Book Review of BABY FIGHTS by Robert Essig

BABY FIGHTS by Robert Essig (published March 15, 2023) Kindle Edition, 106 pages. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Would you pay to watch babies fight to the death?

Only the wealthy and privileged have the kind of money that can pay for such vile entertainment. The first rule of Baby Fights is there are no rules. Babies can't follow rules. But with a certain persuasion they turn into rabid little monsters, and oh what a spectacle it is to see.

Two babies enter the ring. Only one comes out alive. The only rule of Baby Fights is that one must die. Always.

Would you pay to watch babies kill each other in the ring? Oh, you don't have that kind of money? Then open this book and read about it.

 

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     The expressive cover art says it all. If the image disturbs you, please don't read this book. If you are curious, then this quick-reading novella may satisfy. Just know that this is "extreme horror" and there are many brutal, shocking and disturbing scenes.

Even though I knew this was extreme horror and anticipated that this would be unsettling - - it exceeded my expectations. Now I feel guilty for enjoying it. 

Normally, in order to enjoy a book and rate it higher than three stars I need to empathize with a character or characters. Otherwise, especially in the case of horror, if I'm not worried about someone then the horrific aspects don't frighten or disturb me. As I read BABY FIGHTS, I found it difficult to empathize with the three operators of this blood sport (for the rich and bored) involving toddlers. It's much easier to deplore them, although one member has a moment of clarity (but his solution does not merit any admiration). When the backstory of main instigator "Ducky" is revealed in the opening chapters (absurd but amusing "cock fights" during school years) and his rich, privileged upbringing it's impossible to care about him. I bonded to the captive "mother", which helped get me through the novella and made the justified ending resolution satisfying. 

I believe BABY FIGHTS is the perfect book to introduce the curious to extreme horror. It contains all the elements and is short enough to make its points. Instead of extending the word count to include multiple scenes of baby carnage, Essig details the brutal and shocking fights in only a couple of depicted matches rather than reveling in the depravity.