What do you think?
Rate this book
Peck
Not only does he wear a mask, but he uses it in his victim's tortures ...
PECK is a short story premiering on Aiden Merchant's official website prior to its digital release in August 2020.
PECK is a short story premiering on Aiden Merchant's official website prior to its digital release in August 2020.
- GenresHorror
8 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 7, 2020
7 people want to read
About the author
Aiden Merchant
36 books73 followersAiden Merchant is the author of more than a hundred stories spanning numerous collections, including Sickness is in Season, Documenting Dreadful Existences, Dead as Soon as Born, Kill for Them, and his extreme horror debut Horrific Holidays. He is also the author of several novellas and screenplays. In late 2021, he published and edited Milk Teeth by Andrew Post, as well as a dark fiction anthology Blackberry Blood, which he worked on with author Julia C. Lewis. His short fiction has appeared in Wild Violence, Pulp Harvest, and Slice of Paradise.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 24, 2020
Peck by Aiden Merchant is a short splatterpunk tale about a man that goes on a bender and then finds himself in quite a pickle…
Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Let’s dive into this very quick review!
When this tale begins, I actually felt a bit wobbly reading the description of our main character who was drunk and stumbling around an alley. While quick, the scene was just so vivid that it really plays out in your head while reading!
In his drunken stupor, the main character runs into someone wearing a mask… And from there, we’re off on quite the dark and horrifying splatterpunk tale!
This short story really packed a punch! It also had a major unsettling vibe to it throughout. And my gosh… that ending. I got quite the chuckle out of it!
Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Let’s dive into this very quick review!
When this tale begins, I actually felt a bit wobbly reading the description of our main character who was drunk and stumbling around an alley. While quick, the scene was just so vivid that it really plays out in your head while reading!
In his drunken stupor, the main character runs into someone wearing a mask… And from there, we’re off on quite the dark and horrifying splatterpunk tale!
This short story really packed a punch! It also had a major unsettling vibe to it throughout. And my gosh… that ending. I got quite the chuckle out of it!
July 8, 2020
I've know Aiden for a bit now and have read a few of his works and he had kindly asked me to beta read his story 'Pray' recently as well. He emailed me two short stories for review recently, which I read last night.
The first of the two is 'Peck.' Immediately, I was interested in what this story might encompass by the plague doctor mask adorning the cover.
'Peck' was a straight forward story filled with horrific gore. We are introduced to a man walking at night, only to have a creep rush them. They wake up naked, strapped to a table and this mysterious individual, who won't speak a word then has their sadistic way.
I enjoyed the unflinching torture that occurred, with our character having no idea why they were chosen or why this individual was inflicting these acts on them.
I wasn't a fan of the ending, finding out the real identity seemed a bit rushed and, while Aiden mentions in the afterword, it was designed to be humorous, it didn't come across as all that funny without diving deeper into the story.
I think I would've enjoyed this one significantly more if it was a full length, detective murder mystery in the vein of the Saw series.
The first of the two is 'Peck.' Immediately, I was interested in what this story might encompass by the plague doctor mask adorning the cover.
'Peck' was a straight forward story filled with horrific gore. We are introduced to a man walking at night, only to have a creep rush them. They wake up naked, strapped to a table and this mysterious individual, who won't speak a word then has their sadistic way.
I enjoyed the unflinching torture that occurred, with our character having no idea why they were chosen or why this individual was inflicting these acts on them.
I wasn't a fan of the ending, finding out the real identity seemed a bit rushed and, while Aiden mentions in the afterword, it was designed to be humorous, it didn't come across as all that funny without diving deeper into the story.
I think I would've enjoyed this one significantly more if it was a full length, detective murder mystery in the vein of the Saw series.
July 12, 2020
This gory short story definitely changes the way I look at steampunk plague masks more than Doctor Who did with its gas masks. The ending to this story did feel a little bit rushed almost like it could fit into a bigger crime / mystery / murder-y story. That being said, I definitely did love this story from start to finish nonetheless!
June 30, 2020
I absolutely loved this short story from start to finish.
The plague doctor aesthetic is one I have personally liked and wished was acceptable to rock in everyday life for as long as I have been aware of cosplay. Of course I did not mean for 2020 to become this raging dumpster fire that it currently is, just so that it would be possible to wear it unironically.
This is a quick read, but there is no wasted word here, no abrupt end that leaves you feeling cheated. And the idea is so out there, I can’t believe it hasn’t been done before, because it works. A killer using a plague doctor mask as part of the torture, the amount of pain that would cause would be excruciating! The whole costume would also offer a great way for omission of fingerprints, hair, and skin; it has you sealed in, almost like a hazmat suit.
I hope the Pecker makes another appearance or two in Aiden’s writing, he isn’t done with his mission I gather, and I am ghoulishly looking forward to hearing more from him.
I gave this 5 stars because this was perfectly written, and I think any horror or dark fiction fan should read it.
The plague doctor aesthetic is one I have personally liked and wished was acceptable to rock in everyday life for as long as I have been aware of cosplay. Of course I did not mean for 2020 to become this raging dumpster fire that it currently is, just so that it would be possible to wear it unironically.
This is a quick read, but there is no wasted word here, no abrupt end that leaves you feeling cheated. And the idea is so out there, I can’t believe it hasn’t been done before, because it works. A killer using a plague doctor mask as part of the torture, the amount of pain that would cause would be excruciating! The whole costume would also offer a great way for omission of fingerprints, hair, and skin; it has you sealed in, almost like a hazmat suit.
I hope the Pecker makes another appearance or two in Aiden’s writing, he isn’t done with his mission I gather, and I am ghoulishly looking forward to hearing more from him.
I gave this 5 stars because this was perfectly written, and I think any horror or dark fiction fan should read it.
June 29, 2020
This story was quite a disturbing little morsel of horror. Although the story may be short, it still packed a punch. I’ve been both fascinated by and petrified by plague masks for as long as I can remember. This story solidified that fear and will continue to terrify and haunt me for some time to come.
October 25, 2020
3.5 Stars
Short Story
Source: From Author/Ebook
Short Story
Source: From Author/Ebook
June 21, 2024
I want to preface this review by saying this is GOREY and not usually my cup of tea; but I will show up for anything Merchant writes. It’s a mixture of his writing talent and just being an overall joy to have in the booksta community.
Seeing this one through the editing stage to the finished product bumped up my rating because I saw the efforts that went into this short story. The final is a big improvement over the first draft.
Summed up: This is gory and it will change the way you see plague masks.
Seeing this one through the editing stage to the finished product bumped up my rating because I saw the efforts that went into this short story. The final is a big improvement over the first draft.
Summed up: This is gory and it will change the way you see plague masks.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews