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    Creature
    Creature
    Creature
    Audiobook9 hours

    Creature

    Written by Hunter Shea

    Narrated by Lance C. Fuller

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew’s surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It’s beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal.

    But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the darkness, banging on the house, leaving animals for dead.

    Just like her body, Kate’s cottage becomes her prison. She and Andrew must fight to survive the creature that lurks in the dead of night.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFlame Tree Publishing
    Release dateSep 6, 2018
    ISBN9781787580763
    Author

    Hunter Shea

    Hunter Shea is the product of a misspent childhood watching scary movies, reading forbidden books and wishing Bigfoot was real. He’s the author of over 17 books, including 'The Jersey Devil' and 'We Are Always Watching'. Hunter’s novels can even be found on display at the International Cryptozoology Museum.

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    Reviews for Creature

    4/5

    87 ratings18 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Too much profanity...but for the first 20 chapters Brilliant writing. But the last chapters were ludicrous! I had so much invested in the book, had to finish. Look elsewhere for a great read. Joep1

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Started out fine, but after the first nocturnal attack and the protagonists don’t leave immediately, I knew the rest of the novel would prove exasperating. I overlooked the foolhardiness of the couple and read on, but once I reached the last quarter of the narrative, I no longer cared how the novel turned out. The book simply wasn’t salvageable. A ridiculous tale.
    • 3/5
      The main characters medical problems detracted from the story. This would have been a better novela.
    • 3/5
      Decent book that moves along pretty quickly but the ending left you without resolution as to how the Creature came into existence.
    • 1/5
      Predictable. I wanted to like this book, and suffered through the entire audiobook. The general plot could be a great story. However, this is nerve wracking and ridiculously predictable, especially towards the end.
    • 4/5
      Overall I enjoyed this story. I thought the author did a great job with the characters.
    • 3/5
      It was an amazing real look into low immunity illnesses. However, as much as I love a monster type character included, I truly did not like the conclusion. I’m sorry to say this as I love the other Hunter Shea books.
    • 1/5
      Sooooooooo slow. We get it Kate your sick. Too much complaining, not enough action.
    • 5/5
      Wow, yes a powerful story line. Powerful character development. The author's chronic pain descriptions right on the money. For those who know it, the story is doubly impactful. For those who know the care role will find it equally impactful. Very special story commingled with the horror twists makes this story unique and memorable. Its not just another monster story...so well done, so accurate... then to turn onto a tastefully, well written horror story, I can't say enough. I loved how unpredictable it is. Read it, or listen to it either way...you'll love it.
    • 3/5
      This is the first hunter book I have read and it wasn't what I expected. I was a bit torn as to what score to give this book as its a strange one. The characterisation is excellent and you are genuinely frightened for them through the ordeal. Once you figure out the monster it has a little predictable ending as there is only one way it could go. Still very good
    • 5/5
      I’ll get straight to what I liked about this book, the time and energy Shea put into building character. Or as some writing gurus will tell you, write what you know. And in Shea's own words, elements of this story are very personal.

      It's a slow development of character for a good two thirds of the story. The creature in question doesn’t rear its ugly head until the bitter end, but that's okay. The story isn’t really about the creature itself, but of the creature as a manifestation brought on by the every day horrors of living with a brutal and uncompromising disease. Literally.

      Kate is the one who lives in pain every day of her life. Her husband Andrew loves her and just wants her to be well, but her ever constant need for care wears on him as well. So they take a trip to the wilds of Maine hoping to enjoy nature and some alone time for healing.

      But the disease isn’t forgiving, and the creature in question is eventually drawn to it.

      I’m not going to give away any more spoilers than that. The slow development of the plot to get to the final moments of horror is essential to this story (in my opinion), so stick with it.

      I’m glad I did.
    • 5/5
      I have been a fan of Hunter Shea for a few years now. I believe I have read most if not all of his work. I can usually count on his books to remind me of lazy Saturdays as a kid reading through my horror comics or watching the creature double feature on my old TV that got 3 channels back in the 80s. I've often described his books as "a fun read."
      Creature is a whole other level of horror than I was expecting. It's much more dark and serious. It feels real. If you have ever suffered chronic pain you are going to find an instant kinship with Kate. It will take you back to your darkest days. If you have not known this kind of pain you will at least feel sympathy for her and her husband Andrew, who due to her debilitating illnesses has had to become her caretaker yet somehow remained a real husband. Kate and Andrew despite everything have remained madly in love. Not that fake romance novel type love either, I mean the real kind where you sometimes get on each other's nerves to the point that you can't stand to be in the same room together but before you walk out you still make damned sure they have everything they need, and you know you're coming back. Andrew would do anything for Kate, and it is in that spirit that he takes her to a lake house for the summer where he hopes she can find some relief and some happiness before her next horrible round of doctor appointments in the fall. This was a 5 star read for me.

      I received an advance copy for review.
    • 5/5
      This was a roller coaster ride of human emotions so strong that it brings what the true meaning of pain and suffering is to the raw surface. I have never read a horror book that touched upon the human suffering that people go through the way this book did.

      Kate Woodson lives day in and day out with massive chronic pain and autoimmune diseases. She doesn't have a normal life like most people as she has to stay in the house and sometimes is bed ridden. Her husband, Andrew, is a devoted husband who looks after her and tries to keep her in up beat spirits even when the spirits are low to the ground.

      Andrew decides to take Kate away from the house and go somewhere peaceful hoping to give her a nice holiday for the summer. Andrew finds a cottage near a lake that is out in the backwoods of Maine. Once they arrive and move into the cottage, the stillness and quiet of the peaceful place is shattered by unearthly screams and howls. They soon realize that the wildlife of the woods is not part of the howling chaos and when more things start happening to them at the cottage, the more frightened they become as something roams the woods not of this world.

      The "Creature" wrecks havoc on Andrew and Kate's emotions as they not only have to endure what is going on outside the cottage, but they have to endure what Kate is going through inside with her chronic pain. What was suppose to be a nice getaway, turns out to be a ride into the hellish unknown!

      This was a suspenseful, tense, frightening, emotional read and the author, Hunter Shea, builds the story up from the beginning and brings everything to a boiling crescendo about the middle of the book where it just takes off like a rocket with twists and turns! I read this book in two days as I couldn't hardly put it down!

