Hollow Shotguns

“To stop a demon, sometimes you must become a demon.” The apocalypse hits. A fierce disease twists civilians into fire-obsessed, flesh-consuming ferals. The threads of society fray, burn... A band of boys traverse an ever-darkening world to reach their lone hope of safety. As the battle for survival escalates, the bounds of the human psyche are bleakly tested. Hollow Shotguns will blow your mind. With a close-range headshot. The debut of British writer Khalid Patel, Hollow Shotguns is a bold and breathless ride that point-blank refuses to conform to convention. An experimental, controversial style of prose that subverts the rules of language entwines with atypical, slang-drenched dialogue. Throat-burning humour is set against harrowing, gut-wrenching moments. Hollow Shotguns explores various themes, from desensitisation to violence and the lines of morality in warfare, to the simpler problems of growing up and the fragility of friendship. Hollow Shotguns is subversive literature at its most uncompromising... The unsanitised violence. The scalding social commentary. The raw challenge. This is not a fucking beach read. “Not where Twilight and sparkly vampires rule pop culture can a voice and writing style so unique be allowed a chance. No, this kid breaks some rules and he breaks them across people’s faces. This is no ordinary novel. One thing that will strike you like the stock of a shotgun is the prose. The writing style is so unique that it immediately removes you from your comfort zone and places you in Khalid Patel's world and does so abruptly, just as the apocalypse would. The imagery in this tome could take on the best horror novel. If this is how we all speak at the end of the world, then bring on the apocalypse.” – Eryk Pruitt, Southern Noir writer “Definitely not for someone looking for a cosy read. There are nasty things at work. You would also need to get used to the teen language Patel is using - a language these children use in their own communication. But this took me all but one chapter (being a woman of 40+ years). Not only a flesh-ripping apocalypse story, but very much a story of growing up, friendship, boys becoming young men.” - The Pegster Reads Review