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Playground
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Three low-income families have been given a handsome retainer to join Geraldine Borden for a day at her cliffside estate. All the parents must do to collect the rest of their money is allow their children to test out the revolutionary playground equipment Geraldine has been working on for decades. But there’s a reason the structures in the bowels of her gothic castle have taken so long to develop—they were never meant to see the light of day.
When a band of dysfunctional children is suddenly thrust into a diabolical realm of violence, they must grow up instantly to have a chance at survival. Will they find a way to put their differences aside, or be swallowed up by the insidious architecture all around them?
"With Playground, Aron Beauregard transcends himself, delivering a genuinely chilling, uncomfortable novel that will make even the most jaded horror fan squirm. A harrowing, relentless read that left me breathless."
- Brian Keene
This volume contains 15 interior illustrations.
WARNING: This book contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
Three low-income families have been given a handsome retainer to join Geraldine Borden for a day at her cliffside estate. All the parents must do to collect the rest of their money is allow their children to test out the revolutionary playground equipment Geraldine has been working on for decades. But there’s a reason the structures in the bowels of her gothic castle have taken so long to develop—they were never meant to see the light of day.
When a band of dysfunctional children is suddenly thrust into a diabolical realm of violence, they must grow up instantly to have a chance at survival. Will they find a way to put their differences aside, or be swallowed up by the insidious architecture all around them?
"With Playground, Aron Beauregard transcends himself, delivering a genuinely chilling, uncomfortable novel that will make even the most jaded horror fan squirm. A harrowing, relentless read that left me breathless."
- Brian Keene
This volume contains 15 interior illustrations.
WARNING: This book contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published November 25, 2022
About the author
Aron Beauregard
79 books2,581 followersAron Beauregard was born and raised in Central Falls, Rhode Island. He's been writing horror since the 6th grade and has now released over 25 books. An avid supporter of horror art and illustration, Aron has made it his standard to hire illustrators for every book that he puts out under his brand AB Horror.
His writing is dark and without boundaries. Known for creating a stir, his work has gone viral on several occasions. He's won the Splatterpunk Award twice after garnering four total nominations. As an independent artist, Beauregard's book "Playground" has achieved #1 Bestseller status under the category of horror on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, his work has been translated to multiple languages.
To get the latest updates about upcoming releases, signed books and merchandise, film news, and so much more, visit his website:
www.ABHorror.com
To subscribe to his free newsletter, join the AB Horror Maggot Mailing List at:
https://aronbeauregard.substack.com/
His writing is dark and without boundaries. Known for creating a stir, his work has gone viral on several occasions. He's won the Splatterpunk Award twice after garnering four total nominations. As an independent artist, Beauregard's book "Playground" has achieved #1 Bestseller status under the category of horror on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, his work has been translated to multiple languages.
To get the latest updates about upcoming releases, signed books and merchandise, film news, and so much more, visit his website:
www.ABHorror.com
To subscribe to his free newsletter, join the AB Horror Maggot Mailing List at:
https://aronbeauregard.substack.com/
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,853 reviews
March 14, 2023
check the author's drive
July 10, 2023
i went in with very high expectations due to my current fascination with horror, how interesting the plot sounded, and all the rave reviews, but the author’s obvious wannabe alpha male tendencies and juvenile writing style ruined it. big words and repetition can’t make your story good if you have to explain every metaphor and detail to the reader as if you think we’re five years old. the misogyny and crudeness in the way geraldine’s genitals were described were the most sickening parts of the whole story (describing her vagina as disgusting because she doesn’t use soap to clean it is so wildly sexist. soap should not go anywhere near a vagina. vaginas are self cleaning. the author amplified how putrid geraldine’s vagina is to such an extent that it almost became funny. has he ever even touched a woman?) and it wasn’t lost on me that the villain’s whole backstory hinged on the fact that she couldn’t have children. oh, the horrors! a woman is infertile, which means she must kill every child in the world to get revenge! the characters were flat and full of stereotypes, the plot was predictable, the playground games were explained in such a strange fashion that it almost made some of the games hard to follow, and the world building left much to be desired. not to mention making a literal nazi a character just for shock value. i’m shocked at the five stars. i won’t be surprised if this man ends up in jail for possession of illegal porn soon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2023
a few people said this was better than the slob, so, against my better judgement, as the gore hound and death game lover i am, i shelled out the $3 to try playground. another mistake.
once again, the true horror here was the author’s abysmally juvenile writing style and misogynistic tendencies. every time i almost got interested in the plot i would be subjected to a phrase like “fermented beaver” or a description of a wound as resembling a “gape” video.
lesson learned. next time i want to read something this “edgy” and poorly written, i’ll just go to reddit.
once again, the true horror here was the author’s abysmally juvenile writing style and misogynistic tendencies. every time i almost got interested in the plot i would be subjected to a phrase like “fermented beaver” or a description of a wound as resembling a “gape” video.
lesson learned. next time i want to read something this “edgy” and poorly written, i’ll just go to reddit.
July 14, 2023
I immediately called Amazon for a refund. This book is painfully obviously written by a man. If you’re into children lusting after their own mothers at the small age of seven, then boy is this the book for you! But that was an immediate no for me.
I also had to suffer through the words “fermented beaver” “vaginal excretions” and that alone was enough for me to request a refund.
This guy probably needs some like intense therapy, what childhood trauma are you hiding my man?
I also had to suffer through the words “fermented beaver” “vaginal excretions” and that alone was enough for me to request a refund.
This guy probably needs some like intense therapy, what childhood trauma are you hiding my man?
November 29, 2022
Full review available at The Mort Report:
https://www.uncomfortablydark.com/bla...
If you don’t know Aron Beauregard’s work, let me sum it up for you:
Hrrupppphhhgghaarrrmmmnnnaaaaheee.
Aron’s work is hard to describe because, yes, it is sick, twisted, brutal and extreme, but he is also a story teller. The fact that he pushes the reader makes it easy for some to think of him as someone who relies on shock and disgust to sell his stories, but if you remove the make-up and look at the bare, naked tale, it is usually a damn good story.
And PLAYGROUND…well…
Years ago I was going through a movie slump, when I saw the preview for a new movie during a coffee break while doing night shift, which made me sit up and go:
I have to go and watch this the moment it comes out!
I did, and it became one of my top 5 movies ever. The concept, while simple, was utterly brilliant and superbly executed.
I am referring to the first SAW movie.
You will see some parallels with that movie when you read this one, but it is hard to imagine how far the author went with this one. If this was made into a movie, it would never see the light of day. It is SAW on steroids to the AAHHHHH degree.
The characters are well fleshed out, the story makes sense, but deep inside all the gore there is a commentary about parenthood and the ills of the world we live in. Psychologically speaking, this is a study in all that can be done incorrectly to a child.
In my opinion, this is the author’s best work to date.
Recommended to extreme and Splatterpunk fans only.
5 STARS!
https://www.uncomfortablydark.com/bla...
If you don’t know Aron Beauregard’s work, let me sum it up for you:
Hrrupppphhhgghaarrrmmmnnnaaaaheee.
Aron’s work is hard to describe because, yes, it is sick, twisted, brutal and extreme, but he is also a story teller. The fact that he pushes the reader makes it easy for some to think of him as someone who relies on shock and disgust to sell his stories, but if you remove the make-up and look at the bare, naked tale, it is usually a damn good story.
And PLAYGROUND…well…
Years ago I was going through a movie slump, when I saw the preview for a new movie during a coffee break while doing night shift, which made me sit up and go:
I have to go and watch this the moment it comes out!
I did, and it became one of my top 5 movies ever. The concept, while simple, was utterly brilliant and superbly executed.
I am referring to the first SAW movie.
You will see some parallels with that movie when you read this one, but it is hard to imagine how far the author went with this one. If this was made into a movie, it would never see the light of day. It is SAW on steroids to the AAHHHHH degree.
The characters are well fleshed out, the story makes sense, but deep inside all the gore there is a commentary about parenthood and the ills of the world we live in. Psychologically speaking, this is a study in all that can be done incorrectly to a child.
In my opinion, this is the author’s best work to date.
Recommended to extreme and Splatterpunk fans only.
5 STARS!
March 14, 2023
literally child pornography you people are fucking gross
June 16, 2023
Trash book from a worthless hack author. I’d rather hit myself in the balls with a hammer than read another book by this turd.
April 15, 2023
Adjectives, Alliteration, and Odd Word Choices, Oh My!
First off, I had no problem with the subject matter. I mean, the cover of this book shows you what you’re in for, so you can’t get upset about that.
My problem with this book was the writing style. I absolutely hated it! Everything had an adjective. EVERYTHING. And damn near every time, alliteration was involved. Odd words were often chosen, often reaching, just for the alliteration. It was a constant thing that got really annoying, really fast.
This was my first book by this author, and after reading it, I really wish I hadn’t bought another of his books at the same time as this one. I usually give authors two chances before giving up on them, but this book annoyed me so much that I don’t really want to read that other book.
First off, I had no problem with the subject matter. I mean, the cover of this book shows you what you’re in for, so you can’t get upset about that.
My problem with this book was the writing style. I absolutely hated it! Everything had an adjective. EVERYTHING. And damn near every time, alliteration was involved. Odd words were often chosen, often reaching, just for the alliteration. It was a constant thing that got really annoying, really fast.
This was my first book by this author, and after reading it, I really wish I hadn’t bought another of his books at the same time as this one. I usually give authors two chances before giving up on them, but this book annoyed me so much that I don’t really want to read that other book.
January 23, 2024
Squid Game With Children's.
Aron Beauregard as everyone know is a master in term of Splatterpunk. I love his book, but this one hit differently, yes it's disgusting, yes its gore, everything you expect from him, but I felt connected to the characters, I wanted them to survive (and I don't even like kids). The story is more heartfelt, more psychological than most book I read from him. And without a doubt I loved it. I think you need this book.
5 black stars ⭐/5
Aron Beauregard as everyone know is a master in term of Splatterpunk. I love his book, but this one hit differently, yes it's disgusting, yes its gore, everything you expect from him, but I felt connected to the characters, I wanted them to survive (and I don't even like kids). The story is more heartfelt, more psychological than most book I read from him. And without a doubt I loved it. I think you need this book.
5 black stars ⭐/5
April 25, 2023
The author of this smut--this Aron guy--should have his testicles smashed with a mallet and have his manhood removed with a rusty hacksaw. Then he should be held at gunpoint and made to hump an angry ant bed with his bloody crotch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2024
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Grossly entertaining!!!
Is this book for everybody? Absolutely fucking not. This is for a very niche market.
If you've never read Splatterpunk or Extreme Horror before, don't start here. You'll want to ease yourself in more gently than this. This could scar you for life.
I had fun with it. I loved the premise and the gore was non-stop and gag-inducingly detailed. However, I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't enjoy this and that's fine.
To each their own. That's what makes the reading experience so great, it's different for each of us and I love that journey for us all. For Readers who do love Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror, this is a hell of a lot of fun.
If the thought of a demented version of Squid Game played by children on torturous playground equipment is intriguing to you, than you should definitely check this one out.
Grossly entertaining!!!
Is this book for everybody? Absolutely fucking not. This is for a very niche market.
If you've never read Splatterpunk or Extreme Horror before, don't start here. You'll want to ease yourself in more gently than this. This could scar you for life.
I had fun with it. I loved the premise and the gore was non-stop and gag-inducingly detailed. However, I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't enjoy this and that's fine.
To each their own. That's what makes the reading experience so great, it's different for each of us and I love that journey for us all. For Readers who do love Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror, this is a hell of a lot of fun.
If the thought of a demented version of Squid Game played by children on torturous playground equipment is intriguing to you, than you should definitely check this one out.
July 10, 2023
dnf. PLEASE for the love of god do not EVER write another book. Spare us and get a therapist. Not google docs. FFS. I’d say you need to be in ✨jail✨ but that would give you too much time to write another fucked up book. 😀
July 22, 2023
splatterpunk is a genre with potential. unfortunately, there was no compelling story underneath the salacious gore of playground. the gore was decently written, but everything else was subpar.
i about lost all interest when a nazi showed up. it has a good premise, and i felt it had the promise of exploring how low-income families are exploited at the hands of the rich. unfortunately, there was no social commentary. the characters were evil just to be evil. as a jewish person, it's uncomfortable to read about a nazi in this light; the forced german accent was just plain strange.
as for the issue of child porn, i do feel that this novel succeeded at shock value, but also had no reason to include such vile matters regarding children. you may be thinking, but nastya, the children are brutally murdered! yes, they are, in a saw-like fashion, but the inclusion of child porn feels like a major step across a major line.
