Savage Beasts of the Arctic Circle by Eddie Generous

Savage Beasts of the Arctic Circle Reviews

• 
  OutlawPoet

  The author...is mean.
  
  Seriously, he keeps killing off characters I love.
  
  This is one of those ultra-fun kill fests. Chompy critters, a fun plot and extremely entertaining characters who often end up in bits and pieces.
  
  I loved this. I tore through it, stopping only to occasionally curse the author for breaking my heart.
  
  Read this one!
• 
  Steve Stred

  ** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
  
  4.5/5
  
  I’ve been a fan of Eddie’s work for some time now, both with his own releases but also with Unnerving and Unnerving Magazine. I’ve read a number of his releases and his short story ‘Flying the Mercury‘ from his collection ‘Head-Broken and Heartbroken‘ is one of the best short stories I’ve ever read. His sequel to ‘The Great God Pan‘ by Machen, called ‘Plantation Pan‘ was stunning.
  
  Eddie also has another side though, his creature feature side. I have ‘Radio Run‘ and ‘Trouble at Camp Still Water‘ still to read, which I’m going to dive into shortly, but ‘Savage Beasts of the Arctic Circle‘ is my first foray into this side of his writing, and I must say, I had a blast.
  
  Truth be told, when this first was announced, I wasn’t too interested. I read another book recently, set in the Antarctic, which started well but then fell off the map as things kept getting more and more absurd.
  
  But for some reason, when this was recently offered up for Kendall Reviews, I decided to jump on it.
  
  What I liked: This is a straight-up creature-feature. Set in a very small, and very remote mining town, high in the Canadian Arctic, we follow a small cast of characters as they get ready for the most exciting day of the year – the arrival of the miners. It’s not the outsiders they are excited for, no, it’s for the shipments of goods that come with them. Toys, clothes, movies, all the things they don’t have access to the rest of the year. Eddie though plays this story right. Other than one character who immigrated from Australia twenty years ago, the entire cast is made up of Indigenous people and better yet – there is no great white savior. Not once does a miner show up to save anyone which was a really nice change. Generous also makes sure to give the characters back story and real-world issues; one may be pregnant, now fearing a life trapped in the town. Another had left and found out the big city has some trappings she wasn’t prepared for, so she’s returned to make money and pay off her debts. It was great to see this happen, especially with such a short page count.
  
  As for the creatures? They have a reason and cause for why they are there and how they became what they are now. It worked really well.
  
  What I didn’t like: While I loved most of the book, I would’ve had this a 5 star read instead of a 4.5 star read if there hadn’t been so much time committed to a trio of characters on the outskirts of town. We get introduced to a woman who has died and her two young daughters. We keep coming back to them, when I felt most of what happens with them could’ve been condensed into one or two chapters. There is a reason for how it progresses, I just wished it was condensed a bit.
  
  Why you should buy it: This was a really fun, single-sitting creature feature, which galloped along at a fantastic pace. Eddie delivered some incredibly gruesome deaths and the creatures are really well done. I’m kicking myself now that I still haven’t read his other two books, so I’ll be diving into those ASAP!
• 
  Kathy Jackson

  Um...what to say? It was alright though not a bigfoot story. The cover makes it look like it is, but it isn't. Lots of deaths, lots of gore. Didn't like it near as much as I liked the previous books by this author but I still have another one or two of his in my library to read. Can't stop reading him because of one book...
• 
  Theodore Jr.

  From the Jonny Quest vibe on the cover right on through this quick page turner, Eddie Generous nails an occasionally gory but thoroughly good time. Nice pacing, excellent mood and tone. It’ll freeze *and* scare your ass off. Highly recommended.
• 
  Terry and dog

  If you want a book that makes blood, guts, and carnage fun, look no further. Nobody is safe from these beasts. A great setting and good characters make this the perfect placed for this fast paced, gruesome story.