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E.S.S.K: ROADTRIP TO HELL
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 11, 2026
I feel like I need a shower… and possibly therapy.
This book didn’t just cross lines it blew past them at 90 mph with the windows down and bodies in the trunk.
From page one, E.S.S.K: Roadtrip to Hell grabs you by the throat and drags you face first down a highway paved in blood, bone fragments, and bad decisions. And it never lets go.This isn’t “horror lite.”
This is full bore, grindhouse, splatterpunk carnage.
Every chapter feels like:
• teeth breaking
• skin tearing
• engines screaming
• something wet hitting the pavement
The violence is relentless and creative in the most unhinged ways possible. I caught myself wincing, whispering “what the hell did I just read,” and then immediately flipping the page because I NEEDED more.
J. Tarmac doesn’t fade to black.
He zooms in.You don’t just see the gore you smell it. Taste it. Feel it under your fingernails.But underneath all the brutality?There’s this chaotic, desperate, almost nihilistic roadtrip energy that keeps the story ripping forward like a stolen car with no brakes.
It’s ugly.
It’s savage.
It’s absolutely feral.
And I loved every disgusting second of it.Buckle up. This ride doesn’t stop.
This book didn’t just cross lines it blew past them at 90 mph with the windows down and bodies in the trunk.
From page one, E.S.S.K: Roadtrip to Hell grabs you by the throat and drags you face first down a highway paved in blood, bone fragments, and bad decisions. And it never lets go.This isn’t “horror lite.”
This is full bore, grindhouse, splatterpunk carnage.
Every chapter feels like:
• teeth breaking
• skin tearing
• engines screaming
• something wet hitting the pavement
The violence is relentless and creative in the most unhinged ways possible. I caught myself wincing, whispering “what the hell did I just read,” and then immediately flipping the page because I NEEDED more.
J. Tarmac doesn’t fade to black.
He zooms in.You don’t just see the gore you smell it. Taste it. Feel it under your fingernails.But underneath all the brutality?There’s this chaotic, desperate, almost nihilistic roadtrip energy that keeps the story ripping forward like a stolen car with no brakes.
It’s ugly.
It’s savage.
It’s absolutely feral.
And I loved every disgusting second of it.Buckle up. This ride doesn’t stop.
February 3, 2026
Vietnam changed Jack. He’s on a road trip and he’s dragging a load of victims along with him for the ride. Let’s just say Jack doesn’t have an off switch and his acts of depravity span the entirety of the duos road trip.
This reads like an ole’ timey lag recanting his life stories from his cell in prison. I could quite easily picture this as a film and I just loved this style of narration. Those final chapters! Wow! I absolutely breezed through them, totally gripped and compelled to read on. I loved the ending. If you’re looking for extreme horror that doesn’t hold back and is unflinching in its tropes and topics J. Tarmac is the author for you.
This reads like an ole’ timey lag recanting his life stories from his cell in prison. I could quite easily picture this as a film and I just loved this style of narration. Those final chapters! Wow! I absolutely breezed through them, totally gripped and compelled to read on. I loved the ending. If you’re looking for extreme horror that doesn’t hold back and is unflinching in its tropes and topics J. Tarmac is the author for you.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this advance reader copy!
"We were phantoms of pain, specters of savagery."
Another brutal, disturbing entry in 'The Michican Series' by J. Tarmac, this time in the form of a slew of murders enacted across the Great Lakes State in the late '80s by ex-army vets with a penchant for pain - particularly Jack, who is described by our seedy narrator as nothing short of a bloodthirsty savage, and with the acts to back up the claim.
What I was a fan of the most was the depth of realism in this novel. Even in the space of just over 150 pages, and amidst the absolutely wild, obscene things packed into its duration, the novel contains an authenticity I found immersive. The dialogue, the cultural references and the general feel of the story transported me to the grimiest pits of 1980s hell.
Despite all the heinous things that happen in this story, Tarmac manages to splice in some much-needed comic relief, primarily through the narration, and some of the sheer absurdity that occurs in some scenes. Don't get me wrong, the horror is hair-raising and downright unnerving, covering every rotten base you can conjure into your mind, but, through the sheer carelessness of the characters penned here, there is some grim respite, and it works well. The more somber notes hit hard though, particularly in those final chapters.
Overall, I found myself compelled to complete this sordid tale by Tarmac's always-vivid and visceral writing, confronting us with humanity's deepest depravities, and in doing so, conjuring familiar but favourite media pieces of mine, such as 'Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer' (1990) and 'The House That Jack Built' (2018). In its brutal, episodic nature, 'E.S.S.K.' does a lot to evoke such foul character studies, but refuses to shy away where others do. It holds your face to the roaring fire, right until the final pages. You will be uncomfortable, you will be appalled, but by embarking on this trip, you're experiencing well-written extreme horror served on a bold, grimy platter.
"We were phantoms of pain, specters of savagery."
Another brutal, disturbing entry in 'The Michican Series' by J. Tarmac, this time in the form of a slew of murders enacted across the Great Lakes State in the late '80s by ex-army vets with a penchant for pain - particularly Jack, who is described by our seedy narrator as nothing short of a bloodthirsty savage, and with the acts to back up the claim.
What I was a fan of the most was the depth of realism in this novel. Even in the space of just over 150 pages, and amidst the absolutely wild, obscene things packed into its duration, the novel contains an authenticity I found immersive. The dialogue, the cultural references and the general feel of the story transported me to the grimiest pits of 1980s hell.
Despite all the heinous things that happen in this story, Tarmac manages to splice in some much-needed comic relief, primarily through the narration, and some of the sheer absurdity that occurs in some scenes. Don't get me wrong, the horror is hair-raising and downright unnerving, covering every rotten base you can conjure into your mind, but, through the sheer carelessness of the characters penned here, there is some grim respite, and it works well. The more somber notes hit hard though, particularly in those final chapters.
Overall, I found myself compelled to complete this sordid tale by Tarmac's always-vivid and visceral writing, confronting us with humanity's deepest depravities, and in doing so, conjuring familiar but favourite media pieces of mine, such as 'Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer' (1990) and 'The House That Jack Built' (2018). In its brutal, episodic nature, 'E.S.S.K.' does a lot to evoke such foul character studies, but refuses to shy away where others do. It holds your face to the roaring fire, right until the final pages. You will be uncomfortable, you will be appalled, but by embarking on this trip, you're experiencing well-written extreme horror served on a bold, grimy platter.
Review of advance copy received from Author
East County Corrections. A friend of Jack Robbins is doing time here, and he’s ready to talk. What follows is the story of how he and Jack took a road trip that turned into a full-scale rampage. One last hellride.
Jack is fresh out of Vietnam, 37 and broken. His friend is 35, fighting his own demons. Both share the hometown of Materfield. They load the car with drugs, booze, weapons, and hit the road with nothing but rage for fuel. They love the predatory experience of hunting humans. What follows is depravity: torture, cannibalism, necrophilia, snuff-film horrors. Each victim worse off than the last.
But when a twelve-year-old girl’s life is on the line, the storyteller finally hits a wall. Even monsters have limits–or do they?
This story was brutal, fast-paced, and viciously well written. It locked me in from start to finish. This is Extreme Horror at full bore. I had a great unhinged time reading it, but if you’re new to the genre, know your limits and protect your brain. If you’re a heavy hitter like me, I think you’ll enjoy this unholy wild ride.
-Vibeke 🖤
Review of advance copy received from Author
Holy sh*t. That was one wild ride. Jack and his “partner” (our unnamed narrator), go on a sadistic drug fueled road trip that starts full speed and never lets up. I would have liked to know more about our narrator, and just more storyline in general, but I will say it was thoroughly entertaining and 100% came through on its full bore Splatterpunk grossness. I enjoyed how it all wrapped up. Warning! Every trigger imaginable 😅
Very appreciative of this ARC from the author in exchange for my honest review!
Very appreciative of this ARC from the author in exchange for my honest review!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Wow, this is a must read for extreme horror fans! It's a gruesome, depraved peak into the adventures of a serial killer, narrated by his sidekick. This one contains almost every "trigger" imaginable, and yet is so well written! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews