Fullerene Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 23 hours ago, Loonytoons said: A fair few of Stephen King's short stories have tremendous endings, many are not happy. He struggles to do happy endings. If he had written the Wizard of Oz then Dorothy would have returned to Kansas and be killed in a high school massacre the next day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH75 Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 If we are talking about Stephen King - the gang bang scene in "It" was a bit f**king weird. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loonytoons Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 (edited) 1 hour ago, EH75 said: If we are talking about Stephen King - the gang bang scene in "It" was a bit f**king weird. That was truly disturbing. There were other bits like that in his books around that time, totally weird sexual stuff thrown in out of the blue that contributed nothing to the story and made him OFTW to be honest. That said, his stuff from the mid 70's to the turn of the millennium was tremendous reading other than the previously mentioned weird shit. Edited September 12 by Loonytoons 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 Atomised by Michel Houllebecq is pretty f**ked up. There's a few chapters in there that I had to read through my fingers. I was just thinking "no, he surely cannot be doing that". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted September 13 Author Share Posted September 13 Never read The Wasp Factory, or any Iain Banks stuff. Worth a read? I did however hear him speak. When I was doing Higher English we were bussed through to Glasgow and he was talking to schoolkids from loads of schools. Massive auditorium. All I can remember about it is he made a joke about being stuck in a lift with Eternal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky_nomad Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 6 minutes ago, scottsdad said: Never read The Wasp Factory, or any Iain Banks stuff. Worth a read? Absolutely, there's an Iain Banks (or Iain M Banks) book for pretty much everyone, but some of his early stuff in particular is worth checking out: The Wasp Factory - very dark, and very very weird. The Bridge - "unconventional" love story based around the Forth Rail Bridge. Espedair Street - tales of Paisley-rooted rock and roll success and excess (think Fleetwood Mac with Keith Moon along for the ride), with a bassist struggling to find "home". The Crow Road - Highland family fun with death obsessions. Starts with the opening line: "It was the day my grandmother exploded", so you can't possibly go wrong. And the Iain M Banks Culture sci-fi is excellent, if you like that sort of thing. Use of Weapons is just about perfect. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiffRaff Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow has a section where two children are thrown off a bridge at the behest of a Cartel leader. There are more than a few gruesome details of what Mexican Cartels do to their enemies in the book but that bit stood out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 (edited) Marabou Stork Nightmares. Too many moments to even start. An absolute masterpiece and possibly the darkest book I have ever read. Edited September 13 by Ross. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blootoon87 Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 7 minutes ago, Ross. said: Marabou Stork Nightmares. Too many moments to even start. An absolute masterpiece and possibly the darkest book I have ever read. My favourite book ever and by far Irvine Welsh's best. Recently read it for the first time in ages and I'd forgotten how grim it is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 The original of this one used to be OK but there’s a rewrite where they get ate by Haitian immigrants. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 Never read any Iain Banks, but you'd better believe I've just bought the audiobook of The Wasp Factory for my next shift. 15 hours ago, EH75 said: If we are talking about Stephen King - the gang bang scene in "It" was a bit f**king weird. I was twelve when I read that. Even at that age, it was a real 'WTF is this shit' moment. I've read a few things where King talks about his work, and something that amused me was that he seems to quite regularly end up thinking, "what the f**k am I writing?" I remember him being quite upset when realising that he was writing the death of one of his characters*, and basically did the 'Joey from Friends keeping his copy of The Shining in the fridge' thing for a few years with his manuscript for Pet Sematary. Spoiler * the wee boy from Cujo, which they understandably changed for the TV movie! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Manhattan Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 19 minutes ago, Granny Danger said: The original of this one used to be OK but there’s a rewrite where they get ate by Haitian immigrants. This one didn't end well either. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 (edited) 2 hours ago, Blootoon87 said: My favourite book ever and by far Irvine Welsh's best. Recently read it for the first time in ages and I'd forgotten how grim it is. Agree on that. I generally felt his short stories were better than his novels, but that is way ahead of everything. My work started a book club last year and wanted everyone to make a recommendation, and include a note on why. I suggested this along with a comment along the lines of “If you’ve read anything darker than this, you’re probably dead inside already”. For some reason they didn’t use my pick. Edited September 13 by Ross. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiffRaff Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 2 hours ago, Ross. said: Marabou Stork Nightmares. Too many moments to even start. An absolute masterpiece and possibly the darkest book I have ever read. It's been a while since I read this, I think I think that I will dig it out when I get home and re-visit it in all its horrors. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky_nomad Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 3 hours ago, Ross. said: Marabou Stork Nightmares. Too many moments to even start. An absolute masterpiece and possibly the darkest book I have ever read. Maribou Stork Nightmares is brilliant, and a great shout for this thread. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 I have read most of Irvine Welsh's books but haven't read Marabou Stork Nightmares. I have added it to my "to read" list. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Manhattan Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 3 hours ago, Ross. said: Marabou Stork Nightmares. Too many moments to even start. An absolute masterpiece and possibly the darkest book I have ever read. So many dark moments you almost become inured to them. However, off the top of my head, I think they might all be trumped by the scene in Porno where Chizzy rapes the lassie who's shat herself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Raccoon Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 The Irvine Welsh short story The Kingdom Of Fife where the fella gets his head lopped off. Brutal yet hilarious 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Another shock from Welsh (relative to the tone of the rest of the story, but mild compared to some of his more gratuitous stuff) was the killing of Blind c**t in "A Smart c**t", although the shock value was reduced by the chapter being called "Killing Blind c**t" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb_diamond Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Irvine Welsh is a tremendous writer but is also tailor made for this thread. Too many to pick from but the Jonty and Jinty necrophilia scene in "A Decent Ride" is a real contender for the shocking stakes. Particularly as he tries to infuse an element of tenderness into it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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