Here the pen is not merely mightier than the sword; it is a plague heralding the apocalypse for convention, writing a dirge for complacency.

Sick is an anthology compiled by editor John Edward Lawson. Themes explored are physical, mental, and societal in nature. These Sick stories are horrendous, hilarious, and stupefying dissections of creative minds on the scalpel's edge.

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Reviews:

+Stories by Harold Jaffe, Greg Beatty, Earl Javorsky, Brandi Bell, Kevin L. Donihe and satan165 (hilarious stuff) all display the combination of inventiveness and professionalism needed for success in this gray area of prose. Many of the other authors show outright genius…readers will be floored by it and think it a monstrous leap forward…and appreciate the breathtaking, exhilarating and often diabolical machinations of the human mind. —Absinthe Literary Review

+Now I ask you, with so much going on in the world today and horrors revealed daily on the evening news, is it still possible to shock the apathetic and indifferent? After reading this book all I can sum up is, “Hell Yes”! In fact, let me back up that statement with the admission that I was physically ill not once but twice during my visit into this world. This is not your typical run-of-the-mill scare here kiddies. In an arena created with mayhem and anarchy, Lawson makes sure to not only make you tremble with fear; he’s going to make you beg to be released.

Bringing together a stellar collection of writers to assist him, Lawson annihilates the standard. With thirty-six stories revolving around the abnormal, the insane and the alluringly repugnant, I warn you—you will find no comfort here…Adding their own piece of flayed skin to an overpopulated pool of horror, each author and story adds a new perspective. This collection confirms my theory that should horror writers not be permitted to write out their therapy, they might have been highly successful serial killers.

What makes a compilation like this stand out is the distinctive angle of each story. From one tale to the next, you’re never really sure where you’ll end up. From the quietly haunting to the appallingly shocking, this book keeps you on your toes and your mind in chaos.—Horror-Web

+Recently-launched Raw Dog Screaming Press is out of its cage, and the publishing world is going to have a hard time getting a muzzle back on this beast. Launching last fall with Harold Jaffe's 15 Serial Killers, the fledgling press gave fair warning that Raw Dog wasn't going to be your average kibble.

Now, with the publication of Sick: An Anthology of Illness, Raw Dog is losing its puppy teeth, and backing up its initial bark with hefty dose of bite. Edited by John Edward Lawson, this collection of thirty-six short fictions ruminates on pestilences of all shapes and sizes, the majority featuring strong offerings from the experimental holding cages of the horror and sci-fi undergrounds.

Here you'll find not only a mini-sampler from Jaffe, but compelling work by Michael Arnzen (whose 100 Jolts will be Raw Dog's next offering), the ghoulishly-brilliant "1.01-1.03" image-text series by Andi and Lance Olsen (reprinted here from Fiction International's "Ecstasy" issue), and shorts by Vincent W. Sakowski, Kevin L. Donihe and Jack Fisher that are all worthy of the solid underground following they've built for themselves. Emerging writers Brandi Bell, Jonathan William Hodges, C.J. Henderson and Claudette Rubin pock the collection with their own special sauces. Full-blown literary botchulism. Catch it for yourself. —Trevor Dodge, author of Yellow #10

+Sick is just that—sick; a madman's demented fever-dream. Sometimes funny. Sometimes horrifying. Always engaging. This is dark fiction on the edge. —Brian Keene, author of The Rising, Terminal and Fear of Gravity

+The themes and execution of the stories in Sick display a sort of existential splatterpunk sensibility. Brainy and brawny, the authors and artists collected herein explore illness, not only of the human body, but of the body politic, societal structures, and consumerism. These explorations reveal the latent inner illnesses in us all…the themes and tales in Sick churn in on themselves and intertwine with each other, showing not only ill effects, but the long-reaching effects of illness. Curl up, brew yourself some broth, and enjoy this rich collection—but do keep a barf bag handy, just in case. —Forrest Aguirre, editor of the Leviathan series

+What the hell were you people thinking sending me this odious, perverted and outlandish (but nonetheless beguiling) anthology of lunacy and smut? I should sick (no pun intended) Homeland Security on you for this obvious act of guerrilla terrorism(s). To cover your asses, I suggest you slap a stamp on the cover that reads: "SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Reading this book may cause mental deficits, breakdowns, manias, and could induce the reader to grope strangers and utter sexual innuendoes at inappropriate public venues. —Michael Hemmingson, editor of What the Fuck: The Avant-Porn Anthology and author of My Dream Date (Rape) With Kathy Acker

+It took a while for me to open this book. Not because I knew that editor John Edward Lawson had put it together and that there would be some very disturbing material inside, but because I was so fascinated by the brilliant cover art by David Anthony Magitis. And it wasn’t only the sickly remarkable cover that sold me, but the mind screw within.

"Sick: An Anthology of Illness" is exactly what the title describes. The pages have been plagued by a fistful of authors and thirty-eight amazingly grotesque and gut churning tales that will not only give you the creeps, but also make you rush for the nearest garbage can or bathroom.

The first story, "The Christ Machine" by Tim Curran, invites you into a vividly described world where everyone has been infected and only those who’s names have been drawn in a lottery can receive a cure, but once tossed back onto the streets, the machines start sniffing for those who have had it, desiring their blood. Vincent W. Sakowski throws a bit of gross comedy into the mix with his short "The Legend of Jimmy Wad", about a sick man whom gets a kick out of coughing up phlegm and making it into art and decides that he can earn a killing selling art created from the foul, slimy throat-snot of celebrities.

A few pages further into the book, I was snapped into the dismal reality of Internet porn, bodies of pedophiles found dead at their computers by a creature awakened after a mix of prayer in a story called "Unicorn’s Revenge" by Greg Beatty. Jack Fischer shares a bone chilling tale about the disappearance of a little girl and a man’s blood thirsty shadow in "Shadow", and in "Battle Fever" I stepped into the mind of a man created by Scott Thomas, who’s deceased father is haunted by a headless baby.

Other tales include "The Call of the Worms" by Jeffrey Thomas, "If I Wanted Any Lip from you, I Would’ve Opened My Zipper by Jessica Markowicz, "The Leak" by Earl Javorsky, "Poker" by Brandi Bell and many more tales of illness that vary from the extremely mental to the cursed and diseased. Strange, colorful, nauseating, dark, "Sick" has it all. It’s a brain bending, heart stopping mix of razor sharp delight that even the healthiest being should get their hands on. —The Midwest Book Review & Camp Horror

From Amazon.com:

+5 stars Must read dark fiction
Reviewer: A reader from Valley Stream, NY
Sick is undoubtedly one of the most successful collections of horror and dark fiction in recent years. Eschewing formula and tradition, the tales gathered here chart fresh new territory through the grotesque, the frightening, and the downright nauseating. This is the genuinely edgy work of probing (and, yes, most likely disturbed) authors who don't know the meaning of pulling their punches, but do understand style, wit, and intensity. Highly recommended!

+5 stars completely horriffic
Reviewer: satan165 aka 'tha boss' from River Grove, IL USA
this book is full of truly underground writers and the type of material that could only be delivered by such a group. john lawson — known as a 'don' in many circles — has finally started his own company. this is one of the first releases from raw dog screaming and its SOLID. forget about trash playing itself off as 'horror', this is the real deal. quit messing with that garbage and take a dose of this stuff. this release was a long time coming but well worth it. raw dog is on the come up move! look out!!!

From Barnes&Noble online:

+A reader, A reviewer, 5 stars
If this is Sick, then who wants to get better?
This may be the most grounbreaking collection of horror fiction published in recent times. The stories here represent the terrifying, thoughtful, illness-inducing (in a good way!), and sometimes comical literary explorations of some of the best and bravest authors writing horror fiction today. A must for fans of horror and dark fiction.

+A reviewer, the haunted sheet, 5 stars
SICK IS HERE…
From editor/author John Edward Lawson comes one of the most anticipated underground books to ever infect bookstores. SICK was a tremendous exercise in the unusual, off-beat and bizarre. The stories (and there are a lot of them) ranged from mesmerizing to completely horrific. I swear I had trouble putting this damn book down. With cutting edge authors like Michael A Arzen, Tim Curran, Hertzan Chimera, J. M. Heluk, Harold Jaffe