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Satan Burger
Absurd philosophies, dark surrealism & the end of the human race...
God hates you. All of you. He closed the gates of Heaven & wants you to rot on Earth forever. Not only that, he is repossesing your souls & feeding them to a large vagina-like machine called the Walm-an interdimensional doorway that brings His New Children into the world. He loves these new children, but He doesn't love you. They are more interesting than you. They are beautiful, psychotic, magical, sex-crazed & deadly. They are turning your cities into apocalyptic chaos & there's nothing you can do about it.
Featuring: a narrator who sees his body from a 3rd-person perspective, a man whose flesh is dead but his body parts are alive & running amok, an overweight messiah, the personal life of the Grim Reaper, lots of classy sex & violence, & a motley group of squatter punks that team up with the devil to find their place in a world that doesn t want them anymore.
God hates you. All of you. He closed the gates of Heaven & wants you to rot on Earth forever. Not only that, he is repossesing your souls & feeding them to a large vagina-like machine called the Walm-an interdimensional doorway that brings His New Children into the world. He loves these new children, but He doesn't love you. They are more interesting than you. They are beautiful, psychotic, magical, sex-crazed & deadly. They are turning your cities into apocalyptic chaos & there's nothing you can do about it.
Featuring: a narrator who sees his body from a 3rd-person perspective, a man whose flesh is dead but his body parts are alive & running amok, an overweight messiah, the personal life of the Grim Reaper, lots of classy sex & violence, & a motley group of squatter punks that team up with the devil to find their place in a world that doesn t want them anymore.
236 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2001
74 people are currently reading
5155 people want to read
About the author
Carlton Mellick III
119 books2,168 followersCarlton Mellick III (July 2, 1977, Phoenix, Arizona) is an American author currently residing in Portland, Oregon. He calls his style of writing "avant-punk," and is currently one of the leading authors in the recent 'Bizarro' movement in underground literature[citation needed] with Steve Aylett, Chris Genoa and D. Harlan Wilson.
Mellick's work has been described as a combination of trashy schlock sci-fi/horror and postmodern literary art. His novels explore surreal versions of earth in contemporary society and imagined futures, commonly focusing on social absurdities and satire.
Carlton Mellick III started writing at the age of ten and completed twelve novels by the age of eighteen. Only one of these early novels, "Electric Jesus Corpse", ever made it to print.
He is best known for his first novel Satan Burger and its sequel Punk Land. Satan Burger was translated into Russian and published by Ultra Culture in 2005. It was part of a four book series called Brave New World, which also featured Virtual Light by William Gibson, City Come A Walkin by John Shirley, and Tea from an Empty Cup by Pat Cadigan.
In the late 90's, he formed a collective for offbeat authors which included D. Harlan Wilson, Kevin L. Donihe, Vincent Sakowski, among others, and the publishing company Eraserhead Press. This scene evolved into the Bizarro fiction movement in 2005.
In addition to writing, Mellick is an artist and musician.
Mellick's work has been described as a combination of trashy schlock sci-fi/horror and postmodern literary art. His novels explore surreal versions of earth in contemporary society and imagined futures, commonly focusing on social absurdities and satire.
Carlton Mellick III started writing at the age of ten and completed twelve novels by the age of eighteen. Only one of these early novels, "Electric Jesus Corpse", ever made it to print.
He is best known for his first novel Satan Burger and its sequel Punk Land. Satan Burger was translated into Russian and published by Ultra Culture in 2005. It was part of a four book series called Brave New World, which also featured Virtual Light by William Gibson, City Come A Walkin by John Shirley, and Tea from an Empty Cup by Pat Cadigan.
In the late 90's, he formed a collective for offbeat authors which included D. Harlan Wilson, Kevin L. Donihe, Vincent Sakowski, among others, and the publishing company Eraserhead Press. This scene evolved into the Bizarro fiction movement in 2005.
