The Beast

How to Survive Camping #4

by Bonnie Quinn

This book is the physical edition of a series of posts from Reddit’s r/nosleep subreddit, containing the fourth major storyline of “How to Survive Camping”. It is largely unaltered, with only minor edits for readability in print form.Every year, campground manager Kate sends out a pamphlet titled “How to Survive Your Camping Experience.” In it is a list of rules to help campers have an enjoyable experience and hopefully survive any encounters with the campground’s… other… inhabitants.There is only one obstacle left standing between Kate and her goal to make the campground safe for everyone. The beast, an entity that has stalked her family relentlessly for generations upon generations. But while Kate searches for answers as to its origins - and how to stop it - she must also contend with the unusually aggressive frost, figure out how to fulfill her promise to the thing in the dark, and make sense of Beau's plans for her. As Kate's story draws to an epic conclusion, she will have to confront her past and right her family's wrongs if she wants to save her land from the dominion of the beast.

Genres: Horror, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

383 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2021

About the author

I am a Senior Software Developer and author. I'm active in the Reddit r/NoSleep community and wrote the popular "How to Survive Camping" series.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“‘So Kate’s story ended.’ ‘It hurts.’ ‘The best ones always do.’” Have tissues - the ending is a process, not a sentence or two.

[Lydia 🌙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“So Kate’s story ended.”
“It hurts.”
“The best ones always do”


I’m not sobbing (yes I am) (I am sobbing uncontrollably)

This was SO well written. I got so attached to characters that I shouldn’t have gotten attached to. I am in love with Beau and Kate and the dancers. GOD.

I am also very looking forward to continuing How to Survive College (yea! I’m aware it’s not the same story. But Bonnie Quinn has stolen my heart away and I will now consume all of her media).

[Robert Whiting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great end to a great series

This was a brilliant end to a great collection of stories. It was well worth the time to read the four book series.

[krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like the beast gets bogged down sometimes, and there are some passages that are muddied to me, as well as one really important detail that kind of blindsided me at the end.

however, Quinn's writing remains strong, and very readable. I'm excited to check out the published series in the future.

[king bitchard 💜 · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok. finished the series now.

im choosing to interpret kate as being of indigenous descent. i think it makes the most sense with how she’s described her family’s tie to the land. otherwise, it’s uncomfortably colonial. i wanted to say that first. other than that, this is a five star conclusion to a five star series. god. god. god. i cried for the thing in the dark and i mourned for beau. this is an incredible, phenomenal, detailed, gorgeous, smart, insane story. i love it. it’s the first piece of writing i shed tears over in a long time. i feel like it gave me back a piece of myself i have literally been missing since childhood. i feel like, through this, i found my sense of wonder and chaos - the gifts of fantasy literature - again. i want to thank the author for writing this. i’m gonna really really miss kate.

[Paul Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully sad and brilliantly written. It felt a lot shorter than the previous books. The bonus story at the end was superb

[Crickets · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was a lot of fun. A campground manager tells you about her life on "old land", blog-style. From the routine camping rules and tasks, like planning enough space for tents and ropes, to more site specific rules, like fairy rings and things that get into your tent at night and mimic the voices of those you know. Actually read all of these on reddit's r/nosleep, after a recommendation from a friend. Only then noticed they're also available in a sort of ebook format. It's very much a "entity of the week" formula, with an overarching plot that gets more relevant as time goes on. Expect lots of different types of folklore, folkloric fiction, and popculture references. There is a lot of violence.

[Ree Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely incredible

I started reading this ages ago when it was first published on Reddit and forgot about the threads in time. I was thrilled to have found it again as a proper book series, and it was a fantastic read from start to finish. Thanks Bonnie and thanks Kate for such a great story

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to the Goat Valley Campgrounds series by the nosleep podcast, and I'm SO glad I made the effort to seek out and read the full series of books. Fantastic stories for fans of fantasy and the supernatural

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The conclusion is just as good as the rest of the series.

These books are such fun, and great meta commentary and format with them originating on reddit.

I can't recommend the entire series strongly enough.

[Aditi Ramaswamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down the best horror series I’ve ever read. Highly recommend these beautiful, genuinely creepy books to everyone who enjoys dark fantasy.

[Amber Benedix · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling conclusion to the 4 part series I’ve enjoyed so much over the past few years.

[Qualle · Rating 5 out of 5]

great ending to this, really enjoyed the last one!

[Lars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great conclusion to the story

[Henry Heintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

An original story I loved all four books in the series. The ending was better than I could have imagined

[Taylor Van Epps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Sad the story ended but it ended beautifully and was a great book. Can’t wait to read more from Bonnie

[Anirban · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not often that when you find a writer on Reddit, they are gold. But that's exactly what Bonnie Quinn is. How to Survive Camping as a series is for anyone who loves the creepy and the supernatural, in a world where the real meets the fae. Given that I love writing in this style myself, I fell in love with it immediately.

How to Survive Camping with all of its morally grey characters have been a comfort to me at a time when I needed it.

I would recommend this series to anyone who wants to read something fantastic.