the children do not speak like children. the dialogue was cartoonish and poorly written. the design on the playground was very interesting. again, the gore was great. the incestuous sex scenes were disgusting, but what do you expect from beauregard?
a fantastic concept that was very, very poorly executed. i wanted a reason to care, and i did not have one. i wanted to feel a connection to the victims, but i did not feel one.
i about lost all interest when a nazi showed up. it has a good premise, and i felt it had the promise of exploring how low-income families are exploited at the hands of the rich. unfortunately, there was no social commentary. the characters were evil just to be evil. as a jewish person, it's uncomfortable to read about a nazi in this light; the forced german accent was just plain strange.
as for the issue of child porn, i do feel that this novel succeeded at shock value, but also had no reason to include such vile matters regarding children. you may be thinking, but nastya, the children are brutally murdered! yes, they are, in a saw-like fashion, but the inclusion of child porn feels like a major step across a major line.
the children do not speak like children. the dialogue was cartoonish and poorly written. the design on the playground was very interesting. again, the gore was great. the incestuous sex scenes were disgusting, but what do you expect from beauregard?
a fantastic concept that was very, very poorly executed. i wanted a reason to care, and i did not have one. i wanted to feel a connection to the victims, but i did not feel one.
April 4, 2023
CHILDREN GO…..SPLAT!!!!!
May 18, 2024
Hold onto your stomachs and steel your nerves—this book is a wild ride through a twisted playground escape room that’s definitely not for the faint-hearted!
This book pushes boundaries and then some. It’s a splatterpunk spectacle that goes beyond the gross and extreme, even for seasoned readers of the genre. If you’re easily offended or have a weak constitution, this might not be your cup of tea. In fact, it might not be for the average reader at all! This is hardcore horror, so make sure you’ve built up a decent splatterpunk tolerance before diving in.
Page 40? Pure trauma. Rough doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s a visceral, gut-wrenching experience that will leave you squirming. Definitely look up all the content warnings before you even think about cracking this one open.
In the end, it’s a mixed bag. The concept and character intrigue are high points, but the extreme content can be a major turn-off. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve read, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. If you’re up for a challenge and have a strong stomach, give it a shot. Just be prepared for a gruesome, no-holds-barred adventure that’s anything but average.
This book pushes boundaries and then some. It’s a splatterpunk spectacle that goes beyond the gross and extreme, even for seasoned readers of the genre. If you’re easily offended or have a weak constitution, this might not be your cup of tea. In fact, it might not be for the average reader at all! This is hardcore horror, so make sure you’ve built up a decent splatterpunk tolerance before diving in.
Page 40? Pure trauma. Rough doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s a visceral, gut-wrenching experience that will leave you squirming. Definitely look up all the content warnings before you even think about cracking this one open.
In the end, it’s a mixed bag. The concept and character intrigue are high points, but the extreme content can be a major turn-off. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve read, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. If you’re up for a challenge and have a strong stomach, give it a shot. Just be prepared for a gruesome, no-holds-barred adventure that’s anything but average.
July 17, 2023
TL;DR Lazy shock horror, written by someone who has a fixation on portraying women as being disgusting horrific beasts, and no interest in how his work is using antisemitic tropes or even bothering to weave a narrative out of the gruesome imagery.
I did not like this book. I wanted to, I could see that there was a point haunting the edges of the book. But I just, I just couldn't.
The narrator hired for the novel was honestly the highlight. Likewise the children in the book are written pretty accurately to their ages. I think those two things are about all the positive things I can say about it though.
The scene that started on page 36 earned its infamy, and was written in such way that it nearly made me actually throw up. Not the general "oh this is sick writing" No as in I was trapped at work, unable to turn the book off to give myself a break, listening to that part of the book very nearly Actually Throwing Up onto the machine I was stationed at. Getting to the child murder was honestly a god damn relief.
The thing about Playground though that I appreciate about it is the way it doesn't shy away from abuse. That's what this book is about. Abuse. Objectively that is what this is about.
The kids are given equal narrative weight, they're not simply tools of the narrative they are agents within themselves. The adults however, more or less refuse to see that. They, the children, aren't people to them. To the Matthew family they're tools to get fame and fortune via sports. Donnie's mother didn't seem to see him as anything but a burden and put him through anything she could think of because she was stuck with him, but likewise didn't want to give him up for some reason. A reason we never find out due to her getting turned into red paste more or less the second she shows up (a move I fucking wholeheartedly supported). The Grimley's seemed to be alright, if not helicopter parents. Out of the three, they were the only ones who dare I say it: loved their children.
But like again. Abuse is the central theme of the book. The antagonist is a rapist who abused her right hand man since he was a child. She murdered a maid because she thought that they were sleeping together when he was a teenager. After she kept killing or firing the staff and wouldn't hire new ones to replace them, he took their spot, which included her raping him repeatedly. But all of it is... disconnected. The abuse is happening but that's really it. The Plot and Narrative are in another room from the Abuse and then the Gore has one all to itself as well. The author's writing of her is generally misogynistic as well, like not even knowing how a climax happens on a "female" body. In the scene where she rapes Rock, her climax is written as if she was a man climaxing but the cum comes out of her vagina instead
The gore is alright, its written in a way that can be a little hammy sometimes but like, I'm not looking for high minded lit with vocab I have to google the meaning of. Especially not in splatterpunk. But even with it being the focus of the genre (it IS splatterpunk) it likewise feels like no care is being taken for it either. "Its SAW but with kids" SAW had interested set design for its horror, what does Playground have? Empty voids. Beauregard couldn't be bothered to even map out what this place would look like. Something only emphasized by the illustrations. "Its Squid Game but with kids" Squid Game had a point. There was something behind it, a reason for the people taking part and a reason for the rich woman to even be doing this. Which in Playground there really is no point, the whole thing about "I can't have children and now its everyone's problem" is just as tacked on as it is misogynistic. Boiling down her entire life and everything within, for her to feel like "something is missing" and what is it? Oh children of course. Because what woman doesn't want a child?
Overall I think my biggest concern with the book is, maybe unintended antisemitism? I don't want to think that Beauregard meant to do it but like... come on man this book came out in the wake of "The Wealthy Elite are all pedophile rapists who are after YOUR CHILDREN" and that is Literally!!! Literally the thing that gets the book started! The antagonist is a pedophile rapist, who takes interest in one of the girls and starts hoping for her to survive so that she can "take her under her wing" and she's one of the richest women in the country. There was a Whole Thing about how this all couldn't have happened if she didn't work with an actual god damned Nazi. You don't Name Drop camps that this fictional nazi worked at/helped design and then not expect me to be questioning the presence of antisemitism and its, extremely disappointing that I've not seen that brought up at all whenever I did see people talking about this book. Like fucks sake the book went into great detail about how he was spared via Paperclip.
She dies a horrible death but I don't feel like that undoes anything that she did or what the book's entire basis of existing is formed upon. I feel like having like, I dunno, a single Jewish splatterpunk sensitivity reader would of done Beauregard a great deal of help if this really and truly was unintended.
I did not like this book. I wanted to, I could see that there was a point haunting the edges of the book. But I just, I just couldn't.
The narrator hired for the novel was honestly the highlight. Likewise the children in the book are written pretty accurately to their ages. I think those two things are about all the positive things I can say about it though.
The scene that started on page 36 earned its infamy, and was written in such way that it nearly made me actually throw up. Not the general "oh this is sick writing" No as in I was trapped at work, unable to turn the book off to give myself a break, listening to that part of the book very nearly Actually Throwing Up onto the machine I was stationed at. Getting to the child murder was honestly a god damn relief.
The thing about Playground though that I appreciate about it is the way it doesn't shy away from abuse. That's what this book is about. Abuse. Objectively that is what this is about.
The kids are given equal narrative weight, they're not simply tools of the narrative they are agents within themselves. The adults however, more or less refuse to see that. They, the children, aren't people to them. To the Matthew family they're tools to get fame and fortune via sports. Donnie's mother didn't seem to see him as anything but a burden and put him through anything she could think of because she was stuck with him, but likewise didn't want to give him up for some reason. A reason we never find out due to her getting turned into red paste more or less the second she shows up (a move I fucking wholeheartedly supported). The Grimley's seemed to be alright, if not helicopter parents. Out of the three, they were the only ones who dare I say it: loved their children.
But like again. Abuse is the central theme of the book. The antagonist is a rapist who abused her right hand man since he was a child. She murdered a maid because she thought that they were sleeping together when he was a teenager. After she kept killing or firing the staff and wouldn't hire new ones to replace them, he took their spot, which included her raping him repeatedly. But all of it is... disconnected. The abuse is happening but that's really it. The Plot and Narrative are in another room from the Abuse and then the Gore has one all to itself as well. The author's writing of her is generally misogynistic as well, like not even knowing how a climax happens on a "female" body. In the scene where she rapes Rock, her climax is written as if she was a man climaxing but the cum comes out of her vagina instead
The gore is alright, its written in a way that can be a little hammy sometimes but like, I'm not looking for high minded lit with vocab I have to google the meaning of. Especially not in splatterpunk. But even with it being the focus of the genre (it IS splatterpunk) it likewise feels like no care is being taken for it either. "Its SAW but with kids" SAW had interested set design for its horror, what does Playground have? Empty voids. Beauregard couldn't be bothered to even map out what this place would look like. Something only emphasized by the illustrations. "Its Squid Game but with kids" Squid Game had a point. There was something behind it, a reason for the people taking part and a reason for the rich woman to even be doing this. Which in Playground there really is no point, the whole thing about "I can't have children and now its everyone's problem" is just as tacked on as it is misogynistic. Boiling down her entire life and everything within, for her to feel like "something is missing" and what is it? Oh children of course. Because what woman doesn't want a child?
Overall I think my biggest concern with the book is, maybe unintended antisemitism? I don't want to think that Beauregard meant to do it but like... come on man this book came out in the wake of "The Wealthy Elite are all pedophile rapists who are after YOUR CHILDREN" and that is Literally!!! Literally the thing that gets the book started! The antagonist is a pedophile rapist, who takes interest in one of the girls and starts hoping for her to survive so that she can "take her under her wing" and she's one of the richest women in the country. There was a Whole Thing about how this all couldn't have happened if she didn't work with an actual god damned Nazi. You don't Name Drop camps that this fictional nazi worked at/helped design and then not expect me to be questioning the presence of antisemitism and its, extremely disappointing that I've not seen that brought up at all whenever I did see people talking about this book. Like fucks sake the book went into great detail about how he was spared via Paperclip.
She dies a horrible death but I don't feel like that undoes anything that she did or what the book's entire basis of existing is formed upon. I feel like having like, I dunno, a single Jewish splatterpunk sensitivity reader would of done Beauregard a great deal of help if this really and truly was unintended.
October 28, 2022
The sounds I made when this book arrived in my mailbox exactly a month before release date - let’s just say they should be illegal.
This is a CHUNKY BOI for Aron and there was not a single moment that disappointed. It’s delusional in the best way. It’s absolutely disgusting. It is everything you could ever want out of an Aron Beauregard book. I am always impressed with how creatively insane this author is. He pushes boundaries and makes the reader want to hide the book in case anyone beside them gets a glimpse at the words. I love it!
Check the damn trigger warnings, because I KNOW this one is going to piss people off and people are gonna get their panties in a knot about it.
This is a CHUNKY BOI for Aron and there was not a single moment that disappointed. It’s delusional in the best way. It’s absolutely disgusting. It is everything you could ever want out of an Aron Beauregard book. I am always impressed with how creatively insane this author is. He pushes boundaries and makes the reader want to hide the book in case anyone beside them gets a glimpse at the words. I love it!
Check the damn trigger warnings, because I KNOW this one is going to piss people off and people are gonna get their panties in a knot about it.
December 18, 2022
this would have been a 5 star read for me if you take out the chapter in the beginning with the mother/daughter relationship
May 23, 2024
Playground is a book that is in need of some serious trigger warnings. So here we go, the trigger warnings:
Child death, Gore, Child abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, Bullying, Animal death, Pedophilia, Infertility.
I went into the book knowing all these trigger warnings and thus had a general idea what it was going to be about. The book was like Saw meets Final Destination meets Squid Game but then with children, which makes it even worse. As a splatter punk / body horror / torture porn enjoyer I could appreciate the gruesome and violent deaths in the book. The book helped me out of a reading slump and I was invested from start to finish.
I hope my list of trigger warnings might help someone make an informed decision to read this book. I loved it, but it is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Read with caution.
Child death, Gore, Child abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, Bullying, Animal death, Pedophilia, Infertility.
