First published back in September of 2022, Welsh author David Owain Hughes’ novella ‘Patriotic Prowler: Wind-Up Toys And Straitjackets’ formed the seventh instalment within the author’s ‘Wind-Up Toy’ series, whilst also bringing in characters from his ‘White Walls And Straitjackets’ (2015) novel-cum-short story collection.
DLS Synopsis:
Following the that was carnage enacted within the confines of his secluded cabin in the woods, Simone finds he’s surprisingly not the only one left alive. To his delight, creeping under his bedsheets, Simone he’s woken by the masterful mouth of Neen.
The slim woman had suffered multiple injuries, admittedly at the hands of Simone himself, but that apparently hadn’t stopped her from now showing her true colours. It appears she wanted nothing more than to please Simone. Offering herself fully, unquestionably, without any want for vengeance or escape.
Neen’s desire to stay, to be with him, was nevertheless hard to trust. Why would she want to stay here with him? To Simone, this sudden shift in her personality was as confusing as it was troubling. Although Simone had to be honest with himself, he wanted Need. Wanted her more than anything. But he had to be sure this wasn’t all a game. A dirty ploy to catch him off guard and reap her revenge.
She’d become his slave. Never to be allowed to wear clothes indoors again. Chained up in his playroom at night. Subjected to Simone’s every whim and perverted desire. Only then, when she accepted and embraced her wantful fate with him, would Simone be able to trust her again.
Although first Simone had some broken bodies to be rid of. A couple of savagely mutilated corpses which needed disposing of sharpish. Being in an isolated woodland, the task shouldn’t have been too difficult. However, the sudden arrival of a group of weekend campers mid-task presents more than a minor challenge for Simone.
A problem that invariably ends in another heap of blood splattered dead bodies…
For this next instalment into the wacky, fucked-up world of Simone, we’re brought straight into the thick of things pretty much from where ‘Wind-Up Toy: Patriotic Prowler’ (2020) left off.
That previous novella was a strange piece of metafiction, sauntering through the fourth wall with Simone painted as the author of the previous books in the ‘Wind-Up Toy’ series. Here we have even more of that style of literary device. Fucking so much more, that we see Hughes reversing up his truck of questionable sanity, and then this time absolutely smashing through that literary fourth wall.
In essence what we have is the continuation of the meta-themes played out in ‘Wind-Up Toy: Patriotic Prowler’ (2020), only now we bring in characters (as well as the continuation of the stories) from ‘White Walls And Straitjackets’ (2015) and its sequel ‘Escapees And Fevered Minds’ (2018).
However, much of the novella is still given over to more of Hughes’ sexual lusting. In fact, with the very first page in the book we see Neen performing fellatio on Simone, to stir him into consciousness.
After this it’s bucket loads more of the stuff we’ve come to expect from Hughes in these ‘Wind-Up Toy’ books. Neen being treated like a sex slave, and her over-the-top submission to a heap of savage mistreatment. This shit really takes the whole sub/dom relationship to a whole new level.
The sudden arrival of the weekend campers Gemma, Chloe, Paul and Jason sets us back on track with another dose of high-octane killing, which are the other defining factor of these books. Expect plenty of bloodshed and callous but comic book colourful gore, cheekily splattered across the ensuing pages.
The introduction of Crystal, Harry and ‘the real’ Mr Tickle’s ala ‘White Walls And Straitjackets’ (2015) into the proverbial mix adds further outlandish mayhem to the already utterly wild concoction of crossover metafiction. And before long, Hughes has brought himself into the whole storyline, as the ruling creator of these characters, and almost a godlike figure.
WTF?! I hear you cry. Yeah, he’s gone there, and undoubtedly with a huge grin plastered across his bearded face. Mind you, the set up for this is absolutely tongue-in-cheek. There’s no ego-maniac on the loose here, but rather an author having a shit-tonne of fun and then letting himself run wild with whatever weird ideas he has for a sudden change in. A trip to Hughesville anyone? Fucking insane bloody bizzarro madness, my friend!
Anyway, whether this sort of off-the-wall antics is your bag or not, is probably down to personal taste. For this reviewer, I’m not overly convinced the fourth wall destruction works all that well here. It’s not bad, but maybe not necessary considering the wild capering that’s already at play.
However, I certainly enjoyed the no-holds-barred and utterly-don’t-give-a-monkeys approach to the majority of the story. All the sexual fantasy stuff is outlandishly entertaining, and the wild violence plays to the horror reader audience to perfection. Yeah, it’s basically cheap thrills for lowbrow reading fun. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
The novella runs for a total of 72 fucked-up pages.
© DLS Reviews
Other ‘Wind-Up Toy’ instalments:
- ‘Wind-Up Toy’ (2016)
- ‘Wind-Up Toy: Playtime, Simone’ (2016)
- ‘Wind-Up Toy: Broken Plaything’ (2016)
- ‘Wind-Up Toy: Chaos Rising’ (2016)
- ‘Wind-Up Toy: All Wound Up’ (2017) [Collected Edition]
- ‘Wind-Up Toy: Patriotic Prowler’ (2020)
- ‘Patriotic Prowler: Wind-Up Toys And Straitjackets’ (2022)
