In the early morning of July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis (after delivering the makings of what was known as “Little Boy” – the atomic bomb that would eventually be dropped on Hiroshima) was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The torpedoes nearly sheared the Indianapolis in half and within 12 minutes the entire ship would vanish to one of the deepest burial grounds in the ocean. Nearly 300 men would die almost immediately – close to 900 would make it off the ship. In Harm’s Way is the true story of what happened in the four days it took for the military to discover the survivors . . . .
This has been on my to-read list for an eternity. In my mind it was always a book that could only be read during Shark Week. As my bad luck and failing brain would have it, I generally put myself on the wait list too late and have simply been putting this off every year when the timing failed. Until this year. As someone who does not read a lot of non-fiction I will say this earns every one of its 5 Stars for being succinct, not bogged down in military lingo and technical mumbo jumbo and presenting a story so horrifyingly fascinating it read like fiction. A must read for every shark addict . . . .
I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. And not just a borrowed copy – I needed to own this and add it to the shark stack. Thanks to discoverbooks.com (no, I’m not affiliated, I’m just poor and this site enables me to add to my hoard on the cheap) I was able to obtain a copy just in time for Shark Week. I failed at posting a timely review because I’m now insane and post shitty book pics to Instagram (shameless plug for myself – get over it, I do what I do) and knew EXACTLY the right spot to take a photo worthy of this literary masterpiece. My schedule finally cleared up and I was able to make the trek over the weekend resulting in . . . .
But back to the book. The story here is about a dude who everyone thinks went cuckoo for cocoa puffs when he insisted the superbadawful that was responsible for a failed mission into the depths of the Pacific resulting in him being the only survivor was none other than Carcharodon megalodon. Fast-forward to the present and a new mission that will make everyone realize . . . .
If you have ever thought to yourself: “Self, I sure wish Jaws and Sharknado would have a baby” then you need to look no further. Meg is sure to be a winner for you. ...more
No one is more familiar with how sharks behave around a group of seals than Naomi Cardiff. You see, awhile back Ms. Naomi thought it would be a great idea to jump into an ocean full of seals in order to get some one-of-a-kind nature photographs. What she ended up with instead????
Fastforward to the present and a new feeding frenzy in the waters of Cape Cod. This time Naomi has been hired to report on a team of scientists who have developed a signal which will lead the seals – quickly followed by the sharks, natch – away from the touristy areas and over to a remote island instead. The only problems? They will have to play beat the clock with a Nor Easter and something wonky is going on with the sharks’ behavior ever since they started sending out the signal . . . . . .
I try to pick up a sharky book annually in order to keep with the theme. Imagine my delight when an advanced copy of this one was available at just the right time! I try and keep my expectations low and only hope for a teensie bit of plot along with lots of nomming by the sharks on these selections and this one delivered in spades. I was surprised by how much story this included and that we actually got to know the characters before they became shark bait. In fact, the only complaint I have is that there were too many characters. More and more people kept getting added to the mix which was obviously done in order to make a bigger body count. Really, though? I don’t care if 5 people or 25 people get killed as long as it’s good and bloody : )
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
ORIGINAL "REVIEW":
It's here it's here it's finally here. The best week of the entire year!!!!!
“Chimaera. According to Webster’s, the word is based on a creature of mythology, an amalgam of different species in one terrifying beast. Or, in the current vernacular, one ugly fucker.”
The story here is about a surfer-dude-looking, wise-cracking, functioning alcoholic/marine biologist named Whit who ends up partnered with his climatologist ex-wife Suzanne when a methane-filled fissure under the ocean gives way, releasing a shitton of prehistoric mammoth-sized chimaera from its depths. It’s up to the two to (1) survive and (2) come up with a way to send these killers back to the hell from whence they came.
The couple of my friends who have read They Rise both gave it a 3 Star rating. To them I ask . . . .
Just kidding. I’m giving it all 5 because it ended up being EXACTLY what I hoped it would be. Even though some soon-to-be-chum character dared to say . . . .
“This is not a B-movie, Suzanne.”
That dumbshit was 100% wrong. This was ABSOLUTELY a B-movie and that’s why I loved it. They Rise had everything you could ever want in a cheesy horror flick book:
1. Monsters from the deep
2. Sexy leading characters with a love/hate history
3. Awesome one-liner type of humor such as:
“ “If we survive this, I’m calling you Dr. Jones from now on.” “But I’m not afraid of snakes.”
4. High body count with plenty of guts and gore as well as some decent shock and awe like in . . . .
The only thing that could have made things better would have been if someone told me I could eat a unicorn fart. And then I discovered I could eat a unicorn fart!!!!!!
This sumbitch was an absolute delight and made my day exponentially more enjoyable. Endless thanks to Dan for using his lending feature in order to put this gem in my reading repertoire . . . . .
Last year I was extremely underwhelmed by what should have been the best Shark Week selection of them all. Today I’m wondering who hacked my account and changed the rating for that one because there is no chance I gave that turd 2.5 Stars. Maybe I was drunk???? Anywho, Jaws was supposed to deliver all of the nommy deliciousness of the movie, but instead sucked giant monkey balls so I started White Shark expecting the kind of horror a fella like this might deliver . . .
I didn’t bother reading a synopsis because my Goodreads’ friends who had read both Jaws and White Shark swore this would deliver. But you know how some of these book pushers are . . .
I mean even my closest friends and arch rivals flip the script and fail me errrrrrry now and again. Needless to say, I went in with low expectations. My impression of Mr. Benchley now that I have finished????
Talk about a redemption arc. While I was expecting a real “sharky” shark book (remember, I didn’t read the synopsis) and this wasn’t exactly it, I was more than pleased with the product that was delivered. This is the type of story that comes to mind when someone tells me about a “horror” story. It wasn’t a psychological thriller, it wasn’t a whodunit, it was straight up creature feature type of horror and I loved it.
Many thanks to my book-swappin’, Howard the Duck lovin’ buddy for sending this my way. You too are a gentleman and a scholar : )
Alright. Now that THAT is done, let’s get to the sad state of affairs which is my reaction to the novel Jaws. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this review – mainly because I’m bummed out. I was sure I would love this book and held out until the most magical of all weeks in order to read it and give it the praise I’m sure it would deserve. Ummmm, yeah. Well, that didn’t work out, but after finding some inspiration from my buddies Hooper and Quint . . . .
I did manage to finish this one and only cried for a little while.
At the end of the day Jaws is a fish story. Plain and simple. That’s all anyone really cares about and, really, that’s all it should have been about. Things started off with a real bang with descriptions of the shark itself and its thought process while perusing the ocean for a late-night snack. It was delicious. Sadly, the magic didn’t last long and the waters were almost instantaneously muddied (*hyuck hyuck*). Affairs, mafia side-plots, yada yada yada. We care about the shark eating people, plain and simple. No one gives a shit about horrible Ellen Brody!
But now that I’ve brought up that bitch character, let me elaborate. I didn’t like movie version Ellen Brody, but I absolutely DESPISED book version. I didn’t want to hear about how much she hated the life she chose for herself by “settling” with Brody and I REALLY didn’t enjoy hearing about her rape fantasies while she was attempting (horribly, I might add) to seduce Hooper. And Hooper! WTF HOOPER? You made Mitchell want to get stabby stabby, and y’all know we can’t risk another investigation involving Mitchell shenanigans . . .
Jaws was a 2 Star read, but it's getting a ½ Star bump for the ending (which is probably the one thing most other people didn’t like).
At the end of the day I have nothing left to say except for thank you. Thank you, Steven Spielberg for really taking the ol’ shoe shine kit to this turd of a book and creating something magical. Thank you for giving us one of the most quotable quotes of all time . . .
Thank you for giving Quint’s story even more depth (view spoiler)[with the U.S.S. Indianapolis tie-in rather than just his own personal charter being victim of an attack (hide spoiler)]. Thank you for giving us a classic that scared the crap out of me as a child and that I finally got to scare the crap out of my own children with this past year. You, sir, are a god amongst men . . .
My friend ☣Lynn☣ says White Shark is what Jawscould have been, so this won’t be the last Benchley novel for me. Until the time when I get around to reading that one, though, I’ll simply say . . .
For decades movies have been describing all the ways terrifying beasts and various forces of nature can kill us. This book fills the populous in on the truth of all the unnatural disasters that could (and most likely will) befall the average human in the near future. Let’s face it, we aren’t all Batman, equipped with utility belts that will help us defeat any foe.
How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters reminds us to live by the motto Semper Paratus - “Always Ready”. After all, not all sharks want to be your friend.
Don’t think this book has pigeonholed itself to only dealing with the Sharknado problem, though. Oh no no no, this survival guide covers everything from
to Elektrokrakens
[image]
(Helpful hint when it comes to surviving an Elektrokraken attack: Wear Crocs. Although they are an eyesore, the rubbery, waterproof Croc will insulate you from electric shock and may save your life (assuming the Elektrokraken doesn’t opt to just bite your head off). No longer will my Croc wearing be limited to the privacy of my backyard. I shall go forth and prosper in my neon yellow crime against fashion!!!!!)
to a Boarricane
[image]
(Mitchell is pretty stoked about this one.)
This book is a must read for anyone who wants to survive when nature finally decides to fight back. I will continue trying to perfect my own personal defense arsenal (frickin’ sharks with frickin’ lasers on their heads)
Sidenote to everyone who will be enjoying Sharknado 2: The Second One this evening: I hope it’s just as awful wonderful as the first and when your head hits the pillow tonight you all have visions of Sugar Ray dancing in your head : )
A couple of years long time ago I was just your average wife and mother who opted to read a lot of fluffy nonsense in my downtime. Then a bad influence came into my life . . .
Instead of reading stuff like Twilight, he encouraged me to read the darker side of fiction. When Mitchell saw there was a book all about smack/tar/chiba/horse (a/k/a heroin if you’re not a complete nutter like my pal), he was in. When he told me Bait also featured a supporting cast of characters in the form of sharks, I was in as well.
Bait is the story of six people, previously unknown to each other (but all of whom share the common bond of heroin addiction) who wake up on an island in the Keys. Battling withdrawal, they piece their stories together to figure out the hows, whys, whens, wheres, and whos of the circumstances that led up to ending where they did. Once that part of the puzzle is solved, the six are forced to make a terrifying decision . . . swim through shark infested waters to the next island where they will receive more drugs and a possible chance for survival or stay where they are and die.
And that’s where the getting gets good, my friends. Let’s face facts – we’re dealing with a bunch of addicts here. There’s not gonna be a whole lot going on in the character development department. The real stars of this show are the sharks! God I love sharks. They’re so cuddly and adorable . . .
Anywho, these suckers (the humans, not the sharks) are deep into the drug scene. There’s no way they aren’t going to try to get to the stash on the next island. You know what that means?
This book obviously isn’t for everyone. It is gritty and gory and everything foul that I like when choosing a book that everyone else will probably end up hating. I flagged a bunch of quotes and “memorable moments,” if you will, but now that I’m writing this up I’ve decided to skip it and only mention a couple of things. First – Messum has used this tactic of ending one chapter with the same sentence or idea that begins the next chapter. Call me a sucker for a good gimmick, but that one really worked for me and tied everything together very well. Second – as strange as this sounds, Bait could spark one of the best “book clubby” type of discussions of any book I’ve read recently. I love dealing with the question of what is right and what is wrong and who is good and who is evil. This book is one that will leave you with a strong opinion on those subjects.
Basically, if a book about junkies maybe getting eaten by sharks sounds like your idea of a good time, check out Bait. You probably won’t be disappointed. And hey, even if you don’t like it the bonus is it is really short and reads super fast.
Kelly (and the Book Boar)
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Books:
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