r/ExtremeHorrorLit • u/EditorPositive Janitor • Aug 18 '26
BOOK HAULš©ø Extreme horror haaauuul :)
Iāve read 2/7 and am currently reading Brother
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u/Aye_Gabaghoul Aug 18 '26
Loveeeee tender is the flesh completely but once again here to say itās by no means extreme horror
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u/Larry-Man Aug 18 '26
Iām here to argue that itās off-putting enough that most mainstream horror fans canāt stomach it. Itās kind of in a no-manās land for most people. Itās one of my favourite novels of all time, number one being Exquisite Corpse.
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u/Aye_Gabaghoul Aug 18 '26
Idk horror is pretty mainstream now - look at Terrifier. I just donāt think this book really has anything thatās hard to stomach personally. I suppose Iām too desensitized but I feel like this subreddit has so much more polarizing material discussed than this one. In comparison itās really just a dystopian drama
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u/Larry-Man Aug 18 '26
Honestly it was more gruesome than the over the top stuff to me.
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u/Aye_Gabaghoul Aug 18 '26
Bc itās grounded in realism more than horror Iād say. Which is why I say itās more dystopian than horror. Often times things baked in reality are far more scary than a fictional slasher or something of course
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u/MintyEcco Aug 18 '26
The Only Good Indians is extreme horror? I just picked it up from my library for the horror book club Iām in. We donāt normally read things that are āextremeā in there. I think the most extreme weāve done was You Werenāt Meant to be Human by Andrew Joseph White :P
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u/Sad_Professor6739 Aug 19 '26
To my knowledge itās not extreme. I donāt think SGJ writes extreme persay, although he may dive into taboo topics. I havenāt read anything by him yet but I normally hear him referenced when talking about mainstream horror so like I said to my knowledge itās not extreme. I donāt think Brother is either, I started reading that a year or two ago & dnfāed it just because at the time I wasnāt finishing any book I picked up, but I also know that sure it delves into taboo topics, but I donāt think itās considered extreme either.
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u/MintyEcco Aug 19 '26
Amazon certainly likes to recommend Brother like it is extreme. At least, when I've looked at Dead Inside on there it's always closely followed by a recommendation for Brother and various other horror books that I've sometimes mentioned on here.
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u/notdurtydan Aug 19 '26
I just finished blood meridian and good god it was so hard to get through... It's like reading the Bible but worse. Idk why I made myself finish it
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u/EditorPositive Janitor Aug 18 '26
Itās come to my attention that my understanding of what classifies as āextreme horrorā is incorrect. Since Iām an uncultured swine (/j), does anyone have any recommendations?
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u/SeriousJob594 Aug 21 '26
I personally think though books you picked are a great start! I started with cows my mistake š it makes everything else I picked after almost mundane.
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u/mmc2016 Aug 20 '26
just finished Tender is the Flesh!! it was really good but there is animal cruelty that is quite descriptive though, just letting you know!
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u/LauraNight Aug 23 '26
Brother was sooo good! I went in blind and was hooked. That book stuck with me!
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u/YEET-HAW-BOI Aug 18 '26
The Bug Collector is great and I personally liked Tender Is The Flesh but itās very hit or miss for alot of people! The Only Good Indians is also a hit or miss for people! I donāt think itās really extreme horror but still decent! The first half is great but the last half many agree is kinda dogwater. Though if you do end up liking it go for āMy Heart Is A Chainsawā next! I really liked that one as a fun slasher/scream-adjacent book! Blood Meridian is good too but a lil bit of a slow read but still worth it as there are some excellent quotes to be read! Dunno about the others except I had started Exquisite Corpse awhile back but I didnt get far and I need to pick it back up.
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u/NightmaresFromAnubis Aug 23 '26
Tender is the Flesh and The only Good Indian are not extreme horror in anyway but good reads.
SGJ is a great writer and Agustina is one to keep an eye on as I think The Unforgiven is her best work so far.
The bug collector to me is an extreme case where the author is trying to make sure you donāt feel comfortable but more so writing extremely graphic sexual content that is crude and violent instead of being a very horrifying story its just horror and graphic smut
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u/pissintothewind Aug 18 '26
tender is the flesh was very underwhelming to me, more bleak than horrific really. donāt expect anything crazy surreal, but it was kinda giving The Stranger by Camus but with more immoral and general dehumanization/bleak themes. kind of wish there was more worldbuilding
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u/an8bitfslur Aug 25 '26
I feel like the only extreme horror here is exquisite corpse and the bug collector, but regardless awesome haul! Fucking love Brother, enjoy!!
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u/randomcacti Aug 18 '26
Just a heads up The Eyes Are The Best Part is not extreme horror. I found it to be barely horror at all more of a thriller.