Sing For Me

Illustration: Michael O'Connell

When you dare read this book, you’ll have to decide if Malerman is preaching to you or if he is just telling you a wicked story that takes you from A to B. Is it a slasher? A fairy tale? A morality tale? He’ll leave you rooting around for a nice safe place to make up your own mind.. 

The story is as I imagine Pearl’s skin to be—either too hot and feverish or too cold and clammy. Either way, its coarse bristles prevent even a pleasant feeling from taking hold, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. It might just be my favorite horror of 2021. This grisly tale got inside my brain and has stayed with me. It’s a creepy and strange one about a pig on a Michigan farm who has a kind of telepathy. Pearl can get inside your brain and root around in your thoughts. He learns things while he is in there and then uses them in ways that will savage you. He makes you want to do things and convinces you it was your idea. As I said, Malerman packs a lot into this short book and he left me wanting more. 

If you let him, Malerman will take your imagination and carry it (you) into the barn and hang it from a hook. He will leave it (you) there dangling, waiting for a savior to release you before the damage is done. But he won’t allow that. Like Pearl, he casts a dark shadow where your fears live. Some of those fears might have been planted by Orwell years ago with Animal Farm. I suspect it was no coincidence that one of the farmers was also named Jones. But Pearl is not Napoleon, and he certainly is not Snowflake. Pearl is a new kind of horror and it will have you singing for him before the end of the story. And speaking of the end of the story, I am at a loss. Was that the end? Or was it what Pearl wanted us to think was the end? 

I don’t quite understand people getting triggered by bloodshed and violence toward animals—but not people. However, for those of you who are the former, this twisty little tale has buckets of blood and gore heaped upon the animals—and people, but that’s partly why you’ll be reading this novel, right?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, Occasional Reader.

Sing for me.

What are you willing to sacrifice?

To Offer Her Pleasure

by Ali Seay

Published by Weirdpunk Books.

ISBN-13: 9781951658175

150 pages

This is a very unusual coming-of-age story. Ben’s father died. His mother started dating a loser who becomes Ben’s tormentor. Surprise, surprise. And then, out of the blue, his mother deserts him. Now Ben must learn to deal with his predicament. He gets a little help. 

Here are a few thoughts without getting all spoilery. The writing is imaginative. The characters are, for the most part, strong in the sense that there is a nice mix and they seem to be possibly more real than the protagonist. Then there is the antlered woman on the cover. She is very creepy. We are given just enough information to set our minds reeling and always wanting just a little bit more.

There is a lot packed into this horror novella—family, sacrifice, teen angst, and the aforementioned coming of age. On the whole, this was a great read, but I did want a few things. I wanted to see some consequences. I wanted to know a bit more about the creepy woods where Ben and Mikey take their walks. And I wanted Ben to be a little more likable. In some places, you are cheering him on and in others you are left scratching your head thinking WTF, man. Ben is complicated. He is a loner, and he has been hurt and it is because he has been through so much that you can’t help rooting for him and wanting to know what’s next. 

This was not quite a five-star read for me, but it is close. It is creepy, atmospheric, and downright nasty in places. The author, Ali Seay, is relatively new to the horror scene. I expect that we will be hearing a lot more about her.