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Upon My Worst Enemy: A WWII horror novel
Toward the close of World War Two, a foundering, lone German Uboat runs aground on a tiny nameless island in the North Atlantic. Just miles below the arctic circle, the German U-boat captain finds himself and his surviving crew stranded on a hostile rock in the middle of the frozen, pitching sea. Their ship destroyed, their supplies ruined, the German sailors quickly discover that they aren’t alone on the barren island. A small squad of Navy engineers, the working Seabees were already on the tiny island to build a small radio repeater station for the allies. With no place to retreat to, the two foes will face off in a brutal battle of attrition on the inhospitable island. The only hope for the Germans and the Americans alike is to survive long enough to meet the ship that is scheduled to pick up the Seabees, once their task is completed. The American squad is outnumbered, but far better prepared for battle and the deadly conditions. Neither side, however, could ever have been prepared for the third inhabitant on the god-forsaken rock.
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 22, 2014
I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned this or not, but I love historical horror. The concept of inserting a terrifying story into living history takes a true talent, but I’ve read several stories and books over the years that pull it off with ease. Such is the case with UPON MY WORST ENEMY, a recent release from author Mike Wellins. In this novel, Wellins uses World War II as the backdrop for his horror yarn, one of my personal favorite time periods in history. And although the books is not perfect, it is a hell of a read and one I highly recommend.
I’m not sure what it is about horror stories set within wars that enthralls me, but there’s something about the idea that sets my interest ablaze. Maybe it’s because war is such a horrific thing to begin with, and adding another terrifying element to that compounds it so; or maybe it’s because war can bring out the best and worst of humanity, which makes the perfect companion to the premise of a horror tale. I don’t know. But regardless, I enjoy the concept greatly, and this book is a welcome addition.
UPON MY WORST ENEMY is written fairly well, although I will confess there are bits of clunky prose here and there. The storyline is fluid, however, and the plot never bogs down. Wellins writes with a unique voice, an attribute which deepens the immersion-factor into the story. I particularly like this aspect, as it allowed me to fly through the book and finish it within two days.
The characterizations are sufficiently in-depth, and I never once balked at the actions of any of the soldiers. Wellins creates original and well thought-out individuals, not stereotypical personas that readers can find in thousands of other books. This is yet another big plus and one more reason to enjoy this title.
My sole complaint about UPON MY WORST ENEMY is the editing. I ran across several missed edits, including commas in the wrong place, omitted words, and words used incorrectly (i.e. ‘son’ instead of ‘sun’). This is, however, very forgivable in a self-published piece like this; authors cannot necessarily afford to hire an outside editor, therefore they have to do the cutting and fixing themselves. And I speak from personal experience when I say editing can be a very difficult thing to do, especially if you are dissecting your own work.
UPON MY WORST ENEMY is a great book and very enjoyable read. I recommend it to fans of horror or anyone looking for a nice, temporary escape (the book measures in at 230+ pages, and it’s a fast read). It is available now in a variety of formats.
I’m not sure what it is about horror stories set within wars that enthralls me, but there’s something about the idea that sets my interest ablaze. Maybe it’s because war is such a horrific thing to begin with, and adding another terrifying element to that compounds it so; or maybe it’s because war can bring out the best and worst of humanity, which makes the perfect companion to the premise of a horror tale. I don’t know. But regardless, I enjoy the concept greatly, and this book is a welcome addition.
UPON MY WORST ENEMY is written fairly well, although I will confess there are bits of clunky prose here and there. The storyline is fluid, however, and the plot never bogs down. Wellins writes with a unique voice, an attribute which deepens the immersion-factor into the story. I particularly like this aspect, as it allowed me to fly through the book and finish it within two days.
The characterizations are sufficiently in-depth, and I never once balked at the actions of any of the soldiers. Wellins creates original and well thought-out individuals, not stereotypical personas that readers can find in thousands of other books. This is yet another big plus and one more reason to enjoy this title.
My sole complaint about UPON MY WORST ENEMY is the editing. I ran across several missed edits, including commas in the wrong place, omitted words, and words used incorrectly (i.e. ‘son’ instead of ‘sun’). This is, however, very forgivable in a self-published piece like this; authors cannot necessarily afford to hire an outside editor, therefore they have to do the cutting and fixing themselves. And I speak from personal experience when I say editing can be a very difficult thing to do, especially if you are dissecting your own work.
UPON MY WORST ENEMY is a great book and very enjoyable read. I recommend it to fans of horror or anyone looking for a nice, temporary escape (the book measures in at 230+ pages, and it’s a fast read). It is available now in a variety of formats.
July 7, 2014
Place...Inhospitable island somewhere in the North Atlantic. Time...toward the end of WWII. Americans and Nazis find themselves stranded on a barren piece of land and, as if horrors of war were not enough, Wellins through a carnivorous giant creature in the mix. This should have been SO good, it had all the makings of a good book, except for the writing, which fell curiously flat most of the time, not to mention was in serious (not quite distracting, but almost so) need of editing. The characters were, for the most part, underdeveloped, which left it difficult to care for them as were taken out one by one. The creature doesn't make an appearance until 80 or so pages into the book and that's when the fun really started. From then on the book improved noticeably and the ending definitely redeemed some points. The book also featured original artwork, which was nice, but would have been way more so had the artist chose more interesting scenes to portray. Notably, for a creature feature there isn't a single depiction of it. The readers must do what readers do and completely rely on their imaginations. Great concept, great creature, great backstory on the creature, all somewhat dragged down by middling narrative, but not enough to keep it from being a quick fairly entertaining and fun read.
December 6, 2024
This book was chilling, brutal, and impossible to put down. The descriptions made the harsh conditions feel real, which made for a discomfort I haven't felt while reading a novel before. If you want the grit of WWII and a little spice of the supernatural, pick this one up.
June 17, 2014
Upon My Own Worst Enemy: A WWII Horror Novel by Mike Wellins
“Toward the close of World War Two, a foundering, lone German U-boat runs aground on a tiny nameless island in the North Atlantic. Just miles below the arctic circle, the German U-boat captain finds himself and his surviving crew stranded on a hostile rock in the middle of the frozen, pitching sea. Their ship destroyed, their supplies ruined, the German sailors quickly discover that they aren’t alone on the barren island. A small squad of Navy engineers, the working Seabees were already on the tiny island to build a small radio repeater station for the allies. With no place to retreat to, the two foes will face off in a brutal battle of attrition on the inhospitable island. The only hope for the Germans and the Americans alike is to survive long enough to meet the ship that is scheduled to pick up the Seabees, once their task is completed. The American squad is outnumbered, but far better prepared for battle and the deadly conditions. Neither side, however, could ever have been prepared for the third inhabitant on the god-forsaken rock…”
Upon a nameless, seemingly desolate, rocky outcrop somewhere in the North Atlantic, Mike Wellins has come up with the ingenious situation of forcing two groups of soldiers to fight each other when both sides mainly consist of men who have chosen to fight the war as far from the battlefield as possible. This dynamic works extremely well as a catalyst for action, as each group force each other’s hand because they believe that killing each other is what they are supposed to do. But nature has other plans for those that escape the carnage of bullets and bombs. Something lurks amongst the black volcanic crags, feasting on the bullet riddled flesh of those lucky enough to be dead.
Wellins pulls no punches with this novel as both sides resort to dirty tricks in order to gain the upper hand over the enemy. There will be no heroes at the end of this bloodletting. Only those that survive long enough to tell their tale. They’ve all entered into a war they didn’t want to fight in, now fighting is their only way out. As soon as you get to know a character, Wellins flicks them from the page with an often bloody end. It’s as if he’s picking the next victim from a hat in order to decide who gets disposed of next.
I loved every moment of ‘Upon My Own Worst Enemy’; it’s brilliant escapist action mixing Predator, Aliens, Southern Comfort, The Expendables, Castaway, King Kong and any other “Man Vs Something out there and it ain’t no man” film I’ve ever seen. For its setting, I can’t think of a book like it.
Slotted in between the pages is some storming black and white artwork by Colin Batty, which gives the reader a sense of the action and bleak desolation the characters find themselves in. The sparseness, but sheer drama of the illustrations gave me nostalgic shivers of comics such as Warlord, Eagle and Commando.
If you like horror, buy this. If you like action, buy this. If you’re reading this, buy this. Wellins writes with a confident knowledge and it’s clear he’s done his homework on the subject matter in regards to WWII. The prose is sparse, clipped of fat and brutal, almost as if someone had given Hemmingway a machine gun and a typewriter told him to write about a monstrous conflict worse than mankind could possibly imagine.
