Loch Ness Revenge
By Hunter Shea
2016 Severed Press
Paperback, 141 pages
I love Hunter Shea. I love
cryptozoology, monsters, animals killing humans and gore. This is the medium in
which Shea works and he excels at it. Of course, I just had to read what he
does with ol’ Nessie!
In their childhood, twins Natalie
and Austin saw their parents eaten by the Loch Ness Monster. Natalie had made it her life’s
mission to find the monster and avenge her parents. Two decades after the
incident, she is primed and ready and Austin joins her to mount a war against
the lake creature.
This one isn’t as brutal and gory
as some of Shea’s other books, but the action and emotions are always blazing
like a flamethrower. The characters (the twins, Austin’s pal Heinrik, and
monster-hunter/ videographer Rob) are all well thought out and loveable, surprising
for such a short book. The banter between the twins is believable and funny.
Once again, Shea gives us a strong and capable woman in Natalie, a welcome
character who was all but absent in the 80s pulp novels he must love. The story
is told in first person by Natalie.
I don’t ask for a lot in a book.
Entertain me, thrill me, scare me or make me laugh. That’s what will make me
feel like my time was well spent. Hunter Shae usually delivers all four. My
time was well spent with Loch Ness Revenge.
This review originally appeared in Midnight Magazine #9, March, 2022.
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