I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Jurassic, Florida by Hunter Shea Published by Lyrical Underground on June 19 2018
Genres: Adult, Horror
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Full of blatant, over-the-top horror, Hunter Shea’s latest is just what I needed for a quick, summertime read.
After reading numerous rave reviews from fellow bloggers Barb and Stormi, I knew I had to try a Hunter Shea book. And Jurassic, Florida was pretty much what I expected: lots of fun, tons of carnage, and plenty of over-the-top action, all of which takes place in a novella-sized story that doesn’t waste too much time with deep characterization or emotional build-up. And that was perfectly fine with me. This is the type of story you grab when you need a fun, fast read. It doesn’t matter that the story is completely ridiculous at times, and I have to admit that I laughed and grimaced in equal measure throughout the story.
You get the gist of what this is about from the cover, but I’ll set the stage for you anyway. The small Florida town of Polo Springs is suddenly being overrun by hundreds of tiny, green iguanas that pour out of holes in the ground in droves, fall from the trees, and wreak havoc everywhere they go. They’re mostly a nuisance, until they start biting people. And then, the giant lizards appear, and no one in Polo Springs is safe.
That’s probably the shortest blurb I’ve ever written, but that’s part of the charm of this story. There isn’t much to the plot, but it’s the outrageous horror and absurd action that make this so readable. Shea populates his story with a quirky bunch of characters who are all in the path of the giant iguanas. There’s Frank Ferrante, a criminal on the run who is hiding out on the beach and the abandoned buildings in town. We’re not really sure what Frank’s running from—my thought was he’s in trouble with the Italian Mafia—but we find out early on that he watched his brother Tony being fed to an alligator—yikes! We also have Nicole and Cheryl, a gay couple who are tending their vegetable garden when they discover that the lizards have destroyed their crop of tomatoes; Don Hendricks and his wife and son Gary; and Ann, the young, eighteen-year-old mayor of Polo Springs who is about to realize how hard her job really is.
Shea jumps right into the action with very little prelude, and before you know it the whole town is in danger of being crushed or eaten by the giant monsters. We never really get answers about why the lizards are bursting up through the ground and attacking people, although there is mention of an off-shore oil rig accident that may have affected their subterranean slumber, forcing them out into the open. There’s very little in the way of character development, which is actually a good thing because most of the characters end up as lizard food anyway. The author does spend some time in Ann’s head, showing the challenges she has as a teenaged mayor who is now responsible for the horrors unfolding in her town. But I’ll admit I spent most of Ann’s page time trying to wrap my head around why a teenager would want to run for major in the first place, and why the residents of Polo Springs would want to elect one!
There’s plenty of gore for horror lovers who love that kind of thing (and admittedly, I thought it was well done and completely relevant for this type of story), so if you don’t like reading about bodies being crushed or decapitated, perhaps you should look elsewhere for entertainment. Jurassic, Florida doesn’t have (or need) deep themes or metaphors, but it sure was a fun way to pass a couple of reading hours. Also, I’m pretty sure I won’t be visiting Florida any time soon.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
This review is perfect — completely the type of story I need to read next weekend! Great recc, Tammy! Just downloaded it.
Cool, you’ve got to let me know what you think! Thanks KD
I am reading it right now. It’s an awesome change of pace. And at 56%, my overriding thought is this: man, if I were in the story, I would absolutely not want to be one of these first-name only neighbors….
It’s a riot.
I’m glad you enjoyed this one and your review nailed it. The town I grew up in elected a 23 year old mayor a few years back. I guess they wanted something new. It would have been fun to know why Ann ran for mayor but I liked her a lot. I think this book would make a great creature feature. I need to make time for his newest rat book soon!
I really liked Ann too and the more I think about it, using such a young mayor actually worked pretty well.
I’ve seen this one around! I want it now.
Go for it, it’s a quick exciting read:-)
Well THIS sounds like a ton of fun! Thank you for sharing, Tammy:))
It was a ton of fun, as long as you know going in what to expect:-)
This sounds like one of those B-movies from the ’50s, full of screaming people running away and the monster(s) freely rampaging through town: it might be so outrageously funny that I might end up enjoying it… 😀
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: KILL CREEK, by Scott Thomas
That’s exactly what it was like! Total B Movie madness:-)
This book looks amazing!
“Amazing” isn’t quite the word I’d use, but it sure was fun:-)
This sounds like fun! And I love that cover- it might actually be one of my favorites, it just has that over the top monster movie feel to it?
“lizard food” lol. I need to get this. 🙂
Greg recently posted…Best Car Chases
I hope to see this cover on one of your future “pulp” cover posts:-)
Oooh, I have been longing for a fun, light and fast paced read and this sounds like it might be what I need to break up my reading monotony!!! Great review as always!
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious Blog recently posted…Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag 2018
Thanks Kaleena:-) This book is great for getting out of a reading slump, imo.
This just sounds like a ton of fun with it’s over the top horror, probably something I’d want to be in the mood for, but, given the right timing I think I would like this.
Lynn 😀
Yes, if you are in the mood it’s perfect:-)
Oh wow, this sounds like so much fun! That cover is amazing too. I just had to sit here and stare at it for a few minutes to take in all of the little details, lol.
I really love the cover and it pretty much tells the whole story!
Good lord, that cover! The old school vibe is very cool. If ever there were a beach reads: horror edition, it sounds like this one would be at the top of the list! Nothing wrong with some over-the-top fun in my mind.
Danya @ Fine Print recently posted…Review: Rogue Souls by Chelsea Mueller
Absolutely, a lot of fun was had, and I’ll definitely pick up more by this author.
It sure does sound and LOOK like it’s one of those books à la “popcorn flick”. Glad to hear you still had fun with it though! 😛 Awesome review, Tammy.
Lashaan Balasingam recently posted…Bonding Through Blogging
Sometimes it’s nice to read something that isn’t too complicated:-)