the only lead he has, which also happens to be a woman he is sexually attracted to, a mysterious beautiful landlady at both scenes of crimes with a weird way of showing Benek she is interested in him also but what is she hiding and why is she a person of interest in both of these strange cases? Finding out what will happen next gets to be a little monotonous and wasn't really addictive reading with an ending that leaves you wondering but it wasn't a bad read at all just wanted a little more pow..LOL..Sadly I wont finish my reading goal this year but on to the next to get as close as possible..:)
November 13, 2019
There's damned few books I will not finish. This is one of them. Verbose, nonsensical, and absurd are the best things I can say about "Empties". Maybe I would have understood it better had I plowed ahead a bit farther, but halfway was about twice it deserved, I have a pile of books to read and my time on earth is limited. I won't have my brain removed, physically or verbally. Not the worst book I've (tried to) read this year, but not far removed...a shame, really, because the idea was so intriguing.
November 29, 2022
A murder mystery leads a lackluster detective on a surreal journey into the realm where one human can kill another with only their mind... and sometimes the killing is inadvertent -- the act of a dreaming mind. As the first person who is convinced this is what is going on, how does the detective respond? What happens to him and to others who hold all or part of the secret? Either a fast read of a quirky story or a doorway into viewing our own dysfunctional relationship with violent death... recommended.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews