Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans —though no one calls them that anymore.

His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.” Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.

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Yikes, guys, this novel was something else! As a vegetarian, this only further confirmed I do not wish to eat meat, ever. This novel centers around our main character Marcos, who works in a meat factory. Now, this is no ordinary meat, it is human beings, however, it is illegal to call it that anymore it is now called “special meat.” Set in a dystopian world where a virus has infected the animals and found to be deadly to humans mankind killed off all the animals. What they found as a solution to their problem to prevent the extinction of mankind was to breed humans for consumption. We follow Marcos as we learn of his job and duties in the “special meat” industry as he battles with his inner demons of right vs wrong. After the death of his child, Marcos’s wife leaves him, leaving Marcos with only his job and dying father. That is until he is gifted a female “head” of his own. A twisted journey soon unfolds as Marcos breaks every rule made about the relationships between “head” and humans. A truly twisted tale about what one man would do for love.

I would like to start by saying this is a very descriptive book in terms of how they treat and slaughter humans. I imagine Bazterrica did a great deal of research into actual meat farms as it portrays exactly what cows, pigs, and other animals endure. Thus making this novel difficult to get through at times. If you are like me and have a tough stomach with thick skin, this is actually a great novel. I felt it really dove deep into just how far we as a species would go to ensure our own survival despite what we may need to do to obtain it. Marcos’s character was well developed in the sense we got to see into his inner thoughts as he battled with what he was doing. We were given characters like Marcos who seemed to understand the cruelty being done to these human “heads” while others seemed to joyce in the slaughter. There were a lot of great quotes throughout the novel as well where Marcos challenged whether the government was truthful about this virus or if it was an attempt for more control. One of the quotes that stuck out was, “He’d had to slaughter them, knowing, suspecting, that the virus was a lie invented by global powers and legitimized by the government and media.” There were a few more that hinted to Marcos wondering what was true and was a lie. I felt this novel had a lot of hidden depth and meaning to it. It really made me ponder what we would do if faced with events presented like those in this story. This was a truly heavy read for many reasons, leaving a lasting effect on me long after I finished.

Despite a well-drawn-out storyline with developed characters, I wasn’t a fan of the writing style so much. Do not get me wrong, it was extremely well written, just a bit dry for my liking. It had almost an essay feel to it as if someone was explaining the details of a meat farm to me. Aside from my personal dislike of the writing style, I found this novel to be overall rather vivid. It took me a couple goes to really get into it, yet I am glad I did not let it sit in my DNF (do not finish) pile. Despite the tough topic, this was a great read that truly left me thinking.

I would not say this is extreme horror, but it is definitely horror. So if you love horror, dystopian worlds, taboo topics, or are looking for a novel that will leave you questioning your own morals, check this book out. I can not stress enough this is one of those novels that is not for the faint of heart. If you don’t mind or can see past the graphic detail this is a very well-done novel for the horror community.

Pages: 211

Published: August 4th, 2020

Genre: Adult Fiction – Horror – Dystopian – Science Fiction

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