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Synopsis:

Gordon’s name was a joke.

It was given to him by Anthony Zola, a controlling, and abusive father, to taunt his wife over her love of cheese, and the fact that she had been steadily gaining weight since their marriage.

Andrea was a doting mother, and maybe a little overprotective of her boy, but she didn’t see that as a bad thing.

On discovering a secret, one the child had been told to keep to himself, everything changes. Now she must do whatever she needs to keep her, and her boy, alive.

Needs must.

Gordon is going to find that his love of cheese, handed down to him by his mother, and his love for the only woman in his life, is about to be taken to a whole new level.

From the dark mind of D E McCluskey, author of The Twelve, CRACK, and Cravings, Comes another addition to his limited ‘Extreme Horror Series’.

Zola is about to take you into a whole new level darkness, and depravity.

Review:

I like many different types of horror novel, but I am always looking for horror books that involve things like the mall, the gym, professional wrestling, and food. When I saw that Zola is an extreme horror novel with cheese, I knew that I had to read it. The outcome is that Zola is one of the most disgusting and depraved books that I have ever read.

The story starts with Anthony and Andrea Zola. Anthony is an abusive husband and father, and when Andrea is pregnant with their son, she craves all types of cheese. Anthony thinks this is so funny that he names their son Gordon Zola, as a cruel joke for his wife’s love of cheese. When their son is born, Anthony’s abuse move to both of them. This causes a final showdown between Anthony and Andrea, one in which afterward Andrea does not know how her and her son will survive. They make it by, with their wits, some cannibalism, and a great amount of cheese. The first half of the novella is about the extremes a mother will go to help her child. The second half is what happens when a child is not given the life skills to live on his own. Between the two parts, we get a novella filled with disgusting scenes, horrible muck, and tastes that cannot be masked by the stink of cheese. 

The novella is only for those with a strong stomach. The depravity of these characters meets no boundaries, and some of their ideas for survival are not good ideas at all. In the end, the story is about protecting your child, but sometimes you also need to let them learn on their own. I have no desire to read this novella again, and I probably should take a break from food horror.