Off Season by Jack Ketchum

In the quiet Maine countryside a group of friends gather to enjoy a cabin in the woods. Unfortunately, a family of insane cannibals also lives in the area, and when they're hungry the local 7-11 just won't do. What follows is a horrendous night of violence and terror as the group fights to survive the attack; or, at least, die with their flesh still on their bones.

Off Season by Jack Ketchum is an "old" book, as paperbacks go, originally published in the early 1980's. That version was heavily redacted to remove violence and tweak the ending, and it's with great pride that Ketchum released the "new", original version of his novel.

If you've followed my writing you know that I don't care for so-called "torture-porn" genre of horror, and dismiss the Saw and Hostel franchises accordingly. So it's odd that I give this gory little book a thumbs-up, but . . .

Ketchum might have one or two screws loose, but the guy has a flair for carrying a story. Sometimes his voice is so smooth your mind blots out the subject matter. I'd read a chapter, put the book down and then say to myself: "Hey, wait a minute! Did I just read a two page recipe for curing and jerking human thigh? How the hell did that slip by me?"

There is a gruesome and slow death near the end that was almost too much to bear [ugh, just shivered remembering it] but all in all, despite the gore it was much better than expected.

2.7 out of 4. Note: I did not read the short story included as an extra in the book.