I went into the book knowing all these trigger warnings and thus had a general idea what it was going to be about. The book was like Saw meets Final Destination meets Squid Game but then with children, which makes it even worse. As a splatter punk / body horror / torture porn enjoyer I could appreciate the gruesome and violent deaths in the book. The book helped me out of a reading slump and I was invested from start to finish.
I hope my list of trigger warnings might help someone make an informed decision to read this book. I loved it, but it is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Read with caution.
January 31, 2023
This is my first book by Aron, and I have to say… his writing is phenomenal. This was a sick, twisted, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking story. Idk if any other reviews compared it to this, but it’s like the Saw series with the kids as the contestants, fighting for their lives. And instead of Jigsaw, we get a nasty, evil old lady who is quite the antagonist. There are some scenes scattered throughout that were so disgusting I found myself laughing at my own reactions to it. But honestly, it’s not just one sick gag after another, there is a lot of heart hidden below the queasiness on the surface. As most his books do, this one comes with plenty of trigger warnings, but if you have thick skin and enjoy things dark, check this book out!
July 12, 2023
EXTREMELY dark and disturbing book. first splatterpunk book i have ever read and i think i can't really appreciate this genre. however i do really like the story and characters, but oh my god, the writing. descriptions of the violent acts that happen just drag on and on. it's not interesting, it's not scary, it's just really disgusting and annoying.
there is a good story here. just not well executed.
there is a good story here. just not well executed.
July 10, 2023
one star because I can’t give it 0 . horrible writing and storytelling, very obvious torture porn, does not trust audience, if you want an example of how bad the writing is, it will put very obvious and very bad metaphors in your face and proceed to explain what they are metaphors or symbolism for, literally sometimes using phrases like “it was a symbol for _”. gained nothing from reading this. I feel dumber. obviously really gross and shocking but somehow also uninteresting in its gore.
edit I really need to add that this was genuinely the worst book I’ve ever read and I literally created this goodreads account to give it 1 star
edit I really need to add that this was genuinely the worst book I’ve ever read and I literally created this goodreads account to give it 1 star
March 23, 2023
If Charlie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Jigsaw (Saw) got together and decided to make
their own version of the Squid Game.
as always with Arons books, this had some crazy kills, I was grossed out and it was awesome!!
their own version of the Squid Game.
as always with Arons books, this had some crazy kills, I was grossed out and it was awesome!!
August 18, 2023
not only does this author have deep psychological issues, but he can't even write well. if you're going to be disgusting at least know how to write 😭 no character development whatsoever was to be found in this. the villains were so two dimensional it was funny. the premise is ridiculous. omg that was soooo bad
June 6, 2023
I do not understand why people fawn over this man’s work.
September 7, 2023
One last spin on the merry-go-round.
August 5, 2023
these were certainly a lot of words and i chose to read them
June 17, 2023
ALL ABOARD ALLITERATION STATION!!!
This book was tough to get through. It feels like it may have been a self-published, straight-to-print-skip-the-editor job. The author was way too worried about clever, alliterative anecdotes and allegedly amusing adjectives to be able to write a really well-written story. My eyes haven't rolled so hard or so often since I was a teenage girl trying to understand why my parents were so lame.
The idea of the story wasn't actually all that bad, but between the aforementioned writing woes and a bit of gratuitous gay bashing, I was left feeling a little lackluster as I listened to the last of it.
This book was tough to get through. It feels like it may have been a self-published, straight-to-print-skip-the-editor job. The author was way too worried about clever, alliterative anecdotes and allegedly amusing adjectives to be able to write a really well-written story. My eyes haven't rolled so hard or so often since I was a teenage girl trying to understand why my parents were so lame.
The idea of the story wasn't actually all that bad, but between the aforementioned writing woes and a bit of gratuitous gay bashing, I was left feeling a little lackluster as I listened to the last of it.
April 28, 2023
Not my thing.
February 27, 2023
Over the last number of years, Aron Beauregard has emerged as one of Extreme/Splatterpunk Horror’s true Heavy Weights. His books are hotly anticipated by his ever-growing throng of fans and he has been raking up the accolades as well – becoming Splatterpunk Award nominated and Splatterpunk Award winning during that time.
A prolific author, Beauregard continues to release new and exciting slabs of decimation. But, I, being of the previously described ‘extreme-light’ crowd have yet to dive into any of his books. They sound great, but I’ve never been a hugely massive extreme-extreme horror reader. Saying that – I do my best to try and support as many as I can, and with this novel having been nominated for Best Novel for this years Splatterpunk Awards, I figured this was a perfect one to check out!
What I liked: I mean, the cover should give you some solid indication what you’re in for. If you require ANY sort of Trigger Warnings, you way want to stay away from this one. If you, however, enjoy the brand of brutality Beauregard delivers, this one will make you smile from ear to ear.
The story follows a crazy old lady, Geraldine, who gets sexual gratification from others misery. The worse that happens to them, the more turned on she gets. So, as one does, she creates this insanely intricate indoor playground and invites three low-income families with kids to test it out. They just don’t realize this is more ‘Saw’ meets ‘Hostel’ meets ’31’ than Sesame Street.
Beauregard has set this up as an escape room story for kids – with the only difference being each room is literally live or die – and the dying part is always a carnage filled paragraph of viscera. It also shows how some of the kids will band together and work to survive, while others are singularly focused on themselves and that typically doesn’t work out so well.
There is a really well-inserted redemption arc within the story, one involving the man-giant, Rock and his battle of wills versus loyalty and that worked to humanize the events to a degree.
I think the ending worked really well and followed how the reader sees the events played out. Beauregard does a great job of showcasing the hurt that was created with Geraldine’s actions as well as how this directly impacted the various characters in the novel.
What I didn’t like: You’ll need to go into this fully allowing yourself to just believe. Sure the scope/scale of these indoor rooms is insane. And so are the elaborate punishment devices that have been booby-trapped within each one to decimate the participants, but that’s part of the joy of reading something to just read and have fun. If you struggle to suspend belief for any amount of time, you’ll most likely want to stay clear of this one.
Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Aron’s you probably have already snagged this and most likely have read it. If you’re new to extreme horror and want to see what it’s all about, this is an excellent place to dive in and discover how these novels will contain really well done plots with fantastic writing and some of the most horrific gore-filled scenes you’ll ever read.
This was a blast.
A prolific author, Beauregard continues to release new and exciting slabs of decimation. But, I, being of the previously described ‘extreme-light’ crowd have yet to dive into any of his books. They sound great, but I’ve never been a hugely massive extreme-extreme horror reader. Saying that – I do my best to try and support as many as I can, and with this novel having been nominated for Best Novel for this years Splatterpunk Awards, I figured this was a perfect one to check out!
What I liked: I mean, the cover should give you some solid indication what you’re in for. If you require ANY sort of Trigger Warnings, you way want to stay away from this one. If you, however, enjoy the brand of brutality Beauregard delivers, this one will make you smile from ear to ear.
The story follows a crazy old lady, Geraldine, who gets sexual gratification from others misery. The worse that happens to them, the more turned on she gets. So, as one does, she creates this insanely intricate indoor playground and invites three low-income families with kids to test it out. They just don’t realize this is more ‘Saw’ meets ‘Hostel’ meets ’31’ than Sesame Street.
Beauregard has set this up as an escape room story for kids – with the only difference being each room is literally live or die – and the dying part is always a carnage filled paragraph of viscera. It also shows how some of the kids will band together and work to survive, while others are singularly focused on themselves and that typically doesn’t work out so well.
There is a really well-inserted redemption arc within the story, one involving the man-giant, Rock and his battle of wills versus loyalty and that worked to humanize the events to a degree.
I think the ending worked really well and followed how the reader sees the events played out. Beauregard does a great job of showcasing the hurt that was created with Geraldine’s actions as well as how this directly impacted the various characters in the novel.
What I didn’t like: You’ll need to go into this fully allowing yourself to just believe. Sure the scope/scale of these indoor rooms is insane. And so are the elaborate punishment devices that have been booby-trapped within each one to decimate the participants, but that’s part of the joy of reading something to just read and have fun. If you struggle to suspend belief for any amount of time, you’ll most likely want to stay clear of this one.
Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Aron’s you probably have already snagged this and most likely have read it. If you’re new to extreme horror and want to see what it’s all about, this is an excellent place to dive in and discover how these novels will contain really well done plots with fantastic writing and some of the most horrific gore-filled scenes you’ll ever read.
This was a blast.
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