In the midst of a heat wave punctuated by frequent rainstorms, people are losing their heads. Literally. Not only that, but their bodies are still walking, and attacking others.
And to make matters worse, tiny, translucent, maggot-sized worms are falling from the skies like hail.
As uncanny violence threatens to take over the city, Linzy, Carter, and Joanna become fast friends and leave for points unknown, hoping to stay alive, hoping to outrun the Headless.
Dark bleatings, my beloved tribe! Today we’re talking about a novel with an insane (and rather entertaining!) concept. People are just going around with their heads off.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that had this not been a review request, I would have DNF’d the book on the first chapter. But hear me out, dudes! Those of you who regularly read my ramblings might know that I’m somewhat of a prude when it comes to books. I do not enjoy reading sex scenes, and would always prefer that they’re just not in there at all, even if they’re well-written. I’m also extremely picky about what I consider “well-written” when it comes to sexy scenes, so I acknowledge that I’m not a good audience for this type of stuff. Unfortunately for me, this story opens with a sex scene, and I’m so sorry to the author if they read this review, but in my humble opinion, it wasn’t great.
Linzy is waiting for her boyfriend to come home from the pub, and she’s ready for him and raring to go. She is in “the mood”. When Ron finally stumbles in, she shoots her shot and manhandles him until she has her way. I found the language a bit crass, like sort of wince-inducing gross. Ron is much quieter than usual and doesn’t seem quite as involved, and eventually Linzy gets up and turns on the light, only to find that Ron was quiet because he’s covered in blood and has no head. I’m pretty sure that this moment was supposed to be funny, and it probably is to people who aren’t as uptight as me. However, all I could think was “I don’t care if the room was dark, there is simply no way that any woman would not realise her boyfriend’s head is off while they’re having sex”. The reason I’m going on about this so much here is just to emphasises that actually, despite my initial distaste for the story as it opened, I was glad to have not put it down.
I have never read another story with a concept like people are walking around headless after their heads have exploded. It was comically dark and also just regular dark, and once I got over my discomfort at the opening scene, I quite enjoyed it. It’s fairly fast-paced, with new information and revelations coming in at nice, staggered intervals. For example, there was a weird rain that came down, and the people whose heads explode only seem to belong to a particular demographic. Linzy is forced by circumstance to attach herself to a small group as things become increasingly dire, and even – my favourite – apocalyptic!
For people who enjoy extreme horror, you will find some here. There were some seriously graphic, violent scenes, but they weren’t frequent. This was a perfect balance for me personally because I don’t enjoy full-on extreme horror stories (the relentless suffering is a bit much for my fragile feelings!). I do enjoy the odd scene of balls-to-the-wall carnage though, and that’s what we get here. I also have to take my hat off to the author for the ending.
Holy crap. The ending. Not every author has the guts to take a story where this one went, that’s for sure. I’m a huge fan of this in particular, and it elevated the entire story for me.
I’d recommend this to fans who enjoy a little splatterpunk/hardcore horror stuff, people who like the apocalypse, and of course, anyone intrigued by the concept. It’s nuts! If you’d like to check out the book or author, there are links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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