The Sweet Scent Of Liver by Eli Wilde

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* Thank you to @netgalley and @booksgosocial for providing a digital copy of The Sweet Scent Of Liver in exchange of a honest review.

Wow that was weird! I don't read a lot of short stories, but I liked this one because it's all in the same universe. The body horror was ok for me, but the story in general wasn't a favorite. I liked the Sci-Fi aspect and would have loved to see more of it.

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Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for access to this text.

A collection of short stories set in an apocalyptic universe with an original twist, The Sweet Scent Of Liver takes you on a journey that feels somewhat like a fever dream as you see beings morph into different forms known as Shardeds. I loved the use of illustrations throughout which just added to the horrifying ordeals spread out amongst the pages. The tone of religion was deliciously weaved in throughout. These short stories are unpredictable and there’s no guessing into the imagination of Eli Wilde - the only given is the nightmarish nature of what’s to come.
The first story in the collection was my favourite. The idea of dream sequencing is disturbing enough on its own, but this tale really makes it horrifying. Whilst I enjoyed this first story so much, I felt that it dipped the further I got into the collection. I felt as though I watched the world from afar, but I wanted to be right amongst it like I was in the beginning. There was a disconnection for me the further I got in.
Overall, this was an enjoyable collection of short stories worth reading, especially if you’re wanting to step into a dark and different world.

~ e-book provided by NetGalley after publication

The Sweet Scent of Liver weaves horror and gore with a foundation of divinity in a rich religious tone. This entire read felt like a fever dream, shifting through different periods in time with characters that are more that what we first see. What began as the 'hot place' in a renounced priests dreams developed into a living hellscape with sharded horrors roaming the streets. There is no way of predicting where these short stories will go, and this is what makes it so alluring - I finished within a day. The images within these pages only add to the dense atmosphere of Eli Wildes' imagination. I would love to read more one day.

The Sweet Scent of Liver is a collection of short stories that are intertwined in a horrifying apocalyptic universe. While reading this I felt I was emerged into a world relatable to Hellraiser and Alice in Wonderland. It was a terrifying fever dream read, unsure of what nightmares were next to come, and I could not stop reading it. I wanted to learn more, see where the story would take me. You follow a few main characters form human to sharded from the very beginning of the end, what their experiences are which is mostly painful journeys of violence, transformations, confusion.

A reasonably entertaining collection of short horror stories.
“Don’t you realise everyone is dying? From the very first moment you are conceived, Fergus, you are dying."

These stories are set over a time span of one hundred years. All were well written and explore muliple themes but all have one major thing in common, these strange twisted creatures called the Sharded. You will have to read this to find out about
these wicked beasts. Some of these stories were fairly graphic and bloody, which for me is no bad thing.
The only reason for me awarding so few stars, was this books inability truly draw me into its world. I just didn't connect on any level.

Watch how rapidly his flesh transforms into so much more, a sharded thing of beauty.'

So in all, this was a fun read and may well be worth you checking out. Especially if you're a fan of short horror stories and odd creatures.

Interesting and creepy - but not for me! I think a lot of people will really love this collection. Each story was okay and definitely horrifying along with the illustrations. For me it was too much gore so if you love bloody things when this will work for you.

My favourite was the first story but overall I didn’t love it.

The Sweet Scent of Liver really lives up to the promises of its premises (and of its awesome cover), it's bleak, dark, violent, often gross, and occasionally poignantly sweet.
I loved the religious aspect, it added to the overall Event Horizon vibe I got from the novel (the story doesn't have too much in common with the movie I'm really talking vibe here). If you like a story that packs a lot of action in a small package without feeling rushed at all that's exactly what Wilde delivers here.
For my sex repulsed peeps; there is one graphic "sharded" procreation scene which is really repulsive and intended as such (I assume) but otherwise there really isn't really any spice.

this book was absolutely horrifying and Ioved it ! Each stories made my skin crawl and some of them really put a shiver down my spine and this is exactly what I was looking for.

An interesting story full of twists, turns, fun characters and overall a book I would consider reading time and time again.

I wish dream sequencing was real so I could peek into Eli Wilde's mind.
Usually, short stories are not my thing, especially ones that interconnect as I feel like we could've just gotten one story and that's that. But in 'the sweet scent of liver' it makes sense! Each story gives us a different perspective of what the world had become, and it all comes full circle in the end.
Honestly, I NEED more of this! I want to know how things progress as time goes by and things get worse.
The writing was superb, graphic, bloody, horrifying. And those illustrations will haunt me for a while.
I'm officially part of the Eli Wilde fan club.

This is one of the most vile books I have read, totally sick. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Ewww. That’s all I can say. This book is gross. I have no idea how someone can come up with all this messed up stuff but 🤮. I’m one for reading a gross horror book. But this was out of this world. I was really hoping it was going to be some zombie apocalypse style but this was just confusing. The sharded sound (and look) horrifying. The stories themselves intertwine together but I cannot get over the first nightmare. So disgusting. And the ending when they made “Snake”… come on seriously? Definitely not worth the time I took to read it

Ah, I don’t like being the naysayer here. Especially given the book’s thus far perfect rack record of all-star reviews, but…it just didn’t really work for me.
It had an interesting concept, a strong visual through line, it was as dark as dark gets which genre fans are sure to appreciate, and it was even decently written. But overall, the stories didn’t engage me or particularly interested me, often coming across as too repetitive or over the top. Ultimately, this collection failed to entertain. In fact, the only success attributable here is in disgusting with that doozy grotesques of an ending.
Maybe it’s an acquired taste sort of thing, and if so, user mileage will certainly vary, but this user didn’t get very far and did not enjoy the drive. Thanks Netgalley.

The artwork is amazing but that's as far as I'll go with it. Story itself didn't really do a lot r to keep me invested through the whole story.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

Okay, wow, this was good! It was a fresh take on anthologies and I think the author killed it! I loved the gruesome details of the creatures and the world in this time, I had chills constantly! I also loved it was shorter book so I devoured this quickly.

'The Sweet Scent of Liver' feels like something genuinely new and fresh for both anthologies, and for zombie fiction.

For anthologies because of its unique episodic structure, the interconnected stories building up a greater narrative over time such that each tale becomes exponentially more engaging.

For zombies, through the way Eli Wilde subverts the tropes of that creature, with the gore and horrific body horror taking place primarily on the undead creatures themselves rather than their prey, and with their plague spreading not through biting their victims, but asking the living to eat from their flesh.

These 'sharded' creatures are brought vividly into the reader's mind through a combination of simple but evocative prose and an original style of illustration that means all of the diverse selection of sharded exists permanently in your subconscious.

Diversity can be found through the narrative as well as its antagonists, since each of the eight stories draws from a different subgenre, while weaving in its core body horror, with my personal favourite, as well as the most frightening, story, Iz, involving elements of surreal horror, and the most tragic story, Gleb, incorporating a heavier science fiction angle.

Every individual story here, not to mention the overarching narrative, is fascinating, compelling, and the subversive originality made this a must read short story collection. I can't wait for a potential second edition with full colour illustrations, and recommend this one to anybody interested in gory body horror, or simply looking for something new from the genre.

[Advanced Reader Copy provided by the author]