Mastodon

By: Steve Stred

Narrated by: Shep Pryor

Seventeen years ago, Tyler Barton was born in the Rocky Mountains, while his parents were on a hike.

On that day, his mother disappeared, never to be seen again.

Now, history repeats itself.

On the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, Tyler’s father is flying home when the plane he’s on disappears - in the same area where his mother was last seen.

Undeterred by officials, Tyler decides to hike into the area in search of his father, hoping to find him alive and bring him back to safety.

But there’s a reason that area is prohibited to enter and even though Tyler doesn’t care, he’ll soon find out that the wilderness can hide some of the deepest, darkest fears known to man.

From the author of Incarnate, The Window In the Ground, and Ritual, comes a new novel that’ll make you rethink your Summer hiking trip.

©2022 Steve Stred (P)2023 Steve Stred

Critic reviews

"An old-school creature thriller told with crisp pacing and kick-ass set pieces, Steve Stred's Mastodon is a monster-in-the-woods tale with some choice surprises and plenty of rampaging fun." (Andrew Pyper, author of The Residence, The Damned, and The Demonologist)

“Steve Stred's Mastodon reads like a cross between Gary Paulson's Hatchet and Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach Trilogy: A big-hearted adventure yarn with a dark and compelling mystery at its core.” (Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters)

“Mysterious. Gripping. High-octane. Mastodon is not the typical creature feature.” (Eddie Generous, author of Rawr and Behemoth Risen)

Crazy Creepy Fun

It's clear from the cover that this book is going to have some kind of creature in it. I had expected a pretty standard cryptid in a remote wilderness area sort of story. But there is so much more to this book. This was so much creepier than I had expected it to be, and it really sort of begs the question - how do you define what a monster is?

Instinct and Skills

Thank You Tiffany K for giving me an advanced code on Audible to this Novel.

Lovers of H G Wells will 99.9 percent enjoy this story. The Narrator Shep Pryor voice reminded me of a Matter of Fact Military experience from the very start.

The protagonist is on a quest to find his father and possibly his mother as well or at least learn what has become of his parents. The journey is frightening and painful.


Science Fiction

Canada

The hell was that?

I couldn’t wait to get into this because I saw so many people say it was an old school creature thriller, an exciting action packed chiller. It was none of these things. The characters were flat, the dialogue and prose was clumsy and awkward, and the story was bland. Add to it a horrible narrator, and it was a total and complete disappointment.

Was there a Mastodon?

I didn’t care much for this book at all. I really wanted to love it. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Steve Stred so I was really excited when I found the audio on an Audible discounted sale. I wasn’t that far in when I knew beyond doubt that I wasn’t going to like it. I looked to see if this title could be returned since it was purchased with cash and not with token, but it doesn’t appear that it can be, so I had a choice to make… finish or dnf?

I paid cash for this… DARN RIGHT I’m going to finish!!

Unfortunately for me it did not get better and I think I know why; It’s not the story that I took issue with, but rather the narration. For me it simply wasn’t engaging. It just seemed too lackadaisical. Lacking anything close to emotion. The narrators tone was tired and lazy. Not even trying to kick it up and change it when speaking to multiple characters. I was often confused and bored. Finding myself totally zoned out I was more than once having to go back and re-listen.

Perhaps it would have been a better experience for me if I’d read the physical media myself. But as of this moment in time I have too much on my shelves to consider giving him a second go around. Maybe at some point in the future. 3 ⭐️ for story bc I love a good cryptid and there are some awesome hybrids going on in here. But in this reader’s opinion the story could use some polishing and the audio needs a redo.

the world building

I really enjoyed this book, up until the ending. And I think as some people wanted a different outcome, i just wanted it to not be so abrupt. Otherwise 4 stars.