Review: Mmmm....Monsters....
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 18, 2013
At first glance, I almost dismissed Longclaws as a seen-it-before monster novel, derivative of that 1980's horror that filled my bookshelves long ago.  I was very wrong.Instead, with Longclaws, I was immediately swept into some darkly fabulous storytelling.  Instead of struggling to finish the book, I was thinking about the book when doing other things, anxious to return to my reading.Now, to be honest, there were a couple of minor technical issues.  Block paragraphs instead of indentations.  Occasional odd formatting glitches like errant commas inside of words.  And some transitions that weren't noted with extra paragraph spacing.  But I score very hard on formatting and I have to say that the errors were very minor.  The author's storytelling was on point and sharp enough that the formatting only bothered me a little.What stood out for me most in this book is the attention to detail paid to the monsters.  Usually, in monster horror, the monster is pretty one-dimensional.  Monsters fall into very few categories.  Critter gets revenge by killing and eating.  Critter just kills and eats for not much reason at all.  Critter gets a hold of something radioactive and kills and eats.  You know the drill.However, in Longclaws, the author has not only built an entire history and social structure for his critters, he skillfully weaves it into stories of human history and mythology.  As you read, you find that you are delighted as your mind starts making certain connections into our shared history.Peek brings you into the minds of his monsters and, the funny thing is, you start to wonder who the real monsters are.  You start, little by little, to feel for them in their world of predator vs. prey.From reading a bit about the author, it seems like this might have been one of those books written long ago, lingering in a dusty drawer (or computer file), that he brought out, dusted off, and decided to put it out there for publication.  I can only hope that he has a few more tales to dust off and put out there, because I want to see what else lurks in the darkness of his brain.