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biteintobooks's review
4.0
Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I read everything I can get my hands on by Kevin J. Kennedy. I was very curious about this short story, because I usually read books that he puts together with short stories from other authors in it. This was a gory, creepy book and I loved all the different post-apocalyptic creatures.
A longer review can be found at Bite Into Books
Kevin J. Kenned has proven to me that he is able to write good books. I would definitely read other books by him and I would also read longer books. The writing style was great and the creative monsters and battles he and his co-writer came up with, were awesome!
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes gory horror, crazy monsters and anything post-apocalyptic.
I read everything I can get my hands on by Kevin J. Kennedy. I was very curious about this short story, because I usually read books that he puts together with short stories from other authors in it. This was a gory, creepy book and I loved all the different post-apocalyptic creatures.
A longer review can be found at Bite Into Books
Kevin J. Kenned has proven to me that he is able to write good books. I would definitely read other books by him and I would also read longer books. The writing style was great and the creative monsters and battles he and his co-writer came up with, were awesome!
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes gory horror, crazy monsters and anything post-apocalyptic.
ericarobyn's review
5.0
Screechers by Kevin J. Kennedy and Christina Bergling is an action-packed post-apocalyptic novella filled with terrifying creatures and bloodshed, but also a heartwarming friendship.
I could not put this one down. So be prepared if you pick this up; you may want to set aside a couple of hours because you may get totally sucked in like I did!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
There is so much that I want to talk about, but I don’t want to give too much away!
First things first, I really enjoyed that the story was told from different perspectives; from each of the creatures, and the humans. This varying perspective made the plot so interesting and powerful. The pacing was perfect and definitely on the faster side of things, which is just one of the many reasons why I couldn’t put this book down.
I loved each of the main characters; creature and human alike!
The three young adult men immediately interested me as we were dropped right in on them as they were leaving their settlement. While we learned a bit more about them over the course of the novella, I really like that much of their past remained a mystery.
I adored the creatures! I thought they were so unique and intriguing. I loved that they seemed like bloodthirsty and terrifying monsters at first, but then as you see them struggling with emotions that are rather new to them, and a bit similar to human emotion, you start falling for them. I really enjoyed seeing their interactions between one another, between themselves and the humans, and between themselves and other creatures of the word.
Speaking of, the creatures of the world that we got to learn about were absolutely terrifying!! But I’ll leave that discovery to you.
The scenes with action and bloodshed were wonderfully written. While brutal, they were also a bit whimsical, if you will. The scenes had the perfect level of description to help the reader really imagine what was going on without straying into too much detail and bogging down the pace.
Like all amazing novellas, when the story concluded I was both totally satisfied with how the tale ended, but also felt that I could easily read many more pages about this cast and the world they are in because it was so interesting!
My Favorite Passages
He craved the type of quiet that only came from being alone, just him between the ground and the vast sky.
They breeched the treeline as the sun reached its zenith in the sky, roasting above them. The trees twisted toward the sky, barren and lifeless, yet their wide, charred trunks managed to offer glimpses of shade.
Austin’s eyes wandered over to Burly. The white beast lumbered gracefully beside them, clearly shortening its larger steps to stay beside the tiny humans. When Austin watched its white flesh shine in the sunlight as it rippled over the beast’s muscles, he felt a strange combination of sheer terror and fascination. The large talons clicked and scraped in the sand, echoing the reminder of how lethal Burly really was.
The large creature carved through the pack like a sharp knife, leaving a trail of severed limbs and fallen corpses behind it. The two monsters turned the desert into Hell itself as carnage swelled over the dunes like the tide. The dead heaped until they covered the ground and the flight elevated on top of them.
My Final Thoughts:
I loved this read! This is definitely a tale that will stick with me for a long time, and I will certainly be rereading it time and time again.
My thanks again to Kevin J. Kennedy for sending this my way!
If you enjoy post-apocalyptic settings, terrifying creatures, fast-paced action, lots of bloodshed, interesting characters, and a heartwarming friendship, then this is a book for you!
I highly recommend this one!
I could not put this one down. So be prepared if you pick this up; you may want to set aside a couple of hours because you may get totally sucked in like I did!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
There is so much that I want to talk about, but I don’t want to give too much away!
First things first, I really enjoyed that the story was told from different perspectives; from each of the creatures, and the humans. This varying perspective made the plot so interesting and powerful. The pacing was perfect and definitely on the faster side of things, which is just one of the many reasons why I couldn’t put this book down.
I loved each of the main characters; creature and human alike!
The three young adult men immediately interested me as we were dropped right in on them as they were leaving their settlement. While we learned a bit more about them over the course of the novella, I really like that much of their past remained a mystery.
I adored the creatures! I thought they were so unique and intriguing. I loved that they seemed like bloodthirsty and terrifying monsters at first, but then as you see them struggling with emotions that are rather new to them, and a bit similar to human emotion, you start falling for them. I really enjoyed seeing their interactions between one another, between themselves and the humans, and between themselves and other creatures of the word.
Speaking of, the creatures of the world that we got to learn about were absolutely terrifying!! But I’ll leave that discovery to you.
The scenes with action and bloodshed were wonderfully written. While brutal, they were also a bit whimsical, if you will. The scenes had the perfect level of description to help the reader really imagine what was going on without straying into too much detail and bogging down the pace.
Like all amazing novellas, when the story concluded I was both totally satisfied with how the tale ended, but also felt that I could easily read many more pages about this cast and the world they are in because it was so interesting!
My Favorite Passages
He craved the type of quiet that only came from being alone, just him between the ground and the vast sky.
They breeched the treeline as the sun reached its zenith in the sky, roasting above them. The trees twisted toward the sky, barren and lifeless, yet their wide, charred trunks managed to offer glimpses of shade.
Austin’s eyes wandered over to Burly. The white beast lumbered gracefully beside them, clearly shortening its larger steps to stay beside the tiny humans. When Austin watched its white flesh shine in the sunlight as it rippled over the beast’s muscles, he felt a strange combination of sheer terror and fascination. The large talons clicked and scraped in the sand, echoing the reminder of how lethal Burly really was.
The large creature carved through the pack like a sharp knife, leaving a trail of severed limbs and fallen corpses behind it. The two monsters turned the desert into Hell itself as carnage swelled over the dunes like the tide. The dead heaped until they covered the ground and the flight elevated on top of them.
My Final Thoughts:
I loved this read! This is definitely a tale that will stick with me for a long time, and I will certainly be rereading it time and time again.
My thanks again to Kevin J. Kennedy for sending this my way!
If you enjoy post-apocalyptic settings, terrifying creatures, fast-paced action, lots of bloodshed, interesting characters, and a heartwarming friendship, then this is a book for you!
I highly recommend this one!
tracyreads's review
3.0
2-3 stars. Not sure yet. Review to come for Sci Fi and Scary
Went with three stars, there are a couple places that redeemed it somewhat for me. Here is the full review from Sf&S
I have LOVE for post-apocalyptic horror/sci-fi stories. It’s my thing, my bag, I dig it. I also enjoy the intersection of this with creatures – War of the Worlds, The Mist, and on and on. So deciding to pick up SCREECHERS was a no-brainer for me.
First – the world created by Bergling and Kennedy is fantastic. The first part of the book puts us directly into the mind of the creature, and the world we see through its eyes is just what you’d expect. The world is ruined, by what it doesn’t say. It isn’t necessary. This is just over 100 pages and I think the authors did a great job of keeping this trim where it needed to be and detailed in other, more crucial, ways.
My biggest issues come in when the humans and creatures collide and then again in the ending. I can’t give details here, but I found these instances kind of unbelievable and honestly, a bit frustrating. I see that the authors were trying to do something different, to put a spin on the expected,…but it didn’t work for me at all.
Sandwiched between those two things is one of the best creature, monster, human battles I’ve read in quite awhile. There is stomping. Chomping. Just a blood and guts fest that really kept things moving. Here is where the details really come to the forefront – creature description and a battle extravaganza. Honestly, this is probably what kept this at a 3 instead of a 2 for me.
Overall, I had a good time. There are some pretty big issues for me, but in looking at all the other reviews it seems this may be a case of “it’s me, not you” – *shrugs*
Went with three stars, there are a couple places that redeemed it somewhat for me. Here is the full review from Sf&S
I have LOVE for post-apocalyptic horror/sci-fi stories. It’s my thing, my bag, I dig it. I also enjoy the intersection of this with creatures – War of the Worlds, The Mist, and on and on. So deciding to pick up SCREECHERS was a no-brainer for me.
First – the world created by Bergling and Kennedy is fantastic. The first part of the book puts us directly into the mind of the creature, and the world we see through its eyes is just what you’d expect. The world is ruined, by what it doesn’t say. It isn’t necessary. This is just over 100 pages and I think the authors did a great job of keeping this trim where it needed to be and detailed in other, more crucial, ways.
My biggest issues come in when the humans and creatures collide and then again in the ending. I can’t give details here, but I found these instances kind of unbelievable and honestly, a bit frustrating. I see that the authors were trying to do something different, to put a spin on the expected,…but it didn’t work for me at all.
Sandwiched between those two things is one of the best creature, monster, human battles I’ve read in quite awhile. There is stomping. Chomping. Just a blood and guts fest that really kept things moving. Here is where the details really come to the forefront – creature description and a battle extravaganza. Honestly, this is probably what kept this at a 3 instead of a 2 for me.
Overall, I had a good time. There are some pretty big issues for me, but in looking at all the other reviews it seems this may be a case of “it’s me, not you” – *shrugs*
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