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217th out of 936 books
—
3,330 voters
Meat
by
Joseph D'Lacey (Goodreads Author)
A nightmarish vision of a very twisted food chain—you’ll never look at meat in the same way again
Abyrne is a decaying town, trapped by an advancing wilderness. Its people depend on meat for survival, meat supplied by the processing plant on the edge of town. Meat is sanctified and precious in Abyrne, eaten with devout solemnity by everyone. A feud smolders between the town...more
Abyrne is a decaying town, trapped by an advancing wilderness. Its people depend on meat for survival, meat supplied by the processing plant on the edge of town. Meat is sanctified and precious in Abyrne, eaten with devout solemnity by everyone. A feud smolders between the town...more
Paperback, 346 pages
Published
February 1st 2008
by Beautiful Books
(first published 2008)
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‘WE WANT MEAT!”
This is a bitter struggle for supremacy between The Meat Baron of The Magnus Meat Processing plant and The Welfare headed by The Grand Bishop for control of Abyrne a town where people know nothing else except “We want Meat to eat”. Well that’s what they have been forced and cohered into, a doctrine of Sacred Meat and nothing else to survive on but is that really all there is to their existence?
One sole provider of special Meat, one force of power, one leader.
No!
There are a few bel...more
This is a bitter struggle for supremacy between The Meat Baron of The Magnus Meat Processing plant and The Welfare headed by The Grand Bishop for control of Abyrne a town where people know nothing else except “We want Meat to eat”. Well that’s what they have been forced and cohered into, a doctrine of Sacred Meat and nothing else to survive on but is that really all there is to their existence?
One sole provider of special Meat, one force of power, one leader.
No!
There are a few bel...more
I've read many horrific things and thought I'd "read it all" but this one is genuinely frightening because I can see things going this way in the case of an apocalypse or other such disaster, with those in a position of power taking advantage of those without. Call me gloomy but I don't have a lot of faith in man.
It's very thought provoking and reinforces my belief that raising animals in horrible conditions for meat and profit is wrong (though I'm not a vegetarian this book may just push me ove...more
It's very thought provoking and reinforces my belief that raising animals in horrible conditions for meat and profit is wrong (though I'm not a vegetarian this book may just push me ove...more
A brutal, grim and thought-provoking book that had me hooked from the very beginning.
Even with a title like 'Meat', I still found myself shocked. The premise of the story isn't fully revealed in all its true horror too early, as a result there was at least one occasion when I had to go back and re-read the odd sentence - 'does that mean what I think it means?! FINGERS?! No!'
I thought the way business and religion each exploited the food chain and townspeople was an excellent examination of our o...more
Even with a title like 'Meat', I still found myself shocked. The premise of the story isn't fully revealed in all its true horror too early, as a result there was at least one occasion when I had to go back and re-read the odd sentence - 'does that mean what I think it means?! FINGERS?! No!'
I thought the way business and religion each exploited the food chain and townspeople was an excellent examination of our o...more
6 likes · like · see review
Meat: a poem
The trees are made from shit and purple sticks
but the kids still play
beneath them
waiting
and
waiting
Mothers are beckoning them inside
with promises of warmth
and purple sticks
leaning against banisters
and windows
waiting
The fathers light their pipes
and sit before the fire
reading papers
or beating
the dogs
for imagined offenses
While the mothers
crying and purple sticks
read stories to the children
"(view spoiler)...more
The trees are made from shit and purple sticks
but the kids still play
beneath them
waiting
and
waiting
Mothers are beckoning them inside
with promises of warmth
and purple sticks
leaning against banisters
and windows
waiting
The fathers light their pipes
and sit before the fire
reading papers
or beating
the dogs
for imagined offenses
While the mothers
crying and purple sticks
read stories to the children
"(view spoiler)...more
20 likes · like · see review
One Hell of a disturbing novel. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of it, and would recommend it to all fans of dark literature.
Uh, okay. This was really gross. Not just because what was happening (there are some squicky scenes), but also why it happened and how people justified their behaviour. I know this sounds weird, but I'm trying to keep this spoilerfree. Even though you'll know what's going on after a very few pages, just like I did. Yet I couldn't believe it at first, I thought I was reading too much into it. I wasn't.
The story catches you and doesn't let go, you have to read on, because there are so many questio...more
The story catches you and doesn't let go, you have to read on, because there are so many questio...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I did not find the descriptions of how 'the chosen' were processed to be overly horrific. I did not find it shocking as I am already familar with the processes involved in factory farming, hence why I have been a vegetarian for 16 years. What struck my was how unemotional the descriptions were; you could have been reading a manual on meat processing. That was the point. This happens every day, with millions of people as willing participants, as they are 'just animals' not like us...the exact men...more
'Joseph D'Lacey rocks!' Stephen King
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT...
...Joseph D'Lacey will make sure you never look at meat in the same way again.
To highlight his growing concern about the way our food reaches our tables, Joseph D'Lacey has constructed a shocking novel that leaves an unforgettable impression. The theme is the most chilling of today's health concerns. It exposes our ignorance of what goes on before meat
arrives on the shelves, suggesting that something has to change if people still want me...more
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT...
...Joseph D'Lacey will make sure you never look at meat in the same way again.
To highlight his growing concern about the way our food reaches our tables, Joseph D'Lacey has constructed a shocking novel that leaves an unforgettable impression. The theme is the most chilling of today's health concerns. It exposes our ignorance of what goes on before meat
arrives on the shelves, suggesting that something has to change if people still want me...more
Начинается как обычное сплаттер-порно. С описания рабочих будней мясокомбината в городке Абирн. Кровь, кишки, говно, сперма, пот. Писатель честно давит из себя французского натуралиста, но между строк мы понимаем, он готовит нас к какому-то серьезному твисту. Например, что коровы – это вовсе не коровы, а люди. Люди забивают других людей ради мяса. Или люди – это не люди, а коровы, которые забивают других коров ради мяса. Вторая версия мне нравится чуть больше, но писатель предпочитает остановить...more
This brutal, disturbing novel caught me in a vicelike grip until I finished it. Not for the faint of heart or stomach. As a friend of mine said “What do you expect, reading a horror story called Meat?!”
This dystopian novel both horrified and fascinated me. I was taken into another world and time where the order of things which I struggled to comprehend was so matter of fact and accepted. A handful of characters living in this greedy, twisted world could not accept the order of things either. Th...more
This dystopian novel both horrified and fascinated me. I was taken into another world and time where the order of things which I struggled to comprehend was so matter of fact and accepted. A handful of characters living in this greedy, twisted world could not accept the order of things either. Th...more
First 'horror' book I've ever given 5 stars. Original and gut-wrenching. Another one of those books I'm going to drive people crazy with by pushing them to read it ASAP.
Note to friends and family: do not read the reviews for this book. Take it all in with fresh eyes. And an empty stomach.
Spoilers - Spoilers
Greville Snipe is decidedly the creepiest character in fiction. The sleazebag got what he deserved.
I wondered about a prion disease, too. Very fitting to the tale.
The thing that most distur...more
Note to friends and family: do not read the reviews for this book. Take it all in with fresh eyes. And an empty stomach.
Spoilers - Spoilers
Greville Snipe is decidedly the creepiest character in fiction. The sleazebag got what he deserved.
I wondered about a prion disease, too. Very fitting to the tale.
The thing that most distur...more
5 likes · like · see review
I've marked this down as read but that's not completely true, i only made it to chapter 8 and couldn't be bothered to go on. As a writer, i have a rule; a book must have your attention by chapter 3 because when you sent it to a publisher, most will only read the first 3 chapters along with a summary of the whole book. A good friend recommended this book to me and i didn't want to let her down so i read more that i usual would have.
The back story is obvious from the begging, the big twist was pre...more
The back story is obvious from the begging, the big twist was pre...more
A grim, grim, grim novel indeed. This is uncompromising stuff, with little room to avert your eyes. Using the backdrop of the industrialized slaughterhouse (and giving it the kind of sickening twist only a good horror novel can do), the story really explores what participation in such a soulless and mechanized form of taking life does to the psyche. This, then, leads the reader to consider the nature of human cruelty in general. None of this is to say the novel lacks its transcendent moments. An...more
Abyrne is a decaying town, trapped by an advancing wilderness. Its people depend on meat for their survival. Meat supplied by the processing plant on the edge of town.
