Derelict: A Novella

by Todd Travis

All Kath Castle cares about is making the latest payment on her beloved boat, a salvager named DADDY'S GIRL, and not falling back into a bottle of vodka. But when she and her all-female crew answer a mysterious distress call during a tropical storm, they stumble across an abandoned yacht worth millions. It seems like a dream come true, the Lotto, the Big Ticket to all their dreams... Until they discover what's waiting for them inside the ship... DERELICT A horror novella by Todd Travis

Genres: Horror, Thriller

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 20, 2016

About the author

Todd Travis’ interests include conspiracy theories, the poetry of Michael O’Donoghue and pop music and movies of the 80s. He is single and moves around a lot. His current whereabouts are at this time unknown. He dislikes cable news, views cellphones with suspicion and don’t even get him started on email. He also believes poker is not a sport and therefore should never be allowed on ESPN.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kath is in salvaging business and discovers a derelict yacht in the open sea. But something is wrong aboard. Jellyfish seem to have conquered the ship and work it as a kind of Venus fly trap... will Kath survive? What about the rest of her crew? Does she find out why her beloved father never came back? Compelling novella, fast paced with extremely uncanny slimy monsters. It wasn't innovative but nothing to put down. To be honest I really enjoyed this horror tale at sea. Highly recommended!

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this novella, but it was not as terrifying as it could have been. It was fast paced, but that serves as a detriment to a horror story because without exposition, the plot usually fails. Mood was good and also the setting, but again because of the rapid pace there was very little characterization which made me care little for the characters. I get a sense that these characters were really strong in the imagination of the writer (he gives ample shorthand story beats to cue what should be flashback characterization) but it didn’t really come across that way on the page. Still, the story was told in a believable way and had some creep factor. I’m giving it four stars more for what it could have been than for what it actually is. Clearly, I liked it despite the flaws. It feels like the beginning of something that it never achieves.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't going to let October 31st pass without one spooky read and this nautical tale of abandoned ship and killers jellies fit the bill nicely. I've read Travis before and liked him well enough, but this one impressed me more. Maybe I was in the right mood for it, maybe it's just more fun. All female crew of the salvage boat, really great characters, actually developed despite the novella format, lots of action, seriously frightening invertebrates. Very entertaining quick read. Recommended.

[Stolie77 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The creep factor was really amped up for this novella and I'm glad I gave it a go. I've consistently enjoyed Mr. Travis's writing style and this was just as enjoyable. It's a bit different though from some of his other works in that this is more of a creepy tale and he's written some really great mysteries/thrillers, but a good author can take you along for the ride no matter the subject. He never fails to give a good backstory and show the characters arc. Good read!!

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good writers have a gift: in the span of time you are reading
their books, they make the unbelievable believable.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Todd Travis books, but this one just didn’t hook me the way his books usually do.

Partly because I didn’t like Kath, the main character, and partly because except for her, there was no character development.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent sea creature horror story.

[Dan Barbier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great action packed novella with heroic Female characters. Fast paced and horror filled. A monster flick with daring action set pieces. A lot of fun!
This Author never cease to amaze me. Put him on your list.

[John Podlaski · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if sea monsters were hungry for human flesh - what's the best bait to use in the open ocean? A derelict ship for sure and way of sending out an SOS. Mariners will go out of their way to help others in distress on the water. In this case, an SOS is the dinner bell for the hosts.

Kath and her all-female crew of marine salvagers respond to a distress signal and find a derelict yacht that's been missing for four years. A great reward awaits the crew that brings her back to drydock. Once on board, their salvage vessel is rammed by a runaway boat which sinks both ships and kills a crewmember. Strange vibrations soon run throughout the yacht and blue glowing orbs move about. When the crew discovers a large room filled with human bones and two live humans hanging from the ceiling; both spewing warnings to the women. Unable to flee without rescuing the men, their hosts drop in on the women and they find themselves in a battle for survival. Edge of your seat suspense and action-filled pages with a surprise ending. Highly recommended for an afternoon of reading enjoyment.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story in derelict is a walk, crawl, climb, run to freedom from…something…that is chasing everyone on a seemingly derelict yacht out on the ocean. Think ‘Alien’ on the high seas. The entities were terrifying and seemingly indefatigable. I thought Todd Travis’ writing was good and he successfully kept the tension up. There were some grammatical errors in the book, such as misused words (‘hang’ where it should have been ‘hung’; ‘took’ where it should have been ‘taken’) and an occasional dropped word. Also, there were a few times where there were multiple characters speaking and I couldn’t always tell which one was speaking. The only thing that I really think Todd Travis should change is the vessel type: it seemed more like they were on a derelict cruise ship rather than a large yacht. Overall, I liked the book and did not want to stop until I finished it. I liked it enough that I would give another book by Todd Travis a look see.

[Rajeev Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent dose of action-horror: an all-girl crew of a boat fighting against something horrifying on an abandoned yacht in the Atlantic. I was expecting something else though. The unravelled mystery was a bit deflating for me but for someone looking for non-stop action, this is a good novella. My personal favourite among the crew was Serena, the badass, pistol-wielding ex-Navy Seal.

[Jill Scalzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick fun read!

This is the first time I've read a book by this author so I didn't know what to expect. Found out that I really enjoyed his writing. The book held my attention throughout. I look forward to reading more books by Todd Travis!

[Claudette Bigby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edge of your seat reading

I enjoyed this non-stop horror of the sea story. Leaving the ending to be a big twist setting you up for more horror! The only problem was it being over too soon.

[l · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's short & fun

This travelled at a quick pace. Promising a good read . The actors were interesting and it has been a long time since reading a swash buckling sea novel.
New discovery and it hates alcohol, can't get better than that.

[amy forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goo Read!

A nice fast paced thriller! I wish it had been novel length, but I enjoyed this book a lot! Try it!

[Cindy Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise was good but....

So many odd bits that didn't belong made it hard to read. I loved the loyalty of Kath but that was it

[Raymond St. Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read

It's a good read though some pages of the main character past I skipped felt they were more filler for the tale than needed. I can see this made into a horror movie.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK Horror Novella.

I have loved the Todd Travis books I have read, and generally rated them as 5 stars. This one lacked much depth of characters, but the story was pretty good.

[Chris Hellerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Washy

It was ok for a short read, did Kath live or die . So many questions! Guessing a second book from the way it ended..not to excited to wait..

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

this one was just ok. Not the type of book I like tor read. Probably why it took me 17 days to read it....

[Jane Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up... way too far fetched for me