I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Gulp by Alan Baxter Published by Self Published on January 12 2021
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 243
Format: eARC
Source: Author
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The nitty-gritty: Fancy some Eldritch nightmares? Then look no further. The Gulp is the perfect combination of weird, brutal and creepy.
The Gulp has the honor of being my first horror book of 2021, and folks, it was a good one! Alan Baxter is a well-known Aussie horror author, and I had not heard of him when he asked me to read his book. But I’m so glad I accepted it for review, because I am now an Alan Baxter fan for life. The Gulp is a collection of five interconnected stories that revolve around the fictitious Australian town of Gulpepper, or “the Gulp” as the locals call it. Gulpepper is a small town that sits on a craggy cliff overlooking the ocean, a town where things are a little on the, um, strange side. It’s not the kind of place you want to visit if you don’t have to, and you definitely don’t want to spend the night there. As one local says, “the Gulp swallows some people whole and spits others out.”
Baxter’s stories are steeped in Lovecraftian, cosmic horror and populated with strange people and even stranger creatures. Anyone who spends the night in the Gulp has nightmares of horrific, tentacled beings falling from the sky into the ocean. There’s also a nasty crime element present in the town, which added a nice touch of grittiness. All five stories are loosely linked and various characters cross over and make appearances in other stories.
Here’s a quick recap of each story:
OUT ON A RIM
Newbie trucker Richard accompanies George on a trip to Gulpepper, as George is about to retire and Richard will be taking over his route. George has been to the Gulp before and warns Richard that nothing good ever happens there. George’s advice? Get in and get out, before dark if possible. But when their truck breaks down and they find themselves stranded overnight, Richard brushes aside George’s warnings and heads for town to get a bite to eat. As you might imagine, things don’t go too well for Richard and he gets way more than he bargained for.
This was a fantastic opener and really set the tone for the rest of the stories. Baxter drops hints about the weirdness going on in the Gulp, and the story was unexpectedly violent and disturbing, which really prepares the reader for the stories to come.
MOTHER IN BLOOM
Mother in Bloom is much different but just as good. A brother and sister who live in the Gulp with their invalid mother have just found her dead in her bed. Because Maddy and Zack aren’t yet eighteen, they don’t want her death discovered, otherwise they will be forced into foster care. Instead of reporting it to the authorities, they decide to leave her in bed until they can figure out a way to dispose of the body. As you might guess, this is a terrible idea, and things quickly spiral out of control.
If you love body horror and are a fan of Little Shop of Horrors, then I imagine you’ll really love Mother in Bloom. This story literally made my skin crawl, it was delightfully creepy!
THE BAND PLAYS ON
Two couples backpacking across the continent end up at the home of a popular local band called Blind Eye Moon, after the band members invite them to an exclusive afterparty. But when everyone starts doing shots of a weird, green liquor, one of the backpackers realizes that something is very wrong. All he wants to do is leave, but his friends insist on staying. Even worse, his friends are changing…
This story was good, but it was my least favorite of the bunch. I did love the weird, dream-like vibe, though, and once again, Baxter’s out of town characters dream about the creatures falling from the sky. This had a bit of The Lost Boys feel to it, too!
48 TO GO
Dace works for the local mob boss Carter and is in the process of delivering a large shipment of marijuana to him, when he’s robbed at gunpoint. Carter isn’t too pleased and offers Dace two choices: pay Carter sixty grand for the drugs he lost, or wind up buried in a ditch. And he has forty-eight hours to find the money. In desperation, Dace decides to target an old, cash-hoarding couple in town, but his plan backfires in a big way.
I loved this story! Dace is an incompetent idiot, but boy was he an entertaining character. Both brutal and funny, I’m calling this one “Pulp Fiction meets Lovecraft.”
ROCK FISHER
A local fisherman catches something strange one day while fishing off the rocks, and decides to bring it home with him. The odd, egg-shaped blob is calling to him, urging him to protect it. Troy Mackay desperately wants a family of his own, but maybe this thing could be a good substitute? Little does he know that by taking it out of the ocean, he’s setting events in motion that can’t be stopped.
This story made my skin crawl! I’m a fan of body horror and Baxter did a great job with it here. We also see the overall story arc of the collection come full circle with the conclusion of Rock Fisher, as Baxter brings back characters from his other stories and suggests something big is about to happen.
I do hope Alan Baxter is planning on writing more Gulp stories, as it seems he has barely scratched the surface of what might be going on there. Trust me when I say, I would never want to visit the Gulp myself, but I’ll happily read more stories.
Big thanks to the author for providing a copy for review.
I’m dipping my toes into the horror genre more and more each year and I have realized I really like horror short stories and this collection looks very promising! It’s my first time hearing of the author as well so thanks for bringing attention to his works! 😀
Maryam recently posted…Mid-Month Reading Update | January 2021
His style is more on the graphic violence end of things, but it’s much more than that too. Very creepy and well written:-)
Lovecraftian cosmic horror and tentacled beings: I would read this book on those premises alone, but your synopses of the individual stories turned this into a HIGH priority! 😉
Thanks for sharing!
It was so much fun, and a nice surprise:-)
This seems like a book I would enjoy reading. Well, as much as a horror book can be enjoyed anyway. 😛 Fab review, Tammy.
Debjani Ghosh recently posted…Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson – Review | Blog Tour
It’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s worth checking out if you’re curious:-)
I’ve had this on my radar for a while. This review has me knocking it up. Awesome review
I hope you get the chance to read it:-)
I’m a total wimp when it comes to horror but this one sounds amazing. I’m glad you enjoyed it great review. I’m adding it to my TBR list. Thanks for sharing!!! Have a great week.
Thanks Mandy!
Fabulous review, Tammy:). I love the fact that the stories were interconnected and Baxter is clearly a wonderful writer. While I can cope with some darker fantasy – this sounds like it would be out of my comfort zone. But it sounds really cleverly written and plotted. Glad you enjoyed reading it!
It’s going to be out of a lot of readers’ comfort zones, it was even a bit much for me at times, lol.
I’m excited to start this one soon. Your review is very encouraging!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Books From The Back Log #59 ~ Saving Horses In WWII
Looking forward to your thoughts, Laura!
I love the concept! Short stories might not be for me, but I do better with those “interconnected” types that form a whole. Glad you found a new favorite author!
Me too, I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did:-)
I don’t read much horror but I have to admit that this sounds really good. I like that all of the stories are interconnected.
Yes, that really added to my enjoyment, the way they were connected:-)
I’m actually almost finished reading another Lovecraftian horror anthology. Glad to hear how much you enjoyed this one.
Oh cool. I’m always drawn to Lovecraftian stories for some reason:-)
Don’t think this one is for me but I’m glad you enjoyed it! And to enjoy a collection overall as much as this it must have been really stellar.
I was really impressed! And I’m pretty pick about horror.
I also don’t tend to veer towards horror but I like that these have a connection and I do think that horror stories really lend themselves to short stories so if I was going to be tempted it would be .something like this.
Lynn 😀
Lynn Williams recently posted…Friday Face Off : An Alien Encounter
I think because they are interconnected, it made a big difference in my enjoyment.
I’m about to start this and your review makes me even more excited! 🙂
This one sounds really good, like the kind of horror story that I used to read all the time. Great review!
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