Customer Reviews

No Return

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

 

 

Divorcee Doug Childress takes his 14 year old son, Chad, on a camping weekend in an attempt to reconnect with him. While out in the No Return Wilderness of Idaho, Doug shoots a bear from a distance in a hasty decision to impress his son. The trouble begins when they go to look at the kill and find it's not a bear but rather a large hairy manlike creature... aka a bigfoot. As Chad rushes back to camp for his camera, Doug is startled when he hears Chad screaming. Doug gets back to the camp site quickly to find an even bigger bigfoot that just beat-down Chad. A hectic retreat in his SUV gets Doug and Chad back to town. Unfortunately for Doug, he's arrested for child abuse as there are no signs of an animal attack on Chad's body. Convinced no one is going to believe him, Doug must escape the jail and return to the No Return Wilderness to gather his proof that he didn't do it. As Doug treks deeper into the wilderness after his quarry, Sheriff Darrell and Doug's best friend Evan begin the search for Doug. Doug is determine to track down the creature to save himself but just where and why is the sasquatch travelling to?

What follows is an interesting and quick paced adventure with fairly believable story telling by our first-time author, Pete Travers. Sure there's some discrepancies that don't quite fit such as the ammo wasting shotgun sequences and how Doug, a banker with no outdoors experience, is able to so sufficiently track an elusive bigfoot. All-in-all, this is a pretty decent story that isn't your B-grade monster movie. Instead, it's a book about redemption of a man's actions, past and present. It's dealing with consequences and opening your eyes to the possibilities that not everything is easily explainable. Travers brings forth some interesting questions/answers about the bigfoot creatures in his scenario.

Frankly, my only real problem with the book is the author's determined avoidance at using contractions in his dialogues between characters. Maybe it's just me but people just don't speak without using contractions all the time. It's also only a 258 page book but only because there's double spacing between paragraphs for some editing reason. In reality, take out the double paragraph spacing, and the book will probably come in at about 210-230 pages. Either way, this is a great weekend book, especially if you happen to be out camping yourself. I was also lucky enough to buy this book and have it arrive, signed by the author. Thanks Pete!

No Return has you hooked right out of the gate. The prologue is downright creepy and it is a great setup for things to come.

What makes No Return a great book is its believability. The behavior of the people and the creatures in this novel keep the story on edge because they are utterly believable. The decisions that are made by the main character made me think "That's what I would do!", which in turn heightens the anxiety. It's the thread that binds the story together and makes you keep reading, ...aside from the fact that there is a giant bigfoot out in the woods that's ready to kill you.

I also love the fact that No Return avoids all of the usual charcater cliches of modern story-telling, like the expert professor who happens to be along for the ride explaining everything, or the superior hunter that is bested by the great beast, or the hot chick that gets caught out in the woods alone. It's just some ordinary people caught in an extraordinary circumstance.

I loved this book. It kept me interested, I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I recommend this book.

There are a few elements to this book that set it apart from other "chased through the woods" thrillers.

First, the book deals with the idea of an actual Bigfoot (or Bigfeet - since there is more than one) in a fairly realistic way. Rather than sensationalize the concept of Bigfoot being real, the characters react as I would if I found the hairy monsters to exist. Bigfoot is a creature living in the woods, protecting its territory. It's not King Kong. It keeps the story grounded and kept me caring about what happened to the characters.

Second, the story is fairly informative about nature and culture. While going on a journey with the main character we learn about survival techniques and different challenges to being deep in the woods without the proper equipment. The author also relates a lot about the history of the area and the people who have lived there for centuries.

Third, the story deals with family and the protection of family - from a human's perspective and from a monster's perspective. The parallels were clever and lended credibility to much of what happens in the story.

The story itself is pretty exciting - a solid thriller dealing with family, nature, and an enormous, hairy, frightening creature that could snap you like a twig. The author's descriptions of Bigfoot are pretty intense -- you can practically smell the dirt entangled in the beast's fur. And nobody wants to come face to face with those eyes. Without giving away too much, I found the ending really satisfying because the story stays true to the concept that Bigfoot is a real creature who wants to survive and protect as much as the characters do.

I'm glad I read it. It will be interesting to see what else Mr. Travers has for us next.

Wasn't sure what to expect from a fiction work about Sasquatch, but the story was well written and kept me wanting to keep reading.

Excellent book. Took a few chapters to get started but once it got going it was non stop! The storyline took a few turns I was not expecting and the ending was suprising. All I will say about the ending is that the power of a sincere apology is amazing. This book/story is NOT "Harry and The Hendersons"!

I enjoyed reading this thrilling book. It was just the type of novel that gets my attention. I had it read in just a few days. I also enjoyed receiving a book autographed by the author !!

The author blended legend and fiction very nicely, while also giving the beast human traits. Man, in all his wisdom, does not always choose the right decisions, and will always have to pay for enacted consequences. Were it not for the beast's villainous hintings, some would root for the creature. Nicely done!

While the story flows along nicely and it's a great read, the best part of this book is I BELIEVE! No, I don't believe in Bigfoot, I believe this is what someone would do if they had such an encounter. So many stories are flawed by the plausibility of the characters and their actions. In this case, the author takes a ludicrous situation and makes it plausible.

Can you see yourself trying to explain this? "So let me get this straight now, you shot a Bigfoot and it roughed up your son?" "No officer, I shot a Big Foot's child and then the Big Foot roughed up my son." Of course not and our main character, Doug Childress, realizes that as well making his actions so believable.

Reviewer J.C. Gossett hit it on the head with the following...The decisions that are made by the main character made me think "That's what I would do!"

What an enjoyable and entertaining ride. I commend Mr. Travers for capturing the true essence of storytelling.

What a great book. The storyline is intense, gripping and never wanders. All the nuances of the characters come through in their development and make you feel as if you're there with them, living through their ordeal. The tempo builds perfectly and keeps you entwined for hours. this book made me lose sleep!

excellent read and very highly recommended.

I read "No Return" and loved it! The story was so compelling that my only regret was that they story ended at 258 pages! I loved the characters, I could immediately picture my (now) 16 year old Godson, as Doug Childress' son Chad, and I immediately lost myself in the story! Pete you wrote an incredible book! I follow cryptozoology as a hobby so I've got a growing library of Bigfoot, Yeti, seamonster, etc. books, but your fictional work really allowed me to experience imagining what it must be like to live in an area where the myths or legends are more "home based" or "in my back yard" type of experiences. I do hope that your writing continues to grow and maybe see a new story of an older Chad getting caught up in the "wanting to know more" with a reluctant father, Doug and his best friend Evan Ratcliffe, having to hunt again for Chad in the "No Return"! I know, I shouldn't even suggest things, but it just goes to show what a wonderful book you wrote, readers just want more!

I couldn't put it down; in fact I've re-read parts of the book just to let the imagery really grow with your words! This is a work that really draws in its readers, you can get lost in it, or more like really caught up in it! Unlike other books that all while you're reading, your mind is saying "its just a book"; "No Return" made me feel like I was right there, desperately hoping to catch up with "the creature" and desperately hoping that Chad was not badly hurt! Bravo Pete! Thanks to your book I'm now following the Bigfoot research in Texas more closely, wondering if the deep forests of East Texas may hide a "No Return" of our own. This book, "No Return" is definitely staying in my "must keep" library! I hope I will have the opportunity to read more of your work!

Congratulations!
Alfred Lopez