Customer Reviews

CLAWS

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I don't know how long Cochran spent in this area, but he's nailed it in Claws. Every detail about the Catalina Mountains, Peppersauce Cave, La Ventana Resort and the surrounding environs the mountain lion terrorizes is accurate to a T. For this reason alone the book is worth reading, especially for people who have hiked extensively in the described areas. And if you've never gotten out of your vehicle to explore the area, recognizing the fact that you probably will never even glimpse a mountain lion, Cochran's descriptions will make you want to.

As for the mountain lion--well, I live in the Catalina Foothills and have spent thousands of hour tramping all over these hills from one end to the other and have never even seen a tuft of a lion's coat--although one morning years ago my wife spotted one peering into our mailbox. But I have seen them at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum with nothing more than glass separating them from a toddler, scratching and clambering to reach out, claw and devour the sweet young thing.

So Cochran's message is clear, and a good one at that. Don't mess with mountain lions, cougars, pumas, or whatever you want to call them.

A fun read.

I completely agree with everything Red Adept pointed out in his/her (?) review. This was absolutely the most poorly written book I've ever read. It did move pretty quickly, but I found myself re-reading what I'd just read over and over, trying to figure out what had actually happened in the narrative, due to poor use of pronouns, lack of proper punctuation, and just plain illogical writing. The poor grammar, spelling errors, improper use of prepositions, and lack of editing made this a tremendously frustrating read. What had started as an interesting thriller, became, by the end, a book full of overblown, stereotypical caricatures of characters and ideas seemingly drawn directly from old-time, Western novels. I feel bad for being so hard on this book, but it was truly the worst book I've ever read. I didn't quit reading it, though--I wanted to find out what happened, for whatever that's worth. It feels like we were given a first draft that needed feedback, clarification, and editing. Get some editing and correction, Stacey, then make the book available in an updated edition.

I'm all for indy writers, and have enjoyed some of them, but this book was a little too much.

The idea was great. But to have two "expert" naturalists and one nature writer out in the woods, tracking a deadly cat then have it revealed that none of them knew how to shoot their weapons? I understand that in a panic situation, a person might not shoot with precision, but these guys didn't know how to use their weapons. Shooting is not that hard, with practice anyone can do it. This serves as an object lesson to all those naturalists out there who are anti gun--learn to shoot before tracking down a big dangerous animal.

Then to have two psychos running around, along with the cougar...Two? Isn't one enough, or none even. The author should hand this book over to an honest friend and get a really tough critique. There is nothing thats not fixable, the idea is great, it needs a some work before it's readable

I was pleasantly surprised by the writing in Claws. It was a very fast paced and easy read. I could hardly put it down. Since I have lived in the areas that the book explores, I was deeply engrossed by the knowledge the author had of the areas. This book makes you well aware of why we should remember when in the wilds, we are the intruders.

Slightly disappointed with the ending, since it was a little off the mark. I will read this author again.

"Claws" by Stacey Cochran was a surprise story. The more I read the more I felt I was in the midst of the story and fully informed. It was moving and informative. The more I read the more I wanted to read such that I still wanted more at the conclusion.

The characters were associative for this reader with a plausible plot. It was original and I never felt I was following a familiar story. I do not recall during my read any character or scene as being contrived. The developer never stopping until his wheels had trampled all in sight did leave me wondering if the vehicle would ever stop and caused me to wonder if the driver had a heart attack; I wondered how that could be related to the story. Ah-h-h but the driver's excessive driving was relative. I had wanted to stop that car as well as some of the events, but not remove from the story. They were all a part of the whole.

Would I recommend the book to others? Of course. I liked "Claws" beyond some tales by more published authors who receive lots of accolades. All of this comes from one who paid full price for the book and feels it was worth every dollar.

Now I am one who usually enjoys a good action read and while this one does have suspense, it seems to follow the formula of the original "Jaws" movie. Well, except for the psycho millionaire developer. While "Jaws" was outstanding, "Claws" is just "Jaws" on land.

Mr. Cochran needs a fact checker or at least needs to have someone edit his book who has at least spent some time outdoors and has hunted. A shotgun is not a rifle and when fired, the resulting impact is different.

SPOILER ALERT:


And why would the boyfriend accompany them to a remote cabin in woods seeking a killer cougar when he appears to have no outdoor experience and for that matter, they all appear lacking in that department despite the fact that Robert visits this cabin every year. Clueless - they all seem clueless. The only character I wanted to see live was the mountain lion and the sheriff, the other characters just deserved to be dinner for the critters of the forest.

So read this book if you have nothing better to do otherwise, find another book. This one strains the limits of believability no matter how bored you are. And no, I will not invest in your sequel.

Bill in Texas
A Kindle Reader

This was the first book that I read on my new Kindle 2. The book started off really good, but then dove off the deep end. I was interested in the plot of man-eating cougars. It just became unbelievable and disappointing. I actually feel smarter because of this book. Every character ended up being so stupid that I do feel smarter. For $.80, I guess I can't complain too much.

It is the book equivalent of a made for TV Sci Fi Channel movie. Not terribly well written, not very deep but if you are channel surfing and there is nothing else on, it is OK. It was a fine, throw away diversion that soaked up a couple of hours of travel time on an airplane when I was too tired to read anything that demanded much attention or thought. I am glad that I paid less than a buck for it.

This book was an ok read. With out giving away much of the story I thought the fighting with charlie was just way out there and wasnt really apart of the story. I was wondering what all of the sudden the author stopped and started smoking in the middle of this good book to be so distracted into a different direction like he did.He could of used that section of the book to really pull you into the the characters. What a missed oppurtunity to make this book better.

At first glance, one would assume Claws to be a factual account of wild life reacting to over development. Instead Author Stacey Cochran surprises us with snapshots of humanity that makes us loathe and love the various characters through accurate study while quickly turning pages, and monitoring the back door and shower curtain.

Claws clenches down on the reader much like the antagonist mountain lion in this fast paced, action packed thriller destined to be a blockbuster hit. Bring on Claws II since yard work is no longer an option I have plenty of time to read...