Header 3

Header #3

by Edward Lee

Winner of the 2018 Splatterpunk Award for Best Horror Novel!

Three Manhattan rich boys looking for some kicks, a beautiful hill-girl trapped in a life of morbid prostitution, a backwoods town shrouded in a secret so demented that it beggars description. What do these three things all have in common?

HEADS
The myth is over a hundred years old, and the act more twisted, more perverse, and more utterly hideous than anything imaginable. Rape, mutilation, and torture of the most abominable sort all seem meek by comparison...

HEADS
Some things are worse than even the devil's work. Far, far worse.

HEADS
A novel of unspeakable evil.

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk

141 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Edward Lee is an American novelist specializing in the field of horror, and has authored 40 books, more than half of which have been published by mass-market New York paperback companies such as Leisure/Dorchester, Berkley, and Zebra/Kensington. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee for his story "Mr. Torso," and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF 2000, Pocket's HOT BLOOD series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have sold translation rights to Germany, Greece, and Romania. He also publishes quite actively in the small-press/limited-edition hardcover market; many of his books in this category have become collector's items. While a number of Lee's projects have been optioned for film, only one has been made, HEADER, which was released on DVD to mixed reviews in June, 2009, by Synapse Films.

Lee is particularly known for over-the-top occult concepts and an accelerated treatment of erotic and/or morbid sexual imagery and visceral violence.

He was born on May 25, 1957 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. In the late-70s he served in the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, in Erlangen, West Germany, then, for a short time, was a municipal police officer in Cottage City, Maryland. Lee also attended the University of Maryland as an English major but quit in his last semester to pursue his dream of being a horror novelist. For over 15 years, he worked as the night manager for a security company in Annapolis, Maryland, while writing in his spare time. In 1997, however, he became a full-time writer, first spending several years in Seattle and then moving to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he currently resides.

Of note, the author cites as his strongest influence horror legend H. P. Lovecraft; in 2007, Lee embarked on what he calls his "Lovecraft kick" and wrote a spate of novels and novellas which tribute Lovecraft and his famous Cthulhu Mythos. Among these projects are THE INNSWICH HORROR, "Trolley No. 1852," HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD, GOING MONSTERING, "Pages Torn From A Travel Journal," and "You Are My Everything." Lee promises more Lovecraftian work on the horizon.

Reviews

[MadameD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story 5/5
Narration 4/5

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Header 3 may not outshine the brilliant Header, or the sequel Header 2, it still made for a fun and fast (and gory!) read. Sometimes you just need a little Lee to keep your sanity. The story starts with three Manhattan rich boys (doctor, lawyer and stock broker) heading down to Luntville to slum at an infamous strip club one of their buddies told them about. Well, they find the place and let the redneck jokes begin!

The first Header possessed the full wit and gore of Lee at his best, with surprisingly enlightened rednecks alongside a rather grim means of revenge, the type you only dish out if someone really, really deserves it. Here, the mayor saves the deed for drug pushers and such. Lee and Harding tried to up the gore even more here along with the redneck antics. Lugie contests at the trailer park (who can swallow the most of them for the prize money), all kinds of sexual innuendos (and some pretty explicit), strippers and hookers, yeah. Totally OTT, this had me giggling over and over. It does lack the originality of the first on the series and the complete craziness of the second installment, but if you enjoyed those, you should get a kick out of this. 4 headers!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those uninitiated, Edward Lee is the undisputed master of hardcore horror, and his HEADER series of books are arguably his most notorious, second only to THE BIGHEAD.

What's exactly a Header? Backwoods vengeance of the most depraved and debauched. In this third installment, three New York high rollers decide to opt for the premium strip clubs for the most rural environs of Luntville, where story has it that there's a strip joint called Krazy Sallee's, where the girls are unbelievably beautiful and very, very willing.

But Brice, Augie, and Clark will soon realize, after a horrible drunken moment of senseless carnality, that they may pay the ultimate price for the transgression.

Lee co-authored the latter half with Ryan Harding, who pretty much did a seamless job to the novel's incredibly horrific conclusion!

Not for the faint of heart...and highly recommended!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the best one yet! I loved the second one which had a good story bUT the story itself was just something to push forward with the generous amounts of gore and depravity (like a good splatterpunk should). this one was more like the first header, it was a very very fucked up gory depraved piece of filth (no that's not an insult!) But it was more about the story. I wouldn't really consider the first header or this one splatterpunk because no matter how messed up they are, it don't feel like the story is just there to move forward with the crazy fucked up shit that happens in it. Don't get me wrong, I love both types of novels I just like this type a little more.

[Stephen Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Header vileness, and I can't get enough of it. While not as funny as the second book it still has great story, deranged characters, and a fun mean-spiritedness about it that you come to expect in the Header series. It takes it's time like the first book, but much like that, when it climax's it's insane. Great series of books and Header 3 is a very worthy addition.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as wild and messed up as Header 1 and 2. Didn’t try to fix something that wasn’t broken.

I can now conclude the Header trilogy may just be the best trilogy in extreme horror.

[Pyropatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

Just some good hillbilly fun. Lots of sex and gore and giving head in more ways than one can imagine.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prior to writing this review of "Header 3" by Lee and Harding, I went back to read the description that Goodreads supplies with the book information.

I don't believe that most people would read "Header 3" without first reading "Header" and "Header 2". However, If that rare individual does exist then I applaud your sense of adventure as these are the blackest of black comedies. The series is a hardcore, blood splattered group of books filled with twisted sex, booze and revenge and those backwoods, mountain living, trailer park rejects that have become their own genre.

According to Edward Lee's web page "HEADER" was first published in 1995 (500 TPB, $5.95) from Necro Books. Then "HEADER 2" was published in 2010 (500 HCs, $25; 500 LIM HC $50; 26 LET $300) by Camelot Books, the fine publishers of "Header 3". There is also a chapbook titled "THE FIRST HEADER" from 2009 as (200 signed chapbooks, $6) from MCGUIRE PRESS, For the completist or collector. these days "Header" and "Header 2" are available from Amazon for less than ten bucks each.

Of note also is that "Header" was made into a film in 2006. The film as reported by "Dread Central", who wrote "Header is a film in a class all its own, most likely because it scares the other students" and "Header takes its viewers on a dark, gritty, and uncomfortable journey to those places that most people would rather pretend don't exist. It is a cruel study of what humanity is capable of when the proper manipulation and motivation is involved".

Read this book only if you are familure with Edward Lee's work, or wish to be. But don't start here. Mr. Lee has published 70 or 80 books.

You have been warned.

Addendum:

I neglected to mention that there is full page artwork by the great Glen Chadbourne approximately every 25 pages through out the book.

This is copy 204 of 374 signed and numbered copies, Signed by:
Edward Lee
Ryan Harding

[Federica Lup · Rating 4 out of 5]

4½
Una degna conclusione della trilogia di Header, anche se per me poteva continuare ancora per altri 10 libri.

[Rachel M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh…………….. erm……………. Hmmmm!

Spit drinkers and head fuckers!

You don’t want to be messing with the hillbillies! Break the law and theys a gonna teach you a lesson!

[Nate Dawg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Header was cool.
Header 2 was awesome!
Header 3 was amazing and really kept the lore and story alive.
Edward Lee and Ryan Harding kick ass!

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sick but enjoyable read. Lee is very creative when it comes to revenge, I definitely wouldn't mess around with a Lee fan, just in case.
I believe that I've been reading too many extreme horror novels. The only thing in this book that made me cringe and want to put the book down and take a break was the Hock Party, not the Headers.

[Sharon Leung · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read!

Well if you like down and dirty and stomach churning parties and blood and gore then this is definitely the book for you. I loved it. I was blown away with how much was going on in this book and my favourite part had to be the book party. Cringe worthy wand stomach churning nausea through every word off it. We had a brief spell of something similar in a previous Mr Lee book. But not this was worse if you could imagine it from the previous book. It was a great story on top of all the filth and shuddering nauseating gore. It was brilliant and I can't recommend it enough. Just when you think what more could Mr Lee wrote to top the previous header books when he writes this. If you enjoy the most extreme of books this is definitely one to read. You won't be disappointed.

[Daniel Cork · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Lee is an author who's collaborated a great many times throughout his career with several different authors also in the splatterpunk and extreme horror genres. Header 3 is his collaboration with Ryan Harding. I've enjoyed the Header books, It is a series of novels that manage to up the ante every time, whilst still retaining a sense of high quality in their storytelling.

Three rich boys from Manhattan are in dire need of a change of pace, so when they visit the small town of Luntville on vacation, they hope partying with the locals in the backwoods area will be the change they need. But the boys are about to mess with the wrong people, there's no law enforcement in these parts, so the locals need to look after their own. It's time to give another header, several of them...

Edward Lee and Ryan Harding have written a terrific short novel that is gruesome, vile, and terrifying, whilst also still having a few passages of outlandish and hilarious sense of humor. This is a very brutal read that reminds me in some ways of the original Header novella as we explore the story through the eyes of an outsider, but whilst the original novella was in some ways a procedural book, this is more of a vacation gone wrong type of story.

Unlike Header 2 which was this bizarre, rollercoaster ride of a comedy, this is more in line with the original story in terms of tone and violence. Some of the gruesome imagery here is definitely by far the vilest it has ever gotten in this series. I love the Header books for how they explore the very hypocritical and nastier sides of humanity, where no one in these books is truly a good person making these really interesting and horrifying reads. The ending of this one is jaw-dropping.

Overall: Another brilliant installment in the Header series. I honestly wasn't expecting too much from this one, but despite certain moments where I thought I might throw up from the sheer violent imagery presented in this book, I loved near enough every second of this book. A very gruesome and terrifying read, but again not for the faint of heart! 10/10

[Valerio Spisani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vabbè, stavolta ci sono arrivato preparato, con lo stomaco pronto, pensando (ahahah, grullo che non sono altro) che dopo Header 2 Edward Lee non potesse spingersi oltre. E invece, beh, l'altro giorno ero in treno e stavo leggendo Header 3 quando ad un certo punto ho dovuto alzare gli occhi e guardare la flatlandia padana fuori dal finestrino perchè stavo avendo i conati. Un caffè e una pasta con la crema prego grazie scusate intanto son sceso dal treno e mentre vado al lavoro penso a quando da cinno andavo a vedere siti come rotten.com o ogrish, cose che oggi le trovi solo nel deep web mentre vent'anni fa erano buttate lì per tutti, robe che trovavi tranqui tra i primi risultati di altavista assieme alla foto di GOATSE.CX, e insomma alla fine non so dirvi perchè ma erano robe che mi capitava di andare a visitare, poi mi saliva lo schifo dentro ma comunque ci tornavo e insomma, questo per dirvi che non so come non so perchè ma Header 3 l'ho finito eccome e se devo essere sincero vorrei anche un Header 4, 5 e anche 666. Se il secondo capitolo era forse più spassoso, nel senso che faceva più ridere, questo ha una storia un po' più strutturata ma tanto quello che vogliamo tutti è IL BUDELLO LE ZOZZERIE e LO SCHIFO e qua di roba del genere ce n'è finchè volete. Yeeuch!

[Hammie Armer · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first ‘header’ is a lovely little extreme horror gem that gives you the goods then dips; the sequel ‘header 2’ is an absolute masterpiece of storytelling which builds on the original in every way, working like clockwork to deliver a grotesquely funny, absolutely brutal, and sometimes weirdly wholesome tale. immaculate vibes.

by comparison, the double-authored ‘header 3’ is meat and potatoes stuff. if you’re here to read about headers, you’ll get them. i personally missed the wit and playfulness of the previous book. i also would’ve liked to build up a bit of tension and mystery instead of jumping straight into the torture, but i guess it is the third one so maybe mystery doesn’t (brain) matter at this point?

[Christian Botto · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit conflicted about this one.

First, I feel like the story is somehow disconnected from the first two. That's because the first one felt like an intro to the second one, which is AMAZING.

Since the second book has a theme of revenge going back and forth, and it has very strong comic vibes, plus I read it immediately before, this one fell short.

I also felt 2 of the protagonists were very obnoxious in a forced way.

I think the only thing I truly liked was the ending: It was very interesting, and was a nod to the first book's ending, which is a nice way to end a trilogy.

[Jordan Drouin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is gross. If you know Lee's work, you know what to expect. My 2 star review isn't an admonishment of the novel overall, it's exactly what you think it is, but there were just so many instances of what looked like a high schooler's "footnotes," where the authors added unnecessary comments like they were trying to break the fourth wall and give a wink to the reader. It really took me out of this disgusting world which made me a little sad. Would've been nice to drown myself in the bodily fluids and awful minds that feature in the book without interruption.

[Mike Wilshin · Rating 4 out of 5]

No steam lost in third installment

The reviews seem to populate either end of the scale. Those who, like myself keep coming back to Edward Lee/Ryan Harding well for another frothy bucket of grue continue to find the envelope more than pushed. Said envelope is blown off the table, dragged across a dirty bus station restroom floor & jammed down your throat with unflinching glee.
And you'll love it.
Also HOCK PARTY- great name for a band... Who's with me?

[Douglas Castagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My least favorite Header, but it is still gore at its greatest. Edward Lee, this time teamed with Ryan Harding, proves that this series is the grosses, most vile, and disgusting of the genre. This time a group of rich and privileged kids come across some backwoods boys and they must be taught a lesson. Nothing less than a Header will do.

[Carolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Auch dieser Teil ist wieder herrlich krank. :-) Ich liebe einfach dieses Hinterwäldler-Setting! Das sorgt für das perfekte Horror-Feeling. Es ist schon echt traurig, dass es der letzte Teil sein soll, aber andererseits sollten Reihen auch nicht völlig zerschrieben werden. Manchmal muss es enden, wenn es am schönsten ist.

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a genuine quality about a Header that I will never tire of. There can be 50 sequels, and I'll still read every single one of them because they're awesome. The trailer park people really know to party, and one day in real life I would love to witness a spitting contest in real life. And oh yeah, I listened to this book and I think the great narration only amplified the Header experience

[Keanu Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though some of the things that take place in this book are just plain gross its a good read would deffo recommend to anyone who likes extreme horror! It’s not even that bad mind you it takes a lot for me to get thrown off and squirmish… hock contest is all I’m saying about this one haha ahhh man (face palm) XD

[Josh Warfel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great third novella in the series. Keeps the header love moving forward!

[Brad Tierney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus Fucking Christ that was epic! That’s what you get you city slickin’ motherfuckers!
5/5 Skulls
☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

[Stuart Bray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Header 3 was my least favorite in the header series. Definitely not "bad" by any means, just not as intriguing as it predecessors.

[We All · Rating 4 out of 5]

Più cupo e meno ironico dei precedenti, ma sempre scorrevole e divertente per gli amanti del genere.

[Samantha Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Header 3" by Edward Lee and Ryan Harding

Brice and his brother Augie, alongside their friend Clive, are in search of really nasty women and an even better time in the backwoods of Virginia. These three fellas hail from good ol' Manhattan, though, and have absolutely no idea what types of things lie inside the backwoods; headers, hock parties, and necrophilia just to name a few.

Paulie, a mafia Don from Philly, wants revenge against the men who killed his wife's pa, but unfortunately, they died several years before. No worries, though. There's still plenty of kinfolk left to choose from to take their place.

Helton, Mickey-Mack, and Dumar are on the receiving end of Paulie's grudge. With the help of a high-tech digital camera, a DVD player, and a young girl named Veronica, the men head off on a road trip of a lifetime.

This was definitely my favorite story out of the Header series. It was so different from the others and could definitely be read as a stand-alone. Poor Brice really got the brunt of his friends' actions, and the acts of revenge inside this story were insanely vile. The hock party especially was so disgusting, and I'll never be able to look at a cemetary the same again.

[José Rafael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the second book in the series (the best so far), but quite an enjoyable reading anyway.

[Mehmet]

This book is great, it is disgustingly morbid with Edward Lee playing with your mind type dark humour. Ryan Harding was his partner in crime on this story & well done i say to him. Header 3 follows three rich city men planning on having a wild night with the 'good ole boys'. While the life and revenge style of the small town is deplorable, the rich guys action seem worse. You almost want the punishment given out to them. This is where the novel is good, the twisting round of morality. Who is worse ? The exploration of poverty, albeit done in a slapstick if not deep & intellectual was still spot on and intelligent. A highly fun if uncomfortable read at times. If you love Edward lee, highly recommended