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Apathetic Flesh
Apathetic Flesh is brimful of realistic characters immersed in nightmares hauntingly familiar for many of us, but it is to Godfrey’s credit that even the outlandish events you’ll uncover here are made believable by a distinct absence of melodrama and fanfare. These are real people, complete with anxieties and instabilities and in these stories, as in the real world, such things can be fatal.
~ From the Introduction, by Kealan Patrick Burke
How are we expected to react to flesh that is warm and youthful, and yet infused with a corrupt spirit, a soulless black spark, a lack of any real feeling? Such flesh, too many have learned, will not heed the demands of concern. It will, through time, harden and become insolent. And when faced with close human interaction, it will not caress, but molest…
…not comfort, but condemn…
…not rise in excited gooseflesh, but grow ashen in cold depravity.
It will not be awed by the greatness of being, but remain odd to the touch.
There are men, women, and children walking these pages whose flesh rides their bones in various stages of apathy, empathy, sympathy, and gaping insanity. Many find themselves lost and alone, inhabiting a flesh-laden yet dispassionate world.
For some, this is justice. A kind of payback, perhaps.
For a few, it is a tragedy.
“Apathetic Flesh is one of the most disturbing tales I’ve read this year.”
~ Robert Crawford, Cemetery Dance
“Darren Godfrey is indeed the real a horror writer’s horror writer and a horror reader’s top choice.”
~ Mort Castle, Two Times Bram Stoker Award Winner and Nominee for the Audie, Shirley Jackson, and International Horror Guild Awards
“Darren O. Godfrey’s Dysfunction is a story about family ties gone horribly knotted. It brings to life some of those images that occur when you look at your parents and wonder what your children will do to you, how they will do it, and why. It is a story about repression and release. And it is inhabited by one of the strangest child characters I’ve run across. This story might make parents want to hug their children, and children call their parents, wishing they were closer; or it might just hurt.”
~ Bram Stoker Award Winning Author, David Niall Wilson
~ From the Introduction, by Kealan Patrick Burke
How are we expected to react to flesh that is warm and youthful, and yet infused with a corrupt spirit, a soulless black spark, a lack of any real feeling? Such flesh, too many have learned, will not heed the demands of concern. It will, through time, harden and become insolent. And when faced with close human interaction, it will not caress, but molest…
…not comfort, but condemn…
…not rise in excited gooseflesh, but grow ashen in cold depravity.
It will not be awed by the greatness of being, but remain odd to the touch.
There are men, women, and children walking these pages whose flesh rides their bones in various stages of apathy, empathy, sympathy, and gaping insanity. Many find themselves lost and alone, inhabiting a flesh-laden yet dispassionate world.
For some, this is justice. A kind of payback, perhaps.
For a few, it is a tragedy.
“Apathetic Flesh is one of the most disturbing tales I’ve read this year.”
~ Robert Crawford, Cemetery Dance
“Darren Godfrey is indeed the real a horror writer’s horror writer and a horror reader’s top choice.”
~ Mort Castle, Two Times Bram Stoker Award Winner and Nominee for the Audie, Shirley Jackson, and International Horror Guild Awards
“Darren O. Godfrey’s Dysfunction is a story about family ties gone horribly knotted. It brings to life some of those images that occur when you look at your parents and wonder what your children will do to you, how they will do it, and why. It is a story about repression and release. And it is inhabited by one of the strangest child characters I’ve run across. This story might make parents want to hug their children, and children call their parents, wishing they were closer; or it might just hurt.”
~ Bram Stoker Award Winning Author, David Niall Wilson
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 29, 2016
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2016/0...
This has got to have been one of the first books I requested from Netgalley. I am not sure why it sat on my virtual shelf for so long. Maybe it was the amateur cover or I was just not in the mood for short stories - which I have to admit I seldom am. Alas, I picked it up and I have to admit it was quite intriguing.
I also have to admit I am surprised there do not seem to be barely any reviews about it anywhere. This was actually pretty good. The stories are linked by comments which I am not even sure are real or not but definitely sound that way, which of course is extra creepy.
This is a very particular kind of horror. I for one had never read anything quite like it. There is a generous amount of gore but most of all plenty of mystery and psychological horror. The narratives built up suspense at a steady, nail-biting pace and several ended in crafty and mesmerising plot twists.
Both the characters and the situations they were in were quite unique. The prose was, for the most part, very engrossing, even if it lost me at times. The author definitely has a way with words, though, and I was quite enthralled during some of those tales.
Alas, at times, I wasn't sure what to make of the stories. The blurb says they are about normal people but I have to tell you, some of those main characters did not strike me as very normal, least of all their reactions. So I guess you have to put that aside for a bit, that 'how would a normal person react in this situation?' and go with the flow.
That did bring an extra macabre edge to the stories. So even though I didn't enjoy all of them greatly and did not even understand some, I have to admit it was a pretty cool ride.
It's quite good, I recommend it to fans of horror and short stories.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This has got to have been one of the first books I requested from Netgalley. I am not sure why it sat on my virtual shelf for so long. Maybe it was the amateur cover or I was just not in the mood for short stories - which I have to admit I seldom am. Alas, I picked it up and I have to admit it was quite intriguing.
I also have to admit I am surprised there do not seem to be barely any reviews about it anywhere. This was actually pretty good. The stories are linked by comments which I am not even sure are real or not but definitely sound that way, which of course is extra creepy.
This is a very particular kind of horror. I for one had never read anything quite like it. There is a generous amount of gore but most of all plenty of mystery and psychological horror. The narratives built up suspense at a steady, nail-biting pace and several ended in crafty and mesmerising plot twists.
Both the characters and the situations they were in were quite unique. The prose was, for the most part, very engrossing, even if it lost me at times. The author definitely has a way with words, though, and I was quite enthralled during some of those tales.
Alas, at times, I wasn't sure what to make of the stories. The blurb says they are about normal people but I have to tell you, some of those main characters did not strike me as very normal, least of all their reactions. So I guess you have to put that aside for a bit, that 'how would a normal person react in this situation?' and go with the flow.
That did bring an extra macabre edge to the stories. So even though I didn't enjoy all of them greatly and did not even understand some, I have to admit it was a pretty cool ride.
It's quite good, I recommend it to fans of horror and short stories.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
July 12, 2017
With Apathetic Flesh, Darren Godfrey had knocked me for a loop. I can't say it's a fun read, but the words he has put down on the page will stick in you brain like a splinter, pricking at your thoughts long after you've finished any one of the stories in this book. Heavy are the words and heavy will they hang on you soul. With that I'll say that I absolutely love Darren's writing. He has a very unique view of the world and in this book you'll be able to get a glimpse through his eyes. Highly recommended for any true fan of horror.
January 13, 2015
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is published by Books of the Dead Press.
Going to hold my hand up, again, never heard of Darren O Godfrey before I saw this book. I thought it was a novel but then realised it is a collection of short stories from . The introduction was written by Kealan Patrick Burke, another author I respect and love to read so I thought I was off to a good start. I think I underestimated just how good it was going to be.
The first story in this collection is “Inland, Shoreline”. It’s a story told from the point of view Danny, switching between flashbacks from 1977 and to the (then) present 2000. He recounts the killing of his cousin in an apparent hunting accident but then blames his father for the death and spends the next 20 years trying to track him down to seek revenge. The twist at the end of this is fantastic. Although I want to tell you about every story in this book I can’t. There are so many twists and turns in the stories I’m not giving you anything to go on. You are treated to 24 tales varying from a series of weird tales about the “Meadows” kids as I call them to loads of tales with plenty of death, dark fiction and dark humour ranging from modern day to older periods including a smidgen of the wild west. I loved them all but favourites of mine have to be Night Of The Puppet, Clam Bake at Opaque Lake and The Parking Lot. Oh and Head Games and Angus Abernathy And The Animals.
Darren O Godfrey’s writing makes this book a pleasure. From the very first line of each tale you just completely fall into the story. The writing is very smooth, very polished but not to the extent where you feel like it’s been rehearsed over and over. The words just flow one after the other in such a way that you can read one story after the other and while still remembering the previous one, be totally engrossed in the current one. A lot of the writing is in the first person and in stories like Night Of The Puppet this is so so effective. You live the stories from some perspectives I have never come across in collections before and they are fantastic. Also expect the unexpected because you will get a few “never seen that coming” moments. Mr Godfrey also has little snippets in between each story to join them together if you like. They range from very short poems to 1 paragraph of dialogue but again are very effective and very relevant when you read the following story.
I could go on all night about this collection. I will definitely be checking out more of Darren’s work. This collection comes with the highest recommendation from me and will definitely be going straight into my “Favs” folder.
No doubt on 5 stars.
Going to hold my hand up, again, never heard of Darren O Godfrey before I saw this book. I thought it was a novel but then realised it is a collection of short stories from . The introduction was written by Kealan Patrick Burke, another author I respect and love to read so I thought I was off to a good start. I think I underestimated just how good it was going to be.
The first story in this collection is “Inland, Shoreline”. It’s a story told from the point of view Danny, switching between flashbacks from 1977 and to the (then) present 2000. He recounts the killing of his cousin in an apparent hunting accident but then blames his father for the death and spends the next 20 years trying to track him down to seek revenge. The twist at the end of this is fantastic. Although I want to tell you about every story in this book I can’t. There are so many twists and turns in the stories I’m not giving you anything to go on. You are treated to 24 tales varying from a series of weird tales about the “Meadows” kids as I call them to loads of tales with plenty of death, dark fiction and dark humour ranging from modern day to older periods including a smidgen of the wild west. I loved them all but favourites of mine have to be Night Of The Puppet, Clam Bake at Opaque Lake and The Parking Lot. Oh and Head Games and Angus Abernathy And The Animals.
Darren O Godfrey’s writing makes this book a pleasure. From the very first line of each tale you just completely fall into the story. The writing is very smooth, very polished but not to the extent where you feel like it’s been rehearsed over and over. The words just flow one after the other in such a way that you can read one story after the other and while still remembering the previous one, be totally engrossed in the current one. A lot of the writing is in the first person and in stories like Night Of The Puppet this is so so effective. You live the stories from some perspectives I have never come across in collections before and they are fantastic. Also expect the unexpected because you will get a few “never seen that coming” moments. Mr Godfrey also has little snippets in between each story to join them together if you like. They range from very short poems to 1 paragraph of dialogue but again are very effective and very relevant when you read the following story.
I could go on all night about this collection. I will definitely be checking out more of Darren’s work. This collection comes with the highest recommendation from me and will definitely be going straight into my “Favs” folder.
No doubt on 5 stars.
October 4, 2016
This book deserves WAY more recognition than it is getting! Darren Godfrey has a way with words - his phrases can sometimes be hauntingly beautiful, poetic, or horrendous, and sometimes all at the same time. i loved the format of how the stories seem to be introduced by quick conversations between the author and his aunt, who loves but just doesn't "get" her weird nephew. i was lucky enough to "meet" Mr. Godfrey on a FB group for fans of horror, and im now the proud new owner of copies of Apathetic Flesh and an anthology with one of his short stories, both of which he was kind enough to sign for me. im excited to have discovered a new writer, and frustrated there is not enough out there to keep me reading his stuff for years! Youll be doing yourself a favor to pick up this book. This was one of thos books that make me wish I didn't have a job so i could read all night.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews