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Thunder, AZ
NEXT REST AREA… IN HELL. When college student Jimmy Johannsen returns to his small hometown to mourn the death of his sister, the last thing he expects to find is a nuclear holocaust. This colorful strip of Navajo desert, once his humble home, has erupted in chaos, and strange rumors are shuddering through what remains of the town. But disaster is only the beginning... Now, with his shocked, hayseed mother under his arm, Jimmy must defend himself against a storm of horrors, as well as the wrath of the town’s dwindling survivors, whose history adds up to a deadly sum of guns, conspiracy, and bad blood. Will Jimmy and his mother escape the harrowing desert and find safety? Welcome to Thunder, Arizona–a small town with a big secret. Beneath its blackening skies, evil lies in wait. Ari Loeb’s apocalyptic debut explores both the fears you already know, and the ones you can only imagine. It is survival horror in a clown car, and the monsters scuttle out to no end. Loeb is a Los Angeles-based writer and stuntman, specializing in creature horror such as Double Tap, Fear The Walking Dead, and the Resident Evil video games.1st PLACE WINNER! Jack Eadon Memorial Best Contemporary Fiction
1st PLACE WINNER! Reader Views Literary Awards / HORROR
1st PLACE WINNER! Firebird Book Awards, Speak Up Radio
"A cracked carnival of a book - pendulum rides, freak shows, and the best damn shooting gallery. You'll gasp, grin, and line up for more." - Glen Berger, Emmy-winning author of Song of Spider-Man
"ENGROSSING. . . COMPLETE ANNIHILATION. . . AN UNFORGETTABLE TALE THAT HAS NOT BEEN TOLD BEFORE!" - Paige Lovitt
1st PLACE WINNER! Reader Views Literary Awards / HORROR
1st PLACE WINNER! Firebird Book Awards, Speak Up Radio
"A cracked carnival of a book - pendulum rides, freak shows, and the best damn shooting gallery. You'll gasp, grin, and line up for more." - Glen Berger, Emmy-winning author of Song of Spider-Man
"ENGROSSING. . . COMPLETE ANNIHILATION. . . AN UNFORGETTABLE TALE THAT HAS NOT BEEN TOLD BEFORE!" - Paige Lovitt
Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2021
3 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Ari Loeb
2 books4 followersAri Loeb spent much of his life as a circus artist, touring with Cirque du Soleil. After ten years on the road, Loeb settled into New York City, where he worked as a choreographer and performer on the hit Broadway show Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Years later, he returned to his hometown of Los Angeles to work as a stuntman in film and television. Loeb specializes in motion capture and creature horror, such as Zombieland: Double Tap, Fear The Walking Dead, and the Resident Evil video game franchise.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 17, 2022
“Thunder, AZ” is a debut apocalyptic horror novel by Ari Loeb based in the Western America and New York City. The book recently won gold for best horror novel per the Reader Views 2021-2022 annual contest.
Mr. Loeb’s writing is tight and fast-paced, as is his action. The plot follows a young college student, Jimmy Johannsen, whose twin sister dies expectantly, requiring a return to his hometown of Thunder, Arizona, a backwater town whose heyday occurred in the earlier part of the twentieth century when uranium was being mined locally for nuclear weapon creation.
From the get-go, when Jimmy is picked up by his mother at the airfield closest to Thunder, he senses something is wrong with his hometown; people are disappearing and behaving strangely, and natural disasters begin to occur with no understandable pattern.
The story line loosely revolves around an ancient Native American relic and toxic poisons pent up in the uranium mines which have only recently reached the surface. To describe more would be to create spoilers so read the book or listen to the audiobook to see where the plot goes.
There is a lot of graphic violence in the novel; there’s humor, particularly some good newspaper/magazine story captures about halfway through. Thunder, AZ has an exceptionally high body count, so be prepared for that. I think what I found most “horrific” about the novel was the huge role chaos had in “controlling” events. Some rhyme and reason for this is revealed as the story unfolds, but the most terrible "monster” is the complete unpredictability of events (other than the general direction of things going to hell in a hand basket).
Most of the developed characters are either anti-heroes or villains; there are few traditional heroes to cheer for, which is okay; I found myself wondering at times if anyone was going to make it out alive.
The novel is a quick read and is as advertised: a chaotic romp through malign, disastrous forces released on a small mining town. Some main characters are introduced at the story’s beginning, but many are added in the middle and even near the end. There are several subplots, some of which coalesce, and some which don’t. I began reading and quickly wanted to know how things would end which is the basic deliverable I require from a novel: is it interesting enough to wait for the payoff at the end? Mr. Loeb provided this in a gritty, hold-on-to-your-seats fashion.
An element which could have been done differently was the jerkiness of introduced stories; often, one story started seemingly at random when compared to other plotlines. This may have been done by intent (it’s a book about chaos) but a little more uniformity of presentation and a few reminders throughout the story about who relates to whom, etc. would have been more helpful to me. For instance, there’s a short story after the conclusion of the main part of the novel that might have been better presented within the main storyline itself. I say this because it gave me a feeling like several short stories were stitched together; a little more connection between these sub-tales would really add to the overall effect. There are some minor typos which do not take away from the reading experience.
Overall, a great debut novel by Mr. Loeb, who can obviously create cataclysmic action that makes you want to duck and cover your ears, hoping that his characters survive the next tumultuous challenge. -- T.C. Schueler, author of 22 Dutch Road
Mr. Loeb’s writing is tight and fast-paced, as is his action. The plot follows a young college student, Jimmy Johannsen, whose twin sister dies expectantly, requiring a return to his hometown of Thunder, Arizona, a backwater town whose heyday occurred in the earlier part of the twentieth century when uranium was being mined locally for nuclear weapon creation.
From the get-go, when Jimmy is picked up by his mother at the airfield closest to Thunder, he senses something is wrong with his hometown; people are disappearing and behaving strangely, and natural disasters begin to occur with no understandable pattern.
The story line loosely revolves around an ancient Native American relic and toxic poisons pent up in the uranium mines which have only recently reached the surface. To describe more would be to create spoilers so read the book or listen to the audiobook to see where the plot goes.
There is a lot of graphic violence in the novel; there’s humor, particularly some good newspaper/magazine story captures about halfway through. Thunder, AZ has an exceptionally high body count, so be prepared for that. I think what I found most “horrific” about the novel was the huge role chaos had in “controlling” events. Some rhyme and reason for this is revealed as the story unfolds, but the most terrible "monster” is the complete unpredictability of events (other than the general direction of things going to hell in a hand basket).
Most of the developed characters are either anti-heroes or villains; there are few traditional heroes to cheer for, which is okay; I found myself wondering at times if anyone was going to make it out alive.
The novel is a quick read and is as advertised: a chaotic romp through malign, disastrous forces released on a small mining town. Some main characters are introduced at the story’s beginning, but many are added in the middle and even near the end. There are several subplots, some of which coalesce, and some which don’t. I began reading and quickly wanted to know how things would end which is the basic deliverable I require from a novel: is it interesting enough to wait for the payoff at the end? Mr. Loeb provided this in a gritty, hold-on-to-your-seats fashion.
An element which could have been done differently was the jerkiness of introduced stories; often, one story started seemingly at random when compared to other plotlines. This may have been done by intent (it’s a book about chaos) but a little more uniformity of presentation and a few reminders throughout the story about who relates to whom, etc. would have been more helpful to me. For instance, there’s a short story after the conclusion of the main part of the novel that might have been better presented within the main storyline itself. I say this because it gave me a feeling like several short stories were stitched together; a little more connection between these sub-tales would really add to the overall effect. There are some minor typos which do not take away from the reading experience.
Overall, a great debut novel by Mr. Loeb, who can obviously create cataclysmic action that makes you want to duck and cover your ears, hoping that his characters survive the next tumultuous challenge. -- T.C. Schueler, author of 22 Dutch Road
August 13, 2021
“A cracked carnival of a book – pendulum rides, freak shows, and the best damn shooting gallery. You’ll grin, gasp, and line up for more.”
– Glen Berger, Emmy-winning author of Song of Spider-Man
– Glen Berger, Emmy-winning author of Song of Spider-Man
January 28, 2022
Jimmy Johannsen is attending Columbia University when he receives a call that his twin sister was killed by a city transit bus that ran her over. Returning home to Thunder, AZ, he notices that the town has drastically changed. The townsfolk don’t know it yet, but a portal to Hell has opened. Shortly after Jimmy’s arrival, he witnesses terrorizing events that destroy the town and all the people in it. All die, except for Jimmy and a man named Hell Finn. Hell is someone on a quest of his own; he has come to town to assist with the destruction, and Hell is “hell-bent” on complete annihilation.
“Thunder, AZ,” immediately captured my attention. The storyline is unique, and there are subplots that make it even more engrossing. The backstory behind what caused the portal to open is also very interesting and hasn’t been told before. The protagonist is somewhat naïve and quite likable, and readers will find themselves cheering him on. On the other side of the coin, the evil character is very well described and readers will find themselves completely repulsed by him. This revulsion adds to the overall feeling of being on a scary rollercoaster ride. Other supporting characters help round out the action. Their roles tend to be very lively and entertaining, and I liked the fact that not all of them were able to stay in human form. The combination of pure evil emanating from the “bad guys,” with the deadly environment, creates a truly frightening feeling of dread and death. I kept reading while hoping for some respite that never arrived. And while that sounds absolutely terrifying, this is actually the exact reaction I want to experience when reading something horrific! I believe all horror lovers will agree.
The author, Ari Loeb, does an excellent job of vividly bringing to life the settings, and created an illusion that made me feel like I was “watching” the story, rather than reading it. He is a writer with an amazingly gifted talent for spinning a tale. I was enjoying “Thunder, AZ” almost immediately upon opening the book. I even stopped to see if Loeb had any other books out there, so that I could continue to enjoy his writing after I finished this one. I guarantee you’ll feel the exact same way after you’ve read this unforgettable tale!
“Thunder, AZ,” immediately captured my attention. The storyline is unique, and there are subplots that make it even more engrossing. The backstory behind what caused the portal to open is also very interesting and hasn’t been told before. The protagonist is somewhat naïve and quite likable, and readers will find themselves cheering him on. On the other side of the coin, the evil character is very well described and readers will find themselves completely repulsed by him. This revulsion adds to the overall feeling of being on a scary rollercoaster ride. Other supporting characters help round out the action. Their roles tend to be very lively and entertaining, and I liked the fact that not all of them were able to stay in human form. The combination of pure evil emanating from the “bad guys,” with the deadly environment, creates a truly frightening feeling of dread and death. I kept reading while hoping for some respite that never arrived. And while that sounds absolutely terrifying, this is actually the exact reaction I want to experience when reading something horrific! I believe all horror lovers will agree.
The author, Ari Loeb, does an excellent job of vividly bringing to life the settings, and created an illusion that made me feel like I was “watching” the story, rather than reading it. He is a writer with an amazingly gifted talent for spinning a tale. I was enjoying “Thunder, AZ” almost immediately upon opening the book. I even stopped to see if Loeb had any other books out there, so that I could continue to enjoy his writing after I finished this one. I guarantee you’ll feel the exact same way after you’ve read this unforgettable tale!
January 12, 2022
Not typically my style of book but I couldn’t put it down. I appreciate the short chapters for easy reading. The action in it was awesome, really kept me intrigued the whole time as to what would happen next.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews