In case you haven’t noticed, war is hell. Or – as Gen. Sherman famously said after the Civil War – “war is all hell.” That theme informs, permeates and downright douses OUT OF THE GUTTER #3, another hardcore dose of “pulp fiction and degenerate literature” that once more earns its stripes as such.
The indie mag begins with a section of “flash” fiction – two- to three-page short stories all dealing with war, particularly right in the thick of it, about to be decapitated, shot, gutted or otherwise harmed with extreme prejudice. Slightly longer stories include Sandra Seaman’s sniper-narrated “In the Shadow of Murder” and OOTG editor Matt Louis’ “Gems from a Centenarian,” in which a reporter attempts – laughably – to interview a 100-year-old crusty war veteran at a nursing home.
Then comes the first of several true gut-punchers: “A Private War” by Christa M. Miller, with an unemployed, crippled vet looking to exact revenge on a well-to-do, perfectly healthy one. It’s a tense piece that keeps turning the tables in relatively few pages. Chris Pimental’s “The Bitch Pit” immediately follows, and will anger many. Hell, it should. I won’t spoil what the title refers to – in fact, I won’t spill any details at all except to say the story involves Colombian midget rebels – but as horrified as you’ll be, I bet you won’t be able to stop reading.
Pearce Hansen’s “Good to Be a Man” involves war of a different sort: that of man vs. nature, particularly a California wildfire. D.R. “Doc” MacMaster’s “The Death of Suzie Sunshine” is another harrowing tale, this one of a man hired to find and torture an Iraqi responsible for the rape and murder of a beautiful American blonde; the killing of said Iraqi, however, is to be left for the employer to carry out.
Another great one is “Adrenaline” by Dave Zeltserman. His antihero narrator – formerly of Special Forces – refuses to tell his gang the whereabouts of $800,000 he’s absconded with, despite having his fingernails removed via pliers and other increasingly painful atrocities. He uses his knowledge of the cash as a bargaining chip to pit the guys against one another, and the reveal at the end is terrific.
If war’s not your thing, relax. The final “Homeland Insecurity” section contains the kind of anything-goes fiction and fact that populate the previous pair of OOTGs – y’know, your basic meth addicts, bloody colectomies, robbing hookers and gay hustlers. The final piece finds journalist Alan Emmins taking a tour of an ultra-deviant underground sex club in Los Angeles, in which businessmen come to live out their twisted office fantasies with no repercussions whatsoever.
As always, supplementary material appears throughout: a humor piece on how to tell if your child is a terrorist (foregoing THE CAT IN THE HAT in favor of THE DIGGING-EST DOG is one clue), an interview with Hansen about his former criminal years on the streets, a look at old-timey torture methods, more of Seth Ferranti’s prison stories, lots of sidebars, a comic (not enough of these for my tastes) and fake ads (either these are getting better or they’re just growing on me).
The editorials on 9/11 conspiracies and gun control do nothing for me – I read stuff like OOTG to escape reality, people – but there’s so much material within this issue’s 200 pages that they’re merely a speed bump in a parking lot otherwise spacious and empty, ready for a round of doin’ donuts. –Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• OUT OF THE GUTTER #1
• OUT OF THE GUTTER #2
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• STREET RAISED by Pearce Hansen
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Diggin’ the privilege to have been included in #3. Thank you.
Niiice!