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The Big One
"Daddy's coming home."
That's the promise Hank, a widowed ambulance driver finishing up his shift in San Francisco, makes to his two kids who are trapped in the ruins of their destroyed apartment building across the Bay in Oakland, after the mother of all earthquakes-the fabled "Big One"-hits California.
Hank and two of his fellow EMTs commandeer the rescue vehicle, racing through the decimated streets in search of a way across the water to save his kids. But as the journey through the disaster's aftermath continues, the first responders come face-to-face with unsettling and disturbing occurrences beyond the expected aftershocks. Suicidal cultists and outbreaks of ultra-violence give way to squirming masses of giant tentacles rising through the ruined roadways, while mutant creatures break into fleeing vehicles in search of human flesh.
All the while, something massive rises from a millennia-long sleep inside the Earth, something gargantuan in stature, something that existed long before the known universe was born. While the world goes mad outside of and inside his ambulance, Hank remains determined to keep his promise.
But when facing unfathomable cosmic evil do love, determination, and bold action even stand a chance of saving the day?
With The Big One, the over-the-top, macho heroics of a Michael Bay action film are pitted against the ancient, maddening cosmic antagonists of Lovecraftian horror and you've got a front row seat for the battle.
It's got tentacles.
It's got explosions.
It's got exploding tentacles.
"Patrick Barb's The Big One is an apocalyptic romp through the Bay Area, conjuring comparisons to Michael Bay's Ambulance and John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness. Expect white-knuckle action, blood-soaked crazies, and tentacles to spare, all brought to maddening life by Barb's lightning pace and talent for characterization."
Carson Winter, author of Portraits of Decay
That's the promise Hank, a widowed ambulance driver finishing up his shift in San Francisco, makes to his two kids who are trapped in the ruins of their destroyed apartment building across the Bay in Oakland, after the mother of all earthquakes-the fabled "Big One"-hits California.
Hank and two of his fellow EMTs commandeer the rescue vehicle, racing through the decimated streets in search of a way across the water to save his kids. But as the journey through the disaster's aftermath continues, the first responders come face-to-face with unsettling and disturbing occurrences beyond the expected aftershocks. Suicidal cultists and outbreaks of ultra-violence give way to squirming masses of giant tentacles rising through the ruined roadways, while mutant creatures break into fleeing vehicles in search of human flesh.
All the while, something massive rises from a millennia-long sleep inside the Earth, something gargantuan in stature, something that existed long before the known universe was born. While the world goes mad outside of and inside his ambulance, Hank remains determined to keep his promise.
But when facing unfathomable cosmic evil do love, determination, and bold action even stand a chance of saving the day?
With The Big One, the over-the-top, macho heroics of a Michael Bay action film are pitted against the ancient, maddening cosmic antagonists of Lovecraftian horror and you've got a front row seat for the battle.
It's got tentacles.
It's got explosions.
It's got exploding tentacles.
"Patrick Barb's The Big One is an apocalyptic romp through the Bay Area, conjuring comparisons to Michael Bay's Ambulance and John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness. Expect white-knuckle action, blood-soaked crazies, and tentacles to spare, all brought to maddening life by Barb's lightning pace and talent for characterization."
Carson Winter, author of Portraits of Decay
110 pages, Paperback
Published October 7, 2025
18 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Barb
73 books99 followersPatrick Barb is an author of weird, dark, and spooky tales, currently living (and trying not to freeze to death) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His published works include the dark fiction collections The Children’s Horror and Pre-Approved for Haunting, the novellas Gargantuana's Ghost, Turn, and JK-LOL, as well as the novelette Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare. He is the editor and publisher of the anthology And One Day We Will Die: Strange Stories Inspired by the Music of Neutral Milk Hotel. His forthcoming works include the Killer VHS novella Night of the Witch-Hunter from Shortwave Publishing and his debut sci-fi/horror novel Abducted from Dark Matter Ink. His 2023 short story "The Scare Groom" was selected for Best Horror of the Year Volume 16. Visit him at patrickbarb.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 20, 2026
4.25*
“Daddy’s Coming Home”. Hank’s promising words in the first chapter sets the tone for this novel as he faces the journey of a lifetime against a terrifying tentacled being and many more obstacles on his way to get back to his kids after an ‘earthquake’ hits the city and causes destruction in its wake. He is determined to do whatever it takes to make it home and as his ambulance crew mates are picked off one by one in horrifying circumstances and the people outside are going crazy, what follows is a lovecraftian horror that gets more gruesome the further you read.
The story starts off with a bang as what first appears to be an earthquake turns out to be something much worse at the first glimpse of tentacles ripping people apart. Not only does the ambulance crew have to navigate the blocked roads and horrific tentacles, the people are either looting and fighting each other or going crazy and chanting some strange language and harming themselves with a mad smile on their faces. The gruesome details of the crazy moments that Hank has to deal with gets gradually more graphic as he encounters new horrors with every page turn.
Described as a ‘demented dreamscape’, I felt constantly on edge as I feared what fresh hell could possibly occur next and it is impossible to even try and guess as what happens is original and dark and often made my jaw drop. I loved how his crew mates felt so strong with a great bond at the start and at one point they have quite an earnest conversation about their worst days on the job (other than this one), which are both traumatic stories that can’t even compare to this insane experience.
Every scene was perfectly described to really enhance the tension and fear in the reader and I loved the gruesome and graphic imagery throughout which never lets up. The chanting noises heard both through the radio and from the people in the streets were fascinating as it seemed to make anyone who heard it go crazy even if it didn’t really make any sense and it’s never revealed why that was happening. Chapter 12 is just a one line sentence which was very unique yet effective in portraying all of the emotion and silence from the shock of the previous chapter.
Even though this book is pretty short at only 109 pages, it packs a lot in to make this a truly memorable story that will stay with me for quiet a while. The twists and terrifying reveals keep on coming and I constantly felt the anticipation of what could come next. The ending is horrific as it all comes to a climax in a shocking way and will surely leave the reader with as many questions as I have and even wanting more!
“Daddy’s Coming Home”. Hank’s promising words in the first chapter sets the tone for this novel as he faces the journey of a lifetime against a terrifying tentacled being and many more obstacles on his way to get back to his kids after an ‘earthquake’ hits the city and causes destruction in its wake. He is determined to do whatever it takes to make it home and as his ambulance crew mates are picked off one by one in horrifying circumstances and the people outside are going crazy, what follows is a lovecraftian horror that gets more gruesome the further you read.
The story starts off with a bang as what first appears to be an earthquake turns out to be something much worse at the first glimpse of tentacles ripping people apart. Not only does the ambulance crew have to navigate the blocked roads and horrific tentacles, the people are either looting and fighting each other or going crazy and chanting some strange language and harming themselves with a mad smile on their faces. The gruesome details of the crazy moments that Hank has to deal with gets gradually more graphic as he encounters new horrors with every page turn.
Described as a ‘demented dreamscape’, I felt constantly on edge as I feared what fresh hell could possibly occur next and it is impossible to even try and guess as what happens is original and dark and often made my jaw drop. I loved how his crew mates felt so strong with a great bond at the start and at one point they have quite an earnest conversation about their worst days on the job (other than this one), which are both traumatic stories that can’t even compare to this insane experience.
Every scene was perfectly described to really enhance the tension and fear in the reader and I loved the gruesome and graphic imagery throughout which never lets up. The chanting noises heard both through the radio and from the people in the streets were fascinating as it seemed to make anyone who heard it go crazy even if it didn’t really make any sense and it’s never revealed why that was happening. Chapter 12 is just a one line sentence which was very unique yet effective in portraying all of the emotion and silence from the shock of the previous chapter.
Even though this book is pretty short at only 109 pages, it packs a lot in to make this a truly memorable story that will stay with me for quiet a while. The twists and terrifying reveals keep on coming and I constantly felt the anticipation of what could come next. The ending is horrific as it all comes to a climax in a shocking way and will surely leave the reader with as many questions as I have and even wanting more!
September 3, 2025
Patrick Barb’s The Big One is an apocalyptic romp through the Bay Area, conjuring comparisons to Michael Bay’s Ambulance and John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness. Expect white-knuckle action, blood-soaked crazies, and tentacles to spare, all brought to maddening life by Barb’s lightning pacing and talent for characterization.
October 10, 2025
This isn't a novel, it's a ghost train. I was excited for the premise, and I hoped the writer was going to do something more satisfying with it than a faithful recreation of a Michael Bay film. Ultimately it it's a progression of explosion after explosion, occasionally with tentacles.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews