The Mines of Behemoth [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Shea (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Baen Books (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671932896
• ISBN-13: 978-0671932893
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly Imaginative Fantasy Entertainment, October 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mines of Behemoth (Mass Market Paperback)

Shea is one of the most underappreciated fantasy authors alive. This book will delight serious fans of the fantastic with its outrageous landscapes, bizarre creatures, vivid prose and plentiful black humor. Don't miss it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sci-Fi or Horror?, January 12, 2007

By 

G. Chandler "Synapse Films" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mines of Behemoth (Paperback)

This is the question I ask myself. While Shea's character Nifft adventures in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy world, I would really characterize it as horror. And some of the best horror I have ever read. Now, when Shea tries to write pure horror, it IS the best I have ever read (Fat Face, I Said The Fly). Mines Of Behemoth has Nifft and his pal Barnar decending into the titular mines on a mission to gather a liquid from giant insects. Naturally, once at work, they find further trouble to get into by descending into Hell itself. Such close proximity to Hell leads to subtle changes in their personalities.
To fans of Nifft ( I.E. anybody who has ever read one of his adventures) this book is a must read. At least two or three times. Shea is the type of author writes stories that affect you long after you read them, as certain realizations set in only upon consideration after the story is finished. The best example of this is his horror novella I, Said The fly. The horrors within that story are really only hinted at. But yet, it is one of the most "horrific by implication" stories I have ever read.
If there is one thing Michael Shea is horribly guilty of, it's not writing enough! His stories are far too few. As I am reading one of his works, I frequently look with dread at the constantly shrinking number of pages.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sadly dissappointing, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mines of Behemoth (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read the classic "Nift the lean" I licked my lips with anticipation when I heard that there was a sequeal/prequeal.I opened the pages expecting something akin to "The Demon Sea" sadly that was not the case. I found the writing surprisingly difficult to read lacking the usaul Jack Vance verve and wit combined with a Clark Ashton Smith imagery. Still other Michael Shea fans may disagree, how ever for me it was disappointment becaue I know Michael Shea is an exceptional writer.