The House by Edward Lee Book Review!
As I stated in my review for Gregor Cole’s Brian the Maker (read review here) I’m not a huge reader of fiction. I still generally go to lots of nonfiction. However, the times I switch over is understandably to extreme horror. If a writer can build solid characters and tell a wonderful tale, then want to splash gore and violence around the pages. Well done. So many times, there is blood and no substance.
Edward Lee is a legend in the genre like Jack Ketchum. Edward was interviewed by Severed Cinema many years ago (read interview here) and has had a movie adaptation reviewed, Header (read review here) but we have criminally ignored his masterful output over the years. I feel it is time to address the balance somewhat.
Other than the Header series, Ed Lee has penned the classic The Bighead, and the wonderful Goon (my favourite) along with a very twisted story of fraternity initiations, Gone Monstering. He’s still known in the mainstream for his Infernal series, Flesh Gothic, etcetera. These are decent novels, but being the vile human being I am, I look under the waters to seek and locate the nasties floating along.
I’d heard rumours about a novella filled with such depraved hideous gruesome pages within called The Pig, but never came across it so to make a judgement call on it. Then early last year I purchased, The House. Ed Lee’s The Pig had been shoehorned into a longer tome with his sequel, The House.
The Pig is one of the most involving and page turning stories I have read in at least two decades. I used to get the same buzz off early Graham Masterton and James Herbert paperbacks back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Anyhow, The Pig follows the exploits of Leonard, a wannabee move maker who screws up and ends up owing a lot of money to the mob.
To pay off his debt he’s sent to a remote left for derelict house where he has the basics to live and the companionship of two skinny crack head skank prostitutes, plus dogs in a cage out back. The girls, Sissy, and Snowdrop, are regular stars of head fuck animal porn quickie shot videos, and Leonard is seen by the bosses as an actual talent in capturing angles and quality. More and more other animals are brought and Leonard films.
One day he meets a Quaker girl from a settlement nearby the house. This is where The Pig arrives from, and all hell soon breaks loose.
Edward Lee spares no details of the debauched acts, and successfully brings in supernatural elements without making such ingredients seem out of place in proceedings. The ending is awesome and a bit upsetting because you get to know the small cast of characters well.
It is a shame that book two doesn’t carry the same emotional impact or any kind of depth. The House feels rushed and whilst it’s cool when the new characters discover leftovers from the sordid events of so many years prior. The story unfortunately goes absolutely nowhere. After the lightning jolt of The Pig, this is a damp moist squib and perhaps should not have been written. Melvin, the son of a rich businessman, and his father’s soon to be wife, Gwyneth, are well written enough, and The House, like its predecessor, sparkles with wicked black humour, but as I said it all leads to nothing much.
This edition is worth the price of admission for The Pig alone, so treat part two like a cash in sequel that is readable but doesn’t need to linger on in your memory. Edward Lee is well worth a dabble for his extreme novels of you haven’t tried his creations yet. I’ll be reviewing more soon.
Incidentally there’s a third novella in this series, so I’ll track that down one day.
Book: The House
Edited by: David G Barnett
Written by: Edward Lee
Art by: Erik Wilson
Year: 1997/ 2005 – this edition 2010
Published by: Necro Publications
