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Chaindevils is this post-apocalyptic horror punk novella which is written by Matthew Mitchell and published by Weird Punk Books.
Set in a far distant rural America, Chaindevils focuses on this gang of chainsaw-wielding hillbillies who are tasked with a mission by 'Her Majesty of the Ozarks' to collect a fresh supply of methamphetamine. So, clearly, this is a family friendly book.
I won't spoil too much but Matthew Mitchell spends a lot of the book detailing this world that is incredibly bleak, dark and riddled with characters that are an evolution of what the worst parts of humanity could be like. To paint you a picture, this ragtag group of 'Chaindevils' come up against religious zealots, militarised sex workers, and when they're not busy trying to fuck the submissives within their own gang, they're busy fending off and dealing with their own addictions. Whether those addictions are alcoholic, sexual, or drug-related - and sometimes it's all three!
There are so many elements of grimdark pop culture which you can identify throughout this novella. It's part Sons of Anarchy due to the gang element. It's part Warhammer 40000 due to the bleakness and the feeling you're reading some kind of excerpt out of a Necromunda rulebook. It's even part Waterworld in terms of how the Chaindevils are almost mindless zealots in their own right just like 'the Smokers' are. I'd even go so far to say that it's part 'Bad Batch' due to its depiction of cannibals in Ana Lily Amirpour's post-apocalyptic flop of a film, The Bad Batch - both habitually and ritualistically.
Mitchell even manages to tackle the post-apocalyptic political and social nuances of a society built on corruption, slavery, addiction and the worst monarchy you've ever heard of (yes, even worse than England). There's something in Chaindevils for any and everyone who enjoys horror, grimdark or even fantasy related literature.
But the greatest thing about this book? Because it's a novella, it doesn't overstay its welcome and can be tackled in a weekend due to it being less than 200 pages. That said, this is no Mad Max: Fury Road. The ending is as bleak as its beginning. It's unapologetically extreme to the point where inserting your penis into a meat grinder would grant some pleasant respite.
In short, if you want a story about overcoming adversity, redemption arcs or riding off to the post-apocalyptic sunset relatively unscathed then do me a favour:
READ SOMETHING ELSE!
