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Werewolf Apocalypse #1
Bestial
Beneath the dim light of a full moon, the population of Cincinnati mutates into huge, snarling monsters that devour everyone they see, acting upon their most base and bestial desires. Planes fall from the sky. Highways are clogged with abandoned cars, and buildings explode and topple. The city burns. Only four people are immune to the metamorphosis-a smooth-talking thief who maintains the code of the Old West, an African-American bank teller who has struggled her entire life to emerge unscathed from the ghetto, a wealthy middle-aged housewife who finds everything she once believed to be a lie, and a teen-aged runaway turning tricks for food. Somehow, these survivors must discover what caused this apocalypse and stop it from spreading. In their way is not only a city of beasts at night, but, in the daylight hours, the same monsters returned to human form, many driven insane by atrocities committed against friends and families during. Now another night is fast approaching. And once again the moon will be full.
298 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2008
2 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 13, 2021
Lunar Challenge book 1. Doneskies.
This book has an awesome premise but the delivery fell way short of what it could have been. You follow five people as they try to survive werewolves for 3 nights in Ohio. You get to see shapeshifters that aren't the typical wolf man and instead are more of the bear variety with wolf features. It was neat that after a night of the full moon folks turned back into folks and madness slowly overwhelmed them until they tried to eat people while human. Great addition to an otherwise underwhelming story.
I didn't like any of the main characters. They just seemed so generic that I couldn't root for any of them and I wanted to. You got a runaway, a criminal, a mother, and a bank teller, and really none of them are fun to follow. The criminal could have been fun but he tries to be tough so often that he just looks dopey. The runaway should have been more heart wrenching and made you sick to your stomach but instead his background was mulled over in such a casual way that it lost all effect. This story was plot over characters and it really showed.
The bacteria/virus thing kind of threw me for a loop. They call it a bacteria at the beginning and then it is mentioned it's airborne and so my mind went "cool legionnaires or tuberculosis style bacteria, don't see that often in horror." Then they called it a virus for the rest of it and I could have thrown the book. Bacteria or virus not bacteria and virus, it can't be both. I would have let this go but it was referenced via the reading of a scientist's journal. No bueno friends.
A small review for a quick read. If you want something easy and something you can just shut out the noise outside for a minute this one is entertaining enough. If you want something where you care about the characters and there's a little more thought behind it, I'd give this one a pass. I wanted more but others loved it so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
There it is and there you have it.
This book has an awesome premise but the delivery fell way short of what it could have been. You follow five people as they try to survive werewolves for 3 nights in Ohio. You get to see shapeshifters that aren't the typical wolf man and instead are more of the bear variety with wolf features. It was neat that after a night of the full moon folks turned back into folks and madness slowly overwhelmed them until they tried to eat people while human. Great addition to an otherwise underwhelming story.
I didn't like any of the main characters. They just seemed so generic that I couldn't root for any of them and I wanted to. You got a runaway, a criminal, a mother, and a bank teller, and really none of them are fun to follow. The criminal could have been fun but he tries to be tough so often that he just looks dopey. The runaway should have been more heart wrenching and made you sick to your stomach but instead his background was mulled over in such a casual way that it lost all effect. This story was plot over characters and it really showed.
The bacteria/virus thing kind of threw me for a loop. They call it a bacteria at the beginning and then it is mentioned it's airborne and so my mind went "cool legionnaires or tuberculosis style bacteria, don't see that often in horror." Then they called it a virus for the rest of it and I could have thrown the book. Bacteria or virus not bacteria and virus, it can't be both. I would have let this go but it was referenced via the reading of a scientist's journal. No bueno friends.
A small review for a quick read. If you want something easy and something you can just shut out the noise outside for a minute this one is entertaining enough. If you want something where you care about the characters and there's a little more thought behind it, I'd give this one a pass. I wanted more but others loved it so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
There it is and there you have it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2017
That was pretty darn good. I wasn't sure what to expect, and a couple things were off with the characters, but mostly entertaining apocalypse of the werewolf kind...
Want to read
April 11, 2009Has a prominent bwwm interracial storyline. I definitely want to give this one a read. How sad am I that you put werewolves and interracial in a book and you get my attention? The two together, oh, yes!
July 15, 2012
The apocalypse is big business. Through movies and books, we’ve seen the end of the world come from vampires (I AM LEGEND), zombies (Romero’s LIVING DEAD series, the RESIDENT EVIL series), natural disasters (NIGHT OF THE COMET), robots (TERMINATOR: SALVATION), and pretty much anything else you can imagine. You don’t hear much about the end of the world being brought about by werewolves, though. It’s an interesting idea, one that, having read the synopsis in the back of another Permuted Press book, prompted me to buy this one, William D. Carl’s BESTIAL.
Taking place over three days in September in Cincinnati, BESTIAL tells the story of four survivors--seemingly the only people in town not infected with whatever this virus might be. Rick is a bank robber who is holding up the bank where Chesya work when everyone in the place--except our robber and our teller--are suddenly on the ground, writhing and changing, turning into huge snarling beasts that could be the product of a wolf-bear coupling. They seal themselves in the bank vault for the night and the next day set out in search of answers.
Christian is a teen runaway who’s been living on the streets for months when, safe inside his abandoned warehouse where he’s sleeping in an old elevator, he hears the world outside start to fall apart as the werewolf apocalypse strikes.
Meanwhile Cathy Wright, Christian’s mother, is lying in bed with her husband, Karl, when the man wakes, transforms, and runs off into the night, leaving Cathy holed up in the master bathroom until morning.
Over the course of these three days, our characters try to survive the collapse of society as the poor souls who’ve been infected by night find themselves unable to cope by day. Many commit suicide, some simply succumb to the more bestial nature they’ve discovered inside themselves.