Meat is sanctified in Abyrne, a precious commodity eaten with devout solemnity by everyone except for a handful of people who won’t, who suspect that the town is evil, rotten to its core.
A feud smolders between the town’s religious and secular powers – whoever controls the food supply controls everything.
But the townsfolk are hun...more
Meat is sanctified in Abyrne, a precious commodity eaten with devout solemnity by everyone except for a handful of people who won’t, who suspect that the town is evil, rotten to its core.
A feud smolders between the town’s religious and secular powers – whoever controls the food supply controls everything.
But the townsfolk are hun...more
This has to be one of the most disturbing novels I have ever read! Having said that, it was also one of the most gripping -- it kept me hooked from start to finish. It started with graphic descriptions of how cattle are methodically slaughtered in a slaughterhouse (but are they cattle? Why do they have fingers?). Okay - I'm sure no one will be surprised by what is really taking place. The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where it appears only one city remains. The town is ruled by t...more
4.0 stars. This novel has one of the most shocking and disturbing dystopian settings I have come across in a long time. While I decided to give this book 4 stars overall, I am going to address two main segments of the story so that I can better address the merits of each.
PART 1: Introduction to the Town of Abryne and its residents
The initial set up of the book which includes the first half of the novel is NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING and easily worthy of 5 stars in my opinion. It is one of the most...more
PART 1: Introduction to the Town of Abryne and its residents
The initial set up of the book which includes the first half of the novel is NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING and easily worthy of 5 stars in my opinion. It is one of the most...more
26 likes · like · see review
I was expecting a horror book, but instead I got a book that, I felt, was preaching to me. The subject matter could be horrific providing it really happened, but it did not.
This book left me feeling ripped-off and praying for its end to near almost halfway through the book. I also found myself falling asleep, literally, during most of it.
I am extremely picky about my books and this one came highly-recommended. I gave this book two stars because it had the potential to be a great horror. The ext...more
This book left me feeling ripped-off and praying for its end to near almost halfway through the book. I also found myself falling asleep, literally, during most of it.
I am extremely picky about my books and this one came highly-recommended. I gave this book two stars because it had the potential to be a great horror. The ext...more
In a town distanced from reality, Abyrne stands all on it's own. Controlled wholly by Magnus, the meat baron, and the religious sect who watch over the town. Meat is a commodity, if people don't eat it they starve, and if they starve, they become meat themselves.
Richard Shanti has a problem. He works at the meat processing plant but doesn't eat meat himself. He finds it immoral and against his own beliefs. As a consequence, his family are starving and he is becoming very unhealthy himself. Unti...more
Richard Shanti has a problem. He works at the meat processing plant but doesn't eat meat himself. He finds it immoral and against his own beliefs. As a consequence, his family are starving and he is becoming very unhealthy himself. Unti...more
I started reading this book on a recommendation, and I was not let down in the slightest bit. From the first page, I was drawn into the story, and hungrily devoured every page, frantically trying to get as much into my brain as I possibly could.
I find that sometimes, authors sacrifice description for dialogue, or dialogue for descriptions and this was not the case with this novel. I didn't find myself skimming nearly as much as I do with other books, nor did I really want to. I wanted to get as...more
I find that sometimes, authors sacrifice description for dialogue, or dialogue for descriptions and this was not the case with this novel. I didn't find myself skimming nearly as much as I do with other books, nor did I really want to. I wanted to get as...more
Aug 15, 2011
saintsfan33
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who isn't queasy
Shelves:
nook,
thriller,
sci-fi,
dystopian-post-apocalyptic,
mystery,
horror,
weird-wtf,
2011-reading-challenge
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
On the surface this book is a horror story, set in the fictional town of Abyrne where the townsfolk get the daily meat from a somewhat unexpected source. The Chosen are described in the same terms we use for cattle today but cows they are not. And around this strange food source two centres of power have sprung up, the first in the form of Meat Baron Rory Magnus who runs the herds and meat processing plant that the town depends upon. The second is that of the Welfare, run by Grand Bishop as a cr...more
I'm very surprised that this book was so generally highly-rated by its readers. I didn't particularly care for it, but I didn't hate it either. I did have considerable difficulty staying interested throughout the middle of the novel. The beginning was involving, primarily because I was still trying to confirm my suspicion that the cattle were indeed human. The ending was good because it was action-packed and impactful. The middle was like a bland soup. I kept picking up my spoon to eat, but most...more
I was looking through my reads so far from this year and Meat stands out as being at least in the top ten. I have been remiss in not writing anything at all. I see more than a few of my friends have this book marked as to-read and I really think most of you should move it up your list.
I want to recommend this book to the masses but in reality, this may be too much for most people to stomach. Meat, American Psycho, and Blood Meridian are the most graphic and violent books I have read, so if you...more
I want to recommend this book to the masses but in reality, this may be too much for most people to stomach. Meat, American Psycho, and Blood Meridian are the most graphic and violent books I have read, so if you...more
9 likes · like · see review
Feb 18, 2008
GUD Magazine
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
horror fans
Shelves:
reviews_by_debbie,
reviewed_by_gud
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is one truly shocking read that leads you into a dystopian nightmare. The writing style reflects the horrific atmosphere perfectly - and the ending isn't disappointing either.
Quite a clever way of making your brain tick-over in so many different ways. Raises many questions revolving around ethics and morals - and the practice of religion.
You will need a bit of a strong stomach to plough through this one, but it's worth it if you can. A warning though - I couldn't eat meat for a fortnight af...more
Quite a clever way of making your brain tick-over in so many different ways. Raises many questions revolving around ethics and morals - and the practice of religion.
You will need a bit of a strong stomach to plough through this one, but it's worth it if you can. A warning though - I couldn't eat meat for a fortnight af...more
"There is no God. Only meat"
GIFSoup
I couldn't put this down! Especially after I realised that em...cows...weren't cows. I wasn't really shocked by any of it though. We do similar to animals bred for their meat.
I had guessed the relationship between Shanti and Collins but it didn't really take anything from the book.
I really would like to see a sequel to this though! Did they just wander the desert for 40 years! A prequel would also be just as interesting.
Horror fans will enjoy this, as long a...more
GIFSoup
I couldn't put this down! Especially after I realised that em...cows...weren't cows. I wasn't really shocked by any of it though. We do similar to animals bred for their meat.
I had guessed the relationship between Shanti and Collins but it didn't really take anything from the book.
I really would like to see a sequel to this though! Did they just wander the desert for 40 years! A prequel would also be just as interesting.
Horror fans will enjoy this, as long a...more
First off, I did not finish the book, I just couldn't do it. Not because of the sexuality aspect, well maybe just a little, it was just very strange. Usually I like strange, and the book is based on a pretty nasty little tale, but that was not it. I think it was the angle from which the story was told was not to my liking. Maybe I will try to finish it later. This book is not for the faint of heart.
Lately, I've been struggling through Meat by Joseph D'Lacey.
It's not that it's bad. It's just so... sickening. I can't read more than a chapter or two at a time before I have to stop and take a break.
The townspeople in Abyrne eat meat from the meat processing plant. This meat is supplied by "cattle"--but not the kind of cattle you're thinking of.
For now, I'm putting this on hold. It's just too gory. I'm getting freaked out--nightmares and things. I do intend to finish it eventually... just not...more
It's not that it's bad. It's just so... sickening. I can't read more than a chapter or two at a time before I have to stop and take a break.
The townspeople in Abyrne eat meat from the meat processing plant. This meat is supplied by "cattle"--but not the kind of cattle you're thinking of.
For now, I'm putting this on hold. It's just too gory. I'm getting freaked out--nightmares and things. I do intend to finish it eventually... just not...more
RECEIVED BOOK FREE THROUGH GOODREADS FIRST READS. Without giving too much away...Soylent Green has nothing on this book!!! Scary, creepy, horrific. And yet, i kept on reading!! A testiment to its' author, Joseph D'Lacey. He has written a very scary story. I horror is your cuppa tea, you'll LOVE this book. Just don't read it at bedtime!!
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"Joseph D'Lacey rocks!" Stephen King.
Those three words form the finest compliment and highest point of my career, so far.
I write H/SF/F and, occasionally, humour.
More about Joseph D'Lacey...
Those three words form the finest compliment and highest point of my career, so far.
I write H/SF/F and, occasionally, humour.
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Mar 27, 2013 07:03am
Ahh thanks nice to know thanks for reading.
Mar 27, 2013 07:54am