Customer Reviews

Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature Terror

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Can you say "pleasant" about a book where people get eaten by giant bugs? Not sure.

Anyway, I got this for my kid because he is a typical teenage boy who likes all monsters and gross stuff. Being the good parent that I am, I thought I should browse through it through first to make sure it wasn't too violent or, with a story titled "Attack of the 500 Foot Porn Star", too graphic. I'm not adverse to horror, but my tastes run more along the lines of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and the like. I didn't expect to find anything all that enjoyable in this anthology. Shame on me.

There are some really good stories in here. Stories that make you melancholy they they are over so quickly, because you'd really like to read more. My three favorites were "Savage", "Keeping Watch", and "Scales". If you don't buy the anthology for any other reason these three are worth it. I won't give too much away, but "Savage" is a hunter/hunted tale on a alien world with a brave girl and a very big cat-thing. "Keeping Watch" is about something nasty lurking underwater and after reading it I will not put foot in another lake unless I can see the bottom. "Scales" is a man-vs-giant-lizard tale that has pretty clever, if somewhat squirm-inducing, solution to the hungry critter problem.

You read stories like these and you wonder why the heck you don't see good stuff like this on TV or in the movies. We watch a lot of those Sci-Fi channel specials and I wonder who comes up with some of that mess. Anyway, I thought there were a couple of clunkers in the anthology, so it doesn't quite make a 5 star rating for me, but no accounting for taste, right? Oh, and I wouldn't suggest this for younger kids. Mine is 13-going-on-30 and that was skating about the edge of how young I'd recommend.

I must admit there has always been a place in my heart for the old creature features I used to watch as a kid, before the days of cable TV, that the networks would show sometimes on Friday Nights, Saturday Afternoons, and once a year, weekday afternoons (the Japanese monster collection-Godzilla, Gidorah, Monster X, etc). Before VCRs and cable movies saturated us with a constant flow of these old flicks it was a treat to discover a rare old gem with some soggy monster or genetically enhanced or nuclear radiated ant or rat or lizard that had decided to inact revenge on humanity.

This book brought me back to those memories...and twisted and swirled them up as well. We get a whole platoon of the weird and freaky here, from the giant crabs we see on the cover, to giant ants, maggots, giant vampires...and yes, even giant porn stars!

Each story is fairly short and a quick bit of fun, with the emotional content ranging from the terror-inducing, to the gut wrenching, to the ridiculously hilarious (Attack of the 500-Foot Porn Star is a prime example).

It would be hard for me to cite which story was my favorite because I appreciated most of them for what they were worth. Sure, a few fell flat for me but they all had something to offer. From nuclear accidents, scientific experiments, natures revenge, a Twilight Zone type twist (Six-Legged Shadows), to even what HAD to be a author on a wild mind trip (The Island of Dr. Otaku) there is plenty here for the fan of monster madness.

This book is like a classic monster film festival where you spend your entire Saturday with friends having a blast watching monster after monster chew, tear, and rip into every human being that crosses your path. Lots of fun.

I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed this book! I had an awful hard time putting it down! Each story was good in its own way - some better than others - but I can say I was entertained by each and every one. "Whatever Happened to Randy" may blow your mind, while "Crabs" just might gross you out! Whatever the case, I don't think anyone who is a fan of this type of "giant-creature" fiction will be let down. Permuted Press has done it again with bringing together some of the best independent authors - and even a mainstream one - Steve Alten - to open the book and add his own story to the mix. I totally recommend this book!

What's not to love about this? Giant monsters? Action, humor, big bitey things, mass destruction? Seriously...this is too much fun. Loved the concept, loved the stories. Bravo.

When I got this book I was expecting something to leave in the bathroom -- you know the sort of thing. Instead this is a classic, No, really. It has Guy Smith, the great-grandaddy of bog monster stories with a crab tale. It has gross-out horror by Randy Chandler, co-author of the spectaclur Duet for the Devil, and it has an introducation and story by Steve Alten -- one of the true rising stars of the YA field. It has a good story in the otherwise dead zombie apocalyse sub-sub genre by James Thomas Jean -- it is his first story -- what a strenght to bring out new writers! (Yeah Permuted Press). There is another beginnger here as well, E. Anderson. Her story "Savage" is similar in tone and in stremghth of writing to A. E. Van Voght's monster tales. "Attakc of the 500 Ft. Porn Star" by Shrewsberry and "The Big Bite" by Strand are deeply, darkly funny. Tales range from Medieval times, "Extinction" by Evan Dicken a thoughtfil fable about man, myth and machine to the far future, "Six Legged Shadows" a well-told tale that would have graced any New Wave collection. Editor Ryan C. Thomas does exactly what an editor is supposed to do -- bring in some name towrk, publishe some first timers, hits high and low culture and above all create a fun book.

Overall this anthology delivers on some good giant creature-themed stories. 'Lost in Time' by Steve Alten (who wrote The Loch and the Meg series), 'Keeping Watch' by Nate Kenyon, and the eerie 'Whatever Became of Randy' by James A Moore were in my opionion the best hostile monster tales. 'Extinction' by Evan Dicken was perhaps my favorite, as it's almost a fantasy tale where giant creatures (such as Holland the giant bear) are used in jousting-type battles. 'Nirvana' by James Thomas Jeans deserves mention for dealing with both giant maggots AND zombies.

I didn't enjoy 'Attack of the 500 FT Pornstar' or 'The Island of Dr. Otaku', both of which were more humorous tales, the latter being downright bizarre. However, even these had at least a chuckle or two.

In short, most of the stories are told serious, and are creepily entertaining.

A book like this is practically review-proof. I mean, just look at the cover and the title. If you at all have an inclination toward this type of book you got your copy weeks ago. As a hand assist I'm going to list the contents and monsters.

DL Snell - Present Tense, Future Imperfect - giant athropods, including ants, bees and a wicked spider. This started the book off with a bang!

Guy N. Smith - Crabs - this should be obvious. Actually this story wasn't so hot for me. It was obviously a chapter in a book in progress or his ongoing crab series, and was not a stand alone story.

Aaron Polson - A Plague from the Mud - beetles - Pretty entertaining as a town gets devoured.

Steve Alten - Lost in Time - viper fish - Nicely ambiguous ending with good chomping scenes.

John Towler - Scales - cave lizards, among other things. Claustrophobic and tensely written

Patrick Rutigliano --- The Enemy Of My Enemy - head lice (we get the other kind later!) in the Great War. Well, it made me squirm to read it.

Erin Anderson - Savage - some kind of huge cat in a far away world - the prose was superb; this may have been the best story in the book

Steven Shrewsbury - Attack of the 500 Foot Porn Star - well, this should be obvious too! This story was an absolute hoot to read. I read it over lunch one day and got a few stares for laughing so loudly.

Nate Kenyon - Keeping Watch - giant snapping turtle - Beautifuly written, another highlight

J. Thomas Jeans - Nirvana - screwworm maggots (eeewwwwwww!) - I liked this but I most liked that these monsters were developed to combat the zombie apocalypse

Paul Stuart - Deep Dark Submission - anglerfish - another well written, tautly suspenseful story

James A. Moore - Whatever Became of Randy - brain tumor - I have not previously been a fan of Moore, but this story was terrific, intense and well written

Randy Chandler - Cooties - pubic lice (eeeeewwwwww!) - entertaining enough

Evan Dicken - Extinction - the main one is a giant bear - animal gladiators fight automatons in duels, original and hugely (so to speak) entertaining

Greg Norris - The Cove - some weird dinosaur - I guess it is possible to turn s%*# into gold...

R. Thomas Riley--The Locusts Have A King - a locust that's really a demon - this story was only fair for me, trying to accomplish too much in too short a space

Jeff Strand - The Big Bite - giant vampire - played for laughs, OK enough

John Platt - Gone Fishin' - some not-well-defined reptile - Pretty weak effort in comparison with the other titles

David Conyers & Brian Sammons - Six Legged Shadows - ants, mostly - this story ends up turning the premise on its head. I've liked everything I ever read by these two authors

Cody Goodfellow - The Island of Dr. Otaku - it's hard to say what this is about! Another over the top send up by the inimitable Cody Goodfellow. Apparently this is a sequel to a story in a previous anthology by the publisher

254 pages of stories (most of which are gems), a nice introduction and minibios of the authors, with a good crab painting by Adam Vehige, all in a reasonably priced, well edited, tightly produced trade paperback. I will avoid any cliches about how this title is going to be a monster hit. How can you miss?

A unique and diverse collection of Sci-Fi monster short stories that is imaginative and out of the ordinary; from Nate Kenyon's "yellow eye" thing at the bottom of a lake to Steven Shrewsbury's "500-foot Porn Star", these tales are across the board and always fresh and new. So whether it's giant crabs or itchy things on the battle field, I'm sure you will find something that will entertain you and make you look over your shoulder...

3 AND 1/2 STARS.

Overall, this is a very satisfying collection. I found a few typos that I wish were corrected during the editing phase - (hint, hint, Mr. Thomas!) ...but I would definitely recommend this for horror lovers and, of course, fans of giant creatures everywhere. While the average score for this collection is a 6.5 out of 10 -- which is certainly above average -- I've broken down the highlights for fans to jump right to the great ones...

PRESENT TENSE, FUTURE IMPERFECT by D.L. Snell = 6 out of 10

The upside: It had some nice twists and unique details.

The downside: The sense of space and descriptions were sometimes confusing, especially where the characters were in relationship to other people and creatures. Time travel is a no-no.

CRABS by Guy N. Smith = 7 out of 10

The upside: Very dark, unrelenting danger that takes no prisoners.

The downside: Editor Ryan Thomas should have adjusted the very British words for an American audience to smooth over the flow of reading. It took me nearly five minutes to figure out that "French letter" was a condom.

A PLAGUE FROM THE MUD by Aaron A. Polson = 8 out of 10

The upside: Believable scenario with a great foundation. Consistently builds in suspense.

The downside: Should have been a novella or even better; a novel.

LOST IN TIME by Steve Alten = 7 out of 10

The upside: A classic revenge tale; you know exactly where it's going. Great writing.

The downside: You know exactly where it's going. Ending feels like a punch line.

SCALES by J.C.Towler = 6 out of 10

The upside: Unique resolution.

The downside: Basic cave dive. Some confusing bits and not everything connected smoothly.

THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY by Patrick Rutigliano = 5 out of 10

The upside: Delightfully gross and descriptive. Will make you itch all over.

The downside: The clunky sentences give the story a rocky tempo. Switching uniforms had

no payoff.

SAVAGE by E. Anderson = 4 out of 10

The upside: Antagonist point of view was nice.

The downside: Overwritten. The entire premise has been written hundreds of times in Conan.

ATTACK OF THE 500-FOOT PORN STAR by Steven L. Shrewsbury = 6 out of 10

The upside: The title says it all.

The downside: The title says it all. A continuity error.

KEEPING WATCH by Nate Kenyon = 8 out of 10

The upside: Very smooth prose, beautifully paced, great ending.

The downside: Only if you miss out on reading this one.

NIRVANA by James Thomas Jeans = 9 out of 10

The upside: Incredibly fast paced, loaded with danger and humanity, amazing premise.

The downside: I want a novel of this material!

THE LONG DARK SUBMISSION by Paul Stuart = 3 out of 10

The upside: It's only 11 pages.

The downside: Confusing descriptions. Feels uninspired.

WHATEVER BECAME OF RANDY by James A. Moore 8 out of 10

The upside: Original concept, clean prose, has characters you care about and can relate to.

The downside: Even in a world of giant creatures, this one is still hard to swallow.

COOTIES by Randy Chandler = 8 out of 10

The upside: Delightfully dirty and a huge guilty pleasure of perverse fun.

The downside: The double ending was not necessary.

EXTINCTION by Evan Dicken = 9 out of 10

The upside: Extremely satisfying with beautifully painted mythology. Hugely entertaining.

A great achievement being the author's first published story.

The downside: Setup feels a little familiar.

THE COVE by Gregory L. Norris = 4 out of 10

The upside: Blends genres of a crime thriller and monsters.

The downside: Too convoluted, with too many problems to get into. Creatures seem like an afterthought. Characters felt shallow and two dimensional.

THE LOCUSTS HAVE A KING by R. Thomas Riley = 6 out of 10

The upside: Authentic military mission with good characters and flows nicely.

The downside: Feels a little incomplete and rushed with background details and mythology.

THE BIG BITE by Jeff Strand = 8 out of 10

The upside: A unique and consistent voice with extremely smooth and clever prose.

The downside: Ending felt like an afterthought.

GONE FISHIN' by John R. Platt = 6 out of 10

The upside: Small, focused story without using nuclear waste or government cover-ups.

The downside: Characters seemed distant. There was no description of the creature other than being big with teeth.

SIX-LEGGED SHADOWS by David Conyers & Brian M. Sammons = 7 out of 10

The upside: Nicely crafted and thoroughly conceived, leaving a nice trail of clues.

The downside: A twist on a popular theme which could be spoiled early for some readers.

THE ISLAND OF DR. OTAKU by Cody Goodfellow = 5 out of 10

The upside: Fans of the Japanese Kaiju genre will most likely enjoy this.

The downside: I couldn't get into the story, not a fan of obvious political views, especially in a short.

I've always been a sucker for monster stories. The HUGE kind. I grew up a Godzilla fan, loved old movies like "THEM", "Food of the Gods", "Empire of the Ants", etc.

So, I was pretty damn interested to read this book, and honestly, with the exception of the very last story, it did not disappoint.

Each story was unique, and interesting...some were creepy, some were funny, and some reminded me of the "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits".

Bottom line, if you're a fan of giant bugs, or monsters...get this book.