Predator: Eyes of the Demon

Predator Novels

by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (Editor), Tim Lebbon, Stephen Graham Jones

Fifteen original, never-before-seen short stories set in the expanded Predator universe from the first film, featuring the ultimate hunters, the Yautja from the movie Predator. Set in the recent past, the present, and the future, these edge-of-your-seat adventures by many of today’s top SF and horror authors take place on Earth and in the dark, unforgiving reaches of space. The diverse, multi-ethnic group of authors includes New York Times bestsellers, Stoker Award winners, and acclaimed contributors to the Alien and Predator universes. Included in this volume are Native American award-winning horror author Stephen Graham Jones, Linda Addison— the first African American to win the Stoker Award, Peter Briggs, screenwriter for Hellboy, New York Times bestselling author and visionary podcaster Scott Sigler (Aliens: Phalanx), award-winning author Ammar Habib (The Heart of Aleppo), New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry, Emmy nominated writer Joshua Pruett of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Tim Lebbon, author of the Aliens vs. Predators “Rage War”, and many more.

Featuring Stephen Graham Jones, Linda Addison, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Sigler, Peter Briggs, Tim Lebbon, Nancy A. Collins, A. R. Reddington, Robert Greenberger, Ammar Habib, Gini Koch, Kim May, Yvonne Navarro, Joshua Pruett and Bryan Thomas Schmidt.


Introduction (Predator: Eyes of the Demon) • essay by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
The Titans • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Tim Lebbon
The Distance in Their Eyes • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Stephen Graham Jones
Aftermath • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Proving Ground • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Linda D. Addison
Lion of the Himalayas • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Ammar Habib
The Fix is In • [Predator short fiction] • novelette by Jonathan Maberry
Bitter Hunt • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Kim May
Field Trip • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Robert Greenberger
Cannon Fodder • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Gini Koch
Little Miss Nightmare • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Peter Briggs
The Trophy • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by A. R. Redington
The Monster • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Michael Kogge
Ghost Story • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Joshua Pruett
Sly Dark in the Daylight • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Yvonne Navarro
Dead Man's Switch • [Predator short fiction] • short fiction by Scott Sigler

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Media Tie In, Aliens

448 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2022

About the author

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is a national bestselling author and Hugo nominated editor of adult and children’s speculative fiction. His fourth novel, Simon Says is a page-turning near future thriller. His debut novel, The Worker Prince received Honorable Mention on Barnes & Noble Book Club’s Year’s Best Science Fiction Releases for 2011. His children’s books, 102 More Hilarious Dinosaur Books For Kids and Abraham Lincoln: Dinosaur Hunter- Land Of Legends appeared from Delabarre Publishing in 2012. His short stories have appeared in Tales of The Talisman, Straight Outta Tombstone, The X-Files: Secret Agendas, Predator: If It Bleeds, Decision Points and many more.

He edited the anthologies Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 for Flying Pen Press, Beyond The Sun for Fairwood Press, Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age for Every Day, Shattered Shields with coeditor Jennifer Brozek (Baen, 2014), Mission: Tomorrow (Baen, 2015), Galactic Games (Baen, 2016), Decision Points (WordFire, 2016), Little Green Men--Attack! with Robin Wayne Bailey (Baen, 2017), Monster Hunter Files with Larry Correia (Baen, 2017), Joe Ledger: Unstoppable with Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin's Griffin, 2017), Predator: If It Bleeds and Infinite Stars And Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers both for Titan Books, 2017 and 2019.

As editor, he has edited books for Grail Quest Books, Wordfire Press, Delabarre Publishing and authors including Andy Weir's The Martian which hit number 6 on the New York Times Bestsellers list in 2014, Alan Dean Foster, Mike Resnick, Frank Herbert, Todd McCaffrey, Tracy Hickman, Angie Fox, Leon C. Metz , Ellen C. Maze, David Mark Brown, and more.

He’s also the author of the bestselling nonfiction book How To Write A Novel: The Fundamentals of Fiction.

Bryan can be found online at Facebook, on Twitter as @BryanThomasS and @sffwrtcht and via his website.

Reviews

[Laurence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any anthology tie-in to an established franchise, there are good and bad stories contained within this volume, and nothing that would be of interest to someone that is not already fully invested in said franchise.

That said, it is worth noting that this book contains a story where a Predator fights a Sasquatch, which may very well be the scrap of information required to tempt someone otherwise not bothered to pick up this book.

SASQUATCH VERSUS PREDATOR, people. It's not high art, but it's definintely unique.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories about my favorite bloodthirsty rastafarian from outerspace is actually quite satisfying. The various writers deliver the unforgiven nature of the Alien Hunter in bloodsoaked style. Whenever these dreadlocks wearing creatures show up some serious bloodletting follows. My favorite story is the one in which Dutch, the Arnold Schwarzenegger character from the original Predator movie, gets an epilogue to his tale.
The rest of the book offers a great variety of tough ladies and tough men opposed to the creature from our nightmares, who at least once meets a grandmother who is not amused by the big ugly fellow's antics.
A great time for fans of this science fiction series which comes in Movies, books and comics. This book offers plenty of ideas for a tv show.
Good fun reading this collection

[Shelley Barr · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic collection of short stories. I absolutely love how most of them had the female Yautja hunters as the lead in the stories. They are not only bad ass, but very smart and cleaver. As the saying goes ‘ girls just wanna have fun’. There were so many that I wish were full out novels, because I just didn’t want them to end. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who’s into this franchise. I’m hoping for another one, because there’s just not enough books out there featuring just the Predators.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another collection of short stories based on the "Predator" universe. I didn't like this one as much as the last one but the whole collection is worth it for the story of what happens to Dutch after the 1st Predator movie. The conclusion we've been waiting 30 years for!!!

[Kaisersoze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if it was deliberate, but the back half of this collection of short stories set in the Predator Universe are significantly better than the first half. Which is odd given that the editor of this collection is Brian Thomas Schmidt and his story is third up to bat. Even more strangely, the ever-reliable Jonathan Maberry delivers a story which is all set up with absolutely no pay off, and by the time I finished that story I thought I was in the midst of a dud book.

But then Gini Koch's Cannon Fodder arrived and this collection finally got out of second gear.

Other quality tales in the second half which go beyond the boring POV of a Predator hunting its quarry include:
- The Monster by Michael Kogge: Predator plus cryptid hunters multipled by Sasquatch = good time;
- Ghost Story by Joshua Pruett: The Predator as an 80s slasher movie;
- Sly Dark in the Daylight by Yvonne Navarro: What the movie Predators should have been; and finally
- Dean Man's Switch by Scott Sigler: A Predator sets his sight on a human constructed and run hunt experience on a distant planet.

These five tales bring the overall score for this one up, because before they came along, this was barely scoring 2 stars from me.

3 Yautjas and Their Flexible Code for Predator: Eyes of the Demon.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the Predator, not as much as the Alien in movie monster terms, but I still think they're really neat. I don't think I'm as big a fan of short stories, as I found out reading this. Don't get me wrong, most of the stories were good fun, like when Predator fights a Bigfoot, or when one of the Predators trophies comes back to life for revenge. Those kind of weirdo stories are where Predator shines.

But like any short story collection this has its fair share of winners and stinkers, like the aforementioned Bigfoot story, while it was rad as hell, [SPOILERS] we never actually see the end of the fight and that dulled the story a little for me since that's like, the whole point.

The majority of the authors do a good job staying true to the rules of the Yautja and a lot of them explore their culture in ways I thought were really interesting. I really liked that 90% of the Predators, and humans really, in this were female (I didn't really like that they were Sexy Preds though. If you ask me Yautja should be like Dwarves with little to no sexual dimorphism). It was also really fun to get some returning characters like Dutch Scheafer. That guy should be super dead after the first movie, or at least disappeared.

All in all, this was a decent short story collection. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody other than predator fans really, and even then it's more for the freaks who are really interested in it (like me) with a few untranslated Yautja words that I remember seeing on an AvP site years ago. I had a really hard time not just reviewing every individual story, but even I think that'd be crazy.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here are reviews, essentially, for each story, including a note on whether I would include them in my headcanon timeline of a combined Alien/Predator Universe — feel free to overlook that part of each title.

Overall thoughts for this anthology are at the end of this list.

The Titans:
A good opener, raising questions of fate and revenge — particularly, in the latter, whether revenge truly offers peace. Well-written, with a very small cast that we're quickly endeared with. A semi-predictable yet also not ending.
Canonicity verdict: Future-based, but characters seem particularly aware of Predators. References "marines' Spaceborne contingent". Rename this to "Colonial Marines" and it feels like a post-Aliens entry, in a time when Xenomorphs and Yautja have been encountered several times. Canon, with that Colonial Marines caveat.

The Distance In Their Eyes:
What does a Yautja do when a hunt doesn't go as planned? When it's ... disappointing? This story explores that question well, whilst also delivering some creepiness through the creature he hunts. There's a strong, unsettling quality to this story. I think my main problem with it is that it's so short. I would have liked more.
Canonicity verdict: There's no human factor in this one, and the Yautja characterisation feels consistent with wider lore, so I'll consider this one canon. Where in the timeline, though ... no clue. Could go anywhere.

Aftermath:
Well-written story that captured the characterisation of Dutch and the obsession that would surely follow an experience such as his. Some insight into the Yautja without destroying the mystery or alienness. Good action, good interactions between characters.
Canonicity verdict: Set in 1987, after the events of Predator. I appreciated how it didn't put any Yautja bodies or tech into human hands, and it felt consistent with the lore established by Hunting Grounds. I think this is another that fits comfortably into my canon.

Proving Ground:
A good, insightful story, although I didn't get along with the writing style. It was very "Tell", and very "stop/start", if that makes sense. Still, the set-up was good, offering insight into Yautja customs, and the dialogue was well-written without feeling too human. Despite not liking the writing style so much, I still wanted a bit more of it — some more description in places, maybe. In some ways it read like a screenplay.
Canonicity verdict: For starters, this one references the "Hard Meat", the Xenomorph, so that makes it easier to include. On top of that, nothing particularly contradicts canon. The timeframe isn't clear; something about it made me think it was set before the original Predator, and it being the origin of the "demonios" stories the squad's captive talks about.

Lion of the Himalayas:
Well-written overall, although repetitive in places. A decent story about grief, as well as going out on one's own terms. The portrayal of the Yautja felt accurate, though it played a small part. I liked the principle of it being a kind of legend — a boogeyman. That's how I like the Yautja to be depicted on Earth.
Canonicity verdict: Nothing about this strikes me as contradictory to wider Alien/Predator lore. Set ~2009 (Burj Khalifa recently built)

The Fix is In:
I remember enjoying the story this serves as a sequel to, and I enjoyed this one too, though it's much slower paced and involves the Predator far less. I was invested, though, and eager to see how it all worked out ... only for there to be a bit of a cliffhanger. Not a bad thing, it was all very good, and I expect there'll be a third Predator anthology in the near future (hopefully) where this little series will be wrapped up.
Canonicity verdict: A sequel to Gameworld in the "If It Bleeds" anthology. I labelled that story non-canon, so this must be non-canon, too.

Bitter Hunt:
A good story from a plot perspective — a mother Yautja forced to hunt her "spawn" and his friends after they broke the laws of their kind. I enjoyed the insight into the culture and how the hunt played out. The introspection was enjoyable. Unfortunately I struggled with the writing style; it felt very stilted and a bit repetitive at times. Monotonous, perhaps.
Canonicity verdict: Focuses entirely on the Yautja and the depiction of their culture felt consistent with other canon media, so this is canon, too. Where it fits into canon, however, I can't be so sure. Could be anywhere in the timeline.

Field Trip:
This is probably one of my favourites so far, as it was well-written and had a really good story to it. I am noticing a theme of stories involving Unblooded Yautja who disrespect their honour code, but that's fine. The main point of enjoyment to this was the apparent bond between a pregnant human and a pregnant Yautja, and some commentary in the vein of "we're not so different", which links to the Yautja being a reflection of human brutality. The war reenactment aspect also reflected that.
Canonicity verdict: Set in the 2020s. I was a little worried it was going to end with Yautja corpses in human hands, but this was avoided. The depiction of the Yautja felt consistent with wider lore (although a shame about the hotblooded younglings breaking their own laws), so I think this is safe to keep canon.

Cannon Fodder:
Setting a story so far into the future is a good way to avoid being held to the lore of the setting. It offers an opportunity to make your own rules, your own world, and stick the Yautja into that. I think I enjoyed the story overall, though at times it seemed to drag a little. There was a bit of intrigue, and a theme of redemption and/or moving beyond others' expectations.
Canonicity verdict: Set in 2422. There's nothing particularly contradictory about it, which I suppose comes from its very far future setting. It doesn't seem to use any established lore, aside from the foundations of Yautja culture. That being said, it may not fit perfectly well with other far future entries, but I think I'll consider it Loose Canon.

Little Miss Nightmare:
Very well-written story and possibly my new favourite (so far). The plot was engaging, especially with a Yautja interested in removing a human she considered an Aberration to our species — essentially, wanting to kill one of our "Bad Bloods". It had some really good social commentary weaved in too, told from multiple perspectives, and I really enjoyed how we got Yautja insight into our actions etc. without her feeling too human. I wasn't 100% convinced by the Yautja understanding the internet and our language, but then the story points to her being a bit of an outlier herself, more curious about the species they hunt. Anyway, very good, very much enjoyed.
Canonicity verdict: Callback to "The Predator" (2018). The way it's described in this book is a decent explanation for the out of character writing in the movie and helps to somewhat events, but I'd still prefer to keep TP non-canon and ignore everything it did. Other than that, everything felt consistent with lore, but I think it will have to be Loose Canon for that aspect. Timeline-wise, it's unclear. Decades after 9/11 is the main clue, so I'm thinking the 2030s — no reference to colonisation, so not much later than that.

The Trophy:
Another well-written story, I liked the dynamic and the action was crafted well. Good description, fun plot. It felt like another story of someone putting the Yautja into their own sci-fi world, which isn't bad from a storytelling perspective, but doesn't work so well with canon.
Canonicity verdict: Going to go non-canon with this one, as the universe felt very separate from Alien and Predator.

The Monster:
A fun take on the slasher genre, in some ways, using the Yautja well. The writing style was easy to read, too, with good flow, and there was even a little bit of character work, I thought. Not sure quite how I feel about the ending, though.
Canonicity verdict: Probably canon, although there's an implication at the end of a Yautja skull (and ship) potentially ending up in human hands, which I'm not so fond of. I guess canon on the assumption that by the time anything can be done about it, other Yautja have already taken the ship away. Set sometime around the modern day — we'll say 2022, which is publishing date.

Sly Dark in the Daylight:
I enjoyed this one. It delivered several POVs, offering a cinematic quality to the storytelling. It was another one that went down the "young Yautja rebelling against Yautja ways" route, but it handled it well.
Canonicity verdict: Set sometime around the modern day — one character is in her 70s and it talks about her being a nurse in Vietnam. The very public nature of the story raises questions, but I feel like it's the kind of thing that would be covered up or disbelieved, so I can accept it as canon.

