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Call of the Kaiju
A klepto. A druggie. A schoolyard bully -- ten kids in all, lured to a deserted island with the promise of paradise. What they don't know about is the hungry sea monster barreling their way.
And children are on the menu.
From E. Stuart Marlowe, the bestselling author of Menagerie, comes...
CALL OF THE KAIJU
Ten delinquents have arrived, winners of a tropical vacation sweepstakes. Someone has lured them here, and as a bloodbath ensues, those surviving the nightmare discover that they are bait for a much more wicked predator.
And children are on the menu.
From E. Stuart Marlowe, the bestselling author of Menagerie, comes...
CALL OF THE KAIJU
Ten delinquents have arrived, winners of a tropical vacation sweepstakes. Someone has lured them here, and as a bloodbath ensues, those surviving the nightmare discover that they are bait for a much more wicked predator.
- GenresHorror
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 10, 2014
8 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
About the author
E. Stuart Marlowe
12 books8 followersE. Stuart Marlowe is the Amazon bestselling author of Menagerie and Call of the Kaiju. He is also an award-winning filmmaker, who has directed two features, Blood Rush and Horror House. Splatter is loosely based on his experiences producing these films. His third feature, Abruptio, stars Robert Englund, James Marsters, Sid Haig and Jordan Peele. He resides in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 4, 2017
I bought this book when I was reading a large number of kaiju books and was interested to see what Marlowe would bring to the table. Unfortunately, I should have read the reviews first.
The first third or so of the book is all about the children who end up on this island, which ends up being pointless because as soon as the monster shows up fully, the children are forgotten about (except for two of them), and no longer serve a point in the novel. It actually feels as if they are filler and a reason to add some 'horror' to the novel by giving them have a number of issues. (ie: sexual deviancy, extreme violence, drug problems, etc) Had Marlowe done something with them, or if they continued to be the main part of the story, this would have been okay. Unfortunately, this was not the case and thus I was left wondering why so much time was spent on them.
Which takes us to the rest of the book. Marlowe's writing is pretty strong, and they can certainly carry a story, but unfortunately this novel feels like they just flailed around in the kaiju genre and weren't sure where they want to go with this novel. I mean, there's even a sort of steampunk robot that does nothing at all in the story except to eat up word space...
And the ending... it has to be one of the most disappointing endings I've read in awhile. It is a very deus ex machina ending and left me feeling as if the entire story had been for nothing. Sure, other books have had similar endings (not listing here as it would spoil things), but those novels dealt with the evolution and development of the characters, and told an interesting, cohesive story. This novel did not, choosing instead to jump around all over the place.
Kaiju stories are disaster stories, people dealing with something terrifying, destructive, etc. It is those people and their stories that make the story interesting. Marlowe seems to have forgotten that with this novel. If it had stayed concentrating on the children and the monster, it may have gone somewhere, but alas, Marlowe seems to have given up on their young delinquents in favor of changing the direction of the story into something completely different.
If you are looking for a good kaiju story, this is not it unfortunately. Even though the writing is strong, the layout of the story is not, nor is the character development. Mixing too many elements, some meant to shock the reader, just confuses a story that could have stood on its own if it had been tighter.
The first third or so of the book is all about the children who end up on this island, which ends up being pointless because as soon as the monster shows up fully, the children are forgotten about (except for two of them), and no longer serve a point in the novel. It actually feels as if they are filler and a reason to add some 'horror' to the novel by giving them have a number of issues. (ie: sexual deviancy, extreme violence, drug problems, etc) Had Marlowe done something with them, or if they continued to be the main part of the story, this would have been okay. Unfortunately, this was not the case and thus I was left wondering why so much time was spent on them.
Which takes us to the rest of the book. Marlowe's writing is pretty strong, and they can certainly carry a story, but unfortunately this novel feels like they just flailed around in the kaiju genre and weren't sure where they want to go with this novel. I mean, there's even a sort of steampunk robot that does nothing at all in the story except to eat up word space...
And the ending... it has to be one of the most disappointing endings I've read in awhile. It is a very deus ex machina ending and left me feeling as if the entire story had been for nothing. Sure, other books have had similar endings (not listing here as it would spoil things), but those novels dealt with the evolution and development of the characters, and told an interesting, cohesive story. This novel did not, choosing instead to jump around all over the place.
Kaiju stories are disaster stories, people dealing with something terrifying, destructive, etc. It is those people and their stories that make the story interesting. Marlowe seems to have forgotten that with this novel. If it had stayed concentrating on the children and the monster, it may have gone somewhere, but alas, Marlowe seems to have given up on their young delinquents in favor of changing the direction of the story into something completely different.
If you are looking for a good kaiju story, this is not it unfortunately. Even though the writing is strong, the layout of the story is not, nor is the character development. Mixing too many elements, some meant to shock the reader, just confuses a story that could have stood on its own if it had been tighter.
February 21, 2015
I'm not trying to be mean, but I could not finish this book. It was too much for me. The guy's an awesome writer, pulling me back several times, to complete it. Sadly, I could not. There was way too much nasty. I can take a love scene or two, but this bordered perversion. It was useless and took away from the story.
July 1, 2015
Not much kaiju
Simpleminded teen story with a sketchy monster thrown in. Not worth the price but did pass some time. Maybe this author has done better,don't know.
Simpleminded teen story with a sketchy monster thrown in. Not worth the price but did pass some time. Maybe this author has done better,don't know.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews