Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

This is a brutal novella, and a brutal bunch of short stories come after.   Why?   Mostly because it's pretty realistic: Nate Southard shows you why people become violent, and then follows through with gore that makes you cringe.   It's horror that, for the most part, stays within the 'it could happen, or even be happening right now,' limitations.   (One of the shorts is horror with a dark fantasy element; the other has a sci-fi bent, which means it could be possible in the future, but not now.)

The true horror is the depths people will go to when they're in love, and when that love is perverted by violence, or rejection, or... something more fantastic.   (Again, the sci-fi story is an oddity, in which the violence and horror has more to do with greed, or duty, depending on how you choose to view the story.   There are a couple themes, but each one has an anomaly, or two, within the shorts.   In the sci-fi element, it's the chilling way in which life can be treated so carelessly that is horrific.   Yes, there is violence, but the true horror is the utterly realistic psychology, the way people think of others, taken to an extreme.)

And despite this being engrossing, and as horrific as promised, I couldn't get into it enough to rate five stars.   There was just something that didn't do it for me as much, as say, Red by Jack Ketchum.   Similar setup in the psychological warfare aspect, but Red just kept slowly creeping up the creepy factor in a way that this didn't manage for me.   (Reminder to self now that I think of it, though: reread Red.   Or, y'know, someone else can poke me if I forget and they want to see me freak the fuck out.   Seriously, Red makes me want to weep, and frightens me, and it's brilliant all at the same time.)

The main story, though, is about a young man, Dillon.   He's in love with Randy - and on the football team.   He is, quite understandably, in the closet.  Many high school teams, from what I understand, don't take well to this news.   Dillon's teammates don't.   They kidnap Dillon and Randy, and teach them a lesson.   Except that Kevin, the ringleader, has an uncontrollable rage.  Things spiral out of control, out of Kevin's control, and arguably, out of Dillon's control.   They are motivated by hate, and love, and the resulting clash is bloody and brutal and oh-so entertaining.   I can't remember why I put this down for months, but I was compelled to read something else.  I assume that I was expecting something that paralleled Red in the way that it ratcheted up the horror and was disappointed.   I forgot about the comparisons, came back, and finished.   

I'd suggest it, but I wouldn't go in comparing this to Ketchum.  I knew the story lines would be different, but I was hoping the technique would be somewhat similar.   They weren't, but they were close enough to be a satisfying read in the end.