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Season of the Monster #4
Winter
Jeannie Freeman's disappearance during the Rapid City Middle School's field trip into the neighboring Black Hills of South Dakota was the local tragedy of the decade. Six months later, Detective Dakota 'Dak' Johnson and the girl's mother, Ghini Freeman, unearth a nightmarish Pandora's box infesting the heart of this mystery.
Alongside a growing band of survivors, Ghini had hoped to put an end to the swarm of creatures ravaging their small community. But, more children have gone missing, and the culprit right along with them.
As the looming winter threatens to envelop the landscape, time is of the essence. The creatures have something planned. Devilish machinations that could skirt the greatest threat to their survival -- frigid temperatures.
Could this be the end of Rapid City? Will Ghini and her ragtag family be able to uncover the Vespids' hive in time, or will the Queen's machinations unleash a plague on her home unlike anything she's ever seen?
You thought you knew about monsters, but you don't know about the Queen of them all.
Alongside a growing band of survivors, Ghini had hoped to put an end to the swarm of creatures ravaging their small community. But, more children have gone missing, and the culprit right along with them.
As the looming winter threatens to envelop the landscape, time is of the essence. The creatures have something planned. Devilish machinations that could skirt the greatest threat to their survival -- frigid temperatures.
Could this be the end of Rapid City? Will Ghini and her ragtag family be able to uncover the Vespids' hive in time, or will the Queen's machinations unleash a plague on her home unlike anything she's ever seen?
You thought you knew about monsters, but you don't know about the Queen of them all.
237 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2024
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Humphreys
9 books29 followersAJ Humphreys is an emerging author of spooky thrillers, mysteries, and dreadful tales. The small-town serialized four-volume supernatural mystery saga, Season of The Monster served as his debut within the publishing world.
A member of the Horror Writers’ Association, AJ is also the founder, owner, and chief operating officer of Dark Journeys Press.
When AJ isn’t writing, he can often be found outdoors, possibly walking eighteen holes with his parents, brother, or cousin.
Otherwise, it’s almost a sure bet he will have his best buddy, Kobe The Husky, at his side. Together, they both enjoy hiking, and swimming. AJ operates as an amateur landscape and wildlife photographer, which fits in well with the pair’s thirst for outdoor adventuring!
A member of the Horror Writers’ Association, AJ is also the founder, owner, and chief operating officer of Dark Journeys Press.
When AJ isn’t writing, he can often be found outdoors, possibly walking eighteen holes with his parents, brother, or cousin.
Otherwise, it’s almost a sure bet he will have his best buddy, Kobe The Husky, at his side. Together, they both enjoy hiking, and swimming. AJ operates as an amateur landscape and wildlife photographer, which fits in well with the pair’s thirst for outdoor adventuring!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 9, 2024
SOTM: Winter - AJ Humphreys
Our band of misfits is trying to find the hive and hoping for a cure for Legends with the help of our good friend Bernie. This book had me so emotional since I have been with the group since the beginning.
The absolute growth in this book was noticeable and I hope that there is more to come from this author.
This was an excellent end to the Season and like a hungry Vespid I devoured this so quickly.
What a satisfying end..or is it?
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our band of misfits is trying to find the hive and hoping for a cure for Legends with the help of our good friend Bernie. This book had me so emotional since I have been with the group since the beginning.
The absolute growth in this book was noticeable and I hope that there is more to come from this author.
This was an excellent end to the Season and like a hungry Vespid I devoured this so quickly.
What a satisfying end..or is it?
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 13, 2024
Winter is a satisfying and fitting conclusion of the Season of Monsters series, which is an engrossing small town horror story where a motley group of individuals unite to fight a monster threatening their community.
The first three books set the tone with the disappearance of schoolgirl Jeannie Freeman, resident of a small remote town. Her mother Ghini starts looking for Jeannie with help from her friends Dak and Samuel. Disappearances continue, until one survivor returns to tell the tale. And that’s how we learn about this bee-like creature, aptly named Queenie, who kidnaps young girls to “assimilate” to her “hive”. Queenie calls them her daughters. But one daughter, Velvet, has greater ambitions of her own. As the story unfolds, Ghini’s group grows bigger along with Velvet’s sinister activities.
The book’s premise is interesting. The concept of an insectoid monster is disturbing because it invokes our primal instincts of fear, repulsion and mystery against inhuman creature which operates purely on instincts, is brutal, displays no humanlike emotions, yet operates very efficiently and in a highly organized manner. The small-town setting further intensifies the tension with its remoteness and isolation. The freezing winter is the ultimate cherry on top. Despite the unusual premise, this isn’t a mere monster slasher story. The monsters here have a very precise manner of operating, there’s logic in their behaviour. And hence, our group of heroes and sheroes also need a very strong plan of action. This isn’t a mere horror story, there’s suspense, action, a proper quest and adventure. Yet there are moments of light banter, and intense moments of emotions ranging from rage, hatred, vengeance, love and grief. With such a balanced range of feelings, this book offers a complete emotional rollercoaster, keeping readers turning the pages frantically to find out more.
The book is well written in terms of flow, structure and language. It jumps into action right from the beginning, and readers who’ve read the earlier books wouldn’t have much difficulty picking up. A quick preface fills up the first – timers with the complete backstory so too would easily grasp this book. The pace varies with the tone, going easy in moments of reprieve, but speeding up to enhance the tense times. The dialogues too have been kept short and to the point, without losing the sub contexts. The vivid descriptions and the multiple POV’s almost bring the story to life in the reader’s mind. This is one of the few good books which applies every aspect of writing to completely engross the reader and pull them into their world.
The characters too are well written. While they’re recurring characters from the earlier books, the character arc has been well developed and readers would eventually fall in love with them or love them even more. No character has been wasted; each plays a vital role in Winter. The small-town setup helps in focusing on a few characters without having to introduce more just to fill the ambience.
Winter is one of the perfect endings of a book series. It raises the tension, the mystery and the darkness to the peak, and closes satisfactorily. There are proper explanations to a complex world created, unsolved questions have been answered, and there is no rushed wrap up. Even the most trivial seeming details have been concluded perfectly. And not once would the reader feel that the story is dragging. This is highly recommended to fans of fantasy and horror, and to anyone looking to pick up a book series but is hesitant of bad endings.
Review originally posted at https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/sea...
The first three books set the tone with the disappearance of schoolgirl Jeannie Freeman, resident of a small remote town. Her mother Ghini starts looking for Jeannie with help from her friends Dak and Samuel. Disappearances continue, until one survivor returns to tell the tale. And that’s how we learn about this bee-like creature, aptly named Queenie, who kidnaps young girls to “assimilate” to her “hive”. Queenie calls them her daughters. But one daughter, Velvet, has greater ambitions of her own. As the story unfolds, Ghini’s group grows bigger along with Velvet’s sinister activities.
The book’s premise is interesting. The concept of an insectoid monster is disturbing because it invokes our primal instincts of fear, repulsion and mystery against inhuman creature which operates purely on instincts, is brutal, displays no humanlike emotions, yet operates very efficiently and in a highly organized manner. The small-town setting further intensifies the tension with its remoteness and isolation. The freezing winter is the ultimate cherry on top. Despite the unusual premise, this isn’t a mere monster slasher story. The monsters here have a very precise manner of operating, there’s logic in their behaviour. And hence, our group of heroes and sheroes also need a very strong plan of action. This isn’t a mere horror story, there’s suspense, action, a proper quest and adventure. Yet there are moments of light banter, and intense moments of emotions ranging from rage, hatred, vengeance, love and grief. With such a balanced range of feelings, this book offers a complete emotional rollercoaster, keeping readers turning the pages frantically to find out more.
The book is well written in terms of flow, structure and language. It jumps into action right from the beginning, and readers who’ve read the earlier books wouldn’t have much difficulty picking up. A quick preface fills up the first – timers with the complete backstory so too would easily grasp this book. The pace varies with the tone, going easy in moments of reprieve, but speeding up to enhance the tense times. The dialogues too have been kept short and to the point, without losing the sub contexts. The vivid descriptions and the multiple POV’s almost bring the story to life in the reader’s mind. This is one of the few good books which applies every aspect of writing to completely engross the reader and pull them into their world.
The characters too are well written. While they’re recurring characters from the earlier books, the character arc has been well developed and readers would eventually fall in love with them or love them even more. No character has been wasted; each plays a vital role in Winter. The small-town setup helps in focusing on a few characters without having to introduce more just to fill the ambience.
Winter is one of the perfect endings of a book series. It raises the tension, the mystery and the darkness to the peak, and closes satisfactorily. There are proper explanations to a complex world created, unsolved questions have been answered, and there is no rushed wrap up. Even the most trivial seeming details have been concluded perfectly. And not once would the reader feel that the story is dragging. This is highly recommended to fans of fantasy and horror, and to anyone looking to pick up a book series but is hesitant of bad endings.
Review originally posted at https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/sea...
May 2, 2024
As before, wow! As this series moves along, more children go missing, weird creatures everywhere and Ghini and her crew are still fighting for answers. I was on the edge of my chair and couldn't put this book down. I'm not much for technical "horror" stories but this series has it all; mystery, paranormal, family/friends/love, survival - everything. I would definitely recommend this series but start with the first book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 7, 2024
Thank you, AJ Humphreys and BookSirens
This is the final book of the series. It's really creepy filled with supernatural creatures and jump scares. It answers some questions that were left unanswered. I liked the book.
Lovecraftian
Supernatural
This is the final book of the series. It's really creepy filled with supernatural creatures and jump scares. It answers some questions that were left unanswered. I liked the book.
Lovecraftian
Supernatural
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2024
Thank you, AJ Humphreys and BookSirens
This is the final book of the series. It's really creepy filled with supernatural creatures and jump scares. It answers some questions that were left unanswered. I liked the book.
Lovecraftian
Supernatural
This is the final book of the series. It's really creepy filled with supernatural creatures and jump scares. It answers some questions that were left unanswered. I liked the book.
Lovecraftian
Supernatural
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews