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Butchers Kindle Edition
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateNovember 20, 2019
- File size6.0 MB
Product details
- ASIN : B081TGS15Q
- Publisher : Nightmare Press; 1st edition (November 20, 2019)
- Publication date : November 20, 2019
- Language : English
- File size : 6.0 MB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 113 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 1733548270
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,821,194 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #13,272 in Occult Horror
- #24,825 in Occult Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 20203.5 stars
Butchers drops you into a fully developed vampiric society in South Korea. For me, it felt like there is a grander world here, but I was only getting the opportunity to experience a very small part of it. This novella represents a single story from this vast world. This was my first experience with Todd, I enjoyed his style and flare for story-telling.
Yes, I am on record stating that I am not a big fan of vampire fiction. That being said, the novella format, the quick chapters, Todd's talent, and the freshness of a story in South Korea kept me enthralled.
This is a tale that blurs the lines between villain and hero. You have two sides to this story. One, the natural police is a force within the Gwanlyo ( vampire society ) that wants to enforce the laws that keep vampires quiet and hidden. The other side wants to free the vampire from these constraints which produces a real feeling of chain-breaking emancipation but of course would be ultimately bad for the human race. Yeah so you get that line crossing, back and forth feeling "Voldemort was right" type stuff going on.
Ultimately this book is about Sey-Mi. Kidnapped, turned into a vampire and submitted to some vicious acts of cruelty, she is left in between. In between these two warring factions, these two ideologies of the future of the vampire species. The pieces about her torture are absolutely insanely graphic and I assume that is where the "extreme horror" categorizing of this book comes from. The bits about her trying to learn how to behave and move like a human were seriously cool. A newly turned vampire does not ease into their powers. They are flat out smacked in the face, overwhelmed with them and are left to try to tone that back down. Slow down. Appear more human.
The fight scenes in this book are extremely well done. There is definitely an aerialization ( I know that's not a word ) to all of it. It read like film, there was a gorgeous filmography? aspect to the way these scenes were written. Darkness, neon lit ( like the cover ) highly technical fight scenes. I don't know. Does that make sense?
The theme of butchers is a reference to these "Natural Police", the tools they carry, and what they set out to do to those that do not live within the Gwanylo's guidelines. I wanted MORE of that aspect, more about the Butchers. They are ultimately unsuccessful in the opening scene in butchering their target which sets up our big conflict. I just wanted more.
The novella is a snapshot of a dark and brutal, unfamiliar and highly interesting world. I want more. I need more.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2020What a fantastic read! Todd Sullivan takes you on a mystical journey into a familiar concept, with a realistic twist. The action jumps off the page from the very beginning, and holds you in suspense till the very end. By the time you get settled into the plot, the author leaves you begging for more. I was at the edge of my seat every page turn. It doesn’t matter if you read it all in one sitting, or read a chapter per day, you will enjoy the mental roller coaster that Mr. Sullivan has provided. Thank you for the fantastic adventure! Looking forward to the sequel!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2020I was expecting lots of gore going into this story, what I didn’t expect was all the sexual violence. Against an underage girl no less! Rape can serve a narrative purpose when handled well (which this was not) but here it just felt exploitative, unnecessary, and gross. It bugged me that the only two female characters were sexually assaulted, and both were teenage girls who were described in a sexualized manner.
I don’t mind splatterpunk or extreme horror, but books that enjoy sexually abusing their female characters just aren’t for me.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2020Butchers, by Todd Sullivan is primarily the story of Sey-Mi, a young woman who is chosen to be turned into a vampire and brought into the ranks of the Gwanlyo, a secret vampire society. The story revolves around Sey-Mi's initiation, learning curve, and torture at the hands of current members. There are also elements within the order attempting to police it and others trying to bring it down.
From the word go, it is clear that Sullivan has spent a great deal of time in the far east(he is, in fact, a teacher there) and has great knowledge of and respect for the area. The story takes place in Seoul, South Korea, and the locale immediately drops most readers into unfamiliar territory. A great tactic for a horror novella.
As many successful novellas do, Butchers drops the reader directly into the action. A lot of characters are introduced right away, and I worried I'd have a hard time keeping them straight. Actually, I did for a couple chapters, but Sullivan sticks with these characters, fleshes out their motivations, and doesn't add many more people to keep track of.
As much as I don't like to suggest an author's work should have been shorter or longer, I would have liked some more information on the Gwanlyo. I understood that they were a secret society of vampires, but because they were bringing people to their ranks and offering them employment, it wasn't clear what their objective was. It would also be interesting to delve into the society's origins, but that certainly could have altered the fast-paced and linear nature of the story told.
Butchers touts itself as extreme horror. This is based in part on the action scenes revolving around unflinching vampire attacks, both on each other but also on Sey-Mi. Most of what earns it this title are the scenes involving Sey-Mi's torture. They are violent at times but the sexual nature and descriptions of other gross acts are what non-fans of extreme horror are going to want to avoid. They seemed a bit gratuitous and over-the-top to me, but then again, the author did warn me.
The strength here is in the unrelenting pacing. Todd Sullivan trimmed any fat and never lets his foot off the gas to mix metaphors. The dialogue can be a bit clunky at times and the ending is not fully resolved, leaving the door open to more stories in this world, but if breakneck vampire horror with an extreme bent sounds like your cup of tea, come grab a mug.
I was given a copy by the author for review consideration.