The Scary Reviews

Review copy provided as part of the They Rise blog tour.

A return to Hunter Shea’s writing is always a treat and he has quickly become one of my new favorite authors.  After reading his epic post-apocalyptic story The Tortures of the Damned which is one of the best end of the world books I’ve read, followed up by The Dover Demon which scared me more than any book in recent history I was beyond excited to see another book had been released so quickly.  Brad Whitley has been obsessed with studying the chimaera and now with the recent discovery of one well out of its usual habitat Whit is suddenly in the middle of a mystery.  This fish isn’t just out of its usual habitat he is considerably larger than most.  A group of men out on a fishing party boat catch a fish that scares the hell out of them and after one of the crew is stung by this ancient fish he dies.  Another group of fishermen out for a day of leisure fishing for a great Marlin in the same waters as Hemingway find themselves in for more than they bargained for as their boat is capsized by the mystery fish.  Hunter wastes no time getting this story off to a fast paced horror filled adventure and left me with enough anxiety to keep me from stepping foot on a fishing boat for the foreseeable future.

Susanne and her crew aboard the Porpoise IV a ship designed to study the ocean are on a mission to find out why there are large amounts of methane coming up from the ocean floor.  A disturbing new way for the ozone to take more damage than what mankind is currently doing.  Off the east coast of Florida Susanne and her crew on the Porpoise IV come upon a ship with multiple dead crew and a few of the mysterious fish.  Death is everywhere and these fish belong nowhere near this area of the ocean or should they be this large.  Hunter works his magic again with a creature that is real but shouldn’t be, I with dread as he creates another of his monsters.  I’ve come to expect to be frightened by the monsters that come from Hunters head and he didn’t disappoint me with the chimaera in They Rise.

As Susanne and her crew send a submersible down to investigate the ocean floor and the latest massive release of methane they discover chimaera large enough to sallow the un-maned vessel and to their horror that’s exactly what happens.  Hunter keeps the tensions high and the monsters downright scary as hell, the story is hard to turn away from like a horrible roadside wreck.  As monstrous ancient breed of fish that should be extinct have come pouring out the ocean floor with deadly stingers and a thicker than normal skin. Whit and Susanne must act fast to find a way to eliminate these killers before more people are killed.  Hunter creates great monsters and an inventive solution to the problem with plenty of action and horror.  The ride is crazy and the ending is very well done.  Anytime I read a novel by Hunter Shea I know I’m in for a great time and a hell of a scare.

Rating 4/5

Book Info

Length:  162 Pages

Publisher:  Severed Press

Release date:  January 4, 2016

To Purchase They Rise Click Here

Some call them ghost sharks, the oldest and strangest looking creatures in the sea. Marine biologist Brad Whitley has studied chimaera fish all his life. He thought he knew everything about them. He was wrong.

Warming ocean temperatures free legions of prehistoric chimaera fish from their methane ice suspended animation. Now, in a corner of the Bermuda Triangle, the ocean waters run red.

The 400 million year old massive killing machines know no mercy, destroying everything in their path. It will take Whitley, his climatologist ex-wife and the entire US Navy to stop them in the bloodiest battle ever seen on the high seas.

Praise-

“This wholly enthralling hulk of a summer beach read is redolent of sunscreen and nostalgia, recalling mass market horror tales of yore by John Saul, Dean Koontz, and Peter Benchley.” — Publishers Weekly — Voted one of the best reads of summer, on The Montauk Monster

“Bloody good read!  This guy knows his monsters!”- Eric S Brown, author of Bigfoot War and Boggy Creek: The Legend is True, on Swamp Monster Massacre

“Hunter Shea is a great writer, highly entertaining, and definitely in the upper echelon in the current horror scene. Many other writers mention either loving his work and/or having the man influence their own, and for just cause. His writing suits anyone with a taste for the dark and terrifying!” –Zakk at The Eyes of Madness/The Mouth of Madness Podcast

Hunter Shea, Biography-

Hunter Shea is the product of a childhood weaned on The Night Stalker, The Twilight Zone and In Search Of. He doesn’t just write about the paranormal – he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself.

Publishers Weekly named The Montauk Monster one of the best reads of the summer in 2014, and his follow up novel, Hell Hole, was named best horror novel of the year on several prestigious horror sites. Cemetery Dance had this to say about his apocalyptic thriller, Tortures of the Damned – “A terrifying read that left me wanting more. I absolutely devoured this book!”

Hunter is an amateur cryptozoologist, having written wild, fictional tales about Bigfoot, The Montauk Monster, The Dover Demon and many new creatures to come. Copies of his books, The Montauk Monster and The Dover Demon, are currently on display in the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, ME.

He wrote his first novel with the express desire to work only with editor Don D’Auria at Dorchester (Leisure Horror). He submitted his novel to Don and only Don, unagented, placed on the slush pile. He is proof that dedicated writers can be rescued from no man’s land. He now works with Don, along with several other agents and publishers, having published over ten books in just four years.

Hunter is proud to be be one half of the Monster Men video podcast, along with his partner in crime, Jack Campisi. It is one of the most watched horror video podcasts in the world. Monster Men is a light-hearted approach to dark subjects. Hunter and Jack explore real life hauntings, monsters, movies, books and everything under the horror sun. They often interview authors, crytid and ghost hunters, directors and anyone else living in the horror lane.

Living with his wonderful family and two cats, he’s happy to be close enough to New York City to get Gray’s Papaya hot dogs when the craving hits. His daughters have also gotten the horror bug, assisting him with research, story ideas and illustrations that can be seen in magazines such as Dark Dossier.

You can follow his travails at www.huntershea.com, sign-up for his newsletter, or follow in on Facebook and Twitter.

PURCHASE!

Amazon

Giveaway!

Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card for joining this tour! Get extra entries for social media follows, but get extra extra entries for signing up for his newsletter and five extra entries is you review They Rise and send the link to Erin at hookofabook@hotmail.com!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjMxYWEzMGI1ZDE2MGYyYTgzYjk4NzVhYzhmMTdmOjMx/?

Good luck!