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Sick Things: Extreme Creature Horror
Sick Things is the ultimate collection of extreme creature horror with 17 deviant and gore-soaked stories featuring demons, cannibals, mutants, golems, werewolves, and many more vile creatures, monsters, and beasts. EDITORIAL REVIEWS FANGORIA "Cover every orifice. Comet Press’ new collection SICK AN ANTHOLOGY OF EXTREME CREATURE HORROR is making a beeline for the soft contents of your body—and it doesn’t care one bit where it makes its grand entrance, orbital sockets or otherwise. Rest assured this violation will be painful, given the tight confinements of our fallible frames of flesh—but anything less than a full-on ass-rape would probably seem insufficient in the eyes of editrix Cheryl Mullenax..." FATALLY YOURS "If you are an extreme fan of horror looking for the ultimate in disgusting, vile and disturbing fiction, Sick An Anthology of Extreme Creature Horror is a must-read…just make sure you have your barf bag handy!" Table of Contents "Devils" by Randy Chandler"Threshold" by Fred Venturini"This is My Body" by Lawrence Conquest"Hunger Pangs" by Matt Kurtz"Fly on the Wall" by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime"Legacy of the Last Invader" by M. Shaw"Acceptable Losses" by Simon Wood"An Unfortunate Incident at the Slaughterhouse" by Harper Hull"Rotsworth" by Kurt Bachard"Evil, Bent, and Candy-Sweet" by Tim Curran"Heat" by Daniel I. Russell"The Neglected" by Sean Logan"Betty and the Cambion" by Ralph Greco, Jr."Jimmy Sticks and the Outlaw Critter of Doom" by Michael Boatman"Ranching the Sleore" by Aaron Polson"Paper Angels on Fire" by John Shirley"The Special Son" by Jeffrey HaleEditor Cheryl Mullenax
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2010
10 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
John Shirley
322 books464 followersJohn Shirley won the Bram Stoker Award for his story collection Black Butterflies, and is the author of numerous novels, including the best-seller DEMONS, the cyberpunk classics CITY COME A-WALKIN', ECLIPSE, and BLACK GLASS, and his newest novels STORMLAND and A SORCERER OF ATLANTIS.
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 6, 2013
What I really love about this book is how great the writing is. There isn't a story in it that's (IMHO) badly written and there is some dark stuff in here. I'm not a fan of the gross-out horror but there were enough intelligent stories in here for me. When you read stuff like this it makes you realise how badly written all those celebrity books are whether ghost-written or not. The writers here are the real deal, working from the ground up. I'll definitely be looking up some of these writers to read more of their stuff. Brilliant.
March 22, 2021
Como suele ser con antologías, encontré historias que me gustaron bastante y otras olvidables o malas.
Las historias que sobresalen, para mi gusto son:
Rotsworth: me dio una vibra muy de weird-fiction. Se funde la línea entre lo que parece real y lo que no, con una atmósfera desoladora.
Ranching the Sleore: no sé si califique como body-horror u horror cósmico, pero soy muy fan de los "creature feature" y sus variantes.
Legacy of the Last Invader: conspiraciones del gobierno y extraterrestres que buscan perpetuar su especie en la tierra. Me gustó lo suficiente.
Devils: esta es la historia que arranca la antología. Un culto, una reportera investigándolo para un documental y criaturas demoniacas. No fue mi favorita pero me pareció un gran comienzo.
Acceptable Losses: la verdad cuando leí la sinopsis del libro donde menciona la premisa de algunas historias, pensé que esta sería mucho más terror estilo ochentero. No fue el caso pero la historia está decente. Me recordó levemente a The Terror.
The Neglected: esta historia tiene ese problema en el que hay una trama y una sub-trama que al final no terminan de mezclarse bien. Aun así me gustaron los paralelos entre ciertas situaciones ocurridas en el pasado y en el presente.
The Special Son: la última historia, con una premisa que me gustó mucho pero con un final que me pareció bastante flojo/anticlimático.
En general es una buena antología. El mayor pero que le pongo es que las descripciones en la contraportada te venden las historias de cierta manera que en mi opinión no coinciden con lo que realmente obtienes. A pesar que la antología se llama "Sick Things: extreme creature horror", no considero que sean realmente "enfermas" o "extremas". Lo que hizo que me decidiera a leerla fue que estoy poniéndole las manos encima a cualquier cosa en la que haya una contribución de Tim Curran... que en este caso, irónicamente, su historia ni figuró en mi top.
Hay otra antología que me llama la atención de esta misma editorial. Quizá después la lea para comparar.
Las historias que sobresalen, para mi gusto son:
Rotsworth: me dio una vibra muy de weird-fiction. Se funde la línea entre lo que parece real y lo que no, con una atmósfera desoladora.
Ranching the Sleore: no sé si califique como body-horror u horror cósmico, pero soy muy fan de los "creature feature" y sus variantes.
Legacy of the Last Invader: conspiraciones del gobierno y extraterrestres que buscan perpetuar su especie en la tierra. Me gustó lo suficiente.
Devils: esta es la historia que arranca la antología. Un culto, una reportera investigándolo para un documental y criaturas demoniacas. No fue mi favorita pero me pareció un gran comienzo.
Acceptable Losses: la verdad cuando leí la sinopsis del libro donde menciona la premisa de algunas historias, pensé que esta sería mucho más terror estilo ochentero. No fue el caso pero la historia está decente. Me recordó levemente a The Terror.
The Neglected: esta historia tiene ese problema en el que hay una trama y una sub-trama que al final no terminan de mezclarse bien. Aun así me gustaron los paralelos entre ciertas situaciones ocurridas en el pasado y en el presente.
The Special Son: la última historia, con una premisa que me gustó mucho pero con un final que me pareció bastante flojo/anticlimático.
En general es una buena antología. El mayor pero que le pongo es que las descripciones en la contraportada te venden las historias de cierta manera que en mi opinión no coinciden con lo que realmente obtienes. A pesar que la antología se llama "Sick Things: extreme creature horror", no considero que sean realmente "enfermas" o "extremas". Lo que hizo que me decidiera a leerla fue que estoy poniéndole las manos encima a cualquier cosa en la que haya una contribución de Tim Curran... que en este caso, irónicamente, su historia ni figuró en mi top.
Hay otra antología que me llama la atención de esta misma editorial. Quizá después la lea para comparar.
January 3, 2025
That was interesting. Some are good stories, and some are not so good. Some felt like a forced and poorly written story based on a gross idea that the author wanted to explore with little or no patience. Some, on the other hand, were entertaining reads.
May 12, 2020
This is a fantastic and eclectic collection of work from arguably some of the best short fiction writers I've come across.
Currently reading
April 7, 2025"Hunger Pangs" by Matt Kurtz - Jack gives his girlfriend Sybil a tapeworm egg to give to her obese mother. When the worm extrudes itself from mom's rectum in order to devour Sybil's dog Sybil restrains mom to the bed but then the worm extrudes itself in order to devour Sybil.
"The Special Son" by Jeffrey Hale - Chase is a retarded man who keeps his semen in a jar in the closet where it cross-fertilizes a spider egg sac producing a hybrid that devours his mother.
"The Special Son" by Jeffrey Hale - Chase is a retarded man who keeps his semen in a jar in the closet where it cross-fertilizes a spider egg sac producing a hybrid that devours his mother.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2010
First off, hands up, I'm in this one. Now, followers of my reviews may be getting ready to pounce with cries of "You always say you're 100% impartial!" And I have to agree. This is a review of a book I read as reader, not a plug.
So to get it out of the way: Sick Things contains my story Heat, and that is all I'm going to mention in regards to it.
I'm going to look at the antho as a whole and pick out some selected stories.
This Is My Body by Lawrence Conquest is the third story in the book, and is the one I found to start tugging on those low stomach muscles. The new accountant of a failing TV station has to find ways to reduce expenditure, and zones in on the cafeteria. Why is the chef wasting so much money on food that ultimately never gets eaten? He's about to find out as he confronts the chef after hours.
It takes a subgenre in a new direction, and manages to disgust without piling on the gore.
Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood. I've read some reviews that trumpet this as the jewel in the crown of this sick anthology. As much as I hate to go with the flow, I have to agree. Wood handles his story with sensitivity and quite alot of maturity. The gore is there, but the setting makes it feel more real than most of the other stories in the collection.
A crew is sent to the war-splattered beaches in WW2 to collect what remains of their fellow soldiers after failed missions. The bullet ravaged bodies are taken back to their carrier ship. The fallen soldiers are about to give a lot more to the war effort than just their lives.
Betty and the Cambion by Ralph Greco Jr is an odd little story. A little out of place in an extreme creature anthology (it has a creature, but it's on the light side for gore and shocks) Greco takes us into an abandoned house on a college campus, where female students for years have visited as part of a ritual. They enter the room at the end of the corridor, close the door and can remember nothing more, apart from the feeling of being...filled.
A surprisingly sexy and phallic story, while a little out of place, can still be considered deviant...and very enjoyable!
Evil, Bent and Candy-Sweet by Tim Curran not only has the best title, but plays with our familiarity and pushes it further. Simply put, this is a retelling of the Brothers Grim story, Hansel and Gretal...but for grown ups! Dreamlike and visceral, this has defintely got to be a favourite.
Yes, a few stories don't quite hit the mark, be it with a telegraphed ending or light premise, but every story was at least decent. I didn't read one stinker in here, and as a collection as a whole, I found it solid and entertaining. It would have got an extra star if the stories were more extreme (ah, contradiction! I'm going to briefly mention Heat, which, I'll admit, could have been more extreme itself, but at least I hope it's an entertaining read). The cover looks damn sexy too. I think if you're a horror antho fan, this is a worthy buy. With so many small presses putting out so many horror anthologies... I could name a few offenders that churn out garbage every month. Comet Press oozes quality. Some of the stories here simply ooze (in a good way!).
Other reviews of this book can be found at Fangoria, Toxic Graveyard and Fatally Yours.
So to get it out of the way: Sick Things contains my story Heat, and that is all I'm going to mention in regards to it.
I'm going to look at the antho as a whole and pick out some selected stories.
This Is My Body by Lawrence Conquest is the third story in the book, and is the one I found to start tugging on those low stomach muscles. The new accountant of a failing TV station has to find ways to reduce expenditure, and zones in on the cafeteria. Why is the chef wasting so much money on food that ultimately never gets eaten? He's about to find out as he confronts the chef after hours.
It takes a subgenre in a new direction, and manages to disgust without piling on the gore.
Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood. I've read some reviews that trumpet this as the jewel in the crown of this sick anthology. As much as I hate to go with the flow, I have to agree. Wood handles his story with sensitivity and quite alot of maturity. The gore is there, but the setting makes it feel more real than most of the other stories in the collection.
A crew is sent to the war-splattered beaches in WW2 to collect what remains of their fellow soldiers after failed missions. The bullet ravaged bodies are taken back to their carrier ship. The fallen soldiers are about to give a lot more to the war effort than just their lives.
Betty and the Cambion by Ralph Greco Jr is an odd little story. A little out of place in an extreme creature anthology (it has a creature, but it's on the light side for gore and shocks) Greco takes us into an abandoned house on a college campus, where female students for years have visited as part of a ritual. They enter the room at the end of the corridor, close the door and can remember nothing more, apart from the feeling of being...filled.
A surprisingly sexy and phallic story, while a little out of place, can still be considered deviant...and very enjoyable!
Evil, Bent and Candy-Sweet by Tim Curran not only has the best title, but plays with our familiarity and pushes it further. Simply put, this is a retelling of the Brothers Grim story, Hansel and Gretal...but for grown ups! Dreamlike and visceral, this has defintely got to be a favourite.
Yes, a few stories don't quite hit the mark, be it with a telegraphed ending or light premise, but every story was at least decent. I didn't read one stinker in here, and as a collection as a whole, I found it solid and entertaining. It would have got an extra star if the stories were more extreme (ah, contradiction! I'm going to briefly mention Heat, which, I'll admit, could have been more extreme itself, but at least I hope it's an entertaining read). The cover looks damn sexy too. I think if you're a horror antho fan, this is a worthy buy. With so many small presses putting out so many horror anthologies... I could name a few offenders that churn out garbage every month. Comet Press oozes quality. Some of the stories here simply ooze (in a good way!).
Other reviews of this book can be found at Fangoria, Toxic Graveyard and Fatally Yours.
Read
March 10, 2011Sick Things is a collection of 17 stories of parasites, aliens, demons, insects, and many other nasty critters, and offers up a bit of something for any fan of monster mayhem. The stories range from grotesque to downright hilarious, with a nice blend of different creatures to keep things from getting bogged down. As with most anthologies, there are a few weak links, but the majority of work here is strong.
Highlights include "Hunger Pangs" by Matt Kurtz, in which a diet pill from south of the border brings weight loss with extreme consequences; “Evil, Bent, and Candy-Sweet” by Tim Curran, a horrifying new take on “Hansel and Gretel”, "Fly On The Wall" by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, which asks the question “Could you love a woman with a strange affinity for flies”? Finally, easily my favorite story in the bunch, “Jimmy Sticks and the Outlaw Critter of Doom” by Michael Boatman is a positively gut-bustingly funny and gross take on the Crow comics and movies. Only, this time it's a back possum, not a bird.
The one real problem I have is the use of the word Extreme in the title. Maybe I'm jaded from reading lots of Edward Lee, Wrath James White, Richard Laymon, and Jack Ketchum, but, to me, only two stories come close to anything I would consider extreme. That's not to say this isn't a very good collection; just don't expect the over-the-top sex and gore usually associated with the masters of extreme horror.
Sick Things is a well-rounded anthology that I recommend for libraries and fans of good creature terror.
Contains: Strong language, some extreme violence, sexual situations.
Reviewed by: Erik Smith
Highlights include "Hunger Pangs" by Matt Kurtz, in which a diet pill from south of the border brings weight loss with extreme consequences; “Evil, Bent, and Candy-Sweet” by Tim Curran, a horrifying new take on “Hansel and Gretel”, "Fly On The Wall" by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, which asks the question “Could you love a woman with a strange affinity for flies”? Finally, easily my favorite story in the bunch, “Jimmy Sticks and the Outlaw Critter of Doom” by Michael Boatman is a positively gut-bustingly funny and gross take on the Crow comics and movies. Only, this time it's a back possum, not a bird.
The one real problem I have is the use of the word Extreme in the title. Maybe I'm jaded from reading lots of Edward Lee, Wrath James White, Richard Laymon, and Jack Ketchum, but, to me, only two stories come close to anything I would consider extreme. That's not to say this isn't a very good collection; just don't expect the over-the-top sex and gore usually associated with the masters of extreme horror.
Sick Things is a well-rounded anthology that I recommend for libraries and fans of good creature terror.
Contains: Strong language, some extreme violence, sexual situations.
Reviewed by: Erik Smith
August 4, 2012
The title says it all. About the strangest anthologiy ever. SUPER WEIRD and SUPER GORY! A great freak yourself out summer read. From horny zombies to a talking a black opossum who helps a man get his bloody (and deserved) revenge....this book is a smutty and cartoonishly violent amusement park ride! Highly recommended for those with thick skin and a taste for the distasteful.
July 11, 2011
All the stories are great in this volume, with some that provided deeper meanings than you get from most horror stories that just set out to paint horrific situations.
April 28, 2011
I really enjoyed this, it's sick, but great!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews