fiction review: Mastodon by STEVE STRED
10/1/2022
Steve Stred kicks off 2022 with an outstandingly bloody creature feature Back in March 2019 I reviewed Steve Stred for the first time for another horror site, giving The Girl Who Hid in the Trees a 3/5 stars and further down the road I covered The One That Knows No Fear which made a stronger impression. Following that, and better still, I was blown away by The Window in the Ground which is both significantly meatier and more complex than those earlier works. Stred’s fiction is clearly on an upward trajectory but I have also enjoyed random dips into his back-catalogue with his Wagon Buddy novellas being other enjoyable reads. The Canadian is incredibly prolific and in 2021 he dived into science fiction with The Future in the Sky, but I found his first release of 2022 Mastodon to be significantly more entertaining and amongst his best work to date which deserves to find a decent audience amongst monster and creature feature horror fans. Mastodon was a genuine out-and-out page-turner which barely draws breath for a moment and if you are after a quick, highly entertaining, not-too-deep read then this highly inventive novella ticks all the boxes. Hell, Mastodon was so much fun authors Hunter Shea or Jason Parent, who specialise in monster mayhem, would have been proud to call this bad boy their own. As a crazy over the top b-feature it was top drawer, which cleverly keeps a fair chunk of the plot nicely shrouded well into proceedings before it evolves into something significantly more sinister than a basic monster-in-the woods story. Once it begins to move through the gears the action is top heavy with some wild set pieces and bloody kills and when you get to the ‘fight or fuck’ sequence you will not be able to pull your eyes from the page! Set in a remote part of the Rocky Mountains Mastodon has a terrific opening hook to quickly suck the reader in which connects a story from seventeen years earlier to the events of the present-day action. Seventeen years previously, Tyler Barton was born in an area called Ogre Peak, whilst his parents were on a hike, immediately after the birth his mother disappeared and was never seen again. Rescue attempts were restricted as this area of the mountains and forest was not open to the public and there were all sorts of rumours of what dodgy Area 51 style business the government might be up to. The wild location was a terrific plus-point to the plot and it adds much atmosphere to proceedings, with Stred explaining in his informative end notes that it was loosely based on a real location and areas of Canada he was familiar with whilst growing up. Over the passing years Tyler and his dad Neil bonded over hiking but have never forgotten his mother and meet up for tough climbs in areas which are hard to access. Early in the story Neil is being flown in the same area as Ogre Peak to meet Tyler’s grandfather and the plane crashes with Tyler being told that he must presume his father is dead and is offered quick money as compensation. Suspecting a rat, he begins to investigate Ogre Peak, which is heavily protected by armed soldiers, fences and cameras. However, Neil has taught his son well who uses his outdoor skills to hunt for his father whom he believes is still alive somewhere in the forest, possibly being held captive against his will and if this is the case, could it be his mother is also alive somewhere also? To say any more of the plot would head into spoiler territory but expect a very wild and crazy ride top-heavy with fantastic imagery. Once the big reveals are dropped some of the plot will undoubtedly remind you of other fiction, but don’t let that put you off Stred brings plenty of his own panache to the table and squeezes his characters through both a physical and emotional meatgrinder and at various points I even hoped he might give them a break (fat chance). Overall Mastodon has terrific pacing with the reader on tenterhooks for what Tyler will eventually discover in the forest and although the reader might guess, Stred is never short of ideas which mix things up and keep the reader both nicely unbalanced and keep for the next reveal. Although Tyler carries the book well and is very mature for a seventeen-year-old kid (almost, but not quite a bad-ass) the action is beefed up by the occasional flashback and plot jumps to his father which also give teasers for where events might head. As things progress the use of technology was terrific and the introduction of the young policeman who had his own personal rescue mission gave Tyler someone to turn to for support and the reader another dude to root for. Stred specialises in fast moving action and even if the characters are sketchily presented you will still be drawn to Tyler. His battle for both rescue and survival in one of the most dangerous places in the world takes this highly compelling adventure yarn which was built around a well-conceived mystery which is far from being a typical creature feature to the next level. Mastodon deserves to pick Steve Stred plenty of new readers and if you are after b-movie style adventure horror then you will hoover this novella up in a couple of evenings. Yes, it is dumb and incredibly far-fetched, but it was very easy to piggyback upon Tyler’s brave shoulders as he battled on his brave journey into the nightmare unknown which was Ogre Peak. Highly recommended. Tony Jones Mastodon |
Archives
May 2023
|
RSS Feed
|
|