Apex on Bizarro Fiction

Apex Book Company has published a writeup on bizarro fiction by Don Campbell, in which they provide a brief overview of the genre and discuss some of the works of Carlton Mellick III, Mykle Hansen, Jeff Burk, and my own Ass Goblins of Auschwitz. Click here to read it. While you’re on the Apex website, be sure to check out Issue 31 of Apex Magazine as well as their bookstore. This year, Apex published Starve Better by Nick Mamatas, Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke, and re-released Like Death by Tim Waggoner, among other titles.

Looking for some inspiration or just some cool pictures to stare at? Head on over to Matthew Revert’s Trash Complex, where he has posted some incredible Czech new wave film posters. Also, over at Bizarro Central, Sam Reeve is blogging about a different weird artist every day for the entire month of December. The artists she has chosen so far have all been incredible.

In other news,  Abortion Arcade is now available for the Kindle. Abortion Arcade contains No Children (a post-apocalyptic novella about zombies who farm humans like cattle), The Roadkill Quarterback of Heavy Metal High (a Troma-esque high school drama about Dio, football, and the terrors of an adolescent werewolf), and The Destroyed Room, which might be my favorite longer work I’ve written.

Lloyd Kaufman praises The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz!

“This book is a Eurosleaze fairytale that’s better than the Da Vinci Code and should be on Oprah’s Book List! Pierce is one of the weirdest, most imaginative writers around. Toxie-approved!” – Lloyd Kaufman, director of The Toxic Avenger and Poultrygeist

I’m going to be geeking out about this forever. Time to celebrate with a Troma movie marathon.

Uncle Lloyd himself.

Dutch review of The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz

The amazing Pink Bullets just posted a positive review of The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz. Judith, their reviewer, was even kind enough to send me an English translation. If your Dutch is fluent, click here to read the review at Pink Bullets. Also check out the rest of Pink Bullets at http://www.pinkbullets.nl. Here’s the English translation:

Bizarre book: Ass Goblins of Auschwitz

“Literary snob as I am, I thought I knew all literary genres. I was wrong. Bizarro fiction is new to me. This genre pursuits to be strange, fascinating, thought provoking and fun. Ass Goblins of Auschwitz is strange and fascinating, but I wasn’t sure if reading it would be fun.

I have to be honest, after the first chapter I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep on reading about the conjoined twins Otto and his brother. Or as they are called in Auschwitz; 1001 and 999. The bizarre fantasy world of author Cameron Pierce is however so bizarre and fascinating, that I had to keep on reading. Strange or not, it is a well written book.

The story is told from the point of view of Otto’s brother, whom we only get to know by his Auschwitz name; 999. Before the ass goblins came, Otto, his brother and all the other children lived in Kidsland. It was a nice and happy place, with seldom any problems. The biggest problem of the conjoined twins, was another set of conjoined twins; Frannie and Frannie 2. Frannie is great, Frannie 2 is creepy as hell.

One day, without a warning, the ass goblins invade Kidsland. All the children which aren’t murdered, are taken to Auschwitz, where they have to work in toy factories all day. Their food is the skin of deceased children and their own organs. The organs are served to them in a very peculiar way, by the toilet toads. If you want to know how exactly, you’ll have to read it yourself. When the main ass goblin -Adolf- is away, a couple of scientists decide to experiments on the conjoined twins and Frannie, Frannie 2, Otto and his brother get a chance to escape…

You’ve probably already understood, this is not your everyday story. The ass goblins aren’t just monsters, they look like that as well. Filthy creatures, nothing more than asses on legs, with sick hobbies like shit slaughter, also known as SS.

In short, this is a true bizarro novel.
Strange? Check.
Fascinating? Check.
Thought provoking? Check.
Fun to read? Yes. In between all the filth, there is humor, but if you don’t like filthy stories, don’t start this book. I kind of like filthy stories, therefore I am giving this book four out of the five pink bullets. This was a reading experience I will never forget.”

The Kind of Goblins Ilsa Would Be Proud Of

Matthew Revert reviewed The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz over at Clockwork Father. Here’s what he had to say:

“The outrageously named, ‘Ass Goblins of Auschwitz’ is the kind of book that a potential reader can ascertain whether or not they’ll enjoy based on their reaction to the title. If the title tickles most of your funny bones, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll enjoy it. If not, perhaps steer clear. Being an avid fan of Nazi Exploitation films, I responded quite favorably to the title.

Gross out tomfoolery abounds as we are taken to an alternate Auschwitz, ruled by a flatulent race of beings called the Ass Goblins. They travel to a neighbouring planet and abduct children to work as slaves in their camp and when the mood strikes, they ferment them into cider. These children are subjected to all manner of unpleasantness as they try, seemingly in vain, simply to survive. The story revolves around two slaves, 999 and 1001, who are conjoined twins and their experiences within the camp. Suffice to say, in order to survive, they will have to consume their fellow slaves, construct toys out of their fellow slaves and endure various violations.

Okay, so we have ourself a story bound to appeal to those who like their fiction crazy and dripping in filth. It’s a fun read, despite the sense of darkness and hopelessness that permeates throughout. Where this story maybe falls a little flat is in areas concerning character development and genuine emotional connection. These children are subjected to abject horror but as a reader, I felt distanced from it. Character development exists but not in a meaningful way. This prevented it from truly affecting me and instead, I just found it immensely fun. I’m not going to complain about that too much because having a good time while reading isn’t a bad thing. And let’s face it, if you’re buying this book, you’re probably doing so because you’re attracted to OTT ideas involved.

Those who are fans of Bizarro will like this. It ticks all the boxes we’ve come to expect from the genre. Those unfamiliar with Bizarro but into Nazi Exploitation cinema should give this a go. These are the kind of Goblins Ilsa herself would be proud of.”

Ass Goblins! Sharks! Kindle! Oh my!

Kindle editions of Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden and The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz are now available!

If you own a Kindle, you can purchase an e-book version of Shark Hunting for $0.99 by clicking here.

To get the Kindle version of The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz, click here.

10,000 Bullets Reviews Ass Goblins of Auschwitz

Michael Den Boer’s review of The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz is currently the featured review over at 10,000 Bullets. Here’s an excerpt:

“From the opening chapter up until the poetic melancholy coda, this book is a relentless journey. At the core of this book, is a story about the shift from childhood to adulthood and the loss of one’s innocence. Without a doubt the most enjoyable and strongest asset of this book is its author’s fluid, descriptive, prose and his limitless imagination.”

Click on the excerpt to read the complete review.

Download Sausagey Santa, Super Fetus, The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz, and more!

Thanks to Jeff Burk, you can now download The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz, Sausagey Santa by Carlton Mellick III, Super Fetus by Adam Pepper, and both Bizarro Starter Kits. That’s five free books! Go forth and download, then read until your eyes melt out of your face.

Keith J. Crocker’s Foreword to The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz

Keith J. Crocker, director of Blitzkrieg: Escape From Stalag 69 and The Bloody Ape, was kind enough to write a foreword for The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz.  He also praised Ass Goblins as “Truly disgusting! A fascinating mix of William Burroughs, David Cronenberg and Lenny Bruce if you were to take all three and drop them into a blender. Pierce is a writer with a truly warped imagination.”  Unfortunately, conflicting schedules prevented the foreword from appearing in print, but here it is, in all its glory!  If you haven’t seen his films yet, go check them out.  Keith stands among a very small group of directors to take on the Nazi exploitation genre in the twenty-first century.

Foreword by Keith J. Crocker

The first question I asked myself was where do I fit in Ass Goblins of Auschwitz? Writer Cameron Pierce has a vivid and very descriptive imagination, as I read his story I couldn’t help but dream the images up in my head and try and figure out how they’d translate cinematically. Would a project like this be animation, claymation, stop motion??? Actually all those cinematic tricks apply, but the best movie to come out of this warped and truly funny story will be in your own head as the reader can’t help but breath life into Cameron’s delirium. It’s been ages since I laughed so hard that I wanted to pee my pants, and it’s been equally as long since someone wrote something that truly nauseated me. And yes folks, that is a compliment. Being a film director, and having recently completed a Nazisploitation film called Blitzkrieg: Escape From Stalag 69, I can only bask in Cameron’s vivid and descriptive imagination, and look forward to the day Cameron decides to turn his attention to screenplays.

