Human Tenderloin by Craig Wallwork
“I explain to the receptionist that you can’t serve Southern-fried forearms when the person to be cooked is an amputee. She doesn’t seem overly concerned with this minor detail and keeps telling me that due to unprecedented demand, stocks have dwindled, and as such customers have to manage until the deficit is replenished with new produce. Twenty years a loyal customer, and they send me half a person.”
***excerpt from “Human Tenderloin” by Craig Wallwork
Human Tenderloin is a collection of short horror stories by Craig Wallwork. Published September 10, 2021 by Underbelly Books, it weighs in at 220 pages.
I grabbed a copy of this book after seeing numerous people posting about it on social media. I was immediately drawn to the cover which was created by Thomas G. Anderson. If you’re a fan of dark art, I encourage you to check out his social media sites. The title also got my attention. Once I opened the book and read the numerous blurbs of praise from other authors I’ve read and respect, I couldn’t wait to dig in!
There are 16 stories in this collection, and each is unique and engrossing. Craig Wallwork’s voice and language throughout teeter on soothing yet eerie, which captured me. These stories are beautifully tragic. I love short horror that entertains, sometimes creeps you out, or gives you a visceral reaction. This collection does all of that plus makes you ponder a few things when you finish some of the stories. There is a surface level of thrills, excitement, and fear, but then there is a level lurking beneath the stories that has you questioning how you would react.
The author did a spectacular job pulling at my heartstrings in some of the stories. In April, after I’d read his short “The Many Ghosts of the Deep” in the charity horror collection Terror in the Trench and reviewed it, Wallwork commented on something I’d posted on social media. I appreciate authors who interact with me on my reviews. One such interaction with Craig Wallwork was a lot of fun and really showed off his sense of humor.
I picked up Human Tenderloin shortly after reading Terror in the Trench and am so glad I did. I can’t wait to read even more of Wallwork’s stories. He is definitely an author I’ll be following.
I like to look back through notes I jot while reading. I get a kick out of some of the comments I make. I also enjoy listing my favorite stories in a collection. Here are my favorite stories from the Human Tenderloin collection in order of publication including notes from my immediate reactions to the stories:
Bird Girl: I love how he writes. His descriptions are just gold. The end did give me a minor tearing up! What a beautifully tragic story. Full of despair and hopelessness yet such beauty. The language melted me.
Farewell Valencia: Great vocab in this! Deadly and morbid and dangerous. What a cool and absurd and weird story! I really loved this one! Despair with a tinge of hope. Fourth story with the number 4 throughout - interesting.
Human Tenderloin: This was a great story. So disgustingly interesting! It was so odd to hear these characters discussing the cuts of meat. The preparation. The produce. The dog’s name! I love the mention of Papua New Guinea and the Australian cannibal tribe. I love the name of this story and feel it was a wise choice for the book.
Mother’s Day: Love a revenge story. Love weird churchgoing folks. Great job creating nasty characters. I enjoyed this story quite a bit! Nice action and suspense!
Night Holds a Scythe: What a cool story concept! Excellent delivery and story and so creative!
Nothing Short: Okay this is great - gruesome and dark and strange and wonderful!
You can find my review of Terror in the Trench including Craig’s short story “The Many Ghosts of the Deep” here.
More ways to get your Craig Wallwork fix:
Who is Craig Wallwork?
Craig Wallwork is the author of the novels, Bad People, and The Sound of Loneliness, as well as the short story collections, Quintessence of Dust, and Gory Hole. His stories have been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize, many of which feature in various anthologies and magazines both in the U.K. and U.S. He currently lives in England.
***taken from Craig’s website
