11 of the Darkest Chuck Palahniuk Books

In Palahniuk’s explosive debut, we meet an unnamed narrator struggling with insomnia. On a random night, he meets a man named Tyler Durden, who brings him into a dangerous underworld of violence and mayhem.

As their underground basement boxing matches grow, the chaos around them does too. Until the narrator faces a violent truth about himself, his friend, and society at large.

Shannon McFarland once had it all: a modeling career, a boyfriend, and a loyal best friend.

Until a horrific accident leaves her disfigured and rips it all away. That’s when she meets Brandy Alexander.

She reinvented herself and erased her past, and she can show Shannon how to do the same.

But it turns out salvation comes with a side of kidnapping, revenge, and a whole lot more trouble than Shannon ever dreamed.

It’s a mysterious book. It’s readers memorize it and pass it along, whispering the truth to only those they trust the most: Adjustment Day is coming.

What is Adjustment Day? Is it a way to control the population of young men? The working class’s attempt to bury the elites?

When it finally does arrive, it confirms every logical reality of separatists, alternative facts, and conspiracy theories running rampant through America.

Palahniuk had a distinct vision for his 1999 novel, and in this stunning remix he brings it to life. The chapters are rearranged, telling the same story in a different light, with some added bells and whistles woven in.

There are new scenes and chapters of memoir that deepen the experience and add to the horror.

Even if you’ve read the original, the Remix is a joyride guaranteed to thrill.

Tender Branson is the last surviving member of the Creetish Death. And he’s currently dictating his life from 39,000 feet. He’s the only person on the flight.

Largely because once it reaches the vast Australian outback, it’s going to crash and he’s going to die.

But before that moment, he’s going to reveal every sordid detail of his depraved and bizarre life.

Buster “Rant” Casey was once a high school rebel. He managed to escape his small town, where he became the leader of an urban demolition derby.

He was also perhaps the most efficient serial killer the world has ever known. After he dies in a fiery car crash, his friends gather to tell their combined memories of Buster’s short and violent life.

Cassie Wright wants to break a world record. She’s going to end her career by capturing the record for serial fornication. And the porn priestess knows exactly how she’s going to do it.

As 600 men cram into a very crowded green room, all waiting their moment to have sex with her on camera, a few offer their perspectives on Cassie, porn, and why they signed up to be part of what might just be the most depraved event of their lives.

For over seventeen years, Gates Foster hasn’t stopped looking for his daughter Lucy. Now, a decade since his last relevant clue, Foster just might be on the verge of discovering the truth.

It leads him to Mitzi Ives in Hollywood. Mitzi gives realistic sound to Hollywood films using secret techniques her father taught her. There’s a violent, ugly, and dirty side to the glitz and glamour of film.

And Foster is about to crash right in the middle and expose it all.

Victor Mancini may have dropped out of medical school. But that doesn’t mean he can’t put his education to use.

When he needs to pay for his mother’s elder care, he comes up with an ingenious plan. He chokes on food in upscale restaurants. After he’s “saved”, the wealthy patrons feel responsible for his life and send him checks.

In between stunts, he struggles with his sex addiction, tries to visit his mom, and works shifts at a colonial park. But at some point, his luck has to run out.

After investigating Sudden Infant Death Syndrome for a soft-news feature, Carl Streator notices something strange. All the dead children were read the same poem from the same library book the night before they died.

It’s actually an ancient African spell. He accidentally killed his own wife with the same poem twenty years ago. Together with a woman who read the poem to her child, they embark on a journey to find and destroy them all.

And god help anyone who gets in their way.

Otto and Cecil are two brothers living privileged lives in the Welsh countryside. The boys watch nature shows, play with their pony, and impersonate their Grandfather.

Oh, and sometimes they murder the help. After all, murder is the family business.

But maintaining the family legacy isn’t easy. With the convicts showing up at their door trying to kill everyone, and Mummy’s pill addiction.

Now that Daddy’s disappeared, Grandfather wants Otto to step up. But this will only ever end in disaster. The only question is who will suffer with them.