Ravenous

By: Ray Garton

Narrated by: Michael Agostini

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Emily Crane's car breaks down on a dark, lonely road at night, she is attacked and raped by a man she kills in self-defense. That night, the dead rapist walks out of the morgue. Later, Emily begins to experience strange cravings and her body undergoes terrifying changes. When brutal killings leave victims partially eaten in the northern California coastal town of Big Rock, Sheriff Arlin Hurley scoffs at the talk of werewolves...until a tuft of wolf's fur is found on a victim.

It soon becomes clear that whatever is responsible for the killings, it's not alone. There are more than one. And they are doing something much worse than killing and eating people.

Nearly 25 years ago, Ray Garton reinvented the vampire mythos with his erotic novel Live Girls. Now he has updated the curse of the werewolf in Ravenous.

©2008 Ray Garton (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A Fresh take on the Werewolf Myth

This book grabs you from the beginning, open with carnage and violence (I don't recommend eating while reading this, as I did over breakfast.)

You are introduced to cast of characters, through whose eyes (and voices) the narrative is carried forward. And sure, with any horror novel, you can expect that some of these folks will end up as werewolf chow. Some of the characters are a bit cookie cutter (the stalwart, middle-aged county sheriff, the noisy old lady neighbor, the cheating husband, etc.), but by seeing the story progress through their eyes, a level of tension is added.

This book is not for the squeamish, as there is a bit of gore and much violence. And since the werewolf syndrome is spread not through bites (as in the tradition mythos) but through sex, there are many fairly graphic sex scenes.

If you are looking for a great, fast-paced, tension-filled horror novel, I highly recommend this!

Agostini, the narrator, does a good job of developing the cast of characters, male and female.

Moral of the story -- always practice safe sex!

HAVE YOU HAD SEX WITH SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE A

WEREWOLF?
This is not a over hyped werewolf story, written by a writer, who is not really a writer yet. This is an experienced writer that knows how to write. My tastes differ greatly. I like predictable westerns, warm and fuzzy children stories, nerdy Science Fiction Stories and edgy paranormal stories, with sex, creatures, gore and some inventive twists. I have had this book on and off my wish list, for years. I was worried about the 3.3 rating. Most of Garton's books with audible have sold in the single digits and have awful ratings. I was worried, that he was probably a hack. Nothing could be further from the truth. I enjoyed this book and if anything, it wasn't edgy enough. Yes, there is a lot of sex, that is how you spread the werewolf virus, but it is not explicit. I have certainly read more detailed sex in romance novels.

AND BEGAN TO EAT HIS FACE
There is plenty of gore, blood, and intestines strung around, but I would not say this is splatter porn. Ketchum and Konrath have written bloodier.

SUCKS TO BE YOU
I take exception to the reviewer that was upset about the fat people mentioned in the book. Her review gives the wrong impression. First let me say, there are overweight people in the book, but they are not made fun of, they are treated with respect. Yes, the main characters might notice the weight of someone and note that in their head. If you think, when people meet you they are not thinking about your weight, boobs, ass, legs, hair, face, muscles, tan, height, etc... than you must live in La La Land. Just like in society, most books, act as if overweight people don't exist. I weigh myself everyday and worry about my weight constantly, as do most people, to act as if that is not part of most of our lives, is a sort of prejudice.

CRUSHED ICE COURSED THROUGH HURLEY'S VEINS
I liked this book, it entertained me to the point that I had to purposely seek out the mile markers to find out if I had missed my exit. It had some twists that I did not see coming. It was a unique addition to the werewolf genre, which is not written about often. Garton puts his own initials on the theme. It is not perfect, I did think in some parts it dragged. During the B movie scene, when lovers are attacked at lovers lane, I thought it was too clichéd, but over all it is a five star, intelligently written paranormal horror. If you are an experienced horror reader and you like books with gore and sex, than you will not be disappointed. I am going to get the sequel and check out some other Garton books, now that I know he is not the hack the ratings lead me to believe.

Lucan Love?

Story - 4.5 Stars
Narration - 4.5 Stars

“Ravenous” by Ray Garton is a whole different species of werewolf novel! I mean, where else is lycanthropy an STD? And you know what that means, right? Besides the blood and guts and crunching bones, there’s lots of sexual activity to, of course, make more werewolves!
The rollercoaster effect was heavy as the action ebbed and waned until the blood hit the blower at about 80%.

The Narration was effective and easy to listen to.

Recommended if you’re in the mood…

Meh

I’ll keep things brief. The book started out well. I love a good werewolf story. However, this one did not impress. Too many of the short chapters seemed pointless and really served no purpose in furthering the story. What could’ve been a redeeming third act sent the story further off the rails with a very disappointing and lackluster ending. Shame, I had high hopes.

OK

The book wasn't bad. I actually liked it. The narration however was awful. He tried to make his voice sound breathier or something and often paused when he shouldn't. I really threw me off.

A joy

Fun and relaxing as a meditation on horror, the erotic and perspective. Worth your time and great for certain kinds of pain management.

weak

poor story. poor details until the end. it seemed more like a rape fantasy story.

Predictable

The story line was good but became very predictable by chapter 6. The ending unfinished!

A twist

This was a pretty good book. I didn't care for the narration, he just didnt do it for me. The new twist was a tad obvious but it worked for me. I was a bit confused about 1of the characters but its not that important.

Disgusted

This book is in two parts for Audible and I'm not done with the first part and won't finish the book. Most of the reviews were great and I was excited to find a new author of the supernatural, however, after he describes every woman degradingly with emphasis on if they are fat, getting fat, or could get fat I'm disgusted. He must be a very self absorbed skinny man who has never had a weight problem and has no compassion or understanding of women, not men, who do. Well, I'll never waste my money on this jerks books again. Also, the reader is just plain boring and the book drags on and on with his droning voice. I was wanting him to just get on with it.