Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2

Publisher's Summary

Year's Best Hardcore Horror Volume 2.

Not your mama's best-of horror annual.

This year brings 22 more in-your-face stories that break boundaries and trash taboos, transgressive tales you can't "unread" (as Chuck Palahniuk says).

Some of the stories you'll find here are loaded with very graphic descriptions of violence, sex, and depravities, while others may contain only one shocking moment of brutality. In others, the hardcore aspect may be less graphic and subtler than you might expect. Some of these quieter tales offer the listener some time to recover from the more disturbing ones preceding.

Table of Contents

Michael A. Arnzen "55 Ways I'd Prefer Not to Die"

Jasper Bark "Bed of Crimson Joy"

Christa Carmen "The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell"

Marvin Brown "The Field"

Adam Cesare "Please Subscribe"

Matthew Chabin "Father of Dread"

Jose Cruz "American Gods, American Monsters"

Andrew Darlington "Coming of the Darkula"

Paolo Di Orazio "The Contract"

Stefanie Elrick "Mother's Nature"

William Grabowski "Out Hunting for Teeth"

Sarah L. Johnson "Little Sister, Little Brother"

Eric LaRocca "Miss_Vertebrae"

Alessandro Manzetti "Kozmic Blues"

Tim Miller "Backne"

Alexandra Renwick "Redux"

Bryan Smith "Implant"

Jeremy Thompson "The Hallowfiend Remembers"

Tim Waggoner "A Face in the Crowd"

Wrath James White "Ownership"

Stephanie M. Wytovich "On This Side of Bloodletting" & selected poems from "Brothel"

Full list of authors includes: Stephanie M. Wytovich, Paolo Di Orazio, Sarah L. Johnson, Adam Cesare, Michael A. Arnzen, Jeremy Thompson, Stefanie Elrick, Eric LaRocca, Wrath James White, Tim Miller, Bryan Smith, Tim Waggoner, Alessandro Manzetti, and Jasper Bark

©2017 Comet Press (P)2017 Comet Press

Bob @ Platypire Reviews

​*I requested and was granted an audible code for this audio edition*
This. This is not for the faint of heart, y’all. It’s a deliciously macabre collection. I was super into a lot of them, and started off making short reviews of each story, but only got through 3. Sorry! Part of the reason I like audio books is so that I can do household chores, drive, go for a walk or jog, or go fishing while I listen to the book, so I wasn’t able to keep track. I WILL give you the few I did get, though! With no further ado:

Chapter 4 is AMAZING. I think it was called Gods and Monsters. The Editor’s dogged obsession was intriguing to listen to, and I did not see that twisted ending coming! Very well done, and super creeptastic. Quite possibly my favorite of the entire collection.
Chapter 5, Mother Nature, is trippy. It’s very well written and puts me in the mindset of a fever driven nightmare. I liked it!
Don’t remember what chapter this one was, but it was too much for me. Not the gore or language, but the sex got too violent for me. Not saying there was anything wrong with it, and it felt well written, but I ended up skipping the ending because I’m a wuss lol.
Overall, this is a mixed bag. Some murder, some paranormal, some BDSM, all horrifying and beautiful in their own rights. Some weren’t exactly for me, but I’d be hard pressed to find a collection that WAS made up entirely of books any one person loved. And even the ones that weren’t up my alley were well written and I knew they were good.

The narrator did a wonderful job, he seemed to know all of the stories and had a steady pace. Nice voice and tension, as well.
If you like horror, REAL horror and tales from the darkest corners, if you can handle gore, terror, and short servings of all of these – and if you are over 18! – I would definitely recommend this for you.

Bob says: 4 Platypires!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Not as good as Volume 1, but still good!

Any additional comments?

I seem to remember enjoying Volume 1 of this series more than I did Volume 2. Perhaps the first batch of stories spoke to me more than the second batch! As per usual with anthologies such as this one, some of the stories really tickled my fancy while others I ended up skipping. I particularly didn't enjoy the very short poem type stories. There is a time and a place for two sentence stories, and it's not in a horror anthology, at least not for me. Joe Hempel delivers a fantastic performance, as always!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Horror at its finest collection

Where does Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Great horror trilogy with a unique cast of characters and impeccable narration.

