Chaingang [Paperback]

Rex Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

The man is a hulk of angry, flabby, flesh, housing a genius intelligence that is ever inventing new and twisted ways to inflict pain on others. Torturing and killing innumerable victims with impunity, he still wasn't clever enough to keep himself out of prison forever. They drugged him, beat and muzzled him, then restrained him within the tight walls of a maximum-security solitary confinement cell. All that meant for Bunkowski is time to seethe in his own vile juices, planning revenge, until the day when he fights his way out. When that happens, the most terrifying, brutaland inhuman serial killer, Daniel "Chaingang" Bunkowski will once again beon the loose. Daniel "Chaingang" Bunkowski is the ultimate serial killer- quick, silent...and terrifying!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Miller ( Slob ) has created a horror story that is at once macabre, inhuman, implausible and boring. There is no plot, only a premise. Daniel Edward Flowers Bunkowski, aka "Chaingang," is a 500-pound genius serial killer who eats the hearts of his victims. A secret U.S. government unit sets him free to kill whomever he wants on the Missouri-Tennessee border in a bizarre experiment designed to develop an understanding of how mass murderers operate. Chaingang murders his way through several dozen local denizens, and, incredibly, there is not a whisper of this carnage outside of the designated killing fields. Miller's flawed premise is aggravated by flawed execution. Chaingang is introduced as such a monstrosity that he inevitably fails to live up to expectations and becomes a caricature of a serial killer--such as when he eats a steaming heart he has ripped from a victim and exclaims, "The delicacy was unusually sweet and tender," and when he recalls from his computerlike memory a work about Massim mortuary practices. Unfortunately, the unintentionally comic effect serves only to undercut Miller's attempts to make Chaingang truly frightening.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Rex Miller's potential, there to be seen from the start by anyone who had the stomach for it, is fulfilled in chilling, chance-taking Chaingang. . . . Rex's characters all come to life on his pages-at least, for as long as it takes Bunkowski to annihilate them! . . . Miller's Chaingang knows everybody is complicated as hell-and in this world, the shadows are gigantic, and come out after you! -J. N. Williamson, author of Monastery and Spree "Chaingang is outstanding! In the character of Chaingang Bunkowski, Miller has created a quintessential killer. Chaingang makes Hannibal Lecter look like Mr. Rogers." -R. Patrick Gates, author of Tunnelvision "Chaingang is a bullet of terror and suspense! Sleek, nasty, compelling prose. . . . A terrifying dark adventure story!" -Cemetery Dance Magazine "Rex Miller is back, and this time he's written another scary book to rock the peanuts out of your Hershey bar! Chaingang is a hearty and booming character that makes Hannibal Lecter look like a precocious nursery school bully. Rex Miller's prose slams its way into your system. . . . Chaingang will not let you down for one minute. -Footsteps Press "His best yet! If Hannibal Lecter and Chaingang Bunkowski were locked together in the same cell, which would walk out alive? My money is on Rex Miller's creation." -Michael Garrett, author of Keeper, co-editor of the Hot-Blood series --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: e-reads.com (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585860794
• ISBN-13: 978-1585860791
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,450,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Danny boy is one bad dude!, February 8, 2002

By 

C. Lorden (Meredith, NH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chaingang (Paperback)

Could someone please tell me where Rex Miller went? I have the whole series, and I am impatiently waiting for another Chaingang book!

If you haven't already read this book, drop everything your doing and buy it. Rex Miller creates an excellent bad guy who grows on you as each book passes.

By the time you get to Butcher, your actually rooting for danny boy!

These are clearly my favorite books

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tragic near-hero, August 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Chaingang (Paperback)

This is another book review by Wolfie and Kansas, the boonie dogs from Toto, Guam. Rex Miller's novel "Chaingang" features one of the most interesting human characters we have come across in our reading. Daniel Edward Flowers "Chaingang" Bunkowski has the body of King Kong Bundy--and the personality of Ted Bundy, with both the intellect and some of the personality of Hannibal Lecter and a Terminator robot thrown in. He also has the combat skills of "Rogue Warrior" Richard Marcinko, combined with the ability to use halitosis as a martial art.

Bunkowski is treated as a monster and serial killer. However, if one looks at the motivation for his homicidal behavior, it becomes tragically clear how close he came to becoming a great hero.

Bunkowski was an abused child whose closest friend was an abused dog. Bunkowski and the dog were often locked in the closet together. As a result, when Chaingang grew up and developed his strength, intellect and assasination skills, he sought out and killed dog abusers. If Chaingang only killed dog abusers, he would be a heroic vigilante, an inspiration equal to other fictional heroes such as Tarzan, Doc Savage, Lamont Cranston and Gilgamesh. However, Chaingang has a tendency to get carried away and kill a dozen or so innocent humans for every dog abuser he rightfully punishes.

The book "Chaingang" is a fun read, with lots of action, a good mystery, and a couple other interesting human characters besides Bunkowski. While this book is an excellent thriller, if Chaingang Bunkowski had been a little more selective in this targets, "Chaingang" could have been a classic of heroic literature

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating character, interesting story, good writing, September 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Chaingang (Paperback)

Rex Miller has created a very interesting and unusual character. CHAINGANG is an extremely strong, highly intelligent serial killer who happens to love puppies, so he can't be all bad. Two parallel stories come together nicely with lots of action and evil deeds, not necessarily done by our anti-hero. If you liked the Silence of the Lambs then you'll love this author.