Review: Bad Billy is One Bad Mother!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 6, 2011
If you like your horror stories irreverent and violent, then Bad Billy by Jimmy Pudge is for you. With nods to Marry Shelley and William Blake, Pudge has crafted a modern take on the hapless fate of the Frankenstein monster set in a small Southern town. Life hasn't been kind to Bad Billy and he's out to pay back anyone who looks at him cross-eyed. Just as Shelley's monster takes fitful steps toward self-awareness, so does Bad Billy, and as her creation finds its only friend to be a small girl, so does Bad Billy.Billy is hounded by those who have no desire to understand him - they only want to end his besotted existence. Billy kills nearly everyone he comes in contact with, and author Pudge is expert at describing the grisly details of Billy's destruction. If you're squeamish, avert your eyes. Jimmy Pudge's writing is graphic and in your face. Even with such a terrifying protagonist, Pudge makes us care. It's not Billy's fault he's so horribly ugly, nor is it his fault he's been treated so despicably all his life. Who can blame him for lashing out? Well, the community he's terrorizing can. They do their best to end his lousy existence, but for the most part their efforts are inadequate. Bad Billy is one bad mother!That's not to say the only thing Bad Billy has going for it is violence and destruction. No, there's a solid plot at work here, that has a purpose and a point, and there's a strong sense of pathos at play. There's a lot to like in this book. You might think you have everything figured out, but halfway through, the novel takes a left turn and you're knocked off your feet again. Pudge never lets you regain your footing, as he races inexorably toward the denouement with not a single wasted word.This is the second book I've read by Jimmy Pudge, the first being a collection of short stories titled "Your [...] is Grass: Tales of a Redneck Gangsta." Both books display Pudge's great imagination, and deft ability with point of view. He's an author I'll be watching as his career in writing rises, which it will most certainly do. There are a few minor flaws in Bad Billy - a few typos here and there, but far less than I see in most small press offerings, and the last quarter of the book is a bit rushed, in my opinion - but most books I read these days seem that way to me. None of this hindered my enjoyment of the volume.I recommend this book to any open-minded horror fan who likes originality. You won't find anything like Jimmy Pudge's world anywhere else, and that's worth the price of admission. Do yourself a favor - read this book. You'll find yourself hungering for Jimmy Pudge's next tale.