It has been a while since I read a creature feature story, and this one was a whole lot of fun. The coast can be a particularly frightening place at the best of times; the threat of drowning, the tide rapidly approaching bringing slimy seaweed and icy chills to your ankles, and of course getting your clothes wet when you haven’t packed your swimshorts.
But we have it easy in England, they aren’t any nasty and horrible creatures off our shores. Until now.
People begin disappearing in the waters; these scenes menacingly showcased where the tension swells like a tidal wave you just know is going to end badly. But what is the cause of these deaths? Well, we need someone on the case to investigate…
Hollis is a former MI5 agent turned ‘independent contractor’, but he’s still called upon in times of weirdness and danger by the main players in the secret service. He’s a bit grumpy, wearing his ‘I’m too old for this shit’ heart on his sleeve, and he’s a lot of fun to read.
And so begins the investigation. More disappearances, murders and cover-ups in the scientific community, secretive medical corporations; just what is going on in these here parts?
I won’t give too many details but think genetically modified fish with a lust for meat, and you’re getting there. Suddenly the human population is in great danger. These things are likely to take over the world, or the water parts of it at least. Hollis ends up as an unlikely hero/leader in the fight for humanity, although he’d rather not have to be doing any of this.
The story rattles along at a great pace, offering just the right balance of action, exposition, and scientific background to really draw you in.
If you’re feeling the itch for another creature feature, you’ve found it!
Categories: book review
MORGAN K TANNER, Writer of Horror 
Leave a comment