This one is extreme!

I am the first to admit that I am not a fan of extreme horror. However, I decided to expand my reading this year and this one was the first of my choices in that endeavor.

Jack, like most young boys, idolizes his father, even after discovering his dark secret: He's a serial killer! Soon, Jack finds himself helping his Dad in his crimes. And, trust the trigger warnings for this one: the crimes are intense! If you can handle the gruesome descriptions, you will probably enjoy this book.

The author manages to make Jack (and even his father) more likeable than you would think possible. His writing is very descriptive and this short book moves at a fast pace. The narrator brings the story to life and enhances the book.

If extreme horror is your thing (and you can handle it!) you will "enjoy" this book. For me? I am now definitely convinced that I am NOT a fan of the genre!

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Deeply emotional and intense!

Rural Decay by Jason Nickey
🌟🌟🌟🌟🪓 (4.5 rating)
This is an intense, splatter punk horror novella! It’s a little hard to review because my jaw was wide open the whole story, but the book is very well written!! It’s a rough one with lots of triggers and tough/dark scenes. It’s very descriptive, which sometimes made several of the scenes hard to read.
This story follows Jack, as a young boy living with his father, and the exploits that his father has within his lifestyle. Jack looks up to his dad and wants to follow in his footsteps, which is not a pleasant path. There’s lots of emotional drama in this story!

The narrator did a great job too!

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Fantastic narration, extreme horror, five stars!

Oof the narration helps bring this extreme horror story to life, gripping you in an unrelenting chokehold from beginning to end.

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gross factor

Jason Nickey has a way of writing that it beautifully unsettling and disturbing. He hits so many taboo emotions and somehow makes you feel somewhat bad for the character Jack even tho Jack is well....Jack.

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A short, but brutal listen.

There's a reason I've been hearing so much about Jason Nickey... this story. This story is bizarrely heart-warming for being a story about a serial killer and his father-idolizing son. The narrator brings the characters and their hearts into the performance. Frok the innocence, awe, and child-like fascination of the son to the caring, yet straightforwardness of the father, who is a man's man. I can't go into the story much more without spoiling anything... but definitely worth the listen. Not for the weak of stomach nor the closed of mind, as any good extreme horror or splatterpunk is.

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1 person found this helpful

One shocking turn after the next!

Jason Nickey slayed me with this book. The writing was fast paced and engrossing, making me want to go "just one more chapter." This is a tale of a bond forged between father and son with more twists and turns than a country road.
Fans of extreme horror will love this one! And the narrator brought this story to life perfectly. 10/10.

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an experience

Well it's official, Jason Nickey is now on my must read list. If he writes it, I will read it. This novella was delightfully deranged. That's it, that's the review. We good? No? Let's talk about it.

Imagine you're a little boy being raised by a single father, a man you adore and idolize. In your eyes, he is the epitome of masculinity. You love your daddy and he loves you. The only thing you don't love is when he locks you in your room to have some private time. You don't know what he's up to, but you hate being away from him. Why does he need private time, you must know! (Kids, ugh lol) One day your curiosity gets the best of you and you decide to find out what you're missing out on. Because you're a little kid, your escape tactics come from cartoons and whatnot. You make a rope out of sheets tied together and try to use that to climb out your window. You overestimate your knot tying ability and end up falling on your butt. That was the one laugh I got out of this impossibly bleak story. Anyway, you sneak around until you find your father in his murder shack (you don't know that's what it is yet). You hear screaming and grunting and see your daddy doing things to a strange woman that you've only seen in daddy's secret movies. The woman sees you before your daddy does and she begs you to help her, but she does not understand your reverence for your father or your own fascination with this scene. Your daddy does though. He understands too well. When he invites you to participate in the second half of his private time, your life is forever changed.

Let's talk about the audiobook for a moment. Mark Royse's voice and inflection are perfect for this tale. While the beginning of this story is told from the perspective of a child, it is written in simplified but not childish language and Royse does not do a kid voice. His narration progresses with Jack's growth. It's difficult to describe, but it fits perfectly. I really enjoyed Royse's narration and hope to hear more from him. You hear that, extreme horror authors? Pick Royse.

This story includes lots of sensitive topics, so be sure to look up content warnings if you need them. Or send me a message. I am only not including them in my review because some are a bit spoilery. I personally don't mind spoilers, but I also don't want to ruin the experience for anyone else. And this book IS an experience. You have been warned.

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utterly devastating

This is my second listen and I finally feel confident enough to leave a solid review. Jason Nickey is absolutely phenomenal, hands down one of the most underrated indie horror authors ever. If you can stomach it, listen to this excruciatingly perverse tale of love, loss, and acceptance.

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