5/5
“Toward the close of World War Two, a foundering, lone German U-boat runs aground on a tiny nameless island in the North Atlantic. Just miles below the arctic circle, the German U-boat captain finds himself and his surviving crew stranded on a hostile rock in the middle of the frozen, pitching sea. Their ship destroyed, their supplies ruined, the German sailors quickly discover that they aren’t alone on the barren island. A small squad of Navy engineers, the working Seabees were already on the tiny island to build a small radio repeater station for the allies. With no place to retreat to, the two foes will face off in a brutal battle of attrition on the inhospitable island. The only hope for the Germans and the Americans alike is to survive long enough to meet the ship that is scheduled to pick up the Seabees, once their task is completed. The American squad is outnumbered, but far better prepared for battle and the deadly conditions. Neither side, however, could ever have been prepared for the third inhabitant on the god-forsaken rock…”
Upon a nameless, seemingly desolate, rocky outcrop somewhere in the North Atlantic, Mike Wellins has come up with the ingenious situation of forcing two groups of soldiers to fight each other when both sides mainly consist of men who have chosen to fight the war as far from the battlefield as possible. This dynamic works extremely well as a catalyst for action, as each group force each other’s hand because they believe that killing each other is what they are supposed to do. But nature has other plans for those that escape the carnage of bullets and bombs. Something lurks amongst the black volcanic crags, feasting on the bullet riddled flesh of those lucky enough to be dead.
Wellins pulls no punches with this novel as both sides resort to dirty tricks in order to gain the upper hand over the enemy. There will be no heroes at the end of this bloodletting. Only those that survive long enough to tell their tale. They’ve all entered into a war they didn’t want to fight in, now fighting is their only way out. As soon as you get to know a character, Wellins flicks them from the page with an often bloody end. It’s as if he’s picking the next victim from a hat in order to decide who gets disposed of next.
I loved every moment of ‘Upon My Own Worst Enemy’; it’s brilliant escapist action mixing Predator, Aliens, Southern Comfort, The Expendables, Castaway, King Kong and any other “Man Vs Something out there and it ain’t no man” film I’ve ever seen. For its setting, I can’t think of a book like it.
Slotted in between the pages is some storming black and white artwork by Colin Batty, which gives the reader a sense of the action and bleak desolation the characters find themselves in. The sparseness, but sheer drama of the illustrations gave me nostalgic shivers of comics such as Warlord, Eagle and Commando.
If you like horror, buy this. If you like action, buy this. If you’re reading this, buy this. Wellins writes with a confident knowledge and it’s clear he’s done his homework on the subject matter in regards to WWII. The prose is sparse, clipped of fat and brutal, almost as if someone had given Hemmingway a machine gun and a typewriter told him to write about a monstrous conflict worse than mankind could possibly imagine.
5/5
July 29, 2014
Upon My Own Worst Enemy: A WWII Horror Novel by Mike Wellins
“Toward the close of World War Two, a foundering, lone German U-boat runs aground on a tiny nameless island in the North Atlantic. Just miles below the arctic circle, the German U-boat captain finds himself and his surviving crew stranded on a hostile rock in the middle of the frozen, pitching sea. Their ship destroyed, their supplies ruined, the German sailors quickly discover that they aren’t alone on the barren island. A small squad of Navy engineers, the working Seabees were already on the tiny island to build a small radio repeater station for the allies. With no place to retreat to, the two foes will face off in a brutal battle of attrition on the inhospitable island. The only hope for the Germans and the Americans alike is to survive long enough to meet the ship that is scheduled to pick up the Seabees, once their task is completed. The American squad is outnumbered, but far better prepared for battle and the deadly conditions. Neither side, however, could ever have been prepared for the third inhabitant on the god-forsaken rock…”
Upon a nameless, seemingly desolate, rocky outcrop somewhere in the North Atlantic, Mike Wellins has come up with the ingenious situation of forcing two groups of soldiers to fight each other when both sides mainly consist of men who have chosen to fight the war as far from the battlefield as possible. This dynamic works extremely well as a catalyst for action, as each group force each other’s hand because they believe that killing each other is what they are supposed to do. But nature has other plans for those that escape the carnage of bullets and bombs. Something lurks amongst the black volcanic crags, feasting on the bullet riddled flesh of those lucky enough to be dead.
Wellins pulls no punches with this novel as both sides resort to dirty tricks in order to gain the upper hand over the enemy. There will be no heroes at the end of this bloodletting. Only those that survive long enough to tell their tale. They’ve all entered into a war they didn’t want to fight in, now fighting is their only way out. As soon as you get to know a character, Wellins flicks them from the page with an often bloody end. It’s as if he’s picking the next victim from a hat in order to decide who gets disposed of next.
I loved every moment of ‘Upon My Own Worst Enemy’; it’s brilliant escapist action mixing Predator, Aliens, Southern Comfort, The Expendables, Castaway, King Kong and any other “Man Vs Something out there and it ain’t no man” film I’ve ever seen. For its setting, I can’t think of a book like it.
Slotted in between the pages is some storming black and white artwork by Colin Batty, which gives the reader a sense of the action and bleak desolation the characters find themselves in. The sparseness, but sheer drama of the illustrations gave me nostalgic shivers of comics such as Warlord, Eagle and Commando.
If you like horror, buy this. If you like action, buy this. If you’re reading this, buy this. Wellins writes with a confident knowledge and it’s clear he’s done his homework on the subject matter in regards to WWII. The prose is sparse, clipped of fat and brutal, almost as if someone had given Hemmingway a machine gun and a typewriter told him to write about a monstrous conflict worse than mankind could possibly imagine.
5/5
“Toward the close of World War Two, a foundering, lone German U-boat runs aground on a tiny nameless island in the North Atlantic. Just miles below the arctic circle, the German U-boat captain finds himself and his surviving crew stranded on a hostile rock in the middle of the frozen, pitching sea. Their ship destroyed, their supplies ruined, the German sailors quickly discover that they aren’t alone on the barren island. A small squad of Navy engineers, the working Seabees were already on the tiny island to build a small radio repeater station for the allies. With no place to retreat to, the two foes will face off in a brutal battle of attrition on the inhospitable island. The only hope for the Germans and the Americans alike is to survive long enough to meet the ship that is scheduled to pick up the Seabees, once their task is completed. The American squad is outnumbered, but far better prepared for battle and the deadly conditions. Neither side, however, could ever have been prepared for the third inhabitant on the god-forsaken rock…”
Upon a nameless, seemingly desolate, rocky outcrop somewhere in the North Atlantic, Mike Wellins has come up with the ingenious situation of forcing two groups of soldiers to fight each other when both sides mainly consist of men who have chosen to fight the war as far from the battlefield as possible. This dynamic works extremely well as a catalyst for action, as each group force each other’s hand because they believe that killing each other is what they are supposed to do. But nature has other plans for those that escape the carnage of bullets and bombs. Something lurks amongst the black volcanic crags, feasting on the bullet riddled flesh of those lucky enough to be dead.
Wellins pulls no punches with this novel as both sides resort to dirty tricks in order to gain the upper hand over the enemy. There will be no heroes at the end of this bloodletting. Only those that survive long enough to tell their tale. They’ve all entered into a war they didn’t want to fight in, now fighting is their only way out. As soon as you get to know a character, Wellins flicks them from the page with an often bloody end. It’s as if he’s picking the next victim from a hat in order to decide who gets disposed of next.
I loved every moment of ‘Upon My Own Worst Enemy’; it’s brilliant escapist action mixing Predator, Aliens, Southern Comfort, The Expendables, Castaway, King Kong and any other “Man Vs Something out there and it ain’t no man” film I’ve ever seen. For its setting, I can’t think of a book like it.
Slotted in between the pages is some storming black and white artwork by Colin Batty, which gives the reader a sense of the action and bleak desolation the characters find themselves in. The sparseness, but sheer drama of the illustrations gave me nostalgic shivers of comics such as Warlord, Eagle and Commando.
If you like horror, buy this. If you like action, buy this. If you’re reading this, buy this. Wellins writes with a confident knowledge and it’s clear he’s done his homework on the subject matter in regards to WWII. The prose is sparse, clipped of fat and brutal, almost as if someone had given Hemmingway a machine gun and a typewriter told him to write about a monstrous conflict worse than mankind could possibly imagine.
5/5
April 29, 2018
On up to the ending
A German officer would have known that as a prisoner of war, he would have been fairly treated. Especially by the navy. Even u boat crews were treated well when captured. We used the same tactics with our submarines as they did. Unsatisfying ending.
A German officer would have known that as a prisoner of war, he would have been fairly treated. Especially by the navy. Even u boat crews were treated well when captured. We used the same tactics with our submarines as they did. Unsatisfying ending.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews