What do you think?
Rate this book
Dead Pig Collector
From the wicked imagination of award-winning writer Warren Ellis comes DEAD PIG COLLECTOR, a love story with a classic Ellis twist. So while it might be a love story, it's also about killing people and disposing of their bodies in the most efficient manner possible.
DEAD PIG COLLECTOR introduces readers to Mister Sun, a very proficient businessman whose trade is the murder and spotless removal of human beings. Like any businessman, he knows each transaction is only as good as his client - and today's client, in Los Angeles, has turned out to be so dangerously stupid that Mister Sun's work and life are now in jeopardy...
DEAD PIG COLLECTOR introduces readers to Mister Sun, a very proficient businessman whose trade is the murder and spotless removal of human beings. Like any businessman, he knows each transaction is only as good as his client - and today's client, in Los Angeles, has turned out to be so dangerously stupid that Mister Sun's work and life are now in jeopardy...
36 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 2013
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,901 books5,743 followersWarren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 202 reviews
December 31, 2013
Just fantastic. Absolutely worth your time and money.
February 7, 2017
Mister Sun is a hitman who also disposes of bodies. His latest assignment calls for him to kill someone and dispose of their body. That’s it.
Huh!? I swear Warren Ellis used to be a good writer of prose, like in Crooked Little Vein, but his latest fiction has been absolutely shite. Dead Pig Collector is thin on content even for a short story. If you want to read 30-odd pages of a dude disposing of a human body in detail, this is for you! But, even as an Ellis fan, I thought this was unoriginal, uninteresting, uninspired, utterly terrible and pointless - don’t bother!
Huh!? I swear Warren Ellis used to be a good writer of prose, like in Crooked Little Vein, but his latest fiction has been absolutely shite. Dead Pig Collector is thin on content even for a short story. If you want to read 30-odd pages of a dude disposing of a human body in detail, this is for you! But, even as an Ellis fan, I thought this was unoriginal, uninteresting, uninspired, utterly terrible and pointless - don’t bother!
Want to read
February 13, 2019This chapbook is one of 1000 copies signed by Warren Ellis.
Original copyright 2013.
Cover illustration by Molly Crabapple
Original copyright 2013.
Cover illustration by Molly Crabapple
Want to read
February 27, 2018This is called DEAD PIG COLLECTOR and the audio is done by Wil Wheaton. I need it.
March 4, 2018
4.5
I am not a fan of short stories, but this is a good one. This is a very interesting mix of amusing incongruity and gore; all related in a calm, and composed dry tone.
If this friggin thing tells me this review doesn't exist again I am not doing it again, and I didn't read it 2x. So there
I am not a fan of short stories, but this is a good one. This is a very interesting mix of amusing incongruity and gore; all related in a calm, and composed dry tone.
If this friggin thing tells me this review doesn't exist again I am not doing it again, and I didn't read it 2x. So there
February 22, 2015
The writing was good, and I liked that it was funny, but I thought the ending fell flat.
October 10, 2013
Here’s a subgenre of crime fiction that’s never going to die: The hitman story.
Why?
To be honest, I don’t know why? Is it because readers (and writers) are fascinated by the idea of people who’ve placed a monetized value on human life? Or how hitmen can somehow remain emotionally detached from their victims and view them as nothing more than animals ready for slaughter?
The story’s protagonist, Mr. Sun is your prototypical European hitman; sly, detached, perfectly at ease with leading a double life. His latest job takes him to Los Angeles, but when he arrives on the job, he finds his employer with butcher knife sticking out of his head and Mr. Sun’s intended female target standing over the body and asking for help. Mr. Sun agrees and proceeds to breakdown his former clients body in the targets bathtub, where she asks him explain his process step-by-step and Mr. Sun reluctantly agrees.
There’s nothing narratively surprising about Dead Pig Collector by Warren Ellis. As expected, it’s stylistically written and the story flows clean and quick and somewhat generic and easy to forget after the last page is turned just like Mr. Sun (Although this is my major fault with most hired killer stories). But, for those readers unfamiliar with Mr. Ellis’ excellent novels, Crooked Little Vein and Gun Machine, Dead Pig Collector is an adequate introduction to one of crime fiction’s rising stars.
Why?
To be honest, I don’t know why? Is it because readers (and writers) are fascinated by the idea of people who’ve placed a monetized value on human life? Or how hitmen can somehow remain emotionally detached from their victims and view them as nothing more than animals ready for slaughter?
The story’s protagonist, Mr. Sun is your prototypical European hitman; sly, detached, perfectly at ease with leading a double life. His latest job takes him to Los Angeles, but when he arrives on the job, he finds his employer with butcher knife sticking out of his head and Mr. Sun’s intended female target standing over the body and asking for help. Mr. Sun agrees and proceeds to breakdown his former clients body in the targets bathtub, where she asks him explain his process step-by-step and Mr. Sun reluctantly agrees.
There’s nothing narratively surprising about Dead Pig Collector by Warren Ellis. As expected, it’s stylistically written and the story flows clean and quick and somewhat generic and easy to forget after the last page is turned just like Mr. Sun (Although this is my major fault with most hired killer stories). But, for those readers unfamiliar with Mr. Ellis’ excellent novels, Crooked Little Vein and Gun Machine, Dead Pig Collector is an adequate introduction to one of crime fiction’s rising stars.
February 21, 2017
This is a Kindle single that I read in under an hour. I always enjoy stories about paid assassins. I'm not sure what that reveals about me but assassins, revenge, organized crime usually perk me up and give me some kind of vicarious enjoyment. I'm rating this as average (neither bad or great) because I have read this same plot over and over again. In fact, it feels like I've read this same story with differing details my entire life. It was a satisfying read, but there was nothing original.
December 22, 2018
Mr. Sun is a true professional. Everything is timed to perfection and enacted with surgical precision. That is important for a contract killer who sees body disposal as the most important part of his calling. Even when the job in question doesn’t turn out exactly as expected, Mr. Sun does not disappoint. A really good lunch-time read. Well worth the 30 minutes it takes to finish it.
November 29, 2014
3 1/2 stars
This short novella was a great introduction to an author I know nothing about. In fact I was so taken with it, as soon as I finished reading I also got Crooked little veins, the author’s debut novel.
This is the story of Mr Sun, a meticulously professional assassin. In fact he is so obsessively precise that he measures time in seconds, not hours. He has a flawless track record but this assignment may cause him to break all the rules.
This story gives you a pretty good idea what it takes to dispose of a body, but without overly gratuitous details. And at $0.99 it’s a bargain buy that is more than worth the time it takes to read it.
This short novella was a great introduction to an author I know nothing about. In fact I was so taken with it, as soon as I finished reading I also got Crooked little veins, the author’s debut novel.
This is the story of Mr Sun, a meticulously professional assassin. In fact he is so obsessively precise that he measures time in seconds, not hours. He has a flawless track record but this assignment may cause him to break all the rules.
This story gives you a pretty good idea what it takes to dispose of a body, but without overly gratuitous details. And at $0.99 it’s a bargain buy that is more than worth the time it takes to read it.
January 8, 2019
A fun little horror story. It was obvious where it was headed, but still entertaining nonetheless.
*A note for audiobook makers: If the majority of speaking lines is from a British character, then hire a British voice actor. A terrible fake British accent (and they are almost all terrible, including here) can ruin an audiobook*
*A note for audiobook makers: If the majority of speaking lines is from a British character, then hire a British voice actor. A terrible fake British accent (and they are almost all terrible, including here) can ruin an audiobook*
August 18, 2013
The writing is clean and strung together with surgical precision. It's a very good read, although squeamish readers would do well to avoid it. Ellis describes the sounds and smells as well as the sights during a certain scene and it's very effective.
To my great regret and frustration, I didn't understand the ending. Specifically the final paragraph. It confused me, I re-read it, I can guess at what happened, but I don't know for sure. I note that another reader also asked a question about the ending in a discussion related to this story, but no one provided any answers. Some reviewers refer to the "abrupt ending". Don't let the fuzzy ending deter you from picking this up.
To my great regret and frustration, I didn't understand the ending. Specifically the final paragraph. It confused me, I re-read it, I can guess at what happened, but I don't know for sure. I note that another reader also asked a question about the ending in a discussion related to this story, but no one provided any answers. Some reviewers refer to the "abrupt ending". Don't let the fuzzy ending deter you from picking this up.
October 26, 2015
"The heart, you see, is just a pump, and can be operated manually."
Story about a hitman and a job gone wrong. I like writers who seem to have done their homework, and Ellis fits the bill. The short story is practically a how-to guide for corpse disposal. Reminded me of Matthew Woodring Stover.
Story about a hitman and a job gone wrong. I like writers who seem to have done their homework, and Ellis fits the bill. The short story is practically a how-to guide for corpse disposal. Reminded me of Matthew Woodring Stover.
March 20, 2016
Loved it! Ellis is methodical and graphic, and he catches you off guard. Five stars all the way. :-)
December 27, 2014
Couldn't put this story down.
I tried.
Didn't work.
I tried.
Didn't work.
February 22, 2019
A masterclass in the novella structure.
Mr. Sun, a man just off an airplane from England, is here to do a job. What is that job?
Kill and dispose of a human body. He's already been paid, so there's no issue there. When things on the job go awry, it'll be fascinating to see how Mr. Sun uses his particular skills to wrong the rights and push the limits of caring about his fellow man. All the while, gruesome details of his job are highlighted on the page.
It's wonderful to see a master use his craft in a such a unique format. I'm not familiar with the novella structure at the time of writing, but I can say that Ellis uses every page to bring out the full 40,000 second story of Mr. Sun. Detailed in all the right areas (particularly Mr. Sun's job), with all the classic Ellis bits thrown in. Attention to small details, like examining a gifted lighter, letting the reader's imagination punish themselves more than the author can, and all wrapped up nicely with a question to ponder about the hidden nature of humanity.
I loved it.
Can't wait to read it again and steal its secrets.
Mr. Sun, a man just off an airplane from England, is here to do a job. What is that job?
Kill and dispose of a human body. He's already been paid, so there's no issue there. When things on the job go awry, it'll be fascinating to see how Mr. Sun uses his particular skills to wrong the rights and push the limits of caring about his fellow man. All the while, gruesome details of his job are highlighted on the page.
It's wonderful to see a master use his craft in a such a unique format. I'm not familiar with the novella structure at the time of writing, but I can say that Ellis uses every page to bring out the full 40,000 second story of Mr. Sun. Detailed in all the right areas (particularly Mr. Sun's job), with all the classic Ellis bits thrown in. Attention to small details, like examining a gifted lighter, letting the reader's imagination punish themselves more than the author can, and all wrapped up nicely with a question to ponder about the hidden nature of humanity.
I loved it.
Can't wait to read it again and steal its secrets.
June 5, 2019
Meh, alright only because Wil Wheaton read the audiobook.
September 26, 2022
An engaging but all too brief story about a body disposal specialist, tying up lose ends shortly after a murder. Not for the faint of heart.
July 20, 2018
Humanely vicious, like a lot of Ellis' crime fiction. I liked how someone else's review put it - this is a crime procedural, but from the criminal's perspective.
February 26, 2017
I had a great time with this quick, little read. Reminded me of something that would be straight out of Tales From the Crypt. Dark, humorous, fun twist and only a dollar. What more could you ask for?
March 22, 2015
Mr. Sun is an international body disposal professional/hitman who uses a form of Snapchat to communicate with his clients and set up jobs. While in Los Angeles, he gets a fairly routine job to complete, but things go to the wayside when Mr. Sun arrives at his destination and finds that things have already gone awry thanks to an overenthusiastic client. However, Mr. Sun is a professional. His job isn’t always necessarily about the hit, but the disposal of the body. And he has a dead pig to collect.
Some readers may find the story a little too dry, but I found the tone to be calm and composed in contrast to the grisly scene going on during the characters’ interactions, which is part of what makes the story so interesting. I think some people think the ending is a “twist,” there’s really no other way it could’ve plausibly ended, even with the little bit of humanity Mr. Sun gives the readers.
This is my first time listening to Wil Wheaton narrate anything, and while I enjoyed his narration for the most part, I didn’t like the accent he used for Mr. Sun. I have never read anything Warren Ellis has done outside of the comic world, and even there, I’ve only really read his mainstream comics he’s worked on. This may prompt me to seek out his novel and look into some of his other less mainstream comics.
Some readers may find the story a little too dry, but I found the tone to be calm and composed in contrast to the grisly scene going on during the characters’ interactions, which is part of what makes the story so interesting. I think some people think the ending is a “twist,” there’s really no other way it could’ve plausibly ended, even with the little bit of humanity Mr. Sun gives the readers.
This is my first time listening to Wil Wheaton narrate anything, and while I enjoyed his narration for the most part, I didn’t like the accent he used for Mr. Sun. I have never read anything Warren Ellis has done outside of the comic world, and even there, I’ve only really read his mainstream comics he’s worked on. This may prompt me to seek out his novel and look into some of his other less mainstream comics.
June 5, 2019
Dead Pig Collector
I'm a bit up in the air about this short story. Mister Sun was hired to kill and dispose of the body of his client's business partner, Amanda. Though the client gets too eager and goes to kill Amanda himself, which backfires and the client himself is murdered in the process. Most of the book details how Mister Sun goes through the process of making the body unidentifiable and how he disposes of his former client's corpse, as well as detailing verbally to Amanda how he is doing so.
Amanda’s reaction to the events unfolding in front of her is disturbing. Instead of being horrified, she's interested and gleeful on learning how to dispose of a body. Unfortunately for her, Mister Sun snaps her neck completing his plan and framing Amanda for the murder. (The car is pushed of the side of the road to make it look like she was driving to dispose of the body, before accidentally dying in a car crash). I enjoyed Mister Sun, still verbally detailing his plans to Amanda after her death.
So yeah, I'm up in the air. Some parts I loved other parts I didn't. 3 ”up in the air” Stars goes to ’Dead Pig Collector’ by Warren Ellis.
I'm a bit up in the air about this short story. Mister Sun was hired to kill and dispose of the body of his client's business partner, Amanda. Though the client gets too eager and goes to kill Amanda himself, which backfires and the client himself is murdered in the process. Most of the book details how Mister Sun goes through the process of making the body unidentifiable and how he disposes of his former client's corpse, as well as detailing verbally to Amanda how he is doing so.
Amanda’s reaction to the events unfolding in front of her is disturbing. Instead of being horrified, she's interested and gleeful on learning how to dispose of a body. Unfortunately for her, Mister Sun snaps her neck completing his plan and framing Amanda for the murder. (The car is pushed of the side of the road to make it look like she was driving to dispose of the body, before accidentally dying in a car crash). I enjoyed Mister Sun, still verbally detailing his plans to Amanda after her death.
So yeah, I'm up in the air. Some parts I loved other parts I didn't. 3 ”up in the air” Stars goes to ’Dead Pig Collector’ by Warren Ellis.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2013
Mister Sun measures time in seconds and disposes of bodies for a living. He travels from London to LA for a job that goes a bit wrong, forcing him to change his meticulous plans.
Dead Pig Collector is dark and funny and grisly and not for the squeamish. Warren Ellis goes into a fair amount of detail about how bodies are professionally disposed of, to the point where you begin to wonder how he knows this stuff. (He says he found out in five hours of research on the Internet, and I'm sure that's true, but I hope never to get on his shit list, nonetheless.)
The only thing preventing me from giving this the final star is that I wasn't clear about what the ending meant. I look forward to discussing it with my friends after they read it.
All in all, it is well worth the buck. Ellis packs some absolutely fantastic writing in such a small space. Give it a read.
Dead Pig Collector is dark and funny and grisly and not for the squeamish. Warren Ellis goes into a fair amount of detail about how bodies are professionally disposed of, to the point where you begin to wonder how he knows this stuff. (He says he found out in five hours of research on the Internet, and I'm sure that's true, but I hope never to get on his shit list, nonetheless.)
The only thing preventing me from giving this the final star is that I wasn't clear about what the ending meant. I look forward to discussing it with my friends after they read it.
All in all, it is well worth the buck. Ellis packs some absolutely fantastic writing in such a small space. Give it a read.
December 23, 2013
Please find this complete review and many others at http://audiobookreviewer.com
I am not sure where the advertised love story was within Dead Pig Collector but I don't really care either. Briefly I was introduced to a highly proficient and seeming complex hit man. Mr. Sun is an individual that could easily fill the pages of a full length novel, I hope he does in the future. This was an interesting, not particularly gruesome, not very funny, not very serious, I am not sure what the word I am looking for to describe it is, but I was hooked and fascinated by the workings of Mr. Sun and wanted so much more than what I got. I will be keeping an ear to the ground so I can be a part of any of Mr. Sun's future jobs/plans/dilemmas.
I am not sure where the advertised love story was within Dead Pig Collector but I don't really care either. Briefly I was introduced to a highly proficient and seeming complex hit man. Mr. Sun is an individual that could easily fill the pages of a full length novel, I hope he does in the future. This was an interesting, not particularly gruesome, not very funny, not very serious, I am not sure what the word I am looking for to describe it is, but I was hooked and fascinated by the workings of Mr. Sun and wanted so much more than what I got. I will be keeping an ear to the ground so I can be a part of any of Mr. Sun's future jobs/plans/dilemmas.
August 7, 2013
The simplest measure of a book review should be whether or not the book (story, novella, e-book, etc) succeeds in hitting the marks it establishes at the start. This story has no pretensions of being anything larger than itself and while we could certainly hope to see more of Mister Sun somewhere else someday, no one will be writing Mr. Ellis fan-mail and demanding that he be brought back in another story. This is funny, dark, intelligent, well-written - and over in just the right amount of time for a day's commute. What more, sometimes, could you ask for?
More at RB: http://wp.me/pGVzJ-Mj
More at RB: http://wp.me/pGVzJ-Mj
September 13, 2013
I loved this short little gem about murder and dismemberment and structure and process. But how can murder and dismemberment go along with structure and process you ask? It's because Mr. Sun is very, very, very careful. Check him out.
I would recommend this book to horror enthusiasts and also to aspiring serial killers as an instruction manual. Did you know that America has more serial killers than any other country in the world? USA! USA! Buy this book, buy this book!
I would recommend this book to horror enthusiasts and also to aspiring serial killers as an instruction manual. Did you know that America has more serial killers than any other country in the world? USA! USA! Buy this book, buy this book!
August 20, 2013
This was very good short fiction about a hired hit man and body disposal expert at work on a new job in L.A. It was a bit grisly in the descriptions of his techniques, but also funny and light (if that's possible). A mysterious ending; like other readers I’m not sure what it means. But this story was a bizarre but fun read.
January 7, 2023
Warren Ellis is a deeply disturbed fellow and I have enjoyed every word he's ever written. This short story is no exception. My only fear is that I'm now on some sort of NSA tracking list for having bought it.
August 23, 2013
Thoroughly enjoyed it! Short enough to finish in one sitting. The end hit me in the face- I didn't realise I'd reached it! Still laughing. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea.
November 14, 2013
A story about love and corpse disposal. And the author's loathing of LA. Do recommend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 202 reviews