What do you think?
Rate this book
Rejects
Matthew Vaughn's Rejected features three stories inspired by Death Metal, David Lynch, and David Wong books. Two of the stories in this small collection were written specifically for anthologies but rejected by the publishers. Now, collected together for the first time, read the stories they didn't want you to read (through their publications anyway)!
Only on godless.com!
Only on godless.com!
- GenresHorror
ebook
Published May 31, 2021
26 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Vaughn
93 books192 followersMatthew Vaughn lives in Shelbyville, Kentucky. He is the father of three little girls and a little boy, yet he and his wife are just big kids too. By day he maintains machines and robots, but, by night he is a writer of Horror and Bizarro fiction. You can keep up with his work at http://mcvaughn.wordpress.com/ or on Facebook. Check out my Amazon page here http://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Vaughn/...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 12, 2021
I always love reading Matthew Vaughn's books. He has a wild imagination, and his stories are always seasoned with dark humor. This short collection of three stories is no exception. Each has its own creepy plot peopled by characters that you can easily relate to. I enjoyed the author's notes describing the purpose of each story, recalling my happy times with The Mother Fucking Black Skull of Death. The good old days. Give this enticing collection a chance. Just make sure that no boys walking dogs bite you.
October 18, 2021
If you’ve read my other Vaughn review from today (Mephistopheles Den) you’ll have read about my first excursion into buying from Godless and what Godless is all about.
I won’t rehash any of that here, but I will say, I was happy to have not one, but two, Vaughn releases to dive into.
What I liked: ‘Rejects’ features a trilogy of short stories that have appeared in various anthologies, collected here for the first time.
Hammer Smashed Face – if you listen to death metal at all, you’ll have heard Cannibal Corpse’s song ‘Hammer Smashed Face.’ This story took really only the title into consideration, as instead, we pick up with a man doing some housework, who smashes his thumb with a hammer. As he goes to leave to get help, his neighbor barges in, telling him he can’t go outside, as there are monsters out there. Vaughn does a great job of creating tension in this one and having some brutal scenes in such a short page count.
Feelings of Malaise – absolutely my favorite of the three, we arrive to find a man sitting in a strange waiting room. Across from him, another person is attempting to do something horrible to themselves. When he is called into see the doc, his wound has changed and things go from bad to worse. Vaughn even says this is Cronenberg-esque and the story is all the better for it.
Showdown at a Seventh Street Strip Club – this one was actually a ton of fun. It was essentially an Extreme Horror take on the movie ‘The Hangover.’ We get two friends who can’t remember much, piecing together the events after they decide to go to a strip club and do drugs. Such a blast.
What I didn’t like: The stories were all good, but as Vaughn even mentions in his notes, they all would’ve benefitted from a longer word count. Each one either just ends or is missing a bit of detail to truly elevate them.
Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Vaughn’s these are great stories to read and see him work outside of his normal characters. If you’re a new fan or Extreme Horror Fan, these are all great starting points.
I won’t rehash any of that here, but I will say, I was happy to have not one, but two, Vaughn releases to dive into.
What I liked: ‘Rejects’ features a trilogy of short stories that have appeared in various anthologies, collected here for the first time.
Hammer Smashed Face – if you listen to death metal at all, you’ll have heard Cannibal Corpse’s song ‘Hammer Smashed Face.’ This story took really only the title into consideration, as instead, we pick up with a man doing some housework, who smashes his thumb with a hammer. As he goes to leave to get help, his neighbor barges in, telling him he can’t go outside, as there are monsters out there. Vaughn does a great job of creating tension in this one and having some brutal scenes in such a short page count.
Feelings of Malaise – absolutely my favorite of the three, we arrive to find a man sitting in a strange waiting room. Across from him, another person is attempting to do something horrible to themselves. When he is called into see the doc, his wound has changed and things go from bad to worse. Vaughn even says this is Cronenberg-esque and the story is all the better for it.
Showdown at a Seventh Street Strip Club – this one was actually a ton of fun. It was essentially an Extreme Horror take on the movie ‘The Hangover.’ We get two friends who can’t remember much, piecing together the events after they decide to go to a strip club and do drugs. Such a blast.
What I didn’t like: The stories were all good, but as Vaughn even mentions in his notes, they all would’ve benefitted from a longer word count. Each one either just ends or is missing a bit of detail to truly elevate them.
Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Vaughn’s these are great stories to read and see him work outside of his normal characters. If you’re a new fan or Extreme Horror Fan, these are all great starting points.
November 14, 2021
Matthew Vaughn is bad ass this is my first book from him the only reason for the 4 stars is because these stories felt like he was holding back..... But dig the writing style it's like first person point of view which was really cool. Just a cool little collection of stories I want more... If you want a quick read pick this up..... Now excuse me while I go and buy some more Matthew Vaughn
December 13, 2021
Great collection of short stories. I enjoyed all of them, but Feelings of Malaise was my favorite. In the notes Vaughn mentions possibly expanding this particular short into a novella which would be amazing.
August 17, 2021
I loved these three crazy and brutal tales that make up this mini publication, and I liked them in the order they were presented in as well. All of them were great, but each one kept getting better and better. With titles like Hammer Smash Face, Feelings of Malaise, and Showdown at the Seventh Street Strip Club, you know you in for a devilish time. Vaughn even referenced one of his other books in one of these stories. That was a great moment; wasn’t expecting that. Always love when authors reverence their other books, characters and event from those books. One other thing I especially liked was the Notes section that was added after each story. It was a nice touch to see who he was submitting these stories to, how he came up with the titles and the other information he felt important to tell us about the stories. Three fun, bloody and mind-bending tales.
December 26, 2022
I think this could have been a really good short story, but I feel as it needed to end on better notes. It seemed to just stop and have you wondering what happened next, really didn’t finish the end of the stories!!
May 8, 2024
Vaughn always drops you right into the story, blood coated and nothing but madness. The three stories could definitely be expanded as the man said himself.
July 7, 2021
Great collection of stories. Really enjoyed the first and last story.
December 2, 2021
My First from this author. Great read. I highly recommend this one.
September 13, 2023
This is a collection of three stories that were rejected by publishers. Which is a damn shame because these were three solid stories, but lucky for us, he has put them all in this collection!
Hammer Smash Face: The narrator smashes his thumb with a hammer while working on a home project, but that's the least of his problems.
Feelings of Malaise: Fred is at the doctor's office to get a checkup on the dog bite he suffered on his hand. The doctor says it is healing well, and he gives him some new medicine. Things go from bad to worse.
Showdown at a Seventh Street Strip Club: Two best friends decide to try cocaine; after going to the strip club to meet the dealer, they offer you a free taste before you buy. Just say no, kids. Just say no.
After each story, you are treated to a little blurb about the story, which I really liked. While I really enjoyed each story, I would really love to see them expanded upon in longer form. Well worth reading. Check it out on Godless.
4 severed fingers out of 5
Hammer Smash Face: The narrator smashes his thumb with a hammer while working on a home project, but that's the least of his problems.
Feelings of Malaise: Fred is at the doctor's office to get a checkup on the dog bite he suffered on his hand. The doctor says it is healing well, and he gives him some new medicine. Things go from bad to worse.
Showdown at a Seventh Street Strip Club: Two best friends decide to try cocaine; after going to the strip club to meet the dealer, they offer you a free taste before you buy. Just say no, kids. Just say no.
After each story, you are treated to a little blurb about the story, which I really liked. While I really enjoyed each story, I would really love to see them expanded upon in longer form. Well worth reading. Check it out on Godless.
4 severed fingers out of 5
December 30, 2022
Three fun faced paced stories filled with lots of gore accompanied by some chuckles. What more can you ask for!
February 9, 2023
Typical Matt fashion gore filled fun. I love Matt's writing. His style is to bring the blood, sex and violence kick it up to 11 then top it off with more.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews