Most Violent Moments in a Book!

[Mandal0re]

Anything Saren inflicts in mass effect revelations. Not an especially graphically violent book but Saren is one mean torturing bastard. Anything from the black library.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

It's not violent, but the description of what sends Eric insane (I won't spoil it) is particularly graphic and horrifying. It needs to be though, to emphasize it.

EDIT: It's the Wasp Factory by the way, I was waiting for someone to get it.

Oh dear. That brought back memories.

 

[nickster1]

The first short story in the collection of short stories by Harlen Ellison. Those first few paragraphs scared the shit out of me and the amount of detail he puts into that scene is just gruesome.

P.s the collection is called Deathbird.

 

[Gigano]

Marquis de Sade: 120 Days of Sodom.

That stuff is just too wrong to even begin to explain. Every scene is literally a new gruesome way of inflicting torment upon others (mostly children) to illustrate his "right is might" Libertine philosopy.

As a forerunner to Foucault, it's interesting, but prepare for an illustration of the extremes of his thoughts which won't soon be forgotten. The conservative America would vilefy/ban/burn books as a media instead of video games if they ever read a snip of this.

 

[yoz13]

When i read battle royale the whole frikin book amazing read

 

[TheReactorSings]

Besides 'American Psycho', which has racked up a few well-deserved mentions already, 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami has a memorable sequence in which a man is skinned alive, and 'The Story of the Eye' by Georges Bataille features the rape-murder of a priest. Oh, and I nearly forgot the castration scene from Roberto Bolano's '2666' (I'm so tempted to quote it, but I know I shouldn't).

 

[Yamiki]

01.01.00 by RJ Pineiro, lets go with the top 3 shall we.
1. Soviet Rape Scene
2. Castration and Forceful eating of ones own testicles.
3. Being ripped apart by ANTS.

Also most of Matthew Reilly's books have some pretty graphic scenes, point in case Having one's skull split in two by a mountaineering piston.

and so does the Gaunt's Ghost and Eishenhorn series.

 

[Queen Michael]

My gods, the Iliad. We're told about how somebody's guts were pouring out of his chest at one point, and that's just one example out of many. Isn't it wonderful that this is a book parents would love their eight-year olds to read?

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

Quite Ugly One Morning, by Christopher Brookmyre, is a pretty good one. Flesh and vomit, yum.

 

[Sonicron]

It's gory, yes, but violent? Certainly not. Maybe I'm just a bit desensitized from reading them, but almost any of the W40k novels on my shelf can do better throughout significant parts of the story.

 

[ChaoticLegion]

Well, I just finished reading Vertical Run by Joseph R. Garber, and on page 149, Bernie Levy, a fairly important character proceeds to smash open a window 1000 feet up and step backwards out of it, the reason unknown until near the end of the book, which I won't spoil because some people may want to read it.

Anyway, after something massive happens, he turns to the main character, says something and steps out. The lines go, with the removal of a bit of boring text:
"It takes an object 6 seconds to fall 1000 feet. David reached the window with enough time to see Bernie die. In Vietnam, he had observed enough wet death. (A bit of boring text)Nonetheless, the sight of Bernie's end, even from a height, was bad. Very bad.

Poor pudgy Bernie exploded.

Orphaned limbs, pink strings of flesh, slick grey organs burst onto the street. Blood, quite black under the harsh glare of street lights, splashed streamers. (A fair bit more boring text) A woman washed in gore collapsed. Her male companion knelt retching where she lay. People farther away screamed. A lump of Bernie Levy the size of a soccer ball tumbled out into the Park Avenue intersection, there to cause brakes to shriek and fenders to crumple. A dog pulled free of its master's slackly held leash and trotted gingerly to the entrancing odor of fresh offal."

Now, if you think that isn't too violent, picture that scene in your mind.
I ask this question to you all: What is the most violent moment in a book you have read or heard?

What you have described here is not violence, it is meerely gore... it was self inflicted and there was no acompanyment of physical force.

 

[Deofuta]

There was a rather macabre scene in the last book of the gunslinger saga in which

Spoiler

the antagonist from the first couple of book who , among other things,cuts out his own tongue and eyes to give to a little demon child, who then eats them

Blergh

 

[Saraswati]

Geomancer, by Ian Irvine. One of the more violent books I've ever read, very dark and sad as well. Lots of people getting brutally killed by lizard-men. I remember the ending especially well, being a horrifying climax to the sad and violent story.

Man, I need to read it again, and then the next book in the series.

Also, I agree with Fluffles about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. The entire Millenium series is just brutal. I really enjoyed the ending of the third and last book. It was so bizarre because you get a huge sense of satisfaction from the violent use of a pneumatic nail gun.

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

Mine is from a selection of short stories (the book was called the Cold hand of Betrayal), but basicly it discribes in great detail someones face being pounded to a pulp

 

[Stannett]

Well I'd go with Steven Erikson- Deadhouse gates. I don't really want to spoil the book because its so amazing but its a complete mindf*ck. Theres a lot of crucifiction and people being pelted with parts of other people combined with systematic soul destruction. I'd love to go in depth but i don't want to ruin it for anyone. If you like fantasy books, read Erikson

*Edit* forgot to add the Tenescowri in memories of ice. Several hundred thousand deliberately starved peasants who resort to cannibalism and with women who believe in taking the seed of dying men..thats right these crazed savage women rape men as they die...lovely.

 

[LongAndShort]

You need to read Cormac Mcarthy's Blood Meridian. When he describes the slaughter, rape and fucking SCALPING of Native Americans, Mexicans and Americans... it get quite graphic.

Fantastic book.

 

[twistedmic]

If comic books/manga are allowed just about the last few chapters/parts of 'The Slavers' from Punisher MAX are verry violent and graphic, so violent that in a later issue Frank (the Punisher)himself is unsettled by his actions

 

[DazBurger]

What is this "Book" you are talking about? Some kind of TV-program? Pod-cast?

 

[Dana22]

Try Graham Masterton, true master of violence and gore.

"Tengu" is filled with graphical descriptions, and so does "Manitou" series.

 

[Not-here-anymore]

The last part of "Guts" by Chuck Palahniuk. It's a short story, part of the novel "Haunted":

Spoiler: Not for the faint-hearted...

I did warn you. People fainted at book readings of this story. Seriously, think twice before clicking the link.

Scroll down about half-way for the part I'm referring to (the narrator is in a pool). Definitely not appropriate for under-18s. You have been warned.

Link - [link]http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html[/link]

Actually, just most of Haunted. Possibly the scariest book I've ever read, purely because of what it says about human nature. Although Guts isn't violent, per se. Just somewhat graphically gory, and highly unpleasant to read if you have the barest vestige of an imagination left.

OT: Let the Right One In

Spoiler

where Hakan, as a blood crazed vampire, attempts to rape Eli, after first tearing the tendons is his/her/its legs to prevent escape. 'Twas reasonably violent