Necro Files: Two Decades of Extreme Horror

When I discovered this book browsing Amazon, I thought to myself that I just HAVE to buy it.I am a fan of all sorts of different genres of fiction, but my favourite has to be horror. I started out with Richard Laymon when I was only fourteen, and have been looking for writers similar to him ever since. Stephen King has become quite a sedative in comparison, but that's a different ball game...I kept searching, and discovered writers like Edward Lee, Bentley Little, Bryan Smith, and other writers who satisfied my cravings for blood, guts, violence and perversity. I noticed some familiar names kept popping up on this particular short story collection, and while I was not disappointed with the writing quality and even the subject matters of this book, I wouldn't really call it "extreme horror".The first story in the book, written by George Martin, is NOT horror, but rather a sci-fi with a seedy touch to it. In my opinion it was the worst story in the book, not knocking Martin or anything. I got hooked on the Ice and Fire series, as many others have. I cannot deny that he is a great writer, but I honestly don't believe that story should have been featured in this book.I was only slightly disappointed with that. I wasn't really hooked on that one story, but from then on it was smooth sailing. One thing I noticed was that they weren't really horror stories.. well not to me, anyway. They were sick, twisted, perverted, violent and utterly hilarious at times, but it was nothing to get nightmares about. But then again I am really insensitive to it all.So if you enjoy short stories, and you love the bloodlust and the insanity of writers like Edward Lee, Wrath James White, Bentley Little then you will thoroughly enjoy it. You also may discover some writers that you've never heard of, which is always good. Some of these stories were banned, and it's always good to be able to enjoy a piece of literature without the big bad authorities of the world having any kind of say in it.Entertaining, great writing, hilarious and perverse... it doesn't get much better than that. If you have a weak stomach, however, steer clear. Or dare to read, be sure to arrange some psychiatric help beforehand.

Not exactly what I was expecting. A little too graphic for my taste. I realize that they are only stories but it would take a sick mind to think these up.

There are some duds here, certainly, but there are some excellent pieces as well. George R. R. Martin's piece is certainly one of them. He can write damned great horror, not just fantasy/medieval drama. I'll list my favorite below, the ones I'd truly recommend.Meathouse Man (George R.R. Martin)Night They Missed the Horror Show (Joe R. Lansdale)Abed (Elizabeth Massie)Godlfesh (Brian Hodge)Every Last Drop (John Everson)Addict (J.F. GonzalezAnd then the ones that I thought fell completely on their face.I Am He that Liveth and Was Dead...& Have the Keys of Hell & Death (Randy Chandler & T. Winter-Damon)Much like it's long and drug out title this story is pointless, goes nowhere, starts nowhere and just feels cheap.Diary (Ronld Kelly)This is easily the worst story in this collection. It feels like the author tried so hard to be as hardcore as possible with this, and it ends up coming off as almost comedic. It reads like something an angsty, misanthropic teenager would write into his diary at home after being bullied all day long at school. I found it near cringe-worthy.Pop Star In the Ugly Bar (Bentley Little)This one pains me, as I love Bentley Little, in fact his name being on the cover was one of the reasons I was interested in this one. But this again just like the above story feels so forced in an attempt to be hardcore and edgy. Little CAN write pretty decent to even amazing short stories when he wants to, this is unfortunately not even on the level of his usual work.

Audacious, fearless writing that's definitely not for the faint of heart. Contains some bona fide classics--Joe R. Lansdale's excellent, horrifying "Night They Missed the Horror Show," Elizabeth Massie's shocking zombie tale "Abed," and George R.R. Martin's "Meathouse Man"--as well as some great lesser-known stories that explore the taboo (like Brian Hodge's "Godflesh," about enlightened amputees, or Wayne Allen Sallee's "Lover Doll," a love story among the physically deformed).There's more than a few stories about oh-so-decadent clubs that cater to sexual extremism, a recurring theme that tends to get tedious, even in such resonant pieces like Nancy Kilpatrick's "Ecstasy." And with the exception of Ray Garton's gruesome-but-silly "Bait," there's little in the way of humor to lighten the selections, which may make the book rough going for some readers.Being an all-reprint collection, there's a good chance that hardcore horror devotees will have previously encountered many of the stories here, but for those looking for a solid starting point in the canon of uncompromising fiction, NECRO FILES delivers the grisly goods.

The most horrific of stories do not involve ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc., they involve real human beings doing awful things to other human beings. This collection is not for the squeamish reader -- there is bound to be something in here that will offend your sensibilities. For me that story was BAIT-- I will probably never go fishing again! And THE BURGERS of CALAIS will most likely cause me to never eat hamburger meat again.I feel dirty after reading this stuff -- how does one wash the dirt off of one's mind?

I'll admit I picked this up mainly because I saw George RR Martin had a story in it but having read it there is more to it than that. Most of these stories could almost fit in a regular horror anthology except there is something about each one that pushes it just over the line. There is a lot (perhaps too much) of sex with the dead or the undead. Most of the stories are quality and the stand outs include "godflesh" "lover doll" and "abed" but unfortunately there are a couple duds in the mix and that is why I have only given it three stars.

This had some very good stories. I enjoyed reading this book. Would say 80% of the stories were good the rest were pretty well ordinary.

Mein lieber Herr Gesangsverein, was für eine Sammlung. Wie in jeder Anthologie ist es ein auf und ab und zu Beginn gefiel mir das Buch eher weniger, doch dann wurde es besser und besser. Für den gewöhnlichen Horrorleser, der nur King und Koontz im Regal stehen hat und regelmäßig trotzdem den Tatort guckt, ist das Buch weniger zu empfehlen, aber wer auf harte Kost steht, sollte sich das Buch nicht entgehen lassen. Es ist eine bunte (Selten passte dieses Wort weniger als hier) Mischung aus hammerharten Geschichten, bei denen sich zwar die eine oder andere Wiederholung einstellt (Sehr viel Sex und das nicht nur mit den Lebenden, Snuff, Kannibalismus)aber das macht nichts. Viele der Geschichten haben tolle Twists. Wenn der Leser denkt, er weiß worauf es hinausläuft, kommt es ganz anders.Besonders im Gedächtnis bleiben die Geschichten von Ray Garton (Bitterböses, absurdes Ende), Graham Masterton (Sehr flüssig und überraschend unblutig... Bis auf den Schluss), J.F. Gonzalez (Toller Twist!!!) und Wrath James White (Nicht inbedingt mein Fall, aber... VERDAMMT! Das war heftig!) Das sind aber nur die absoluten Höhepunkte. Es gibt noch weitere gute Geschichten, mit denen ich schon nicht mehr gerechnet hatte. Aus einer niedrigen Bewertung werden somit also 4 Sterne! Ich hoffe, dass ähnliche Anthologien wie Sick things und Vile things mich genauso gut unterhalten, denn ich habe Blut geleckt!

To sum up my opinion of this book in as few words as possible: It was an extreme disappointment.I was expecting something along the lines of "Sick Things" or "Vile Things" both of which I enjoyed thoroughly and would love to reread. As for this one, I had a lot of trouble getting into the stories and some of them were just utterly pathetic. It starts out with a story by George R. R. Martin; my opinion: He should stick to writing fantasy and never again attempt to write horror. I bought this book to enjoy some splatterpunk (a.k.a extreme horror), but upon opening the book to the first story was treated to a only mildly twisted tragic romance story.The rest of the stories were little better, if at all, than the first one.I would not recommend this to anyone except maybe as a mild (extremely) introduction to extreme horror.All-in-all I found this to be a waste of my money.

Loved The Ugly Bar!

this book is so poorly put together it is massively dull with zero horror. It has some good authors but the stories must have been written when they were 14 years old as that appears to be the target audience. If you are hoping for Clive Barker, HP Lovecraft or even a Croenberg experience this is so far of the mark its untrue. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!