Review: Excellent Start
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 4, 2013
Jonathan Janz begins the summer with his new serial novel, Savage Species.  Book 1 of this series is Night Terrors.  This book sets the table for an intriguing cast of characters.  We have the reporters who are producing a story on a renovated campground.  On the flip side, we have a family who are in the midst of a downward spiral when their newborn is kidnapped.  Janz does a spectacular job with creating tension of the troubled family.  I really started caring for the housewife and hating the cheating basketball coach.Once the main cast was set, we meet some supporting characters in the form of partying college coeds.  These youngsters serve as nothing more than fodder for the impending attack by the creatures who will no doubt serve as the main antagonist for the rest of the series.The creatures are definitely Laymon-esque, but I would argue that these are the nastier cousins to Laymon's creatures presented in the Beast House series.Janz's first book may start slow in terms of action, but he does a great job with his characters to make sure readers will want to see if these people can survive the onslaught.  The attack that ends book 1 is pretty standard of the horror genre.  Nothing that stood out to me, but still quite brutal in terms of violence and gore.Savage Species certainly has promise to make summer a more horrific one.