Void Beast

by Matthew A. Jones

The world isn’t a safe place anymore. And with the rash of recent kidnappings, Takeo Johnson, or “TJ” as his father calls him, doesn’t understand how anyone still manages to feel safe in leaving their house.

A towering African-American who is well-versed in martial arts, TJ is a lone wolf in every sense of the word, considering that he comes from a long line of werewolves. To him, being one is both a blessing and a curse. Over the years, TJ had learned that transforming into a wolf just reduced his control over himself. So, with the help of his father, he learned how to harness his energy, superhuman strength, and speed without having to transform into the creature itself. This came in handy, especially when his powers were needed and the full moon was nowhere in sight.

Through the years, TJ had always dedicated his life to helping others, especially when a number of young girls started to go missing recently. With this dedication came intensive training in the ways of the ninja. Not only has TJ become a powerful human with many immunities, he could almost defeat an enemy without harnessing his wolf powers… almost.

Then, there were the zombies. The earth had undergone terrible wars. Not surprisingly, with modern advancement resulting in biological warfare, a virus had developed, turning anyone who was not naturally immune, or superhuman, into a zombie. Anyone who wasn’t infected either fell victim or hid themselves to survive.


TJ’s father is his biggest ally, and he teaches TJ everything he knows. Before the zombie apocalypse, his father was a captain in the military and had fought in the wars leading to the near extinction of the human race. The werewolves were shallow in numbers at that time, having been used as weapons in the war and then discarded after chemical warfare eradicated them.

41 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2017

Reviews

[Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a dystopian world where humanity has been pushed to the point of near extinction--and biological warfare has left the earth virtually unrecognizable-- TJ, a werewolf with very little of a social life, learns to control his superhuman abilities while still allowing them to be there when needed to help others.

TJ sets out to find a number of girls who had recently been kidnapped. With the help of his father as a sort of mentor or coach, TJ launches into an adventure that will have unexpected twists and turns all along the way.

This book--at least my interpretation of it-- really illustrated how people (and werewolves!) can really harness their strengths and gifts to help others and make the world a better place--even if they are living in a nightmarish scenario in which a virus has completely altered the landscape.

This is a great story with a lot of lessons worth noting!

[Karl Woodhouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed by this book. It definitely has potential, but in my opinion this felt more like an introduction or opening chapter.

I like this idea of werewolves in a post apocalyptic world filled with zombies, and humans struggling to survive. Sadly the main character spent most of his time trying to avoid being a werewolf.

I would love to see the author take this and develop it into a full blown novel.

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise that leaves me wanting to know a little more of his condition and about the world at large. Yet at times I found it really hard going, too much description on certain events whilst others did not have enough. It is a series I may continue over time yet at the moment I do not feel obliged to get back into the series. The characters were interesting yet a little hollow.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this author tried to cram too much into too short a story. The prologue alone has enough bullet points in it that it could be the summary of a full novel.

I also feel like the author couldn't make up his mind what he wanted to have in this story. The prologue alone mentions werewolves, ninjas, and zombies. Why did we need all three?

There were also several moments where the protagonist (or someone else) *conveniently* gained or showed some new power or ability or piece of information that gave them the upper hand in a situation. It was rather unrealistic and felt like the odds were rather stacked in the protagonist's favour. I almost never doubted that he would succeed.

I would have preferred this story was longer so it could have been told more gradually to actually allow for character growth and believable plot developments. As it was, I felt I wasn't given a chance, nor reason, to care about or like the protagonist and the world was far more complicated than it needed to be for a short story.

[Barbara Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, quick short story. Hope there will be a sequel or maybe even a novel to follow.

[Zak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent first book in the series. It sets up a new dystopian world of werewolves, zombies and crazy scientists. It was a fun read that kept me wanting more.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story, it’s short, but definitely interesting. I’d like a little character depth, but overall a fun read.