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Claws
I'd like to give special thanks to Jason Merrick for the great cover. Alcorn Pet Food Corporation is working with an experimental cat food laced with hormones and appetite enhancers. The special food causes cats to add muscle, gain weight, and exhibit extremely aggressive behavior. When an employee threatens to expose the pet food as a threat to public safety, she finds herself out of work, her home ransacked, and all her carefully gathered proof missing. Meanwhile, animal rights activists release the cats involved in the testing because they are scheduled to be euthanized. These bigger, stronger, and more aggressive animals begin to prey on small game in the area. Then the ravenous cats turn their attention to people. Lovers, runners, hunters, dogs, deer, rabbits, normal cats, and even motorists begin to fall victim to the predations of these enhanced felines. An unemployed scientist, a small special ops team, a grieving father, a chief of security, and a homeless veteran join forces to try to prevent a catastrophe. When a murderer steals the secret formula that created the menace and sells it to eight foreign enemies of the United States, the stakes suddenly get a lot higher, because the most deadly biological weapon ever created has just been released. The genie is out of the bottle and the world will never be the same. To make matters worse, the scientist discovers that the first generation offspring will be even bigger and more aggressive, and then they learn that the food also affects dogs and rats. Disclaimer No animals or people were harmed during the writing of this book. The author does not hate cats, dogs, women and children, animal rights activists, homeless people, hunters, runners, truck drivers, maintenance men, chicken farmers, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, women who text while driving SUVs, or the elderly. However, the author is deathly afraid of anyone who texts while driving because of several near death experiences attributable to such individuals. The author is a cat lover, but he is also a writer. This book started with the basic premise of what if. What would happen if a pet food were tampered with in such a way as to make the animals abnormally large and aggressive? Writing this book was, at times, painful for the author who feeds and pets a feral cat on a regular basis. But as a writer, the author felt the storyline was too good not to write, just because it made him uncomfortable. The setting of this story is in Athens, Alabama, which is where the author resides. Athens was chosen because of his intimate knowledge of the city and the surrounding area. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there are currently no homeless people residing in Athens. The depiction in this book of such an individual is the product of the author’s imagination and is there for storyline purposes only. There is an animal feed manufacturing plant located where the author situated Alcorn Pet Food Corporation in the book. However, it is not configured as described in the book. The author went with that location because of the surrounding terrain, but the real facility is not named Alcorn. The feed produced at that location by the real company is safe. As far as the author knows, there is no real pet food company by the name Alcorn. That company is the product of his imagination. His research on the fictitious name found no connection to the pet food industry. The personalities, traits, and decisions made by government officials in portions of this book are not based on the actual individuals currently holding those offices, or any who have held them in the past. They are the product of the author’s imagination.The epic sequel, Claws 2. After the Apocalypse, is now available in the Kindle store.
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First published December 28, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
October 21, 2022
The fabulous cover speaks horror and I love it! A pet food company messing with Mother Nature…I know that is not going to end well. You may look at your pet a little differently after reading Claws. Is your cute, cuddly little bundle of fur looking at you funny? Is your sweet kitty licking your hand as an appetizer…getting ready to take a chunk out of it? LOL Will that make you sleep better, when kitty curls up on your chest wanting snuggles? The main issue I had was with the ‘romance’. The dialogue did not ring true, but, then, I look at a book like Claws as a B movie, not known for its sophistication, but still a very enjoyable use of my time. Greed and all that comes with it was expected. The head of the ‘operation’ will stop at nothing to get more of that all mighty dollar. Will he get his comeuppance? I loved the ending.
July 27, 2016
-El encanto de la serie B.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Una empresa de alimentación para animales de compañía está diseñando un nuevo producto. Patricia Reese está al frente de la División de Investigación de la compañía y ni la presión del propio presidente de la corporación hará que Patricia otorgue su visto bueno a una fórmula experimental que durante las pruebas ha demostrado aumentar el tamaño, fuerza muscular y agresividad de los gatos que lo han consumido, por lo que la empresa decide despedir a Patricia. Primer libro de la serie Claws.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Una empresa de alimentación para animales de compañía está diseñando un nuevo producto. Patricia Reese está al frente de la División de Investigación de la compañía y ni la presión del propio presidente de la corporación hará que Patricia otorgue su visto bueno a una fórmula experimental que durante las pruebas ha demostrado aumentar el tamaño, fuerza muscular y agresividad de los gatos que lo han consumido, por lo que la empresa decide despedir a Patricia. Primer libro de la serie Claws.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
March 12, 2017
Entertaining, and with enough action to keep the reader entertained, this was a good, solid horror yarn by an independent author. I did find the epilogue a little confusing, It felt like the start of another book. Maybe I was misreading and this was a preview for another book.
October 13, 2018
Patricia is fired when she refuses to falsify paperwork for her boss to cover up that cat food ingrediants are making the cats hungry and dangerous. As the company starts a campaign against her, unsuspecting animal rights activists release the test subjects into the community. And then the killing begins...
I picked this book up free on a website because I liked the idea of killer cats and the cover looked cool. I admit that I didn't rush to read it, thinking it wouldn't be that good. In fact this turned out to be an unexpected little gem of a book! I don't like cats for a varity of reasons including the fact that the buggers keep crapping in my flowerbeds and trying to eat the birds that we feed! So a novel where they are running wild and need to be taken down really appealed to me in a twisted way!
Firstly, the characters in the book are really well written and continue to develop through the story. Patricia's boss really is Mr Evil and the way she was treated makes you like her instantly. She has morals, is honest and refuses to bend to pressure to keep her job and will not be silenced no matter what the company tries to do to her. A lot of the characters like Jerry, Robert and Charlie are also well written and you actually give a damn about what happens to them. That makes a difference in a horror/thriller as they go into danger and you hope that they are going to survive.
This book resists the temptation of the horror novel to go all out for gore and guts to catch your attention. The author has a simple and gripping way of telling the story that had me hooked from the very start. Night scenes are used to geat effect as you know what is lurking out there and you are right with Patricia, peering out into the dark night. It builds up tension in every scene where you know the cats are hiding and stalking some poor human or animal. The army are hunting the cats down in armed squads while a few humans out for revenge over dead relatives are also looking to destroy the predators. Domestic pets are gradually getting angry as the pet food reaches and infects them, taking their owners by surprise and adding new dangers for the good guys. Patricia is trying to account for each lab cat as the bodies of felines and victims start stacking up. And Mr Evil has a plan so much worse than anyone has realised.
I actually cut two paragraphs from the book blurb that appears on Goodreads as I feel that it gives too much of the plot away and I hate that. That's also why I don't want to go into detail about the tension filled scenes in the book. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone.
The good news is that you can get this book FREE on Amazon so why not download it and give yourself a scary treat!
I picked this book up free on a website because I liked the idea of killer cats and the cover looked cool. I admit that I didn't rush to read it, thinking it wouldn't be that good. In fact this turned out to be an unexpected little gem of a book! I don't like cats for a varity of reasons including the fact that the buggers keep crapping in my flowerbeds and trying to eat the birds that we feed! So a novel where they are running wild and need to be taken down really appealed to me in a twisted way!
Firstly, the characters in the book are really well written and continue to develop through the story. Patricia's boss really is Mr Evil and the way she was treated makes you like her instantly. She has morals, is honest and refuses to bend to pressure to keep her job and will not be silenced no matter what the company tries to do to her. A lot of the characters like Jerry, Robert and Charlie are also well written and you actually give a damn about what happens to them. That makes a difference in a horror/thriller as they go into danger and you hope that they are going to survive.
This book resists the temptation of the horror novel to go all out for gore and guts to catch your attention. The author has a simple and gripping way of telling the story that had me hooked from the very start. Night scenes are used to geat effect as you know what is lurking out there and you are right with Patricia, peering out into the dark night. It builds up tension in every scene where you know the cats are hiding and stalking some poor human or animal. The army are hunting the cats down in armed squads while a few humans out for revenge over dead relatives are also looking to destroy the predators. Domestic pets are gradually getting angry as the pet food reaches and infects them, taking their owners by surprise and adding new dangers for the good guys. Patricia is trying to account for each lab cat as the bodies of felines and victims start stacking up. And Mr Evil has a plan so much worse than anyone has realised.
I actually cut two paragraphs from the book blurb that appears on Goodreads as I feel that it gives too much of the plot away and I hate that. That's also why I don't want to go into detail about the tension filled scenes in the book. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone.
The good news is that you can get this book FREE on Amazon so why not download it and give yourself a scary treat!
May 10, 2013
When will they learn? Someone always thinks they can tamper with Mother Nature and it inevitably ends up with bloodshed and death.
