Ultra-gore -- how much is too much?

[Androxine Vortex]

I've been reading Richard Morgan and from what I can gather, he likes to be rather graphic. I don't think that's the main selling point of his work though. It's there for sure, but he can get away with having really graphic scenes because he's also a good storyteller and can paint a vivid picture of his world. Tim Lebbon (primarily a horror writer) has used this style in his fantasy books. I admire writers who over-step these boundaries. There's an audience for this kind of writing for sure, but it does need to have substance.

@Androxine: I really want to read more Warhammer novels. They seem to be the exact sort of thing I like (which I refer to as "larger than life" fantasy. Fantasy/SF that just knocks down the door and kicks your teeth in.) I bought one book that was an anthology of stories and I rather enjoyed that. I was going to buy "Let the Galaxy Burn" but I'm not really into sci-fi. Maybe I'll check it out.

I wouldn't start with Let the Galaxy Burn because it's the third installment of the Horus Heresy series and need to read Horus Rising and False Gods first. But I did recently buy the book, "The Chronicles of Malus Darkblade." READ THIS BOOK. I can never put this book down, it is very well written. I myself am not too familiar with the Warhammer Fantasy world but this book explains (almost) everything you need to basically understand.

And that's why I got into it too. I was like "What? Magic and Demons but in the future with lasers and space travel?" lol What book did you buy?

 

[Philip Overby]

I wouldn't start with Let the Galaxy Burn because it's the third installment of the Horus Heresy series and need to read Horus Rising and False Gods first. But I did recently buy the book, "The Chronicles of Malus Darkblade." READ THIS BOOK. I can never put this book down, it is very well written. I myself am not too familiar with the Warhammer Fantasy world but this book explains (almost) everything you need to basically understand.

And that's why I got into it too. I was like "What? Magic and Demons but in the future with lasers and space travel?" lol What book did you buy?

Cool, thanks for the recommendations. I read all sorts of fantasy, from the more realistic stuff, Tolkien-esque, and more bizarre tales. I've always been fascinated with Warhammer (I traded a Shadowrun core rule book I had for a Warhammer one just because I thought the art was nice) so I'd like to know the best to read. The book I bought on a whim was "Tales of the Old World" although I don't know where it is now. I guess it's back in America somewhere.

Anyway, if you have any other recommendations, feel free to send me a PM or comment here.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Cool, thanks for the recommendations. I read all sorts of fantasy, from the more realistic stuff, Tolkien-esque, and more bizarre tales. I've always been fascinated with Warhammer (I traded a Shadowrun core rule book I had for a Warhammer one just because I thought the art was nice) so I'd like to know the best to read. The book I bought on a whim was "Tales of the Old World" although I don't know where it is now. I guess it's back in America somewhere.

Anyway, if you have any other recommendations, feel free to send me a PM or comment here.

Well I am more of a 40K fan but the book Nagash the Sorcerer was a decent read, not the best. If you are interested in the 40K books, I would recomend starting with the Horus Heresy. Once you get passed the fifth book in the series, all of the others you can read out of order. The First Heretic and a Thousand Sons were by far the greatest and I would recomend the First Heretic because it explains most of the background in the Warhammer 40K universe. If you just want a quick read (as in not in a series) I would highly recomend Storm of Iron. It's a very good book where the bad guys actually win for a change.

 

[mrmister]

Too much gore is the amount of gore that keeps the reader from enjoying the writing. No way to tell.

 

[Anders Ämting]

Sex is much worse than violence.

Amanita, sex is much better than violence.

Violent sex is the way to go.

It's too much when the reader sees it as gratuitous, disbelief is no longer suspended, and the reader is left wondering "who is the author going to rip apart next?"

This, basically. It's too much when it actually becomes excessive and the reader can tell you are doing it just to shock people, or because you actually have a thing for gore.

I've always thought that you have to write pretty well to jump from gruesome comedy into gruesome drama. I feel like some writers are unintentionally funny.

This, too. Blatant exaggerations often come across as comical.

 

[AFistfulofBalderdash]

Gore should never ruin the suspension of disbelief.

A dagger should never cut a man in half just as an arrow shouldn't cause a waterfall of blood.

Besides that, you're free. Just remember the Golden Rule. Violence must have reason even if it's meaningless. In otherwords, kill the shit out of who you want just so long as it isn't wanton and profligate. Even if the antagonist is killing just to kill, use it to characterize, never to indulge.

 

[Kelise]

Scott Lynch's series is about my limit. That guy is creative, believable and heart-wrenching.