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Slave State
Terence, Mephisto and Viscera Eyes
The Slave State: A place where dogs tire of their lovesick masters and compose novels for benign publishers. A place where love and murder are equally important to the development of young men. A place where everyone is a slave to their minds and their hearts. From one of literature’s most daring writers, Chris Kelso invites you to explore his mind-bending universe with nine short stories—a collection that challenges the boundaries of genre and the limits of the heart.
152 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
131 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
May 9, 2024
Jeez that was something.
I'm sure there are parts that likely went right over my head, but behind the gore and the suffering (which was written brilliantly) there is an absolutely bizarre and intriguing world. Only realized after I finished there is more set in the "universe"???
Definitely an interesting read.
I'm sure there are parts that likely went right over my head, but behind the gore and the suffering (which was written brilliantly) there is an absolutely bizarre and intriguing world. Only realized after I finished there is more set in the "universe"???
Definitely an interesting read.
November 29, 2014
Chris Kelso's Terence, Mephisto, and Viscera Eyes is a dark, disturbing, dystopian romp through one of the most troubling and creative imaginations I've been lucky enough to come across. While reading Kelso's short story collection, I was both intimidated by the intelligence and depth of the work, and at the same time repulsed by the bowels of this nightmare universe called The Slave State-- a place where cities of yuppies, rape gangs, and the Black Dog depression virus pulse together in sheer, destructive anarchy.
The first short, "The Family Man," is just a small glimpse of the sick, deranged lunacy you are in for. It left me astonished and curious to proceed.
"Terence, Mephisto & Viscera Eyes" has to be my favorite, or at least one of my favorites. I don't tend to get into stories where the narrator is an animal, but this dog's voice is just a treat to read. And the dog's an aspiring writer, no less, so I could relate. This story offers a statement on the publishing industry today that leaves me sad, and also giggling: "Are you a struggling writer treading the line between manic depression and abject poverty? Mephisto Publishing has provided exemplary service to authors from all across the Slave State. Frustrated? feeling emotionally raped by the industry? If you haven't been published, chances are people just don't 'get' you and the fat-cat publishing houses are too damn scared to put your work out there." The story only gets better and darker from there.
"The Statement of Tom Tryout" leaves you frightened and emotionally scarred, but the best part is that it leaves you with true emotions. That's what Kelso is so good at -- affecting the reader. This is the story that really brought on memories of Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Anthony Burgess. This is a story I truly feared.
"Another Uninspired, Poorly-Written Metaphor for Something No One Care About, Okay..." It's exactly what it sounds like. A very short, abstract snippet of something that leaves me thinking. I'm scratching my head here, but I like the brain exercise. I like trying to figure out what this one's about.
"Baptizm of Fire." Obi's story is one of the longest, and carries with it the most substance, in my opinion. This is what makes me want to read a novel by the deranged and depraved Kelso -- and I mean those adjectives in the kindest and most endearing sense.
I highly recommend Kelso - but only if you like the kind of twisted fiction that keeps you up at night.
The first short, "The Family Man," is just a small glimpse of the sick, deranged lunacy you are in for. It left me astonished and curious to proceed.
"Terence, Mephisto & Viscera Eyes" has to be my favorite, or at least one of my favorites. I don't tend to get into stories where the narrator is an animal, but this dog's voice is just a treat to read. And the dog's an aspiring writer, no less, so I could relate. This story offers a statement on the publishing industry today that leaves me sad, and also giggling: "Are you a struggling writer treading the line between manic depression and abject poverty? Mephisto Publishing has provided exemplary service to authors from all across the Slave State. Frustrated? feeling emotionally raped by the industry? If you haven't been published, chances are people just don't 'get' you and the fat-cat publishing houses are too damn scared to put your work out there." The story only gets better and darker from there.
"The Statement of Tom Tryout" leaves you frightened and emotionally scarred, but the best part is that it leaves you with true emotions. That's what Kelso is so good at -- affecting the reader. This is the story that really brought on memories of Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Anthony Burgess. This is a story I truly feared.
"Another Uninspired, Poorly-Written Metaphor for Something No One Care About, Okay..." It's exactly what it sounds like. A very short, abstract snippet of something that leaves me thinking. I'm scratching my head here, but I like the brain exercise. I like trying to figure out what this one's about.
"Baptizm of Fire." Obi's story is one of the longest, and carries with it the most substance, in my opinion. This is what makes me want to read a novel by the deranged and depraved Kelso -- and I mean those adjectives in the kindest and most endearing sense.
I highly recommend Kelso - but only if you like the kind of twisted fiction that keeps you up at night.
December 3, 2015
Like with a lot of bizarro fiction, there are some "logic issues" with the stories and none of them really seem to conclude with a "proper ending", but this book was a fun and strange read.
February 4, 2015
Received via Goodreads Giveaway
If you just want a soundbite review then try this "Mind...Blown".
Chris Kelso has achieved that rare act that many writers never achieve, brilliance. His ability to mutate language, to pound words into sentences that have a shine. Words & language that you thought were familiar become malleable in Kelso's hands. Brutal and dark scenes unfold in what at first seems simply dark glimpses of another artists bleak fiction but upon a closer read? It seems that there is more to these short stories than initially reaches our jaundiced eye.Our consensual reality is reflected in a black surface, an underlying current of screamed warnings about the world we live in.
There is murder and mayhem and even a dog that writes novels. Evisceration, sex and broken down lawnmowers as background scenery for teenaged angst. All of that within just a few pages of cracking the spine to this true gem of a collection of short stories...vile little vignettes that they are. Words are bludgeoned and retrofit, cajoled and concisely used in what at times even seem like comfortable colloquialisms, that ring of colorful familiarity and metaphor and yet, this language is all painfully sharp mind piercing shards and brand spankin' new. Black soul memetics,if you will.
Should you have a love for the early cyber-punk ascetics of language handling by the likes of Bruce Sterling and William Gibson or if you understand, even have an inkling of what W. S. Burroughs postulated in the Ticket Exploded that indeed, Language is a Virus, then do not hesitate, read this book now.
A hallucinogenic masterpiece....
If you just want a soundbite review then try this "Mind...Blown".
Chris Kelso has achieved that rare act that many writers never achieve, brilliance. His ability to mutate language, to pound words into sentences that have a shine. Words & language that you thought were familiar become malleable in Kelso's hands. Brutal and dark scenes unfold in what at first seems simply dark glimpses of another artists bleak fiction but upon a closer read? It seems that there is more to these short stories than initially reaches our jaundiced eye.Our consensual reality is reflected in a black surface, an underlying current of screamed warnings about the world we live in.
There is murder and mayhem and even a dog that writes novels. Evisceration, sex and broken down lawnmowers as background scenery for teenaged angst. All of that within just a few pages of cracking the spine to this true gem of a collection of short stories...vile little vignettes that they are. Words are bludgeoned and retrofit, cajoled and concisely used in what at times even seem like comfortable colloquialisms, that ring of colorful familiarity and metaphor and yet, this language is all painfully sharp mind piercing shards and brand spankin' new. Black soul memetics,if you will.
Should you have a love for the early cyber-punk ascetics of language handling by the likes of Bruce Sterling and William Gibson or if you understand, even have an inkling of what W. S. Burroughs postulated in the Ticket Exploded that indeed, Language is a Virus, then do not hesitate, read this book now.
A hallucinogenic masterpiece....
September 3, 2016
A challenging collection of nine short stories set in Chris Kelso's Slave State. Through the lens of his characters -- from a heartbroken young man to a literate dog -- Kelso builds a picture of the Slave State that defines an extreme territory where real-life suffering is mirrored in the ways his characters seek connection. A dark book, TMAVE depicts humans and non-humans being alienated, abused, murdered and physically altered. Some may want a more conclusive feel to a few of the stories' endings, but that open-endedness reinforces the experience of the Slave State landscape in my opinion. The narrative techniques are unconventional and there is beautiful writing throughout.
September 21, 2014
review coming soon
February 6, 2022
Like a fever dream, grotesque and violent. Some parts of the stories seemed to go on too long, but others not long enough. Wild and intangible at times, crazy and obscure at others.
Definitely a disturbing read.
Definitely a disturbing read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews