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Garbage Man
"Joseph D'Lacey rocks!" —Stephen King
Mason Brand has fled his life as a celebrated photographer and renounced his past. He is living rough, as a hermit in the Welsh hills, when something happens to him among the mossy oaks. He begins to hear "the calling." Years later, Mason is living with sight of a colossal landfill dump, and he hears "the calling" again. This time he will heed it, and it will lead him, for he is called to assist in a terrible birth—out of the waste of human society comes a thing, and its enemy is human. Tackling the issue of the environment and landfill sites, this chilling fable of eco-horror asks what happens to all the unwanted things we bury, because they just won't go away.
Mason Brand has fled his life as a celebrated photographer and renounced his past. He is living rough, as a hermit in the Welsh hills, when something happens to him among the mossy oaks. He begins to hear "the calling." Years later, Mason is living with sight of a colossal landfill dump, and he hears "the calling" again. This time he will heed it, and it will lead him, for he is called to assist in a terrible birth—out of the waste of human society comes a thing, and its enemy is human. Tackling the issue of the environment and landfill sites, this chilling fable of eco-horror asks what happens to all the unwanted things we bury, because they just won't go away.
345 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2009
118 people are currently reading
1158 people want to read
About the author
Joseph D'Lacey
35 books429 followersBecame vegetarian after writing MEAT. Fond of meditation, unfathomable questions and cats.
Repped by Robert Dinsdale.
"Joseph D'Lacey rocks!" Stephen King.
Repped by Robert Dinsdale.
"Joseph D'Lacey rocks!" Stephen King.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
March 25, 2013
Once again D'Lacey combines a superb horror story with a more substantial story and a deeper more 'real' meaning. We start off in the town of Shreve, whose colossal landfill has taken over the identity of the town and its inhabitants as authorities from miles around use the area as their own personal dumping ground. In the midst of this carnage and waste however, there is something evolving and growing, something that will strike terror into the hearts of Shreve residents and force them to face the reality of their wasteful consumer lifestyles. As these creatures develop and begin to take over the town the story becomes a tale of a mini apocolypse where only the quick, strong and resourceful will survive.
Beneath this tale of terror D'Lacey weaves a deeper commentary on the wasteful nature of modern society and how little consideration is really given to where our waste goes and what happens to it when it gets there, by the authorities, those involved in the industry and the public as a whole. Once again he manages to get his message across without being preachy or condescending and again brings the reader's own negative feelings into play, hinting that the only reason this story is so terrifying is the reality behind it, that we all pretend is not really there.
I can honestly say, hand on heart, that there a few writers that have brought up so many emotions, thoughts and introspection through their work as D'Lacey has for me and I cannot wait to be horrified both by his stories and their personal and societal implications again. Stephen King is right, D'Lacey rocks!
Beneath this tale of terror D'Lacey weaves a deeper commentary on the wasteful nature of modern society and how little consideration is really given to where our waste goes and what happens to it when it gets there, by the authorities, those involved in the industry and the public as a whole. Once again he manages to get his message across without being preachy or condescending and again brings the reader's own negative feelings into play, hinting that the only reason this story is so terrifying is the reality behind it, that we all pretend is not really there.
I can honestly say, hand on heart, that there a few writers that have brought up so many emotions, thoughts and introspection through their work as D'Lacey has for me and I cannot wait to be horrified both by his stories and their personal and societal implications again. Stephen King is right, D'Lacey rocks!
October 23, 2021
I’d absolutely love to see this as a horror film with practical special effects and a kind of grubby Henenlotter treatment.
So glad I saved this to be the first of my Halloween reads as it was good clean fun. What’s not to love about a narrative that opens with a teenager begrudgingly offering her used tampon to the forces of a disquieted earth?!
Yeah, some bits might have been a bit wordy and there were odd moments I found repetitive, but this was just a proper rompy horror read that actually engages with themes of Eco Gothic that were somewhat ahead of their time 20 years ago.
Trash monsters fused with biological gore might be my next Halloween prop project.
So glad I saved this to be the first of my Halloween reads as it was good clean fun. What’s not to love about a narrative that opens with a teenager begrudgingly offering her used tampon to the forces of a disquieted earth?!
Yeah, some bits might have been a bit wordy and there were odd moments I found repetitive, but this was just a proper rompy horror read that actually engages with themes of Eco Gothic that were somewhat ahead of their time 20 years ago.
Trash monsters fused with biological gore might be my next Halloween prop project.
January 18, 2020
A really fast-paced, intense read with a message. I liked that the ending wasn't all 'Hollywood'; I've long said we could do with something like this happening for real, like a selective plague.
Recommended read especially fans of apocalyptic/dystopian horror fiction.
Recommended read especially fans of apocalyptic/dystopian horror fiction.
October 30, 2013
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear before we go any further – Joseph D’Lacey does not do comfortable. I’ve read enough of his unique brand of eco-horror to know exactly what to expect when I crack open one of his books. A word of warning, if you’ve never experienced his writing before and you are particularly faint of heart, you may want to give Garbage Man a miss. This is not the book for you. D’Lacey leaves little to the imagination when his descriptive powers are running at full tilt. Personally speaking I absolutely love it. In fact I’m actually a little in awe of his work. I find the raw, often brutal, horror acts as a perfect counterpoint to the insightful social commentary you find in his writing.
In the 21st century it often feels like we live in a truly disposable society. Rather than have things fixed, more often than not, it is cheaper to just to ditch an item and buy a replacement. Technology is considered obsolete as soon as it’s available. There are so many of us out there living our lives that thousands upon thousands of tons of refuse are created every day. What happens when we finally reach a tipping point? What happens when Mother Earth decides that it’s time to start fighting back? What happens when our environment can no longer effectively sustain us? Garbage Man takes this premise as it’s kicking off point.
The people of Shreve aren’t the nicest group you’re ever likely to meet. I don’t think there is a single one of them who isn’t flawed in one way or another. They all have their fair share of dirty little secrets. In the homes of this typical British town you’ll find every flavour of nastiness and evil you can imagine, from adulterers to religious bigots, from drug-addled slackers to much, much worse. D’Lacey does a remarkable job with this rouges gallery. I never suspected that I would be cheering some of them on by the time the book reached its apocalyptic climax.
I read Meat, another Joseph D’Lacey novel, a couple of years ago and I remember being genuinely disturbed by how creepy the story was. The other thing that struck me is that there are so few writers that manage to create fiction that not only entertains, horrific or otherwise, but also manages to be thought provoking at the same time. Both of these novels, Meat and Garbage Man, manage this in spades.
I was so glad to hear that the company involved with the new print of Garbage Man are also as re-releasing Meat.
Mixing outrageous violent body horror with an exploration of the delicate balance that exists in the planet’s fragile eco-system is a bold move. Playing on genuine concerns about what everyone will face in the future, but adding his own uniquely bloody twists, makes for a compelling narrative. D’Lacey is writing horror that delivers high on the ick factor but also pricks at the conscience. Don’t be at all surprised if you come away from reading this novel feeling not only suitably grossed out but also a little bit more informed.
In the 21st century it often feels like we live in a truly disposable society. Rather than have things fixed, more often than not, it is cheaper to just to ditch an item and buy a replacement. Technology is considered obsolete as soon as it’s available. There are so many of us out there living our lives that thousands upon thousands of tons of refuse are created every day. What happens when we finally reach a tipping point? What happens when Mother Earth decides that it’s time to start fighting back? What happens when our environment can no longer effectively sustain us? Garbage Man takes this premise as it’s kicking off point.
The people of Shreve aren’t the nicest group you’re ever likely to meet. I don’t think there is a single one of them who isn’t flawed in one way or another. They all have their fair share of dirty little secrets. In the homes of this typical British town you’ll find every flavour of nastiness and evil you can imagine, from adulterers to religious bigots, from drug-addled slackers to much, much worse. D’Lacey does a remarkable job with this rouges gallery. I never suspected that I would be cheering some of them on by the time the book reached its apocalyptic climax.
I read Meat, another Joseph D’Lacey novel, a couple of years ago and I remember being genuinely disturbed by how creepy the story was. The other thing that struck me is that there are so few writers that manage to create fiction that not only entertains, horrific or otherwise, but also manages to be thought provoking at the same time. Both of these novels, Meat and Garbage Man, manage this in spades.
I was so glad to hear that the company involved with the new print of Garbage Man are also as re-releasing Meat.
Mixing outrageous violent body horror with an exploration of the delicate balance that exists in the planet’s fragile eco-system is a bold move. Playing on genuine concerns about what everyone will face in the future, but adding his own uniquely bloody twists, makes for a compelling narrative. D’Lacey is writing horror that delivers high on the ick factor but also pricks at the conscience. Don’t be at all surprised if you come away from reading this novel feeling not only suitably grossed out but also a little bit more informed.
November 19, 2013
‘Garbage Man‘ focuses on that which we discard, which we no longer find value or meaning in, and takes it to an extreme exploration that could easily have become a sad, hilarious B-Movie plot-gone-stupid. But Joseph doesn’t write stupid, cheap-thrill stories.
The novel opens with a scene that’ll have you grimacing and squinting while you read (I won’t spoil it for you), introducing two -perhaps three- of the novel’s main characters – Mason, Aggie, and … well, you’ll see. It’s one of those portentous scenes, layered with much more than what the characters are doing or thinking. The reader gets a good introduction to Mason and Aggie -their outlooks on life, their personalities, what stresses them, etcetera- and from then on the novel, chapter by chapter, introduces the other players in the horrific drama which is unfolding, while building and expanding the plot.
The result is that the reader is insistently nudged along, without even realizing it. Some parts of the story do slide back in time, but the pacing of the tale isn’t affected at all, and these scenes serve to deepen our understanding of the character involved. When this character begins to do things no sane person would probably even consider, the reader understands why, and it even makes a twisted kind of sense. But Joseph doesn’t pull this feat off with only one character.
There are many others – a housewife engaged in something she would be roundly condemned for; a father and husband who finds himself helpless against his urges; a college-age teenager who spends his time doing anything else rather than study and attend classes; a husband who is trying to break a habit; a son helplessly and painfully in love; a daughter who wants a bigger and better life for herself, and others. The reader is immersed in their lives, in their relationships and the roles they play in those relationships, and the reader is also very subtly shown how things begin falling apart long before the appearance of the Garbage Man.
And when the titular Garbage Man appears, it comes across as the natural culmination of events and decisions, as if this -horrible and terrifying as it is- could not help but happen. As always, there’s no shielding the reader – whether it be sight, smell, touch, hearing or taste, there’s no quarter given – when people die, they die horribly and painfully, and when they don’t their emotional turmoil his heart-breakingly palpable.
But the violence and emotional shocks aren’t there only to make you groan or gag – every character and everything that happens to them is part of a larger tale, exploring an important theme that runs through Joseph’s work, which resonates no matter your background or beliefs. It’s just that kind of novel – shocking, emotionally powerful, memorable, and quietly thoughtful. In short, another masterpiece.
The novel opens with a scene that’ll have you grimacing and squinting while you read (I won’t spoil it for you), introducing two -perhaps three- of the novel’s main characters – Mason, Aggie, and … well, you’ll see. It’s one of those portentous scenes, layered with much more than what the characters are doing or thinking. The reader gets a good introduction to Mason and Aggie -their outlooks on life, their personalities, what stresses them, etcetera- and from then on the novel, chapter by chapter, introduces the other players in the horrific drama which is unfolding, while building and expanding the plot.
The result is that the reader is insistently nudged along, without even realizing it. Some parts of the story do slide back in time, but the pacing of the tale isn’t affected at all, and these scenes serve to deepen our understanding of the character involved. When this character begins to do things no sane person would probably even consider, the reader understands why, and it even makes a twisted kind of sense. But Joseph doesn’t pull this feat off with only one character.
There are many others – a housewife engaged in something she would be roundly condemned for; a father and husband who finds himself helpless against his urges; a college-age teenager who spends his time doing anything else rather than study and attend classes; a husband who is trying to break a habit; a son helplessly and painfully in love; a daughter who wants a bigger and better life for herself, and others. The reader is immersed in their lives, in their relationships and the roles they play in those relationships, and the reader is also very subtly shown how things begin falling apart long before the appearance of the Garbage Man.
And when the titular Garbage Man appears, it comes across as the natural culmination of events and decisions, as if this -horrible and terrifying as it is- could not help but happen. As always, there’s no shielding the reader – whether it be sight, smell, touch, hearing or taste, there’s no quarter given – when people die, they die horribly and painfully, and when they don’t their emotional turmoil his heart-breakingly palpable.
But the violence and emotional shocks aren’t there only to make you groan or gag – every character and everything that happens to them is part of a larger tale, exploring an important theme that runs through Joseph’s work, which resonates no matter your background or beliefs. It’s just that kind of novel – shocking, emotionally powerful, memorable, and quietly thoughtful. In short, another masterpiece.
December 19, 2014
Some book titles make things a little too easy for a reviewer. For instance, if you are going to make a book called ‘Garbage Man’ make sure that it is not awful as people will just state that it was garbage, man. After reading Joseph D'Lacey’s book, it would appear that he did not follow this sage warning as ‘Garbage Man’ is a pretty poor book. Trying to emulate the greats is no bad thing and after the passing of James Herbert there is a rat sized whole in the horror genre. At times ‘Garbage’ man is almost this book, but it ends up being a pale imitation.
The use of language is rather odd in this book. Herbert was always a fan of flowery prose, but D’Lacey takes it to extremes and it just does not work. This is a book about sentient flesh eating rubbish that attacks a normal British estate; there is no need for Shakespeare here. The internal monologues of the characters just do not fit; they are meant to be a rough and ready bunch, but they think like they are in the Bullingdon Club.
Some people will like D’Lacey’s heightened style of prose, but this does not prevent the issues with narrative pacing. As a horror book, I do not mind a slow burn, but ‘Garbage Man’ takes things to the extreme. It is over 100 pages until the creature begins to arrive and then 50 more for any fatalities. Once this happen, the floodgates open and the tone shifts to survival horror. At this point the book actually gets a lot better and the epilogue section in particular is intriguing. I just don’t believe that you should have to sit through 150 odd pages of flowery waffle to get to something at the very end that is good. Throw in issues with paragraphs running into each other; one character shifts into another and you don’t even know, and you have a fairly decent idea, let down by poor execution.
The use of language is rather odd in this book. Herbert was always a fan of flowery prose, but D’Lacey takes it to extremes and it just does not work. This is a book about sentient flesh eating rubbish that attacks a normal British estate; there is no need for Shakespeare here. The internal monologues of the characters just do not fit; they are meant to be a rough and ready bunch, but they think like they are in the Bullingdon Club.
Some people will like D’Lacey’s heightened style of prose, but this does not prevent the issues with narrative pacing. As a horror book, I do not mind a slow burn, but ‘Garbage Man’ takes things to the extreme. It is over 100 pages until the creature begins to arrive and then 50 more for any fatalities. Once this happen, the floodgates open and the tone shifts to survival horror. At this point the book actually gets a lot better and the epilogue section in particular is intriguing. I just don’t believe that you should have to sit through 150 odd pages of flowery waffle to get to something at the very end that is good. Throw in issues with paragraphs running into each other; one character shifts into another and you don’t even know, and you have a fairly decent idea, let down by poor execution.
June 18, 2012
Tough book to review. I really wanted to like it, always interested in new authors, particularly british and I've heard so much about his debut novel Meat. Maybe Meat was a great book, but this one just didn't do it for me. The pacing dragged for the most part, except toward the end. The characters were unsympathetic for the most part. The whole book was sort of like taking out the trash and having a bag burst open...just really gross. Unpleasant things happening to unpleasant humans. This book would probably work well as a movie, some great very disturbing imagery in there. The writer definitely has talent, the book is well written and with a moral and a lesson to learn, but don't think I can give it more than two stars.
July 31, 2022
Mason Brand feels a connection with the earth and when it calls to him, he must attend. I'm really not quite sure what I read here and I struggled to connect with the story and any of the characters.
