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Hideous Faces Beautiful Skulls Tales of Horror and the Bizarre edition by Mark McLaughlin Literature Fiction eBooks

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Hideous Faces Beautiful Skulls Tales of Horror and the Bizarre edition by Mark McLaughlin Literature Fiction eBooks

Horror book authors often play it safe. While they may scare us with frightening images of horrendous things, for the most part the outcome is the same as any number of other books. This is not the case with "Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls" by Mark McLaughlin.

Things are not safe in his hands. Things are not predictable. They are not sane. While many authors would ask the question "WHY would I put THAT in my story?", Mark simply shrugs his shoulders and says "Why WOULDN'T I put that in my story? Let's see what happens!" And we, the readers, are much better for it.

You may start several tales in this book of shorts with the thought that you know where this is going. You've been there, done that. And then, like my Mother used to do to me when I was acting up as a child, you will get mentally slapped. Hard. I finished stories with the thought "WTF did I just read here?!?" So I re-read them. And finally the A-HA moment materialized. My brain was so set on auto drive I didn't take the time to realize this wasn't going the way I thought.

The authors influences are scattered throughout this book. I sensed a little Lovecraft vibe. Some Poe. And a lot of the Twilight Zone going on!

But don't think these stories are just copy and paste stylings of these other great authors. If Lovecraft and Poe are the foundation on which Mark writes, he is truly the house that stands ON that foundation making it his own.

Not only does Mark McLaughlin. understand the beauty and perverseness of the horror genre, but he also understands the absurdity of the genre as well. This book is full of dark humor that may make you laugh at inappropriate times. In some hands this might make for a very imbalanced presentation. But not here. The gallows humor fits the mood of the characters perfectly. Let's face it. Sometimes it's hard NOT to laugh even if we love the horror field with all of our dark hearts. If you've ever seen "Wrong Turn 3" you'll know what I mean.

I'm not a professional reviewer. I know what I like and try my best to explain to you why I like it. So let me try to put this in terms you can understand. This book is awesome sauce. This book is full of win. This book does not epic fail. I don't understand most of that, but that's what the kids say when something is great!


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Hideous Faces Beautiful Skulls Tales of Horror and the Bizarre edition by Mark McLaughlin Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

A career-spanning, epic collection from one of the most original voices in horror. Mark McLaughlin, with Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls, has truly given a gift to the horror community, and injected it with his own original brand of psychedelic delirium, and thoughtful mayhem.
These stories run the gamut from terrifying, philosophical, heartfelt, introspective, to downright fun, and each one unique from the other, and unforgettable.
The collection kicks off with 'Adroitly Wrapped', a spooky tale fat with adolescent lust, and a fairy tale-feel, and from there the mayhem ensues...Standouts for me were Soft Bones with its Kafkaesque-vibe, What the Nervous Old Lady On the Bus had to Say caught me off gaurd with its very human horror, and sincerity. Then Eye Dew with its metaphysical twist ending reminded me of Burroughs's hands at Weird Fiction(for example his piece Wind Die...), then the Lovecraft influence of Why the Cathartoleptic Approach... dealing with mutation, and degenerative disease.
Cut into this book anywhere, and you'll be entertained.
McLaughlin is truly a legend, a master storyteller, and gift to the Weird.
BUY THIS BOOK.
In Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls, by Mark McLaughlin, the author once again brings his charming mix of humor, campy horror, and fun. In these 30* tales, you will find stories about mannequins, insects, dinner parties gone a bit awry, a news team's close up coverage of an in studio alien attack, and much much more. Mark has a definite knack for bizarre. Sometimes I couldn't tell if the tales were tongue-in-cheek or meant to be serious, but either way they work great. If you've read Beach Blanket Zombie, a previous work by the author, then you kind of know what you are getting into. I found Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls to be even better. I read the book slowly, a tale at a time, while reading other novels in between. I liked to sit back and digest each one for a bit. The tales inspired all kinds of different feelings. Most were creepy, but mix in humor with some, yuck with others, silliness, terror, and quite often a good chuckle. The author has a signature style of writing, but you just never know what the next story was going to be about and I love that. Highly recommend.
McLaughlin strikes with yet another collection of humorous horror tales, only this time a few are quite weird, almost reaching into bizarro territory (and that's a very good thing IMHO).

Among my favorites are 'The Final Broadcast of Sugarville's Channel 7 Action News,' an apocalyptic farce featuring a TV commercial that had me laughing my ass off; 'Soft Bones,' one of a few metamorphosis-themed tales; 'Her Horrible Apartment,' one of the stranger tales of the lot which the author works quite well in, and 'Diagnosis and Treatment of Ocular Parasitism and Associated Mental Disorders' will have you laughing and squirming at the same time.

'It Isn't What You Gnaw, It's Who You Gnaw,' deals with an Andy Warhol idolizer who creates his own similar scene, albeit leading to a far crazier end than the famous artist himself; 'Claws of the Internet Witches' is a very funny take on Internet chat rooms, and 'The Voice of the Pangyricon' is a great 2001-meets-Dawn of the Dead tale set aboard a space station that ended up being my favorite of the collection.

HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS is a fine place to start if you've never read McLaughlin before. His dry sense of humor, love for b-movies, and knack for creating off-the-wall scenarios come to life in every story. Fun stuff.
Horror book authors often play it safe. While they may scare us with frightening images of horrendous things, for the most part the outcome is the same as any number of other books. This is not the case with "Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls" by Mark McLaughlin.

Things are not safe in his hands. Things are not predictable. They are not sane. While many authors would ask the question "WHY would I put THAT in my story?", Mark simply shrugs his shoulders and says "Why WOULDN'T I put that in my story? Let's see what happens!" And we, the readers, are much better for it.

You may start several tales in this book of shorts with the thought that you know where this is going. You've been there, done that. And then, like my Mother used to do to me when I was acting up as a child, you will get mentally slapped. Hard. I finished stories with the thought "WTF did I just read here?!?" So I re-read them. And finally the A-HA moment materialized. My brain was so set on auto drive I didn't take the time to realize this wasn't going the way I thought.

The authors influences are scattered throughout this book. I sensed a little Lovecraft vibe. Some Poe. And a lot of the Twilight Zone going on!

But don't think these stories are just copy and paste stylings of these other great authors. If Lovecraft and Poe are the foundation on which Mark writes, he is truly the house that stands ON that foundation making it his own.

Not only does Mark McLaughlin. understand the beauty and perverseness of the horror genre, but he also understands the absurdity of the genre as well. This book is full of dark humor that may make you laugh at inappropriate times. In some hands this might make for a very imbalanced presentation. But not here. The gallows humor fits the mood of the characters perfectly. Let's face it. Sometimes it's hard NOT to laugh even if we love the horror field with all of our dark hearts. If you've ever seen "Wrong Turn 3" you'll know what I mean.

I'm not a professional reviewer. I know what I like and try my best to explain to you why I like it. So let me try to put this in terms you can understand. This book is awesome sauce. This book is full of win. This book does not epic fail. I don't understand most of that, but that's what the kids say when something is great!