Black Leather Required

by David J. Schow

Book by Schow, David J.

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk, Fiction, Collections, Anthologies

244 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

David J. Schow is an American author of horror novels, short stories, and screenplays, associated with the "splatterpunk" movement of the late '80s and early '90s. Most recently he has moved into the crime genre.

Reviews

[GD · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. There's something really funny in the very end of this book in a chapter where David Schow is just talking about short stories in general, where he says your opinion of him probably depends on whether you discovered him by reading Jerry's Kids Meet Worm Boy or Red Light first. Well it was funny for me because that is how I discovered him, in one of Karl Edward Wagner's Best of books when I was in the 7th grade. Jerry's Kids Meet Wormboy was funny and disgusting and also introduced me to the Butthole Surfers. I came across the story again when around when I was in the 12th grade in the Skipp and Spector Book of the Dead, and I thought it was even better. Now I'm 41 and think it's still better.

I loved most of the stories in this collection, and David Schow has always been a fun, awesome writer. There are just a couple of stories I didn't like, especially "Sand Sculputre," which was just a boring, dramatic slog to get through. But the other stories are just pure 5 star adrenaline and fun. People hunting dinosaurs, insane ultraviolent crime stories, necrophilia, people who can't die (even if you chop them up and drop the remains into the sewer they'll come up through the toilet to fuck you up), and of course the aforementioned classic Jerry's Kids. I don't know what David Schow has been up to since the 90s but I hope he's still churning out stuff like this. I'm going to look him up right now to find out.

[Zachary Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rock-solid collection of stories featuring a veritable rogues' gallery of seedy characters and devilish antiheroes facing off against enemies both monstrous and entirely too human. Particular favorites included "The Shaft," "Scoop Makes a Swirly," "Where the Heart Was," and the poignant and evocative "Pitt Night at the Lewistone Boneyard." In Black Leather Required Schow shows us a world that is alternately bleak and full of emotion. It was disgusting, it was entertaining, and, at times, it was illuminating.

[J. McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite an array of stories that touched on the more weird and bizarre type of storylines with just a touch of splatterpunk gore. What made me not love it is the fact that most of the stories are just a segment of a much larger storyline, with one of the stories actually being the beginning structure of the author’s later published novel. Though it was an enjoyable experience and I’m glad that I read it, it just not the type of stories that I would eagerly want to read again. But saying that, I will still read more of what this author has to offer.

[Brett Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of these stories feel a bit dated, a bit off, like listening to an old radio show where everyone talks a little funny.

The standout story is the classic, Jerry's Kids Meet Wormboy and the Grand Guignol script, Beggar's Banquet, with Summer Sausage. An interesting read but difficult to stage. Still worthy of being in any modern Grand Guignol inspired plays.

[Jail Flanagain · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was bad news. As much as I like gore and bad taste, I couldn't get over the cliched show-offy writing and the pretty obvious misogyny.Also a majority of the stories I read didn't even really have the kind of punchy clever endings that a superior pulp writer like Robert Bloch would have had, It's just kind of meandering grossness, not even good pulp writing.

[Bill Borre]

"Sedalia" - Dinosaurs begin to return out of thin air and then dematerialize so men have to herd them out of populated areas into the desert.

"Life Partner" - JJ continues to have an active sexual relationship with Walter after he breathes his last.