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Whargoul
I Destroyed Your Life I Raped Your Wife I Am the Fucking Whargoul From the killing grounds of Stalingrad to the death camps of the holocaust. From torture chambers in Iraq to race riots in the United States, the Whargoul was there - killing and raping. It is a beast born in bullets and shrapnel, feeding off of pain, misery, and hard drugs. Cursed to wander the Earth without the hope of death, it is reborn again and again to spread the gospel of hate, abuse, and genocide. But what if it's not the only monster out there? What if there's something worse? From Dave Brockie, the twisted genius behind GWAR, comes a novel about the darkest days of the twentieth century. The modern world is dying and Brockie is here to put a bullet between its eyes and violate the corpse. This is all-out fucking war!
244 pages, Paperback
First published December 4, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 9, 2011
Good job, Brockie. Thanks to you, no one ever needs to die in a book again. Literally, you have killed more people in this one little book, than in all war novels and horror stories/films/comix combined.
The world owes you a great deal for introducing it to the Whargoul.
The world owes you a great deal for introducing it to the Whargoul.
June 13, 2013
I read this on my Kindle and each page-turn produced a spritz of hot blood. When I finished, my Kindle burst into flame and turned into a sentient tentacle. Thanks for killing my Kindle, Brockie.
September 4, 2012
Sadly, not very good. I wanted to like this one so much, and I kept with it even after I was bored. It's just not a very interesting story, and the writing isn't the best. Sure, it was gory as all get out, but that by itself doesn't make a great story. Meh.
February 9, 2017
WHARGOUL (Deadite Press, 2010) by Dave Brockie (the founder and front man of GWAR, who sadly passed away in 2014) is a nonstop titillating slaughterhouse of a book.
The story is about the Whargoul, a creature born in war, fathered by a bloated, horrifying thing that lives deep beneath the earth and feeds on suffering. Thrust into combat in Stalingrad during World War 2, he feeds on human souls, his rage driving him to kill in combat. Immortal, he rises again in various wars, creating carnage, rape and murder everywhere he goes. What makes him likable is he understands his nature, he hates what he is, and even after the many, many horrible things he’s done, he is searching and hoping for redemption.
The narrative jumps from World War 2 to the invasion of Iraq to a modern race war. One battle, one slaughter, after another, but oddly, while the story stretches toward being too much, it never got tiring for me. Somehow, Brockie kept the narrative fresh, and he wrote with abandon. I could almost picture him laughing and shouting the story at me. Just a glance at the cover suggests, yeah, this book is going to punch me in the face.
Lurid, sweeping, detailed, joyously violent, that’s how I’d describe Brockie’s prose. I kept returning to the book thinking, I’ll just read a bit more, and then I was at the crazy, exploding climax, and next thing I knew, the flaming wreckage had settled and I’d reached the back cover.
WHARGOUL takes a bit of iron to read, but it’s a mad ride, and for those who like some crazy in their words, it’s a fun ride too.
The story is about the Whargoul, a creature born in war, fathered by a bloated, horrifying thing that lives deep beneath the earth and feeds on suffering. Thrust into combat in Stalingrad during World War 2, he feeds on human souls, his rage driving him to kill in combat. Immortal, he rises again in various wars, creating carnage, rape and murder everywhere he goes. What makes him likable is he understands his nature, he hates what he is, and even after the many, many horrible things he’s done, he is searching and hoping for redemption.
The narrative jumps from World War 2 to the invasion of Iraq to a modern race war. One battle, one slaughter, after another, but oddly, while the story stretches toward being too much, it never got tiring for me. Somehow, Brockie kept the narrative fresh, and he wrote with abandon. I could almost picture him laughing and shouting the story at me. Just a glance at the cover suggests, yeah, this book is going to punch me in the face.
Lurid, sweeping, detailed, joyously violent, that’s how I’d describe Brockie’s prose. I kept returning to the book thinking, I’ll just read a bit more, and then I was at the crazy, exploding climax, and next thing I knew, the flaming wreckage had settled and I’d reached the back cover.
WHARGOUL takes a bit of iron to read, but it’s a mad ride, and for those who like some crazy in their words, it’s a fun ride too.
January 3, 2023
This is the greatest book of all time. 2 stars.
July 5, 2023
This degenerate, gore-soaked trash is no literary classic but the non-linear story and anti-hero protagonist made for a fun read. Definitely not for those with a weak stomach but fans of the splatter genre and Gwar (which probably drew most people to this book) should get a kick out of it.
December 18, 2019
If Thomas Pynchon and Clive Barker decide to join forces and take a crack at writing a horror novel with a bizarro slant, the result would probably be something as poetic and eloquent as Whargoul, David Brockie's first novel. Brockie, the twisted mind behind cult band GWAR, decided to start his writing career with a bang and penned down an epic story of war, death, sex, blood, transmogrification, booze and a lot of violence. From the blood-soaked Battle of Stalingrad and the death camps of the holocaust to the more recent war in Iraq and even a fictional race war in New York City, Whargoul has been there, bringing death wherever he goes and feeding off the souls and brains of the those left in his wake.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
October 15, 2020
A f*cking amazing stream of consciousness rollercoaster ride of carnage and mayhem spanning millennia.
July 5, 2026
Ohhhh boy. This book was interesting. I really hate to give this book a 2-star rating but, I can't in good conscience give it anything higher.
----
How do I even explain this book? Basically there's the Whargoul, and he is created by Father(who's identity and explanation gets more fleshed out throughout the book) and he fights in already existing wars and/or large conflicts such as riots and race wars. He's extremely hard to kill, and he regenerates by sucking out your brain through your eye socket.
If he does manage to get mangled or destroyed enough to be killed, he comes back as someone different. He's fought as both a Russian and German Nazi in World War II, he's been a psychopath in the US sometime in the 90's or early 2000's(or both) and committed an insanely violent and explosive terrorist act. He's done lots of stuff.
Essentially, this is like an extreme horror version of Forrest Gump with this Whargoul as the protagonist instead of Forrest. This book also reminds me of The President's Son by Jon Athan, another extreme horror book that works as vignettes. While that books was pretty great, this book's problems are unfortunately too great.
There's a quote from the book said by the titular Whargoul that sums up my biggest problem with the book:
"Bear with me. I cannot tell my story in chronological order. I must write it down as I remember it, and it is good for my sanity to not remember everything all at once."
Basically the book jumps back and forth through different times, often more than once in each chapter and without any warning. While I got somewhat almost used to it, the book would have been much easier to read had it been written in order with dates and times before when a vignette was taking place. I think the story as it is is a decent one, but some of the action scenes were unnecessary and started getting old after awhile due to many of them being very samey, but if it was just trimmed a bit, told in chronological order, and then edited or rewritten just a tad, this could have been a masterpiece in my book.
On the plus side, there were a lot of great extreme horror scenes and sections that delved into the villain protagonist's lore and Brockie did actually manage to do some interesting and surprising stuff towards the end and even cook up an unexpectedly creative climax and ending. As it is though, it's a bad book that I ultimately like because of its flavor. It could have also toned down the language, it did feel a bit overwritten but I give it a bit of a pass since it was written by one of the guys from GWAR (RIP).
----
I found out later that this was written on David Brockie's website for free over a five year period and as a book that's just a reprint of something written for free on a dude's website, it's a five star book. If only he would have edited it and touched it up it could have also been a five star book as a book.
----
I never listened to GWAR but given that some of the songs have mild plotlines, they dress like space mutant barbarians, and there's even an evil hot chick one, this books and my research definitely has me interested. If any of you are into GWAR, tell me some of your favorite songs in the comments.
----
How do I even explain this book? Basically there's the Whargoul, and he is created by Father(who's identity and explanation gets more fleshed out throughout the book) and he fights in already existing wars and/or large conflicts such as riots and race wars. He's extremely hard to kill, and he regenerates by sucking out your brain through your eye socket.
If he does manage to get mangled or destroyed enough to be killed, he comes back as someone different. He's fought as both a Russian and German Nazi in World War II, he's been a psychopath in the US sometime in the 90's or early 2000's(or both) and committed an insanely violent and explosive terrorist act. He's done lots of stuff.
Essentially, this is like an extreme horror version of Forrest Gump with this Whargoul as the protagonist instead of Forrest. This book also reminds me of The President's Son by Jon Athan, another extreme horror book that works as vignettes. While that books was pretty great, this book's problems are unfortunately too great.
There's a quote from the book said by the titular Whargoul that sums up my biggest problem with the book:
"Bear with me. I cannot tell my story in chronological order. I must write it down as I remember it, and it is good for my sanity to not remember everything all at once."
Basically the book jumps back and forth through different times, often more than once in each chapter and without any warning. While I got somewhat almost used to it, the book would have been much easier to read had it been written in order with dates and times before when a vignette was taking place. I think the story as it is is a decent one, but some of the action scenes were unnecessary and started getting old after awhile due to many of them being very samey, but if it was just trimmed a bit, told in chronological order, and then edited or rewritten just a tad, this could have been a masterpiece in my book.
On the plus side, there were a lot of great extreme horror scenes and sections that delved into the villain protagonist's lore and Brockie did actually manage to do some interesting and surprising stuff towards the end and even cook up an unexpectedly creative climax and ending. As it is though, it's a bad book that I ultimately like because of its flavor. It could have also toned down the language, it did feel a bit overwritten but I give it a bit of a pass since it was written by one of the guys from GWAR (RIP).
----
I found out later that this was written on David Brockie's website for free over a five year period and as a book that's just a reprint of something written for free on a dude's website, it's a five star book. If only he would have edited it and touched it up it could have also been a five star book as a book.
----
I never listened to GWAR but given that some of the songs have mild plotlines, they dress like space mutant barbarians, and there's even an evil hot chick one, this books and my research definitely has me interested. If any of you are into GWAR, tell me some of your favorite songs in the comments.
September 17, 2020
DNF. I read ther first 65 pages and was utterly bored. This book jumps around so much and in ways that make no sense. It was painful to even get that far. Even the violence was ridiculous. It was written like a 13 year old with a thesaurus who thought he was being clever. The author tried to be fancy and clever, but used sentences that were so outlandish they were comical. I wanted to like this, no I wanted to love this, but it was hot garbage. The MC would be in 1940s Germany and then eating babies in current day Nyc. It's quite evident the author's affiliation with GWAR was the main reason this was published.
September 2, 2024
This is interesting just for the sake of its connection to Gwar and all that, but it’s not good writing, hard to follow, no characters to care about, and just kind of gets boring. But, if you get to the end, the last chapter is decent.
February 1, 2026
The idea of a celestial beast feeding on human destruction is brilliant, and the GWAR tie-ins are a treat for fans. Unfortunately, the narrative becomes overly convoluted toward the end, leaving too many loose ends. RIP Dave Brockie.
June 19, 2026
Absolute wild ride.
I won't deny the very beginning of the book had left me a little confused but as it went on it genuinely became more and more of a solid piece of writing, almost as if the prose was getting better as well. Great read.
I won't deny the very beginning of the book had left me a little confused but as it went on it genuinely became more and more of a solid piece of writing, almost as if the prose was getting better as well. Great read.
June 27, 2020
RIP Dave Brockie
December 22, 2021
Great but that’s to be expected from Oderus. Really bizarre and engrossing story told in a nonlinear manner that definitely isn’t for everyone. I loved it.
April 6, 2024
If you like/enjoy/get enjoyment from GWAR, definitely read. If not, don’t bother because it’s really weird and very GWAR.
April 26, 2025
Hail Brockie.
July 23, 2026
★★★★★
As good as the song - not for the faint of heart as the Whargoul is a supernatural beast born in the bullets and shrapnel of the 20th century. It acts as the physical embodiment of war and suffering, jumping from one historical conflict to another. It destroys everything around it, committing unspeakable acts, and is doomed to wander the earth with no hope of dying. Its a ride of insanity - well worth those that enjoy the genre, but not for those 'exploring.' In comparison to 'chili peppers' - the spice on this one is beyond ya 'rookie's' pallet. Perhaps a worthy 'goal' for those in desire of insane standard of brutality, but with a spectacle not fully appreciated without a bit of history. No pun intended... sike!
As good as the song - not for the faint of heart as the Whargoul is a supernatural beast born in the bullets and shrapnel of the 20th century. It acts as the physical embodiment of war and suffering, jumping from one historical conflict to another. It destroys everything around it, committing unspeakable acts, and is doomed to wander the earth with no hope of dying. Its a ride of insanity - well worth those that enjoy the genre, but not for those 'exploring.' In comparison to 'chili peppers' - the spice on this one is beyond ya 'rookie's' pallet. Perhaps a worthy 'goal' for those in desire of insane standard of brutality, but with a spectacle not fully appreciated without a bit of history. No pun intended... sike!
June 19, 2014
Dave Brockie, Whargoul (Deadite Press, 2010)
The untimely death of GWAR frontman Dave Brockie in March 2014 led me to pull this out, which I picked up a while back at Half-Price Books but hadn't gotten round to reading. I was never a big fan of GWAR, and in fact hadn't connected the two (I missed the mention of GWAR on the book's cover—the colors blend a little too well) until well after I picked the book up. But, all these things being what they may, I cracked the cover and decided to give it a go. Not to put too fine a point on it, this is a terrible book.
Plot: the book is a feature-length retelling of the GWAR song of the same name, with added details, of course, and a couple of bad guys (well, relative bad guys, given the protagonist). It's the mock-memoir of a demonic being's wartime activities from 1942 Stalingrad to a near-future America currently rocked by a war sparked by an explosion at the Super Bowl. Over time, he inhabits a number of different bodies and sees major world conflicts from different sides. As he goes on, he discovers that he is not just a puppet of whatever being created him; he has free will, and as he explores this, he grows to resent his creator and, after meeting another supernatural being with whom he bonds, begins plotting the downfall of that mysterious creature and his henchman (and Whargoul's eternal rival) Necrosov.
You may get the idea from that attempt at a synopsis that Whargoul has a plot. It does eventually develop something that resembles one, though it takes half the book to get off the ground, and most of the time it barely has a chance to poke its head up from the trench it inhabits, while Brockie attempts to shell it into oblivion with lyric fragments, observations on the warlike nature of humanity, and gratuitous sexual interludes that still manage to be oddly prudish when it comes to actually doing the deed. The points where the book does try to develop a plot show the potential it had; this could have been quite good, given a whole lot of editing and a complete rewrite of the entire first half. But what I am reviewing is not the book we might have had in another universe, or the one we might have gotten had Brockie not shuffled off this mortal coil before learning from the mistakes he made writing this one. And this one is not worth your time. * ½
The untimely death of GWAR frontman Dave Brockie in March 2014 led me to pull this out, which I picked up a while back at Half-Price Books but hadn't gotten round to reading. I was never a big fan of GWAR, and in fact hadn't connected the two (I missed the mention of GWAR on the book's cover—the colors blend a little too well) until well after I picked the book up. But, all these things being what they may, I cracked the cover and decided to give it a go. Not to put too fine a point on it, this is a terrible book.
Plot: the book is a feature-length retelling of the GWAR song of the same name, with added details, of course, and a couple of bad guys (well, relative bad guys, given the protagonist). It's the mock-memoir of a demonic being's wartime activities from 1942 Stalingrad to a near-future America currently rocked by a war sparked by an explosion at the Super Bowl. Over time, he inhabits a number of different bodies and sees major world conflicts from different sides. As he goes on, he discovers that he is not just a puppet of whatever being created him; he has free will, and as he explores this, he grows to resent his creator and, after meeting another supernatural being with whom he bonds, begins plotting the downfall of that mysterious creature and his henchman (and Whargoul's eternal rival) Necrosov.
You may get the idea from that attempt at a synopsis that Whargoul has a plot. It does eventually develop something that resembles one, though it takes half the book to get off the ground, and most of the time it barely has a chance to poke its head up from the trench it inhabits, while Brockie attempts to shell it into oblivion with lyric fragments, observations on the warlike nature of humanity, and gratuitous sexual interludes that still manage to be oddly prudish when it comes to actually doing the deed. The points where the book does try to develop a plot show the potential it had; this could have been quite good, given a whole lot of editing and a complete rewrite of the entire first half. But what I am reviewing is not the book we might have had in another universe, or the one we might have gotten had Brockie not shuffled off this mortal coil before learning from the mistakes he made writing this one. And this one is not worth your time. * ½
September 10, 2014
This has been a book I've been trying to get around to reading for awhile and now with the passing of Dave Brockie it just felt right. I should point out that I'm not writing this review as a Gwar fan. I'm writing it as a fan of horror and splatterpunk.
I liked bits and pieces of Wharghoul. The premise of a creature that feeds on war sounds really interestin but let me be honest and say that I enjoy Brokie's writiing style. The novel feels like you're reading a journal but the story skips all over the place. In one paragraph Wharghoul is in New York, and then in the next he's a Nazi in world War II Germany.
It grew a bit boring and it kept me from finishing the book. I almost made it through but grew tired of the story skipping around so much. There is a reason why the story is told this way and it's because remembering everything at once would drive the Wharghoul insane. It confused me a great deal and while I was able to keep everything together I just lost interest towards the end.
There is a great deal of violence which is to be expected and when Brockie must have been a war fanatic to pull off the various wars and battles that he places Wharghoul in. For the casual horror fan there's a lot to love here but the story grows tedious after awhile but this could have been remedied if Brockie had just given us the story chronologically or at least stopped adding additional information.
I liked bits and pieces of Wharghoul. The premise of a creature that feeds on war sounds really interestin but let me be honest and say that I enjoy Brokie's writiing style. The novel feels like you're reading a journal but the story skips all over the place. In one paragraph Wharghoul is in New York, and then in the next he's a Nazi in world War II Germany.
It grew a bit boring and it kept me from finishing the book. I almost made it through but grew tired of the story skipping around so much. There is a reason why the story is told this way and it's because remembering everything at once would drive the Wharghoul insane. It confused me a great deal and while I was able to keep everything together I just lost interest towards the end.
There is a great deal of violence which is to be expected and when Brockie must have been a war fanatic to pull off the various wars and battles that he places Wharghoul in. For the casual horror fan there's a lot to love here but the story grows tedious after awhile but this could have been remedied if Brockie had just given us the story chronologically or at least stopped adding additional information.
February 24, 2012
WHARGOUL by David Brockie is sick, disgusting and disturbing, but in a safe way. What else would you expect from the lead front man of the metal band GWAR? All seriousness aside though, WHARGOUL is Brockie’s first literary venture into the horror genre and it is a brutal, visceral ride through the eyes of the Whargoul, an undead killing machine of unbridled rage. But don’t pass judgment so easily, after all, he is just doing his job...
The book reads like a personal diary of a remorseless terminator and will shock you if you are not acclimated to hard core horror. Brockie attempts to distance the reader from a safe reality and thrust them ass first into a world of serious destitute and chaos. The point to the book is to have fun watching WHARGOUL deal death out in classic and inventive ways. He succeeds in his goals and I honestly had a blast reading it. I heard that later this year, David Brockie and Deadite Press will be releasing a second story. I am positive that the next book will be more over the top, just the way I like it. If you love the music of David Brockie and you dig GWAR or are a hardcore horror aficionado, then this is a good buy. WHARGOUL is available exclusively from Deadite Press. Pick it and watch the stinky trenches, they smell.
The book reads like a personal diary of a remorseless terminator and will shock you if you are not acclimated to hard core horror. Brockie attempts to distance the reader from a safe reality and thrust them ass first into a world of serious destitute and chaos. The point to the book is to have fun watching WHARGOUL deal death out in classic and inventive ways. He succeeds in his goals and I honestly had a blast reading it. I heard that later this year, David Brockie and Deadite Press will be releasing a second story. I am positive that the next book will be more over the top, just the way I like it. If you love the music of David Brockie and you dig GWAR or are a hardcore horror aficionado, then this is a good buy. WHARGOUL is available exclusively from Deadite Press. Pick it and watch the stinky trenches, they smell.
May 7, 2014
Whargoul is one of my favorite over-the-top books ever. I read it back when it was only available at oderus.net (what a hipster thing to say...), and have been enamored with it every since.
Brockie goes out of his way to make people feel uncomfortable with his art and fiction (not to mention his lyrics), but he does it with a style all his own, and with intelligence to back it up. There's nobody in the world quite like this man, and there never will be again.
RIP, Oderus.
Brockie goes out of his way to make people feel uncomfortable with his art and fiction (not to mention his lyrics), but he does it with a style all his own, and with intelligence to back it up. There's nobody in the world quite like this man, and there never will be again.
RIP, Oderus.
April 15, 2011
The debut book by Dave Brockie of GWAR "fame" is a fun ride but sometimes he wanders a bit and gets distracted. Not for anyone that can't handle death, destruction and general gore but that is not a detraction at all. His focus on the weapons and machinery of the wars is very informative and it seems like Brockie really does know what he is talking about.
January 15, 2023
Well this was a interesting one lol. A bit scattered, you jump back and forth with the Whargoul as he tells you the stories and memories from his life. He's been many people but always a Whargoul, damned to spend eternity wrestling with his desires and his conscience. It's a shame Brockie is no longer with us, as he left this wide open for a gore-filled sequel. Solid 3+ stars
March 25, 2025
"Her throat is ripped open on my follow-through, as both flesh and glass merge in an expanding cone of blood. It’s funny!"
Brockie was so effortlessly witty and creative. And this strange tale of war and cosmic horror perfectly represents his stream of consciousness epic-in-scope, darkly humorous, ultraviolent, yet deeply personal art.
Brockie was so effortlessly witty and creative. And this strange tale of war and cosmic horror perfectly represents his stream of consciousness epic-in-scope, darkly humorous, ultraviolent, yet deeply personal art.
January 10, 2013
Twisted, obscene, vulgar in the extreme and often it doesn't sense at all. It's also absolutely fascinating if you're a fan of GWAR or Brockie.
April 11, 2017
I couldn't finish this. The story jumps around so much that I had to reread the stuff I already read. The story should have been told in chronological order rather than scatterbrained. There is a ton of violence and other aspects that scream splatter-punk. This was just so disappointing. A story of a creature that feeds off of violence is a really cool idea and having that monster be apart of the biggest wars and violent moments in human history is even cooler.Confusing, messy, frustrating, and rather boring. Only read about half of it and gave up.
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