Sick Bastards

Sick bastards

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sick Bastards?

The writing is superb,plot intense and of course sickening...in a good way...The book is sort of a "day after" zombie story.once you start reading you cant put it down even if you dont like what yout are listening you have find out the rest of the story..

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

A twisted dystopian? Or something more?

I’m a sucker for anything with a warning label. And this book definitely deserves one!

Four people wake up with no memory of anything other than the ‘bomb’ that went off. The food doesn't last, so they do what they have to in order to survive another day. Surprisingly enough all the sex and gore doesn't feel gratuitous. It really lends itself to the story. Now there were times I’m sure I blushed while listening, and was glad I was listening through ear buds so nobody else could hear. Sick Bastards also takes an unexpected twist at the end that I sure didn't see coming, and that was even more terrifying than what they had experienced in their cabin.

This was my first Matt Shaw book and I have already added all the others I could find to my wish list. Chris Barnes does an excellent job with the narration as always. I just adore his accent; he is so easy to listen to and really adds depth and feeling to the story.

Audiobook provided for honest review.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

I May Become a Vegetarian After This

Would you consider the audio edition of Sick Bastards to be better than the print version?

The print version of Sick B*stards is brilliant. It is the perfect mix of uncomfortable gore, sex and violence combined with a story that will keep you guessing until the very end. Was the audiobook better than the book? No, but the audiobook adds an incredible depth to the story and really makes every scene come alive.

What did you like best about this story?

What I liked best about Sick B*stards was the story itself. It was well-written with natural dialog that Chris Barnes read brilliantly. There are some incredibly graphic scenes of violence, sex and gore in this book, but they are all necessary to the story, not just thrown in for shock value. My favorite part? Sick B*astards makes the reader think of just how far they would go to survive.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene might have been where Brother kills Michael Bray. ;) If that one isn't good enough, all the scenes where the family is eating their meat made me a little ill. I still can't enjoy a nice fillet steak.

Who was the most memorable character of Sick Bastards and why?

The entire family, Father, Mother, Brother and Sister were very memorable. In fact, I don't think I could forget that family if I tried.

Any additional comments?

I read Sick B*stards when it first came out in 2013 and it got me hooked on all of Matt Shaw's black cover books. When I found out that Chris Barnes would be narrating the audiobook version, I let out a little squeal. Barnes brings a certain charm, intensity and darkness to the book that made listening to it a whole different experience from reading it. This book is perfect for fans of dark, disturbing and disgusting extreme horror and if you're at all sensitive, this is not the book for you.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

is by far the most brutally disgusting

The only reason I wanted to listen to this is “Extreme Horror” boasted in the title. I have been off listening to science fiction and thrillers and have gotten away from one of my favorite genres.

Um… Holy crap… Whew… Sick B*stards: A Novel of Extreme Horror, Sex and Gore is by far the most brutally disgusting, sexually explicit, gut wrenching, nauseating, guilty pleasure I have ever heard. The title is not joking around and this is not for the faint of heart.

Brief synopsis. A family of four wake up with no memories of the past. They appear to be alone, the only ones in the city. Quickly they run out of the surplus of food and supplies. They have to venture out and discover they are not alone at all. Soon the others they find end up, literally, on the dinner table. Gagged and screaming while the family eats their fill.

If that wasn’t enough. Father is sleeping with mother, father is sleeping with daughter, mother is sleeping with son, son is sleeping with sister. In the most graphic hard-core ways. So mush so that my skin would start to crawl, I would look over my shoulder at work to see if anyone else could hear the incestual escapades. I do not like erotica and I didn’t like all of the sexual content, however if you can, somehow, push that aside. There is a terrific horror story here.

All of that aside this is a story a young man coming of age, in more ways that one, and discovering what is truly important. Truth or happiness. Family or solitude.

Have you been looking for a story that will horrify you in almost ever was imaginable? Well, look no further. This might even make me think twice before listening to another audiobook by Shaw. I say that now, but who am I kidding.

I was thinking to myself while listening to this one. Takes place in the United Kingdom, why not pick a British accent? Well, because that would have stunk. It wouldn’t have given Sick B*stards the raw brutality that a rough Scottish brogue can bring to the table. And if that is what you are looking for then Chris Barnes is who you want for your audiobook.

Even though there wasn’t really a rhythm to this story Barnes was able to bring it regardless. Somehow he was able to keep his wits about him while telling this deranged and twisted tale. I have said this before and I will say it again, Barnes does not have the best characterizations. Yet somehow he is able to breath a life into horror stories like I can imagine no other doing. Yes, he is on my short list of go to narrators.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at audiobookreviewer dot com

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19 of 25 people found this review helpful

Proceed with caution!

Seriously sick and twisted story! I did like it but not sure if I'll listen to more of these sick stories. The reader is amazing! I could listen to him read the back of a cereal box and be delighted!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

cannabalism, incest, gore... what's not to love!

not a bad post apocalyptic novel with a twist. not quite Tim Curran but good

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

for those who like REAL horror

great book, great narrative. about to read more of his books. sicker and sickest next.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Exactly what it says on the tin. And more.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well, Brother is the POV character and the one we spend the most time with, so I would have to go with him. Although I don't know that there's any characters that are particularly "likeable". They are Sick Bastards, after all.

What does Chris Barnes bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As always, Chris Barnes brings his wonderful voice and energy to the story. Even though you may know what is coming and not want to go on, he keeps you on the line, wanting to hear what horrible, horrible things are next.

If you could take any character from Sick Bastards out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Once you've finished the book, I think you'll understand why you wouldn't really want dinner with any of these people.

Any additional comments?

It was a very good story, well written and well read. The tag line "A Novel of Extreme Horror, Sex, and Gore" is no lie. It treads on territory that is rarely taken on, and even more rarely done well. I'm glad I read it, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure I'll ever read it again. But for those that enjoy seeing just how far humanity can descend, I highly recommend it. It's just not necessarily for me.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

He is Sick, they are sick and now I am sick.

WE DON'T MAKE LOVE, NEVER HAVE, WE F
Matt Shaw is a sick bastard, every character in the story is a sick bastard and now I am a sick bastard for listening to this. I listen to hundreds of books a year and a lot of horror books, this is not horror. This is out and out, sick and gory. I found very little that was scary, a lot of incest, lots of descriptive cannibalism, but no scary. This story actuals ends up fairly cliché.

Here is the first ten minutes: We open with a twenty something boy who is screwing his sister from behind, he turns her over and starts hammering her hard. This is not enough, so he starts choking her. Mom pops her head in the room, smiles and makes some commit about the boy doing some of the things she taught him, and that dinner is ready. They go downstairs. A woman is naked, gaged and tied to the dinner table. She is still alive. She tries to scream, but she is gaged. Dad starts carving pieces off of her and putting the pieces on the family's dinner plates. They start eating the woman and she is watching them do so, when she is not passed out. This is only one of the many brutal scenes. This is only one of the sex scenes.

You can call me a prude if you want. I love J.A. Konrath (Kilborn) who has lots of blood and gore and torture. I like Tufo's Timothy. This just made me want to take a bath after I was done. I did not enjoy it. Part of the problem was the whinny main character. I believe Shaw was trying to make it look like he had a conscious, yet he is the first to chop someone's head off. He reluctantly gives in to the sexual demands of his sister and mother. He runs away from home about three times. He constantly questions himself and contemplates suicide. The running away and anguish is the main part of the story and it always leads to him screwing, killing and eating the dead. I think this would have been better if the main character would have been evil or good, but not whinny. There is kind of a twist at the end, but it is pretty cliché.

The evidently takes place in Scotland as the narrator has a strong accent. It takes a while to get used to this accent. Some words just get lost. Several times it sounded like he was saying cheese and much later I figured out he was saying trees. There are several more of these.

One thing is for sure, it may be a long time before I eat ham again. It seems people taste much like Ham. Now excuse me, I need to go take a long shower.

16 of 26 people found this review helpful

New twist on the zombie apocalypse

This is a sick and twisted apocalypse cannibal crazy story with incest thrown in for extra fun

2 of 3 people found this review helpful