Depraved

By: Bryan Smith

Narrated by: Angela Rysk

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Welcome to Hopkins Bend, the remote little Tennessee town where the backwoods inhabitants are cannibals and the local law operates a sex-trafficking ring. Unlucky travelers are frequently ensnared in the town’s sinister web. Some are held captive and tortured while others face even more gruesome fates. And beneath it all is the town’s darkest secret, the curse of the depraved and mutated Kincher clan.

Includes Depraved II: The In-Between-Quel, a short story that reveals the grisly fate of two characters from the novel. The story is as spectacularly gory as the novel itself.

©2012 Bryan Smith (P)2021 Fireside Horror

That was a twisted ride

Very fast paced and all over the place, but in a good way. Good read

eh

if i discovered this when i was younger i probably would've liked it but it was kinda predictable

Wow

Dam this was a really good book, some parts were hard to listen too but I feel the narrator really sold the book. Definitely recommend this one!!

Twist after bloody twist

I have been searching for a good book for a few months now and felt like I just was not going to find a non cliche book with a new type of writing. This book far exceeded what I was looking for! It is a type of bloody horror book that strives to give plot twist and very intricate story lines not just blood and gore. I have no idea how I don't know about this writer until now but I will be seeking more of their writings.

Extreme Horror at its Best

DEPRAVED by Bryan Smith is definitely an extreme horror novel that is not for all fans of horror but for those who enjoy their horror on the extreme side, DEPRAVED is right up there with the very best. The characterization and vivid settings is what makes DEPRAVED so much better than your average extreme horror book and makes it deserving of being mentioned among the very best extreme horror novels of all time.

An amazing bloody ride

I love horror, especially the extreme sort of horror of Edward Lee, Tim Miller and so on but none of them compare to Bryan Smith. Bryan Smith is my new favorite author. It isn't just his content that wows me but also the writing itself. A lot of authors in this genre of horror rely heavily on violence and disgust without having the writing talent to properly bring it to life, but not Smith. Bryan Smith's writing is far beyond others in this genre. The way he brings a story to life really amazes me every single time. Can't wait to get the next one!

Mostly pretty damn enjoyable.

As others have stated - the content of this novel is NOT for the faint of heart. If you like Stephen King and Joe Hill and that makes you think you can take anything, well, imagine each of those guys filthiest and goriest novel, ratchet up the perversion from a 4 to about an 11, then ratchet the writing quality down the same amount of notches and you get Bryan Smith's Depraved.

Bryan Smith isn't a *bad* writer per se, but he's... not very good either. That's not to say I didn't enjoy "Depraved", I mostly did. If you're the kind of person who finds humor and fascination while scouring the depths of perversion, Depraved is probably for you. I got the kind of kick out of it that one would get from watching an extremely gory (yet patently ridiculous and full of plot holes) European horror movie from the 70's... this book is the literary equivalent of a Joe D'Amato movie. You're not going into it expecting Bram Stoker Award level prose. Even with the repetitive wording, multiple deus ex machina moments, and extreme plot armor for the characters, the story was humorous and disgusting enough to keep me engaged.

The narrator was the worst part of the experience but she was not horrifyingly terrible or anything. She tried her best to do a good male "insane cannibal redneck" voice but mostly it made me laugh. Her female voices were pretty much fine though. Overall I can recommend this book for people like me who, after a lifetime of consuming any and all available horror media are desensitized to pretty much everything. Some creative splattery scenes and a plot that, while full of gaping holes, never lets up on the action. Recommend.

Enjoyable, but characters are inconsistent

Overall, the book was enjoyable and I read it completely. Some others say that Angela Rysk wasn't a good narrator. I disagree. I like her gravelly voice, and I think she did great with male characters. Minor spoiler alert! When I started seeing the inconsistent behavior of characters, my science fiction mind started thinking that maybe there was some sort of alien presence in the town that was making characters behave in odd and inconsistent ways. However, as I read more and more, I saw that I was overthinking things. In the end, it was just nothing more than plot holes and inconsistent character Behavior. Once again, spoiler alert! Take Michelle, who has been held captive for a long time, who has had her feet burned and who has not had a decent meal during her captivity. Yet, when she is released from her shackles, she is not weak. She is running around as if she has been working out for the last several months. Furthermore, she doesn't appear to exhibit any sort of traumatic stress toward Abby, who has been one of her tormentors. Instead, she takes over, and even bullies her in a way that is inconsistent with someone who has been in captivity. I could give examples about other inconsistent character behavior but in the end, the story was enjoyable if you like this sort of thing.

Great listen

Loved the story and the reader. Great pace . Would absolutely re co me nd as

Where are the other books?

I was disappointed that the rest of the series is not available. I would like to have liked to continue this series. The narrator was excellent. The story wasn’t perfect, but was entertaining enough to keep you interested.