Bücher mit dem Tag "creatures"

This story does everything right: from super-scary creatures, which are already scary enough in real life, to likeable main characters with just the right sense of humor. I must admit I easily imagined Chris to look something like the exterminator in The Strain series, but I guess that's due to the fact that I've not seen that many exterminators so far. Also, I think they share a similar kind of humor, which seems to be a necessary quality in order to do the job without going nuts. It was so sweet to observe how Chris cared for his beloved, but separated, ex-wife 'Benny' Benita, and I was not disappointed to read how the story ended - he totally deserved it!

Of course, the story also featured the mandatory wise-ass scientist who is to blame for the catastrophe because he missed to do some field-study and made the fatal (hehe!) assumption that wild rats would behave and react like lab rats.

Finally: the rats - nasty and annoying little creatures, but manageable if encountered alone. Give them a hive-like mind and highly increased aggressiveness, and they turn into mankind's worst nightmare. I was impressed by the sheer masses of them, which enabled them to literally overrun everything the humans threw in their way - walls, fire, you name it. Note: if I remember correctly, rats featured in the first creature horror I ever read (thanks to Mr. Herbert), and I guess that left a lasting impression...

When I first saw the cover, I had a strange feeling of déjà vu, as it looks just so similar to the cover of a book I've only recently read titled 'Keep in a Cold, Dark Place'.

But let's get back to 'Just Add Water' and its nasty and very deadly variation of the gremlin theme. Ever heard of those little sea serpents (maybe better known as sea monkeys)? You get an envelope with little flaky stuff which you put in water to grow some little fish-like creatures? I remember them being advertised in the YPS magazine when I was young, and how I loved their funny looks (no, sadly I never actually had some myself). Well, if you know what I'm talking about, you may reconsider reading this book, as it will shatter your cute memories to pieces and reassemble them into a nightmare...

The author wastes little time on the introduction, but goes straight to the core and gore of it. This would make an awesome B-movie, with lots of screaming and blood-splattering and just a little humor to lighten the mood. A fast read which fits the pace of this highly entertaining story perfectly. Got to go now - see if those sea monkeys are still available somewhere...

(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)

Reminiscent of the Gremlins, but more gruesome, 'Keep in a Cold, Dark Place' is a perfect story about the opening of Pandora's Box and the cutest little furry creatures that make your heart weep...that is, until they grow into something more 'fangy' than furry. Once I saw the cover, I just knew I had to read this book - reading the summary was only a formality born from habit here, but it did confirm that my impulsive reaction was not a mistake.

The story begins harmless enough, introducing our female main character, Limpy, and her really not so nice family, easily having us sympathize with her dream about leaving her father's potato farm in order to visit art school. When Limpy discovers a strange box with even stranger eggs in it beneath the potato sacks in the storage cellar, this triggers an avalanche of weird events. At first, Limpy is delighted about the fuzzy furry big-eyed creature hatching from one of the eggs. She adopts the little buddy, names him 'Chup' (loved that hint) and vows to care for him like a mother.

However, not long after Chup's siblings hatch from their eggs, and the little guys start playing tricks. Limpy tries to cover for them as best she can, but soon things get out of hand and it's not just harmless little tricks anymore. With the help of an unexpected friend, Limpy learns that Chup and his pals are growing into some very deadly ancient creatures which are bound to kill her and her family if she doesn't stop them...

The second main theme of this book, apart from the obvious creature feature, is family - its ups and downs, its cruelty towards each other, but also its bond of loyalty and sense of belonging, whether we like it or not. In this regard, the ending does have a slightly corny taste, but it works so well that it didn't bother me at all.

Featuring my favorite kind of creature, combined with a likable coming-of-age story and a well-balanced mixture of humor and horror, this book was a perfect read for me. I would love to see this made into a movie...or, skip the movie and go straight for the merchandise so that I can get my own little Chuppie!

(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)

This was a solid, though not original, story about a horde of mutant bats attacking a small town and a group of people fighting the creepy creatures. It was a great mixture of gruesome scenes, humorous dialogues and some light romance.

I understand that this is an reissue of a book that was first published in the nineties, and the whole book breezes this old-school charm which I really appreciated (and was one of the reasons I chose to read it in the first place). So at first sight this appeared to be a perfect read for me, if not for the two big BUTs that kept bothering me:

One was the perfection of the main character, an ex 'spook' named Johnny, who accidentally lived in exactly the place the bats visited most. Of course, he had an answer to everything and always knew what had to be done to fight the bats and naturally became the leader of the group fighting the bats. Add to this the constant praise of his abilities by the other characters, I craved for some weakness to show which would have made him more human and less superhero.

The second thing, which was the most annoying, was the constant bitching about the abilities, or rather inabilities, of either press/judges/politicians/you name it who where all portrayed as useless or even hindering obstacles. This holier-than-thou attitude - not only expressed in dialogues, but also in snide comments by the narrating voice - combined with the overly ridiculous actions of said parties was a real turn-off.

Another OK creature feature, but you won't miss anything if you miss this one.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

This was a perfect creepy-crawly story to read. The author did not just play around with some simple spiders gone astray, but invented a very deadly, almost unstoppable species hybrid. With that, he created an apocalypse scenario where millions of bugs invade a community, whole houses are being cocooned in spiderwebs and the residents serve as hatching grounds. Also, he did not shy away from sacrificing even pets and children, which was especially gruesome and hard to digest. The main characters were easy to relate to, so their fate hit even harder, and even the ending did not cut some slack but delivered a really nasty gut-puncher. Needless to say, this book is not suited for agoraphobic or  squeamish readers: creature-feature at its finest!

While this was a fast read, the pace of the story was not - which in this case is not meant as criticism. Of course, the action traveled in high gear, but several descriptive scenes appeared like in slow motion, where you are able to notice every little detail in perfect clarity. Another well-working constrast of the story was between the mystical cute little fairies and the horrendous otherworldly creatures. (The first image that came to mind was the cuddly little Blawp from Lost in Space - caused by some weird mental short circuit I guess.)

While I did not care much for the colorless main character, and not at all for his shady companions, I loved the descriptions of the secret world they entered on their mission to find some real fairies or at least some valuable treasures. The ending was nasty of course, but somehow it managed to do so with a weird kind of grace. This novella conjures some very beautiful images to tell a not at all beautiful story...

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

This was a fantastic book and I had so much fun reading it! Video Night is made with just the best of ingredients you could wish for: creepy creatures and gore combined with a coming-of-age vibe, all wrapped up in a cool 80's feeling.

At times it made me sigh sentimentally, e.g. reminiscing about the (at that time) absolutely stunning start of the video era with my first VHS system. Other times, I wanted to pump my fist in the air with a big "YES" when the good guys hit another score over the evil creatures, especially Darl taking action at the end.

I admired Darl's unnerving tenacity and Billy's transformation from self-conscious to self-confident. I loved Rachel's rationality and how she handled the situation. I loved there not being any stupid screaming blonde (honestly, I was glad Darcy did not stay around to get on my nerves until the very end).

While I am interested to know more about the creatures' origin, I prefer the lack of this information over any possibly ridiculous or lame scenario, as often the case with other stories.

This is one of those books where I have the movie video playing right along in my head while reading. Now I'd really like to see it on the big screen sometime, especially the scene where Rhonda reveals her new self.

While the main plot - mutants created by toxic waste - is not really new, the setting of 'Black Creek' during a whiteout blizzard was scary as hell. For a long part of the story, the snow storm is the only enemy the people living in the Black Creek area have to face, and it's a really mean one. The author did a great job bringing it to live, making me shiver to the bone just reading about and imagining it.

The invasion of the long forgotten underground inhabitants seemed just like the icing on the cake, so to speak, adding another layer of horror to make this book a perfect read. But the real horror definitely was the snow blizzard - without it this would have been just another variation of the mutant creature theme, something like Silent Hill during bad weather.

The author did a great job bringing his characters to life and creating an ever-present intimidating atmosphere that doesn't allow anyone to take a breath, not even the reader. I recommend reading this not only with the lights on, but the thermostat as well.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

'It lives' is a short story, but it contains ideas worthy at least of a novella-length book. The result is a crammed book almost resembling a hoarder's home, where each nook and cranny is filled with stuff. However, it requires some careful handling and most of all some 'in-between' lines to fill the gaps. And that is exactly what I missed in this book; it read like a brainstorm listing of definitely intriguing concepts, but lacked the transitions to put them into one smooth whole.

(Thanks to librarything, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)

This was a highly entertaining B-style monster story, and being my first book featuring the legendary Jersey Devil, it also provided an interesting kind of history lesson for me.

The first half was mainly a series of blood-filled encounters with the beasts. Several characters where thoroughly introduced only to be ripped apart by the devils shortly after. Honestly, I could have done with several less. Interwoven with these little episodes was the introduction of the main characters, their relation to the Jersey Devil and each other and their motivation to go on a final hunt.

The second half focused on that battle between the family and the Jersey Devil which finally got me hooked with its fast-paced action. While I was not satisfied with all of the explanations given at the end, I was fascinated by the complex legend of the Jersey Devil.

After a somewhat slow start, the story turned into a very fast and fun creature feature.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Ich habe dieses Buch innerhalb von zwei Tagen durchgelesen, es nicht wahnsinnig dick, aber die Geschichte ist fesselnd und super geschrieben! Ich war sehr überrascht, dass die Autorin so jung ist, das lässt auf weitere gute Bücher hoffen :D
Daumen nach oben, empfehlenswert!