A review by mrfrank
Cannibal Fat Camp by David C. Hayes, Mark C. Scioneaux

3.0

CANNIBAL FAT CAMP isn't hiding any cards up its sleeve. In fact the only cards it plays is the masterfully spoofed Garbage Pail Kids card that serves as the book's cover image. Authors Mark Scioneaux and David C. Hayes put this story into gear right on page one and don't let off the throttle until they run out of paper. There are no secrets here, this is the story of a fat camp gone cannibal.

The premise is simple and workable. What will fat kids do when there is no food to eat. The answer is extreme and so is the action. Nothing is sugar coated and it doesn't need to be. This is just gory, nasty, bloody fun. Check you sensibilities at the door. Your going to find what I would call a light-hearted horror story.

The story is short too, roughly novella length, and that was actually a bit of a problem for me. Often the timeline of events skips over several days. I found myself wondering what had transpired over those 'lost days'. I'm sure I could fill in the gaps myself as a reader but there were often large blocks of days missing which really begs the question 'What was going on there?' Also the style switches from narrative to diary entries to examiner reports back to narrative which I found pulled me out of the story when it happened. I understand what they were trying to execute there I just wonder if they could have made it all a bit more seamless.

Though my gripes are a bit wordy, don't let them put you off to this book. Let them serve as a challenge for you to call me out and tell me I missed the point. I may not argue with you because despite my qualms I still enjoyed this book. It takes a simple idea and delivers the goods. Its fun, its different and there really is no excuse not to check it out on a lazy Saturday afternoon or as part of some quality vacation reading. Nab this sucker and check out the rest of the brilliant line up at StrangeHouse Books. You can tell 'em I sent ya!