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Slave State
Schadenfreude
Enter a mind full of transcendental drugs, doomed punks, voyeuristic puppets and omnipotent intergalactic prisons in Chris Kelso's debut short fiction collection.
- GenresBizarro Fiction
230 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Chris Kelso
72 books206 followersChris Kelso is an award-winning genre writer, editor, illustrator, and musician from Scotland. His work has been published widely across the UK, US and Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 20, 2016
An entertaining chapter of the Slave State dimension told through the lens of futuristic punk rock ideals. Wire and Spittle is full of odd, memorable, and sometimes shady figures. Oppression at the hands of authority and the clash with the ethics of the main characters provide the basis for much of what happens in the book.
While there are still a few of them that I have yet to read, this one is a bit lighter when compared to the rest of Kelso’s Slave State books I have read. In all, a solid addition, both gritty and enjoyable.
While there are still a few of them that I have yet to read, this one is a bit lighter when compared to the rest of Kelso’s Slave State books I have read. In all, a solid addition, both gritty and enjoyable.
April 24, 2017
By looking at the cover you would think Hamburger Helper has been working out. But instead Kelso dishes out a hot serving of punk rockers antics and a giant comet that's about to crash into Slave State.
A survival type story of extreme measures and the blood that spreads over the city, something that Irvine Welsh would whip up... But Kelso style!
A survival type story of extreme measures and the blood that spreads over the city, something that Irvine Welsh would whip up... But Kelso style!
October 10, 2018
Schadenfreude is a collection of short pieces from a younger Chris Kelso, many previously published, compiled conveniently in one volume. The highlight for me was the Wire and Spittle novella, which was still engaging the second time around. As a big fan, I am happy to own a paperback copy of this, but experiencing it after being mesmerized by much of his later works this one is just okay in comparison.
December 21, 2013
Schadenfreude is a smorgasbord of the weird and grotesque, dripping with yuck and yeek. For starters miners lose their reason searching for a mysterious divine called The Hearth. Another dish follows a time travelling detective back to Russia in the Year of The Cockroach and encounters his grandfather. In a wee Christmas portion a desert dwelling drug dealer nurtures an exclusive clientele that includes Christ, Santa and JFK.
My favourite is the mid collection novella Spittle and Wire. Like a concept album each track introduces a weird episode in the last days of the two depraved towns. As a comet hurtles to earth, calculated to hit on New Year’s Eve, everyone knows they are doomed. In Spittle and Wire the population degenerate lower than the murky depths of previous existence. Suicide has reached epidemic proportions and teenagers rape, pillage and maim for fun. The only law enforcer around, a psychopath called Jenkins, is determined to wipe the earth clean of the punks who live in squat Scarlet House before the comet hits. Punk band Monkey Glad’s murdering front man Joss State poses a threat more deadly than bad tunes, and as main protagonist Leatherface fights his way back to the squat to bury his brother Germ you are left hoping the comet will provide a kinder end. The action is gory and sickening but there are some wonderful tender moments sandwiched in the bizarre. It’s a bit like chocolate in chilli, deviously bad and addictive.
My favourite is the mid collection novella Spittle and Wire. Like a concept album each track introduces a weird episode in the last days of the two depraved towns. As a comet hurtles to earth, calculated to hit on New Year’s Eve, everyone knows they are doomed. In Spittle and Wire the population degenerate lower than the murky depths of previous existence. Suicide has reached epidemic proportions and teenagers rape, pillage and maim for fun. The only law enforcer around, a psychopath called Jenkins, is determined to wipe the earth clean of the punks who live in squat Scarlet House before the comet hits. Punk band Monkey Glad’s murdering front man Joss State poses a threat more deadly than bad tunes, and as main protagonist Leatherface fights his way back to the squat to bury his brother Germ you are left hoping the comet will provide a kinder end. The action is gory and sickening but there are some wonderful tender moments sandwiched in the bizarre. It’s a bit like chocolate in chilli, deviously bad and addictive.
May 4, 2016
WIRE AND SPITTLE was my introduction to author Chris Kelso. The novella is set in his Slave State, an urban wasteland where law and chaos coexist on a homicidal edge. It’s a stand-alone read.
The setup is this: Leatherface is driving out of Spittle to Wire City. There he plans to help his brother’s widow and friends honor his brother Germ’s passing. The clock is ticking: Not only counting down to the date of the funeral but to the world’s annihilation. Murderous cops and brutally sadistic gangs stand in Leatherface’s way.
The story is fast-paced and fueled by a savage vision. Packed with grotesque character portraits and darkly comic exchanges, lyrical descriptions of filth and waste. But it keeps its edge. The violence is depicted with economy that lets the reader construct the depth of dehumanization. The sense of apocalypse, which could easily envelop the plot, is evoked through journalistic color and at times a sense of humor that allows us to focus on the people and landscape rather than the fireworks of extinction.
Then there are passages like this: “But he felt better about the unwinding clock of consciousness than he did about the long, dull, terrifying waiting room of life.” Writing like this forms the connective tissue between the book’s plot and deeper meaning. WIRE AND SPITTLE reads like a flare from the charnel ground.
The setup is this: Leatherface is driving out of Spittle to Wire City. There he plans to help his brother’s widow and friends honor his brother Germ’s passing. The clock is ticking: Not only counting down to the date of the funeral but to the world’s annihilation. Murderous cops and brutally sadistic gangs stand in Leatherface’s way.
The story is fast-paced and fueled by a savage vision. Packed with grotesque character portraits and darkly comic exchanges, lyrical descriptions of filth and waste. But it keeps its edge. The violence is depicted with economy that lets the reader construct the depth of dehumanization. The sense of apocalypse, which could easily envelop the plot, is evoked through journalistic color and at times a sense of humor that allows us to focus on the people and landscape rather than the fireworks of extinction.
Then there are passages like this: “But he felt better about the unwinding clock of consciousness than he did about the long, dull, terrifying waiting room of life.” Writing like this forms the connective tissue between the book’s plot and deeper meaning. WIRE AND SPITTLE reads like a flare from the charnel ground.
November 1, 2019
When a writer has fun with his craft, the result is usually something that communicates that joy to the reader. In the case of Chris Kelso's Schadenfreude, a collection of short fiction that ranges from horror to bizarro and everything in between, the enjoyment comes quickly and the stories explore strange places in a way that stays with you after the last page has been turned.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
April 17, 2016
Full review coming
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews