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CriminOlly presents Garbology: The GarbAugust Anthology of Awesome Trash
A rescue mission in Vietnam goes seriously buggy. A jackaroo with a grudge encounters dirty dealings in the sweltering Australian outback. A Greek myth stalks the coffeeshops of Manhattan looking for love. A camping trip for cryptid fans attracts a different type of attendee. A lonely survivor of the zombie apocalypse parties like it’s the end of world.
These are just a handful of the thrilling new stories you’ll find in this collection inspired by GarbAugust, the annual reading event created by CriminOlly that’s become a BookTube sensation! 34 writers, 10 artists, 5 countries, 3 continents. Crime, pulp, horror… that kind of thing! Welcome to CriminOlly presents The GarbAugust Anthology of Awesome Trash!
CONTENT: This collection contains violence, sexual situations, themes, general weirdness, and language some readers may find objectionable.
These are just a handful of the thrilling new stories you’ll find in this collection inspired by GarbAugust, the annual reading event created by CriminOlly that’s become a BookTube sensation! 34 writers, 10 artists, 5 countries, 3 continents. Crime, pulp, horror… that kind of thing! Welcome to CriminOlly presents The GarbAugust Anthology of Awesome Trash!
CONTENT: This collection contains violence, sexual situations, themes, general weirdness, and language some readers may find objectionable.
462 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2024
25 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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July 1, 2024Is this the GREATEST book ever published? Let's just say that when the BOOKER prize longlist is published and Garbology isn't on it, it might well be because of a global CONSPIRACY orchestrated by BIG PUBLISHING to silence the lovers of TRASH.
Or it might be that we missed the cut off.
Or it might be that we missed the cut off.
August 18, 2024
I am gloomy as I write this review because I appreciate the effort, high spirits and enthusiasm that created such a grand looking volume. The whole thing took a year and was cooked up by CriminOlly, the ever affable Booktuber (in the UK), and author & Booktuber Troy Tradup (in the USA I think). I don’t wanna trash their trash! I really wanted to love this.
But.
Announcing that your book is trash is kind of like saying that your book is an unfunny comedy. Hmmm, why, then, would I read it? Well it must be that the Awesome Trash in this big anthology of 34 all-new stories is the fun, excellent, gobsmacking kind of trash that some bottom-feeding readers would hurtle towards with expressions of murderous glee.
Unfortunately as I read up to page 145 and then stopped, the glee kept draining away along with my will to live. I had to conclude, very sadly, that this trash was not awesome. It was trash. That part of the description is accurate. I think the phrase so-bad-it's-good might be used here, but no, they weren't.
One after another, these brief, rabidly overwritten tales deal in the gruesome fates of horrible people, random supernatural outbursts, violence that ends ironically, and I thought – I am getting a case of déjà vu here. And not in a good way. And it came to me :
Yes, all this stuff used to turn up in the Pan Book of Horror Stories, a series that damaged my psychology as a weedy adolescent. Now The Pan Books started really well, for ten years they were truly trashily awesome, but then they then went down down downhill faster than a slalom skiier, and even though they were slender volumes, the editor appeared to be collecting many barrels to scrape for the stories he allowed into print. Garbology is just like stories from the last ten years of the Pan Books.
So… I would like to give 5 stars for the whole enterprise, from booktubing to creating a handsome physical whopping anthology, it’s a great thing to have done.
Two stars for the content though, and I am being generous.
But.
Announcing that your book is trash is kind of like saying that your book is an unfunny comedy. Hmmm, why, then, would I read it? Well it must be that the Awesome Trash in this big anthology of 34 all-new stories is the fun, excellent, gobsmacking kind of trash that some bottom-feeding readers would hurtle towards with expressions of murderous glee.
Unfortunately as I read up to page 145 and then stopped, the glee kept draining away along with my will to live. I had to conclude, very sadly, that this trash was not awesome. It was trash. That part of the description is accurate. I think the phrase so-bad-it's-good might be used here, but no, they weren't.
One after another, these brief, rabidly overwritten tales deal in the gruesome fates of horrible people, random supernatural outbursts, violence that ends ironically, and I thought – I am getting a case of déjà vu here. And not in a good way. And it came to me :
Yes, all this stuff used to turn up in the Pan Book of Horror Stories, a series that damaged my psychology as a weedy adolescent. Now The Pan Books started really well, for ten years they were truly trashily awesome, but then they then went down down downhill faster than a slalom skiier, and even though they were slender volumes, the editor appeared to be collecting many barrels to scrape for the stories he allowed into print. Garbology is just like stories from the last ten years of the Pan Books.
So… I would like to give 5 stars for the whole enterprise, from booktubing to creating a handsome physical whopping anthology, it’s a great thing to have done.
Two stars for the content though, and I am being generous.
August 1, 2024
This may be a biased review, since I have art that appears here. I first heard about this antho from the youtube channel BOOKUBUS and knew this was something I wanted to be part of. I am surprised at how well I really enjoy all the stories (and art). Tyghe Deerfield and TImothy Adam's taless are my favorites. L.J. Jacobs attempts to answer an age-old question many of us have pondered at one time or another. 'Halloween Party' is a period piece with a killer final sentence. If you like pulps, sleaze, weird menace tales, splatter punk- you will not be disappointed!
August 16, 2024
Feels like I stepped back in time - into the twilight zone.
Awesome collection of good old fashion pulp fiction. Not for the faint hearted. Recommended for those seeking an easy pleasurable read.
Awesome collection of good old fashion pulp fiction. Not for the faint hearted. Recommended for those seeking an easy pleasurable read.
August 27, 2024
Perverse, trashy, and disgusting. The product of disturbed minds.
August 11, 2024
This books accomplished everything it set out to do!
August 20, 2024
Great collection of pulpy horror, sex and/or violence and general weird short stories.
Awesome Trash indeed. If you like the Paperbacks from Hell you have to read this book!
Awesome Trash indeed. If you like the Paperbacks from Hell you have to read this book!
October 29, 2024
This eclectic collection was an absolute joy to read. I will admit I am biased, as I authored one of the short stories included. But, ignoring that story entirely, I had a wonderful time with this anthology.
In any anthology I am hoping for at least a few stories that are great, another handful of very good, and most of the remainder can be good with space for one or two clunkers that don’t work for me. This collection hits that criteria with flying colors. Many of the authors included are new or even debut authors, and once in a while that was obvious, with occasionally clunky dialogue or heavy-handed storytelling or maybe just being a little over-written. But every story had heart, every story was intentional, and while many were more than happy to embrace their categorization as “trashy” none felt disingenuous or lazy. The best of these stories were able to create a strong sense of world and/or atmosphere as well as offer engaging characters. I cared about a bunch of characters, felt the rush that comes with effective twists and turns, and had a grin on my face near the whole time. I think the weakest section was the “Adults Only!” section, and I do think it was kind of unfortunate it was the first section in the book. Of the subgenres represented that is the one I am least interested in, generally, so maybe it was more me than the stories, but, overall, those were the least effective for me—and yet there were still some in that section I quite enjoyed.
This collection really is better than the sum of its parts, with stories that cover a decent range of genres and tones. Yes, I am biased, but I would have had a blast with this collection either way. If you enjoy commercial, genre fiction then there is definitely some fun for you to find here.
(Rounded from 4.5)
In any anthology I am hoping for at least a few stories that are great, another handful of very good, and most of the remainder can be good with space for one or two clunkers that don’t work for me. This collection hits that criteria with flying colors. Many of the authors included are new or even debut authors, and once in a while that was obvious, with occasionally clunky dialogue or heavy-handed storytelling or maybe just being a little over-written. But every story had heart, every story was intentional, and while many were more than happy to embrace their categorization as “trashy” none felt disingenuous or lazy. The best of these stories were able to create a strong sense of world and/or atmosphere as well as offer engaging characters. I cared about a bunch of characters, felt the rush that comes with effective twists and turns, and had a grin on my face near the whole time. I think the weakest section was the “Adults Only!” section, and I do think it was kind of unfortunate it was the first section in the book. Of the subgenres represented that is the one I am least interested in, generally, so maybe it was more me than the stories, but, overall, those were the least effective for me—and yet there were still some in that section I quite enjoyed.
This collection really is better than the sum of its parts, with stories that cover a decent range of genres and tones. Yes, I am biased, but I would have had a blast with this collection either way. If you enjoy commercial, genre fiction then there is definitely some fun for you to find here.
(Rounded from 4.5)
September 1, 2024
What a fun book. Most of the stories were great, a couple missed the mark. Still enjoyed it.
August 24, 2024
It’s the trashiest, sleeziest, most vile book on the market this month. Buy it to support all the bottom-feeding, dumpster-diving, garbage-loving readers and reviewers that put their blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids into making it happen.
August 28, 2024
This anthology was excellent! Full review to follow soon, it’s very late here.
September 5, 2024
Trashy, and of varying quality, but mostly fun
August 12, 2025
I gave this 5 stars for very special reasons. This book was a book created by the best kind of people. Ones who love books and the joy of reading, every page illustrates this clearly. Did I love every story, no but that is the magic of this collection. The wide variety of stories and all the various adventures that readers take are the central reason of this books creation. The authors and artists are unknown, but there is real talent there, so those who are lucky enough to have a copy know (or will find out if it is in that TBR pile). The stories are varied so one is either being scared, giggling, thinking about what did I just read? A true treasure. The reader of this collection will have a good time, maybe even have a philosophical realization. Sad to say it is out of print now but this book will become like the treasures found in a fine wine cellar, not that dusty bottle, but the good stuff Grandpa has in in that "special" container in the corner there.
December 10, 2024
A fine collection of trashy short stories, where the excellent ones certainly outnumber the mediocre ones. Another words a solid, well put together book.
September 11, 2024
A huge collection, 34 stories!
I rated 33 of them, as one of them is my own story. I felt it would be creepy to rate my own.
I rated each story 1-5 stars, then averaged them to rate the book overall. A strong 4 STAR read!
There is so much writing talent in here, and some great artwork too!
I'd have to write a book about a book to share info about all the stories, so I will touch on some of my favorites here:
THE LOVERS’ BONEYARD – R. SAINTE CLAIRE
Take a scary story, toss in some sex, and suddenly it qualifies as trash. Happens in the movies all the time. While I do think this story quite befitting this collection, I feel it would stand well in any horror collection. Very entertaining, well written, and just plain fun to read.
LUCKY LEON – N.B. CLARKE
This one is really cool. What happens when our friend Leon, a creepy stalker, stalks the wrong girl?
CRYPTID SINGLES CAMP – TYGHE DEERFIELD
Imagine for a moment what a cryptid singles camp would be. Now add some emotion and a freaking awesome twist, and you have this excellent short story.
TRASH GPT – OLLY CLARKE
This is a fast paced, fun story about a writer using ChatGPT. The outcome isn’t at all what he expects and we get a tantalizing twist at the end.
CELESTIAL CARNAGE – A.J. PRIOR
Two girls on a camping trip, a comet flies by, the animals go nuts. This was a great story!
Campfire weather and Holidays are coming. Grab a copy or two of this great book!
Best suited for adult readers.
I rated 33 of them, as one of them is my own story. I felt it would be creepy to rate my own.
I rated each story 1-5 stars, then averaged them to rate the book overall. A strong 4 STAR read!
There is so much writing talent in here, and some great artwork too!
I'd have to write a book about a book to share info about all the stories, so I will touch on some of my favorites here:
THE LOVERS’ BONEYARD – R. SAINTE CLAIRE
Take a scary story, toss in some sex, and suddenly it qualifies as trash. Happens in the movies all the time. While I do think this story quite befitting this collection, I feel it would stand well in any horror collection. Very entertaining, well written, and just plain fun to read.
LUCKY LEON – N.B. CLARKE
This one is really cool. What happens when our friend Leon, a creepy stalker, stalks the wrong girl?
CRYPTID SINGLES CAMP – TYGHE DEERFIELD
Imagine for a moment what a cryptid singles camp would be. Now add some emotion and a freaking awesome twist, and you have this excellent short story.
TRASH GPT – OLLY CLARKE
This is a fast paced, fun story about a writer using ChatGPT. The outcome isn’t at all what he expects and we get a tantalizing twist at the end.
CELESTIAL CARNAGE – A.J. PRIOR
Two girls on a camping trip, a comet flies by, the animals go nuts. This was a great story!
Campfire weather and Holidays are coming. Grab a copy or two of this great book!
Best suited for adult readers.
September 12, 2025
This book was a breath of fresh air with a little something for everyone. I'm so glad I saved it for a special occasion because it was just fantastic. So good, in fact, that before I even finished the 1st section, I went and purchased the follow up, CriminOlly presents Trash Tales: An Anthology of Trashy Fiction.
September 1, 2024
*gazes admiringly at whoever reads this on the bus*
I liked the idea of a group of people coming together and actually doing something, so I went ahead and bought this book. The actual reading experience for me was varied, so I'll try to touch on the points that were more to my taste.
First, I liked the ones with humor in them, since a little of that always makes things better. Someone else may have a different opinion, but a pack of dogs running away with a bounty on their mouths is funny to me. Puns, meta humor, I'll take all of that.
Others I liked because of the synergy between the characters and the atmosphere. These are the ones I enjoyed the most. It happens when there's a limited space to write but everything still connects and harmonizes and it's wrapped up with a neat bow at the end. This may sound like I'm sucking someone's socks (what's the English version of that phrase, I wonder) but shit, if the story has humor, has social commentary, plays with tropes and subverts expectations, then I'm going to like it. That's what constitutes a well written story, for me.
There were a couple that I didn't understand, didn't "get". The ones with, say, body horror. I'm new to the genre, so I'm probably approaching them the wrong way, but at least this confirms that going into extreme horror may not be a good idea for me. My own body gets uncomfortable while reading this type of stories, and I fail to link these stories to reality. Like, is this suppossed to be a metaphor or something like that? I could work with the one about mites, but others not so much.
Overall, a good experience and a good effort, since booktube, where I got this book recommendation from, sometimes has a lot of talk and very little action. So seeing this group actually putting something out is commendable. Well done to all of them!
I liked the idea of a group of people coming together and actually doing something, so I went ahead and bought this book. The actual reading experience for me was varied, so I'll try to touch on the points that were more to my taste.
First, I liked the ones with humor in them, since a little of that always makes things better. Someone else may have a different opinion, but a pack of dogs running away with a bounty on their mouths is funny to me. Puns, meta humor, I'll take all of that.
Others I liked because of the synergy between the characters and the atmosphere. These are the ones I enjoyed the most. It happens when there's a limited space to write but everything still connects and harmonizes and it's wrapped up with a neat bow at the end. This may sound like I'm sucking someone's socks (what's the English version of that phrase, I wonder) but shit, if the story has humor, has social commentary, plays with tropes and subverts expectations, then I'm going to like it. That's what constitutes a well written story, for me.
There were a couple that I didn't understand, didn't "get". The ones with, say, body horror. I'm new to the genre, so I'm probably approaching them the wrong way, but at least this confirms that going into extreme horror may not be a good idea for me. My own body gets uncomfortable while reading this type of stories, and I fail to link these stories to reality. Like, is this suppossed to be a metaphor or something like that? I could work with the one about mites, but others not so much.
Overall, a good experience and a good effort, since booktube, where I got this book recommendation from, sometimes has a lot of talk and very little action. So seeing this group actually putting something out is commendable. Well done to all of them!
September 6, 2025
3 1/2. Overall a fun and enjoyable collection of trash tales but a bit long for my taste.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews