Maggots Screaming by Max Booth III – Book Review By Michael Errol Swaim

            “Maggots Screaming” is a triumph of body horror from the author of “We Need to Do Something.”

            “The family that decays together, stays together,” the blurb on the cover says. When I saw the title, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, and this being my first Max Booth III read, I was skeptical of the direction they would take the story in, and I am always unsure of coming across an author I haven’t read before, and that being said, I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that not only did I enjoy it, but it’s the best book I have read all year. Max Booth III creates a well-written and believable world, taking a solid and likable cast of characters on a journey that the reader will not want to put down once they start reading.

            The story follows Max and Dylan, a divorced father, and his son trying to enjoy their weekend together on a hot summer day in Texas. Max tries to bond with Dylan by digging up his ex-wife’s garden behind the house. As they work, Dylan discovers a finger sticking up out of the dirt, and they carefully dig around it and find not one but three bodies buried in the garden that happen to look exactly like Max, Dylan, and Lori, Dylan’s mom. They soon discover that their own bodies begin to go through frightening and painful changes such as rigor mortis, gas, bloating, and purge fluid.

            They enlist the help of Max’s friend Andy to figure out what’s happening, and they try different things, including going on a tour of a body farm to get information on the various stages of decomposition. Will they find out what is causing their bodies to undergo these changes and the purpose of the replicas they dug up in the garden? I recommend you buy this book and learn more about it.

            My favorite passage of the book:

            “So I did the only thing that made sense, and I lifted my arm and lowered my head so my ear was facing the wound, and I closed my eyes and submerged myself into a deep state of concentration, and what I heard were the screams of a hundred, a thousand, infinite maggots wriggling against each other as they feasted on a buffet of necrotic tissue. Wet, sticky screams. Screams that sounded like a casserole baking in the oven. Screams that sounded like milk pouring over Rice Krispies. Screams that sounded like babies screaming for their mothers, for their fathers. Am I their father? Am I their mother?”

            Max Booth III’s is an excellent writer, and they are quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I can’t say enough good things about this fresh and wildly original tale that blends horror and comedy flawlessly. I will definitely be reading more by them.

            I’m giving this book 9 out of 10 stars for its original, well-written, and highly entertaining story.

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BOOK REVIEWER BIO:

Michael Errol Swaim is a horror and fantasy author and proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. He first picked up a pencil and began to write stories many moons ago before he was even born, and due to several mishaps, including a liver and kidney transplant, he stopped writing. After a 25-year hiatus, he has returned to doing what he loves most: writing. Michael focuses on horror but occasionally dabbles in fantasy and poetry. His first horror publication is in issue three of Carnage House, and his stories will appear in several upcoming anthologies. He also writes film and book reviews for the Weird Wide Web blog. Because he was such a weird kid, his parents dropped him off in the middle of a forest in Green Country, where a rabid squirrel raised him, and he eventually returned to civilization. He currently resides in Colcord, Oklahoma, with his wife, Mandy, his three kids, and his special princess, Wolfgirl the Cat.