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Parasite Milk
Irving Rice has just arrived on the planet Kynaria to film an episode of the popular Travel Channel television series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: Intergalactic Edition. Having never left his home state, let alone his home planet, Irving is hit with a severe case of culture shock. He's not prepared for Kynaria's mushroom cities, fungus-like citizens, or the giant insect wildlife. And the only human companion he has with him on the voyage is an obnoxious sex-crazed producer name Mick Meyers, who seems more focused on alien sex tourism than scouting locations for the show.
Irving is taken on a crash course in Kynarian culture, tasting the strange local delicacies to getting drunk off the horrific local brews, until they find themselves ending the night at an alien brothel in the mushroom forests outside of town. Irving is completely resistant to the idea of sleeping with a non-human prostitute until he meets the most beautiful creature he's ever seen in his life-- a nymph-like woman with pink and purple skin, blue plant-like hair, and flowers growing from her head like butterfly antennae. But after a night of passionate lovemaking, Irving finds himself infected by dangerous sexually-transmitted parasites that turn his otherworldly business trip into an agonizing fight for survival.
From the godfather of bizarre fiction, Carlton Mellick III, author of Village of the Mermaids and Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland, comes an erotic and disturbing tale of sex on the weird side of the galaxy.
Irving is taken on a crash course in Kynarian culture, tasting the strange local delicacies to getting drunk off the horrific local brews, until they find themselves ending the night at an alien brothel in the mushroom forests outside of town. Irving is completely resistant to the idea of sleeping with a non-human prostitute until he meets the most beautiful creature he's ever seen in his life-- a nymph-like woman with pink and purple skin, blue plant-like hair, and flowers growing from her head like butterfly antennae. But after a night of passionate lovemaking, Irving finds himself infected by dangerous sexually-transmitted parasites that turn his otherworldly business trip into an agonizing fight for survival.
From the godfather of bizarre fiction, Carlton Mellick III, author of Village of the Mermaids and Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland, comes an erotic and disturbing tale of sex on the weird side of the galaxy.
114 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
16 people are currently reading
253 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 39 reviews
December 27, 2017
Teleportation has made universal travel possible. The macrocosm has become a virtual melting pot, and dwellers of all planets are able to visit new worlds. Beings of all shapes and sizes are exploring planet Kynaria, where Andrew Zimmern is scheduled to film an intergalactic episode of Bizarre Foods. But wait. There's a fungus among us! Andrew Zimmern has used this cute mix of words on his earth show. He has no idea what is in store for him on Kynaria. Some advise: don't eat it. Absolutely do not have sex with it. Beam me up, Scotty, the jelly bugs are here!
March 31, 2018
This book was wonderfully weird and (at times) stomach-turningly gross. Mellick the master of throwing you immediately into an impossibly crazy situation, and then playing it off like it’s no big thing, and the vivid alien world this novella takes place on is just the window dressing for a story that pushes culture shock to an absurd new level.
I’m beginning to think of Mellick books more like episodes of The Twilight Zone...except, ya know, BIZARRO. There is a consistent tone, voice, and vision that extend past the individual titles, and yet each one stands alone as its own little universe, full of strangeness and surprises. And that’s what Parasite Milk was for me: full of fun surprises.
I’m beginning to think of Mellick books more like episodes of The Twilight Zone...except, ya know, BIZARRO. There is a consistent tone, voice, and vision that extend past the individual titles, and yet each one stands alone as its own little universe, full of strangeness and surprises. And that’s what Parasite Milk was for me: full of fun surprises.
December 27, 2017
Parasite Milk combines incredible imagery and an uncommon imagination, both of which I have come to expect from CMIII. There are also some well done body horror elements and a sex scene that cannot be unread. You have been warned. Don't be surprised if you find yourself laughing out as well.
December 31, 2021
Well bend me over and call me a mailbox if it ain't CM3 at it again!
This story is bizarro even for the Bizarro genre. This gives sex with aliens and STDs a whole new meaning. Travelling to another planet is off my bucket list. Sorry, Elon Musk, but your penis-shaped rocket will just have to leave without me.
If you're a fan of a good SF story mixed in with uber-gross scenes that make you laugh (while you're simultaneously reaching for the chunder bucket), then this is for you. I took one star off because the yuk factor sometimes exceeded my yuk tolerance level.
This story is bizarro even for the Bizarro genre. This gives sex with aliens and STDs a whole new meaning. Travelling to another planet is off my bucket list. Sorry, Elon Musk, but your penis-shaped rocket will just have to leave without me.
If you're a fan of a good SF story mixed in with uber-gross scenes that make you laugh (while you're simultaneously reaching for the chunder bucket), then this is for you. I took one star off because the yuk factor sometimes exceeded my yuk tolerance level.
May 27, 2023
Meh. Non il miglior Mellick.
L'idea di base è, come quasi sempre, originale e piacevolmente bizzarra, ma al di là dei personali feticismi dell'autore non c'è molto in cui affrontare i denti.
La trama è più che mai ridotta all'osso, l'autoironia (che ha salvato altre opere dell'autore, come Stacking Doll) quasi assente, il finale che oscilla tra il telefonato e il randomico nel senso brutto del termine.
Un'occasione sprecata per un autore capace di fare molto di più. Ma ehi, non tutte le ciambelle bizzarre escono col buco!
L'idea di base è, come quasi sempre, originale e piacevolmente bizzarra, ma al di là dei personali feticismi dell'autore non c'è molto in cui affrontare i denti.
La trama è più che mai ridotta all'osso, l'autoironia (che ha salvato altre opere dell'autore, come Stacking Doll) quasi assente, il finale che oscilla tra il telefonato e il randomico nel senso brutto del termine.
Un'occasione sprecata per un autore capace di fare molto di più. Ma ehi, non tutte le ciambelle bizzarre escono col buco!
August 28, 2019
Review to follow...
April 1, 2022
I didn’t read the synopsis of the story before reading it. I’ve found that Carlton is an amazing writer and will be able to suck me in and he did.
It’s a travel show on another planet. You must be advised that probably eating anything while reading this book is not recommended. But props goes to the writer making me want to gag.
This is for sure xrated. Just as a caution. But so delightfully good.
It’s a travel show on another planet. You must be advised that probably eating anything while reading this book is not recommended. But props goes to the writer making me want to gag.
This is for sure xrated. Just as a caution. But so delightfully good.
July 31, 2020
Well, you can cross off any desire for me to engage in intergalactic travel in my lifetime! This book focuses on Rice, a filmmaker who is travelling for work to a new planet called Kynaria for a TV episode. He is a pretty horny guy and Kynaria is extremely odd. He goes to a local brothel and realizes his entertainment is a sex-slug that crawls out of a vat of mud. Being human and not into that at all, his drunken self stumbles outside to encounter a gorgeous nymph-like creature. Her smells are intoxicating, her skin glows as they get more intense, and basically the most sensual sexual experience I have ever read takes place. Then he wakes up with parasitic shrimp and mushrooms in his nasal passage and urinary tract. YIKES! Turns out she was a loathsome creature even to the aliens. Oopsy! What a wild ride full of sexual no-nos! Wear condoms, gents!
January 3, 2018
There’s a common theme in a lot of Carlton Mellick books which is centered around bizarre sexual encounters or unconventional relationships. Think of the Haunted Vagina or Tick People, and there’s a familiar hyper-sexual narrative which pulls you in, but not in an erotic sense… rather a disturbing fascination. Some of these stories wind their own unique threads which redefine concepts of love and beauty. Parasite Milk has all the familiar Mellick tropes set up, ready to pull you in to that strange, beautiful place which isn’t all that uncommon in his work. The pieces are there, but Parasite Milk is not that type of story. It’s a sci-fi horror story disguised as a mysterious/forbidden love story. I love whenever Mellick goes into sci-fi territory (Tumor Fruit being a prime example), and he’s got some wonderful vivid imagery going on, some beautiful world building in place, and it’s got one of those settings where you get a taste of it and you want to go deeper into it. But as much as Carlton Mellick’s books are bursting with crazy ideas and pure, unrestrained imagination, Mellick is a storyteller who has had many years practicing restraint. The world of Parasite Milk could be so much more, but it isn’t. Simply because the story which needs to be told doesn’t need to be drawn out. It happens, and there’s that taste in your brain which gets you craving more, but one fantastic thing about Carlton Mellick III, there are always more stories to come, and he makes it so easy to get ripped out of one world and sucked into another.
September 1, 2019
Ha Ha Ha...what did I think!? I gave this 5 stars, it's Carlton Mellick III, and I think everyone should check this guy's writing out. This title was a trip...to another world, experience, and bizarre...the way I like it! :)
May 11, 2025
4.5 rounded down
This is a business trip gone wrong. Irving is a cameraman for a popular food television show called Bizarre Eats. He visits Kynarian, another planet light years away from Earth for the next shoot location for the show. He is completely overwhelmed, skeptical and in disbelief of nearly everything he encounters since this is his first time leaving Earth. He meets a forest nymph whom seduces him and infects him with a disease. Now Irving is desperate to get off this planet but is having a hard time doing so.
~MY THOUGHTS~
I liken this to an extreme version of visiting a foreign country with no information about it and everything going wrong and feeling so helpless, frightened and alone and just wanting to go home.
Imagine having euphoric sex with a beautiful creature only to find out it’s considered the lowest of the low in that culture. A vermin. A parasite. And now you’re infected with something from it…talk about embarrassing and problematic.
The constant erection thing was kinda meh. Irving has an overactive sex drive causing non stop boners. I felt like this book would have been just as good without it being a subject of interest and should have focused more time on other things instead. It’s really the only negative I have to say.
This is on the more gross and sexual side of a Mellick book. Erections were a bit abundant. It had a very simple plot with lots of imagery as you’re introduced to this planet, its inhabitants and culture and it was lovely. It sounds like a beautiful planet full of vibrant colors and HUGE mushrooms. This book should teach you to learn a thing or two about places you visit before actually visiting them. And to maybe keep your erections in your pants on a foreign planet….cuz you never know😂 Such a fun book that I enjoyed a lot, hope you do too!
This is a business trip gone wrong. Irving is a cameraman for a popular food television show called Bizarre Eats. He visits Kynarian, another planet light years away from Earth for the next shoot location for the show. He is completely overwhelmed, skeptical and in disbelief of nearly everything he encounters since this is his first time leaving Earth. He meets a forest nymph whom seduces him and infects him with a disease. Now Irving is desperate to get off this planet but is having a hard time doing so.
~MY THOUGHTS~
I liken this to an extreme version of visiting a foreign country with no information about it and everything going wrong and feeling so helpless, frightened and alone and just wanting to go home.
Imagine having euphoric sex with a beautiful creature only to find out it’s considered the lowest of the low in that culture. A vermin. A parasite. And now you’re infected with something from it…talk about embarrassing and problematic.
The constant erection thing was kinda meh. Irving has an overactive sex drive causing non stop boners. I felt like this book would have been just as good without it being a subject of interest and should have focused more time on other things instead. It’s really the only negative I have to say.
This is on the more gross and sexual side of a Mellick book. Erections were a bit abundant. It had a very simple plot with lots of imagery as you’re introduced to this planet, its inhabitants and culture and it was lovely. It sounds like a beautiful planet full of vibrant colors and HUGE mushrooms. This book should teach you to learn a thing or two about places you visit before actually visiting them. And to maybe keep your erections in your pants on a foreign planet….cuz you never know😂 Such a fun book that I enjoyed a lot, hope you do too!
January 8, 2022
Very interesting world-building, but the whole thing just felt pointless. I get the impression that this was one of those "let me write this story real quick so I can pay my bills" type of books for this author.
June 29, 2025
Su inicio surreal, fantástico y cargado de humor negro te atrapan enseguida, tan solo para tornarse escabroso, horroroso y profundamente perturbador al final...
November 22, 2017
Aside from the Epilogue, I read this book on the flight home from BizarroCon. It's another great gross-out, body-horror book from CM3. But it is also about a cooking show on intergalactic planets. This episode happens to take place on a mushroom planet, and I love mushrooms, so that alone was enough for me to buy it!
It also has a good commentary on addiction and withdrawal, substances that overwhelm you with pleasure before killing you. Only the substance is love pheromones from an insect called the jelly bug. Apparently sexy (almost human-like) in appearance, they act more like a spider meets a tarantula hawk meets a crustacean.
I highly recommend this book for fans of CM3, especially if you dig his work that revolves around strange sex. And if you enjoyed CM3s A Village of Mermaids, then Parasite Milk is a must.
It also has a good commentary on addiction and withdrawal, substances that overwhelm you with pleasure before killing you. Only the substance is love pheromones from an insect called the jelly bug. Apparently sexy (almost human-like) in appearance, they act more like a spider meets a tarantula hawk meets a crustacean.
I highly recommend this book for fans of CM3, especially if you dig his work that revolves around strange sex. And if you enjoyed CM3s A Village of Mermaids, then Parasite Milk is a must.
January 23, 2018
I’ve read a load of books by Mellick and I’m really enjoying these little novellas he has been doing recently. Parasite Milk is another original story by him. Filled with great imagery of an alien world and the usual random craziness you can only expect from Mellick. This book has great characters and some interesting new species. There are certain elements of the story you may need a strong stomach for but they are all dealt in a pretty fun way rather than being gruesome. Although this wasn’t my favourite book by Mellick, it was certainly a great read.
March 14, 2019
Was expecting high humor and possibly a pretty interesting sci-fi world. The world-building ended up being a little patchy and the book wasn’t all that funny. Kind of too short to really get in-depth and more engaging. Just a mediocre effort.
February 26, 2020
what can i say. it's gross, it's horrible, i love it.
February 13, 2022
"Parasite Milk" by Carlton Mellick III
Irving Rice has made a terrible mistake. Well, technically, he's made several. The first mistake was agreeing to assist in filming an episode for a popular Travel Channel television series on the planet Kynaria. His second mistake was listening to anything his partner Mick Meyers had to say. His third and final mistake was having sex with the jelly bug. Now, plagued by weird symptoms, Rice is desperate to make it back to earth and far away from the Kynaria planet.
This read was super short and fun. I don't usually enjoy things that involve aliens or other planets but as always, Mellick delivered the most perfect and enticing story. I couldn't set this one down. I really empathized with Rice and the terrible time he was having on planet Kynaria. I found Mick both annoying and funny and was shell-shocked to read about the jelly bug 🐛 🤣. The ending is typical bizzaro fashion and a solid 5 star 🌟
Irving Rice has made a terrible mistake. Well, technically, he's made several. The first mistake was agreeing to assist in filming an episode for a popular Travel Channel television series on the planet Kynaria. His second mistake was listening to anything his partner Mick Meyers had to say. His third and final mistake was having sex with the jelly bug. Now, plagued by weird symptoms, Rice is desperate to make it back to earth and far away from the Kynaria planet.
This read was super short and fun. I don't usually enjoy things that involve aliens or other planets but as always, Mellick delivered the most perfect and enticing story. I couldn't set this one down. I really empathized with Rice and the terrible time he was having on planet Kynaria. I found Mick both annoying and funny and was shell-shocked to read about the jelly bug 🐛 🤣. The ending is typical bizzaro fashion and a solid 5 star 🌟
August 23, 2020
Carlton Mellick III has done it again! A cautionary tale against having unprotected sex with aliens and a satire of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern this novella will delight Bizarro Fiction junkies - Its nasty, its visual and its imagination is off the scale.
Our hero, Irving Rice is the cameraman on Bizarre Foods who has travelled to the mushroom planet of Kynaria to film Andrew eating bizarre delicacies including frog semen, anal shellfish and cloned meat (yes there are restaurants where they take samples of your DNA and you can eat your own flesh....) Whilst there Irving and the other crewman visit a brothel. Irving disgusted with the psychic slug prostitute he's offered, leaves with a cute purple girl he meets loitering outside who takes him to her mushroom. Unbeknownst to him she is a jelly bug, a particularly nasty parasite which has recently infested the planet, infecting their livestock. Poor Irving gets far more than he bargained for....
