Published by Flame Tree Press on January 10, 2019
Pages: 288
Goodreads
Also by this author: The Siren and The Specter, The Sorrows, Old Order, The Nightmare Girl, Wolf Land, The Dark Game, House of Skin, Dust Devils, The Raven, Blood Country
Jesse thinks he's caught a break when he, Emma (the girl of his dreams), and her friend are assigned by their newspaper to cover the opening weekend of a sprawling new state park. But the construction of the park has stirred an evil that has lain dormant for nearly a hundred years, and the three young people--as well as every man, woman, and child unlucky enough to be attending the Algonquin Falls grand opening--are about to encounter the most horrific creatures to ever walk the earth. Charly has three young children and a jerk for a husband, a hot shot girls basketball coach with a penchant for seducing his female assistants. When Charly's baby is kidnapped by one of the creatures, she turns to Sam Bledsoe, the man who constructed her house (and the man on whom she has developed a sizable crush) for help. Sam, Charly, her husband, and the newest hot assistant coach soon find themselves underground and on the trail of Charly's baby. Jesse's trio, a group of professors, and Frank Red Elk--a Native American who specializes in women and booze--take refuge in the caves hoping to find a way out of the park. But like Charly and the others, Jesse's crew will soon learn just how monstrous the creatures are. And how cunning. Together, they will all try to save Charly's baby, escape with their lives, and take down as many of the monsters as they can. But the creatures are hungry. They delight in human suffering. And they will stop at nothing to prove that they are the dominant species. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
✮ My Review ✮
Okay so I am going to sound like a massive fangirl now (Sorry Eva pinching your saying now!) but my god can this man do any wrong! As you are all aware I would totally say I am in love with Jonathan Janz and his books! In my eyes, he IS the KING OF HORROR! Don’t believe me, then you need to check out his books and see why Flame Tree Press have brought up most of his back catalogue! Says it all in my eyes, an awesome partnership, my favourite publisher and favourite author. Anyway enough gushing (kiss assing some may think) you want to know about the book!!
This book reminded me so much of Richard Laymon (my other favourite author of the blood gore and guts) and his gruesome messed up worlds without the sex. This did feel like a love letter to him and I think he would be in awe of the writing. The beasts were freaky as hell, absolutely savage and as just as scary, there is just SO MUCH BLOOD and gore! You have your jack ass men, the pretty women and the car crash horror! EPIC!
It takes 50 pages, that is it, 50 pages out of the 292 pages for it to all go to hell! I just could not see how this could carry on for so many pages, but it did. I found I had to keep re-reading paragraphs because the book is so high tempo with the carnage I felt my eyes blitzing the pages in the same state of frenzy to keep up. So really it was my own fault, not to do the writing.
The book is unrelenting! You have a few stolen moments of calmness where the characters interact when they are not screaming at each other, learning about each other, their desires of course and learn a bit more about the savages but the main body of the book is a high octane gorefest. Also, like Laymon, Janz has thrown in some comical moments and some sexually charged moments, all to keep the reader interested and lighten the dark moments. But in these calm and peaceful moments, you are on edge waiting for the next intense massacre which you know is around the corner.
There are the characters I was hoping would see the light of day and others you could not wait to be caught and ripped to pieces…ok that was harsh….maybe characters you hoped that the big beasties might want to play a game with for a while, how is that? All of these people were realistically written, Janz made them come alive on the pages, with us the reader, urging them to safety.
I just have to give a shout out to Colleen, she was by far my favourite character! Her smart mouth got me chuckling when she was on the page and her attitude at the start of the book to Linda was beyond funny!
My next read for Mr Janz is Wolfland and I have my eye on the next four books to be read too. I love how he can flit from the gore and gruesome over to the paranormal and the terrifying and it all seems so seamless and easy for him.
Hmmmm….I think this sounds more like a love letter to the author, whoops!
Until next time xxx
So what has happened so far on tour?
Savage Species is an unapologetic gorefest that will satisfy all your monster needs. It was bloody brilliant with strong emphasis on the bloody! I don’t think I can ever look at a hamburger the same way again. As you’ll know from previous blog posts I really enjoy Jonathan Janz books and he really does provide for all horror needs, I’ve read about ghost terror, psychological terror and here we have all our monster terror.
Donna’s Book Blog says
This is a very well written story that has plenty of content and an excellent plot. I thought that the characters were well developed and I loved the twists and turns in the plot as the book progressed. The book has blood, guts, gore and is quite gruesome but I have to say it was fab!
And be sure to check out an exclusive excerpt over at The Tattooed Book Geek
Thank you so much to Anne at Random Things Tours for the tour invite and the author and publisher for a copy of this book in return for my honest and unbiased review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
annecater says
Huge thanks for your amazing Blog tour support Zoe x
Zoé says
Always so welcome. X
SaraWIMM says
I dunno but I think at this stage we could probably start a Jonathan Janz fanclub the man can do no wrong 🙂 lol
Zoé says
Oh yes I think we so should!! He really can’t! That’s if he doesn’t get a restraining order out on me lol ?
SaraWIMM says
???