Going Monstering, by Edward Lee

Oh my.

Quite a number of years ago there was a massmarket anthology edited by John Pelan called Darkside. In this book was a story by Edward Lee called The Stick Woman. The Stick Woman was a disgusting, horrible story and it upset a lot of people. I owned the book and had it in my car while I was reading it. Someone at work needed to borrow a vehicle and I let him use mine. When he returned with it, he was angry and disgusted. You see, he had some spare time and picked up the book and decided to read a short story. The story he chose was The Stick Woman.

The guy was ranting and raving. Practically foaming at the mouth. "WHY WOULD ANYONE WRITE ANYTHING LIKE THAT? WHY WOULD ANYONE READ ANYTHING LIKE THAT?", he demanded. My response was, "Why did you finish reading it?". His ire subsided a bit and he repied, "I couldn't stop". Then he said that The Stick Woman was as sickening as fiction could get. "IT CAN'T GET ANY WORSE!".

Sorry. It can and does get worse. In Going Monstering.

Poor Ann. Overweight and unsightly, she is unhappy with herself. She has a smart mouth and has been an underachiever her entire life. But she has one final chance: Her parents have enrolled her into an exclusive school, where she is trying to join the most exclusive sorority. She expects hazing. That's part of the process, right? But she has no idea just how vicious, sickening, and dehumanizing the hazing will prove to be.

Going Monstering is most emphatically not for everyone. Why would anyone read something like this? Well, maybe it's because some of us, at least, enjoy shock value. How much of a jolt will the next page bring? Where will this sick motherfucker of a writer go next? Will his character, and his readers, be able to make it to the bitter end?

Edward Lee is The King of Hardcore Horror. His imitators have been damn near legion, but no one does it like he does. Lee is a master of plot and pacing, and he creates vivid characters readers can identify with. Plus, he is hilarious. Many attempt a mix of humor and horror. Few succeed. For my book-buying dollar, Edward Lee is the funniest sonofabitch in horror.

Lee takes his characters and his readers on a stomach-churning tour of Hell, but those with stamina and determination emerge to a brighter world. Going Monstering ends on an oddly uplifting note.

I don't know how much farther Edward Lee can take the grossout factor in his fiction, but I'll be there to check out whatever he cooks up in the future.