September 15, 2020
Once again D’Lacey delivers a world like no other. A must read, especially if you loved his book Meat.
December 16, 2019
Somehow I managed to miss Joseph D'Lacey. Don't make the same mistake I did. The Garbage Man is a dark, dreary piece of work with excellent characters and awful monsters. The story telling is very atmospheric and gritty.
Five Grimy Stars *****
Five Grimy Stars *****
September 30, 2022
Started out slow but turned out awesome!
January 21, 2010
Loved this book!
Still need convincing to 'go green?' The awful offal in The Garbage Man will have you running for the recyling bin.
The first half of the book was a litle slow but when it takes off it's a one sitting read. The people of Shreve give little thought to the local garbage dump other than being disgusted with the wafting odors. But when Mother Nature decides she's had enough of her garbage producing inhabitants who are destroying earth, her creative juices flow. Scary, creepy, thought proving.
Favorite new word: fecalith
Recommended for: Natalie would love this book but unless she can find a way to read a book in less than three months, she's going to have to buy her own copy. I want We Need to Talk About Kevin back before the next millennium!!
Chia, are you game?
Still need convincing to 'go green?' The awful offal in The Garbage Man will have you running for the recyling bin.
The first half of the book was a litle slow but when it takes off it's a one sitting read. The people of Shreve give little thought to the local garbage dump other than being disgusted with the wafting odors. But when Mother Nature decides she's had enough of her garbage producing inhabitants who are destroying earth, her creative juices flow. Scary, creepy, thought proving.
Favorite new word: fecalith
Recommended for: Natalie would love this book but unless she can find a way to read a book in less than three months, she's going to have to buy her own copy. I want We Need to Talk About Kevin back before the next millennium!!
Chia, are you game?
October 13, 2012
What a great read! An unusual and (despite the title) fresh tale, very very well told.
Mr D'Lacey's writing style reminds me in some ways of Stephen King's. This is not just because of the "dark" tone and subject matter, nor the fact that King's review of Garbage Man is on the cover. It's because D'Lacey's narrative flows as well as King's (usually) does (and in some places better) -- reading the book was effortless. It's because D'Lacey has a knack for painting vivid characters who feel like people you've met, who make you cringe or feel sorry for them, who make you "root" for them.
I say this, but D'Lacey is very much is own writer, rather than a King clone. His ideas are inique, his characters more so, his techniques sneaky in a way King's aren't.
The story itself ... well, you can read other people's reviews for plot spoilers and teasers. I simply enjoyed a story about people's choices and the overwhelming message of a world reaping what it has sown.
A good read.
Mr D'Lacey's writing style reminds me in some ways of Stephen King's. This is not just because of the "dark" tone and subject matter, nor the fact that King's review of Garbage Man is on the cover. It's because D'Lacey's narrative flows as well as King's (usually) does (and in some places better) -- reading the book was effortless. It's because D'Lacey has a knack for painting vivid characters who feel like people you've met, who make you cringe or feel sorry for them, who make you "root" for them.
I say this, but D'Lacey is very much is own writer, rather than a King clone. His ideas are inique, his characters more so, his techniques sneaky in a way King's aren't.
The story itself ... well, you can read other people's reviews for plot spoilers and teasers. I simply enjoyed a story about people's choices and the overwhelming message of a world reaping what it has sown.
A good read.
September 11, 2020
After enjoying Meat so much I was disappointed by this one until the end. A strong finish caused me to improve the rating which I was inclined to give. The author’s note at the end indicated that he was forced to add material and it rather shows. This book could have easily lost approximately twenty percent of its content with no ill effect upon the plot. The ‘baby in the building’ scenes in particular added nothing to the story. Overall, though, I would recommend this, but don’t expect the high originality found in Meat. This is a much more conventional horror story.
August 1, 2014
Intelligent, creepy fun! What happens when, after taking the trash out, it realizes it has no place else to go and decides.....to come back!? With an attitude! Mandatory recycling, indeed! The author has taken this ludicrous-sounding premise and made it into a credible, intense, frightening, gross---and thought-provoking---horror novel. For readers who like a little message with their mayhem. D'Lacey strikes gold again (after "Meat") with this "Garbage," man.
May 26, 2011
I have not read Meat but did enjoy Kill Crew. I thought this book was just a 3 star read. It was creative and well written but wasn't particularly exciting, cathartic, or beautiful. Maybe I expected too much?
May 29, 2013
Another excellent read by D'Lacey. Garbage coming to life wasn't an easy subject matter to make credible, but D'Lacey did this well. Mother Nature gets back at mankind for how poorly we've treated her. She kicks some ass! I love me some great horror, and this one qualified.
December 17, 2012
Loved it! Exquisitely written - unusual for this genre in my opinion. Couldn't put it down, gripped me from page one right to the very end.
June 9, 2021
In Joseph D’Lacey’s eco-horror novel Garbage Man, the Earth has had enough of all the waste humanity is dumping. An unusual thunderstorm awakens a handful of little garbage creatures that seem to want to eat humans. Only one of them survives. Mason Brand, who is dedicated to serving Mother Earth, believes the creature represents the face of things to come, and hides and feeds it. It uses pieces of garbage from the nearby landfill to rebuild and redesign itself constantly, but it also needs flesh and blood. At first small animals, and then it moves on to bigger prey. This may just be the beginning of the end of humanity.
In many ways this is a monster horror story, with a massive “fecalith” made of garbage, and its helpers. There’s an interesting coterie of local characters. There’s the married couple who are each having an affair. There’s the stoner gamer guy who starts taking control of his life after he meets an interesting goth chick. There’s a sister-and-brother, one of whom wants to get the hell out of the town they’ve grown up with, and the other of whom is having sex with a married woman twice his age. There’s the nosy woman next door, except dialed up to 11.
My favorite detail is that the creatures use flesh and blood to help them grow, but they self-design using garbage. This first becomes evident when Mason’s critter decides it wants to be bipedal, like Mason. It’s fascinating to watch that happen.
It was a little weird that the critters won’t cross an entirely man-determined boundary (the county line) at one point. Why would they let that define them? Why would they even notice it? Tamsin’s dreams were also incredibly bizarre. (See spoiler below.)
Content note: menstrual blood, brief details of a man who is a pedophile, baby harm, slurs, animal death, masturbation, misogynistic and bigoted characters. Also, since abortions seem to be depicted as being like other forms of dumping trash, and the whole book is basically an anti-trash story, this book comes off as anti-abortion.
Original review posted on my blog: https://www.errantdreams.com/2021/06/...
In many ways this is a monster horror story, with a massive “fecalith” made of garbage, and its helpers. There’s an interesting coterie of local characters. There’s the married couple who are each having an affair. There’s the stoner gamer guy who starts taking control of his life after he meets an interesting goth chick. There’s a sister-and-brother, one of whom wants to get the hell out of the town they’ve grown up with, and the other of whom is having sex with a married woman twice his age. There’s the nosy woman next door, except dialed up to 11.
My favorite detail is that the creatures use flesh and blood to help them grow, but they self-design using garbage. This first becomes evident when Mason’s critter decides it wants to be bipedal, like Mason. It’s fascinating to watch that happen.
It was a little weird that the critters won’t cross an entirely man-determined boundary (the county line) at one point. Why would they let that define them? Why would they even notice it? Tamsin’s dreams were also incredibly bizarre. (See spoiler below.)
Content note: menstrual blood, brief details of a man who is a pedophile, baby harm, slurs, animal death, masturbation, misogynistic and bigoted characters. Also, since abortions seem to be depicted as being like other forms of dumping trash, and the whole book is basically an anti-trash story, this book comes off as anti-abortion.
Original review posted on my blog: https://www.errantdreams.com/2021/06/...
June 4, 2022
It's a bit too King-derived, but ultimately not bad. I think this would have been better had the characters received their tailored comeuppance from the specific trash that they'd thrown out early in the book (particularly Mr. Smithfield and his computer. I waited the entire book for something like that to happen and it never did). Almost all the characters are reduced to who they're screwing throughout the entire book and it got boring fast. I want to hear more about the sentient trash, not scene after scene of characters fucking.
MEAT remains my favorite so far!
MEAT remains my favorite so far!
March 11, 2023
3.5 stars
There is something going on at the town’s landfill. Something big. And Mason manages to egg things on in a very bad way.(Hard to do a good summary without giving too much away!)
It took a while for this to get going, and in fact, I wasn’t sure where it was headed originally. But it got much better for the last 2/3ish of the book and I was more invested once things really started happening. There were two couples, though, that I kept getting confused. Eventually, I (mostly) figured out the characters, but even toward the end, I often had to stop to figure out who was who, and which couple they were a part of. Once it picked up, it was good.
There is something going on at the town’s landfill. Something big. And Mason manages to egg things on in a very bad way.(Hard to do a good summary without giving too much away!)
It took a while for this to get going, and in fact, I wasn’t sure where it was headed originally. But it got much better for the last 2/3ish of the book and I was more invested once things really started happening. There were two couples, though, that I kept getting confused. Eventually, I (mostly) figured out the characters, but even toward the end, I often had to stop to figure out who was who, and which couple they were a part of. Once it picked up, it was good.
November 12, 2020
I wanted to like this more. The concept was fun, but buried too deeply in a sort of despair and grief to truly be entertaining.
December 22, 2013
Garbage man has some noteable qualities to it, nods to a very British bleak outlook, repressed deviancy, bizarre behaviours and a lovely little nod to other classic British writing with a character called Stig who is the groundsman looking after the dump. All very clever.
The thing that stands out throughout and separates D’Lacey from most other horror writers I have read before is his no frills descriptive writing. You never have more than needed to paint the picture needed, whether this is in connection with the setting, what is happening at any one given moment or anything to do with the characters themselves. As ever, the horror aspects are as nasty as they are cleverly written and D’Lacey shows absolutely no mercy when it comes to the characters he introduces from beginning through to the end. Garbage man is a great example of how it should be done.
The thing that stands out throughout and separates D’Lacey from most other horror writers I have read before is his no frills descriptive writing. You never have more than needed to paint the picture needed, whether this is in connection with the setting, what is happening at any one given moment or anything to do with the characters themselves. As ever, the horror aspects are as nasty as they are cleverly written and D’Lacey shows absolutely no mercy when it comes to the characters he introduces from beginning through to the end. Garbage man is a great example of how it should be done.
January 24, 2016
The amazing D'Lacey does it again. I have to admit, it took me a while to get going properly due to the disturbing nature of this book from the outset. Once fully immersed, it was difficult to put down due to the usual gripping nature of deep, dark and dirty horror, and the cracking pace of the action. Tender yet disgusting by turns, this work speaks volumes of wisdom about humanity and the predicament of our wasteful nature, yet offers hope for our ultimate transformation; the future of our species, and that of the Earth. D'Lacey's characters live and breathe, and one cannot help feel their horror during their torture by the composite, 'steampunk' creatures made from trash. Beautifully written, and with a lovely unexpected twist in its hybrid tail. Well done, A++. Superb. Get on and get that next book published!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2013
I got Garbage Man to read for review from a giveaway :)
I didn't read Meat but, but really liked this one. Though the beginnig was rather slow in action, it gother paced towards the end. The story is well written, interesting and scary. Really recommend this one if you like chills while reading :)
I didn't read Meat but, but really liked this one. Though the beginnig was rather slow in action, it gother paced towards the end. The story is well written, interesting and scary. Really recommend this one if you like chills while reading :)
February 13, 2009
Good. Solid. Not what I was expecting, and should have a more mainstream appeal than the equally good but more disturbing 'Meat'.
May 11, 2022
Third time I’ve read this.
First read was ten years ago
It gets better each read. This was my first time on audible
First read was ten years ago
It gets better each read. This was my first time on audible
April 3, 2011
I was sent this one, before the U.S. release - oh boy. This is great writing. I can't imagine bad writing coming from him.
April 21, 2013
Another superb exercise in terror from one of the finest British writers around.
January 30, 2013
Joseph D'Lacey is sick and twisted! I like that in an author. Although a slow start, I ended up loving this book, and telling my friends and co-workers about it.
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