Michael Cole (7)

Arachnoid by Michael Cole was an okay read as a giant genetically engineered spider stalks it’s prey in the northern Michigan woods. With a plot that seems taken from a B movie, we have the usual groups of people that are being hunted by this creature and it’s quite easy to figure out who is going to end up wrapped in webbing and who is going to come out this alive. We have a small group of friends with some issues spending some time at an isolated cabin, some greedy corporate types, a show more big game hunter with a grudge against the dodgy scientist that developed the arachnoid along with his hunting partner wife. The plot relies heavily on human greed and error to amp up the suspense.

Personally I am more frightened of regular size spiders than of this humongous sized one that you can hear coming but the author thoughtfully supplied some other villains to root against. Like a low budget B movie there were definitely some fun parts and all I was missing was the popcorn. show less

I read this one on Audiobook form, which is well narrated by Matt Godfrey, although sometimes when he mixes Riler and the leading male of "The Trio", sometimes the voices get a little 'fishy'. He is a great narrator and he led this story along smoothly.

Of course any shark novel reminds one of Jaws by necessity - and we get a few big ship versus nature battles - and he is a big cop who has come to a small town. There similarities end, however, as the story is rich with characterization of show more the flawed and traumatized Riker, the struggling and optimistic newbie Metzler, the well-meaning and father Chief Crawford, the politically twisted acting Mayor, and the heroic marine biologist Dr. Stafford and his partner, Nash. "The Trio" is a demented shark-hunting family that makes Quint appear like a heroic lead. Marine life is discussed more in detail with hideous practices of shark fin hunting, orca tagging and life, and I even learned a little about groupers.

While the reason these grew in enormous size and aggressive actions may seem cheesy on the surface, it bears some realistic weight. I don't want to reveal all here in the review as that reasoning and reveal is a fun part of the story to solve with the scientists as you swim along.

This is a highly recommended, fun story without any boring moments, strong character richness, a truly terrifying water-chomper, and solid pacing. Whether in audiobook or written form - it seems to be on Kindle Unlimited as well - check it out if you're a fan of water creature horror. show less

3.5 stars.
This was a fun, easy and quick read. A feel of Jaws, with a prehistoric fish under a lake in a small town and nobody believing that could be what's causing the strange accidents. A fairly good group of characters, a little clichéd perhaps, but fine nevertheless. The story doesn't take too long to get going and is fairly fast paced once it does, and has a satisfying ending. It's not deep literature but I don't think it's ever pretending to be.
A few little quirks - sudden info dumps show more on people we've just been introduced to, everyone has their clothing described, times are always written in italics for some reason, and the characters are quite obvious stereotypes, but nothing I couldn't get over once I got into it and I ended up very much wanting to find out what happened next. All in all I'd recommend it.

I was given a free copy of this book front Netgalley in return for an honest an unbiased review. show less

3.5 stars.
This was a fun, easy and quick read. A feel of Jaws, with a prehistoric fish under a lake in a small town and nobody believing that could be what's causing the strange accidents. A fairly good group of characters, a little clichéd perhaps, but fine nevertheless. The story doesn't take too long to get going and is fairly fast paced once it does, and has a satisfying ending. It's not deep literature but I don't think it's ever pretending to be.
A few little quirks - sudden info dumps show more on people we've just been introduced to, everyone has their clothing described, times are always written in italics for some reason, and the characters are quite obvious stereotypes, but nothing I couldn't get over once I got into it and I ended up very much wanting to find out what happened next. All in all I'd recommend it.

I was given a free copy of this book front Netgalley in return for an honest an unbiased review. show less