Teratologist

Rating:
Summary: One of the sickest books of all time
Review: Ed Lee is the mogul of madness... the tycoon of terror... the baron of bloodbaths... the, well, you get what I mean. This has got to be -- without question -- one of the sickest, most repulsive books ever written. That's both a good and a bad thing. The good thing is that it's a novella, so it's a fairly quick read. It's a solid story with some surprising depth behind it. The bad part is that a lot of the story seems to be a showcase of how gross the authors can get. It almost feels like a competition between the two authors to see who can come up with a more disgusting scene. At times, things are so ridiculous, I just had to laugh at this nonstop freakshow. This book is not for everyone, but if you can stomach some truly hardcore horror, give this a try. It's certainly an eye-opener.

Rating:
Summary: Gruesome and Godly
Review: Perhaps the best way to describe Ed Lee's and Wrath James White's collaborative effort "Teratologist" is to define what the title means. According to the dictionary, teratology is the study of birth defects. It follows, therefore, that a teratologist is a practitioner of this unseemly activity. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with horror author Ed Lee will grimace once you know what this term means because with good old Ed in the driver's seat, teratology is about to take on a whole new dimension of nastiness. The latest entry from the author of "The Bighead," "City Infernal," and "The Ushers" will leave you gasping for breath as you pore over page after page of the most nauseatingly gruesome descriptions ever put to paper. This may be Ed Lee's most disgusting novella yet, and that's saying something. Then again, putting all of the blame on Lee's shoulders may not be appropriate. Wrath James White contributed to this nightmare of depravity as well. I only focus on Ed Lee because I am more familiar with his writings; this novella forms the sole basis of my knowledge about White.

"Teratologist" starts with an encounter between Sharon, a young lady who suffers from a slew of congenital problems, and a depraved caretaker at the home where this poor woman lives. Sharon's life is one of misery, although her low intelligence does not allow her to perceive the terribleness of her condition. Within a few pages, a strange man with a British accent "rescues" her from this horrible place and promises to take her somewhere clean and nice. Sharon is hardly in any condition to argue with her liberator, although she does notice most of the hospital staff lying on the floor in pools of blood as she leaves her surroundings. Strange things are afoot and the reader has absolutely no idea where Lee and White are about to take us, except that the destination will probably be highly unpleasant for all involved.

Soon enough, "Teratologist" introduces us to two reporters who earn their living interviewing and photographing the ultra rich and famous. The character that stands out here is Westmore, an aging, drunken photographer with a world-weary cynicism as sharp as a razor blade. Westmore is packing away the drinks in a lounge when he learns from his buddy Bryant that the two must conduct an interview with John Farrington, a thirty year old multibillionaire stock market prodigy. Farrington has a shadowy past, and the two reporters hope to uncover some salacious information to make their article especially good. After all, Bryant and Westmore will be the first journalists to actually interview this guy, as other attempts to do so by various reporters and biographers failed miserably. What these two don't know about Farrington, but what they will eventually learn after meeting the mysterious billionaire, is best left unsaid in order not to ruin the overall story. Let's just say that someone with a lot of monetary clout in this world seeks to obtain a little more power by luring the supreme, omniscient deity himself (or, to be fair, herself) to earth. In order to accomplish this stupendous event, acts of the most degrading, unspeakable evil are taking place at the Farrington residence. The conclusion of the story teaches us that working for something hard enough might accomplish results far removed from the original goal.

As I read "Teratologist," I wondered how Lee and White constructed the story. Did the two writers switch off every other chapter? I think so to some extent, but I am not entirely sure. I think it is a safe bet to say that Lee wrote most if not all of the chapters dealing with the medical terminology of birth defects, as well as the chapters describing the pornographic acts between the characters in the story. The centrality to the story of a pharmaceutical drug that stimulates the sex drive also reminds me of at least two Lee novels, "Monstrosity" and "The Chosen." Moreover, the significant religious dialogue that appears near the middle of the tale and runs through to the conclusion also resemble several of Lee's theological musings in other stories, especially the descriptions of the "New Dark Age" towards the end of the book. The biggest problem with this analysis is that it finds little room for White's contributions. The whole novella from start to finish resembles a classic Ed Lee story.

Every time I read another Ed Lee book, I come up with a new theory about this unique author. "Teratologist" is without a doubt one of the most graphically disturbing stories I have ever read, but at the same time, the novella contains a significant message about the redeeming qualities of God. This isn't a horror story per se, but rather an extreme form of social critique regarding the despicable conditions of our world and how most of us have fallen away from the one thing that could save us. I don't think it is a coincidence that the Caliginaut chooses the Westmore character to save the world. One need only look at the Old Testament to see example after example of God choosing the weakest, or most unlikely person among us, to work his will. If this sounds rather conservative, perhaps it is. I don't want to speak for Ed Lee and Wrath James White by inserting grand ideas into their little book that may not belong there in the first place, but go ahead and read it for yourself and see if this theological interpretation fits or not. Whatever "Teratologist" ultimately means, it is at the very least another intense read from Ed Lee.

Rating:
Summary: Sick Sick Sick......Couldn't put it down...
Review: Some people want all the money in the world, and some people want to rule the world. But Farrington wants to challenge God.

If there was ever a book written that will make you throw up your dinner, this is the one. A mere 116 pages will leave your psyche scathed and bleeding, and your mouth wide open in a silent scream of repulsion. With that in mind, take this journey as I did.

Westmore and Bryant, photographer and reporter respectively, get the big assignment of interviewing the mega rich Farrington; a man who has never truly been photographed before and whose ultra rich lifestyle is a complete mystery. They have an unlikely friendship, with Bryant seeming to have all his ducks in a row, and Westmore being a bit of a loser and a big time drinker.

It doesn't take long for them to discover that things are very, very wrong at the Farrington mansion, and that they are a "paid in full" part of his diabolical plan to record for properity his sick and twisted challenge to God.

Now, realize that a Teratologist does not study terrain or geology as some might think; Teratology is the study of study of malformations or serious deviations from the normal type in organisms. In other words; Freaks, the grossly disfigured, the grotesque and warped forgotten aberrations of the human world.

Farrington is a collecter of these damaged and oppressed oddities and deviants, stealing them away from the institutions that both care for them and abuse them. His intentions are no nobler than those who abused these horribly deformed creatures though, it is these souls that he intends to call God with.

Manufacturing a new drug that will make viagra look like a sugar pill, he uses these tortured subjects along with kidnapped religious leaders to test his new drug, while in the process attempting to thwart and anger God so much that He will show his face.

When you take Edward Lee and add in James White, you are indeed asking for the most gruesome of monsters, the most horrid of atrocities, and can rest assured that they will be told in the most drippingly explicit detail imaginable. If you are faint of heart, easily repulsed, have a weak gag reflex, or are quick to disgorge the contents of your stomach from precise and specific descriptions of simply terrifyingly gross material, put this book down and back slowly away from it.

But if you occasionally enjoy a warped romp through a sickening, twisted, evilly painted environment of insane grossness; this is your kind of roller coaster. Enjoy!