You’ve gotta love a good old post-apocalyptic tale. And this certainly was a good one. The genre is saturated with stories where survivors turn on each other while trying to not die at the hands of whatever caused the apocalypse, or indeed the beasts that have taken over the world.
But what was great about Screechers was the story didn’t play out how I imagined it would, and this was very pleasing.
This world has changed, with mutant beasts and humans roaming the lands, trying their best to just last one more day. We don’t know the cause of the apocalypse, but who cares? Do we really need to get bogged down with the details? The human characters speak of the disaster, but they’re privy to information the reader isn’t, and they don’t have any ‘do you remember when…’ dialogue to spoon-feed us what happened.
Bad shit occurred, let’s just leave it at that.
The story opens with a beast, a Screecher, trying to find its way in the desolate city. It, like the humans, is just trying to survive. It may be a dis-service to it’s kind to arrogantly compare it’s thoughts to a human’s, but it is lost in the world. It’s only solace a species of plants that it gorges upon so its mind becomes numb to the horrors it has endured.
Although the Screecher is described as a monstrously built killing machine, you can’t help but empathise with it’s situation. Especially when it is united with a kid-version of itself, it’s nephew no less!
We’re treated to alternate chapters following the creature and then three humans who don’t exactly get along. The tale is leading up to a big meet-up, but what exactly is going to happen when their paths cross?
I’m not going to say, but as mentioned, it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.
The finale is a battle where plenty of blood is unleashed, various mutant-hybrid creatures are killed and dismembered with vivid descriptions as the gore flows aplenty.
This short novella definitely showcased a new and refreshing light on the post-apocalyptic genre, and was a hell of a lot of fun.
Recommended for fans of monsters, violence, and survival stories.
Categories: book review
MORGAN K TANNER, Writer of Horror 
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