Customer Reviews

Weed Species

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have to disagree with the reviewer from Publisher's Weekly who says that Ketchum's attempt to show that "how problems ranging from domestic violence to depraved social indifference stem from the same root cause" is half-hearted and unsuccessful. I found myself strangely moved by this mean, blood-spattered little story. The problem for most people, I imagine, is that they find themselves so distracted by the viscera and sexual depravity that practically is dripping from the pages that they overlook the subtle ways in which Ketchum ties everything together. The story about the family pet ignored and neglected, the story about the men who propelled the Dodo bird toward extinction for sport---- when you consider that these are acts of sheer cruelty enacted out of selfishness with no provocation, you can see the connection that Ketchum is drawing between all forms of sadism and depravity, not just the kind involving the two perverts in this story.

The illustrations in this book are a very nice touch--- they are black and white drawings depicting the events of the story, but at the edge of the drawing is always a tenebrous figure of a weed monster. At first I was nonplussed by the appearance of these monsters, since there is no mention of them in the story, however, I have come to believe that they are meant to be the physical manifestation of the root cause of all cruelty that lies at the base of this story.

Sadistic, brutal, and wet, this story is absolutely NOT for the faint of heart (or even the casual horror fan), however, it's an absolute must-read for any Ketchum fan along with any horror fan who is looking for something more unusual, esoteric, or cerebral.

This book was O.K. However it was very much like the true story of Paul Bernardo and his wife Karla Holmoka.
The infamous couple sometimes callled the Ken and Barbie killers, kidnapped, raped, and killed school girls, and video taped everything.
The characters in this book do the same things. So much was the same,like, the rape and murder of Karla's little sister, Tammy, the rapes of many women, and then the rapes and murders of 2 innocent school girls.
The video tapes is what convicted Paul,with the help of Karla's testimony(just like the book!)
He was sentenced to life, and she got 12 years. She is now a free woman. Pretty sick huh?
If you want to read the REAL story instead of" weed species", don't buy this book, buy the Karla Holmoka story, or buy the dvd " Karla".

this book could have been better, it's not very long,and it leave's you wanting more,some people say this book is bordering on pornography, thats just a load of crap!. it's no worse than "openseason",or "offspring", tho i did enjoy reading this book, you should know that books like this are always not very long and usually quite pricey. the book has a few, very graphic rape scenes in it, if you are offened by this ,then you should'nt buy this book.

Normally, Jack Ketchum is a superb and brilliant writer and storyteller. I don't know what happened with 'Weed Species'. It's definitely a freshman piece, more likely grade school.

The book begins with the drugging and raping of Sherry's thirteen year old, virginal sister, Talia. A Christmas gift from Sherry to her fiancé Owen, and they videotape it. Halfway through the rape, Talia vomits and stops breathing. But Talia is just the beginning. Sherry and Owen have a true taste for rape and murder, the more degrading and depraved, the better. Owen begins to become paranoid and obsessive, showering five time a day and scouring himself constantly with hand sanitizer. Then Owen is arrested, and much to Sherry's dismay she discovers Owen has allowed the police a DNA sample the first time he was questioned. With their convictions, Owen and Sherry take dramatically different paths. Times change, but people usually don't.

'Weed Species' is a story of psychopathic violence, the "weeds' in humanity. The violence and sex are both quite graphic, particularly at the beginning of the book. Ketchum's writing is stilted with meanderingly long sentences and juvenile prose. It lacks descriptiveness (even though the scenes are brutal), using very little background or landscaping, and the characters are wooden and weak. Another problem with the book is that it has no ending. It just stops. No climax, no resolution, not even a hint at closure. It just stops. I doubt I would have gotten through this mess except that it is (thankfully) only 86 pages. Do yourself a favor and skip this book, regardless of whether you think Jack Ketchum is a good writer. He is ... just not in this book.

Do take a moment to look at the fantastic cover art by the talented Alan M. Clark, whose work has graced many horror story covers. The interior illustrations are done by Glenn Chadbourne, each illustration displaying a weedy hand in it. Chadbourne is good, but can't quite match the gruesome weedy cover by Clark.

I've read that Jack Ketchum was trying to make readers feel repulsed with this story and he certainly succeeds in the first few pages. After that however, the "story" reads like an outline. There's really no character development, conflict or resolution. The book has very small pages and very large print, so the entire thing takes about 10-15 minutes to read, but I can save you the trouble. Once upon a time there were 2 people who raped and killed girls. Then they got caught and went to jail and later 1 of them got out and did it again. The end. Honestly there's not much more to the book than that.

I bought this book with much anticiapation. Boy what a disappointment. Never having readanything by the author before i was looking forward to this. This is nothing more than a shallow porno story with no filling. there is nothing note worthy about it. Save your money and look for something else!