The pet food company knows something’s wrong with their product, but the side affects to the cats opens another door. A door with big dollars, when several other countries want the formula for their own.
When the animal rights activists free the cats, they have no idea of the repercussions. These aren’t your ordinary house cats anymore. They are much larger, packed with muscle, longer teeth, and larger claws and they are hungry, always hungry. You don’t dare get between them and their food.
There’s a slow building romance between Patricia, the former head of research at the pet food company, and Jerry, an undercover special ops soldier. What’s a good horror story without some romance and characters to care about.
Throw in some scumbags and mysterious characters with hidden agendas and you have a great tale of suspense, mayhem, and murder.
You might think cats aren’t a big deal, but these cats aren’t ordinary. They’re hormonally enhanced, much more lethal than your normal house cat. They’re also very vicious. Let’s put it this way, they’re spitting mad.
You could probably handle a few when they attack, but when they ambush you in large numbers, you’re kibble.
Imagine what happens when dogs become involved.
After reading Claws, I’ll never look at my pets the same way again. Who knows what’s in that new brand of pet food you just bought?
I liked everything about this book. The author moves you through the scenes smoothly, building the suspense, putting the horror right in your face, and sprinkling many colorful, intriguing characters throughout the story to make this a very exciting read.
The author gives you a killer ending, but leaves an exciting opening for more of this story, which continues in Claws 2. It’s like the last scene in a not so happily ever after movie.
On to read Book Two!
The pet food company knows something’s wrong with their product, but the side affects to the cats opens another door. A door with big dollars, when several other countries want the formula for their own.
When the animal rights activists free the cats, they have no idea of the repercussions. These aren’t your ordinary house cats anymore. They are much larger, packed with muscle, longer teeth, and larger claws and they are hungry, always hungry. You don’t dare get between them and their food.
There’s a slow building romance between Patricia, the former head of research at the pet food company, and Jerry, an undercover special ops soldier. What’s a good horror story without some romance and characters to care about.
Throw in some scumbags and mysterious characters with hidden agendas and you have a great tale of suspense, mayhem, and murder.
You might think cats aren’t a big deal, but these cats aren’t ordinary. They’re hormonally enhanced, much more lethal than your normal house cat. They’re also very vicious. Let’s put it this way, they’re spitting mad.
You could probably handle a few when they attack, but when they ambush you in large numbers, you’re kibble.
Imagine what happens when dogs become involved.
After reading Claws, I’ll never look at my pets the same way again. Who knows what’s in that new brand of pet food you just bought?
I liked everything about this book. The author moves you through the scenes smoothly, building the suspense, putting the horror right in your face, and sprinkling many colorful, intriguing characters throughout the story to make this a very exciting read.
The author gives you a killer ending, but leaves an exciting opening for more of this story, which continues in Claws 2. It’s like the last scene in a not so happily ever after movie.
On to read Book Two!
November 26, 2011
I picked up "Claws" as a free Kindle download the first day I got my new Kindle. I was drawn to it by the cover art, and the description made me giggle so I figured I'd give it a go. The story was everything I was expecting: The book equivalent of a Sy-Fy Original feature.
The basic premise of the story is that a pet food company, Alcorn, has an experimental feed laced with some sort of growth hormone that causes insatiable hunger, rapid growth, and violent aggression. The test subjects, a group of 48 cats, are released into the wild by a misguided Animal Liberation member, and begin wreaking havoc. As the story unfolds, you realize that the problem is much bigger than just these 48 cats.
The Good:
Ricky Sides manages to offer plenty of creative violence. It's obvious from his descriptions that he's familiar with combat, and all the fight scenes are lovingly crafted. The premise, too, is kind of cute: agricultural/biological warfare. His descriptions of how the giant, vicious cats could bring about the extinction of humanity was almost plausible. The whole book has the sort of campy made-for-tv-horror feel that makes you grin while you're reading it, although I'm not sure that was the author's intention here.
The Bad:
There's a number of technical problems with the book. The POV jumps constantly, more characters are introduced than you can possibly keep track of, and the ending is completely from left field. The main character is also largely void of personality and serves as a vessel for expository dialogue more than anything else.
The Ugly:
Speaking of dialogue, it feels like about 2/3rds of the book is dialogue and most of it is pretty terrible. Characters explain the plot in stilted conversations, and the narration follows up to continue explaining what was just discussed -- just in case the reader didn't understand it the first time.
The book also suffers from several typographical errors. Missing words, homonyms, and erratic dialogue tags run rampant in the book (at least the Kindle version). If nothing else, it really could have benefited from a good once-over from a copy-editor before it went live.
Overall:
The book was fun, don't get me wrong. I gleefully sat down and read it cover-to-cover (er...metaphorically), and I spent most of that time grinning in fondness. I've got a soft spot for B-rated horror, and this definitely fills that need. It reminded me a bit of the film Black Sheep, but without the humor.
I don't exactly regret the hours I spent reading it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend anyone pick it up.
The basic premise of the story is that a pet food company, Alcorn, has an experimental feed laced with some sort of growth hormone that causes insatiable hunger, rapid growth, and violent aggression. The test subjects, a group of 48 cats, are released into the wild by a misguided Animal Liberation member, and begin wreaking havoc. As the story unfolds, you realize that the problem is much bigger than just these 48 cats.
The Good:
Ricky Sides manages to offer plenty of creative violence. It's obvious from his descriptions that he's familiar with combat, and all the fight scenes are lovingly crafted. The premise, too, is kind of cute: agricultural/biological warfare. His descriptions of how the giant, vicious cats could bring about the extinction of humanity was almost plausible. The whole book has the sort of campy made-for-tv-horror feel that makes you grin while you're reading it, although I'm not sure that was the author's intention here.
The Bad:
There's a number of technical problems with the book. The POV jumps constantly, more characters are introduced than you can possibly keep track of, and the ending is completely from left field. The main character is also largely void of personality and serves as a vessel for expository dialogue more than anything else.
The Ugly:
Speaking of dialogue, it feels like about 2/3rds of the book is dialogue and most of it is pretty terrible. Characters explain the plot in stilted conversations, and the narration follows up to continue explaining what was just discussed -- just in case the reader didn't understand it the first time.
The book also suffers from several typographical errors. Missing words, homonyms, and erratic dialogue tags run rampant in the book (at least the Kindle version). If nothing else, it really could have benefited from a good once-over from a copy-editor before it went live.
Overall:
The book was fun, don't get me wrong. I gleefully sat down and read it cover-to-cover (er...metaphorically), and I spent most of that time grinning in fondness. I've got a soft spot for B-rated horror, and this definitely fills that need. It reminded me a bit of the film Black Sheep, but without the humor.
I don't exactly regret the hours I spent reading it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend anyone pick it up.
July 22, 2015
I like anything having to do with cats so I decided to give this a try. It started a little bit slow but then I couldn't put it down.
It is classified as a horror story I think but it is more than that. It is a mystery too and if they do a 'part two' it could be an apocalypse story. As it is, it is a Don't mess with mother nature no matter how much money you can make story. The thought that this could possibly be done in the future is a bit scary.
It is classified as a horror story I think but it is more than that. It is a mystery too and if they do a 'part two' it could be an apocalypse story. As it is, it is a Don't mess with mother nature no matter how much money you can make story. The thought that this could possibly be done in the future is a bit scary.
October 30, 2025
We’re talking about cats for god’s sake. What’s the worst that can happen?
I should have suspected this from the cover, but it seems I've been going through a somewhat masochistic phase in terms of picking out terrible books. And there's no other way to put it: Ricky Sides' "Claws" is a terrible book, having taken over my previous candidate for this same yearly (dis)honor. I confess that I did not make it all the way to the very end but there's just only so much torture one should put themselves through. And this may be the worst book I've attempted to read in quite some time. The execution is amateurish, the editing is awful, and the dialogue is just dreadful, filled with jilted and clichéd hiccups at best. Even something like consistency, meaning if you spell something or capitalize a title once then you should still do that throughout, was just unreal it was so bad.
Cats are the most deadly pet mankind has domesticated on a large scale.
Look, I didn't start out thinking that it would be this bad. I mean, every book has to start off with average expectations and then we see if those go up or down as we progress. And the start of "Claws" wasn't bad even if the premise - an evil corporation experimenting with genetic enhancements of animals for the military ("the specimens would be turned into super cats, and they’d be bigger, stronger, and more lethal than ordinary cats…") - was rather stale and unoriginal. Still, I thought we could have something if it was just played right. Even the first few pages and chapters leading up to Patricia's dismissal and the "freeing" of the cats via animal rights activitists wasn't all that bad. But honestly, if the different characters were instead actors, they wouldn't even qualify for an understudy role in barn dinner theater owing to such poor performances.
