The Holy Grail of Transgressive Fiction

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

For everyone who can’t find the preorder link, here it is: bit.ly/3DvfUe2

[@sebastianx13]

Ngl had me going at first

[@palomarodrigues2483]

HA! 😂

[@arlem525]

Boo. I add this to the list of imaginary books that I wish were real.

[@BloodylocksBathory]

Aw, come on, dude.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

@@BloodylocksBathory I’m sorry 😭 I legit had a moment of clarity where I went, “This isn’t even funny.” 😬

[@algaedrone1833]

This might actually be the most insanely detailed and convincing April Fools prank I have EVER seen in my life.

[@solidsnake1209]

The oyster scene was insane! Pretty wild that it remained "hidden" for so long. RIP to William Robert Wilson the author and Pennsylvania resident.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Yeah, the narrative seemed really clammed up up until that point. 😏

[@TheCubicleBlindness]

I’m always impressed with how well you speak. Your descriptions and verbiage are impressive. I always enjoy listening to you convey even the most controversial of subjects. Great content

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Thank you so much! You’re too kind.

[@tee6424]

Ironically, I just watched this right before going to bed in order to calm down after a long, long day. I'm not sure I will read most of the books that you recommend on this channel (although I'm certainly intrigued by some of them, and I've been known to like extreme books, so who knows. Really depends on whether or not I want to explain to people why I have some of them on my book shelf, I think). But what brings me back is how much I like your personality and reviews. Very articulate, and oddly very calming, even when you talk about some wild books. Hope you're well!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

You never have to explain a damned thing to anyone! 😂 JK. I really appreciate such kind words on my channel! Really, if I can at least pique someone’s interest regarding something they would’ve otherwise never given a second thought, then I consider that a job done.

[@adamstravos495]

Just started reading your book recommendation on the long walk ! Amazing so far

[@Priscilla_Bettis]

I'm so intrigued. The Journey sounds like a must read for me. Great video, Juan.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Thank you, Priscilla! It was an April Fools joke. 😱

[@Priscilla_Bettis]

@@PlaguedbyVisions I am SO damn gullible!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

@@Priscilla_Bettis I’m surprised it worked! I really thought the name William “Willie” Wilson would give it away! 😂

[@horrorandinconvenience5036]

As always, Juan, you set the standard. Thank you for being our psychopomp on this journey ;)

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I’m just now realizing: There really wasn’t even a punchline to all this, was there? Huh. Anyway… 😂

[@wicesphagnum6983]

Thank you so much for this channel. I'm very excited to learn about these (some familiar) authors. As a guy living in a part of the world where this kind of literature won't be translated any time soon, these names sound like "the word of the new language". I've done a couple of unofficial translations from Apocalypse culture and others, so yeah, for me this part of culture, marginal to some extent, is a big part of my "inner" culture.

[@Chriscorpr]

Wow! Great content Juan! Definitely buying a copy. A lost gem too brilliant for its time. Youre mentioning great books to describe it, that tells a lot.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Uhh… April Fools? 🫣

[@Chriscorpr]

@@PlaguedbyVisions Aaahh you great writer you just bred your Necronomicon. Completely fooled. But isnt that a compliment on your ability to suspend our disbelief. Great stuff

[@duncanralston5112]

You really had me going there.... I even asked in several splatterpunk groups on Facebook.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

When Google and media literacy were there all along!

[@duncanralston5112]

@@PlaguedbyVisions I mean just because you can't immediately find Google results for something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Excellent review, Juan. As always the depth of your research set you apart from other reviewers (including me in the case of this work!)

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

It helps that I studied “The Wilsonesque” in college!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

@@PlaguedbyVisions American academia is so much more forward thinking than ours

[@FrostaWingsIt]

Great review and analysis! I love how you really gave both your opinion and an unbiased review with great analogies people can draw from

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos! 😁

[@kevinsbookcase59]

Thank you Juan for your review. Just another one to add to the "TBR" pile!!! Looking forward to getting and reading this title. 😁

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Thank you so much! This was an April Fools joke. I’m sorry. 😭

[@kevinsbookcase59]

@@PlaguedbyVisions why you little son of *'";&!!! 🤣

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I’M SORRY!!!

