Ocean Grave

A Novel of Deep Sea Horror

By: Matt Serafini

Narrated by: Sean Duregger

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Discover the secret the world was never meant to know....

On their honeymoon in Madagascar, a young couple are drawn into the hunt for lost treasure. Their search grabs the attention of a bloodthirsty pirate who intends to seize the riches for himself. The seedy government agents on his trail have their own reasons for wanting it too. And they're all in the path of a creature long thought extinct.

A creature that has turned the world's third largest ocean into a hunting ground. A creature that is about to turn their dreams of fortune and glory into a nightmare from which there's no escaping.

"Serafini is energetic and entertaining, constantly keeping readers on their toes." (Wicked Horror)

©2019 Severed Press (P)2020 Severed Press

More action/adventure than horror

I am a big fan of Under the Blade, so I picked this book up as well. I don't know if it's because of a personal bias (I'm not a big fan of the ocean) but I often felt my mind drifting during this one, even during some of the action scenes. Overall still a fun book, just wish it would have grabbed me a bit more.

Outlandish Adventure

What a fun, outlandish adventure. I'm someone who is both terrified by and yet drawn to tales of deep sea monsters. This story definitely delivered on the thrills. My forays into this genre are usually more on the film than the reading side, so, if I had to compare, this would be a combination of Deep Rising and Cutthroat Island with a bit of Jaws and the Meg thrown in for good measure. A few reviews commented on some unrealistic plot twists. I would say that, with the main premise being a giant man-eating fish who hunts for sport, I embarked on this adventure prepared to suspend my disbelief. It's a non-stop adventure once it gets going. And ala Game of Thrones, you just never know who's getting offed next. Fun summer read, and yet another story that shall keep me away from swimming in deep, dark water.

As one additional note, the opener was very catchy. I kept hoping the character would make a reappearance later, and .....(spoiler) she does! Thanks to Sean Duregger for providing a free audio copy in exchange for an honest review. Enjoyed the book and the narration.

Deep Sea Adventure With a Side of Monsters

To be totally honest, I wasn’t as excited about listening to this story as I expected to be. It isn’t a bad story at all, it just didn’t grab me by my ears and force me to listen. It has a little bit of everything including pirates, sea monsters, treasure hunters and more. Honestly that list is exactly what I like, so I am surprised that it didn’t quite pull me in as I would have expected it to. I felt it took too long to get to the action since it really spent way too much time developing the characters, which in the end, didn’t really seem to push the story into my five start rating. This book, in my opinion, was totally about the characters rather than the plot itself, which to me seemed a bit long winded for what it actually was.

I thought the characters were great, especially if you like strong female heroines. There were a few characters that were in the story and didn’t really seem to have any purpose at all. I didn’t understand the zombie lady on the beach. I don’t know why the coral diver, who served no purpose other than to be the first fatality from the creature, had so much development to die right away. The only thing that seemed a bit unbelievable about the characters is when everything is said and done, those who were left standing. With the final words of the book, we may see more adventures.

The plot was decent and unfolded as it should have. I felt there were lots of pieces to the story that either were unnecessary or just went away without explanation. I felt there was a bit too much to it, but in general it was a good story that any action adventure fan will be happy to listen to. I personally wanted a bit more fright surrounding the creature. I was hoping for a much darker story and that is on me, not the author, even though it is "A Novel of Deep Sea Horror". Jaws had more horror than this. Overall, I think it was a solid story despite my issues with I would recommend.

Every now and then it struck me odd the author’s need to give additional detail around specific things. Like when he mentions the AK rounds, 7.62x39. I don’t think that the measurement of the bullet added anything to the story. Another example is when he talked about sea cumbers and called them echinoderms. Just didn’t make a lot of sense to me and made me wonder if he just happened to know that or if he was doing research to make it sound like he knew what he was talking about. Not anything too big, just each time I heard that type of thing I had a brain pause for a moment.

I liked Sean’s narration and I liked his character voices. Didn’t care for his Holloway voice, although, that is just personal preference. I felt like he did a great job bringing the story to life and gave all the characters personality that made everything work great. Having listened to quite a few of Sean's narrations I can tell he is definitely bringing his A game to each new story he tells.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Not my usual niche but good

Not my usual niche but well worth the listen. Worth listening to several times actually. The story has good detail, you'll need to listen more than once, but is a bit slow going to start. Narration is awesome though & is very easy to listen to.

Deep Sea Horror

Ocean Grave by Matt Serafini is outside my typical listening genre. I was intrigued by the blurb for this book and pulled in by the narrator. Sean Duregger was fantastic. I enjoyed this listen.

Quite An Adventure

Matt Serafini's Ocean Grave is a much larger story than I could have anticipated. When I say it's larger, I don't mean in page-count or anything, but rather all of the elements involved in the narrative. There is a lot more to this story than it seems like there could be, and somehow it still works. It manages to add some social commentary into the mix as well, as the best fiction usually does...involving international relations, the Western world's obsession with a sanitized tourism-focused exploration of untamed locales, and the widespread impact of poverty in third-world nations.
This book has something for anyone who enjoys adventure...a honeymoon retreat plagued by secrets, treasure hunting, pirates, soldiers of fortune, a centuries-old mystery, inhuman creatures, and a seemingly unstoppable sea monster. Even with all of these elements, Ocean Grave never feels particularly disjointed or difficult to follow.
One thing I will say is that, if you get to know a character within this narrative, you can expect them to have a 70/30 chance of dying before the tale is complete...and it won't be some noble, glorious death. This story is real-to-life, in that the characters aren't unnaturally lucky or imbued with the almost superhuman ability to survive the impossible conditions they face. Like those of us in the real world, most people don't survive extreme situations involving modern-day pirates and warlords...and when you add in a monster lurking in the ocean depths, no one walks away unscathed.
The narration from Sean Duregger is clear and professional. He does an excellent job of providing characters with distinct voices and accents (where appropriate).
One bit of warning, if you, like me, get tired of hearing the term "CIA spook" over and over again during one of the earliest chapters of the book, don't worry...that repetitive nature doesn't persist through the rest of the story. It took me a lot longer to finish listening to this audiobook because I stopped it near the end of that particular chapter precisely because that repetitive terminology was driving me mad. I wish I'd just powered through it because the story is excellent after that.

Epic!

An adventure into the world of hidden treasures, murder, pirates and a huge monstrosity of a fish determined to eat anything that enters it's waters. surprises on every page that you won't want to miss!

Sean Dureggers narration breathes life into an already good story, grab your air tank and dive into a whole new frightening world.

I was provided a free copy of this audible in exchange for my honest review. All comments in this review are strictly my own thoughts and opinions; they are not influenced in any way.

pirates + treasure hunting + Jaws + zombies

I liked this book. It was fun for a summer read. There's a lot going on and it won't be everyone's choice, but if action adventure is a guilty pleasure of yours, you'll enjoy this.
The story is written well and kept my interest. You never know from one chapter to the next who's going to live, but it works.
The narrator is EXCELLENT.
I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review.

Deep Sea Horror

OCEAN GRAVE is a story with good characterization, treasure hunters, modern day pirates and prehistoric monsters. OCEAN GRAVE was an entertaining story with top notch narration.

Good read

This book was a fun read and kept me listening throughout. I enjoy a good “don’t know what’s gonna happen next” book. This was one of them!