What do you think?
Rate this book
Savage Species #3
Dark Zone
Peaceful Valley is about to become a slaughterhouse!
For the first time ever, Samhain Publishing will serialize a terrifying original novel, Savage Species, in five installments, with new installments coming every two weeks.
The construction of the Peaceful Valley Nature Preserve, a sprawling, isolated state park, has stirred an evil that has lain dormant for nearly a century, and all the men, women and children unlucky enough to be attending the grand opening are about to encounter the most horrific creatures to ever walk the earth.
Part Dark Zone
Charly, Sam, Jesse and the others must do battle with the Children in the labyrinthine subterranean world that the creatures call home. But the situation grows bleaker when many of the survivors are captured and borne deeper into the lightless caverns…where a new and even more horrific species awaits.
For the first time ever, Samhain Publishing will serialize a terrifying original novel, Savage Species, in five installments, with new installments coming every two weeks.
The construction of the Peaceful Valley Nature Preserve, a sprawling, isolated state park, has stirred an evil that has lain dormant for nearly a century, and all the men, women and children unlucky enough to be attending the grand opening are about to encounter the most horrific creatures to ever walk the earth.
Part Dark Zone
Charly, Sam, Jesse and the others must do battle with the Children in the labyrinthine subterranean world that the creatures call home. But the situation grows bleaker when many of the survivors are captured and borne deeper into the lightless caverns…where a new and even more horrific species awaits.
- GenresHorror
75 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 2, 2013
1 person is currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Janz
61 books2,103 followersJonathan Janz is an author and public schoolteacher. His sci-fi horror novel VEIL is now available, and you can find his story "Lenora" in THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: NEW TALES OF STEPHEN KING'S THE STAND. He’s represented for Film & TV by Adam Kolbrenner of Lit Entertainment, and his literary agent is Lane Heymont. His ghost story The Siren and the Specter was selected as a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novels Children of the Dark and The Dark Game were chosen by Booklist and Library Journal as Top Ten Horror Books of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children. You can sign up for his newsletter (http://jonathanjanz.us12.list-manage....), and you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, and Goodreads.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 23, 2014
At this point in Janz's serial horror novel, all bets are off. The Children started off going berserk on everyone within arm's reach, and they have only gotten worse.
Sam and Charly are in the caverns searching for Charly's infant son, with Eric and his mistress in tow, but now Jesse, Emma, and the gang are winding their ways through the caverns as well. Only the Scooby gang from Hell are on the run, with the Children hot on their heels, and there's no guarantee there is a way out and may only be burrowing deeper into the monsters' territory.
Frank Red Elk shines in this installment with his lecherous and lewd behavior, even when faced a truly bowel-loosening threat scratching at his door. And when it becomes clear that this man has long been told about the threats beneath the earth, even suffering a traumatic event that gave him a glimpse of what lurks in the caverns, it's a lot easier to see how the guy might turn to every excess available to numb his brain to the terror beneath his feet.
Eric Florence, on the other hand, is a character I'm having a hard time buying into, with such a villainous streak that his overt antagonism feels cartoonish at times. Granted, I've crossed paths in real life with people who need only grow mustaches that they may twirl in order to complete the picture of stereotypical villains. So, I can cut a little slack as far as a resentful, spiteful, cheating husband goes in this novel.
As far the action goes, it's intense. The claustrophobic caverns come through loud and clear. The Children are just nuts. And it looks like there might be something even worse in those caverns with Jesse and the gang, and it was hard to imagine how things could get worse for them. Fortunately, that's Jonathan Janz's job, imagining ways for things to get worse, and he does it well.
Two more installments to go, and there's no telling who will make it out alive--assuming anyone does.
July 12, 2013
If you thought it couldn't get worse for the Peaceful Valley state park campground massacre survivors....well, it does! After venturing belowground in an effort to escape the horrors of the Children, thanks to area resident Frank Red Elk, they're wholly unprepared for the terror of the Dark Zone. Taut and terrifying, Janz has crafted a fun and nasty horror frolic of a read, which has left this reviewer hungry for Part 4! Highly recommended...
June 29, 2013
This review courtesy of horrornovelreviews.com
After reading the first installment I was on the hook for the rest of the series. The lead characters, the mystery of these vile creatures, the pacing and the writing were all done very well. My problem was that I couldn’t wait until the 18th of June for it to drop! Thanks to Jonathan Janz’s generosity however, I was able to read the next installment before its release.
The Children picks up exactly where part one left off, so if you’ve not read that one yet, this review could spoil portions of that part. READER BEWARE.
Continuing on from the cliffhanger ending of part one the story moves at a pace that’s akin to a big budget blockbuster thriller. For about the first twenty-five percent of the book you have crazy car chases, bloody action, and enough panic stricken moments to give you chills.
Through this though, you get to witness the evolution of certain characters, Jesse being the one brought into the spot light a bit more while trying to find Emma after she disappeared with Marc Greely earlier in the evening. He is able to really build the suspense and action without forgetting to build the characters. From building heroes, to building the characters you despise from this group, it’s all fluid and natural, and even surprising. That is a trait that is very hard to come by in an author.
The only nit-picky thing I have with this group of characters is the conversation regarding push-up bras and why someone needed them etc, while dealing with Frank Red Elk. While it’s probably something that he would bring up based on his character it just seemed out of place here due to the gravity of the situation at hand. I won’t say any more about this section because really the entire thing with Colleen, Jesse, Emma, and the rest of the park crew that’s left should be experienced.
With all the excitement of the above group, he didn’t forget about Charly and Eric Florence. The pacing of this portion is a bit different than with the group at the park. He really takes the time to build the characters, and the tension, both romantic, and violent. They are flawlessly interwoven.
Sam and Charly are trying to find where her son was taken to, while Eric is more concerned with the fact that she is with Sam rather than what’s going on with his son. Eric is truly a despicable character and Jonathan gets this point across very well. Not in so much as how he acts towards Sam and Charly, but with his inner dialogue. It’s like stepping into his shoes, looking into a mirror with his eyes, and reading his inner thoughts. It was very, very well done.
Of course with this being only second installment, you have lots of questions unanswered, and I’m still trying to figure out who Frank Red Elk, how he knew about The Children, and if his role will play a much bigger part in the story.
The Bottom Line: I’ve got to wait again?? Well, here *goes to amazon, clicks pre-order on the remaining installments* take my money already! *makes it rain*
I’ll get pleasant surprises every couple weeks when these things drop on to my kindle. Jonathan Janz, way to keep me invested in the story. While the violence is high and the scene with one of The Children getting his dick cut off was quite disgusting, this portion made me actually care about the characters more than I did the first time around. I’m invested in the mystery and I’m invested in the well-being of the characters.
After reading the first installment I was on the hook for the rest of the series. The lead characters, the mystery of these vile creatures, the pacing and the writing were all done very well. My problem was that I couldn’t wait until the 18th of June for it to drop! Thanks to Jonathan Janz’s generosity however, I was able to read the next installment before its release.
The Children picks up exactly where part one left off, so if you’ve not read that one yet, this review could spoil portions of that part. READER BEWARE.
Continuing on from the cliffhanger ending of part one the story moves at a pace that’s akin to a big budget blockbuster thriller. For about the first twenty-five percent of the book you have crazy car chases, bloody action, and enough panic stricken moments to give you chills.
Through this though, you get to witness the evolution of certain characters, Jesse being the one brought into the spot light a bit more while trying to find Emma after she disappeared with Marc Greely earlier in the evening. He is able to really build the suspense and action without forgetting to build the characters. From building heroes, to building the characters you despise from this group, it’s all fluid and natural, and even surprising. That is a trait that is very hard to come by in an author.
The only nit-picky thing I have with this group of characters is the conversation regarding push-up bras and why someone needed them etc, while dealing with Frank Red Elk. While it’s probably something that he would bring up based on his character it just seemed out of place here due to the gravity of the situation at hand. I won’t say any more about this section because really the entire thing with Colleen, Jesse, Emma, and the rest of the park crew that’s left should be experienced.
With all the excitement of the above group, he didn’t forget about Charly and Eric Florence. The pacing of this portion is a bit different than with the group at the park. He really takes the time to build the characters, and the tension, both romantic, and violent. They are flawlessly interwoven.
Sam and Charly are trying to find where her son was taken to, while Eric is more concerned with the fact that she is with Sam rather than what’s going on with his son. Eric is truly a despicable character and Jonathan gets this point across very well. Not in so much as how he acts towards Sam and Charly, but with his inner dialogue. It’s like stepping into his shoes, looking into a mirror with his eyes, and reading his inner thoughts. It was very, very well done.
Of course with this being only second installment, you have lots of questions unanswered, and I’m still trying to figure out who Frank Red Elk, how he knew about The Children, and if his role will play a much bigger part in the story.
The Bottom Line: I’ve got to wait again?? Well, here *goes to amazon, clicks pre-order on the remaining installments* take my money already! *makes it rain*
I’ll get pleasant surprises every couple weeks when these things drop on to my kindle. Jonathan Janz, way to keep me invested in the story. While the violence is high and the scene with one of The Children getting his dick cut off was quite disgusting, this portion made me actually care about the characters more than I did the first time around. I’m invested in the mystery and I’m invested in the well-being of the characters.
December 14, 2013
An enjoyable continuation of the serialised novel, Savage Species, Janz brings a more intimate feel to proceedings with only a dozen or so characters left and divided into two groups that seem to be headed toward an ill-fated meeting in the bowels of the earth. Some backstory is supplied and there's a nice little addition to the monsters-in-the-dark theme that changed things up in an unexpected manner. Overall, this sets things up nicely for the final two parts.
4 Bat Beings for Dark Zone.
4 Bat Beings for Dark Zone.
July 10, 2013
Addicted to this book. Part 3 of this 5 installment book gives us some amazing character work, fantastical action, and hilarious content coupled with spine tingling fear. Love it and ready for part 4!!
June 20, 2015
Starting to get a few answers now!
July 22, 2013
My favorite installment yet!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews