“Esto es sucio, fuerte y muy crudo, pero está hecho con agudeza y gran don literario. Cuagto es producto del talento, una obra de arte. No uso estas palabras a la ligera”. J.R. Park, Autor de Al Despertar (Upon Waking)“Cuagto logra muchísimo en muy poco tiempo. Es compleja y sorpresiva de principio a fin. Además, es verdaderamente espeluznante; en el mejor de los sentidos”. Adiba Jaigirdar, … sentidos”.
Adiba Jaigirdar, Cultured Vultures
“Mezcla el cinismo de Cacho Palahniuk, la atmósfera grasosa y los personajes bien construídos de Irvine Welsh con la atrocidad de los mejores libros de literatura de horror para crear una narración de múltiples capas que juega sus mejores cartas sobre el final”.
Jonathan Butcher, The Ginger Nuts of Horror
“Un ejemplo excelente de la buena ficción oscura que se está escribiendo actualmente y una narración que va a dejar una impresión duradera en cualquier fan del horror que se anime a leerla”.
Adrian Shotbolt, Beavis the Bookhead
“Hace tres días que leí la última palabra y todavía no puedo ni siquiera pensar en volver a leer otra cosa. No porque no hubiera disfrutado Cuagto, sino por el poder y la fuerza con la que está escrita”.
Alex Kimmell, Confessions of a Reviewer
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It’s there in the title friends. Ralston makes sure to warn you well in advance – “An Extreme Horror Novel.”
This isn’t a book for the faint-hearted or the “maybe I’ll try reading a horror book” crowd. This is for the tried and true fans of the genre. The ones who don’t get squeamish much anymore. If you watch a horror movie and have ever thought ‘you know if they would have had more gore in that scene, or made it more offside,’ then this novel is for you.
I snagged this one specifically because of a Facebook comment. I’ve followed Duncan for some time on the various social media platforms and on his personal Facebook page, he’d posted that this book was on sale a while back.
Another person (I won’t mention who… but her name rhymes with Karen and her poetry book rhymes with Read, Read… cough cough) commented that she’d love to read this but didn’t think she had the stomach for it. SOLD!
The story within isn’t fun, nor kind, but by God did it scratch a lot of places in my horror brain that hadn’t been scratched in some time.
The story is pretty straight forward – we’re introduced to Angel, a man who has a scarred face and a scarred life. He’s checked into a familiar room at The Lonely Motel, a seedy, hourly place on the outskirts of town. The one’s most people drive by but never wish to stay in.
He calls an escort service and requests a specific lady and is pleased with Shyla when she arrives. It doesn’t take long for Angel to discover that his specific requests were exactly what he was looking for. Then Ralston runs us through the gamut as Angel tells Shyla some stories, seemingly random stories, as he explores Shyla. The stories are horrible, awful, heart-wrenching snippets of lives suffering and experiencing the worst there is.
But it’s all for a purpose and Duncan does a great job of keeping things unknown until they arrive at the right moment.
I really enjoyed this depraved jog through Angel and Shyla’s meeting and while normally this would probably say something about my mental state, most people who know me in real life, know I don’t really have a filter, nor do I have a line that can be crossed.
If you have more than one trigger issue with reading horror, you’ll probably tap and DNF at the first story Angel tells, if not for sure at the second. But if you can push through or don’t suffer from triggers, you’ll be in for a treat.
One of Duncan Ralston’s best works of fiction that I have read thus far. Woom is a twisted tale with plenty of gore, perversion, character, and surprisingly heart.
This was a twisted and crazy story!
A small backstory:
Angel has been coming to the Lonely Motel for a long time as he likes to get his rocks off on having prostitutes’ do some kinky stuff for him along with him telling stories of his exploits that he has done in the motel room #6.
When he has a prostitute show up by the name of Shyla they both end up swapping stories of vile secrets they both have endured in the past. Things eventually take a turn toward twisted and strange as Angel wants Shyla to help him do something “unthinkable” which has never been done before!
Thoughts:
This was a twisted mess of sexual raunchiness with some weird and crazy stuff thrown in that will make you squirm along with some gagging reflexes. There are warnings on this book so it is best to heed them as this book is beyond extreme as it is really leans a lot toward extreme twisted porn is the best way to describe it.
This book is not for people with any type of triggers that cannot handle extreme graphic situations. I would recommend this to hard core horror fans that have stomachs made of steel! I had to literally read this in small doses as it was a rough read and I do believe that it is the most twisted story I have ever read. With all that being said I am giving this book four “Motel Madness” stars!
One day I received Woom as book mail from Duncan Ralston. I’ve never read anything by him so I was intrigued to see if I was going to like his writing style. I did notice the front cover stated this book was extreme horror with a quote from the one and only Matt Shaw! So with this “shelter in place” order, I decided to jump in!
As the book opens, we meet Angel, an ordinary guy who stops at a cheap motel to get a room to fulfill his needs by ordering a prostitute. Enter Shyla, a large woman who fits the bill for Angel’s taste. Angel and Shyla “play” for a bit before taking care of business. During that “play,” Angel and Shyla share stories about people and experiences they’ve had along with some in the room they are currently occupying. These are seriously “if these walls could talk“ type of stories. All of them are horrific and tragic in their own way. As I read, I twisted in my chair a few times. I was surprised and stunned at the direction this story went. Ralston has a way with words that can take you from zero to 60mph in a few sentences. The escalation of this sinister thrill ride is purposefully meant to make you gasp and wince. Extreme, yes. Horror, most definitely! Am I looking forward to my next Duncan Ralston book? Hell yes!
Sick, twisted, and gross! Do not read on a full stomach and take a shower when you’re done.
“Some places hold the pain in their walls, in the carpet snags, in the cracks of the ceiling and chinks in the baseboards. ”
“I believe pain lingers.”
“Do you think… places… absorb bad things?”
Have mercy, this was absolutely brutal! My heart and soul are bleeding!
The warning in the description is no joke, this is not for the faint of heart.
With that being said, there is no doubt that this is a strongly thought out plot! The writing and storyline are something I don’t believe I could even produce in my own mind. It amazes me that a writer comes up with something like this, so twisted and bloody disgusting! Yet, there is a mental sadness involved that just tugged at my heart. Such deep emotional pain! It couldn’t have had a better ending!
I do believe places absorb bad things, I believe pain lingers!
Truly disturbing and emotional!
This is darkly written horror!
Wow, just wow!
Messed up
Well, I threw up a bit in my mouth while reading this. This is one sick, disturbing book.
The tale hinges around The Lonely Motel, room 6 to be exact.
Angel hires a plus size prostitute to meet him in Room 6. And there he starts telling her stories, each one worse than the last, as he does what he’s paying her money to do.
This was a quick read, although I did walk away a couple of times to regain my composure.
Also included is a novella at the end of the book called HOW TO KILL A CELEBRITY.
If you like EXTREME horror, this book might be for you.