Tim Waggoner is one of those authors I was aware of, but hadn’t read and didn’t have a clear picture of in my head. He certainly seems to be a bit less talked about in horror fan circles than people like Jonathon Janz and Keelan Patrick Burke. I’m not sure why that is, because when I searched him up on GoodReads (resorting to an author search because the awful GoodReads search engine struggled to find ‘They Kill’) I discovered he’s written a tonne of books. Many of them are ties ins for things like ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Grimm’, but still, he’s written a lot. That time spent honing his craft has clearly paid off, because ‘They Kill’ turned out to be absolute riot.
It’s probably important to get one thing out of the way first. This book is quite fucked up. In fact at times it’s REALLY fucked up. It presents a vision of a community turned upside down for a day when one of its inhabitants, a man named Jeffrey who died in a car crash, is resurrected by a weird inter-dimensional being (Corliss) on the first anniversary of his death. With Corliss’s help, Jeffrey infects four inhabitants of the town with his undead powers, giving them the ability to live out the wildest fantasies. To go into the details of what those fantasies are would spoil a lot of the fun of the book. Needless to say though, that the town descends into an orgy of sex, murder and murder during sex. The result is a novel that, like a lot of good horror books and movies, is as much about set pieces as it is about plot. The story itself is fine, and works its way through to a really satisfying conclusion, but it’s the scenes of mayhem where the book really shines. The set pieces are gleefully shocking. They’re wonderfully described sequences of violence and debauchery that are great fun to read despite (or perhaps because of) their disturbing nature. Waggoner displays a talent for surreal body horror that reminded me of the work of film director David Cronenberg. He also fills every page with an energy that is infectious. It’s like he’s made a great amusement park ride and he’s on it with you.
The book isn’t perfect, it’s a bit too reminiscent of other things at times (King’s ‘Needful Things’ comes to mind, although it’s been years since I read that). It’s so much fun though that I quickly forgave it any flaws. It helps that Waggoner is also really good at creating characters. They can be a little stereotyped at times, but they’re always engaging, distinct and entertaining.
‘They Kill’ was a definite hit for me. I didn’t know what to expect going into it, but what I found was a fun, energetic slice of horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is all the better for it.

This is a warped and dark tale that will take you in many unexpected directions. Unflinching, brutal and bizarre, this is not a light horror read. At times it felt like there was too much backstory given to the characters, slowing momentum, but overall it's a wild ride. This is one for horror fans, but certainly not for sensitive readers.

Waggoner’s novel, They Kill is a very interesting premise that pays off with spades. We are lead down a dark road that increasingly gets murky as the tale unfolds. We are left in a world that is both violent and unworldly that addresses the inner self beneath the surface.

The story’s beginning is an interesting premise with an odd character that reveals himself to be a master of design and destruction. It is never very clear what his purpose or reasoning behind his motives but this is part of the intrigue of the story as a whole. It seems that there is a game plan which involves Sierra, a year later after her brother’s death in an automobile accident.

The characters are very well drawn and very three dimensional. They are not the best cast of likable characters but they are interesting enough to keep the reader engaged. They have different motivations, each unique in their own way and they continue to linger within the imagination long past completion. This is a remarkable task because with a multiple of diverse characters, most novels tend to blur these making it hard to differentiate but Waggoner doesn’t do this. His characters are strong and stand on their own.

The plot is intriguing and although violence, sex and gore does happen within the pages, they are important to the story and not done in a gratuitous manner. As the story unfolds, the situations become more and more surreal and although this may come as shocking to some readers, it works well within the plot and in fact enhances it.

The overall novel is an excellent read and although the ending has a lovecraftian meta vibe that for me was a bit unclear. (I have trouble with Lovecraft reading as I recognise the genius but often feel a bit out of sorts with the story). The reasoning behind the story and the epilogue – left me slightly scratching my head. I am sure this is more me as the reader than the overall story itself. It is an excellent novel, thoroughly enjoyable page turner that I couldn’t put down. It is a winner.

There are some books that, while you're reading them, you say to yourself: what I just stepped into? This is one of that kind of books and though it start quite interesting, with every page it becomes more and more ridicolous.

There were moments I considered give it up, because it was too much weirdness even for me. What's more, I didn't like the main protagonist and the rest of characters were all of them dickheads. I think it was intentional, but didn't improve my enjoyment of readind.

Despite that I stuck to the end because I wanted to know how the story end and if we get some explanation of all the events. It came out anticlimatic unfortunately.

I give it 2 stars, because it has good enough prose and some moments that keeps you going.

This book had its moments. It started out like an old Troma movie with a bunch of seemingly unconnected craziness and without much of an explanation as to why everything was happening. Characters were slowly drawn together but nothing was really explained until the very end and I felt a little more time could have been spent as to what/who was responsible for what was going on. I don't always need all questions totally answered or explained but it did seem like this one was kind of rushed. I also tried not to take this too seriously and rate it using the same criteria as I would say a Charles Dickens or a Mark Twain novel, and I tried to sit back and treat it like I would a B-movie or something I used to go to the drive-in to watch. So, like I said before, it had its moments and it was fun for the most part. They Kill was definitely fast paced, it had lots of different kinds of gore and bodies-going-through-transformations stuff and over the top sexual liaisons that had me laughing and cringing (in a good way) more than once, and if not for a couple of lines of corny dialogue that took me out of the story the book kept my attention and made me want to continue. I had not read anything by Mr. Waggoner before so I did not really know what to expect and I gotta tip my hat to an author who went to some of the places he did without having to resort to gratuitous nonsense. Definitely more than three stars but not quite four, more like three and a half.

I want to thank Flame Tree Press and Netgalley, for they provided me with an ARC of this but that in no way influenced my opinion.

Lou Jacobs's Reviews > They Kill

They Kill by Tim Waggoner
They Kill
by Tim Waggoner (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Jun 20, 2019 · edit
it was amazing

Wow! A fun roller coaster ride of unrelenting gore and gratuitous violence with a dollop of extreme grossness. Jeffrey Sowell has a heated argument with his boyfriend Marc ... storms out and is snuffed out in a horrendous auto accident. On the one-year anniversary of his death the enigmatic creature, known as Corliss, deems it necessary to resurrect Jeffrey ... in a somewhat less than perfect decaying state. His sister Sierra and Marc, who previously hated each other, find themselves banded together to discover not only the reason for the inexplicable resurrection, but also how to stop the death and destruction that follows in Jeffrey's path. Corliss has been very busy ... he also has transformed four individuals tangential to Sierra's life into monsters that have been consumed by their vices. The quartet is hell bent on killing Sierra for a sundry of twisted reasons.
Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for supplying an Uncorrected Proof of this slice of twisted madness in exchange for an honest review. I find myself mysteriously craving more Waggoner prose.

Jeffrey Sowell is dead. Or at least he was dead. Now he's mysteriously alive again....a year after the car accident that killed him. A year after his funeral. A strange man named Corliss resurrects Jeffrey and sends him back to the town where he lived, worked, loved. But this time, he returns as an agent of death. Everything he touches crumbles and dies. Corliss soon visits other people in town, creating monsters. People are consumed by their vices.....sex, technology, alcohol..... Jeffrey's sister Sierra sees the destruction and horror....and her long-dead brother. Can love stop the horror?

Wow....this book has some truly horrific moments. This is not for the faint hearted....from graphic gore to really, really, really (add some more reallys please) icky sex, it's got just about every vice covered. I couldn't stop reading! I had to know how the story ended.....and the ending gave me the cold shivers. I normally steer away from gorefests....but for this story, it worked. There was a purpose to the gore. Awesome story!

This book is definitely not for the kiddos. Pretty adult stuff. It is not traumatizingly graphic, but does have some pretty warped stuff going on (like a woman's vagina that can eat people).

This is the first book by Tim Waggoner that I've read. I'm definitely going to be reading more. This book seriously creeped me out -- loved it! I have to read more by this man!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Flame Tree Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

They Kill
by Tim Waggoner
due 7-11-2019
FlameTree Press
4.5/5.0
#TheyKill. #NETGALLEY

I hope they make this into a horror movie....it has everything. Original story. Unique and mysterious character's. Great underlying premise. Style that flows.

Sierra Sowell misses her brother, Jeffrey, who was killed in an automobile accident. On the one a-year anniversary of his death, Jeffrey is resurrected by a mysterious man, Corliss. But Jeffrey is not fully alive- he is a walking corpse with the ability to turn things to dust with a mere touch.
Corliss gives Sierra and Jeffrey's boyfriend, Marc, one chance to bring her brother back to life. Will she be able to save him, no matter how many others she must kill....or will she give up and allow Jeffrey to return to the land of the dead?
Corliss turns numerous people she knows into raving lunatics, all hell bent on being the one to kill Sierra. We meet Grace- her 60ish, alcoholic neighbor, Stuart a half human/half cyborg that works at an electronics store, Randall the very creepy retired guy that may be a pedophile and walk the neighborhood passing out "chucks" ( pennies he has painted a smiley face on) and Mandy, the Math teacher and head of the Traditional Values Club, with a huge appetite for sex. Will Sierra and Marc be able to evade and survive the onslaught of weirdness Corliss puts in their way?
Waggoner is one of the most unique and original writers of horror fiction. Mesmerizing and enthralling, his eerie stories stay with you. Creeping you out slowly.
Flame Tree Press features some of the most brilliant, unique and exciting authors and is one of my go-to publishers. I highly recommend Flame Tree and Tim Waggoner.
Thanks to the publisher and author for sharing this e-book ARC for review.

Flame Tree Press are really putting out some great reads. They Kill from Tim Waggoner is a crazy trip through the inner workings of the psyche.
I'm always afraid of saying too much and giving the story away, so I think for this particular book I won't say anything more than READ IT! It's a lunatic ride... Tim Waggoner really takes his readers on a journey through madness. The underbelly of civilised society, it's a dark perspective of our deepest desires, that which we hide and tuck away in a corner never to be seen. We see 'regular' people turning to their reverse selfs, doing the things they never would think then would or they could.
This is a gore filled tale, very graphic but I never felt once that it was out of place.
It's a fun read, one that will hook you in and keep you guessing.
Check it out here:
They Kill (Fiction Without Frontiers) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787582566/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LvacDbECCNSSS

Whew! They Kill, by Tim Waggoner, is one roller coaster ride of a horror novel.

Expect blood, gore, sex, and bat (ahem) crazy situations.

While I spent some time confused by *why* everything happens, the author soon makes that abundantly clear. And I didn’t mind the confusion – I was just in for the very wild ride.

Definitely not for people who like their horror soft and slow, but if you like adrenaline mixes with crazy, this one is for you!

• ARC Provided via Net Galley

** spoiler alert ** 4.5 stars, rounded up to five

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this!

This was an interesting read. I can’t say that I’ve ever read Splatter fiction—with lots of gore, violence, and sex in tow, but this didn’t really hit me in the way that I expected it to. I’m often an admirer of violence in fiction, especially the ways that it’s portrayed (see: Takami’s “Battle Royale” with subtle, but graphic depictions of violence or O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”); I’m not sure I was going to sync well with this violence, though, as it often went over the top ridiculous at times.

On the other hand, the violence was suitable. I can’t say I’ve ever liked succubus characters as they feel totally and completely sexist in the meaning from the get-go, but Waggoner’s use of a succubus in the text proved to be his strongest use of a “monster” (if that’s what you would call her). I also appreciate Waggoner’s canonical queer characters—especially being present in settings that I do not typically see them as a reader.

As this was a NetGalley read, there were some small typos and one or two confusions, but the book flowed well. “They Kill” flowed so well, in fact, that I read the book in a day!

Overall, Waggoner’s book was fun; I think that’s what separates “They Kill” from what I’ve previously read. That isn’t saying that my other books aren’t “fun,” but this book seems to have to sole intention of playing around with caricatures and either subverting them or furthering them. It’s just a fun, pulpy read; I’m glad I was able to read it.

I sped through this book at full speed, enjoying every crazy minute. Tim Waggoner never fails to entertain, This book reminded me of a young Stephen King with a touch of Bradbury thrown in for good measure. I didn't know where the story was headed, and that's a big plus, because I couldn't wait to see where it was going, and I thoroughly loved the ride to the end. And what a perfect ending! Good one Tim!!!

Waggoner is a master of macabre tales that twist and turn in directions you will not expect.
The author's imagination never fails to impress me.
THEY KILL is a horror story you won't soon forget.

They Kill is a engrossing chilling horror story. Well written and interesting characters. I would read more by this author.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley!!

Sierra's dead brother Jeffrey is resurrected by a name named Corliss. Corliss also transforms four people in Sierra's life into inhuman monsters determined to kill her. Sierra and Jeffrey's ex boyfriend Marc work together to figure out his return to life while also trying to staya live. Sierra has a chance to make Jeffrey's resurrection permanent, but can she do what it takes?

unique storyline for sure!!

Spellbinding and terrifying, They Kill spins several separate stories that seamlessly build to a spectacular joint climax. Horrific and surreal with great characters you’ll root for and against. No disappointments from page one to the satisfying conclusion.

Graphic, gory, and gross pretty much sums up this little slice of extreme horror.

THEY KILL is a fast-paced tale, loaded with graphic violence and sex, buckets of gore, and stomach-churning yuckiness. This one is in your face, all over the place..

THEY KILL is seriously twisted, unflinchingly fucked up...and I dug it.

Sensitive readers, be forewarned!

Review Copy

Now THAT was fun! And original.

If you're offended by sex, drugs and rock & roll, take the stick out of your ass and realize that there are things greater than yourself and other reasons for being. Waggoner thought of a couple. And he plotted it out so well. The ending is kick-butt and I just loved it.

There's a whole lotta murder and sex going on in THEY KILL; coming from Flame Tree Press this summer. Check it out.

This was sort of a trip down the memory lane kind of read. There was a time when such books constituted a bulk of my reading and Waggoner was an author I liked. Well, boy did my reading tastes change. Matured, I’d like to believe. Because now I can’t even find any redeeming value in this. I did try. And it isn’t that Waggoner is a terrible writer, in fact he has interesting, original ideas and, when he puts his mind to it, can do some very nice character development, albeit only to kill them off in horrid ways. It’s just that here he made a choice to dedicate the overwhelming majority of the story to guts, gore, sex and find strikingly bloody disgusting ways of going about all of it. It is much too over the top for an average B feature, it’s practically grotesque. And yes, I understand the genre and its requirements, but this is neither scary nor atmospheric, it’s just gross and vulgar, In fact the grossness and vulgarity overwhelmed the plot so much so that by the time the explanations roll around, it almost seems to be like an afterthought. And for some reason, while the author takes his time with minor players, the major ones range so thoroughly from dislikable to repellant, it’s difficult to care about the sh*tstorm they are wading through one way or another. So it was either disgusting or laughable, at times both, so far from literary, it would have to send smoke signals to be acknowledged and, although objectively imaginative, not imaginative in a way one might want. Then again, it might be exactly what someone would want. It’s that sort of genre. So personal mileage might vary. But for me it went nowhere. A disappointing read, albeit a fascinating reminder of changing tastes, likes and preferences. Thanks Netgalley.

Whoa! What a WILD ride! I've almost lost hope for humanity, because so many "normal folks," "good people," in this splatterpunk horror novel turn bad, seemingly without too much provocation, including some I least expected. Tons of violence and gore, some really ugly scenes, excruciating pain, and high levels of obscenity, for me were balanced out by the Lovecraftian overlay and backdrop. What a chaotic and random world is depicted here, perhaps an homage to Lovecraft's blind, mad, god Azathoth. Certainly it seems so.

Sensitive readers, beware. Splatterpunk aficionados, hang on to your craniums cause this is a trip you'll never forget.