      Five stars all the way for this one. Highly recommend to all horror fans!
    • 4/5
      It took me a while to decide about the rating for this one. There were things that I really liked about it and a few things that I didn't. I finally decided that the good things out won out. The reading it is not really easy...but it's also nearly impossible to put down. Though the protagonist is loaded with chronic illnesses...none of which are not a pleasant place to be. However, her marriage to Andrew is wonderful and fulfilling... warts and all. The warts are what help to make it so charming, because it's just plain real. It's a working marriage that's genuine, not "Prince Charming" and "Sugar Plum Fairies". It's a love story far more romantic than many of the romances I've read. Andrew makes choices...his wife and staying where he is when he has every opportunity to leave. This is as much a story about a relationship as it is about a monster that terrorizes a couple whose only desire is to spend a peaceful, relaxing summer. When Kate's brother and his wife arrive, the monster comes more out into the open. Kate asks of Andrew, "Promise me we can stay here forever?" Of course, neither could have predicted that something . . . else . . . might be inhabiting those very same woods and overhearing her request. Overall, it's a remarkable and unforgettable novel in so many ways. The raw emotion of the characters...the physical problems both within and without the cottage...the ultimate questions of "what, why, and how" is one that will reel you in so that you can practically feel every moment of it right up until the final, unpredictable end.
    • 5/5
      After reading the first couple of pages, I had to double check to make sure this book was really written by Hunter Shea, unchallenged master of the 'Creature Feature' (at least in my opinion). The first half of the novel (also unusual, as a lot of his works are novella length) really caught my breath. Though nothing really happened in terms of monsters action, the writing was just so great!I love it when an author manages to capture my attention like that, writing about (seemingly) nothing spectacular but still making it special. I learned to love that kind of writing when reading my first horror books, which happened to be the early Stephen King works. King always takes his time (and lots of it, often it takes two thirds of a book) before actually letting anything significant happen (again, in terms of action). So I was thrilled to see another of my favorite authors doing it just as well.So when the monster finally revealed its face and the fighting began, it felt like slipping back into familiar and much appreciated creature territory while at the same time I was a bit disappointed to leave the more quiet path that lead there. The ending also felt ambivalent, as it brought peace and pain in equal measure.A very personal, challenging and surprisingly different story from one of my favorite horror authors. Highest recommendation!(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)
    • 5/5
      Over the years, Hunter Shea has become one of my favorite horror novelists. He consistently delivers stories that are character-driven, well-crafted, and always with a memorable evil monster of some kind. In "Creature", Shea provides readers with something a little different. Physical and mental illness take center stage in this novel before the "creature" ever appears. This novel seems to bare more of Shea's soul as an author as he slowly introduces his readers to the painful lives of Andrew and Kate Woodson. Andrew, in an attempt to help take his wife's mind off her chronic pain issues with an autoimmune disorder, rents a vacation cabin in the forests of Maine. As the week progresses, it's not relief or relaxation that the couple experience, but rather fear. Something is out there! It's watching them and measuring it's time before it decides to appear. As Shea moves the plot along, the story quickly tightens into a claustrophobic nightmare from which the couple can't escape. This book becomes impossible to put down as the action ratchets ever higher. Shea's fans will be pleased and newcomers to his writing will be impressed.
    • 5/5
      Creature by Hunter Shea is a fantastically creepy read that kept me awake far into the night. Kate is under siege by her own body. Afflicted by lupus and another disorder that causes dangerously loose joints, she spends the majority of her time in excruciating pain. Pain and medicine cause extreme fatigue, resulting in Kate sleeping at the drop of a hat except for the bouts of night-time insomnia). Making matters worse, if she's not careful her joints pop out, amplifying the pain until they can be popped back in place. After a particularly horrid treatment regimen, Kate's husband Andrew books a cottage in the Maine woods for a three month vacation hoping a change of pace will help her. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't improve Kate's health. Indeed, her 'bad feels’ are joined by 'microwave feels’, where her body feels like it's burning up inside. Add to this the creeping stress of loud noises in the night. When Kate’s brother Ryker comes to visit the creepy activity escalates. A creature is stalking the cabin, a beastie born of pain, and anger. A creature with a unique link to Kate. I've had the pleasure of reading several of Shea’s books thus far. Most fall into the 'cheesy’ light horror that I love. Creature was a different kettle of fish altogether. I empathised with Kate so much. I suffer from an autoimmune condition myself, and grokked the fatigue, the insidious ever-present pain leaching joy out of life, the plethora of pills to be taken daily. Shea did a marvelous job of getting across just what it's like to suffer from conditions like these. Likewise, Andrew’s inner conflict and frustration was written with depth and truth. It can be difficult faced with a loved one who suffers from a chronic debilitating illness that can only be managed, not cured. The creature itself was interesting. Or rather, the circumstances of its creation. I felt it was akin to a tulpa or an egregore, albeit one accidentally created by an unconscious metaphysical Frankenstein. Without clearly delineated instructions regarding protection, the creature acted on its instincts. It could also be personified Shadow aspects, distilled from Kate’s illnesses and her feelings around them, and her inability to function normally. Either way, the creature, and the book itself, is a great metaphor for exactly how monstrous these types of illnesses can be, how they can consume a person, and their caregivers alike. Highly recommended.***Many thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
    • 4/5
      This is unlike any other horror book I've read. Kate's illness, and its consequences, alone make for disquieting reading, with the author's real world knowledge adding an extra deep poignancy. When, where and how things make an unexpected turn is unclear, you just get the creeping sense of wrongness, menace, until it's obvious the situation is a full-blown nightmare.There's no holding back with this book, not with the heavy dose of truth, nor with the fiction. It hits hard.Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC. My review is my honest opinion.