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Dreck
"Like the titular monster, this novel stands alone from other dark fantasy and horror in its absolute originality."-The Independent Review of Books "Driven by an unflinching protagonist who takes no guff and gives no quarter, this dark and raw-edged thriller will suck you in and keep you there."-Self Publishing Review"A supernatural tale that offers a peculiar but engrossing vision of the future."-Kirkus Reviews"Keeps the reader hooked from beginning to end."-Manhattan Book Review"A story of unique peculiarity that never fails to entertain."-Seattle Book ReviewA post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh has become the epicenter of strange events. Strange events that Long War veteran, Frank Attanasio, is unwittingly tangled into.
When the man-beast known as Dreck appears in Frank’s mortuary, his already-weird world veers into the downright bizarre and inexplicable.
A supernatural blizzard.
Disturbing nightmares that are too real.
Vivid Dreamscapes outside of time.
An underworld of sewer-dwelling mutants.
Vampiric currency.
As Frank navigates his new reality, he discovers that he may not be the man he thought he was.
When the man-beast known as Dreck appears in Frank’s mortuary, his already-weird world veers into the downright bizarre and inexplicable.
A supernatural blizzard.
Disturbing nightmares that are too real.
Vivid Dreamscapes outside of time.
An underworld of sewer-dwelling mutants.
Vampiric currency.
As Frank navigates his new reality, he discovers that he may not be the man he thought he was.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2021
49 people are currently reading
9610 people want to read
About the author
Alex Grass
4 books207 followersBorn in Harrisburg, PA, Alexander Grass lived in Philadelphia, Israel, and a few other places before settling in Brooklyn with his wife and three kids.
As a teenager, Alex was in a thrash-metal band called Shock Syndrome. He later worked in construction, landscaping, driving in a car auction, and worked in parts and shipping for a Honda dealership.
After obtaining his GED, he went to Penn State online before attending Cardozo Law School on scholarship. While at Cardozo, Alex was a Floersheimer Student Fellow in Constitutional Law, and a law clerk for the Institute for Justice and for the New York County Defenders. After a stint in rehab, he dropped out of law school to become a full-time author.
As a teenager, Alex was in a thrash-metal band called Shock Syndrome. He later worked in construction, landscaping, driving in a car auction, and worked in parts and shipping for a Honda dealership.
After obtaining his GED, he went to Penn State online before attending Cardozo Law School on scholarship. While at Cardozo, Alex was a Floersheimer Student Fellow in Constitutional Law, and a law clerk for the Institute for Justice and for the New York County Defenders. After a stint in rehab, he dropped out of law school to become a full-time author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 19, 2021
Once again Mr Alex Grass the author of 2 previous works
and
we get a new story from a post apocalyptic Pittsburgh.
The main character is Frank Attanasio a veteran of the Long War and owner of a mortuary. Frank like many of the characters in the book is a very unique character with a sense of humor all his own. This cast of characters from Frank to Truckie and even Dreck the man-beast.
As rich and multilayered as the characters are they would be less than complete without a world to participate in. The author does a beautiful job of building a world that is new and yet very familiar. Like his other books Mr Grass has a skill for creating visuals that not only feel real but also seem surreal.
This story is not light in situations, there is plenty to keep the reader occupied and interested, This coupled with a great cast of characters and a world filled with the usual and unusual makes for a great story that will the reader turning pages to the very end.
and
we get a new story from a post apocalyptic Pittsburgh.The main character is Frank Attanasio a veteran of the Long War and owner of a mortuary. Frank like many of the characters in the book is a very unique character with a sense of humor all his own. This cast of characters from Frank to Truckie and even Dreck the man-beast.
As rich and multilayered as the characters are they would be less than complete without a world to participate in. The author does a beautiful job of building a world that is new and yet very familiar. Like his other books Mr Grass has a skill for creating visuals that not only feel real but also seem surreal.
This story is not light in situations, there is plenty to keep the reader occupied and interested, This coupled with a great cast of characters and a world filled with the usual and unusual makes for a great story that will the reader turning pages to the very end.
October 27, 2023
If I was a person who DNF'd books, this would've been in that category. I won this in a giveaway, saw the author didn't have many reviews, and was willing to give it a shot. I didn't even know what was happening half the time.. there was weird poetry that didn't fit into the era the characters were in, a lot of weird language.. and too many words taken straight from the synonym thesaurus to sound smarter. It could've been a cool dystopic novel but just didn't do it for me. 0/5
October 28, 2021
I won a copy of this through Goodreads. Quite the surreal adventure. The story is loaded with quirky characters in Pittsburgh after The Long War. The world is recovering from near disaster and The Long War seems to have welded some supernatural stuff onto the natural world. Screwball magic, with or without assistive machines, is common, for certain people. The main character, Frankie Attanasio, is a veteran who stepped up to run the morgue as what was the city tries to become a city again.
The surreal weirdness begins early and never really stops. Frankie is right in the middle of all of it, but why is not at all clear. That's intentional. It does become clear, and along the way, I found myself liking Frankie and the off-beat people he meets.
Dreck is a good read and the action keeps going, chapter after chapter.
The surreal weirdness begins early and never really stops. Frankie is right in the middle of all of it, but why is not at all clear. That's intentional. It does become clear, and along the way, I found myself liking Frankie and the off-beat people he meets.
Dreck is a good read and the action keeps going, chapter after chapter.
October 27, 2021
Amazing! Reminds me a lot of the movie Idiocracy where civilization has gone down the tubes and a majority of the people have the IQ of algae. I think that would be insulting to algae. Sorry, algae. The storytelling and the development of the story is spot on. It’s sweet and somber at the same time. It really focuses a lot about family relationships, how we interact with each other and how solidified those relationships are. Beautiful!
October 28, 2021
I won a copy of this through Goodreads. Quite the surreal adventure. The story is loaded with quirky characters in Pittsburgh after The Long War. The world is recovering from near disaster and The Long War seems to have welded some supernatural stuff onto the natural world. Screwball magic, with or without assistive machines, is common, for certain people. The main character, Frankie Attanasio, is a veteran who stepped up to run the morgue as what was the city tries to become a city again.
The surreal weirdness begins early and never really stops. Frankie is right in the middle of all of it, but why is not at all clear. That's intentional. It does become clear, and along the way, I found myself liking Frankie and the off-beat people he meets.
Dreck is a good read and the action keeps going, chapter after chapter.
The surreal weirdness begins early and never really stops. Frankie is right in the middle of all of it, but why is not at all clear. That's intentional. It does become clear, and along the way, I found myself liking Frankie and the off-beat people he meets.
Dreck is a good read and the action keeps going, chapter after chapter.
February 24, 2022
received as a gift from the author - an actual physical copy, which is very out of the ordinary today! (to receive a kindness as well as a physical read)
Post-apocalyptic nightmare time! I HATE reviews where someone regurgitates the story line, the author wrote it, after all, hoping you;'ll read it... and I suggest that you do. Strong, interesting characters and a wild storyline!
Post-apocalyptic nightmare time! I HATE reviews where someone regurgitates the story line, the author wrote it, after all, hoping you;'ll read it... and I suggest that you do. Strong, interesting characters and a wild storyline!
September 7, 2022
I wanted to enjoy this book but I just couldn’t. The language/writing style was not for me. The main characters macho attitude sucks. And I don’t think he’s meant to be a character you dislike, he’s supposed to be the “cool guy”.
October 22, 2021
I overall liked the book, it’s definitely a bit of a different kind of read. It is set in a dystopian type setting but this is definitely for more of an adult genre. There’s a lot of chaos but I feel like the write organized it this way. If you’re looking for a different, not your average dystopian, action book, then you should try giving this a read
October 18, 2021
I won this book on Goodreads. Thank you so much. Wow, quite a ride. I am sure I missed things. So much unusualness going on in this story. I found it great fun. Not sure about the end. Not sure I understand the end. Reason for four rather than five stars. Just who was Elizabeth?
June 20, 2022
Super excited to start this book after winning it in a giveaway. Tried to overlook a few writing style issues, but in the end, this is not my kind of book.
November 6, 2021
Honestly what did I just read? I retained about 4% of this :/ RTC?
April 30, 2022
couldn’t do it
First chapter was pretty good. I liked the main character and it was an interesting storyline. Then It devolved into nonsense. Too bad
First chapter was pretty good. I liked the main character and it was an interesting storyline. Then It devolved into nonsense. Too bad
February 20, 2022
I'm not a huge fan of dystopian novels, so I was surprised by how much I was moved by this story. It didn't feel like your average run-of-the-mill dystopian. There was the sense of a fallen civilization trying to rebuild itself after its collapse after the end of what's called the Long War, like what you'd expect in a dystopian novel, but the similarities stop there. That's what I really liked about this novel. Maybe it's because I avoid dystopian novels in light of a recent global event, but I think it's also the rich lore behind the creature Dreck itself that kept me so emotionally invested in the story.
The characters are unapologetically strange, which is a trademark of Grass' other novels that I've read and that I really admire about his writing. Despite a snow storm taking place during the entire novel,
the world is rich with secrets, traumatic twists, and two sides of a fledgling civilization trying to make sense of the remnants of a destroyed world. The magic in this universe is mind blowing and unlike anything I can relate it to in any fantasy world I've come across. It's a psychedelic trip and I loved it. It's refreshing to encounter magic in a novel that isn't just spell casting and explained in long paragraphs, it's mysterious, raw, and archaic.
The creature Dreck reminded me of Krampus, but it's mostly due to his appearance and the lore behind him that seemed to be inspired by eastern European influences. Dreck's backstory is quite heart-wrenchingly rich, and I won't even dare to spoil it.
If you like a dystopian novel with mind blowing magic and an ancient mythological creature, this is the novel for you.
The characters are unapologetically strange, which is a trademark of Grass' other novels that I've read and that I really admire about his writing. Despite a snow storm taking place during the entire novel,
the world is rich with secrets, traumatic twists, and two sides of a fledgling civilization trying to make sense of the remnants of a destroyed world. The magic in this universe is mind blowing and unlike anything I can relate it to in any fantasy world I've come across. It's a psychedelic trip and I loved it. It's refreshing to encounter magic in a novel that isn't just spell casting and explained in long paragraphs, it's mysterious, raw, and archaic.
The creature Dreck reminded me of Krampus, but it's mostly due to his appearance and the lore behind him that seemed to be inspired by eastern European influences. Dreck's backstory is quite heart-wrenchingly rich, and I won't even dare to spoil it.
If you like a dystopian novel with mind blowing magic and an ancient mythological creature, this is the novel for you.
May 19, 2022
Fever dream
What did I just read? If you were to ask me in person, I could only stare at you as various shades of feverish memories circled around in my brain meat. A lot happened in this book, but also nothing at all. At the end I find myself wondering what the point was? Is it a story of self discovery? Of forgiveness? Of coping with trauma? The hell if I know; the only thing that was clear to me was entertainment.
Vulgar, rude, weirdly sexual, this book had my eyebrows knitted in a near-constant, frozen expression of what-the-absolute-fuck.
10/10 would recommend to a friend, purely to confuse and frustrate them as well. Misery loves company, tell her I sent you.
What did I just read? If you were to ask me in person, I could only stare at you as various shades of feverish memories circled around in my brain meat. A lot happened in this book, but also nothing at all. At the end I find myself wondering what the point was? Is it a story of self discovery? Of forgiveness? Of coping with trauma? The hell if I know; the only thing that was clear to me was entertainment.
Vulgar, rude, weirdly sexual, this book had my eyebrows knitted in a near-constant, frozen expression of what-the-absolute-fuck.
10/10 would recommend to a friend, purely to confuse and frustrate them as well. Misery loves company, tell her I sent you.
November 11, 2024
Well, I've already accidentally deleted the first draft of this fucking review so there's that.
I read this at a bad time. My life was kind of falling apart (in no small part due to Hurricane Hellene and the clusterfuck it has had on my life) and finical difficulties that have left me working fifty hours or more a week, and I could not focus on this book in the way that I wanted to. This should have been everything I wanted in a novel, but I just could not get into this. I hope that I read reread this in a couple of years and realize it is the perfect book for me, but at the moment all I could find was a confusing mess that I think is a product of my inattention and not the novel itself.
I read this at a bad time. My life was kind of falling apart (in no small part due to Hurricane Hellene and the clusterfuck it has had on my life) and finical difficulties that have left me working fifty hours or more a week, and I could not focus on this book in the way that I wanted to. This should have been everything I wanted in a novel, but I just could not get into this. I hope that I read reread this in a couple of years and realize it is the perfect book for me, but at the moment all I could find was a confusing mess that I think is a product of my inattention and not the novel itself.
November 27, 2021
I found Dreck a little confusing to read. There were a lot of things going on. Characters weren't always what you thought they would be. I couldn't figure out the time period when the long war took place. On the other hand it was entertaining, had some surprises, and was different from anything else I've read. Since I like a lot of variety in what I read this fit that need.
May 19, 2022
Love this Book
When I first started this book about the world as it was after the Long War, I didn't think I'd finish it, but I did. I'm so glad I let myself dissolve into the book. It's a mind searing read, but I believe anyone who enjoys the quirkiness of this authors books, will do as I did and purchase the rest of Mr. Grass's works.
When I first started this book about the world as it was after the Long War, I didn't think I'd finish it, but I did. I'm so glad I let myself dissolve into the book. It's a mind searing read, but I believe anyone who enjoys the quirkiness of this authors books, will do as I did and purchase the rest of Mr. Grass's works.
September 5, 2022
A dark fantasy, of underground Mutants, corrupted mayors, and a mortician that receives a body, with 3 fingers and antlers know as Dreck.
In a post apocalyptic Pittsburgh, Frank has to protect the body of Dreck and finds a world underground. A world of mutants and a family he never knew existed.
In a post apocalyptic Pittsburgh, Frank has to protect the body of Dreck and finds a world underground. A world of mutants and a family he never knew existed.
February 15, 2022
The author is more like a wordsmith. The book is well written with excellent characters and descriptions that transport you to this world.
The reason for the four stars is that I found the first two chapters a little harder to read, but it is worth it to keep reading.
The reason for the four stars is that I found the first two chapters a little harder to read, but it is worth it to keep reading.
June 21, 2022
It was a hard read for me. I appreciate the author's ability to describe in such detail all of the characters and to have written such a creative book but at times I was confused by the varied languages and the story itself. Not one of my favorites.
March 8, 2024
1.5/5 really. First few chapters were great. Loved the style, honestly. But this feels like maybe it should have been a short story rather than a full novel. It just went on too long. I found myself asking "OK and what relevance does this have? When is this over?" too much.
November 9, 2021
A well-written adult post-apocalytic/dystopian tale that offers so much more - humor, adventuring and exploring relationships. Recommended read!
February 4, 2022
Weird story and I did like it.
May 9, 2022
Endless tale
I love the style of storytelling. It enthralled me and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what the author creates next.
I love the style of storytelling. It enthralled me and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what the author creates next.
June 16, 2022
I was super excited about this read but really struggled to get into the narrative and ended up not retaining a whole lot by the end. Still, great concept for a story but just not my cup of writing.
July 14, 2022
The storyline is amazing. Some of the language and reference is foul, but this was a refreshing read because the writer has a unique style. If you get offended easily don't read this book.
July 26, 2022
I get what the author was trying to do but I don’t think this one was for me.
August 27, 2022
More like 3.5. I enjoyed it but I got lost a couple of times.
September 2, 2022
DNF 50%. I tried to give it a chance. Really I'm just left wondering "Why was this published, or even written?"
September 7, 2022
I normally don't leave reviews but this book was wack. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, ever.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews