Welcome to my Saturday Screams.
For all of you fans of horror and the apocalypse, I have two very different ones for you today. Enjoy!
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Animal Kingdom
by Iain Rob Wright
Genre: Horror / Apocalypse
My Review
I’ve read several of Iain’s books and have more on my Kindle waiting for me. This is one of my favorites.
It was supposed to be a special day. Since the divorce, Danny really missed his dad and had ants in his pants when he found out Joe was taking him to the zoo. Joe was just glad to have his son with him. It didn’t matter what they did but he knew Danny would love the animals.
Everything is great until the reptile show starts. The handler has a giant boa constrictor wrapped around his body. While he tells the gathering crowd about the snake it suddenly begins to wrap its thick coils around his neck, constricting and crushing the man. Joe does his best to help him, but the snake is too strong and time runs out for the handler.
The crowd panics and runs in all directions, horrified by the grotesque killing. As Joe grabs Danny and rushes to get help, he notices people are screaming and running from all directions. They couldn’t all have been at the exhibit. Then all of the animals start making a racket. Something bad is happening elsewhere in the zoo.
Deciding to get inside, away from whatever is occurring, Joe ducks into the new visitor’s center. Most people were running for the exits, but Joe had to get Danny to safety quickly. There were several people inside, along with the zoo’s curator. The curators protestations that an animal attack couldn’t be happening are cut short. When Joe turns to see what he’s looking at, he can’t believe what he’s seeing. There in the doorway are four massive lions, snarling and revealing their thick fangs, dripping with blood.
This is where the story really cranks up. The animals, for some unknown reason, have gained intelligence and have turned on mankind. From the lowly spiders to the gigantic elephants, they all want everyone dead.
The diverse group of people trapped in the visitor’s center are safe for the moment, or so they think. The animals won’t be denied, and find ways to get in. How the individual characters react to this is very interesting. As you’d expect, there are the one or two bad apples that think their way is the only way, you have an older woman spouting prophecy, a young girl without her medication, Joe, whose main concern is his son Danny, the curator, not much help there, and an older man with some fight in him. It’s up to them to work together. Otherwise, no one will get out of this alive.
Except that the story takes place in a zoo with animals from all over the world, it reminded of a book I read years ago. I also watched the movie and really enjoyed both. It was Day of the Animals.
The author gave me the same sense of dread and gut-wrenching fear with Animal Kingdom. You just knew people were going to die and die horribly. The animals are too many to fight off.
Reading scenes about the group dynamics was very real. People react differently when their lives are at stake. Some step up, some cower, and some act like blustering buffoons. I can’t figure out why some people can’t see past their own arrogance, or should I say ignorance.
This is a book about a war we may not be able to win. About surviving minute by minute and always looking for the way out.
At the end of the book there are some short Bonus stories. They all tie into the Animal Kingdom book and the one by Eric. S. Brown, Night of the Squirrels, is very interesting!
5 Stars
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Synopsis
WELCOME TO THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOD CHAIN!
Aside from being freakishly tall, Joe is just an ordinary divorcee taking his son, Danny, to the zoo for his weekend of custody. Everything is going great until a bizarre snake attack sends everybody in the zoo running for cover. It isn’t long before Joe realizes that there is a lot more going on than a simple snake attack. And if the hungry lions, roaring gorillas and charging elephants now free from their cages have anything to say about it, there is more bloodshed to come. All of the world’s animals are attacking, and no one knows why. What they do know is that man is now on the bottom of the food chain.
FEATURES BONUS MATERIAL THAT TAKES PLACE IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM UNIVERSE:
7 Short stories by Iain Rob Wright and Eric S. Brown
The cover I used is from the eBook edition that I own. This is the cover for the paperback.
Which do you like the most?
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The Boat: Zombie Survivors
by Chris Dougherty
Genre: Horror / Apocalypse
My Review
They have the boats. They have a plan. Watch out for the monkey wrench.
I love a good zombie story. After having read Christine’s vampire series, The Blood Run Trilogy, I knew she’d give me her own uniquely twisted view of the apocalypse.
It’s two weeks after everything went to hell. The miracle cure for AIDS turned out to be a world ender. The dead have risen. People turn to bodies of water and ships as the last safe place.
Here’s where Christine makes it fun. The people go in the water. The zombies go in the water. The zombies sink. Thus, their tag, sinkers. Imagine all of those zombies walking along the ocean floor. Imagine going fishing…..
The author’s choice to take the survivors and group them all into one place isn’t new. But she sure gives you some realistic scenarios. Any time you crowd desperate people together, you’re sure to have conflict. It makes some of the scenes so genuine. Scary stuff.
As with most good things, they must come to an end. Enter someone who thinks they know better than anyone else. Stir in the mysterious stranger, found stranded in a small boat. What do you get? A really bad scenario. Now, no one is safe and the zombies are just one of many things that will get you killed.
This was so many levels of horrific and fun. All of you zombie fans are in for a treat.
4 Stars
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Synopsis
At the end of the world, the undead aren’t the greatest threat to those who have survived.
A deadly plague brought on by an experimental AIDS drug called Lazarus sweeps the country. Lazarus, named so because it brings patients back from the brink of death, has the unfortunate side effect of bringing the dead back to life. A handful of survivors have made their way to water where the walking dead–called ‘sinkers’–are less of a threat. These battered and traumatized survivors have colonized a super yacht (Flyboy), a tugboat (Big Daddy), and a weekender yacht (Barbra’s Bay Breeze). As they wait for more survivors and organize a voyage south to a warm climate, they unintentionally bring aboard a monster who might be the end to them all.
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The cover I used is the newest. Here are some others.
Which one do you like the most?
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You can find a list of my reviews HERE.
