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Tempest Outpost
From the author of NORTH SEA HUNTERS comes a new tale of terror!
They slept beneath the ice for over four billion years, but now they are free!
Off the coast of Antarctica, TEMPEST OUTPOST’s latest excavation leads to the discovery of some rather strange looking rock samples. Geology student Jazmin Hayes can hardly believe her eyes when carbon dating shows that they are even older than the Earth itself!
Then, the rocks begin to hatch...
They slept beneath the ice for over four billion years, but now they are free!
Off the coast of Antarctica, TEMPEST OUTPOST’s latest excavation leads to the discovery of some rather strange looking rock samples. Geology student Jazmin Hayes can hardly believe her eyes when carbon dating shows that they are even older than the Earth itself!
Then, the rocks begin to hatch...
109 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 22, 2017
23 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Brad Harmer-Barnes
5 books33 followersBrad Harmer-Barnes is a British horror author who grew up watching 1950s “creature feature” movies and 1980s action and slasher movies, as well as reading H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, Stephen King, Brian Lumley and Clive Barker.
Outside of writing, he enjoys tabletop and video gaming, collecting obscure soundtracks on vinyl, and trying to get through as much of his “To Read” pile as is possible.
You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @realbradhb, and he is also a regular guest on comedy podcast “The Crazy Train”.
Outside of writing, he enjoys tabletop and video gaming, collecting obscure soundtracks on vinyl, and trying to get through as much of his “To Read” pile as is possible.
You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @realbradhb, and he is also a regular guest on comedy podcast “The Crazy Train”.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 23, 2018
If you asked me why I connect with some creature features but can't suspend my disbelief enough for others, I wouldn't be able to give you an answer. I've read about giant iguanas, megalodons, enormous centipedes, killer funghi and many other weird manifestations. If you say "werewolf", for example, the first word coming to mind wouldn't be "realistic". And yet that is exactly what I'm missing in some stories. I always compare it to the three X-Men movies - #1 was fantastic, #2 still great but #3 was way too over the top with mutants suddenly having too many powers (and completely different ones at that).
I don't expect to ever have an answer to the question why some b-movie-like short stories and novellas work for me while others don't, but it's what happened to me with this. A bit.
The premise is that there's a drilling rig off the shore of Antarctica. One day, they come across something that is supposedly older than Earth itself and when they bring up samples, they aren't what the scientists expected and certainly aren't as "dead" as first believed either. In fact, there is quite some plotting going on and soon the humans on board have to fight for their survival.
The novel is dedicated to anybody who's ever been to a Bad Movie Night and I certainly have been to a few. It's true that watching even the stupidest movie with a friend can be a cool and fun experience but I've had better ones than this one.
Mind you, it was fun and occasionally funny and arachnids are always great creatures to pit humans against. The characters here were also fleshed out enough to not make them one indistinguishable blob (I hate when that happens). Nevertheless, the whole premise and development didn't do it for me as much as the other two stories I read by this author.
I don't expect to ever have an answer to the question why some b-movie-like short stories and novellas work for me while others don't, but it's what happened to me with this. A bit.
The premise is that there's a drilling rig off the shore of Antarctica. One day, they come across something that is supposedly older than Earth itself and when they bring up samples, they aren't what the scientists expected and certainly aren't as "dead" as first believed either. In fact, there is quite some plotting going on and soon the humans on board have to fight for their survival.
The novel is dedicated to anybody who's ever been to a Bad Movie Night and I certainly have been to a few. It's true that watching even the stupidest movie with a friend can be a cool and fun experience but I've had better ones than this one.
Mind you, it was fun and occasionally funny and arachnids are always great creatures to pit humans against. The characters here were also fleshed out enough to not make them one indistinguishable blob (I hate when that happens). Nevertheless, the whole premise and development didn't do it for me as much as the other two stories I read by this author.
November 27, 2019
Somewhat similar to my last creature feature, but way more fun.
We follow a nineteen year-old girl on her trip to an experimental drilling rig in the South Pole, where she is to spend six weeks as an intern. Recently the crew of Tempest Outpost experienced some difficulties, as their drill hit something hard it couldn't break through, and they are trying to find out what it is.
A look at the cover probably told you already what they are ultimately about to find. And it really gave me the creepy-crawlies, as I'm not exactly a fan of spiders, and especially not the really big ones. And there are a lot of realistically sized ones in this story, and not only the godzilla-like tarantula that's on the cover. It's quite the icky affair.
The build-up in this one is pretty great. You know what is coming, of course, but the author still manages to make you more and more uncomfortable, until the spiders finally show up.
While in the last book I've read the creatures were a little too stupid and easy to kill for me to be really thrilled about, here they are almost too clever. With books like this you inevitably have to have the ability to suspend disbelief, but that ability was in for a challenge here. When I had reached the point where I just accepted their special powers, the book was almost over already. This one is just a little too short and feels like it's missing a proper climax.
It's a shame, really, because for the first half of the book I had so much fun, that it even was about to challenge Vietnam Black as my favorite book by Brad Harmer-Barnes. I still enjoyed the second half of the book, but just not as much as I had hoped.
Still, a very well written creature feature that I especially recommend to people that are uncomfortable with spiders and that are looking for something creepy to spend an evening or two with.
Brad Harmer-Barnes remains high on my list of authors that I happily turn to when I'm looking for these kind of books.
We follow a nineteen year-old girl on her trip to an experimental drilling rig in the South Pole, where she is to spend six weeks as an intern. Recently the crew of Tempest Outpost experienced some difficulties, as their drill hit something hard it couldn't break through, and they are trying to find out what it is.
A look at the cover probably told you already what they are ultimately about to find. And it really gave me the creepy-crawlies, as I'm not exactly a fan of spiders, and especially not the really big ones. And there are a lot of realistically sized ones in this story, and not only the godzilla-like tarantula that's on the cover. It's quite the icky affair.
The build-up in this one is pretty great. You know what is coming, of course, but the author still manages to make you more and more uncomfortable, until the spiders finally show up.
While in the last book I've read the creatures were a little too stupid and easy to kill for me to be really thrilled about, here they are almost too clever. With books like this you inevitably have to have the ability to suspend disbelief, but that ability was in for a challenge here. When I had reached the point where I just accepted their special powers, the book was almost over already. This one is just a little too short and feels like it's missing a proper climax.
It's a shame, really, because for the first half of the book I had so much fun, that it even was about to challenge Vietnam Black as my favorite book by Brad Harmer-Barnes. I still enjoyed the second half of the book, but just not as much as I had hoped.
Still, a very well written creature feature that I especially recommend to people that are uncomfortable with spiders and that are looking for something creepy to spend an evening or two with.
Brad Harmer-Barnes remains high on my list of authors that I happily turn to when I'm looking for these kind of books.
October 24, 2018
This was a solidly average horror. Alas.
Ancient telepathic spiders and an oceanic oil rig *ought* to be a lot more fun than this. :) Not bad, but not all that stand-out. It's kinda a cross between the Thing and a very mild Arachnophobia. :)
Not much else to say. October... yay? I liked the other one by this author better. :)
Ancient telepathic spiders and an oceanic oil rig *ought* to be a lot more fun than this. :) Not bad, but not all that stand-out. It's kinda a cross between the Thing and a very mild Arachnophobia. :)
Not much else to say. October... yay? I liked the other one by this author better. :)
November 7, 2017
With his second book, Brad Harmer-Barnes has shown that he's not a one-trick-pony. Where his first novel was a period piece, set during the Second World War, this book brings us bang up-to-date, being set in the present day (or possibly the very near future, as there's technology present that I'm almost sure doesn't exist yet).
There's also more humour on display here, of the knowing, tongue-in-cheek variety. For anybody with even one foot in 'geek culture' there are references and in-jokes aplenty. The references aren't all from modern counter-cultural sources, either; BHB even has some literary allusions going on here, with one Shakespeare play in particular (in case you were wondering which one, please see the title of the book). Full fathom five thy spider lies...
The book is fast-paced, action-packed, pretty intense in places and just SO much fun. I read it with a huge smile on my face the whole time. The novel is dedicated to anybody who's ever been to a Bad Movie Night... and if you've ever sat down with a bunch of mates and watched movies like Sharktopus, Rise of the Animals or Rogue, to name just a few, you'll know how much fun there is to be had here.
My recommendation to you: find yourself a comfy chair, stock up with the salty snack and sugary drink of your choice, put on the soundtrack to Aliens and crack open this book. You can thank me later.
P.S. -
There's also more humour on display here, of the knowing, tongue-in-cheek variety. For anybody with even one foot in 'geek culture' there are references and in-jokes aplenty. The references aren't all from modern counter-cultural sources, either; BHB even has some literary allusions going on here, with one Shakespeare play in particular (in case you were wondering which one, please see the title of the book). Full fathom five thy spider lies...
The book is fast-paced, action-packed, pretty intense in places and just SO much fun. I read it with a huge smile on my face the whole time. The novel is dedicated to anybody who's ever been to a Bad Movie Night... and if you've ever sat down with a bunch of mates and watched movies like Sharktopus, Rise of the Animals or Rogue, to name just a few, you'll know how much fun there is to be had here.
My recommendation to you: find yourself a comfy chair, stock up with the salty snack and sugary drink of your choice, put on the soundtrack to Aliens and crack open this book. You can thank me later.
P.S. -
April 2, 2023
This was a fun, fastpaced, quick and easy creature feature read. The story is pretty simple. The crew of drilling rig encounter a bunch of prehistoric spiders and are soon in for the fight of their lives.
It’s well executed though, never dull for even a single moment and you’ll be through it in no time at all. The best way I can describe it is Arachnophobia meets The Thing. If you liked either of those two movies, I guarantee you will enjoy this novel. My one regret is that it’s rather short and I would certainly have liked a couple of more more chapters. Other than that, this is one I definitely recommend picking up.
It’s well executed though, never dull for even a single moment and you’ll be through it in no time at all. The best way I can describe it is Arachnophobia meets The Thing. If you liked either of those two movies, I guarantee you will enjoy this novel. My one regret is that it’s rather short and I would certainly have liked a couple of more more chapters. Other than that, this is one I definitely recommend picking up.
November 26, 2017
Background: Brad Harmer-Barnes is a British horror author. Outside novels, he both runs the Suppressing Fire pulp gaming blog and hosts Brick Fury on the site’s YouTube channel. He is a founding member and contributor to the nostalgia tinged geeky blog site, Emotionally Fourteen, and is a regular guest on their The Crazy Train podcast. He’s also a former stand-up comic that ran the Rock N Rant comedy club in his local area, as well as being a part of the skiffle band, Bender Crack Corn.
Tempest Outpost is Brad’s second novella, and was released by Severed Press on October 22nd 2017. The story follows a geology student named Jazmin Hayes as she embarks on a placement at Tempest Outpost, an Antarctic facility with an impressive experimental drill. During Jazmin’s stay, the team excavate some strange looking rock samples that are carbon dated as being older than the Earth itself. Then, the rocks start to hatch …
The Good: So, let’s begin with the story being told here. When I read what the book was about, I had a certain feeling in mind as to how it would likely play out. By the time I’d finished, I was happy to not only find a few surprises in the events that occurred, but to be able to say that the book felt the way I was expecting. Essentially, we have a hybrid of The Thing and one of my favourite X-Files episodes (Ice – S01E08), but with added spiders. What makes this all interesting is that, even with all the other references to films thrown in by the characters, Brad has succeeded in paying homage to some classics while keeping the focus on his own vision here. Yes, we can recognise bits and pieces, but the key points are his own. That is something that can be commended. As a side, I would be interested to know if the title is a reference to Star Wars: The Old Republic though.
The characters are well placed for the story too. Each is easily distinguishable from the others, we get to see their own little quirks – which is given a suitable amount of time to shine through – but the book focuses on the right characters at each step. That’s key here as the named cast is, while not unwieldy, large enough that it would be easy to fall into trying to shoehorn more characters than are needed into scenes.
Another thing I like is that the novella proves that Brad is not a one-trick pony. Yes, it’s still horror, and yes the monster has roots in actual creatures, but this is a very different beast to North Sea Hunters. The spiders are as much a creation of the author as they are an actual species (though their abilities are certainly similar to certain viruses seen in the insect world), and the book features a little more humour than the aforementioned sharksploitation novella. The more modern setting also allows Brad some freedom to give the cast a very different feel.
That being said, one welcome similarity between this and North Sea Hunters is that of restraint. While the plot and setting would work in a longer format, Brad has done exactly what he needs to with the story. There’s no fluff to pad things out, just a well-paced tale that can easily be devoured in one sitting.
The Bad: As I stated above, Tempest Outpost would have worked just fine if it was longer. An increased word count would certainly have provided more space to play up the paranoia driven scenes. While that would have been nice, I can’t really complain too much about this though, as the story works well as it is.
One thing that I would have liked to see though, was mastication. No, that’s not what it sounds like. You see, spiders both terrify and fascinate me. As such, I do like to read up on them. If you didn’t know, mastication in terms of spiders involves the arachnids liquifying their prey’s insides in order to eat them. Even taking into account the way the spider’s venom works in the book, I would have loved to have seen what Brad could have done with the imagery of a masticated corpse.
Final View: Tempest Outpost is a thoroughly engrossing tale of frozen terror. The story hurtles along without ever feeling like it’s skipped over details – or indeed adding more than is necessary – and leaves you satisfied by the conclusion. If you’re a fan of modern B-movies, or you simply want a fun slab of arachnid horror, this one is for you.
Final Score: 4.5 / 5
Tempest Outpost is Brad’s second novella, and was released by Severed Press on October 22nd 2017. The story follows a geology student named Jazmin Hayes as she embarks on a placement at Tempest Outpost, an Antarctic facility with an impressive experimental drill. During Jazmin’s stay, the team excavate some strange looking rock samples that are carbon dated as being older than the Earth itself. Then, the rocks start to hatch …
The Good: So, let’s begin with the story being told here. When I read what the book was about, I had a certain feeling in mind as to how it would likely play out. By the time I’d finished, I was happy to not only find a few surprises in the events that occurred, but to be able to say that the book felt the way I was expecting. Essentially, we have a hybrid of The Thing and one of my favourite X-Files episodes (Ice – S01E08), but with added spiders. What makes this all interesting is that, even with all the other references to films thrown in by the characters, Brad has succeeded in paying homage to some classics while keeping the focus on his own vision here. Yes, we can recognise bits and pieces, but the key points are his own. That is something that can be commended. As a side, I would be interested to know if the title is a reference to Star Wars: The Old Republic though.
The characters are well placed for the story too. Each is easily distinguishable from the others, we get to see their own little quirks – which is given a suitable amount of time to shine through – but the book focuses on the right characters at each step. That’s key here as the named cast is, while not unwieldy, large enough that it would be easy to fall into trying to shoehorn more characters than are needed into scenes.
Another thing I like is that the novella proves that Brad is not a one-trick pony. Yes, it’s still horror, and yes the monster has roots in actual creatures, but this is a very different beast to North Sea Hunters. The spiders are as much a creation of the author as they are an actual species (though their abilities are certainly similar to certain viruses seen in the insect world), and the book features a little more humour than the aforementioned sharksploitation novella. The more modern setting also allows Brad some freedom to give the cast a very different feel.
That being said, one welcome similarity between this and North Sea Hunters is that of restraint. While the plot and setting would work in a longer format, Brad has done exactly what he needs to with the story. There’s no fluff to pad things out, just a well-paced tale that can easily be devoured in one sitting.
The Bad: As I stated above, Tempest Outpost would have worked just fine if it was longer. An increased word count would certainly have provided more space to play up the paranoia driven scenes. While that would have been nice, I can’t really complain too much about this though, as the story works well as it is.
One thing that I would have liked to see though, was mastication. No, that’s not what it sounds like. You see, spiders both terrify and fascinate me. As such, I do like to read up on them. If you didn’t know, mastication in terms of spiders involves the arachnids liquifying their prey’s insides in order to eat them. Even taking into account the way the spider’s venom works in the book, I would have loved to have seen what Brad could have done with the imagery of a masticated corpse.
Final View: Tempest Outpost is a thoroughly engrossing tale of frozen terror. The story hurtles along without ever feeling like it’s skipped over details – or indeed adding more than is necessary – and leaves you satisfied by the conclusion. If you’re a fan of modern B-movies, or you simply want a fun slab of arachnid horror, this one is for you.
Final Score: 4.5 / 5
April 18, 2018
A HALF A TALE OF MEANT SPIDERS IT IS..
Hello, this story was okay. I just couldn't get into it because it was way too short for all that happened. Not enough words for the amount of activity. Thanks.
Hello, this story was okay. I just couldn't get into it because it was way too short for all that happened. Not enough words for the amount of activity. Thanks.
November 22, 2017
Once again, Brad Harmer-Barnes has created fantastic "Creature-Feature" fun here; his previous novel pitted a megalodon against a tasty, nazi-filled, U-boat, and while Tempest Outpost pulls us in to the modern age, it's still entertaining.
This time, we're taken to an oil rig in the icy south of Antarctica, now-ish. They're drilling - for something - and in the process, they may have drilled too far...
Okay, the characters could be better developed, though they're distinct from each other, and the science is little more than shooing motions away from too many questions:
"God damn it, it doesn't make any sense."
"In a way it has to...if it's proven to be true, then it has to make sense. The rest of knowledge will have to fall in line with what we've discovered here today."
But if you're here for the science, you're probably lost already.
If you're here for fun, for monsters who waste no time in getting down to their monster-business, then you could do a lot worse.
This time, we're taken to an oil rig in the icy south of Antarctica, now-ish. They're drilling - for something - and in the process, they may have drilled too far...
Okay, the characters could be better developed, though they're distinct from each other, and the science is little more than shooing motions away from too many questions:
"God damn it, it doesn't make any sense."
"In a way it has to...if it's proven to be true, then it has to make sense. The rest of knowledge will have to fall in line with what we've discovered here today."
But if you're here for the science, you're probably lost already.
If you're here for fun, for monsters who waste no time in getting down to their monster-business, then you could do a lot worse.
June 30, 2022
Mind blowing spiders.
I really liked the fast pace of this book. It started off on a rig in the ocean, which is a superb location for horror, and it doesn't take long for bad things to start. When it does, there is not a lot of the usual time wasted with “this can't happen" kind of talk, they dive right into the outlandish theories which are accepted quite easily as to what is happening. I enjoyed the characters and their interaction, and the whole thing was just a lot of fun. We never find what the giant spiders are or how they came to be there, but I don't care.
I really liked the fast pace of this book. It started off on a rig in the ocean, which is a superb location for horror, and it doesn't take long for bad things to start. When it does, there is not a lot of the usual time wasted with “this can't happen" kind of talk, they dive right into the outlandish theories which are accepted quite easily as to what is happening. I enjoyed the characters and their interaction, and the whole thing was just a lot of fun. We never find what the giant spiders are or how they came to be there, but I don't care.
July 13, 2023
ohhh the references to classic horror
Sich is there a time period spiders weren’t being scary monsters.
Tempest a place where a mad author made every arachnophobia fears come true.
Sich is there a time period spiders weren’t being scary monsters.
Tempest a place where a mad author made every arachnophobia fears come true.
February 19, 2023
A private oil rig in the Antarctic digs deep into the Earth's crust. A new type of drilling rig has been invented by a young tech genius and is able to descend and drill quickly in order to bring up samples. In this case, samples with a surprise inside. Don't want to give spoilers, but what they dug up was sure not what they were expecting. Gory, but a fun read.
April 30, 2019
This is quite a short novella at 109 pages including titles so I read this easily in one session. I can never resist a horror story or creature feature set in Antarctica so despite my total terror of spiders I wanted to read this one. It did turn out to be a decent read to pass a couple of hours though I have read better books in the genre. I didn't care one way or another for most of the characters and with most of them being spider-fodder, there is not a massive amount of character development but that is to be expected in this kind of book. I think it was the mind control thing that I wasn't as keen on. The spiders bite someone so they can control their mind and make them drill up more of the eggs which then defrost into more spiders, some much larger than others. The plan is to control all the people rather than eat them. I think I was looking more for a spiders running wild and eating people kind of story rather than smart spiders controlling people for their evil plan. It just wasn't quite the plot I was expecting which is a pity. That said, it was still a decent enough quick read with big ass spiders.
August 23, 2024
Fun story
Enjoyed this book. First time this author. Thought he did well. Excellent set up and execution with believable characters, nasty beasties, and plenty of action. Minimal gore so don't expect descriptive horrors. I have always liked horror and sci-fi set in arctic regions. This was a fun quick read that I highly recommend.
Enjoyed this book. First time this author. Thought he did well. Excellent set up and execution with believable characters, nasty beasties, and plenty of action. Minimal gore so don't expect descriptive horrors. I have always liked horror and sci-fi set in arctic regions. This was a fun quick read that I highly recommend.
April 3, 2019
Spiders give me creeps, so I loved this read! A twist from the norm that kept me gripped to the end!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews