I received a free copy of this novel from Steve in return for an honest review. It is the second book by Stred that I have read and it wasn’t what I expected in a number of ways.


Mild Spoiler Alert!

First off, I found the story difficult to get into, I had to persuade myself to keep reading until Tyler entered the forest. I enjoyed Tyler’s trek through the forest, particularly his navigation and survival struggles and his interactions with the mysterious and large animals that inhabited it. I particularly enjoyed when the perspective switched to the animals curiosity at what it considers to be a strangely territorial animal (Tyler). A moment that reminded me of the creature in Frankenstein, in a good way.

Over all, I do not feel like the amazing creatures and the Mastodon in particular were utilized by the narrative anywhere near enough. I was also not keen on the narrative of the inside of the base and that the creatures turning out to be the result of grizzly capitalist, war based experiments. I thought Stred could have done something more interesting and original. I also found the ending a let down, although it was probably what would happen in real life. But after all, this is fiction, I wanted fire, furry and revenge. I wanted Tyler to ride back to the compound on the back of a fire breathing over grown house cat human hybrid and cut Mr Adams head off with a chain saw. I wanted a Mastodon stalking through the trees, picking of soldiers one by one by throwing them into the booby trapped fields which were never explained. I wanted to see it destroy the compound and let the mutants free to slaughter their former tormentors. I wanted Tyler to find his mutated parents and them all go home to live with his grandfather. I wanted to read about them all sat around a dinning room table eating cereal and flies as the ground shakes under them. It didn’t need to end like I suggested just now, but for me the creatures and the Mastodon could have been used far better to build the story and contribute to the plot. I also didn’t understand why the soldiers had killing fields that lured animals into them. I don’t think it was explained nor made much sense in the narrative.

One of the best things about the narrative was the growing relationship between Tyler and Carlson as they worked together to find the truth about what happened to there respective families. I found it refreshing and interesting to read about two likeable characters working together against seemingly in surmountable odds. I liked Tyler and his perspectives and preparations and the description of the hikes through the wilderness. All in all, although it turned out not to be my cup of tea, I found it a tense read that I am sure other readers will appreciate more than I did.

"An old-school creature thriller told with crisp pacing and kick-ass set pieces, Steve Stred's Mastodon is a monster-in-the-woods tale with some choice surprises and plenty of rampaging fun."
- Andrew Pyper, author of The Residence, The Damned and The Demonologist


17 years ago, Tyler Barton was born in the Rocky Mountains, while his parents were on a hike.


On that day, his mother disappeared, never to be seen again.

Now, history repeats itself.

On the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, Tyler’s father is flying home when the plane he’s on disappears – in the same area where his mother was last seen.
Undeterred by officials, Tyler decides to hike into the area in search of his father, hoping to find him alive and bring him back to safety.
​
But there’s a reason that area is prohibited to enter and even though Tyler doesn’t care, he’ll soon find out that the wilderness can hide some of the deepest, darkest fears known to man.


From the author of ‘Incarnate,’ ‘The Window In the Ground’ and ‘Ritual’ comes a new novel that’ll make you rethink your Summer hiking trip.

Catriona Ward, author of last year’s standout novel, ‘The Last House on Needless Street’ returns to the shelves with ‘Sundial’, another jaunt into grim and twisty Horror fiction.

Trapped in an abusive marriage and fearful for her daughter’s mental health, Rob resolves to take Callie, the twelve-year-old in question, back to her childhood home for a reckoning. The old house, the eponymous Sundial, stands deep in the Mojave Desert, a former hangout for anti-establishment scientists and burnt out hippies, the building and the labs abandoned for years. Haunted by the wind as much as by secrets, Rob begins to unravel her past in an attempt to save her daughter from a hereditary darkness – a past that involves controversial animal experiments, a power struggle and an explosively violent tragedy. Can Rob save Callie from a similar fate before it’s too late? If blood runs thicker than water, will it again stain the floorboards and history of Sundial?

‘Sundial’ is a novel that’s best approached blind and one that will leave readers with chilling food for thought. With deft prose and stark imagery, Ward unfolds a family drama of monstrous proportions. Related in parallel narrative by mother and daughter, it’s the depth and complexity between the characters that makes the novel shine, most notably in the siblings-turned-rivals played out by Rob and her unruly teenage sister Jack. This absorbing backstory forms the spine of the novel and provides a few touching and resonant moments. The sentimentality soon gives way to rising tension and an oppressive atmosphere, however. Ultimately, readers may struggle to find any character herein admirable – a small caveat as this is a searingly angry yarn and far from reconciliatory.

At its gruesome, sun-baked heart, ‘Sundial’ is Horror with a capital H. The pages fly by with aching pathos and recognisable altercation; Ward portrays adolescent rebellion to perfection, and one or two scenes elevate the nastiness with echoes of memory and loss. Framed by a setting as vast as the desert, the isolation feels claustrophobic and Ward does an excellent job of boxing her theatre in with dangers out in the sands – both the horrors of the past and the beasts that lurk hungry in the waste. Parts of the novel are brutal indeed (latter scenes reminiscent of Stephen King’s ‘Cujo’) but it’s the conflicts at play that amount to a tightly plotted thriller that will keep readers guessing as much as emotionally fraught. The novel leads you breathless through a series of confrontations and scales to an eventual, shattering truth.

Packed with surprises and the lightest thread of the supernatural, ‘Sundial’ plunges headfirst into a psychological Horror par excellence where all the monsters wear a human face and the stakes go beyond the grave. Easily up there with Ward’s previous outing into the dark, ‘Sundial’ is another class act from a writer at the very top of her game.    

James Bennett is a British writer raised in Sussex and South Africa. His travels have furnished him with an abiding love of different cultures, history and mythology. His short fiction has appeared internationally and his debut novel CHASING EMBERS was shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the British Fantasy Awards 2017.