Devour

Simply Brilliant. You can tell straight away that the Author has a talent for writing. This was such an easy book to read, and so well written. However after reading this I will probably never go in the water again. As soon as I read the opening to this book I was hooked. It’s hard to imagine a primordial creature that big waking up after being frozen in the Arctic Circle, and being hungry – very hungry. Then having a taste for humans, and enjoying the hunt! Each time I got to a part in the book where the Author started talking about someone in a boat, I thought "Oh No" its coming. There aren’t enough words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It really is a story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Do yourself a favour and read this book.

I cannot remember the last time that, within 60 seconds of finishing a book, I scrambled to my computer in a rush to leave feedback. This book -- and a debut novel. at that -- was incredible. Stunning. Mesmerizing. Chilling. An adrenaline rush of a magnitude that's plain old off the charts, with non-stop action and multiple sub-plots, all of which were engaging and throat-grabbing in their intensity. I just can't stop gushing... that's how impressed I am with this new voice in fiction.

Mr. Anderson nailed every single thing. The characters were interesting, ranging from diabolically evil to supremely brave. All were multi-faceted, mixing good with bad... with the exception of a few really, really irredeemably bad guys. Anderson is very obviously a seaman of the first order, as his descriptions of the boats, their mechanics, what they can and can't do in the water, and his goosebump-inducing depictions of what can go wrong and how to react to a whole slew of catastrophes is impressive. Granted, I'm a novice boater (if that); nevertheless, his descriptions seemed logical and well-explained to me... and scared the bejesus out of me more than once.

For many readers who've not yet made a decision on whether or not to give this book a try, fearing it'll be a poor imitation of "Jaws", let me say that, as far as I'm concerned, it leaves that old classic in the dust. And, strange as it may sound, I actually felt sympathy and admiration for the sea creature... and hope it survived (the ending kind of leaves that open). This is a beast with intelligence, the ability to learn from its mistakes and alter its actions accordingly, develops fairly creative attack strategies... well, you get the point. This is not a mindless monster who's angry and kills out of not just hunger but hate; this is a creature older than man himself, and just wants and needs to eat after being in hibernation on the ocean floor for millennia. It does not hate; it is simply bred to survive. You even get the feeling that, at the end (small SPOILER ALERT), it has a certain level of respect for it's final foe.

I sincerely hope than Anderson considers a sequel to this story; I would buy it in a heartbeat. I also hope, however, that if he does... he'll understand at least this reader's attraction to this formidable creature, and I suspect I won't be alone in my opinion. Finally, I want to say I truly LOVED the way he ended the story; it was satisfying on several levels, and most definitely could be the easy start to "Devour 2". Write on, Mr. Anderson. You have a brilliant future! Can Hollywood be far behind??

*** This book was provided to me by the publisher and/or the author as an ARC in return for my honest review. ***

Is the title of this book - “Devour” - meant to be subliminal, to affect the reader's subconscious?
Maybe yes. Maybe not. What’s certain is that this book really makes you read it quickly, literally "devour” it: the writing is very good, the tension building up scene by scene.

A word of warning. At the beginning, the story is a bit slow to develop, and the reader is faced with fishers’ and sailors’ jargon. Clench your teeth and go on. You'll find that Kurt Anderson is really a skilled writer: he builds the characters step by step (somewhat even the enormous "devourer"); he plays with the reader’s desire to know the answer of the puzzling behavior of the bad guys; and from a certain point of the story he doesn’t spare twists and surprises.

Is this a novel to read? My answer (slightly subliminal) is: yes, definitely!

Humans Make Good Snacks!

I just had the fun of reading Devour by Kurt Anderson.

Now, those who know me know that I love books where giant chompy things decide that humans make the best snacks and this is a good one. I try not to divulge the exact nature of our chompy things in my review. I’ll just say that this is big. Very, very big. And very, very hungry.

Anderson does a bit of a slow build up in this one. While you get a bit of blood in the beginning of the book, Anderson spends a bit more time developing his characters. You have to wait for the majority of the action. But when it comes, it comes in spades. The body count is high. Bullets fly. Teeth gnash. And you’ll grab your popcorn and race through to the end of the book.

So, kind of a slow start, but once things get going, you’re in for a wild and bloody ride. I hope the author brings us more chompy things in the future!