The Pitchfork Diaries: Vol. One

Review by David Rupp
Author: JS Bannerman

The Pitchfork Diaries is a collection of short stories and prose unlike anything you have ever read before. Even the darkest and most violent imaginings of your mind cannot come close to matching the horrors contained within
I'll give it to Jake Bannerman, he has tapped into the pure vein of depravity of the human (and sometimes not so human) psyche. But to say it is unkike anything my brain can conjure, claiming fresh and shocking ideas, is just too lofty an idea. The Pitchfork Diaries: Vol. One is very much in the same line as Poppy Z. Bright, Gemma Files and the entire Hot Blood series. Now don't get me wrong, I am not bashing the book, it is fairly well crafted if not a bit sophmoric in places.
The short stories are more like mini-short stories, that unfortunately don't lend to character developments, plot extention or explination, but life is like that sometimes isn't it....just WHAM!
One big turn off is the blatant, in your face, attention starved sexuality. Yes it is considered shocking to some but can become tiresome and distracting quite quickly when over done. And why is maturbation such a running theme, we may never know.
In my opinion this was an applaudable effort from a young writer, one with great potential. I would love to see more from Mr. Bannerman in the future and follow how he develops. But as far as the Pitchfork Diaries, maybe we'll all look back one day, laugh nervously and change the subject.
5/10