As with a lot of Mellick's other fiction it's a bit misogynistic - the women are all monstrous, and the men all sex-obsessed perverts. However the story is great, the world imaginative, the satire clever and the ending brilliant so I can't complain too much.
Cult Classic.
Our hero, Irving Rice is the cameraman on Bizarre Foods who has travelled to the mushroom planet of Kynaria to film Andrew eating bizarre delicacies including frog semen, anal shellfish and cloned meat (yes there are restaurants where they take samples of your DNA and you can eat your own flesh....) Whilst there Irving and the other crewman visit a brothel. Irving disgusted with the psychic slug prostitute he's offered, leaves with a cute purple girl he meets loitering outside who takes him to her mushroom. Unbeknownst to him she is a jelly bug, a particularly nasty parasite which has recently infested the planet, infecting their livestock. Poor Irving gets far more than he bargained for....
As with a lot of Mellick's other fiction it's a bit misogynistic - the women are all monstrous, and the men all sex-obsessed perverts. However the story is great, the world imaginative, the satire clever and the ending brilliant so I can't complain too much.
Cult Classic.
June 15, 2020
First book I've read of this author
4.5⭐ I loved this bizzare, strange, fascinating, fun story. The writing is smooth and I loved the humor in it. I can't wait to check out more of his work.
4.5⭐ I loved this bizzare, strange, fascinating, fun story. The writing is smooth and I loved the humor in it. I can't wait to check out more of his work.
June 8, 2023
A fine read, not among the best of this author though. Mellick is very good at world-building and this book is not an exception. Here we travel to a remote crazy mushroom planet where our protagonist is supposed to shoot a TV show about eating rare food. The environments and the beings present in this planet are very well described, with this mix between repulsion and fascination that characterizes CM3's writing. Unfortunately, the story is strongly focused on bizarre sex stuff that is fun to read but a bit repetitive and not very stimulating if you are familiar with the author.
October 29, 2022
Note to self, never sleep with a jelly bug. Seriously though, this story is a mix of creative, erotic, a bit dark, and bizarre as hell! Although I can’t say it’s my favorite of the (now) three titles from Carlton Mellick III that I’ve read so far, it’s definitely still an oddly enjoyable story.
Mellick certainly has a knack for making some rather bizarre scenarios that he’s created to be incredibly entertaining.
Mellick certainly has a knack for making some rather bizarre scenarios that he’s created to be incredibly entertaining.
October 1, 2023
This story starts off surprisingly ordinary (as far as CM3 books go, that is), as you're essentially following two human tourists that are drinking and gallivanting about on an alien planet. But after spending the night with a Succubus-like creature, things quickly go awry for our main character, and the book becomes both hilarious and disgusting in a way that only CM3 can execute properly.
February 12, 2020
After reading another bizzaro authors work. I thought I should check out the most popular, and I wasnt disappointed. Not an everyday read for me. More of a horror fan, but I will be definitely checking out more Mellick.
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June 19, 2020Weird version of Bizarre Foods
But if you read Mellick you know you are getting weird. Poor camera goes to a mushroom planet with a sex addict director. Poor guy is all I can say without giving more away.
But if you read Mellick you know you are getting weird. Poor camera goes to a mushroom planet with a sex addict director. Poor guy is all I can say without giving more away.
January 22, 2021
beautiful scenery, and a fun take on travel and food tv. But this book lacks both the momentum and the inherent beauty that from my experience is a staple of the Carlton Mellick gross shocking horrificness. I also found it lacking the social commentary I have seen in some of his other works.
May 18, 2018
Really interesting concept, wasn't keen on the abrupt ending.
September 29, 2018
Not my favorite.
March 16, 2021
This was quick and I read it in one go. What was good was the slug sounded adorable. What was better was there's no happy ending. Brilliantly sums up society today.
July 20, 2021
A very fun book—I’ll definitely be reading more from Mellick. And the comic at the end was pure gold.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews