What do you think?
Rate this book
HARD CORE
WARNING: Not for the squeamish.
This new collection by Megat Ishak contains potentially disturbing material such as crowbars, demons, machetes, tentacles, multiple homicide, cosmetic surgery gone wrong, tattoos gone even more wrong... and children’s birthday parties.
This new collection by Megat Ishak contains potentially disturbing material such as crowbars, demons, machetes, tentacles, multiple homicide, cosmetic surgery gone wrong, tattoos gone even more wrong... and children’s birthday parties.
- GenresThriller
248 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 2015
2 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 13, 2015
For comparison sake, I've only read 'Dark Highways' and I can tell the author is certainly improving.
Just like 'Dark Highways', 'Hard Core' is definitely not for the weak-hearted. But it is fairly a bit tamer than the former book, the gore and creepy stuff is still good but not as crude. There is improvement on the character variations in this book, it's pleasant to see the author is writing more characters that are not 40-something-year-old male adult with a cheating wife.
My favorite story in this anthology has to be 'The Grim Facts of Anita Z'. Very interesting play with the cursed tattoo ink, taking the idea of 'being together for the rest of our lives' to a whole new literal level. The other stories are good too.
The accompanying illustrations are giving good creepy vibes to the book, a nice touch really.
In summary, it's a worthwhile read.
Just like 'Dark Highways', 'Hard Core' is definitely not for the weak-hearted. But it is fairly a bit tamer than the former book, the gore and creepy stuff is still good but not as crude. There is improvement on the character variations in this book, it's pleasant to see the author is writing more characters that are not 40-something-year-old male adult with a cheating wife.
My favorite story in this anthology has to be 'The Grim Facts of Anita Z'. Very interesting play with the cursed tattoo ink, taking the idea of 'being together for the rest of our lives' to a whole new literal level. The other stories are good too.
The accompanying illustrations are giving good creepy vibes to the book, a nice touch really.
In summary, it's a worthwhile read.
March 21, 2022
This favourite local author of mine is a freaking sick psycho.
I find the stories very interesting compared to the Dark Highways, which mostly revolved on marriage story. Hard Core deals with various background stories - domestic abuse, children's birthday parties, tattoos, Bibik, love and evil-cult stuffs. Grotesque and hauntingly gore. Vey puke inducing, jangan baca sebelum atau selepas makan. However, the story structure and character developments are under-developed and it's too fast paced - I didnt notice this when I was reading Dark Highways, probably because I was still young at that time.
My favourite stories are - Our Dad's Girlfriend, Cans, The Tourist and The Grim Facts of Anita Z.
I find the stories very interesting compared to the Dark Highways, which mostly revolved on marriage story. Hard Core deals with various background stories - domestic abuse, children's birthday parties, tattoos, Bibik, love and evil-cult stuffs. Grotesque and hauntingly gore. Vey puke inducing, jangan baca sebelum atau selepas makan. However, the story structure and character developments are under-developed and it's too fast paced - I didnt notice this when I was reading Dark Highways, probably because I was still young at that time.
My favourite stories are - Our Dad's Girlfriend, Cans, The Tourist and The Grim Facts of Anita Z.
July 9, 2020
The after-effect of reading DARK HIGHWAYS making me getting another book by Megat Ishak. "Not for the squeamish" it says at the back but honestly the squeamish was bearable to me. I love the thrilling disturbing and gory narratives, think the author did well with this collection too. Few stories that caught my attention:
Magic!
Horrific revenge story although you could guess on the twist, still it gave me such horror and nervousness. Remember to always pay up when you hired someone for a service/work. Karma bites horrendously.
Our Dad's Girlfriend
Disturbing, might a bit creepy too. Love that it combined technology and gruesome stuff. Well engaging characters.
T
he Things I Can Do To You With A Crowbar
Uncomfortable and grisly narrative but weirdly appealing. The most squeamish out of all.
Cans
This was slightly playful (?) and creepy at the same time.
U-Turn
Love the idea of dream sequence and parallel dimension. The sudden ending making me wanting it more.
Most twists were expected but perhaps the writer's enthralling way of presenting his stories making it more enjoyable to me. Fast-paced narratives (most of it) also I love the diversity of ideas although some were common, it was still intriguing.
Magic!
Horrific revenge story although you could guess on the twist, still it gave me such horror and nervousness. Remember to always pay up when you hired someone for a service/work. Karma bites horrendously.
Our Dad's Girlfriend
Disturbing, might a bit creepy too. Love that it combined technology and gruesome stuff. Well engaging characters.
T
he Things I Can Do To You With A Crowbar
Uncomfortable and grisly narrative but weirdly appealing. The most squeamish out of all.
Cans
This was slightly playful (?) and creepy at the same time.
U-Turn
Love the idea of dream sequence and parallel dimension. The sudden ending making me wanting it more.
Most twists were expected but perhaps the writer's enthralling way of presenting his stories making it more enjoyable to me. Fast-paced narratives (most of it) also I love the diversity of ideas although some were common, it was still intriguing.
March 27, 2017
Now, THIS... THIS is what we all deserve and need! It is better, weirder, and MORE BLOOD. Local slasher porn that we all cannibal readers in literature will definitely satisfied! Every single story is pack with an unimaginable twisted twist. The crowbar? Let's just say that i wouldn't go near that damn forsaken metal thingy even if my dad asked me to. I WON'T DO IT. HELL FORBID IT. STOP. DON'T GO NEAR ME. *kabooshh blood splatter everywhere* Thank You Megat Ishak for this. Thank you very much!! Dang it!
May 14, 2017
3.5/5 stars
Holy shit. "Weird" doesn't even begin to describe this book. This has got to be the most insane, gruesome collection of short stories that I've read. And I fucking love it. My favourite is probably the tattoo one, because what the heck was that?!
Of course, there were some stories that I didn't quite enjoy, hence the rating, but one thing's for sure, this is definitely not for the weak-hearted. Personally, I'm okay with gore, although I'm not the biggest fan of it. But still, I found myself grimacing at the more brutal and bloody scenes.
All in all, an interesting read. Looking forward to more psychotic stories by Megat Ishak!
Holy shit. "Weird" doesn't even begin to describe this book. This has got to be the most insane, gruesome collection of short stories that I've read. And I fucking love it. My favourite is probably the tattoo one, because what the heck was that?!
Of course, there were some stories that I didn't quite enjoy, hence the rating, but one thing's for sure, this is definitely not for the weak-hearted. Personally, I'm okay with gore, although I'm not the biggest fan of it. But still, I found myself grimacing at the more brutal and bloody scenes.
All in all, an interesting read. Looking forward to more psychotic stories by Megat Ishak!
October 4, 2017
At first I planned to review each short story but, halfway through, I gave up. I found a few exciting and the other few bland and the rest okay. The scene was vivid that I could see myself looking into it, like watching a tv. And the sketch added the foreboding feeling. It did not help either that I'm alone in my cubicle during lunch hour.
February 22, 2023
Memang hard core gila semua cerita dalam ini.. Kalau tak kuat, baiklah jangan baca.. Semua cerita mampu buat kau merinding dengan cara yang tak disangka.. Serius..
April 25, 2016
As I am reading word by word of this piece by Megat Ishak, Junji Ito the king of horror manga, popped in my mind. Yes, these gory stories in Hard Core should be re-told again in manga format.
A decent try to be honest, first story was too bland but thankfully it did picked up the pace from there and the result turned out to be unexpectedly pleasing to read. My favorite story will be the last piece in the book, titled The Grim Facts of Anita Z. Incorporating tattoos with horror storyline will always be a superb combination.
The book definitely is not suitable for the faint-hearted people, you may have nightmares because of it!
A decent try to be honest, first story was too bland but thankfully it did picked up the pace from there and the result turned out to be unexpectedly pleasing to read. My favorite story will be the last piece in the book, titled The Grim Facts of Anita Z. Incorporating tattoos with horror storyline will always be a superb combination.
The book definitely is not suitable for the faint-hearted people, you may have nightmares because of it!
February 16, 2016
Gore. Grotesque. Bloods and a haunting maid. 4 stars.
- Some stories are more gore than Ah Long vs Cannibal -
- Some stories are more gore than Ah Long vs Cannibal -
March 15, 2016
readable. forgettable.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews