I decided that every day won’t be a movie. Sometimes it’ll be a book, or a craft, or even an artist or author spotlight. Every day will be horror or Halloween adjacent though. Today it’s a book review.

It’s very rare that you read a book that comes with movie recommendations. This one includes five recs from each of the contributing authors, highlighting the films’ influence on each of them.

The first story is called The Rostov Lottery, by Nathan D. Ludwig. I’ve read his work before, so I had an idea of what to expect from him. In the not so distant future, the state of the union is such that eating humans is legalized, but only in a highly regulated way. Murder is still murder. But that doesn’t stop people from sourcing their own human meat. It’s bleak and a little disjointed due to the method of storytelling (journal entries). I would love to read an expanded version of this story.

Next is What You Eat, You Are, by Paul Grammatico. This is probably where some folks will decide to close the book and move on. Not me though. A normal guy and his girlfriend take a cruise that features an adventurous menu prepared by a world renowned chef. The guy doesn’t have the stomach for the more eclectic selections, but his girlfriend and the other rich people are more than excited about it. I don’t blame the guy. I don’t think I’d be excited about being served live apes and mallets either. Anyway, this meal doesn’t agree with them and they start mutating into rampaging monkey monsters. Chaos ensues. My only complaint is that the human cannibalism isn’t a bigger part of the story.

The last story is Butt I’m Hungry!, by Chad Farmer. A cannibal finds himself in an unusual AA meeting and accidentally learns that the butthole is the most satisfying part of the body to consume. This story was my favorite. No, I will not be taking questions.

This was a pretty good read. Three very different cannibalism scenarios written by three very different authors. I am entertained.