While living on the streets, Christian sometimes made it from day to day by selling himself to older men. One in particular, Jean, has been trying to get Christian off the streets altogether, but the teen doesn’t want that kind of commitment. But he does try Jean’s fancy apartment the morning after the first outbreak. It’s empty, but then he remembers Jean talking about some kind of experiments he was conducting at work. Jean was (he’s one of the resulting suicides) a scientist for Bio-Gen, a fancy scientific outfit situated, apparently, in the middle of town.
It’s at Bio-Gen our characters all come together, and discover, held prisoner in the facility, Andrei, a Soviet citizen and all-around werewolf. Jean had discovered the man’s ability and wanted to cure him, as well as prevent anything like the holocaust from ever happening again. No, I’m not sure how curing a werewolf prevents the second holocaust, but bear with me and you’ll see there was much in BESTIAL that didn’t quite compute.
The gist of the story is that whatever virus it is in Andrei’s blood that turns him into a wolf creature for three days a month has been airborne and was released into the Cincinnati air. By accident, one hopes. These four people are immune to the virus, however, while everyone else in town is a ravening beast by night and savage manimal by day. The army is stationed just on the other side of the river, but they’re shooting anything and anyone who tries to cross. Keep the contamination in the city, that’s what they say. So how do our heroes get the vaccine, which Jean was developing, into the right hands without getting inadvertently shot?
Good question. The answer is a very action-packed and detailed climax with lots of fire and werewolves and guns and death.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save BESTIAL.
Man alive, I wanted to dig this book. The synopsis was awesome, I thought, and piqued my interest enough to shell out the $15, but almost from the beginning I realized this was an author not yet 100% comfortable with his own style.
“Help me, please! I hear you out there. Please, help me!” The cries sounded raspy, indicating that the screamer had been calling out for some time. There also seemed to be an accent to the words. Russian, Serbo-Croatian? Christian wasn’t sure, but the man’s hard consonants, like his C’s and K’s, contained a harsh vibrato; his vowels seemed to be drawn out, spoken in broader tones.
Color me confused, but I didn’t see any C’s or K’s in “Help me, please! I hear you out there. Please, help me!”, so this passage just comes across as sloppy and not well-thought-out.
Another con was the characterization. Of the four main characters, not a single one of them rang true to me, at all at all. Through everything happening to and around them, they simply didn’t act like you would expect someone to act. Granted, with a werewolf apocalypse a thing found only--so far--in fiction, who’s to say how one would really react, but I have a strong suspicion it wouldn’t be like this:
“No,” she answered. “I’m just telling you that you’re being a baby about it. ‘Poor me, I turned into a monster.’ In case you didn’t notice, I was the one you tried to kill. I was the one who was almost a victim here. You’re going to try to eat me again. Don’t deny it, Karl. I don’t want it to happen, so I’m being pro-active.”
He looked at her a moment, and the creases in his forehead lessened, then vanished. His hand stopped its incessant circling motion against his leg.
“I’m an a**,” he mumbled.
And later,
“I know, honey,” he said, whining. “I know. It’s just . . . degrading.”
“You want to know what’s degrading? Having to sit across from you, listening to you talk about drinking blood and chasing prey through the streets, and acting as though it were the normal thing to do nowadays. I had to be a good wife. I couldn’t turn away from you in revulsion, because a good wife doesn’t do that. She supports her husband. I’ve supported you before, if you remember. But this good wife wants to be here in the morning.”
“I’m a jackass.” He looked sheepish, younger than his years.
“Yes, you are,” she said, kissing him on the forehead. “Now, let’s get you locked up safe and sound.”
Aw, jeez, Wally, stop giving me the business!!! Really? Wow.
And last, but not least, was logic. See, I can deal with crappy characters, because I’m antisocial anyway and would barely know the difference. But when logic flaws shine through, I like to think I notice.
The news anchor droned on. “I’ve just been handed an update. Police officials have contracted several tow-truck companies to clear the streets. If you have an automobile parked or trapped in traffic, please find the car and remain near it. If an owner is with his or her car, they will not tow it to storage. If your car is towed, it will be safely stored in a nearby field or yard. Your local police station will have details as to which cars went to which holding place. It may take several days, but the roads will soon be clear of debris. Authorities also wish to warn that if you have family, keep them near at all times. The police highly recommend that you do not wait with your car through the day. If you have an automobile trapped in traffic, it will be towed to a safe area, and you can reclaim it when officials decide it is safe.”
Wait, didn’t they just say “find the car and remain near it”? Make up your mind. Also, much is made of how the power has gone out and there’s no electricity, yet when Rick and Chesya find an open bar down the street, they close themselves inside and watch the news on television.
On day two, a hotel collapses, apparently the result of a car crashing into the side of it. Seriously? That’s the apex of Cincinnati architecture when a highrise hotel collapses because a car crashed into the corner of it? That’s gonna promote tourism in Cincinnati! If I ever have to go to Cincinnati, it’s only single-story motels for me!
It’s such a waste when a book with such an original premise, something that should been totally awesome, falls flat and leaves me so incredibly disappointed. And, as is usual in these cases, it’s not the story’s fault, just the result of bad writing. God, I hate bad writing. Bad writing has the same effect as bad acting in an otherwise good movie; you want so badly to see how things turn out, but holy God, getting to the end is such a chore.
That was the case with BESTIAL. I liked the idea of the story, but the execution was just . . . wow . . . not up to snuff, not even a little bit. Books like BESTIAL are the reason the rejection letter with editorial comments was created. This book definitely needed another 2 or 3 edits, at least, before it was ready for mass consumption.
Taking place over three days in September in Cincinnati, BESTIAL tells the story of four survivors--seemingly the only people in town not infected with whatever this virus might be. Rick is a bank robber who is holding up the bank where Chesya work when everyone in the place--except our robber and our teller--are suddenly on the ground, writhing and changing, turning into huge snarling beasts that could be the product of a wolf-bear coupling. They seal themselves in the bank vault for the night and the next day set out in search of answers.
Christian is a teen runaway who’s been living on the streets for months when, safe inside his abandoned warehouse where he’s sleeping in an old elevator, he hears the world outside start to fall apart as the werewolf apocalypse strikes.
Meanwhile Cathy Wright, Christian’s mother, is lying in bed with her husband, Karl, when the man wakes, transforms, and runs off into the night, leaving Cathy holed up in the master bathroom until morning.
Over the course of these three days, our characters try to survive the collapse of society as the poor souls who’ve been infected by night find themselves unable to cope by day. Many commit suicide, some simply succumb to the more bestial nature they’ve discovered inside themselves.
While living on the streets, Christian sometimes made it from day to day by selling himself to older men. One in particular, Jean, has been trying to get Christian off the streets altogether, but the teen doesn’t want that kind of commitment. But he does try Jean’s fancy apartment the morning after the first outbreak. It’s empty, but then he remembers Jean talking about some kind of experiments he was conducting at work. Jean was (he’s one of the resulting suicides) a scientist for Bio-Gen, a fancy scientific outfit situated, apparently, in the middle of town.
It’s at Bio-Gen our characters all come together, and discover, held prisoner in the facility, Andrei, a Soviet citizen and all-around werewolf. Jean had discovered the man’s ability and wanted to cure him, as well as prevent anything like the holocaust from ever happening again. No, I’m not sure how curing a werewolf prevents the second holocaust, but bear with me and you’ll see there was much in BESTIAL that didn’t quite compute.
The gist of the story is that whatever virus it is in Andrei’s blood that turns him into a wolf creature for three days a month has been airborne and was released into the Cincinnati air. By accident, one hopes. These four people are immune to the virus, however, while everyone else in town is a ravening beast by night and savage manimal by day. The army is stationed just on the other side of the river, but they’re shooting anything and anyone who tries to cross. Keep the contamination in the city, that’s what they say. So how do our heroes get the vaccine, which Jean was developing, into the right hands without getting inadvertently shot?
Good question. The answer is a very action-packed and detailed climax with lots of fire and werewolves and guns and death.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save BESTIAL.
Man alive, I wanted to dig this book. The synopsis was awesome, I thought, and piqued my interest enough to shell out the $15, but almost from the beginning I realized this was an author not yet 100% comfortable with his own style.
“Help me, please! I hear you out there. Please, help me!” The cries sounded raspy, indicating that the screamer had been calling out for some time. There also seemed to be an accent to the words. Russian, Serbo-Croatian? Christian wasn’t sure, but the man’s hard consonants, like his C’s and K’s, contained a harsh vibrato; his vowels seemed to be drawn out, spoken in broader tones.
Color me confused, but I didn’t see any C’s or K’s in “Help me, please! I hear you out there. Please, help me!”, so this passage just comes across as sloppy and not well-thought-out.
Another con was the characterization. Of the four main characters, not a single one of them rang true to me, at all at all. Through everything happening to and around them, they simply didn’t act like you would expect someone to act. Granted, with a werewolf apocalypse a thing found only--so far--in fiction, who’s to say how one would really react, but I have a strong suspicion it wouldn’t be like this:
“No,” she answered. “I’m just telling you that you’re being a baby about it. ‘Poor me, I turned into a monster.’ In case you didn’t notice, I was the one you tried to kill. I was the one who was almost a victim here. You’re going to try to eat me again. Don’t deny it, Karl. I don’t want it to happen, so I’m being pro-active.”
He looked at her a moment, and the creases in his forehead lessened, then vanished. His hand stopped its incessant circling motion against his leg.
“I’m an a**,” he mumbled.
And later,
“I know, honey,” he said, whining. “I know. It’s just . . . degrading.”
“You want to know what’s degrading? Having to sit across from you, listening to you talk about drinking blood and chasing prey through the streets, and acting as though it were the normal thing to do nowadays. I had to be a good wife. I couldn’t turn away from you in revulsion, because a good wife doesn’t do that. She supports her husband. I’ve supported you before, if you remember. But this good wife wants to be here in the morning.”
“I’m a jackass.” He looked sheepish, younger than his years.
“Yes, you are,” she said, kissing him on the forehead. “Now, let’s get you locked up safe and sound.”
Aw, jeez, Wally, stop giving me the business!!! Really? Wow.
And last, but not least, was logic. See, I can deal with crappy characters, because I’m antisocial anyway and would barely know the difference. But when logic flaws shine through, I like to think I notice.
The news anchor droned on. “I’ve just been handed an update. Police officials have contracted several tow-truck companies to clear the streets. If you have an automobile parked or trapped in traffic, please find the car and remain near it. If an owner is with his or her car, they will not tow it to storage. If your car is towed, it will be safely stored in a nearby field or yard. Your local police station will have details as to which cars went to which holding place. It may take several days, but the roads will soon be clear of debris. Authorities also wish to warn that if you have family, keep them near at all times. The police highly recommend that you do not wait with your car through the day. If you have an automobile trapped in traffic, it will be towed to a safe area, and you can reclaim it when officials decide it is safe.”
Wait, didn’t they just say “find the car and remain near it”? Make up your mind. Also, much is made of how the power has gone out and there’s no electricity, yet when Rick and Chesya find an open bar down the street, they close themselves inside and watch the news on television.
On day two, a hotel collapses, apparently the result of a car crashing into the side of it. Seriously? That’s the apex of Cincinnati architecture when a highrise hotel collapses because a car crashed into the corner of it? That’s gonna promote tourism in Cincinnati! If I ever have to go to Cincinnati, it’s only single-story motels for me!
It’s such a waste when a book with such an original premise, something that should been totally awesome, falls flat and leaves me so incredibly disappointed. And, as is usual in these cases, it’s not the story’s fault, just the result of bad writing. God, I hate bad writing. Bad writing has the same effect as bad acting in an otherwise good movie; you want so badly to see how things turn out, but holy God, getting to the end is such a chore.
That was the case with BESTIAL. I liked the idea of the story, but the execution was just . . . wow . . . not up to snuff, not even a little bit. Books like BESTIAL are the reason the rejection letter with editorial comments was created. This book definitely needed another 2 or 3 edits, at least, before it was ready for mass consumption.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2012
MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT
Don't even think about reading this one right before going to sleep or that this is just another little story about werewolves since this is a horror story at the genre's best! The werewolves in this book are not the fluffy kind found in a lot of young adult literature today. These are vicious man eaters, bent on death and destruction in a sort of sexual way. The four main characters create a weird group that pull together while this apocalypse happens over 3 days and under the full moon in the city of Cincinnati.
The characters are all strong leads but my favorite is Chesya, a bank manager who is in the middle of a robbery pulled by Rick, who is a smooth talking criminal, but is frightened by dark, enclosed spaces. She is smart and resourceful while being calm under pressure. The other members of the group fighting for survival are Cathy and her son, Christian. Christen has run away from home after his rich, lawyer father abuses him and his mother does nothing Well, she does end up killing him when he turns into a werewolf which is a pretty awesome scene! This kid is also smart and unravels much of the mystery of why only certain people are changing and others are left unaffected.
Overall, this is really a super fast pace horror story much like Stephen King's earlier efforts and read like a script for a television show since everything was easily visualized. This only took me a few hours to read. I still wouldn't recommend this one for bedtime reading since i ended up running in my dreams the whole night.
LOVED IT
Don't even think about reading this one right before going to sleep or that this is just another little story about werewolves since this is a horror story at the genre's best! The werewolves in this book are not the fluffy kind found in a lot of young adult literature today. These are vicious man eaters, bent on death and destruction in a sort of sexual way. The four main characters create a weird group that pull together while this apocalypse happens over 3 days and under the full moon in the city of Cincinnati.
The characters are all strong leads but my favorite is Chesya, a bank manager who is in the middle of a robbery pulled by Rick, who is a smooth talking criminal, but is frightened by dark, enclosed spaces. She is smart and resourceful while being calm under pressure. The other members of the group fighting for survival are Cathy and her son, Christian. Christen has run away from home after his rich, lawyer father abuses him and his mother does nothing Well, she does end up killing him when he turns into a werewolf which is a pretty awesome scene! This kid is also smart and unravels much of the mystery of why only certain people are changing and others are left unaffected.
Overall, this is really a super fast pace horror story much like Stephen King's earlier efforts and read like a script for a television show since everything was easily visualized. This only took me a few hours to read. I still wouldn't recommend this one for bedtime reading since i ended up running in my dreams the whole night.
January 2, 2011
I mainly got this book because it is set in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH. It is a pretty solid thriller set around a biological catastrophe. Hard science geeks will have issues with the premise. But, it was fun reading a thriller set amid the neighborhoods and landmarks of my hometown.
December 16, 2024
The werepocalypse starts on my birthday. So that's fun.
February 17, 2021
I was hesitant getting a novel that wasn’t published by a mainstream publisher. I’d heard horror stories of unedited messes and terrible prose, but this is better than many mainstream books I’ve read!
This book takes all the best aspects of zombie apocalypse fiction and removes the weakest element: zombies. Although they weren’t as ubiquitous in 2008, replacing them with a new creature leads to fun and interesting story questions that zombies can’t offer.
How will the werewolves react after they turn back?
How will the protagonists hide if werewolves can tear down nearly any barricade?
There are many similar elements too, but the change of monster, fun characters, and great action scenes make this a very entertaining read.
I’m very grateful for the lack of an obnoxious cliffhanger ending too. There is a sequel (which I’m looking forward to checking out), but the book feels complete by itself.
This book takes all the best aspects of zombie apocalypse fiction and removes the weakest element: zombies. Although they weren’t as ubiquitous in 2008, replacing them with a new creature leads to fun and interesting story questions that zombies can’t offer.
How will the werewolves react after they turn back?
How will the protagonists hide if werewolves can tear down nearly any barricade?
There are many similar elements too, but the change of monster, fun characters, and great action scenes make this a very entertaining read.
I’m very grateful for the lack of an obnoxious cliffhanger ending too. There is a sequel (which I’m looking forward to checking out), but the book feels complete by itself.
July 27, 2023
This premise is the perfect candidate for dumb fun, and it is indeed dumb. Unfortunately, it constantly breaks any suspension of disbelief, and is annoyingly inconsistent with just how strong its monsters are - they're simultaneously capable of everything and nothing. The action isn't fun if the werewolf threat is randomly neutered for the sake of moving from one Cool Idea to the next.
There's also a weird attempt to throw in more serious commentary, which is about as blunt as the dumb fun and repetitive to an irritating degree.
There's still room for fun, and I don't doubt that a lot of people can easily enjoy this, but the fun is far more in the ideas than the execution.
There's also a weird attempt to throw in more serious commentary, which is about as blunt as the dumb fun and repetitive to an irritating degree.
There's still room for fun, and I don't doubt that a lot of people can easily enjoy this, but the fun is far more in the ideas than the execution.
July 11, 2025
Some trite dialogue (a character consistently says "Language!" when another character swears, barf...) and a persistent plague of continuity errors suggest to me that this would have benefited from a more aggressive editor. But I'm not sure if anything could have been done to make these characters interesting.
November 17, 2022
Pretty good story. The characters were a bit two dimensional
January 11, 2012
On September 16th, just minutes before the sun goes down, the unsuspecting citizens of Cinncinati go about their daily routines. In the midst of a bank robbery, after the sun has shed its last ray of light, things take an unbelievable turn as people keel over in pain and start sprouting fur and fangs. Nearly all the population (95%) is affected, but those who aren't quickly become the prey of those that are unless they think quickly and find a sturdy shelter fast. It would be a long and tragic night. With the first rays of light, those who morphed into bestial entities become human again. Slowly gunshots can be heard sporadically throughout the day as people who can't come to grips with the animalistic tendencies they displayed are not able to live with what they've done. Unfortunately, those who caused the bestial epidemic are amongst the casualties, at least two by their own hands. If a cure can't be found this may be the beginning of the end. The apocalypse may be upon us.
I enjoyed the book, but beware, this is definitely a horror story and not for the faint of heart. This one would definitely make for one gory movie. I actually grew up watching scary movies and loved getting the you-know-what scared out of me. As you can imagine, I was quite upset to find years later that after having my first child, I could no longer watch them. *sniff* Some sort of hormonal change took place that made it so I could no longer enjoy watching them. I have talked to others and found I am not alone in this. Luckily, I recently discovered that while I might no longer be able to watch them, I can still read them. Yay!
This story follows four characters as the bestial transformations take place. Two, Chesya and Rick, were at the scene of the bank robbery. One worked as a teller, while the other was one of the robbers. In order to escape, the two spend the night in the bank vault. Locking the vault door behind them, they will not know until morning, when the door's automatic timer opens it, what horrific sights the daylight will bring. The two are as different as night and day, but decide their best bet for survival is to watch each others back and work together.
The other two characters are a mother and son. The son is a seventeen year old who was sexually abused by his father and his friends. When no one, not even his mother believed him, he left home. Living on the streets, he spends that first horrific night of the transformations in a freight elevator of an abandoned building. Whereas Rick and Chesya have no idea what is happening outside their secure bank vault, Christian gets an up close and personal view, barely missing being killed. He's smart, resourceful, and will need to put his survivor skills to the test to survive.
Cathy is Christian's mom. She lives is in her exclusive Indian Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati with her husband, Karl, when things start turning bestial. She hasn't seen her son for several months and when all hell breaks loose, she wonders if she'll ever see him again. She's lived a rather pampered life and will be forced to stand on her own two feet for the first time if order to survive.
I liked how Mr. Carl chose these four very different characters to be the focus of the book. I enjoyed how they uncovered the mystery of what happened to cause the metamorphosis. Each brought a different skill/talent to the mix and when circumstances bring them together they worked as a team in an attempt to stay alive. The book kept my attention and had me wondering how the four would survive. The only thing I questioned was the way the werewolf condition was initially spread, but this is definitely not the first paranormal book to make me question something. Overall, I gave this one 3 out of 5 roses. There was plenty of action and drama with a touch of romance added in.
I enjoyed the book, but beware, this is definitely a horror story and not for the faint of heart. This one would definitely make for one gory movie. I actually grew up watching scary movies and loved getting the you-know-what scared out of me. As you can imagine, I was quite upset to find years later that after having my first child, I could no longer watch them. *sniff* Some sort of hormonal change took place that made it so I could no longer enjoy watching them. I have talked to others and found I am not alone in this. Luckily, I recently discovered that while I might no longer be able to watch them, I can still read them. Yay!
This story follows four characters as the bestial transformations take place. Two, Chesya and Rick, were at the scene of the bank robbery. One worked as a teller, while the other was one of the robbers. In order to escape, the two spend the night in the bank vault. Locking the vault door behind them, they will not know until morning, when the door's automatic timer opens it, what horrific sights the daylight will bring. The two are as different as night and day, but decide their best bet for survival is to watch each others back and work together.
The other two characters are a mother and son. The son is a seventeen year old who was sexually abused by his father and his friends. When no one, not even his mother believed him, he left home. Living on the streets, he spends that first horrific night of the transformations in a freight elevator of an abandoned building. Whereas Rick and Chesya have no idea what is happening outside their secure bank vault, Christian gets an up close and personal view, barely missing being killed. He's smart, resourceful, and will need to put his survivor skills to the test to survive.
Cathy is Christian's mom. She lives is in her exclusive Indian Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati with her husband, Karl, when things start turning bestial. She hasn't seen her son for several months and when all hell breaks loose, she wonders if she'll ever see him again. She's lived a rather pampered life and will be forced to stand on her own two feet for the first time if order to survive.
I liked how Mr. Carl chose these four very different characters to be the focus of the book. I enjoyed how they uncovered the mystery of what happened to cause the metamorphosis. Each brought a different skill/talent to the mix and when circumstances bring them together they worked as a team in an attempt to stay alive. The book kept my attention and had me wondering how the four would survive. The only thing I questioned was the way the werewolf condition was initially spread, but this is definitely not the first paranormal book to make me question something. Overall, I gave this one 3 out of 5 roses. There was plenty of action and drama with a touch of romance added in.
November 5, 2010
I am a big fan of Permuted Press and I also reside in the Cincinnati metro area so it was a double whammy when I saw this book title. When I got into it another point of interest to me was that the Werewolf Apocalypse starts on my birthday. Since I am turning 40 this year, I figure it would be a hell of a send up if I had a Werewolf infestation take place in my city the day I start my midlife crisis ;)
I will state that I do not know William Carl at all, though of course I do recognize quite a bit of Cincinnati in his story. He remains fairly accurate as far as landmarks and such and I appreciated that as a resident.
All that aside, this is a solid effort in a genre I have read very little on. Stephen King's Silver Bullet is the limit of my werewolf reading in book form. I have seen quite a few werewolf movies though and I like the strain of wolves that Mr. Carl has created here. They are big, brutish, and raw with physical power and rage.
Having the entire city essentially transform into these creatures makes for a very intense and nerve racking experience for our main characters, which consist of a bank teller, bank robber, street kid, and his wealthy mother who is not only coming to grips with the fact that her hubby has turned into a monster but that he was already a monster who abused their son, causing him to flee long before the advent of the Lycanthropic infestation.
We do get plenty of violence and action going here and I particularly liked the first night, when Rick, our bank robbing buddy, and Chesya, the teller he is forcing to open the bank vault, get to witness first hand the transformation of everyone around them as they turn into rabid monsters. It is quite a gripping scene. Since we are apparently in a Blue Moon stage, we get two (well, two and a half) nights of full moons so we have our folks running through downtown Cincinnati during the daylight hours along with a whole lot of bewildered people who changed and remember what they did while they changed into werewolves, which is quickly causing them to go insane.
There are plenty of other plot details related to the reasons for this outbreak but suffice it to say that this is a fast 300 page werewolf infested blast of a novel.
If I have a criticism here, it is not a huge one but has to do with our four main characters. Each is given a good size of personal baggage, issues such as being molested, being a criminal, struggling to break the grip of poverty, etc. It is hard to pin down, but with all of that it seemed like things came too easily in this story for them. They worked together well, they had only minor squabbles and seemed to sync up nicely with one another. With as many issues as they all had I would have expected more personality clashes and conflicts. Perhaps that is just my own expectations that should not be expected when we are talking about a werewolf book but I felt compelled to mention it. Even with this commentary I feel the author did a solid job of creating four real people who do not become superheros but do what they have to so they can survive an unbelievable set of events.
Good storytelling and a fun read, for sure.
I will state that I do not know William Carl at all, though of course I do recognize quite a bit of Cincinnati in his story. He remains fairly accurate as far as landmarks and such and I appreciated that as a resident.
All that aside, this is a solid effort in a genre I have read very little on. Stephen King's Silver Bullet is the limit of my werewolf reading in book form. I have seen quite a few werewolf movies though and I like the strain of wolves that Mr. Carl has created here. They are big, brutish, and raw with physical power and rage.
Having the entire city essentially transform into these creatures makes for a very intense and nerve racking experience for our main characters, which consist of a bank teller, bank robber, street kid, and his wealthy mother who is not only coming to grips with the fact that her hubby has turned into a monster but that he was already a monster who abused their son, causing him to flee long before the advent of the Lycanthropic infestation.
We do get plenty of violence and action going here and I particularly liked the first night, when Rick, our bank robbing buddy, and Chesya, the teller he is forcing to open the bank vault, get to witness first hand the transformation of everyone around them as they turn into rabid monsters. It is quite a gripping scene. Since we are apparently in a Blue Moon stage, we get two (well, two and a half) nights of full moons so we have our folks running through downtown Cincinnati during the daylight hours along with a whole lot of bewildered people who changed and remember what they did while they changed into werewolves, which is quickly causing them to go insane.
There are plenty of other plot details related to the reasons for this outbreak but suffice it to say that this is a fast 300 page werewolf infested blast of a novel.
If I have a criticism here, it is not a huge one but has to do with our four main characters. Each is given a good size of personal baggage, issues such as being molested, being a criminal, struggling to break the grip of poverty, etc. It is hard to pin down, but with all of that it seemed like things came too easily in this story for them. They worked together well, they had only minor squabbles and seemed to sync up nicely with one another. With as many issues as they all had I would have expected more personality clashes and conflicts. Perhaps that is just my own expectations that should not be expected when we are talking about a werewolf book but I felt compelled to mention it. Even with this commentary I feel the author did a solid job of creating four real people who do not become superheros but do what they have to so they can survive an unbelievable set of events.
Good storytelling and a fun read, for sure.
January 12, 2012
The apocalypse has hit the city of Cincinnati, in the form of werewolves! Ninety-five percent of the city’s population has been affected with an unknown virus that causes them to transform under a full moon. Only four people in the entire population seem to be immune to the transformation. As the sun comes out the following day, people who transformed the night before become human again. As what they did the night before dawn on them, they begin to feel suicidal unable to cope with what they’ve done.
The story focuses on four characters that are not affected by the bestial transformation. The first two are Rick and Chesya, who we first meet at a bank in the middle of a bank robbery. Chesya is the head teller, and Rick is one of the robbers. The other two are a mother and son. Cathy witnessed her husband’s transformation before her eyes, and Christian ran away after being sexually abused by his father and his friends.
I haven’t read a horror book in awhile, and I’m glad to jump back into the genre with Mr. Carl’s novel. Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse is a reprint; the book was first published in 2008. The book will grab you right away from the first sentence in the prologue. I really liked how Mr. Carl sets up the book; each chapter follows a different character where they all eventually come together to find out why people were infected in the first place and to stay alive. Overall a great read, this book is full of action, suspense and a sprinkle of romance. If you're a fan of werewolves or even shifters, I highly recommend this book.
The story focuses on four characters that are not affected by the bestial transformation. The first two are Rick and Chesya, who we first meet at a bank in the middle of a bank robbery. Chesya is the head teller, and Rick is one of the robbers. The other two are a mother and son. Cathy witnessed her husband’s transformation before her eyes, and Christian ran away after being sexually abused by his father and his friends.
I haven’t read a horror book in awhile, and I’m glad to jump back into the genre with Mr. Carl’s novel. Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse is a reprint; the book was first published in 2008. The book will grab you right away from the first sentence in the prologue. I really liked how Mr. Carl sets up the book; each chapter follows a different character where they all eventually come together to find out why people were infected in the first place and to stay alive. Overall a great read, this book is full of action, suspense and a sprinkle of romance. If you're a fan of werewolves or even shifters, I highly recommend this book.
December 4, 2012
Prior to this book, the werewolves I read about were romantic leads.
Let's just say... Bestial doesn't follow that trend!
When I found out a local author wrote this book...
I knew it would be worth reading.
Mr. Carl spun a unique tale about a werewolf apocalypse in Cincinnati.
Which happens to be the gem of my Tri-State area!
I really enjoyed "seeing" the local landmarks mentioned.
And... I have a feeling... when I cross the bridge from Kentucky into Ohio, this tale will come to mind for a long time.
Might even avoid it... at night... when the moon is full!
The pages were filled with action.
Following the lives of four main characters, who miraculously didn't "turn".
How they survived each night... and tried to make some sense out of everything during the day.
Bits of their back stories were revealed, as they tried to come to grips with their present life. Each had seen and lived through so much....
The main characters were likable and I felt myself rooting for them.
