Lex Allen's Reviews > Bloody Gullets

“Bloody Gullets,” by Michael Golvach contains a group of stories that run the gamut from psychologically entertaining to philosophically astute to whimsically provoking; all of which will rock your mind. Mr. Golvach is blessed with an ability to write provocative stories, with a sprinkling of blood and gore that clarify several abstruse concepts of the human condition. I loved each and every one of the eighteen stories (one of which has three parts) but my favorites were:

“Believer” — where a prisoner practices a reverse form of mind control on a guard to get himself released. Included here is the abstraction that “We are hamsters. All of us. Running at breakneck pace on our wheels, trying to outrun ourselves. But the wheel never stops turning until we drop from exhaustion or death. All of us.”

“The trick is to feel like you believe what you say, and then believing what you feel. And, once you’ve figured out how to make yourself believe what you say, as fantastic as it seems, making other people believe what you say is easy.” A crafty bank robbery, an engaging interrogation and a mind-boggling conclusion make “Led Dogs," one of my favorites.

“Infection Is The Game” is the last story in the book and ranks among my favorites as it describes the potentially horrific results of today’s explorations into mind-control technology. Mr. Golvach’s presentation of the concepts in this story is indicative of his authoring genius and understanding of the realities of the world in which we live.

These are stories I will read again and again. Each of them stands alone in character and concept, some are light, some are heavy, but they all provide insight into the human psyche and truths of human behavior.