Visceral is generally a very strong word - it is used to describe an extreme instinctual reaction to something. It's like when you can't watch that part of Saw where Jigsaw is getting his brain operated on because it makes your knees feel all wobbly and your mouth go inexplicably dry. But while you can somewhat control your reactions to the excessive violence in a movie by covering your eyes during the scary parts, when you are reading it in a book you are forced to live all of the trauma right along with the characters.

There were several disturbing points where I had to put down "Snuff" and walk away for a while. After one chapter I had to leave the story alone for a few days while I processed the images which would not leave my mind. Now, I very rarely label any fiction as 'disturbing' since I also write things that make others wonder if I am sane. So when I read other reviews of "Snuff" labeling it 'disturbing' I was more excited than anything. Little did I know...

First of all - the writing is darkly exquisite. Adam and Eric put their considerable talents together and what resulted is incredible gory details and sick, twisted characters who are still real enough for you to believe. It is true that they only thing scarier than monsters is the evil man commits on his fellow man.

Something else I loved was the blasé reaction of the main character to all of the ultra-violence that he creates. Jack is surely a product of his environment as it is related all throughout the book, but in the end it seems that it is both nature AND nurture that created his particular brand of apathy. In one scene Jack and his accomplice Mikey have kidnapped a Catholic Priest for their latest endeavor. Mikey is finally feeling somewhat apprehensive about what they are doing and Jack teases him in reply. His responses are representative of his indifferent attitude.

"I know this, but it's still fun to f*ck with you," Jack said as he turned into the most recent hardware superstore to pop up along the highway. "Wait here and make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

"What if he starts praying?"

"Don't worry; his mouth is taped, so I don't think God will be able to hear him."

In addition to the gore and psychologically defunct main characters there are also several very uncomfortable scenes dealing with real-life atrocities that happen every day in this country. Of course Adam and Eric don't know that when I was nineteen and in the midst of college finals my own mother made me take our sixteen year old lab to the vet to have her put to sleep because she couldn't deal with it... so there was once particular scene that was very, very hard for me to read.

I think most of all I enjoyed the dark humor and sick, twisted sex/death scenes that pervade this book. It really speaks to the style of erotic horror that I like to both read and write the most, and while being sometimes crude it was at the same time intelligent. You might think with all the gore and senseless killing it would be a really heavy read, but instead the engrossing story pulls you in and leaves you wondering what the hell the characters could possibly do next to top what they have already done.

My favorite scene was the crescendo of the main character's activities throughout the book when he films his 'masterpiece'. It was truly one of the most disturbing things that I have ever read. I will only say that it involves clowns and sex and imaginative murder the likes of which I guarantee you've never read before. A little taste:

Around the bed on a circular track ran a model train. The cameras, the lighting, everything was set. Jack opened the tray of CD player and popped in Tom Waits' Black Rider.

"What the f*ck is that?" Vanessa's black skin shone like chocolate under the hot halogen lights.

"With everything going on right now, the music is what bothers you?" Jack asked, genuinely curious. Even through his wild face paint, his expression was both innocent and fresh, dark and brooding. It made his eyes look like bleeding lines of silver mercury.

To top it all off, just when you think everything is winding down, they twist you up at the end of the tale and draw you back in only to slap you in the face with a spectacular ending. The honest truth is that this book left me in awe. I re-read the final paragraph three times, all the while laughing and clapping because I really did not see it coming!

So if you are down for some very original, intensely shocking, thought provoking modern fiction I recommend that you pick up "Snuff" by Eric Enck and Adam Huber.