Have you listened to any of Joe Hempel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Strong, commanding performance as always from Joe.

Any additional comments?

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great overall

Any additional comments?

These collections from Comet are great listens. Look forward to the next one. Hope to hear Adam Howe in the next volume.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Hardcore Plus

What did you like best about this story?

While some of the titles were a bit over the edge, none of them were shocking. I enjoyed most of the short stories. None of the had the time to build a real momentum of suspense.

What does Joe Hempel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joe Hempel did a was very good and at times had a real opportunity to express the feelings of the story. His limitation was the material itself. Some of it lacked the substance to allow express.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I found part very interesting, but personally, compilations just do not give me time to get into a storyline. I received this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Any additional comments?

Short stories I found extremely interesting were "The Field" By Marvin Brown, "Redo" by Alexandra Renwick, "The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell by Christa Carmen.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good Anthology

This is one of the good anthologies around but enjoyed volume 1 more. It does contain disturbing, sexual, gore, bizarre and even a ghost. It was hard to choose one favorite one as I could pick out several and leave that for you to decide. I always enjoy Tim Miller, Adam Cesare, and Byran Smith and found a couple more authors I’m going to check out Recommend to anyone who enjoys short horror stories. . I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you!!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

solid collection

great narration and varied story telling with varying levels of horror both graphic and just uncomfortable. recommended.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great horror anthology!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, I really liked Joe Hempel as a narrator. So I was quick to go for this one. Granted, I also love the horror genre. The stories were all pretty solid, if short. Some I felt should be much longer to allow for character development and momentum. Some felt like they were over just when they were getting started. All in all, if you like horror short stories, definitely pick this one up!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

All the right ingredients for any horror fan

I received a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

These are twenty one short horror stories from indie authors. They all explore different sides of horror: from psychological to gore, and in some occasions with a mix of science-fiction too, those were my favorites.

I am not usually one to go for short stories, but I was curious about this one. And it was a hell of a listen! Some stories touched me more than others, but on the whole I greatly enjoyed this book. There are great authors at play here, with the capability to evoke very vivd images on the listener. Warning for sensitive listeners: there several stories with very explicit sex scenes, including a couple of snuff stories. Not for the light of heart, but I have to say that to succeed in writing horror, one has to be bold, and these authors are.

I especially enjoyed "The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell" by Christa Carmen, "Please Subscribe" by Adam Cesare, "Little Sister, Little Brother" by Sarah L. Johnson, "Miss_Vertebrae" by Eric LaRocca, "Backne" by Tim Miller, and "Implant" by Bryan Smith. Not that the others were not good but these were the ones which resonated most with me. Definitely, this compendium of horror stories has everything for everyone, and it is a must listen for any fan of the genre.

Some of the stories have some notes about how they were conceived. I found this interesting and inspiring, since I am always curious about the creative process in writing a story.

Joe Hempel's narration was perfect for these stories, even though I have to say that I have not yet found a book in which Hempel did not deliver a superb narration. But one can feel that he really enjoys this kind of stories and transmits this to the listener. He impersonated each one of the characters, making them unique, transmitting their emotions and bringing them closer to the listener. I love love Hempel's narrations, with him the good ride is guaranteed.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Graphic and gritty

This is a eclectic mix of short hard core horror stories and poems. It is gritty, graphic, gruesome and often disturbing. From demons into BDSM, graphic dismemberment, serial killers, gross fae and alien invaders; these no holds barred tales from a variety of authors will appeals to the hard core loves. Even though I found some of the tales were a bit much for my tastes, the great narration kept me listening. Hempel did a great job of entertaining and definitely brought the horror of these 21 tales to life.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Simply not as good as volume 1

I really really enjoyed volume 1....Nearly every story was a hit

I ended up skipping a fair few of these stories in volume 2 half way through just down to simple boredom

This was far less shocking than the first too

This is defo the B side of stories

Very let down :(