[Book] Review: Son Of The Slob By Aron Beauregard

There are some horrors that are really scary and there are others that are disturbingly disgusting. After I read The Slob, I resolved not to read any more books by Aron Beauregard until I saw the sequel and curiosity became my undoing. Imagine mentally consuming the disgusting and gory lifestyle of a serial killer only to be told he has a son who is like him. Aron Beauregard clearly did not sit down intending to write a horror story that would make his readers comfortable.

Son Of The Slob is a nasty, outrageous and stomach-churning piece of splatter horror that will shock your senses from start to finish. The story follows a child whose life is anything but normal thanks to the horrifying legacy of his father, a notorious serial killer known as the Slob.

His father has left behind more than trauma and terrible memories. There is an entire twisted world surrounding the man and as the story unfolds, we begin to understand how deeply the father's world has affected the son. As I turned every page, the question that lingered in my mind was how much of the father's darkness has been passed down to the son and how much of it comes from the son's own choices. The book is not for every horror fan so remember to check trigger warnings before picking it up.

Genre: Body Horror, Splatterpunk, Horror Publication: July 2021 Pages: 220

My Review And Rating.

The ending of The Slob is satisfying in a way but I was curious about the female lead character, Vera, since she fell pregnant at the end of the first book. That was the pointer that the author had further plans for Vera. I delved into the sequel to know more. Aron Beauregard writes the kind of horror that are vile, nasty, and make you question why you even decided to read them in the first place. Son of the Slob is all of these and even more.

First, I would advise that readers shouldn't pick up this book expecting a fun, entertaining read. After all, it's splatterpunk horror but with a psychological angle that elevates the story and even this won't save sensitive readers from the gore. I thought I had reached my limit of depravity but Aron Beauregard says no and puts me through a disgusting rollercoaster ride.

For me, this book is a wild ride in extreme horror. The author throws everything at his readers without remorse or care. It is quick paced filled with extreme gore, violence, filth, murders, mutilation, ingesting of dead and live rodents, body horror and scenes that will make you wince every time you read about them. Also, the subplots revolve around themes like trauma, motherhood, guilt and whether evil can be inherited or passed down through genetics. There are moments when I had to pause because my brain needed a second to process what I had just read.

Son Of The Slob is a worthy sequel to its predecessor. Aron Beauregard outdid himself with this one. I loved how he writes the story to reveal how Vera’s motherhood experience becomes the source of horror. Also, he explores how the monster’s (The Slob) son (Harold) becomes a legacy, how he struggles with his identity, the abuse and cycle of violence and consequences of sexual violence.

The plot sequence is a fast one that accommodates all the nefarious activities that happened throughout the story along with all the creepy characters. Some other themes explored in this sequel are the nature of evil, generational trauma, and inherited perversion.

Harold is a unique character in my opinion. The way he evolves from a bald looking baby to a vile nasty child with crooked teeth and horrific skin conditions is uncomfortable. Still, I had a little empathy for him but it was for a brief moment because he is a living reminder of the trauma Vera went through at the hands of his father in The Slob.

I liked that the author doesn't write this sequel around the father but instead makes his presence almost like a shadow hanging over Vera and her family. The horror isn't just about what happened in the past but about how that past continues to contaminate the future.

This is by far the most disgusting and disturbing book I have ever read. Still, I have to give the author credit for committing to this madness. His writing style, narration and descriptive skill are top-notch. Son Of The Slob isn't trying to be a tasteful horror novel that quietly creeps under your skin and makes you sleep with the lights on. It wants to shock and disgust you and make you wonder how someone's imagination even got there.

Rating this book, I will give it 8.7 out of 10 stars. This is extreme horror at its most unapologetic. It is grotesque, disturbing, outrageous and definitely not for everyone. If you don't have the heart for it, don't read this book.

Images generated with Chatgpt using the e-book cover

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