Dark Humour Books | Guy Portman's Blog

5 Good Books Containing Dark Humour

May 15 2020

This week we return to the subject of books. Here are five works of fiction that contain dark humour. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Glue by Irvine Welsh

Glue adeptly captures the zeitgeists of the various eras it encapsulates. The book’s scabrous descriptions will appeal to all fans of the Transgressive Fiction genre.

My Review: Glue is about four friends who hail from Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. It begins with them as infants in the 1970s, and ends at the dawn of the new …(more)

Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

This brutal, bleak and at times humorous episodic tome (600+ pages) is a must for all dark fiction aficionados.

My Review: Cornelius Suttree resides in a dilapidated houseboat on the Tennessee River, on the edge of Knoxville. He ekes out a living fishing in its murky waters; his primary …(more)

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

Rant challenges our own traditions by demonstrating how we contort our recollection of events in accordance with our desires, motives and beliefs.

My Review: Rant is the oral history of Buster ‘Rant’ Casey, recounted by an array of people including his relations, friends, enemies and lovers. Rant’s childhood companions from the …(more)

Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

Knockemstiff is a transgressive compilation of short stories. Topics include drugs, drinking, disease and sexual degeneracy.

My Review: These interlinked short stories are set in ‘The Holler’; an impoverished part of Knockemstiff, a real-life Ohioan backwater. ‘The Holler’s’ air is permanently imbued with the stench of …(more)

Checking Out by Nick Spalding

Checking Out is a black comedy sprinkled with hope. Many will be drawn to its protagonist due to his wry wit and likeable personality.

My Review: Nathan is a young, well-off musician with a gorgeous girlfriend, a sportscar and some exceedingly expensive bi-fold doors. He is also successful, thanks to his …(more)

19 Free Crime Books – Limited Time Only

Feb 07 2020

I have teamed up with some of my fellow authors to offer you a selection of 19 free crime books. Our offer includes the first instalment in my darkly humorous crime trilogy. The revamped #1 Necropolis has a new front cover and blurb.

Click Here To View The 19 FREE Books

All you have to do to claim your free book is sign up to the given author’s mailing list. It can then be downloaded in your desired format. You can unsubscribe at any time. If you want my book, but are already signed up to my mailing list, sign up again. I will remove any duplicates. The offer runs until Feb. 29.

Please share this offer with anyone who might be interested. Have a good weekend.

Click Here to Claim Your Free Books

800+ Ratings for Necropolis Trilogy on Goodreads

‘… a magnificent foray into the mind of a sociopath’ – DLS Reviews

‘The book is full of razor-sharp satire’ – Crime Fiction Lover

Dark Humour Books, Culinary Delights & More Besides

Oct 04 2019

This a breakfast I had earlier in the week. It’s called egg hash and I highly recommend it.

As for me I’ve been catching up with some reading of late. I just finished Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut. I actually preferred this quick read to the author’s seminal work, Slaughterhouse-Five. Next up is this comedy crime caper. I often drink green tea while reading.

These are the books I have left to read in 2019. Some of this pile appeared in one of my recent posts, but it has since had two additions.

For a nation traditionally blighted by substandard instant noodles, these have been a welcome arrival. Not sure what their fate will be in the face of a no-deal Brexit. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

I am prone to doubling up on chocolate eclairs.

Like Dyson Devereux, the protagonist in the Necropolis Trilogy, I am an avid consumer of Italian delicacies. Amongst those eaten this week were these carciofi (artichokes) and prosciutto wrapped cheese.

Golgotha, the third instalment in my black comedy trilogy, will be released on Dec. 3. It will see the return of the sociopathic Dyson Devereux. Golgotha has just been uploaded to Goodreads. If you could add it to your TBR list, it would be much appreciated.

You can’t keep a good sociopath down.

Golgotha Goodreads link. Have a good weekend.

Another Week Bites The Dust

Sep 20 2019

It’s Friday again. They sure come around fast. Last week I unveiled the front cover for Golgotha (release: early Dec) the final instalment in my black comedy Necropolis Trilogy. If you missed it, here it is again.

On another subject, today I came across these three Roe deer on my morning walk.

They didn’t seem too alarmed by my dog and I. Evidently they were not aware of how keen on venison we are. Trigga was fixated on this tree in my garden for ages yesterday. Likelihood is a squirrel had gone up it, or it contains a late season pigeon nest.

The garden is still growing pretty quick, and having ignored it for a few weeks, the time has come to get back to work.

What with all the dog walking and gardening, I have been losing weight. So, it’s out with the healthy stuff …

And in with the high calorie fare. You can’t beat vegetable samosas and onion bhajis.

Three chocolate brownies down; two to go.

A book delivery arrived yesterday. It’s a good feeling receiving new books; if you’re a bibliophile like me that is. For the most part, my reading matter currently comprises the genres I write in; namely dark humour and Transgressive Fiction. While Dark Places doesn’t fit into those categories, it is dark fiction. I will be reviewing them here and on Goodreads in due course. All I need now is some bookshelves to store this ever-expanding reading matter.

A reminder that Tomorrow’s World: Darkly Humorous Tales From The Future is free at all retailers. My satirical book of vignettes finally received a decent batch of reviews on Amazon US this week. It appears my book is a bit like Marmite. People either love it or hate it.

And that’s it for this week. Have a good weekend. And if your nation is playing in the Rugby World Cup, I wish you the best of luck, unless your from Tonga that is.

The Necropolis Trilogy And More Besides

Aug 30 2019

Golgotha, the final instalment in my Necropolis Trilogy, is nearing completion. I am currently working on a blurb, which I look forward to sharing with you in due course. If you haven’t done so already, why not check out the first two darkly humorous offerings in the trilogy? Click here to see my books on Amazon.

What is a sociopath to do?

A sociopath’s work is never done.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed your summer (Northern Hemisphere) visitors. What with all the sun and rain, I have been besieged with gardening. It is now complete; that is until it grows again. This lawn was landscaped a few months back hence why it looks a bit patchy in places. But it’s coming along well, and I look forward to the day when it will be a pristine bowling green.

In other news, I have just finished my thirteenth book of the year – Papillon. The 600 page tome is about a man sentenced to life imprisonment in a penal colony in French Guiana. Review to follow. Perhaps you’ve read it or watched the film it inspired. Next up will be some dark humour. A batch of books are on their way.

My blog’s comments and likes etc. are still not working properly, which is annoying. But I will be migrating to a new website at some point in the not too distant future, so I am not going to try and rectify this fiddly issue for now.

Have a good weekend.

A Summer Freebie & A Big Announcement

Aug 09 2019

In today’s post, I will be reiterating what I told my newsletter subscribers on Wednesday. First up, it’s the big announcement. My forthcoming black comedy, Golgotha, will be released in the late autumn now, and not this summer as originally planned. This is because I have had a lot on my plate of late. The good news is that Dyson’s return will be well worth the wait. Golgotha is the final instalment in my darkly humorous Necropolis Trilogy. I look forward to showing you the front cover, blurb and more very soon.

And the good news doesn’t end there. I have a FREE book for you. It’s Tomorrow’s World: Darkly Humorous Tales From The Future. Click on the link below to download your FREE copy of my satirical book of vignettes (Mobi/ePub/PDF).

Click here to claim your FREE copy of Tomorrow’s World

Tomorrow’s World will soon be available for free on retailer sites, but this is your chance to get it before the rush. Have a good weekend. Happy reading.

5 Dark Humour Reading Recommendations

Mar 01 2019

Here are five ‘dark humour’ books that I have read and would recommend.

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

Survivor is an innovative and erudite social commentary, brimming with satirical observations and irreverent humour.

My Review: Tender Branson, the last survivor of the Creedish Church cult, has hijacked an aeroplane, which is now flying on autopilot. His objective: to dictate his life story onto …(more)

Spencer’s Risk by Andy Greenhalgh

Spencer’s Risk is a third person, thespian-themed work that offers an authentic insight into the mind of a compulsive gambler.

My Review: Spencer Leyton’s life is spiralling downhill. He has split from his wife, is virtually estranged from his kids, his career is in tatters, and he has a serious …(more)

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Fortunately for the author she has a sense of humour, and she needed it for this book.

My Review: This non-fiction work investigates the more unfamiliar scenarios involving our dead bodies. Topics include human crash test cadavers, bullet-testing cadavers, and … (more)

Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A sense of doom and despair permeates this somewhat disparate and at times darkly humorous assemblage.

My Review: The book, which is divided into four parts, begins with the sinister tale Rashōmon. Set during the Heian era (11th century) it sees a confrontation between …(more)

The Voyeur’s Motel by Gay Talese

The Voyeur’s Motel is comprised of the confessions of Gerald Foos, a former Colorado motel owner and voyeur.

My Review: Foos’s lifelong obsession began in childhood, spying on his aunt through the window of her bedroom. It was his purchase in the 1960s of the Manor Park Motel in …(more)

6 Dark Humour Reading Recommendations

Feb 01 2019

Here are five darkly humorous books that I have read and one that I have written. Click on the links to read the reviews.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

Haunted is a series of short stories, in which the author explores a variety of themes, including the media-obsessed nature of society.

My Review: Haunted is about a group of writers, who have been assembled by the conniving Mr Whittier to attend a writers group. The location of the retreat is in an isolated theatre with no access … (more)

The Blade Artist by Irvine Welsh

The complex and manipulative protagonist, sordid characters and squalid descriptions will appeal to fans of the Transgressive genre.

My Review: Reformed Scottish ex-con Jim Francis (formerly Franco Begbie) is now a successful sculptor living the dream in sunny California with his former prison art therapist now trophy wife …(more)

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

This satire of the yuppies culture of the 1980s adroitly explores the mind of a psychopath and questions the very essence of capitalist culture.

My Review: American Psycho is a highly controversial novel that brought its author Bret Easton Ellis instant fame. The book is written from the perspective of a young Wall Street financier …(more)

The Butcher by Nathan Burrows

This aptly named book is set in the English county of Norfolk. Topics comprise swine, cannibalism and illegal migrants.

My Review: Frank Pinch is a butcher, his brother Tom a pig farmer. The siblings have a problem. Their dilapidated family farm is struggling financially and under threat of closure due to …(more)

Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

Knockemstiff is a transgressive compilation of short stories. Topics include drugs, drinking, disease and sexual degeneracy.

Tomorrow’s World: Darkly Humorous Tales by Guy Portman

The book’s subjects encompass manic capitalism, extreme celebrity worship, virtual reality and a grotesquely ageing population.

Daily Squib Review: There’s something about the future that scares the shit out of people a lot, maybe it’s simply the thought of the unknown that affects us with such fear. What possible delights await us in …(more)

19 Free Humour Books For You

Jan 18 2019

I have teamed up with some fellow UK humour authors to offer you a selection of 19 humour books for FREE. The offer includes one of mine. Click on the link below to discover which of my humorous offerings it is, and to view the other hilarious options, consisting of comedy novellas, short stories, and a few full reads. They are available for free for a limited time only. All you have to do is click on the book cover you want and follow the instructions to receive your free book/s (Mobi/ePub/PDF) and to sign up to the given author’s mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time.

BEAT THE JANUARY BLUES FREE HUMOUR BOOK LINK

I will be contacting my ever-expanding mailing list with this fantastic offer in due course. But if you are already on it and want a free copy of my satirical ‘masterpiece’, drop me an email to info@guyportman.com with Yes in the subject line, or just Y if you’re too busy for the other two letters. Otherwise click on the link below and locate my book cover in the selection.

Have a good weekend.

BEAT THE JANUARY BLUES FREE HUMOUR BOOK LINK

6 Dark Fiction Reading Recommendations

Sep 14 2018

I am an avid fan of dark fiction. Here are 5 dark fiction books that I have read and one that I have written.

Definition: Dark fiction is concerned with the sinister side of human nature. It is often distinguished from the mainstream horror genre in that it tends not to be fantasy-orientated. Dark fiction may contain elements of black or satirical humour.

Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

About: Knockemstiff is a transgressive compilation of short stories. Their grubby setting, visceral prose and dark humour appealed to this reader.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

About: This dark, innovative blend of fantasy and mythology explores the tribalistic nature of America’s various beliefs.

My Review: Shadow is an inmate who whiles away his days practising coin tricks. When his wife dies in a car crash, he is released early on compassionate grounds. Shadow is …(more)

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

About: Rant challenges our own traditions by demonstrating how we contort our recollection of events in accordance with our desires and beliefs.

Marabao Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh

About: This is an inventive book, boasting parallel stories and different levels of awareness. It is peppered with stylistic idiosyncrasies.

My Review: Roy Strang narrates this story from the hospital in which he is lying in a coma. It begins in South Africa, where he and his friend Sandy Jamieson are hunting the …(more)

Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.

About: This cult classic contains candid portrayals of numerous taboo topics. Its prose is visceral and frequently frenetic.

My Review: This inter-related collection of six stories are set in 1950s Brooklyn, New York. One revolves around a Benzedrine-scoffing transvestite’s unreciprocated love for a …(more)

Tomorrow’s World by Guy Portman

About: Tomorrow’s World is a satirical book of vignettes about the future. Themes include the future of capitalism, a grotesquely ageing population and an ever increasing mandatory retirement age. This quick read (40,521 words/2.5 hours) will appeal to those who like dark humour. Amazon Link

Tag - Dark Humour Books

5 Good Books Containing Dark Humour

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Dark Humour Books, Culinary Delights & More Besides

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Another Week Bites The Dust

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The Necropolis Trilogy And More Besides

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A Summer Freebie & A Big Announcement

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5 Dark Humour Reading Recommendations

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6 Dark Humour Reading Recommendations

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19 Free Humour Books For You

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6 Dark Fiction Reading Recommendations

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Tag - Dark Humour Books

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