In addition to writing, Mellick is an artist and musician.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
December 6, 2014
I'm actually very surprised that this book was really pretty good. I want to start off by saying that the cover of this book is awful and has probably done the book a disservice. I've had this book for a long time with no desire to read it probably because of the cover. I got this book from someone else who had it for a long while and never read it thinking it would just be disgusting and nonsensical (like the cover). Another problem is that unless you have this in kindle form, you can't read this in public unless you want to get a lot of disgusted looks. I ended up just putting duct tape on it so I could take it places and not have to explain what I was reading. That is a testament to how much I wanted to keep reading it though once I got into it.
This book is actually light, funny, original and just fucked up enough. I'd say it's a mixture of John dies at the end, Good Omens, something Christopher Moore would write and a dash of Hitchhiker's guide.
This book is actually light, funny, original and just fucked up enough. I'd say it's a mixture of John dies at the end, Good Omens, something Christopher Moore would write and a dash of Hitchhiker's guide.
January 11, 2014
This was the first bizarro fiction novel I ever picked up. It pretty much turned me into an instant convert to the subgenre since that moment. It's actually a good book to start with if you've never read any bizarro. The plot is strange and twisty and pretty much involves a town kind of at the end of existence and a Satan that sells the best burgers ever made at the price of your soul. Kind of. There's also a little bit of the walking dead and a lot of drug use. But it's one of those books that maybe it doesn't matter what it's about so much because it's just so beautifully written and so amazingly twisted and fucked up that all you can think by the time you've finished it is "wow, I'd really like to know what other people think of that..."
September 18, 2011
Welcome to Rippington, the Capital of New Canada!
This was a good read. I half expected an extreme book that was bashing the church, but it definitely isn't that. The narrative was different, and due to it being Mellick is was well written and interesting. It flowed nicely, and had a bunch of characters I could really get attached to. Mellick has a way of painting pictures that are almost poetic, at times I could really picture the scene being drawn before me. It is definitely bizarro/avant punk, it has some odd philosopy, almost truck stop at end of the world Hitchhiker's guide'esque.
Afterward I wanted to ask someone what they thought, and could only turn to Goodreads to see what other's were thinking of it. The main feature of Rippington is the "Walm," an portal through which pours a slew of aliens. "God" creates The Walm to trade people with other planets, as Earth was getting bored with just humans. Then "God" has also decides that heaven is overpopulated, so he quits accepting new souls; moreover, people can't die, they just become zombies. With hell also put out of business, Satan shows up and decides to open a hamburger joint.
Let the wild and crazy that is bizarre begin!
This was a good read. I half expected an extreme book that was bashing the church, but it definitely isn't that. The narrative was different, and due to it being Mellick is was well written and interesting. It flowed nicely, and had a bunch of characters I could really get attached to. Mellick has a way of painting pictures that are almost poetic, at times I could really picture the scene being drawn before me. It is definitely bizarro/avant punk, it has some odd philosopy, almost truck stop at end of the world Hitchhiker's guide'esque.
Afterward I wanted to ask someone what they thought, and could only turn to Goodreads to see what other's were thinking of it. The main feature of Rippington is the "Walm," an portal through which pours a slew of aliens. "God" creates The Walm to trade people with other planets, as Earth was getting bored with just humans. Then "God" has also decides that heaven is overpopulated, so he quits accepting new souls; moreover, people can't die, they just become zombies. With hell also put out of business, Satan shows up and decides to open a hamburger joint.
Let the wild and crazy that is bizarre begin!
October 16, 2018
SATAN BURGER is the book that launched a genre. But, for me, it doesn't stand the test of time. I read the 15th Anniversary hardcover edition of this book. The author's note included at the beginning practically admits this will be a tough read. Yet when it was first published it captured an unexpected audience and worked to legitimize the fledgling genre of Bizarro as a marketable category.
But reading it now, nearly two decades later, it stands as a sign of the time piece. The first third of the book I enjoyed but then it took a decidedly off-the-rails form of weird prose. It became too strange to follow. There were lots of vinette moments that ramped up the weird factor and ultimately never drove the plot by my estimation.
By the time the prose stopped being weird for weird's sake and got back on track, the book had pretty much lost me. I fought my way through the final third begging for an ending that kept teasing me with faux leads. The very end, the final chapter was satisfying and in its own way brilliantly artistic.
On the whole i simply did not enjoy this book. It could benefit from some after-the-fact editing to make it leaner and more concise. I don't wish to poo poo on the importance of the book in the pantheon of Bizarro fiction. I get its appeal to an audience over 15 years ago. But that audience and the genre has grown over that time. SATAN BURGER has remained frozen in that moment. Read it for its historical significance but be forewarned it is not the type of Bizarro you maybe accustomed to nowadays.
But reading it now, nearly two decades later, it stands as a sign of the time piece. The first third of the book I enjoyed but then it took a decidedly off-the-rails form of weird prose. It became too strange to follow. There were lots of vinette moments that ramped up the weird factor and ultimately never drove the plot by my estimation.
By the time the prose stopped being weird for weird's sake and got back on track, the book had pretty much lost me. I fought my way through the final third begging for an ending that kept teasing me with faux leads. The very end, the final chapter was satisfying and in its own way brilliantly artistic.
On the whole i simply did not enjoy this book. It could benefit from some after-the-fact editing to make it leaner and more concise. I don't wish to poo poo on the importance of the book in the pantheon of Bizarro fiction. I get its appeal to an audience over 15 years ago. But that audience and the genre has grown over that time. SATAN BURGER has remained frozen in that moment. Read it for its historical significance but be forewarned it is not the type of Bizarro you maybe accustomed to nowadays.
July 6, 2017
This is one of my favorite books of all times. I have read it multiple times and it is always my go too book when I want to reread something. I need to buy more books from Carlton Mellick III. I only own a few.
November 29, 2017
Satan Burger reminds me of why I read Bizarro. I am happily taken away to a place where reality has no constraints and routine is generally not a part of what is happening. The imagination behind the book is incredible. There are enough whacked-out ideas and creations in this book to spawn a hundred more, perhaps too many even.
I am torn between rating the book in context of it’s release and the impact it’s had or comparing it to Mellick’s other books. I am going with the latter, and I will probably be a minority when saying I prefer the author’s later output. Nevertheless, this was a fun ride.
I am torn between rating the book in context of it’s release and the impact it’s had or comparing it to Mellick’s other books. I am going with the latter, and I will probably be a minority when saying I prefer the author’s later output. Nevertheless, this was a fun ride.
August 14, 2021
Been meaning to get around to reading this for a while and turns out that it's pretty great, it takes a lot to gross me out and make me feel a bit dizzy... maybe it lacks that additional element that could make it really special... that element being HEART
April 21, 2016
This is the next generation's The Catcher in the Rye. This one isn't ready yet.
April 14, 2008
I like weird books. I like new ways of looking at things. This book is weird, and NOTHING is normal. So-called 'Gothic Punk' is a strange genre. There is a trans-universal vortex somewhere in New Canada that spews strange creatures and Satan is real and runs a hamburger chain (hence 'Satan Burger'). The narrator isn't necessarily anywhere near what he is seeing as his drug-addled brain allows him to use his 'God's Eyes' to travel places without traveling.
I'm not giving anything away as all of this is established in the first 20 pages. And it just keeps going. Maybe it was too strange for me, maybe it was just bad. Either way, it just seemed forced and was unpleasant to read.
I'm not giving anything away as all of this is established in the first 20 pages. And it just keeps going. Maybe it was too strange for me, maybe it was just bad. Either way, it just seemed forced and was unpleasant to read.
December 30, 2018
This book was much more experimental in nature than Mellick’s later work, but I see why it remains his most popular.
September 23, 2016
Full Review
Mellick has gone on to write so many books, I've honestly lost count. This first novel of his shows that he had a wide imagination and it hasn't dissipated. It's a strange as hell book, but I enjoyed it a lot. Anyone looking for an entry point into Mellick's work or into the bizarro genre couldn't ask for a better book than this.
Mellick has gone on to write so many books, I've honestly lost count. This first novel of his shows that he had a wide imagination and it hasn't dissipated. It's a strange as hell book, but I enjoyed it a lot. Anyone looking for an entry point into Mellick's work or into the bizarro genre couldn't ask for a better book than this.
May 12, 2017
This is a strange one . I am basically a novice as far as "BIZZARO" fiction goes . At times I thought to myself , "This is stupid and adolescent and I can't continue." Then in the next chapter I am like "This is a pretty good book and I am enjoying it ." Then right back again to "OMG This is retarded !" Like someone here was trying to imitate Kurt Vonnegut only with fills of blatant obscenities for shock effect . It also was quite a bit different than the novel I was expecting to read after reading the synopsis. But I've rated it 4 stars because it did what a good book does , it kept me reading and I couldn't put it down . And another strange thing . I am haunted and obssesed with Beautiful Machine like "Blue Women" . They invade my dreams and I think one may have impregnated me in my sleep . Does anyone know the gestation period ? Where do I get an abortion if I decide not to keep it ? I think I may be in deep trouble ! HELP !!!
READ THIS BOOK !!!
READ THIS BOOK !!!
March 2, 2020
SATAN BURGER takes place in a future dystopia where everyone has just given up. People have become void of emotion and hopelessly apathetic. Things get worse when God closes the Pearly Gates and souls start disappearing. What's the best way to keep your soul? Get a job at Satan Burger of course! I hear they pay in souls.
I'll have to be honest and say that this is not Mellick's best book, but perhaps I have become jaded with how great his later works are.
If you're new to bizarro fiction CM3 is an excellent place to start but I wouldn't suggest this book. I would start with THE EGG MAN which is one of my personal favorites. If you want to be disgusted try APES%@T. Or if you want to laugh try SAUSAGEY SANTA. After you're more familiar with CM3, then backtrack to this.
I'll have to be honest and say that this is not Mellick's best book, but perhaps I have become jaded with how great his later works are.
If you're new to bizarro fiction CM3 is an excellent place to start but I wouldn't suggest this book. I would start with THE EGG MAN which is one of my personal favorites. If you want to be disgusted try APES%@T. Or if you want to laugh try SAUSAGEY SANTA. After you're more familiar with CM3, then backtrack to this.
August 1, 2024
Not sure what I was expecting exactly, but whatever it was, this was better than I thought it would be. It was far tamer than I had anticipated, with more clever and imaginative concepts and mostly skillful writing. Maybe I have also just been desensitized to a level where nothing surprises me anymore. Yeah…probably that. Because there is plenty of insane and wildly offensive material contained within, so I probably shouldn’t be writing about how tame I thought it was, and make myself responsible for someone reading this and being traumatized. This brought me back to my younger days, during my Palahniuk period that many of us on Goodreads here probably shared. Many of Palahniuk’s signatures can be found in the writing style and plot points. But it is different enough that it stands on its own instead becoming a cheap imitation, which I would say the present day Palahniuk has sadly become.
December 22, 2020
A beautiful, haunting novel that was so refreshingly original that I can't even put my love of it into words. This is definitely a book that will make you think, and I feel like I'll be thinking about it for a very long time. It was weird and abstract and creative and hysterical and eighteen different shades of strange, which are all the best qualities for a novel to have. There was a definite levity to it at the same time there was so much weight and substance to the subject matter. I love the way this author is able to build worlds within every book he writes, and I love all the little quirks and individual foibles he gives to every single one of his characters. Everything about this book was layers and depth and beautiful imperfections, and if I could give it more than five stars, I absolutely would. Stone-cold brilliance at its finest.
April 11, 2013
Strange as this one is, it has the weight behind it that I thought was the only weakness (for me) in "The Baby Jesus Butt Plug." It isn't as playful or quite as fun, but there is a lot more substance. It's just as creative and odd, but the writing has more gravity. Maybe that's just me not being able to take "The Baby Jesus Butt Plug" seriously enough, but this book struck me as some seriously good serious fiction...even if it is really, really weird.
March 21, 2020
I make another visit to the world of Bizzaro fiction! A supposed 'anti-novel' set in a near alternate future Earth, with a gay Satan, an obese Jesus Christ and a world visited by countless aliens. Sounds like a mess.. read like a mess. 3 out of 12.
October 23, 2012
A past version of myself wants to rate this book with 5 stars. It wants to make references to it, even though most people won't know what Satan Burger is. If I could have read this book during my formative years, I feel it would have been Very Important to me. I would have thought Carlton Mellick III was a kindred spirit, and that I should gouge out one of my eyes just so he had another hole to f- me in, filling me with what I might, at the time, think of as "GLORY." This book would have been transformational had I known about it 30 or 40 years ago. The me of now would rather give this book a 4 star rating, because I like and enjoyed it, but the impact isn't the same. I think, though, it's a little unfair to take something out of its place in Time and say "well, it's not got the same impact!"
The passage of time doesn't detract from it, in my opinion. Or, it shouldn't. Once, I would have loved it. Now, I like it. I'm going to rate it based on then, though, because if you're someone who likes weirdness, or maybe it's just your Nature, and you didn't really have an outlet for it, once upon a time, or a sense of belonging because the internet wasn't what it is today, I think you could have read this book and felt pretty inspired. And maybe you would have really pursued your own weird style, knowing that someone else had transformed theirs into a book... and it would have been pretty great. Maybe now, you're like "yeah, whatever, I see 'weird' commercials and eat 'bizarre' cereal all the time," but I don't think that attitude does this book any justice.
10 years ago, this book was,or would have been, genius- for some. Now, I think it's still pretty good, but my opinion is skewed, slightly, only by the fact that I've read other Bizarro stories since then, and I've watched a slew of things created by what is probably the Greatest Generation, those who fall between X and Y... and so maybe something that was very fresh for its time is a little less fresh now. Don't let that spoil it for you, though. Satan Burger is worth reading, especially if you're new to the idea that a book can be titled "Satan Burger."
The passage of time doesn't detract from it, in my opinion. Or, it shouldn't. Once, I would have loved it. Now, I like it. I'm going to rate it based on then, though, because if you're someone who likes weirdness, or maybe it's just your Nature, and you didn't really have an outlet for it, once upon a time, or a sense of belonging because the internet wasn't what it is today, I think you could have read this book and felt pretty inspired. And maybe you would have really pursued your own weird style, knowing that someone else had transformed theirs into a book... and it would have been pretty great. Maybe now, you're like "yeah, whatever, I see 'weird' commercials and eat 'bizarre' cereal all the time," but I don't think that attitude does this book any justice.
10 years ago, this book was,or would have been, genius- for some. Now, I think it's still pretty good, but my opinion is skewed, slightly, only by the fact that I've read other Bizarro stories since then, and I've watched a slew of things created by what is probably the Greatest Generation, those who fall between X and Y... and so maybe something that was very fresh for its time is a little less fresh now. Don't let that spoil it for you, though. Satan Burger is worth reading, especially if you're new to the idea that a book can be titled "Satan Burger."
September 18, 2013
I love bizarro books, and somehow I have not read a Mellick III book until now. Mellick's first of many books is fantastic. Every moment of absurdity is matched by brilliance. If you dig bizarro, this is a must.
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April 10, 2024I first read Satan Burger when I was too young to understand any of it, via a dodgy PDF online (sorry!) The book introduced me to the bizarro genre, which I loved. A few years later I read Satan Burger again and still loved it. I was glad weird books were still in my life. But on my 3rd read through, now with the anniversary edition, Satan Burger doesn't hold up.
Re-reading it almost 20(!) years after the first time, Satan Burger is some of Mellick's weakest work. It meanders often. There are some fascinating ideas here, buried under disgusting things. All of the mentions of sex (and rape), the weirdly out of place homophobia, the blue woman and implied paedophilia (?) all coupled with some hard to look at illustrations in the anniversary edition... I feel like I am reading a completely different book now, as an adult.
I don't mention these things to 'moralise' bizarro, that isn't my intention. And I realise how pretentious this all sounds. But bizarro always seemed punk as hell to me. Re-reading it now though just felt... messy. At the age I am now, Satan Burger feels so intentionally subversive and awkward. It feels amateurish, because it was. Impressive for an early novel, sure, but Mellick had not developed his voice yet and it shows. If you want some decent writing out of Mellick with more exploration of weird ideas, check out: Bio Melt, Cuddly Holocaust, Quicksand House and The Terrible Thing That Happens.
In the original foreword of this book Mellick mentions he was 20 when he wrote it and was 'on the verge of self-murder'. I think this book made a lot more sense when I was in a similar headspace. Leaf's dissociation felt familiar and his ramblings felt comforting. Now, years and years later, I'm a lot better. But this book doesn't resonate the same way at all. And I'm still dealing with that realisation. What I can say is that I'm glad I read it when I did, and I'm even more glad Mellick is still with us. The world of fiction wouldn't be the same without him.
Re-reading it almost 20(!) years after the first time, Satan Burger is some of Mellick's weakest work. It meanders often. There are some fascinating ideas here, buried under disgusting things. All of the mentions of sex (and rape), the weirdly out of place homophobia, the blue woman and implied paedophilia (?) all coupled with some hard to look at illustrations in the anniversary edition... I feel like I am reading a completely different book now, as an adult.
I don't mention these things to 'moralise' bizarro, that isn't my intention. And I realise how pretentious this all sounds. But bizarro always seemed punk as hell to me. Re-reading it now though just felt... messy. At the age I am now, Satan Burger feels so intentionally subversive and awkward. It feels amateurish, because it was. Impressive for an early novel, sure, but Mellick had not developed his voice yet and it shows. If you want some decent writing out of Mellick with more exploration of weird ideas, check out: Bio Melt, Cuddly Holocaust, Quicksand House and The Terrible Thing That Happens.
In the original foreword of this book Mellick mentions he was 20 when he wrote it and was 'on the verge of self-murder'. I think this book made a lot more sense when I was in a similar headspace. Leaf's dissociation felt familiar and his ramblings felt comforting. Now, years and years later, I'm a lot better. But this book doesn't resonate the same way at all. And I'm still dealing with that realisation. What I can say is that I'm glad I read it when I did, and I'm even more glad Mellick is still with us. The world of fiction wouldn't be the same without him.
March 4, 2022
A bit of punk rock, a large dose of nihilism, and a heaping truckload of surrealism. Honestly, if you aren't interested in surrealism then don't even bother with this as you will probably hate it. If you are interested in the surreal or just want something super different from anything you have likely read before, then this is a fascinating journey.
February 5, 2020
Okumakta çok zorlandım, bitirmekte daha da çok zorlandım. Bu ikinci uçuk yazın tecrübem ama ilki bu kadar “uçuk” değildi. Tabiri caizse cinsellikten soğudum. Bana göre bir kitap değildi. Tecrübe ile sabitlendi.
March 9, 2012
3 1/2 star.
So far (this is my second book), Mellick's MAD & imaginative ideas holds my interest in the bizarro fiction. I enjoy his writings and it kills me, reading that he was on the verge of self-murder at 20 (when he wrote this book). Mellick sure thinks about things a lot and whatever he thinks, I wish for many more books from this man. Here are some of Mellick's talent I highlighted from his book:
Emptiness. It clots in my head and scabs over all of my fluffy bright-colored emotions. The horizon line doesn’t seem to make the landscape feel like it goes on forever anymore. The line is more like an ending. It shrinks my path, makes it smaller and smaller, until the path is just a dot. And after the dot, there’s nothing.
and
What God was trying to tell the world’s people with this lightning flare is that Heaven is full and there’s no room for any more souls, so He’s made the decision to discontinue the performance of dying to save His home from overpopulation.
and
"You’re inside of the Silence," he says. "The Silence has eaten you away from your friends and put you in her belly. You are not dead, however. And you will not be dead for as long as you keep quiet. If she doesn’t hear any noise inside of her belly, she will think there is no food. She will figure you are part of her and forget about you. Otherwise, she will digest your meat and you’ll be excreted as part of the wind.
So far (this is my second book), Mellick's MAD & imaginative ideas holds my interest in the bizarro fiction. I enjoy his writings and it kills me, reading that he was on the verge of self-murder at 20 (when he wrote this book). Mellick sure thinks about things a lot and whatever he thinks, I wish for many more books from this man. Here are some of Mellick's talent I highlighted from his book:
Emptiness. It clots in my head and scabs over all of my fluffy bright-colored emotions. The horizon line doesn’t seem to make the landscape feel like it goes on forever anymore. The line is more like an ending. It shrinks my path, makes it smaller and smaller, until the path is just a dot. And after the dot, there’s nothing.
and
What God was trying to tell the world’s people with this lightning flare is that Heaven is full and there’s no room for any more souls, so He’s made the decision to discontinue the performance of dying to save His home from overpopulation.
and
"You’re inside of the Silence," he says. "The Silence has eaten you away from your friends and put you in her belly. You are not dead, however. And you will not be dead for as long as you keep quiet. If she doesn’t hear any noise inside of her belly, she will think there is no food. She will figure you are part of her and forget about you. Otherwise, she will digest your meat and you’ll be excreted as part of the wind.
July 24, 2009
Wow. I didn't know this was a genre called "bizarro."
But is an apt term because I remember thinking WTF after every page.
But is an apt term because I remember thinking WTF after every page.
November 14, 2012
Just couldn't get on with this. By chapter three I had had enough of the authors incoherent rambling while waiting for some sort of story to form. Not my cup of tea.
October 8, 2020
Four Stars for strangeness alone
June 18, 2018
This book is well edited and very good.
January 17, 2021
This was one of those reads that took me some time cause I had to digest it a little bit at a time, to absorb it the right way. Mellick has quite the imagination and takes his readers on trips that they definitely have never taken, until opening one of his books.
April 13, 2010
The front cover of the book proudly claims that it is "AN INTERNATIONAL CULT FAVORITE." Well, having read it, who am I to argue with the illuminati? Carlton Mellick III's "Satan Burger" feels like the kind of book to have a relationship with. The fact that I originally covered the front cover of my copy with a piece of tissue marked "WHOLESOME!" (to prevent awkward stares in public) probably helped in this endearment.
To begin with, the protagonist Leaf feels like a vortex of perspective and insight, of which only some of it seems to be his own. While switching between his hallucinogenic first-person perspective and his preferred third person "god's eyes" perspective, he interprets events and makes comparisons based on group values ("In other words, [person/action:] = PUNK") and/or the values of the Vonnegut-esque Richard Stein and/or the values of the other characters. In doing so, Leaf felt very relatable. His diction only adds to the charm.
The rest of the cast is just as colorful, replete with their own quirks and set-ups for conflict, and to list them would really only spoil some of the funnier situations which they bring themselves into. Though, as a tease, Leaf's relationship with a blue woman brings about an interesting change in Leaf. Suffice to say that the creatures brought through the interdimensional, soul-stealing Walm have quite an effect on the humans which Earth got bored with.
Granted, there are some issues with the story. Some events seem slightly unnecessary, such as the bit with the "Venezuelan" shopkeeper, which add some extra absurdism but feel like filler. Speaking of filler, the ending's deliberate spacing was atmospheric but probably killed a few more trees than was necessary. Then there is the matter of scene breaks, marked with smileys, that on occasion get too choppy and are sometimes only used for one of Leaf's comparisons.
Those complaints aside, a fantastic story which feels like it goes beyond "FAVORITE" and into "CLASSIC."
To begin with, the protagonist Leaf feels like a vortex of perspective and insight, of which only some of it seems to be his own. While switching between his hallucinogenic first-person perspective and his preferred third person "god's eyes" perspective, he interprets events and makes comparisons based on group values ("In other words, [person/action:] = PUNK") and/or the values of the Vonnegut-esque Richard Stein and/or the values of the other characters. In doing so, Leaf felt very relatable. His diction only adds to the charm.
The rest of the cast is just as colorful, replete with their own quirks and set-ups for conflict, and to list them would really only spoil some of the funnier situations which they bring themselves into. Though, as a tease, Leaf's relationship with a blue woman brings about an interesting change in Leaf. Suffice to say that the creatures brought through the interdimensional, soul-stealing Walm have quite an effect on the humans which Earth got bored with.
Granted, there are some issues with the story. Some events seem slightly unnecessary, such as the bit with the "Venezuelan" shopkeeper, which add some extra absurdism but feel like filler. Speaking of filler, the ending's deliberate spacing was atmospheric but probably killed a few more trees than was necessary. Then there is the matter of scene breaks, marked with smileys, that on occasion get too choppy and are sometimes only used for one of Leaf's comparisons.
Those complaints aside, a fantastic story which feels like it goes beyond "FAVORITE" and into "CLASSIC."
November 14, 2012
Definitely not a book for those with weak stomachs or minds, Mellick makes the grotesque beautiful with horrifying honesty, vivid imagination, living characters, startling originality, and fresh wit, all in a surprisingly simple language which makes Satan Burger a very quick and easy, but satisfying, read. Mellick seems a bit like a more modern, more cogent, and more heterosexual William S. Burroughs, though he certainly possesses his own unique voice and style (and has only a dash of gay).
A few observations...
Folks who grew up in counter-culture scenes of the late 90s should feel right at home here. The characters have such depth that they very much remind me of my own friends from that time, so I felt a connection with them.
The book runs the gamut of emotions. I spent roughly the first half in a rumbling gut-laugh, while through the second I sat quietly with knitted brows. Some parts read like raunchy sci-fi Internet porn, while others were so tragic that I put the book down for a while.
It borrows characteristics from many genres, but belongs to none. I've read that it spawned its own genre, 'bizzarro fiction', which I look forward to checking out.
It is a hard (in the street sense) book, with hard characters, but tempered with a strange tenderness; hopeful in a hopeless world; insane, yet grasping wildly for sanity.
Mellick was 20 years old when he wrote Satan Burger, and it contains a surprising amount of wisdom for such a young writer. I wish I had read a hard copy so I could have dog-eared the pages with memorable quotes. I have also heard that this is his first book. It has left me wanting much more, but also hoping that his (apparently many) later works are not mere rehashes of Satan Burger.
A few observations...
Folks who grew up in counter-culture scenes of the late 90s should feel right at home here. The characters have such depth that they very much remind me of my own friends from that time, so I felt a connection with them.
The book runs the gamut of emotions. I spent roughly the first half in a rumbling gut-laugh, while through the second I sat quietly with knitted brows. Some parts read like raunchy sci-fi Internet porn, while others were so tragic that I put the book down for a while.
It borrows characteristics from many genres, but belongs to none. I've read that it spawned its own genre, 'bizzarro fiction', which I look forward to checking out.
It is a hard (in the street sense) book, with hard characters, but tempered with a strange tenderness; hopeful in a hopeless world; insane, yet grasping wildly for sanity.
Mellick was 20 years old when he wrote Satan Burger, and it contains a surprising amount of wisdom for such a young writer. I wish I had read a hard copy so I could have dog-eared the pages with memorable quotes. I have also heard that this is his first book. It has left me wanting much more, but also hoping that his (apparently many) later works are not mere rehashes of Satan Burger.
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