Especially when they were faced with danger!
My only complaint... the story ended!
I would have liked to read a little more about this quartet, how they fared in the future. And what happened when the next full moon came?!?
If you're looking for a quick & fun read... give this book a try!
edited to add... this book does contain strong language, blood, violence & the like.
November 30, 2015
Bestial is a Permuted Press title which means zombie apocalypse--or not. Bestial begins with a bank robbery in Cincinnati which goes terribly wrong when the people on the street and a few of the people in the bank suddenly turn into horrible monsters.
Present is a disease outbreak that turns most of the city into flesh-craving, near-mindless dangers, and a plucky bunch of mismatched almost-heroes who must battle through the ruins of a city, maybe find a cure and (hopefully) find salvation in the military blockade set up to quarantine the city. But this nasty end-of-Ohio tale spawns ravenous bands of pseudo-werewolves, the results of man's screwing around with nature.
Carl writes with both devotion to the end of the world outbreak tale and a mastery of it that allows for tongue-in-cheek word and character play with familiar (very familiar to citizens of Southern Ohio and Northeastern Kentucky) themes. There's something that's pure fun about watching an area you know fall to the zombie werewolf apocalypse, but even non residents can enjoy this one with some truly clever writing. Lines like: "Then there were the bodies. They were scattered, dotting the landscape like punctuation, commas of ruined flesh." make Bestial a surprisingly well written romp through the Apocalypse.
Present is a disease outbreak that turns most of the city into flesh-craving, near-mindless dangers, and a plucky bunch of mismatched almost-heroes who must battle through the ruins of a city, maybe find a cure and (hopefully) find salvation in the military blockade set up to quarantine the city. But this nasty end-of-Ohio tale spawns ravenous bands of pseudo-werewolves, the results of man's screwing around with nature.
Carl writes with both devotion to the end of the world outbreak tale and a mastery of it that allows for tongue-in-cheek word and character play with familiar (very familiar to citizens of Southern Ohio and Northeastern Kentucky) themes. There's something that's pure fun about watching an area you know fall to the zombie werewolf apocalypse, but even non residents can enjoy this one with some truly clever writing. Lines like: "Then there were the bodies. They were scattered, dotting the landscape like punctuation, commas of ruined flesh." make Bestial a surprisingly well written romp through the Apocalypse.
January 17, 2012
The energy that it takes to write a piece like this is astounding. The energy required to write it so wonderfully is even more so. William Carl accomplished so much with this novel. His charachters are living, breathing, tangible people that really do pull through an apocolyptic event. You feel for them, love them, hate them and ultimately understand them in some way thanks to such a deep connection that the author shares with them. His masterful control of the setting really brings the reader into the streets of Downtown Cincinnati and allows the reader to run right along the sides of Chesya, Christian, Cathy and Rich. The verbage used is amazing, not used to where a certain audience couldn't understand anything, but used so the meanings - such as the word "Tartuffery," can be gleemed from the surrounding text very easily and readily. The point of view switches a bit in odd places, but doesn't slow the reader down. All in all, The only thing I found lacking in this piece was that there wasn't enough of it to last me a good while. It is a brilliant horror novel written through charachters of literature, the grace of poetry and the vividness of classical artists. Well Done, my friend. I can't wait to read more!
January 16, 2012
It's just like any other night in Cincinnati well that is until most of the cities population start experiencing something painfully weird. Soon they are being transformed into werewolves. There are four people who are immune to whatever is causing the transformation, and they somehow need to figure out what is going on and stop it.
I have read alot of vampire fiction but can honestly say that I have read a handful of werewolf novels, and in all the werewolf novels that I read normally the werewolves are in the minority, but with "Bestial" the werewolves are the majority! I thought the author did a pretty good job of putting a different twist to the werewolves. The story flowed smoothly and moved along at a very brisk pace. The characters were well fleshed out and easy to relate too. I also liked the idea that the book was set in Cincinnati.
While fans of werewolf fiction will certainly devour this book, anyone who is looking for a fast paced novel with plenty of action, horror blood and gore will certainly want to check this book out!
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have read alot of vampire fiction but can honestly say that I have read a handful of werewolf novels, and in all the werewolf novels that I read normally the werewolves are in the minority, but with "Bestial" the werewolves are the majority! I thought the author did a pretty good job of putting a different twist to the werewolves. The story flowed smoothly and moved along at a very brisk pace. The characters were well fleshed out and easy to relate too. I also liked the idea that the book was set in Cincinnati.
While fans of werewolf fiction will certainly devour this book, anyone who is looking for a fast paced novel with plenty of action, horror blood and gore will certainly want to check this book out!
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 6, 2012
This book starts out with men robbing a bank and the action doesn't stop from there. The story takes place over a few days, with several main characters who you learn to like. When night falls, almost everyone in the city turns into werewolves. Men, women, and children, they all go crazy and kill whatever is in sight, including each other. Rick and Chesya spend the night inside the banks vault to stay alive, but as the next night falls, they find that they can't use it again since the battery no longer works. So they race around to try to find a safe place to hide out until daybreak comes again.
Christian is a homeless boy who does 'favors' for an older scientist. After the outbreak of werewolves, he travels to the scientists lab to try to find out if he knows anything, but finds him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He discovers his journal and realizes he is the one responsible for the outbreak. The three come together while hiding out and then try to alert the military without getting killed by the werewolves or the guard.
This post was written for the sponsor who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.
Christian is a homeless boy who does 'favors' for an older scientist. After the outbreak of werewolves, he travels to the scientists lab to try to find out if he knows anything, but finds him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He discovers his journal and realizes he is the one responsible for the outbreak. The three come together while hiding out and then try to alert the military without getting killed by the werewolves or the guard.
This post was written for the sponsor who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.
January 2, 2012
I'd have given it two stars if it weren't for the forced plot developments (i.e. there's a power outage on, and mom for no apparent reason grabs the husband' cell phone -- he molested their teenage son who subsequently fled, she kills him as he transforms into a werewolf. The kid ran away after the molestation and mom took dad's side. Then just before she burns down the whole house, she decides to grab her husband's cell phone. Now remember the power's out. Well, anyway, all the way across town, the son finds a cell phone (two days into the crisis), and who does he call? Dear old dad's cell phone.
Don't get me started about the confusion between a cantilever bridge and a suspension bridge, let alone some idiocy about the one in Cleveland being the world's longest. Perhaps if some terrorist blew up the 42 longer spans, then yes, it's the world's longest.
Scientific accuracy be damned. Research be damned.
No.
Don't get me started about the confusion between a cantilever bridge and a suspension bridge, let alone some idiocy about the one in Cleveland being the world's longest. Perhaps if some terrorist blew up the 42 longer spans, then yes, it's the world's longest.
Scientific accuracy be damned. Research be damned.
No.
December 17, 2016
Didn't care too much for the characters in the sense that they kind of flip-flopped some in their habits, certainly didn't care for the background of Christian (some things don't make a book better, and there could have been other ways of handling that. It's like putting rape in a movie: I get why it's there sometimes but in this case it did not add to the story at all).
That being said it gave me the very thing I was looking for in a werewolf book: it was intense and a bit of a nail biter. I loved the idea of how it happened and the background behind it, as well as the execution of watching it unfold.
5 stars because it is exactly like it should be for a "werewolf apocalypse" but I deduct 3 stars for having that unnecessary bit of background on why Christian was a run-away. Could have been other ways of doing it. Just creepy bullshit in my opinion.
I average out 4 stars and recommend this book for people who love werewolf stories.
That being said it gave me the very thing I was looking for in a werewolf book: it was intense and a bit of a nail biter. I loved the idea of how it happened and the background behind it, as well as the execution of watching it unfold.
5 stars because it is exactly like it should be for a "werewolf apocalypse" but I deduct 3 stars for having that unnecessary bit of background on why Christian was a run-away. Could have been other ways of doing it. Just creepy bullshit in my opinion.
I average out 4 stars and recommend this book for people who love werewolf stories.
October 14, 2012
I'm confused as to how other reviewers found this book to be "original," as it's anything BUT original. If the characters or plot were any more stock, they'd make an excellent base for a soup.
Young, possibly gay, man who after being raped by his father, turns to a life of homosexual prostitution? Check. (someone watched My Own Private Idaho one time too many, I think)
Strong Black Woman who made it out of the "hood?" Check. Double check even... she actually refers to herself as a Strong Black Woman.
Ruggedly Handsome Man with a criminal edge, but a heart of kind-of-gold? Check.
Anything even vaguely resembling originality? No Check.
I can't believe an E-ink tree died for this book to be published.
Young, possibly gay, man who after being raped by his father, turns to a life of homosexual prostitution? Check. (someone watched My Own Private Idaho one time too many, I think)
Strong Black Woman who made it out of the "hood?" Check. Double check even... she actually refers to herself as a Strong Black Woman.
Ruggedly Handsome Man with a criminal edge, but a heart of kind-of-gold? Check.
Anything even vaguely resembling originality? No Check.
I can't believe an E-ink tree died for this book to be published.
March 28, 2015
Does for werewolves what The Walking Dead did for zombies.
A virus is unleashed on the citizens of Ohio that unleashes their inner beasts -- literally. A unlikely group of survivors -- a bank robber, the teller he held a gun in, and a 17 year old hustler -- are brought together at ground zero, where they make a startling discovery. They only need to make it through three nights and then they are safe for the next month. But when it seems the entire city wants to feast on your insides, what are your chances of survival?
A virus is unleashed on the citizens of Ohio that unleashes their inner beasts -- literally. A unlikely group of survivors -- a bank robber, the teller he held a gun in, and a 17 year old hustler -- are brought together at ground zero, where they make a startling discovery. They only need to make it through three nights and then they are safe for the next month. But when it seems the entire city wants to feast on your insides, what are your chances of survival?
Want to read
August 24, 2010One night, under a full moon, the city of Cincinnati is turned upside down. Air and vehicular traffic is brought to a virtual standstill. Fires rage in different neighborhoods. And … a segment of the city’s population has been transformed into large, ravenous wolves.
For those unaffected humans, they now run the risk of becoming the wolves’ prey. Even daylight offers no relief for them. This novel reads like an apocalyptic thriller.
For those unaffected humans, they now run the risk of becoming the wolves’ prey. Even daylight offers no relief for them. This novel reads like an apocalyptic thriller.
November 20, 2016
This is a really good book. The only reason I am not giving it a 5 star is the fact that the ending is so quick I do not feel as if there was enough though put into the ending as it was the beginning. There are some great characters that most can connect to in some way. This a graphic novel and not something I personally suggest for children or teens. This is definitely an adult novel. I love the character development in this book and some really great scenes.
July 19, 2009
I really enjoyed this book - the story was original and the characters were well written. Can you imagine that the population of your whole town turns into blood-thirsty werewolves at nightfall on a full moon, and only a few people don't turn? Mr. Carl has a good writing style, however I found my self laughing at some of his similes, and I am not sure if he made them funny on purpose or not.
March 17, 2013
Interesting premise. Almost the entire population of Cincinnati Ohio turns into lycanthropes - the 4 who appear to be immune to whatever has caused this change have to survive the 3 nights of the full moon.
Not crazy about the author's style of writing or storytelling but the story itself was good.
Not crazy about the author's style of writing or storytelling but the story itself was good.
May 10, 2013
Nearly the entire population of Cincinnati has become infected with a bacterium that causes lycanthropy, causing normal men and women to mutate into huge, snarling, blood-thirsty and ravenous monsters. The book follows the terrifying adventures of the few remaining humans as they try to survive the first three nights of the full moon. Very gory.
July 21, 2009
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2010
Crazy, fun, SciFi - Horror read. Great for a long train ride.
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