First published back in September of 2022, Welsh author David Owain Hughes’ novella ‘Skid Row’ offered up a wildly over-the-top sordid thriller and packed to the rafters with hardcore violence.
The novella’s principal protagonist, the intersex/hermaphrodite, Skiddy Banger, had previously appeared within the story ‘Wind-Up Toy: Into The Playpen’ which appeared within the ‘All Wound Up’ (2017) omnibus. Here we see Skiddy taking up the lead role in a tale of absolute carnage and back-alley filth.
Siren, or Skiddy Banger, as she was more commonly known amongst the clientele of Skid Row, was born with both male and female sexes. Some may see this quirk in nature as marking Skiddy a freak. However, for others, what Skiddy offered to her more discerning clients was something sexually exceptional. An exquisite feminine body, full breasts, and finely defined features, along with something else… a thick length of meat, swinging between her shapely legs.
But Skiddy wanted out. Out of Skid Row and away from this sleazy life of succumbing to the sordid desires of her drooling punters. There was one man who maybe, just maybe, offered a way out of this hellhole. She knew him simply as ‘Wrestler’. A fit and muscular sports student who was enamoured with Skiddy.
However, Jason Morton, better known as ‘Skat Man’, was aware of Skiddy’s highly desired pull within the grimy streets of Skid Row. In fact, the pimp had personally utilised Skiddy Banger’s services on more than a few occasions. Although his tastes were a tad more exotic than just pummelling Skiddy’s tight anus. Skat Man loved nothing more than having his face smeared in excrement. A service Skiddy had been forced to provide on several shameful occasions.
The pimp ruled Skid Row in its entirety. A lunatic kingpin that was feared by all. Every leach, thief, and lowlife were under his terrifying command. With a bulky fourteen-stone frame, a fully shaven head, grasping a diamond-encrusted cane, and a set of gold daggers protruding from his waistband, Skat Man cast an intimidating and altogether menacing figure.
And when word gets out that Skiddy Banger wants out of Skid Row, that Skat Man’s favourite asset had met a handsome young stud who promised to rescue her from this grime-smeared world, the kingpin pimp is very displeased. And when Skat Man’s displeased, there’s hell to pay…
Ok, so we all know that Hughes is a sexual deviant, right?! If you’ve read any of the books from his infamous ‘Wind-Up Toy’ series, then this will almost certainly be your understanding about the author. Amongst other things, he writes about filth. Pretty much wallows in it, throughout the entire length of his grubby stories.
‘Skid Row’ is absolutely no exception to this. In fact, it’s perhaps one of Hughes’ most sexually charged, and downright perverted of tales. Not just because our principal protagonist is an intersex sex worker, but because of the sordid depths of depravity which Hughes is delighted to plummet into when depicting Skiddy’s numerous erotic escapades.
Hughes seems to relish in the detailed depictions of these sexual exploits. Scenes of anal sex, male lovers sucking Skiddy off, the aforementioned coprophilia, and some hefty slices of rape thrown in for good measure. Yeah, this book is Adult with a capital ‘A’ and three bright-red neon-lit XXX’s after it.
However, behind these layers of grime and filth are twin storylines that instantly engage the reader and carry you along throughout. One about this intersex woman – Skiddy Banger – against all odds, desperately trying to get the fuck out of Skid Row, and the other a love story embedded within an environment where you would absolutely not expect one to emerge.
This is all pulled together into a wild shitstorm of mayhem, with the maniacal lunatic kingpin – Skat Man – pissed to holy fuck about the whole shebang. When I say pissed off, I mean he gets his foot obliterated by his own mother-of-pearl handled revolver, before Skiddy then cuts loose from his suffocating grasp on her life. Ergo we have one hellishly enraged psychopath pimp, hellbent on tracking Skiddy down. The result is a quickly escalating adrenaline-pumping ride through the backstreets of Skid Row.
Throughout this we’ve got a colourful cast of characters playing out their individual roles in this chaotic madness. In true David Owain Hughes style, you know the bust size of every female character in the story. Similarly, if a character is portrayed as mean, then this is ramped up a few thousand notches, until they’re a full-blown psycho.
As with many of Hughes’ stories, you have fans and fellow authors’ names cropping up all over the place within the tale. The most notable being Rich Hawkins and Kitty Kane – ala the infamous Terror Tots, who grew up to become the Siblings of Slaughter. Yeah, this shit is pretty much taken from the blueprint of ‘Wind-Up Toy’ (2016) and left on the streets of Skid Row to go feral as fuck.
But it’s a good story. In fact, it’s a fucking great story. Incredibly tight, fast-paced and outrageously engaging. The whole thing is absolutely dripping with filth, drenched in cum, and dragged along the back alleys of Skid Row on a tidal wave of ferocious violence.
This has everything we love about Hughes’ don’t-give-two-fucks-what-you-think attitude crammed into it. Where some might be worried to pen something even remotely risqué, should the world think that’s their fantasy being played own, Hughes puts two fingers up to this, then launches headfirst into a lovingly intimate scene with Skiddy getting her cock sucked by her muscle-toned male lover.
This is not for the fainthearted. Not for the prudes. And most definitely, not for anyone who can’t handle reading about a little sexual variance (to put it mildly). But for the deviants amongst us, oh you’ve gotta just dive in. You’ll frigging love it!
The novella runs for a total of 99 pages.
© DLS Reviews
