Corpse Honey: A Banquet of Gruesome Tales by Michael Picco
Corpse Honey: A Banquet of Gruesome Tales is a collection of horror stories and artwork by author and artist Michael Picco. It was published by Sisyphus Publishing on December 15, 2020 and is a concise 169 pages.
I don’t know where to begin to gush over what I loved about this book. I guess the cover is the best place to start, not to mention the art throughout the book. Picco has such talent. You will be awed by his art as well as his storytelling in Corpse Honey. That leads us to the Introduction and Author’s Notes in the front of the book. I know, these aren’t the usual things reviewers discuss, but I must. The Introduction begins with a quote by one of my new favorite authors Alan Baxter, which hooked me right away! I enjoyed reading the background information as to why and how the author wrote the stories, too. I’m one of those people who wants to know the meaning behind songs and lyrics, so getting a glimpse into the inspiration for many of these stories was a real treat. You also get a chance to “meet” the author in these sections through his explanation of the writing technique he uses (stream of consciousness) and the influence of dreams in his writing. I was so intrigued and ready to devour the stories after reading these two small sections.
The only thing Picco mentions in the Author’s Notes section that left me a tad flat when I finished the book was that he tried to boost the gore and bloody scenes due to readers wanting more of that element in his work. I got excited, since I do enjoy gory horror. There were only a few stories, though, that satiated my appetite. This is not to say that other readers won’t find these stories to their liking or thrilling. I just tend to have a higher threshold for such things. I was also a little disappointed after reading in the Author’s Notes that some readers weren’t fans of his extensive use of footnotes or author’s forewords and afterwords. I enjoyed the ones I found in this book, and I wish I’d had more. I find them to be interesting and insightful.
I really enjoyed the stream of consciousness technique Picco used. It made me feel a deep connection to each narrator and added to my enjoyment of each story. One of my favorite things about all of Picco’s stories, though, was his language and vocabulary. You’ll find artwork at the beginning of every piece as well as in between each story, but I will tell you that I felt like I was enjoying visual art in literary form as I read these tales. I felt as if I was transported to another place within each story.
A few of the stories in the collection received past accolades in contests or were chosen for publications. “Isle for One,” “Dispossessed,” and “Hey Nonny Ding Dong Alang Alang Alang” did not disappoint and lived up to their billing. Only one of my favorites in the collection wasn’t a part of this grouping. The stories I enjoyed the most were “Mortimer the Maus,” “Dispossessed,” and “Isle For One.”
It was interesting to come across a few stories that involved viruses and echoes of Covid despite being written prior to our knowledge of the virus. It always sends an extra shiver down my spine when I am reading and come across something like that. Consider it an extra bit of horror! Despite my comments earlier, just because I didn’t find all of the stories to be gory doesn’t mean they don’t have a wonderful creepy factor that horror fans will enjoy. There is a lot of creativity at play in these stories, too, and quite a range of characters. Each story has a unique flavor, no pun intended as the book is touted as a “banquet of gruesome tales.” I never felt like I was just reading various expressions of the same story.
On a side note, before I started reading this book I looked up “corpse honey” to see what it meant. What I discovered was the term “mellified man,” referring to a legendary substance used for healing. The most interesting part of this cannibalistic concoction is that the process began before death, ending with the corpse being dipped in honey and preserved for up to a century. Picco actually had something else in mind for corpse honey, though, which he describes in great detail in the Introduction. I’ll let you find that out for yourself. As a little hint, I will just say I am thrilled to have two very different descriptions of corpse honey in my mental arsenal as well as the knowledge that we share this planet with vulture bees.
After I completed Corpse Honey: A Banquet of Gruesome Tales, I was hungry for more works by Michael Picco. I do hope you will join me.
You can find more information about Michael Picco and his works on Facebook, Amazon, or his website.