Cats, like people, have their dark sides.
And not just that, obviously, but the just dreadful mistakes started to build and build some more as my "inner rating" began to plummet rapidly. Punctuation seemed to be at best a random rumor the author had heard about and the sheer redundancy in parts was mind-numbingly frustrating ("George explained… George explained… George explained…"). For example, I cannot tell you how many times the word "door" was used in one section (when Patricia's house is invaded by cats delivered by evil doers unknown) but after seeing it so many times and often AT LEAST TWICE in the same sentence, well, I just gave up. Oh and if you're curious, the word itself appears nearly 240 times in the book EXCLUDING uses such as doorway, etc. I mean, come on, read the damn book OUT LOUD to yourself to see what sounds weird before you release it. Oh and this was one of my personal favorites (meaning, I actually did groan out loud): "It looked eerie with its bluish tint, which the blue light caused." Uh, ya think?
Think of the mayhem … if the military quietly tainted the pet food supply of an enemy nation.
My advice to the author? Get together with a beta team and put in place a better review system. I don't know how it's been with all the military offers - and trust me, I will never try them - but this kind of performance won't work no matter how many offers are on Kindle Unlimited. MOST IMPORTANTLY: my advice to the reader? Stay away from this extremely poorly written book filled with just about as much silliness as you could imagine. Oh, you ask, but doesn't Mittens destroy New York? No. What about Mr. Fluffy, does he permanently damage the Grand Canyon like it's a sandbox? No, again, those would be original ideas and probably much more entertaining than what we got.
I should have suspected this from the cover, but it seems I've been going through a somewhat masochistic phase in terms of picking out terrible books. And there's no other way to put it: Ricky Sides' "Claws" is a terrible book, having taken over my previous candidate for this same yearly (dis)honor. I confess that I did not make it all the way to the very end but there's just only so much torture one should put themselves through. And this may be the worst book I've attempted to read in quite some time. The execution is amateurish, the editing is awful, and the dialogue is just dreadful, filled with jilted and clichéd hiccups at best. Even something like consistency, meaning if you spell something or capitalize a title once then you should still do that throughout, was just unreal it was so bad.
Cats are the most deadly pet mankind has domesticated on a large scale.
Look, I didn't start out thinking that it would be this bad. I mean, every book has to start off with average expectations and then we see if those go up or down as we progress. And the start of "Claws" wasn't bad even if the premise - an evil corporation experimenting with genetic enhancements of animals for the military ("the specimens would be turned into super cats, and they’d be bigger, stronger, and more lethal than ordinary cats…") - was rather stale and unoriginal. Still, I thought we could have something if it was just played right. Even the first few pages and chapters leading up to Patricia's dismissal and the "freeing" of the cats via animal rights activitists wasn't all that bad. But honestly, if the different characters were instead actors, they wouldn't even qualify for an understudy role in barn dinner theater owing to such poor performances.
Cats, like people, have their dark sides.
And not just that, obviously, but the just dreadful mistakes started to build and build some more as my "inner rating" began to plummet rapidly. Punctuation seemed to be at best a random rumor the author had heard about and the sheer redundancy in parts was mind-numbingly frustrating ("George explained… George explained… George explained…"). For example, I cannot tell you how many times the word "door" was used in one section (when Patricia's house is invaded by cats delivered by evil doers unknown) but after seeing it so many times and often AT LEAST TWICE in the same sentence, well, I just gave up. Oh and if you're curious, the word itself appears nearly 240 times in the book EXCLUDING uses such as doorway, etc. I mean, come on, read the damn book OUT LOUD to yourself to see what sounds weird before you release it. Oh and this was one of my personal favorites (meaning, I actually did groan out loud): "It looked eerie with its bluish tint, which the blue light caused." Uh, ya think?
Think of the mayhem … if the military quietly tainted the pet food supply of an enemy nation.
My advice to the author? Get together with a beta team and put in place a better review system. I don't know how it's been with all the military offers - and trust me, I will never try them - but this kind of performance won't work no matter how many offers are on Kindle Unlimited. MOST IMPORTANTLY: my advice to the reader? Stay away from this extremely poorly written book filled with just about as much silliness as you could imagine. Oh, you ask, but doesn't Mittens destroy New York? No. What about Mr. Fluffy, does he permanently damage the Grand Canyon like it's a sandbox? No, again, those would be original ideas and probably much more entertaining than what we got.
October 2, 2022
Ricky Sides has moved into the #2 of my top favorite authors with this book! There were no inessential, explicit deviate acts, sexual depravity, or unwarranted and excessive descriptions in this story to make one feel repulsed to continue reading. Yet, this story kept me captivated and riveted all the way to the rather surprising end! I appreciate the way Ricky Sides builds a very credible plot with plausible characters. The book was fantastic reading! It proves that an incredibly imaginative story plot can be written - without the author shocking the reader with episodes of gratuitous deviate and aberrant descriptions of violence and perversion. With this story, Claws, Ricky has risen to the top of my favorite authors! He replaced an author who I have followed faithfully for decades, who has in the past few books turned to explicit, superfluous descriptions in exchange for a credible plot. Thank you Ricky Sides! Loved this story & was delighted to see a part II, as well as a number of other of books you have written that I intend to read!
May 30, 2020
This book starts off with promise. A pet food company is doctoring its cat food to enhance appetite. The side effects, however, make for big, muscular, vicious, always hungry menaces. When a scientist objects to their antics she is fired. Unfortunately, an animal rights group manages to spring the test subjects, loosing a vicious menace upon an unsuspecting community. Had it continued in that vein it would have been fine, like a well done albeit hokey horror movie. Unfortunately if veers into international conspiracy and espionage. The dialogue is awful and it is sunk by way too many characters. The first part is fun but it devolves into a disappointing mish-mash.
July 5, 2017
I LOVED this book....It moved very quickly for me. It was quit wordy with the main character Jerry being very "by the book" with ALL of his dialogue, being all professional and military and such. BUT IF you can overlook that and move on it was good!!! Just a matter of hours for me.....BUT I will have to admit when I woke up on a morning after a long night of reading and MY feline was next to me on a pillow within inches from my face, I got a little startled. LOL!!!!
March 28, 2019
Great read
Really shows how devastating messing around with nature can be. The author does a great job of running down just how bad things can get very quickly if the brakes are removed from a persons imagination. If we let someone actually develop and release something like this we could very well become extinct. I would recommend this story to any reader with a vivid imagination and a love of being frightened. Don't read it alone at night. You will be up for a while!
Really shows how devastating messing around with nature can be. The author does a great job of running down just how bad things can get very quickly if the brakes are removed from a persons imagination. If we let someone actually develop and release something like this we could very well become extinct. I would recommend this story to any reader with a vivid imagination and a love of being frightened. Don't read it alone at night. You will be up for a while!
December 31, 2018
A very good read
I enjoyed the story very much. The title was the first thing that got my attention, and following chapters kept my attention.
I enjoyed the story very much. The title was the first thing that got my attention, and following chapters kept my attention.
April 18, 2023
Good story. Enjoyed the story telling, but having served in the military, it was obvious the author had not.
October 17, 2015
The Pet Food Your Cat Will Kill For!
Claws starts off with a great premise. Pet food manufacturer Alcorn has developed a feline ‘super-food’ … with just one, teensy little problem. The cats that eat the food become larger, more aggressive, and insatiably hungry … turning cute little kitties into ravenous mini-tigers. As author Ricky Sides admits in the Preface, it’s an angle just too good to resist, and Claws could be a really fun, B-movie-style, romp.
But the execution of this good idea falls a bit short, and this is one book I liked, but didn’t love.
The first problem is Alcorn. It’s a bit hard to swallow a pet food manufacturer with its own secret police force and cyber forensics team -- and while some of this gets explained away through the ever ubiquitous connection to secret government military experimentation – the characters are remarkably blithe about corporate heavy-handiness. I mean, I’ve been fired from a job or two, but a strip-search by the boss’s secretary on the way out the door seems a bit beyond the pale. It’s certainly acceptable to imbue a corporate giant with unseemly powers, but the characters ought to at least take notice of the imbalance and perhaps wonder why a fictional Purina-maker has so many people with guns.
The second problem is a bit more general and has to do with pacing and the story’s overall construction. There’s a lot of unnecessary information in this one – such the energy-conscious rationale behind elderly Ida Malone’s installation of her cat door – which slows the pace of the book. There’s also not much of a climax in the battle with cats, and things go all deus ex machina toward the very end – with the worst offender being the near last chapter introduction of an out-of-left-field spy/assassin, regrettably called ‘Black Widow.’ It reminded me of where I ended up with John Everson’s The Covenant … where the last chapters just feel like empty set-up for an inevitable sequel … instead providing a satisfying, ‘make-me-want-to read-more’ moment on all that's just happened.
I always want to like a book that I’m reading, and I really did buy-in to the premise. It is so hard to come up with an original angle for something scary, and Sides certainly gave Claws an innovative slant. Unfortunately, this one could have used a bit more time to germinate.
January 16, 2012
Well, for starters, this book was not what I was expecting. When I read the synopsis about killer cats, I assumed it was going to be spoof. It's not, this is a straight thriller novel about killer cats. It wasn't bad, and it kept my attention. There were several references to sexual encounters which didn't really add anything to the story, and could easily have been done without.
I guess my biggest disappointment with the book was the ending.
I got this book either free or for $0.99 from Amazon, so I certainly got my money for it, but I don't think I would have been pleased had I spent the $7 for a paperback.
I guess my biggest disappointment with the book was the ending.
I got this book either free or for $0.99 from Amazon, so I certainly got my money for it, but I don't think I would have been pleased had I spent the $7 for a paperback.
December 30, 2011
I liked the disclaimer the author wrote. That more than anything else, set the scene for me for how this book was going to go. The premise of Claws was fantastic! Food that makes cats grow and turn into viscous man-eating beasts- awesome!
I have 8 cats myself and had to hug each and every one of them when I finished reading this book. I can definitely envision Ida Malone as me in the future! lol!
I loved the scene with the two advocates after they "rescued" all the cats- so disgustingly perfect!
Personally, I could've done without the lovey dovey crap, but I did like that they were together. I just felt it was a tad quick to be saying the L word. Probably just me. It didn't affect the way the story went for me, so I could ignore that particular scene.
All in all I absolutely loved this book. It was fast paced, a great premise, and highly entertaining!
I'd definitely recommend this book to my friends!
I have 8 cats myself and had to hug each and every one of them when I finished reading this book. I can definitely envision Ida Malone as me in the future! lol!
I loved the scene with the two advocates after they "rescued" all the cats- so disgustingly perfect!
Personally, I could've done without the lovey dovey crap, but I did like that they were together. I just felt it was a tad quick to be saying the L word. Probably just me. It didn't affect the way the story went for me, so I could ignore that particular scene.
All in all I absolutely loved this book. It was fast paced, a great premise, and highly entertaining!
I'd definitely recommend this book to my friends!
January 29, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I suggest you ignore any of the negative reviews you might have read. Ricky Sides did a remarkable job of putting a new twist on an old story. I've read quite a few books about government projects aimed at developing new weapons for combat, but Mr. Sides thought of an idea that is so unique I can't find an adequate word for a description. Throughout the story, he keeps the reader in suspense by developing plots in which you aren't sure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. While reading, I attempted to think ahead as I would while reading a crime novel and figure out how the story would end. I was wrong with every idea I had and the ending caught me by surprise. This is an excellent novel.
May 17, 2022
Warning! Chemically Altered Pet Food Produces Franken-Kitties!
Suppose you could turn domestic pets into biological weapons just by adding a few chemicals to generic pet food. The food is intended to make the animals bigger, more savage, and perpetually hungry. Suppose you have developed an experimental formula to do just that, using a few dozen cats to test the efficacy of the formula. Now suppose some well-meaning but misguided animal-rights activists have set the test subjects free in your own home town ...
(Think Jurassic Park mixed with When Animals Attack.)
Whether you are an ailurophile or ailurophobe, chances are, after reading Claws, you will never regard Fluffy, Snookums, or Kitty-Pretty in quite the same way ever again.
Suppose you could turn domestic pets into biological weapons just by adding a few chemicals to generic pet food. The food is intended to make the animals bigger, more savage, and perpetually hungry. Suppose you have developed an experimental formula to do just that, using a few dozen cats to test the efficacy of the formula. Now suppose some well-meaning but misguided animal-rights activists have set the test subjects free in your own home town ...
(Think Jurassic Park mixed with When Animals Attack.)
Whether you are an ailurophile or ailurophobe, chances are, after reading Claws, you will never regard Fluffy, Snookums, or Kitty-Pretty in quite the same way ever again.
December 26, 2014
Well this book was...interesting, weird and at times completely horrifying. I thought it was going to be a spoof when I read the blurb, but no, it really is a horror novel about killer cats.
The author clearly loves cats, and has done some serious research and observations on their psychology, the description of their behaviours, as a past cat owner, was amazingly realistic, which was possibly one of the most terrifying parts of the book.
The only reason it got 3 stars was that at times the story got a bit complicated and confusing, and some characters popped up with at least a 100 page gap between mentions, so it took a while trying to remember who was who.
The author clearly loves cats, and has done some serious research and observations on their psychology, the description of their behaviours, as a past cat owner, was amazingly realistic, which was possibly one of the most terrifying parts of the book.
The only reason it got 3 stars was that at times the story got a bit complicated and confusing, and some characters popped up with at least a 100 page gap between mentions, so it took a while trying to remember who was who.
February 25, 2014
In short this story is about genetically changing cats through the cat food to make them stronger, bigger and more aggressive. This goes wrong of course, as some animal activists frees the cats from the testing facility and they start attacking humans.
I found this book a good read. It wont be on my top 10 books of all times, but definitely worth reading. It definitely had some suspense and gets you thinking about the cleverness of messing too much with mother nature as it might come back to haunt you...
I found this book a good read. It wont be on my top 10 books of all times, but definitely worth reading. It definitely had some suspense and gets you thinking about the cleverness of messing too much with mother nature as it might come back to haunt you...
April 16, 2012
Spoilers ahead! You are bewared.
Great, great, great book! With a few exceptions of chapters, a good page turner book. I enjoyed it, Ricky is a great writer, he mixed the perfect amount of action, horror, romance and suspense in this wonderful story. The ending was perfect! I laughed a lot reading the chapter where Talbot is killed by the... Secret service former prostitute? Oh man I love this book :D It has very clever moments. I felt like watching a really good horror movie.
Great, great, great book! With a few exceptions of chapters, a good page turner book. I enjoyed it, Ricky is a great writer, he mixed the perfect amount of action, horror, romance and suspense in this wonderful story. The ending was perfect! I laughed a lot reading the chapter where Talbot is killed by the... Secret service former prostitute? Oh man I love this book :D It has very clever moments. I felt like watching a really good horror movie.
April 22, 2013
This was sort of King Kong meets Cats version! To be honest this could have been very cheesy and it was not. I enjoyed the fighting scenes and I also liked the storyline. I also liked the fact that you don’t have to be a cat lover to appreciate the book since I am a dog lover and not so much cats!
November 16, 2013
wow i loved this book, its a bit freaky with the killer cats, made me almost nervous of my own cats lol, but it is a brill thriller, i came across it through amazon, a free download, i recommend this book highly, loved every minute of it, kept me turning pages i didnt want to put my kindle down, pick it up and give it a go
January 6, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Sides, inspired by his love of cats, wrote a great story that hooks you from the beginning and keeps you going until the end. The characters are genuine, adding more to the story than the sum of their parts.
This is a well written story and a real page turner. I look forward to reading more books by Ricky Sides.
This is a well written story and a real page turner. I look forward to reading more books by Ricky Sides.
January 6, 2015
Surprisingly a pretty good read considering it was a free e-book download from Amazon. I originally thought it was going to be like a bad b-movie but was pleasantly pleased. Good story, and yes some might say far fetched, but no more so than the plethora of zombie/vampire stories out there - at least this is original.
December 23, 2015
A campy b-movie feel. Cats. Evil genetically altered cats. Cats get set free and go about trying to cause the end of man (and dog and anything else that gets in its way).
It's a fun read, but there is a lot of animal violence. Cats vs cats, dogs getting killed, bunnies getting shot, etc, so I wouldn't recommend the book for someone who has trouble reading that sort of thing.
It's a fun read, but there is a lot of animal violence. Cats vs cats, dogs getting killed, bunnies getting shot, etc, so I wouldn't recommend the book for someone who has trouble reading that sort of thing.
April 27, 2012
This is an intense book - do not read after dark or in the presence of cats! A very scary, could happen scenerio that makes you look at your furred friend in an entirely new life - a weapon of war. Be prepared for thrills, chills and downright scares, and I do not scare easily!
April 2, 2013
I laid in my bed at night and read this book with five cats snuggled up to me. This book terrified me in more than one way. I gave it four stars because I'm not thrilled with the ending. Also, he needed to proofread.
July 7, 2014
This was pretty good. The characterization was a little off at the very start, but it did get much better. Even the character I didn't much care for was well-written, and the story itself, despite a few uneven bits, was exciting.
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