Dead Man's Switch:
I struggled a little with the writing style of this, and found the corporate notes sections interrupted the flow — I did enjoy those bits, though. They were entertaining, at least. The story also felt a little ... "meh", I suppose. I struggled to keep up with the characters at first and didn't really connect with them once I knew who I was following. An interesting premise, though.
Canonicity verdict: Not sure how I feel about a company having a protocol in place for dealing with Yautja. It's that feeling of "humans know too much about them", but maybe that makes sense for post-Alien³, post-AvP: Prey stories, which is probably where I'd set it. Maybe a "loose canon" story for the protagonist being so in-the-know about the Yautja.

_____

That's the last of it. Overall, I enjoyed this anthology and it was nice to feel like most fit into my headcanon for the Alien & Predator Universe. They were well laid out, as it didn't feel like two particularly long stories were ever subsequent; there was something shorter to break things up. Some of them got a little repetitive, with the theme of disrespectful youths, but that's fine.

I'm not sure I'm really enjoyed the stories being forced into the present or future; I like stories that expand upon the idea of Yautja recurring throughout history and perhaps being the root of many myths and legends, but these stories are all good.

Beyond that, it was nice to get further insight into Yautja lore, and for the females to get some time in the limelight, even if their portrayal was a little inconsistent between stories — it's clear that lore around females needs to be more firmly established in canon, as questions around their roles, size, etc. remain.

All told, though, I would gladly recommend this anthology to any Predator fan, alongside its predecessor, "If It Bleeds", and I may even return to some of these stories in future.

[Matt McRoberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of good stories by many great authors. I honestly think there was maybe one story that didn't hit for me that well in the whole book.

[Jarrett McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like a lot of anthology books there are stories that are better than others but it's still a great read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A GREAT and varied collection of Predator short stories.

There was only one in which I had a mixed opinion on, the rest were all top notch.

The tones, themes, and scenarios were all over the place leading to some incredibly unique stories. I hope they continue doing more and more of these collections.

[Angelasdawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read the few stories I was interested in but really enjoyed them.

[David Vinther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another really good entry into the Predator universe. I may be biased though, since I love almost everything Predator. Aside from Jonathan Maberry and Scott Sigler, who are two of my favorite authors and always do amazing work, others that stood out to me were Cannon Fodder by Gini Koch, The Trophy by AR Redington, and Sly Dark by Yvonne Navarro. The Trophy in particular could make for a cool series with the lead character, whether in the Predator universe or otherwise...and if it already is and I just don't know it yet, my bad. All-in-all, if you like or love the Predator movies and books, this will be for you.

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predator: Eyes Of The Demon By various authors, is a an tie-in novel based on the Predator movie franchise.

Eyes of The Demon is an anthology that collects fifteen Predator-centric stories, and while all of the stories feature the Yautja in one way or another, they showcase different scenarios that take place at different points throughout the ages, where man has come face-to-face with the alien hunters. And while this collection is clearly intended for Predator fans, most of the stories found in this anthology are easily accessible to those who aren’t entirely familiar with the franchise.

I’m not going to give you a full breakdown of all of the short stories found within. However, I will say that to one degree or another, they are all hits. Some of them absolutely were stronger additions than others, but you can’t go wrong with this anthology if you are a fan of the top of the pecking order when it comes to intergalactic hunting. There are too many to do each of them justice. Each story found in this collection has its own spirit and for the most part, captures the essence of the Predator franchise. Some stand out more than others, but overall the quality of stories found here is high.

The stories have pretty decent mix of really great authors, who put their own twist on the Predator universe. Some of the stories actually could have been filled out more and become stand-alone novels. Some of the stories do a great job giving us the Predator’s thoughts and perspective. Some stories also act as tie-ins to other Predator universe works. The highlight for me was Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s “Aftermath” Focusing on Dutch Schaefer a few months after the events of the original Predator film.

One flaw that I found laced throughout the collection is that a good deal of the stories are predictable, and after a while, they begin to bleed together and the excitement levels drop dramatically from story to story as one continues to read. With that said, I did in fact read this collection in few sittings, so I may have overdone it, and by story four or five, I had had my fill of Predator… Thus, I recommend that this book be read in sips rather than gulps. Putting some time in between each story will ultimately lead to a more enjoyable reading experience.

Overall, If you’ve been wanting to see the world first introduced in the 1987 classic expanded upon, ‘Predator: Eyes of the Demon’ does just that with modern storytelling. From culture and morals, to politics, to interactions with humans, this has something for everyone. You may not like every story in this particular outing, though I do think that fans of the franchise will like the majority of them and this is a great addition to any Predator fan’s bookshelf! 

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestamente, me ha gustado cada relato contenido en esta antología. Es genial leer historias de los Depredadores desde su perspectiva, aprendiendo más sobre su conducta, cultura y tradiciones. Lo más interesante es la mención de las Depredadoras, de las cuales sólo conocía algunos datos años atrás, cuando buscaba toda la información disponible sobre estos seres de ficción. Con franqueza pienso que se podría redactar una novela entera por relato, pues todos contribuyen a fortalecer la imagen de los Depredadores como los cazadores más cruentos pero honorables de la galaxia. Mi relato favorito es definitivamente aquel que trae de vuelta a Schaefer Dutch, quien tiene que lidiar con las secuelas de su encuentro con el Depredador en América Central y su conexión con los agentes de la segunda película de la franquicia. Destaco la acción y temas que revisan la perspectiva de los Depredadores sobre sus tradiciones, así como también sus métodos. Espero poder conseguir If it bleeds muy pronto, ya que es otra antología muy valorada en esta franquicia. Lo recomiendo a todo entusiasta que sea fanático de este fascinante cazador espacial.

[Scott MacBurnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most short story collections, some hit better than others, but overall, it is a pretty good spectrum of Predator themed tales. The settings are mostly present to “near” future, and the various Predators themselves are written reasonably well, and some of the various stories push for more than “just” hunting tales, to greater or lesser effect. There are some callbacks to characters from the first two films, primarily - and some “descedant” tales, which work pretty well - although the story with Dutch & Keyes - while effectively helping to further bridge the first two films, didn’t quite seem to capture the “sound” of s Schwarzenegger or Gary Busey. Still, minor nitpicks to what are, generally, a good spate of stories, although obviously, it’s all going to work a lot better for an audience that is already familiar with & affectionate toward the source material.

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a damn good anthology. The stories were all solid and engaging, and all had very interesting scenarios. My favorite ones were probably "Dead Man's Switch" by Scott Sigler and "Aftermath" by Brian Thomas Schmidt. The former of the two I liked because it had probably the coolest futuristic scenario in this anthology, with creatures known as Yellabeasts being let loose and the Yautja arrive there to hunt them down. "Aftermath" I liked because it was such a great follow-up to the original "Predator" film and even had Gary Busey's character as a minor antagonist. With that said, however, most of the stories here were also very well-written and had interesting plots and scenarios, and I do recommend it to anyone who's a fan of the first "Predator" film.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

In case you didn't read the back summary, this is a book of books- multiple writers, fifteen short stories, all deep rooted in the Predator universe. And they are excellent! The authors explore some really great ideas that the movies haven't touched on (yet?). Predator names, training/hierarchy, female predators, and tales from the predators' perspectives are some of the new concepts that are all rich in detail. Some stories have abrupt endings and are less satisfying than others, but overall any fan of the franchise will enjoy this. The cycle of 'victory over one incites challenge for another' never gets old.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great collection of Predator stories (following up from If It Bleeds).
There's one continuation from the previous book and one that links Predator and Predator 2 rather nicely. All the rest are very much their own stories.
Each one felt unique and had their own flair. There has also been an attempt to diversify the genre a bit by featuring more female hunters and prey - there's an interesting tale featuring a hunt where the pregnant leader goes into labour.
There has also been a good effort to address some inconsistencies in past stories where the hunters have conveniently forgotten their hunter's code.
No duff stories here. Great for fans of the Predator.

[William EightFingers · Rating 1 out of 5]

DEI is the best way to kill Predators….a couple good stories but weak creatively,story lines, plots, characters, dialogue and audible readers(@70% female readers). Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s first collection 10x better than this pathetic attempt to appeal a female audience. We loved Ripley and a solid female lead but this felt like pandering to the agenda. This should have titled Predator: bosom of the women. The only story I remember was “ “the fix was in” only story I enjoyed, follow up to Battleworld”. Please never green light Schmidt for another collection…he’s not worthy.

[BirdsandBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these anthologies, they’re so much more palatable than the larger tie in novels

Like all of the anthologies this one is a bit of a mixed bag, with most stories providing solid Predator content, a handful standing out, and a few sticking with me (Field Trip and The Trophy stood out to me). The runaway best story in this collection is The Distance in Their Eyes by Stephen Graham Jones. Predator and SGJ is a match made in heaven, someone please pay this man to write an extended tie in novel.

[Zachary Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yautja?

Enjoyed two of the stories in this book. I'm not the least bit interested in reading about women fighting the perfect hunting machine. It's already sci-fi, no need to make it unreadable as well. If you like fantasy with your sci-fi, have at it. Very few editing misses, surprisingly, and verbiage fits but a majority of the stories are just not Youths worthy. Wouldn't buy at cost.

[Teon · Rating 5 out of 5]

15 short stories in the Predator storyline. I would say Predator, Alien and Terminator are the best sci fi franchises ever. All of these stories meet my high opinion of being worthy of claiming their place in the Predator universe. I would like to stress these are short stories. Several deserve to be lengthened into full stories. I absolutely loved that some of my favorite voice talent were included. If you like Predator at all, you will enjoy this book.

[Brandon Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection. Some hit and some miss, but if you're a fan of the franchise, this is worth checking out.

It was cool to see a quasi-sequel to the first film. Fun to have it hit so close to home.

I really enjoyed getting into the subtleties of Predator culture. Learning the ways of the Yautja. None of this is Shakespeare, but it's a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Very much worth the time it asks for.

[Trae Stratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of these would have made nifty 225 page paperbacks- but no one remembers how to do that anymore. Some of them would not.

Generally speaking this is FOR FANS ONLY. The more you like the Predator franchise the more you’re likely to enjoy this- especially for its diversity in setting and time periods.

[Danillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't even know there were Predator books until last year. I've managed to get my copy - pretty hard living in Brazil - and absolutely loved the tales.

Sure, there are some that are better. But the 16 short stories maintain a reasonably high level of storytelling.

And it's awesome seeing the Yautja in action!

[Michael Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood of the Hunt

Short stories. Several excellent ones. Two sort of blah. I would say over half good ones. If Predators are your thing, definitely read. Otherwise recommend as lite SF.

[Vikas Pissay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was all pumped up for this. Especially after knowing it to be a follow up to 'If it bleeds'. This title however was a let down. The stories (most) are banal and have nothing new to offer. If you have not read 'If it bleeds', do it right away and probably skip this.

[Mathew Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 12hr audio book. This was a collection of around 15 short stories, about the predator or Yautja. Id say more than half of the stories were amazing and the others were just fun to waste some time. Overall I say its a great addition to the whole series and would like more.

[David Bennett Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for Stephen Graham Jones and ended up getting the best Predator media I've ever consumed.

I guess it turns out that if you give talented horror writers a chance to write Predator lore without studio interference, you get better stories.

Time to read If It Bleeds.

[Vermillion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought most of the stories were pretty good.but after the story involving the pregnant female Hunter I began skipping the stories with the female Predators. The story with the pregnant female Hunter was timid, insultingly so.after that, they all just seemed so cliché.