The Black Farm is a 2017 novel by Elias Witherow. It serves as an Adaptation Expansion of his short story, Feed the Pig.
This book contains the following tropes:
- Affably Evil: Peter is a member of the depraved Hooves of the Pig cult, but there are hints that he may not be a completely bad guy. He acts like a jerk to Nick at first, but after Ryder gives Nick his approval, Peter softens up a bit and admits that he was mainly hard on him because he needs to be that way to new recruits. He also participates in the initiation ritual with new recruits even though he doesn't have to.
- Always Chaotic Evil: The Pig Born are naturally violent beings as a result of the Pig's evil nature.
- Asshole Victim: Ryder suffers a gruesome, agonizing death at Nick's hands, but given that he's a cannibal who runs a rape cult, it's hard to feel too bad for him.
- Bittersweet Ending: Both books have one.
- In the first, Nick rescues Jess and both successfully escape from the Black Farm. They marry and have a child together, but both are plagued by their memories of the Farm, and there's a lingering implication that Nick will be made to pay for messing up the balance of the afterlife.
- In the second, order is restored to the Black Farm, Nick successfully bargains for Emily's life, and he gets to go back to the living world. However, as punishment for maiming Ramiel, he is sent decades into the future. Jess has died and his son Theo has grown up barely remembering his father. While Nick and Theo seem to be making up for lost time, he still misses Jess dearly and it's likely that he will never see her again, even in the afterlife.
- Bizarre Dream Rationalization: Emily convinces herself that her time in the Black Farm was all just a bad dream. Seeing Nick again causes her to suffer a panic attack as the realization hits her that it really happened.
- Blood Knight: Pudge enjoys hunting the Pig Born, and it is the prospect of finding new creatures to kill that convinces him to accompany Nick up the mountain to find the Eyes of the World.
- Death Is Cheap: Anyone who dies in the Black Farm is simply reborn there. They retain all their memories up to the point of death, but any injuries they received prior to their death do not carry over to their new body. In the second book, Danny opts to kill himself to Fast Travel back to the Farm rather than make the long trek back.
- Depraved Bisexual: Muck will rape anyone he deems "pretty," man or woman.
- Driven to Suicide: Every human in the Black Farm ends up there this way.
- Eye Scream:
- When Nick refuses to watch as Muck rapes Megan, Muck slices off his eyelids. The pain causes Nick to pass out.
- Nick's murder of the Eyes of the World costs God one of His own eyes. While he never appears, it can be assumed that Satan is now missing an eye as well.
- Fat Bastard:
- Muck is described as being enormously fat, and he's an utterly bastard even by the Pig Born's standards.
- Ryder is a morbidly obese cult leader who slices off other people's skin to sate his hunger.
- Fate Worse than Death: Arguably the entire concept of the Black Farm counts as one, being trapped forever in a nightmarish hellscape at the mercy of depraved monsters and existing solely to be hunted, tortured, and killed by said monsters again and again. Special mention goes to the victims of the Keepers. As bad as life on the Farm is, it's still a picnic compared to being hanged by the neck for eternity, unable to die. Though we never see what Hell is like in this universe, we're told that it's only slightly worse than the Farm.
- I Am a Humanitarian: Ryder, the leader of the Hooves of the Pig cult, keeps people chained to his bed post and slices off bits of their flesh to eat.
- Jerkass Gods:
- The Pig is technically a god, and runs the Black Farm like a child playing rough with its toys, causing it to become an apocalyptic wasteland populated by monsters.
- In the second book, God Himself shows up, and it's revealed that the whole premise of Nick being needed to return to the Farm to help restore order was just a lie made up by Him in order to punish Nick for causing him to become blind in one eye by killing the Eyes of the World in the first book. Though he agrees to send Nick back to the living world, he spitefully sends him back decades into the future, causing him to miss out on his wife and son's lives.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Danny is a rude asshole, but try as he might to hide it, he does become protective of Emily after a while.
- Kevlard: Ryder is able to take quite a bit of punishment on account of being so fat. Unlike most examples of this trope, it actually makes things worse for him, as it means that it takes him longer to die as Nick kills him.
- Sackhead Slasher: Muck is never seen without a bag over his head, with a single eye hole cut into it. Notably, it's the only thing he wears.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Pudge was a gunsmith in life, and continues to utilize his talents in the Black Farm. He wields a shotgun, the only firearm seen in either book.
- The Tooth Hurts: When Nick is unable to eat the tough slab of meat Muck gives him, Muck yanks out all of his teeth and shoves a bunch of screws through his gums.
- Weapon Specialization: Nick seems to gravitate towards axes, as he uses one in both the first book and the sequel.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- Trent and Kevin are last seen on the raft after being detected by the Keepers. While Nick kills Jess and commits suicide to get her and himself to safety, it is unknown if Trent and Kevin managed to do the same or if the Keepers got them.
- It's unclear what becomes of Ryder after his death. While he will inevitably be reborn within the Farm, he is never seen again. By the second book, the remnants of the Hooves of the Pig cult are now being led by Peter.
