Playground

By: Aron Beauregard

Narrated by: Lila Kerry

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Once in a lifetime

Three low-income families have been given a handsome retainer to join Geraldine Borden for a day at her cliffside estate. All the parents must do to collect the rest of their money is allow their children to test out the revolutionary playground equipment Geraldine has been working on for decades. But there’s a reason the structures in the bowels of her gothic castle have taken so long to develop—they were never meant to see the light of day.

When a band of dysfunctional children is suddenly thrust into a diabolical realm of violence, they must grow up instantly to have a chance at survival. Will they find a way to put their differences aside, or be swallowed up by the insidious architecture all around them?

"With Playground, Aron Beauregard transcends himself, delivering a genuinely chilling, uncomfortable novel that will make even the most jaded horror fan squirm. A harrowing, relentless read that left me breathless." (Brian Keene)

Warning: This book contains graphic content. Listener discretion is advised.

©2022 Aron Beauregard (P)2023 Aron Beauregard

Brutal and heartfelt horror

Wow, this book is a game changer for Aron Beauregard. I feel like it’s equally as important as his seminal release The Slob, if not a tad bit more so simply for the fact that it has had more “mainstream” success and appeal.

Don’t get it twisted though, this book is one mean motor scooter, and it will break your heart with how cruel it can be to our hapless set of children who have the harrowing tasks of trying to make it out alive of these ingeniously nefarious traps. Imagine an updated Saw without the lessons, and throw in kids and you’re on the right track.

To me though, what sets this apart from the pack is the books immense heart. I broke down crying throughout numerous passages. I truly cared for many of these children and quietly begged Aron in my head to let my favorite characters make it out of this hellish world intact. Did he listen? I can’t tell you that, but what do you think?

Before wrapping up I do need to touch base on Lila Kerry. Her narration is impeccable. She blasted onto my radar with the double whammy narration of The Slob and Son Of Slob and let me tell you, she doesn’t disappoint! You could hear all of the prep she put into this role. I was impressed throughout with her portrayal of the young boys, a make or break thing that she passed with flying colors. I believe I read that she trained on that especially.

This book is an essential read, not just for horror fans but for book readers in general. Mark my words, this book is going to shoot Aron into the stratosphere more than he already is.

Highly recommended!

a beautiful mixture of terror and disgust

chapters 6 and 7 beware you may throw up. but my God is it worth it. the descriptive power of this author is utterly amazing in every way. building a gorey scene like a master. this book is a must listen or read for horror lovers. I really don't understand the negative reviews. I've loved horror EVERYTHING since very young. and I'll tell you, dear reader, this was a genuine experience that had me laughing, cringing, gagging, and very closely listening to the suspense, the sadness, the anger, the disgust, and the overall creepiness of this tale. 10/10. will be buying more from this author. I see why he got the splatter punk award.

Gross… I loved it.

If you’re even looking at this book, you know what you’re getting yourself into. I hope.
The characters are so well written and I was enthralled from start to end.
I’m off to go give my siblings a long hug now.

Not for the Faint of Heart

If you aren’t experienced with extreme horror, check your triggers. This was a well-written, devilish delight that I would highly recommend. This gauntlet of horror displays the brain-bending depravity of humanity, while also showcasing the strength, resilience, and intelligence people forget exists in children. That first chapter though…vomit!

Amazing!

Loved this one! Geraldines story was my favorite part of the book it was so sick! I wish there was a whole book just about her, I kept stopping work to stand still and listen it was captivating, appalling, & gross.

Extreme horror on a new level

I've been looking to get into more extreme horror novels, and this was a title I saw brought up a few times on Reddit. This is something quite unique, hard to say what I'd compare it to, like it's not a Battle Royale to Running Man situation, in a way I'd compare it more with the anime Corpse Party and the video game Heavy Rain.

It's essentially a story about broken adults who have put their kids through their own problems. The book takes it's time to establish the characters mostly the antagonistic people, to show what makes them tick, and for the reader/listener to absolutely despise these evil horrible people who want to subject children to this unthinkable scenario of deadly traps.

The violence is as graphic as can be, and when it's about a group of kids trapped in a series of traps designed after playgrounds, it's a very harsh book. I'd say at some point later on, I was starting to feel numb to the violence, but for the rest of the day, I felt like some kind of doomer, it really rattled me to my core.

This is my introduction to Aron Beauregard, from what I've heard, he really does his best to write characters first and make you care before the grisly torments begin. He's definitely a good character writer. This is a story that would be nearly impossible to adapt into a movie, like it would be very expensive and nobody would invest in it.

As for the narration, I couldn't imagine anyone doing a better job. The woman doing the narration says some of the most disgusting things I've heard in a while. Like a great book narrator, she puts different voices to the characters, and really puts on an acting performance. For a book so disturbing and gruesome, she really treats the text like she means every word the author put to page.

Intelligent splatterpunk, as expected!

Not my favorite AB story, but another great entry into the Beaureverse! I was walking my dogs during one section and had to stop and dry heave. You got me Aaron. You got me. :)

Like an extreme mashup of Squid Game, Battle Royale, and Willy Wonka, Aaron delivers a fun story with inspired villains and context and subthreads that will make you think… when you’re not gagging.

I knew he was going to hit a nerve from the first minute when one of the worst inventions in the world is focused on and, in a way, drives the plot a lot more than I expected.

The only thing that killed it for me was the extreme overuse of double alliterations. (Massive melons, generous gore, filthy flaps, etc.)

I would be appreciating the deep context and brilliant commentary and then it felt like a high school story written by Dr. Seuss. On the bright side though, you could turn it into a drinking game!

By no means did this ruin the story; this is clearly a “me” problem that my neurosis wouldn’t let me ignore.

Fun, nasty, poignant, intelligent, and lots to chew on if you can stomach it. I will continue to be a HUGE fan.

Lila did an AMAZING job with the narration, breathing life into each character and giving them each just enough. Wonderful delivery!

Keep up the great work to both!

Quality Extreme Horror

PLAYGROUND by Aron Beauregard is so much more than just an extreme book just to be extreme which makes it quality extreme horror. There is no debate, PLAYGROUND is extreme while it still delves into parenting both when done correctly and when done wrong. Some people who become parents even though they never wanted to be while others want to be parents but never get the opportunity and the different ways people deal with those things.

Interesting but lacked connections

The overall story plot was fascinating and twisted, definitely not for weak minds (like many have said). However, I found it hard to connect to some of the child characters. I feel that we didn’t quite get to know them the way we should have considering the story plot was to kill them off. I just feel it would’ve made for a better story if we could love the characters before losing them.

difficult to listen to for sure !

so never have I ever read a book with more nauseating descriptions on S/A and child deaths , so if you are squeamish and easily sensitive to very described literature do yourself a favor and do not read this book . 😅 however with that aside this story was definitely interesting and kept my attention , didn't expect half of what I heard in the story and it was definitely original ! I am a horror fan and usually not disturbed by much but the way this author can literally paint a picture with his words by using all senses descriptors there was definitely a few times I was rattled or sick by the imagery forced into my brain . other wise definitely original and definitely kept me wanting to know how it ended .