First published back in October of 2024, extreme horror author Matt Shaw’s novel ‘Sick B*stards: Everywhere’ was the fourth instalment (not including the comic adaptation) of Shaw’s ‘Sick B*stards’ series. The novel formed a prequel to the first book, although please note it should be read after the other novels, otherwise it’ll give away the big twist that’s unveiled in the original books.
The book was originally a crowd funded piece via IndieGoGo, with pre-order funding taking place back in January of 2024. The campaign allowed ten individuals to appear in the novel as a main character. In addition, physical copies of the book were available to be purchased, both in paperback and a limited-edition hardback. The hardback was only made available through the IndieGoGo campaign, of which there were just five copies purchased.
Sophie Hall knew she was in trouble. The cupboards were bare, and the tap only spewed out brown sludge. Outside the dilapidated house, the thick woodlands contained any number of lurking threats. She had no recollection of how she got there, who she was, or what was going on. The only thing she knew was the world as she once knew it had now ended, and she was alone. Alone, other than the infant she could no longer look after. The infant who she couldn’t feed, couldn’t protect, couldn’t care for any longer. All she could do was wait and hope help came.
Sophie wasn’t the only one faced with this world of hostile uncertainty. Close by, Linnea Kasky was hiding out in a similarly decrepit house, however Linnea wasn’t alone, she had a man with her. Although, she had no idea who he was. She didn’t really know who she was either and whilst he was adamant they’d been married before all this happened, deep in her gut, she knew he was lying. Most of her memories were lost. A side-effect, they’d both guessed, from whatever had happened out there in the strange new world surrounding them.
Not all of Linnea’s memories had gone. There were flashes within the darkness, a kind man’s face. She had no idea who he was, but with the way she felt whenever she saw his image flash up, she knew it wasn’t a stranger and that there was a deeper connection. The same couldn’t be said for the man with her now. Ugur continued to insist they were husband and wife, continued to demand sex each day, continued to push himself onto her. Linnea was getting to the point of no return. She couldn’t go on like this. She couldn’t continue with the abuse. She had to do something…or die trying.
Despite all these individuals feeling alone in this hostile new world, they weren’t quite as alone as they’d been led to believe. Cameras were located in every rundown house, in the woodlands and around the expansive site, all watching them. Under the direction of James Hawkins, the British Prime Minister, the government were running a terrifying experiment, attempting to discover if people would be worth saving in the event of an apocalyptic disaster. Those in the experiment having had their memories wiped. A necessity to have them believe the world’s end was real.
But there was one out there who still retained his memory. An individual who the drugs had failed on. Although he didn’t fully understand the purpose of the experiment, Chris Hall knew there was no atomic fall-out. But waking in this strange setting, where no one can be trusted, where food is scarce and everyone is scared, the situation before Chris, as with everyone else within the experiment, is one fraught with danger. Chris Hall will soon find out that this is no normal experiment. After all, at the end of it, the government doesn’t expect any survivors…
Well, it’s been a decade since Shaw penned the first ‘Sick B*stards’ (2014) novel – one which included a monumental twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan – and here we have a brand-new addition to the series, with a prequel which sets down exactly how the whole fucked-up experiment came about.
As mentioned at the start of the review, this prequel should be read after the original three books, otherwise it’ll ruin the big twist. Indeed, the novel sets down how this insane experiment came about, those in the government who drove the trial forward, those who unwittingly signed up for this absolute insanity, and the very first days of the experiment.
All through the book we’re bounced back and forth between before the experiment commences, and then today, where we see first few days of the experiment. With “Before” we see the experiment’s participants signing up for the trials. We’ve also got the government considering the whole purpose of the experiment and how far they’d be willing to go with it all. We also have a bit more understanding given on those subjected to the serum which was designed to transform them into psychotic super soldiers.
Then we have the chapters marked as “Today”. These are still set before ‘Sick B*stards’ (2014), however, they’re literally the days if not hours before the first novel commences. It’s in these chapters where we meet a whole new cast of characters, most in pairs, who try to come to terms with what the hell’s going on. Each of these introductions are almost miniature vignettes, telling their own story, and exhibiting their own responses to this faux-apocalyptic hell.
The chapters set in “Today” are where Shaw once again launches into lashings of extreme horror. We have suicide, murder and rape on the cards, as well as a somewhat delightful decline into cannibalism for one particular individual. Yeah, you’ve guessed it, Shaw’s not eased up one bit with the levels of extremity exhibited in this prequel.
The psychotic maniacs who were subjected to the government’s experimental serum don’t play much of a role in this novel. Instead, it’s more about the government’s own role, and the resulting fallout within each isolated house at the test site. This, however, doesn’t stifle the levels of violence, but instead makes any eruptions of violence more human, more personal, more survivor-on-survivor.
A big part of this novel is Shaw playing around with governmental conspiracies and their inherent lack of human compassion. Indeed, the whole purpose of the experiment is to establish if it would be worth saving anyone in the event of atomic fall-out. A cold, callous and utterly disconnected perspective, seeing those within the experiment as merely expendable guinea pigs. Yeah, it’s all pretty bleak stuff!
The end result of this is a wrapping up of the ‘Sick B*stards’ series, with the experiment’s motivation now fully explained as well as a backstory behind some of the early characters. The novel slots nicely in front of ‘Sick B*stards’ (2014), even bringing in snippets of the original books to fully link the series together.
It’s a fun, fast-paced and violent read, with shit constantly going on. The short vignette-style sections keep this pacing tight with the rich cast of characters taking us through a spectrum of hard-hitting reactions to the unfolding situation. Of course, as this reviewer plays a key role in the novel (the fella who retains his memory), I’m incredibly chuffed to have been a part of the series.
If you’ve read the other books, then this final instalment is definitely one you’ll want to wrap the series up with. It’s the final but first round of ‘Sick B*stards’ carnage!
The novel runs for a total of 194 unnumbered pages (yes, I counted them for this review!).
© DLS Reviews
Other ‘Sick B*stards’ instalments:
- ‘Sick B*stards’ (2014)
- ‘SickER B*stards’ (2014)
- ‘SickEST B*stards’ (2015)
- ‘Sick B*stards: Issue One’ (2016) [Comic]
- ‘Sick B*stards: Everywhere’ (2024)
