SickER B*stards is the sequel to the very successful Sick Bastards, written by Matt Shaw.  This book sees the return of Father, Mother, Sister and Brother and takes off where Sick ends.  This series captured my attention from the first page of the first book and the sequel is even more captivating and intense than the first. This book epitomizes what horror is, to me at least. It makes you take a good hard look at yourself by putting yourself in the protagonist’s shoes, making you wonder how far you would go to survive. Could you resort to cannibalism? What about incest? If your world suddenly ended, would you give up and commit suicide? These are some very scary topics, and SickER slaps you in the face with questions like these on every page.

After reading the first book, I went into the second with very high expectations. I wanted this book to be “SickER” and I wanted answers to my questions. Shaw didn’t disappoint. This book is far more foul than the first and certainly not for those with a sensitive stomach. Best of all, it answered all the questions left wide open at the end of Sick.

But of course, we are here to discuss the audiobook, so let’s get on with it.

Before we begin, I have one question. Why can’t all audiobooks be this good?

I’m not claiming to be familiar with a lot of audiobook narrators because I’ve only become a fan of the medium over the last year or so. However, many audiobook narrators I have listened to sound like they’re reading a children’s book or they’re so bored they’d rather be doing anything else besides reading this book. This is the main reason why I gave up on audiobooks long ago.

When I listen to a horror story, I want passion, I want excitement, and most of all, I want to feel what the characters are feeling. Chris Barnes never fails to give me that experience.  Barnes has a clear voice and his production quality is always top-notch. He wants his listeners to live the story, not just listen to it, and more importantly, he loves what he does, and that comes through with every word he reads.

I now live with the hope that more people will discover this brilliant author/narrator combination, and that the two will continue working together for a very long time.