I wish I had a giant mantis as a pet.

This was my most unhinged book as well. I found a fan-made audiobook version with a weirdly deadpan delivery. The craziest part was how, with all the disgusting, depraved violence, they tip toe around actually naming any part of the male genitalia; or any swear words whatsoever! I'd be willing to bet that author had a stack of pizza delivery bags under the stairs.

Peter Straub’s novella “A Special Place” is one of the most disturbing things I’ve read. And reading his collection HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS from beginning to end was stunning and completely devastating. He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

@lisavitale8410

26 күн бұрын

@Christopher-Stout I recently acquired the audio version of Houses Without Doors. I’m going to have to bump it up on my ‘tbr’.

@mattgrosse943

11 күн бұрын

I stayed at an Airbnb that had a bunch of old paper backs. I read Straub's Magic Terror collection and thought "Bunny is Good Bread" was pretty disturbing.

Huh, a twisted take on Pete's Dragon? Very interested in this since it has giant animals. I always wanted to write about animals eating people, because of how much scary it is.

@ShannonsChannel

25 күн бұрын

that's what I said - a dark take on Puff and Pete!

I have two praying mantises myself as pets, and in fact when I came back from vacation on Thursday the female had molted into an adult. But sadly she is only a little more than an inch long. But she does eat her flies and crickets alive.

You had me at man eating preying mantis! ❤️

@LittleKikuyu

26 күн бұрын

That sounds awesome 😂😂😂

@ginabeena6757

26 күн бұрын

Right??

My dad bought me this for Christmas when I was 12, back in the 80s! 😂😂 I remember going to school and telling my friends about the crazy stuff in it.

@CriminOllyBlog

24 күн бұрын

Ha ha OMG

@turkdouglas

24 күн бұрын

​​@@CriminOllyBlogI don't think he knew what was in it! 😂 Back then I was reading things like the Pan horror books and James Herbert of course (as did all my friends) so he knew I liked horror. The other book I got that Christmas was Locusts by Guy N Smith - not in the same league as Eat Them Alive for pure depraved insanity by any means. To be honest even as a 12/13 year old, after a while I noticed that the sadism just became quite boring after a while. Great to see you talk about it Olly, I never expected that 😄

@CriminOllyBlog

20 күн бұрын

@@turkdouglas That sounds like a great Christmas!

I found myself tilting my iPad to the side while reading the book. I'm not sure if it was because of the scanning or just how off-kilter the whole thing read. The only comparable work I can think of is the comic strips done by Fletcher Hanks. It's like neither Hanks nor Nace had a single trope in their heads.

@CriminOllyBlog

Ай бұрын

I hadn’t heard of Hanks, but naturally I now want to read him!

I read it a few weeks back and it's utterly bonkers on every level, everyone should read it. I was lucky and got a copy off ebay for £28.

There's an audiobook version. kzread.info/head/PLdkVhsOlXu92dPsTfEDh5-zydSPeitRgw&si=w5PiDGC7hIHgjbIF

Read it, LOVED It. A photocopy of the cover is framed on my kitchen wall. Size of a dog ??? Slayer is over six feet tall ! How else would he so easily slice off the " Lady-Meat " ?

@CriminOllyBlog

26 күн бұрын

I love that you have it on your wall! I must have missed his size due to my bewilderment over literally everything else 😂

I recommended this one in the comments a while back. I like to imagine it was all thanks to me that you read it.

Wow. When you say a book is the most deranged book you've ever read, I pay attention since you seem to be the expert on extremely graphic books. This one definitely does sound pretty deranged. A man eating praying mantis?!

Hey, Olly, I am a fan of David Cronenberg. I know he's written some books. I never got my hands on any of them. Could you possibly review them?

That Disney movie sounds like a dark Puff the Magic Dragon story.

You convinced me that I never want to read this

Looks like it's gonna be an all nighter for me. I gotta read this, lol. 🤣

If you're on the lookout for a disturbing book I recommend Full Brutal by Kristopher Triana, same guy that wrote Gone to see the River Man

I’ll give you a deranged book It’s called When Rabbit Howls That’s disturbing

I have to read that book! Sounds great! ...or something...

Misanthropic violence written by someone who is imagining how a man might approach such a thing ... sounds like the violence came from the same uninformed place as the horror, maybe?

CriminOlly how many books did you read in your life. If its many that this should be a very deranged novel aswell

@CriminOllyBlog

26 күн бұрын

I don’t have an exact count, but definitely over 3000

Now I have to read it! Will it, I wonder, out-weird MASQUE OF A SAVAGE MANDARIN by Philip Bedford Robinson or TIME SNAKE AND SUPERCLOWN by Vincent King, the two most bizarre novels I've ever read? MANDARIN, in particular, is astonishing. If you ever see a copy, snatch it up and read it at once.

@CriminOllyBlog

9 күн бұрын

Well it sounds like I need to read both of those!!

It wasn't a book but a play called, "Drag Queens Talking About Their Vaginas" by Durango Williams. It was like if someone was half heartedly listening to someone talk about The Vagina Monologues while watching clips from Lifetime movies...right as the acid kicks in. It was an absurdist trainwreck in the best way possible.

Well now i have to experience this 🤣

Is the Praying Mantis male or female?

@CriminOllyBlog

26 күн бұрын

Male

@jimsbooksreadingandstuff

26 күн бұрын

@@CriminOllyBlog In a quarter of the encounters where a male mantis approaches a female, he gets eaten.

Most unhinged book I ever read ? Toss up between the Bible and Lord of the Rings 🤣

@ShannonsChannel

25 күн бұрын

Yes - I think the Bible is pretty twisted indead!

💚🖤 umm wtf lol nope not for me lol

@CriminOllyBlog

18 күн бұрын

Lol

Read more, I'd say, if that's the most deranged book you had read ... amateur.

@stefanfueger3487

26 күн бұрын

He is writing clickbait headlines ...

@stefanfueger3487

26 күн бұрын

Oh, I see ... then it is even worse.

@CriminOllyBlog

26 күн бұрын

I’m always reading more books

@kitviola946

25 күн бұрын

@@stefanfueger3487forget to switch alt accounts when replying to yourself? 🙄

@ShannonsChannel

25 күн бұрын

@@kitviola946 😆

I believe @redbeard-horrorbooksvinyl3060 has a reading of it on his awesome channel