Putting the gore back into gourd-carving

"Extreme Pumpkins"

by Tom Nardone

HP Trade, $13.95

Tom Nardone is provocative, outrageous, contrarian. No, he's not a comedian holding forth on American politics. He creates wickedly funny and twisted jack-o'-lanterns.

He resents that Halloween has lost its edge and become a shadow of its former self, complete with cute holiday flags and inviting monsters. He wants to seize back the jack-o'-lantern in all its fierceness.

So Nardone, creator of www.extremepumpkins.com, wrote a book, "Extreme Pumpkins," based on his popular Web site.

It features his signature Puking Pumpkin (it's disgorging pulp and seeds) in the 20 designs, which have names such as "My Head Is On Fire" Pumpkin, Electrocuted Pumpkin, Worm-Infested Pumpkin, Roadkill-Eating Pumpkin and Brain Surgery Pumpkin.

If you like to play with road flares, soak toilet paper in kerosene and use power tools on innocent gourds, check it out. In any case, Nardone is a hoot, even if you like your jack-o'-lanterns sedate and with only a slightly sinister air.