Blood Lake Monster is simple, and it’s fun. Like other books in the Rewind or Die series, it’s a quick read. Most of the characters are little more than stereotypes, with the exception of the monster itself, which is undoubtedly the star of the piece, as you’d hope in a novel like this.  Those of you who are already aware of Unnerving’s Rewind or Die series will have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Renee Miller’s Blood Lake Monster. For the uninitiated, the aim was to produce something inspired by the kind of B-movie covers you’d see in the horror section of your local video rental establishment. Unnerving invited writers to be inspired by the likes of Critters, Squirm and Chopping Mall to produce stories including (among other things) toxic waste related oddities, stupid jocks, and huge wounds. With Blood Lake Monster, Miller well and truly stuck to the brief. The story starts with the Daniels family in their trailer by the river in the small town of Tweed, Ontario, which we quickly learn is not a pleasant place to be, particularly for Maribel, who is in her late teens, and ready to escape to college. Her mum works nonstop to try to keep the family afloat, and her younger sister, Anya, seems to have also realised how uncool she is. Worse still, she’s a target for the local bullies, Luke, Jason and Brad. One evening, when Maribel is walking home from a late shift at work, she is confronted by the bullies. She manages to flee to the lake where, earlier that evening, as result of burst tyre, a vehicle lost its load of chemical barrels. As you can probably guess, from here comes our toxic waste related oddities and as the story unfold we find out whether and in what ways the jock bullies are forced to pay for their crimes. While maintaining its B-movie influences, the plot did offer a number of surprises. I wasn’t expecting the time jump to come when it did, but it served the story well. It allowed the legend of the Blood Lake Monster to develop in the area over the intervening years. The legend itself is that a scorned woman can pray to the monster, and if she brings her man to the lake, the monster will put an end to him. I also wasn’t expecting to feel sympathy for the monster until I learned of its origin. The time jump also allowed Anya to grown up, and adult Anya is a far more interesting character. Some scenes only exist for the monster to show its teeth, and attack with ferocity. Yes, it kills characters who we’ve only just met, and don’t much care for, but it remains entertaining, and as we get the monster’s point of view, it does help to develop that character. In this way, it revels in its B-movie influences. Hence, the suggestion that a large fish could have simply pulled a man from a boat and killed him is considered to be entirely feasible. Blood Lake Monster is simple, and it’s fun. Like other books in the Rewind or Die series, it’s a quick read. Most of the characters are little more than stereotypes, with the exception of the monster itself, which is undoubtedly the star of the piece, as you’d hope in a novel like this. If you pick up this book with little expectation in terms of character development, and if you’re into pieces that are willing to give the monster a fair share of the leading role, you might enjoy this. Review by Benjamin Langley  Maribel Daniels is weeks away from escaping her hometown, but vanishes while walking home from work. The same night, a truck overturns on a bridge, spilling chemicals into the lake and turning the water red.Her sister, Anya, returns years later to find out what happened to Maribel, but every truth she uncovers reveals another lie. When she finally solves the mystery of her sister’s disappearance, Anya realizes she’s the only one who can put an end to the Blood Lake Monster.Is she willing to sacrifice everything for the town that ruined her life?   the heart and soul of horror fiction reviewsComments are closed.
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