[@ReginasHauntedLibrary]

"Dog and eyeballs"--I'm scared already, but definitely intrigued. Interesting discussion.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Thank you, Regina! Hope you had a great April Fools!

[@TheMightyPika]

Another note, I can't find the publisher online. Do they have a website? Google just keeps giving me herbology listings :/

[@mauzki-]

its a april fools joke

[@TheMightyPika]

@@mauzki- Aw, man! He got me good!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

And not a particularly funny joke either… I’m so sorry. 😭

[@mauzki-]

@@PlaguedbyVisions tbf I appricate how elbarote of a shitpost it was, its a good one.

[@tinysalmon4]

Wilson strikes me as almost a horror version of another similar and forgotten author, Benno Von Archimboldi. Some scholars apparently went to Santa Teresa, Mexico looking for Archimboldi back in the 90's but did not find him. His books are not transgressive but are deeply moving and affecting and are some of the greatest pieces of post-war German literature I've ever encountered.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I believe William “Willie” Wilson and Archimboldi actually did tequila shots somewhere in Tijuana towards the turn of the century.

[@netram2000]

The worcestershire sauce scene was so bone chilling! Absolutely uncanny. I don't think I'll ever touch that condiment again. I mean, the production process has always been sketchy but if you start replacing fermented fish with you know what...that crosses the line for me

[@kat8559]

Love your channel, have been jumping around in ur videos so I thought I'd come to the latest one to recommend some of my newish favorites. I read the English translations. Solaris. Just Solaris. Tarkovsky's film, too. Two gems. Haven't read much else of Lem but you have at it. The real bulk of my recs: anything from the Strugatsky brothers. Tarkovsky adapted Roadside Picnic into Stalker, which was adapted into the video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. So obviously it's the most culturally significant and my biggest rec alongside Solaris. I've also read Hard to be a God (which has film adaptations) and The Doomed City. I highly recommend both. I've also been recommended Monday Begins on a Saturday, Snail on the Slope, and Dead Mountaineer's Inn. A quick? rundown on why these are disturbing/transgressive: Their family mostly lived through the siege of leningrad in 1942. Arkady evacuated with his father but his father died and he was drafted into the military. Boris was younger and stayed with his mother during the siege. They eventually wrote speculative fiction under soviet censorship. Their experiences of war and the oppressive State absolutely permeate the work. It can be bleak and bitterly beautiful at once. Hard to be a God is probably their most 'disturbing' (that I've read) while others are more philosophical. But I think it all counts as transgressive if the government was censoring them. Melancholy reading!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Thank you for such thorough recommendations and breakdown! I have read Roadside Picnic and talked about it in my video called Top 10 Most Mystifying Novels. I really enjoy their writing style (or at least the translation) and would love to read more by them! I have a copy of Solaris by Stanislaw Lem and really look forward to reading it! As for Tarkovsky, I’m sorry to say, he often puts me to sleep, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize his directorial genius!

[@kat8559]

@@PlaguedbyVisions ooh I'll find and watch that video soon! Happy to help direct you to more of their work! I definitely think you should have Hard to be a God on your list ☺️ I have the attention span of a literal pea so I absolutely feel you on Tarkovsky. There's actually an american adaptation of solaris with george clooney that I refuse to watch lmao Edit: as a history major I have to gush about HTBAG: an advanced human society surveils a less advanced 'medieval' human society through the main character. Main character witnesses the medieval society's descent into fascism. I interpreted it as brilliant commentary on the academic study of history.

[@jukka.r.2067]

Have been waiting for reviews of this dark mindfuck and here you are finally

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I almost didn’t release this, but the conversation is too important to pass up!

[@shelby8101]

Nice review. Will definitely keep an eye out for this one!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Keep an extra big eye out because it seems to have vanished from the face of the Earth!

[@YourBrainonBooks]

Wow! This sounds fascinating, thank you for putting it on my radar

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

It was an April Fools joke. It’s not real. I’m sorry. 😭

[@YourBrainonBooks]

@@PlaguedbyVisions 🤣 no way!!!? I love it even more

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

@@YourBrainonBooks I’m dangerously good at lying. I promise I don’t do it often… 😉

[@YourBrainonBooks]

@@PlaguedbyVisions well it’s the first video I’ve seen from you and I am quite impressed lie or no lie. Great content!

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

Oh, the anticipation! No clue what this book is even about but I'm prolly gonna buy a copy just because it sounds like Daisy's Destruction level f*cked up. Glad you made this video; my curiosity has most definitely been piqued! Can't wait till it comes out! 😁

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I just got news that the book is not actually coming out because it’s not real. I’m sorry. Happy April Fools! 😭

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

@@PlaguedbyVisions My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined. 😭 (Seriously, great prank tho! 😅)

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

@@TH3F4LC0Nx All things considered, the joke wasn’t even funny. 😂

[@thegurkenkaiser9933]

hi there, i do not read extreme horror fiction, but i love you ralking about it and analysing it.

[@ConvincingPeople]

The mentions of Hubert Selby Jr. and Hogg had me really perking my ears up.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

How about the upload date of April 1st? 🙊

[@ConvincingPeople]

@@PlaguedbyVisions …I was very tired.

[@DamnableReverend]

Thanks for not contributing to the experience of broken reality I had this morning when looking at some of the youtube channels I like, and realising a whole lot of April Fool's pranks were being pulled. It took me a moment to realise that Yes, you were actually talking about a real book. Sounds like an interesting...Journey.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Oh boy…

[@TheMrpiggy6666]

Juan, darl, can you please tell me how to get a copy...I am searching to no avail and the desperation to consume is becoming a distraction..please advise...regards Tim.....the link didn't work for me.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

This video was an April Fools joke. The book is not real. I’m so sorry. 😭😭😭

[@TheMrpiggy6666]

@@PlaguedbyVisions cruel darl....very cruel indeed.... Disappointment palpable... Will require an extended listen to Wild Women with Steak Knives to recover...

[@TheMrpiggy6666]

ps... thank you so much Juan for always replying to comments...I will definitely be joining your patreon as I have watched all your videos at least half a dozen times...huge hugs and thanks for all the work

[@mm.dra69]

Where can I get this book? I can't find it anywhere, not even traces of it on any site. Googling it doesn't do anything.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Just read my pinned comment

[@mm.dra69]

Oh, wait a minute ... OH!

[@toolatetothestory]

I love Stephen Kings quote on the cover xD

[@maksdoulton4713]

Well, somebodys gotta write this damb thing, now! Though the idea of something so extreme being produced in ‘71, a year torn between the death of summer of love and the disillusion of altamont, made this mythological work seem even more intriguing! i should have guessed right away, really, as there was no googling of the thing! there are, however, another coupla youtubers who were joining in on the game to give it some extra cred!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Yes, this was an evil scheme masterfully orchestrated! And yes, I could just picture some disillusioned baby boomer in ‘71 typing away at his typewriter, on his 18th cigarette, with blaring ‘Nam news reports in the background.

[@greglapworth1654]

Can’t find this book

[@whimsydearest]

Sounds like reading this was quite the ... journey. 😰

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

It was an odyssey, which would be a cool title for a book! Someone should write that.

[@fengy5629]

Oh, I read this one back before it was published when an acquaintance at an underground auction (don't ask) snuck an unedited copy into my purse. Ever since, I've been unable to watch dogs eat. That scene was just... Anyways, great obscure recommendation everyone should check out.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Yeah, I’ve heard of bootleg copies going around. Apparently they were bound in human skin! Sure, they’ll believe that, too!

[@Kif_Lee]

That blurb by Stepehn King is lit ❤🤣

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Can you believe he really said that?

[@edlewisnoctreviews]

Dogs and eyeballs? Um, okay. I don't really read much extreme horror, so I'd probably be one of those who would be shocked by what happens in the book, but the vagueness and the mysterious nature enshrouding this book intrigues me. This video reminds me so much of Paperbacks from Hell, which of course the subject matter is of that era of books.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I am so sorry… This was an April Fools joke, and the book is not real. 😭

[@Halp88]

Hey Juan, check out the Wasp Factory by Ian Banks!! One of my all time favorites and a quick read! Would love to know what you think

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I haven’t read that since high school. I should definitely give it a reread! I’m curious to see what I’ll think of it now.

[@sebastianx13]

1st of April? 😉

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

That was indeed the upload date… 😇

[@egro3453]

Do anyone know how to find this book? Google wasn't very helpful :/

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

April Fools? 😬

[@thehobbler1349]

I watched none of the video and fervently searched for it for a few minutes then checked this video again to see if there was a link in the description. God fucking dammit dude lol.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

❤️❤️❤️

[@twindrill2852]

I wonder if you’ll check out The Metamorphosis Of Prime Intellect one day. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I heard about it in an iceberg video. As someone in love with novels about the nature of AI like IHNMAIMS, it’s come to fascinate me.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I’ve added this to my Goodreads since you mentioned it. It sounds fantastic. Anything reminiscing Ellison’s uglier stories, I’m in!

[@MindBloodandDark]

I tried to read this when you linked the ARC to your Discord but… yeah 🤢 The buffet with the oysters and the two babies… I’m gonna sit this one out. 🤣

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Yeah this book really spoonfed some of its moments. ;~)

[@Overlordprotocol-zc1ex]

I still haven’t finished the room. it’s the only book I’ve ever had to put down.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I don’t blame you! I think it took me a month to read it back when I was like 17 or 18. It marked me like few books ever have.

[@Overlordprotocol-zc1ex]

@@PlaguedbyVisions it surprises me that out of the many titles I have read it was this one that broke me. It is also surprising how many consider the room to be Selby’s best work.

[@knl654]

cant find any info on this book on internet.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

This was an April Fools joke. The book is not real. I’m sorry! 😭

[@knl654]

@@PlaguedbyVisions i had my doubt about the word 'willie' atleast it made me look for the most terrifying horror book, can you recommend the most terrifying book you ever read.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Possibly Hogg by Samuel Delany.

[@knl654]

@@PlaguedbyVisions read few pages its really disturbing, i was wondering ave you read - Alraune by Hanns Heinz Ewers

[@knl654]

@@PlaguedbyVisions thanks

[@Blady99]

Very well made video.

[@Monsterblood]

That's crazy a book that old is still effed up by today's standards.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Right?! You’d think it was a made-up story!

[@Monsterblood]

😂

[@johnward5404]

COOL! Anything that is like Selby, im in for... I read Last Exit and The Demon.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Yeah! Also, this was an April Fools joke. 🫣

[@johnward5404]

@@PlaguedbyVisions Yeah im so quick to comment that I felt stupid after watching the whole thing... you legit got me. Well played sir.

[@cel168]

Sounds like his whole life was a cozy mystery! This book sounds pretty fun!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

It does sound pretty fun! If only it were real. 😞

[@joebreakerx]

Found a copy of this on Ebay for £3,000, can't wait for it to arrive.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

What a steal! Is it the version with the Peter Sotos introduction?

[@joebreakerx]

@@PlaguedbyVisions absolutely, complete with human flesh slipcase

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Wow! I hope you got the one bound in JonBenet’s face!

[@WilliamsLibrary]

Why was I the last to know this was a joke? No wonder I cannot find it in any Google search!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

😂😂😂 I’m sure there’s still some out there that think it’s real!

[@gaslight.gatekeep.girlboss6476]

Lmfaooo I recommended this book to someone and just now it hits me that it was an April Fools joke💀💀💀 you are so good with your words or I'm too dumb

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Looks I’m the girlboss that was doing the gaslighting this whole time.

[@gaslight.gatekeep.girlboss6476]

@@PlaguedbyVisions yes you aree lmfao it's sad tho cause if it was real it would be a book I'd like to read

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

@@gaslight.gatekeep.girlboss6476 I guess I have to write it now!

