Rough Beast [Mass Market Paperback]

Gary Goshgarian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

The Hazzard family becomes increasingly horrified when a genocidal experiment gone wrong results in their son's transformation into a feral and dangerous beast, and the government is determined to cover up the facts. Reprint. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Treading territory already staked out by John Saul and Dean Koontz, Goshgarian (Atlantis Fire) fashions an above-average thriller, reaching into the genre toolbox to use an imperiled child and biotech terror. When an enigmatic house hunter offers Calvin and Terry Hazzard nearly 10 times what they paid for their suburban Boston home, they are distracted momentarily from their concern over 12-year-old son Matt's increasing belligerence and developmental anomalies. Meanwhile, contract assassin Jerry Mars begins snooping into the backgrounds of his most recent hits and finds that all participated in Black Flag, a top-secret germ warfare project hatched during the Vietnam War and now a political embarrassment for several government bigwigs. Goshgarian telegraphs the fact that Mars and the Hazzards are working from opposite ends of the same mystery to an inevitable conclusion. But, though the plot is short on surprises, the story is buoyed by sharp characterizations of its principal players, especially of the pathetic and frightened Matt, struggling to understand his physical and emotional transformation as a consequence of his home's buried legacy. The boy's final metamorphosis into a genetic nightmare pushes the novel over the top and into a corner, necessitating a perfunctory tying up of its flailing loose ends. Until that point, however, this is a solid and suspenseful cautionary tale that expertly blends political intrigue and domestic drama.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Terry and Calvin Hazzard are puzzled by the woman who insists on buying their house at double its value if they will move immediately. They are also worried about their 12-year-old son, who is becoming monstrous in both body and behavior. Soon, they realize that these two things are connected. The waste from a biological weapons experiment is seeping into their water, causing their son's violent behavior, and the buyers are part of the research team eager to eliminate all evidence. Meanwhile, an assassin hired to kill most of the researchers becomes more interested in blackmail and uses the boy as a pawn. The son is a well-developed, sympathetic character who can survive only by being doped and deprived of the animal side he has come to value. There is plenty of gore and paranoia in this latest by the author of Horrorscape (Kendall Hunt, 1993). Buy for horror collections.
Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843941529
• ISBN-13: 978-0843941524
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,498,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like Stephen King youll like Goshgarian's Rough Beast, July 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rough Beast (Mass Market Paperback)

Rough Beast was an exciting book to read with plenty of horror and suspense wrapped into this great book. This book will have you believing there is such a town in Mass. If you like John Saul's Creature or any Stephen King, this book is for you. Goshgarian really comes through in this fantastic book. I also recommend his "The Stone Circle." Both books are a must read for New Enlgand horror lovers!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read!, October 7, 2004

By 

Sylvia Shults "fellow author" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rough Beast (Mass Market Paperback)

I made the mistake of reading the first chapter of Gary Goshgarian's Rough Beast at work. This is NOT a book one puts down lightly. The Hazzards, the family caught up in an environmental tragedy, are sympathetic and believeable. Matty, the son who goes through horrific changes as the result of the pollution, is drawn with compassion, but also a clear-eyed look at the torture of his condition. And Jerry Mars, the consummate assassin, is a wonderfully shivery bad guy. I highly recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful Emotional Thriller, August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rough Beast (Mass Market Paperback)

One major element in Goshgarian's writing that surfaces time and again is his amazing capacity to create real charcters that real people can identify with. Instead of letting action determine characters, in Rough Beast and others by Goshgarian, he creates tense situations one can't wait to see the characters react to. Another thing: few male authors write convincingly from the female point of view, but Rough Beast's main female character exemplifies the female perspective when confronted with the calamity circumstance brings upon her family. His scientific explanations also further the book's frightening edge by avoiding a plummet into psuedo-science. Goshgarian's eventual scientific explanations suggest real possibilities for a very real dilemma. Rough beast IS a cautionary tale. And this book keeps you guessing -- none of the predictablity typical of suspense thrillers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I did Goshgarian's latest, and recommend it to anyone interested in a page turner. I read it in two days!