Book: “Carnal Surgery” (2011)
Author: Edward Lee
Reviewer: Gabino Iglesias
My Rating: 9 out of 10

Edward Lee is the horror equivalent of John Steinbeck. Don’t believe me? Both writers possess a powerful, undeniable prose, both describe humanity in it’s purest form and both draw from a plethora of interests to create tremendous literature. However, Lee does something that sets him apart from all other authors out there: he takes a scalpel to all of society’s facades and exposes the awful, bloody, smelly mess that lies underneath.

In “Carnal Surgery,” Lee’s latest release from Deadite Press, the author offers us 11 brutal tales that will undoubtedly manage to get a psychological as well as a physical reaction from most readers. “Carnal Surgery” is the kind of book that crashes through the door to your consciousness, picks your sense of complacency up by the neck with one taloned paw and swings it around the room a few times before letting it fly and splatter against a wall.

The book starts with “The Seeker,” a story that pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book. This one is gory and surreal, like a feverish dream that’s too close to reality to be forgotten quickly.

“Please Let Me Out” is about a powerful woman with a penchant for fidelity that keeps her lover under lock and key. An almost pornographic treat that throws the reader into the backstabbing, sad world of every office in the world, this short tale has a conclusion that’s both expected and harrowing.

“The Order Of Nature” packs enough philosophy to force the thickest reader to think and enough death to make any horror fan happy.

“Goddess Of The New Dark Age” is a dream-like narrative that shows the reader everything that is wrong with the world and the way in which our searches can prove fruitless before plunging into the horrible inevitability of excrement-encrusted feet.

“Hands” is intense and has a noir feel to it that reads like the best crime fiction out there. The twist at the end is as surprising as anything else in the book and there’s enough psychology thrown in there to keep even a scholar satisfied.

“The Table” is almost flash fiction. Fast and brutal, this one is different because the worst parts are left to the imagination.

“Death, She Said” reads like a Dickensian tale while retaining all the elements that make Lee a must-read: exposed humanity and the worst kinds of psychological horror.

“The Piece Of Paper” is interesting and the implications are huge, but where it really shines is in the way Lee developed Scab, the main character: easy to understand, rough, nasty and way too real.

“The Blurred Room” is only for those that can look truth in the eye and stand their ground. A story woven around the mafia and child pornography, in the end it turns into a deliciously sadistic story of revenge and karma. Maybe I’m sick, but it got a smile out of me.

“Gut-Shot” is like a short breather full of possibilities and dark humor, although the descriptions in there would make you think twice about breathing too hard and catching a whiff of something on it’s way out of the body.

“Make A Wish” is like the grimy, blood-soaked ribbon at the end of the book. An exploration of how low human beings can fall, the tale eventually hints at a resolution that maybe represents what Lee thinks is the only way to fix this messy world.

Baby craniums being split open, a man with no legs eating his own scabs, perverted serial killers, gut-shots and brilliant sociopaths make this book a delightful read for fans of gut-wrenching horror. The gore, when combined with Lee’s amazingly sharp prose and vast knowledge on an array of fields that range from psychology and drug use to medicine and radiation make this book required reading for any horror fan.

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