[@gaslight.gatekeep.girlboss6476]

@@PlaguedbyVisions pleaseeeee

[@glyndwr15]

I'm going to write this book so it will exist.

[@BookBlather]

Well damn, now I have to read this! Thanks for the history… too bad the author didn’t get to see it in print

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I know, quite tragic! Hope you had a good April 1st, Dave! 😉

[@ITCamefromthePage]

Ooooh this sounds super interesting and unique lol. I love that fake Stephen King quote on the front cover. Will have to take a look at this.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

LMAO Yeah if only this book were real and not an April Fools joke. :(

[@ITCamefromthePage]

@@PlaguedbyVisions Oh my god...no of course...was not paying attention to the date at all. You got me hahaha.

[@BloodylocksBathory]

As someone who despises April Fool's Day, I refuse to believe this book is real until it becomes a legitimate copy to be purchased.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I guess I’ll just have to write it!

[@BloodylocksBathory]

@@PlaguedbyVisions collab? 😉

[@aureliusandthespiral]

Jack Ketchum's Writting is is very curious. I quite like it

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

He is my favorite horror writer!

[@mikethepsych2084]

Check out Heather by GC Mckay

[@fiberartsyreads]

Vivid!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

It’s… vivid!

[@nunyabidness4220]

I haven't been able to find a copy of the book yet. But I have seen the film, Pray For Agatha Burning In Hell, so I can vouch that it does, indeed, exist. Never watch it, though, it will scar you for life.

[@kamerondonaldson5976]

if you seek titilation, it should be written from the perspective of a tormented bystander. the actual victim's perspective is sometimes too much high octane nightmare fuel.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

And that is why Jack Ketchum is the king of the unsettling. He never lets you forget there’s a tormented mind being pumped full of fear at any given time.

[@Susie_Floozie]

So, W"W"W is the John Kennedy Toole of transgressive horror fiction, eh? That always makes a book more intriguing, when the author doesn't--or can't--add any details after publishing a work.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

If he were real, he would be!

[@ghost278]

how did I get fooled in July?!

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Foolery has no expiration date!

[@fiafiafiafia]

unrelated but your voice sounds so much like mista gg's

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Had to look up who that is-his sounds much more pleasant, imho. 😂

[@angusmckeogh659]

When you made the Ketchum comparison I was thinking...why am I trying to find this book. Ketchum sucks. Then I noticed the "blurb" on the front of the book from Stephen King. And a nonexistent Henbane Press search convinced me to stop looking. I'm going to slot this fake book in with some others that are impossible to find: The Voice of the Clown and Throat Sprockets and just assume they're not worth it either.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

This book is real I swear my dad works at Henbane Press.

[@maksdoulton4713]

Ok, here’s a REAL transgressive work ive barely seen mentioned on U-toob: “the end of alice” by AM Holmes. also, “geek love” ( which was a very big deal 30-ish years ago, but deserves to be resuscitated for edgelords looking for something to be icked -out by...

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I’ve read the End of Alice and should review it soon, along with Lolita and Tampa. 😰 And Geek Love has been on my radar, and I am that edgelord the world needs! 😂

[@palomarodrigues2483]

Me watching this video 👀

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Sorry! 😭

[@gurm1155]

Okay this is funny

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I’m glad someone thought so! 😭

[@throwaway4345]

LOL EPIC PRANK BRO

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

It was le epicnezz! To this day people think the book is real ffs 😂

[@bonebagbettysbutterbusting6348]

wait, i just found this channel…is it just a joke?

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

I’m afraid this, indeed, was perhaps the unfunniest April Fools joke in history. 😬

[@coffeeisthebest]

all i have to say is ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

This video was such a mistake.

[@coffeeisthebest]

@@PlaguedbyVisions still gets views eh? good for the channel ig!!

[@ccreel64]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

😇😇😇

[@bigphilly7345]

Subscribed about a minute into the video thinking, man this dude has some unique recommendations. Unsubscribed after I clicked the link.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

😂😂😂😂😂 Fair enough!