The word Nazisploitation might be new to a few of you readers. Nazisploitation is a recent terminology used to describe exploitation films that use WWII or in particular the Nazi party as their point of focus, in this case often focusing on war crimes, concentration camps or brothels using prisoners of war as prostitutes or sex objects. Its interest has less to do with history and more to do with fetish. Violence and sex are the selling points.

Initially, the genre started out as high end European art films, movies such as “The Night Porter” and “Salon Kitty”. But the success of the softcore sex film “Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS” turned all such oncoming films into pure circus maximus entertainment. Hence from there we got charming titles such as “SS Hell Camp”, “SS Camp #5, Women’s Hell”, “SS Experiment Camp”, etc…etc… The point is that a sub genre was created and had a semi successful run in the late nineteen seventies. But what Cameron has done here is totally unique. Instead of beating the same dead horse, he has transferred this grim, WWII setting into the land of Ass Goblins. This story owes more to J.R.R. Tolkien than Hitler or WWII. Ass Goblins exist everywhere, they sneak out of your rear end and before you know it they are the boss or co-workers at your next job. Similar to Ass Clowns only Ass Clowns are stupid and funny, while Ass Goblins are downright nasty, dangerous and toxic. Do you doubt me? Well don’t, stop reading my babble and set your eyes upon Cameron Pierces descriptive text and get drawn into a whole new world. Just don’t forget to bring a stomach distress bag!

The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz is now available!

It’s Monty Python meets Nazi exploitation in a surreal nightmare as can only be imagined by Bizarro author Cameron Pierce.

In a land where black snow falls in the shape of swastikas, there exists a nightmarish prison camp known as Auschwitz. It is run by a fascist, flatulent race of aliens called the Ass Goblins, who travel in apple-shaped spaceships to abduct children from the neighboring world of Kidland. Prisoners 999 and 1001 are conjoined twin brothers forced to endure the sadistic tortures of these ass-shaped monsters. To survive, they must eat kid skin and work all day constructing bicycles and sex dolls out of dead children.

While the Ass Goblins become drunk on cider made from fermented children, the twins plot their escape. But it won’t be easy. They must overcome toilet toads, cockrats, ass dolls, and the surgical experiments that are slowly mutating them into goblin-child hybrids.

Forget everything you know about Auschwitz…you’re about to be Shit Slaughtered.

Order your copy of Ass Goblins of Auschwitz here. A Kindle Edition is also available.

PRAISE FOR ASS GOBLINS OF AUSCHWITZ:

“This book is a Eurosleaze fairytale that’s better than the Da Vinci Code and should be on Oprah’s Book List! Pierce is one of the weirdest, most imaginative writers around. Toxie-approved!” – LLOYD KAUFMAN, director of The Toxic Avenger and Poultrygeist

“I am slightly afraid of it. It looks kind of contagious.” – WARREN ELLIS, author of Transmetropolitan and Crooked Little Vein

“In an era when very little remains shocking, Pierce might have actually managed to create a genuinely disturbing work of fiction, the literary equivalent of Schindler’s List rewritten by the Marquis De Sade and filmed as a Tim Burton animated feature.” – THE GUARDIAN

“Truly disgusting! A fascinating mix of William Burroughs, David Cronenberg and Lenny Bruce if you were to take all three and drop them into a blender. Pierce is a writer with a truly warped imagination.” – KEITH J. CROCKER, director of Blitzkrieg: Escape From Stalag 69

“Strange? Check. Fascinating? Check. Thought-provoking? Check. Fun to read? Yes. In between all the filth, there is humor [...] a reading experience I will never forget.” – PINK BULLETS

“If you are a fan of novels like Naked Lunch, Skin, or any other strange bit of fiction, you must read The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz…It’s one of the best entries in the Bizarro fiction genre.” – LIVING WITH A NERD

“A must read.” – THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW

“From the opening chapter up until the poetic melancholy coda, this book is a relentless journey.” – 10K BULLETS

“It’s as if Ren & Stimpy made a Nazi exploitation movie!” – DAVID W. BARBEE, author of Carnageland

SELECT COVERAGE FOR ASS GOBLINS OF AUSCHWITZ:

The Guardian

TV Tropes

Wreckhouse Magazine

Helium

10K Bullets

Horror Yearbook

Dead Lantern

Anything Horror

Bloodsprayer

Living with a Nerd

Pink Bullets