Gig of the Damned (Drag Queen Slasher Fiction)
Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a book (literally)! This was a joy to bring me back to my good old hobby. Phrique took that slasher style read, where one crazy ass kills a whole bunch of people in a row, and added the most wonderful and fresh take on it. The characters involved become in a very literal sense, scream queens!! Gamble Donna Phart, a most fantastic drag queen, wants to make a big impression on the vicious and bloodthirsty world of drag queens. When she enters the “Trick’d and Treat’d” pageant, with high hopes of winning, even against some of the big names, a mysterious killer who has a penchant for pink and rhinestones (someone definitely got a bedazzler for Christmas), starts to kill off Gamble’s competition, it’s every queen for themselves. There can only be one winner.
“To the Queen’s shock, Reba was somehow squeezing out a few shallow, stunted breaths. The light from the street caught what appeared to be a navel protruding from a shaggy, dimpled inner tube of wilting flesh. The fall had not only fractured Reba’s spine but forced it and several ribs to protrude from her taut skin, spilling over the edge of the dumpster. Like the stamens of a blooming lily, her upper body petalled in a wash of trickling crimson.”
This is a fantastic debut from Phrique. The whole 254 pages were a breeze to read. It’s quick-paced, and queens drop thick and fast in the most inventive and brutal ways. Although I think the most sickening thing in this book was the description of how rancid and nasty Ms. Extra Mayonessa is (was?). That bitch needed to have a wash….and lay off the actual mayo eating. Gig of the Damned is full of bitchiness, humor, plenty of drag queen vocabulary, and luckily enough, if you’re not well versed in that, there’s a whole entire glossary to fill you in so you don’t feel left out. The entire cast are fun and I loved Gamble and Evayda as besties. The mystery killer was revealed at the end, and the well-read (and watched) in slashers may have an inkling as to who it may have been, but that never ruins the story. Although Gamble is the character that the book surrounds, the others get a good amount of page time, and nothing ever feels crammed. Gig of the Damned is a fresh and funny take on the slasher book, filled with fabulous characters and a killer that is just as fashionable as the queen’s themselves. A must read for those who are bored of slashers that take themselves too seriously, and characters who clearly have little fashion sense.
Written by Arianne, Sovereign Deity of the Damned
Gig of the Damned (2024)
Phrique
Phrqiue Show
Cover Art: Jeremy Lopez (Neon Clown Art)
5 / 5
