Title: OH FUCK OH FUCK IT HURTS: A Collection of Medical HorrorAuthor: Rik Hoskin, Ruth Anna Evans
First Published: September 12, 2023
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 171
Genre: Horror, Short Stories
Format: Ebook
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Synopsis:
A medical system that keeps you alive as long as your cash holds out. A sure-fire weight-loss treatment with only a ten percent fatality rate. A flesh-sloughing, muscle-shredding disease that leaves the sufferer begging to be put in a tub full of maggots. A son giving everything to care for his mother as she wastes away.
Our bodies are fragile and destructible things, and one of the few knowable things in life is that they will fail us, painfully and entirely. With the destruction of our flesh and bones, whether from the inside or out, comes true fear. And therein lies the horror.
This collection of stories by indie horror author Ruth Anna Evans also features one guest story by award-winning author Rik Hoskin. It will gut you, will fill you with a very personal dread, and will leave you with thoughts in your head that you won't easily forget.
Buy the Book: Amazon, GodlessReview
OH FUCK OH FUCK IT HURTS is one of the most perfect short story collections I’ve read, and Ruth Anna Evans has shot up to the top of my list of authors that I desperately need to read more books by. The writing was outstanding with every story, serving up a banquet of pain and suffering. With illness and the flaws in the healthcare industry as a throughline, these stories are horrifying because they are grounded in the painful experiences of real people.
I found many of the stories in the collection to be cathartic and could relate my own health struggles and frustrations with the American healthcare system. Chronic illness, horrific side effects, obscene healthcare costs, uncaring or unbelieving medical professionals, and unempathetic family members, this collection of stories checks all the boxes.
Individual Story Notes:
♥ Lifeline: This story starts the collection hard and fast with a sharp critique of the flaws of healthcare under a capitalist system. A nightmare of what healthcare would be like on a pay first system without insurance to pay up front. This story really drives home the issue of healthcare for profit rather than as civil right.
♥ Autoimmune: I couldn’t help but feel so sad for the main character in this story. Having a chronic illness with no identifiable cause or stable treatment hard, especially when paired with the frustrating cycle of jumping through hoops with doctors and insurance companies when seeking treatment, all while living under the extreme stress of an unsympathetic boss with laughable medical leave policies. As a long time sufferer of eczema, the main character’s more intense version with little hope for relief was horrifying.
♥ FAT: I audibly gasped reading the end of this story. Cara is a single mom grappling with internalized fatphobia, having tried every fad diet available on the market and still struggling to shed more than a few pounds. Her experience is all too common in America, but the dangerous and predatory nature of the weight loss industry is all the more terrifying in this story.
♥ Defective: A childbirth gone terribly wrong, this story was intense, horrifying, and heartbreaking in a very short amount of pages. There are so many different conditions and mutations that can happen in the womb, and I’ve watched and wept over the suffering of children born with severe defects that heavily impact their quality of life, and this story felt like such a cold slap in the face.
♥ Colonoscopy: Another short and very intense story about a colonoscopy. Nothing out of the ordinary, but the confusion, pain, and exhaustion of invasive medical procedures is keenly felt.
♥ Side Effects Include: Did you know that wives are six times more likely to be abandoned by their husbands when they become seriously ill? When I first heard about that statistic years ago, I couldn’t help but feel afraid. This story was a fever dream of terror and anxiety over countless side effects, the limits of pharmaceutical treatments, and a frustratingly inept husband. The ending was so gratifying, this story stole my breath away.
♥ Sixteen: This story was a startling change of pace, but one that I actually found incredibly funny despite the body horror. I’ve been guilty of uttering the words, “I’m in a match” to a parent in the past but at least I grew up with dial-up and have an understanding of how the internet works, and appreciation for the wonderful high speed internet that we have today. My kids on the other hand, well, the first time our wifi went out, probably due to maintenance, seeing the blank faces of my kids looking back at me, unable to fathom that the internet could be gone.
♥ The Visitor by Rik Hoskin: The final story was a great way to cap off a solid collection. This story had many twists and headed in a direction and genre I didn’t expect at all. An interesting take on long term nursing care.
Rating Breakdown
| Lifeline: ★★★★☆ Autoimmune: ★★★★★ FAT: ★★★★★ |
Defective: ★★★★★ Colonoscopy: ★★★★★ Side Effects Include: ★★★★★ |
Sixteen: ★★★★☆ The Visitor: ★★★★☆ |
Quote
“When she was wheeled out of the hospital to the waiting car, prescriptions piled in her lap, Laura felt nothing. She felt like she was already dead.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Rik Hoskin
Rik Hoskin is a UK-based writer of science fiction novels and comic books. He has written over twenty novels, working mostly under the pen-name “James Axler”. As Axler, Rik has been the primary writer of the Outlanders series since 2008, and has also contributed five books to the Deathlands series. In the comic book field, Rik has written Superman, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Mercy Thompson and various DreamWorks characters including Shrek, helped develop a successful Spider-Man title aimed at younger readers, and has written approximately 400 stories for Disney. He is currently writing a science fiction novel for Resurrection House under his own name, and a graphic novel for US comic book publisher, Dynamite.
About Ruth Anna Evans
Ruth Anna Evans is a horror writer, anthologist, and cover designer who lives in the heart of all that is sinister: the American Midwest. She has self-published the horror collection No One Can Help You: Tales of Lost Children and Other Nightmares, along with novellas, novelettes, and several short stories. She is the editor of Ooze: Little Bursts of Body Horror. She also has work appearing in several recent anthologies, including The First Five Minutes of the Apocalypse from Hungry Shadow Press. She is the author of What Did Not Die, published by PsychoToxin Press, and the novella Do Not Go In That House from Gloom House Publishing.
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