Beast

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Summary: An Excellent Summer Read!
Review: Peter Benchley is the king of "beach novels", and BEAST is no exception. Yes all of Benchley's books have been compared to JAWS, and how he just keeps writing the same thing over, and over. Well if the formula works. Why change it? BEAST is compelling, and filled with rich, strong characters that move the story along quickly. Whip Darling the novel's hero is an excellent "everyman" hero, and the Beast is just plain scary! Benchley's vivid descriptions of scenes in the book has always been his strongest point in my opinion. Through Benchley's writing the reader can really get a sense of what is happening in key scenes, and some of these scenes are terrifying, indeed. After JAWS, and BEAST. I am surprised that i even go in the water anymore! From the opening scene to the final, and surprising climax BEAST satisfys, and entertains.

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Summary: Benchley finds a successor to Jaws!
Review: Peter Benchley, for a long time a favourite writer of mine, didn't disapoint me one bit with this crackerjack thriller in which he replaces a great white shark with a far more terrifying antagonist; the giant squid! Filled with colourful characters, unbarebly tense situations, a strong, none-preachy enviromental message, and some witty digs at the movie version of Jaws, make this a winner.

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Summary: A mere copy of Jaws
Review: So you read "Jaws" and you are waiting for more... I think I would prefered Benchley to write a sequel to JAWS than this book. The Beast has neither the power or the suspense from that great novel. Even the first paragraphs of this story are a copy of the first paragraphs of JAWS. Benchley tries so hard to make this monster mean and vicious as the shark, but he can't. The beast's caracters are two dimensional and they don't seem real. It's fun to read this book but, after you finish it, you'll get into the water without thinking of giant squids.

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Summary: squid vs. shark.....800 times better than jaws
Review: Squid vs. Shark....definitely squid. Beast is a spine-tingling tale about a 100 ft giant squid that menaces Bermudian waters and develops a taste for human flesh after it's normal food source, other creatures of the deep, are almost completely fished out. After a number of failed attempts to stop and destroy the creature, it is up to a local fisherman, the story's hero named Whip Darling, to use his wits to fight it.
Beast is incredibly well written, especially the dialogue. It's characters are very real (such as St. John, a corrupt, Irish politician; Osborn Manning, a father turned vengeful after his two children are killed by the eight-armed creature; Talley, a Canadian squid expert; Sharp, a young Navy officer), and the story is quite believable, and it's ending is NEVER expected. It's also a really fast read. Three nights tops.
If you liked Jaws, you'll like Beast about fifty times more. Beast is NON-STOP ACTION, and one thing I really liked about the book is how much Benchley researched the animal known as the giant squid (Architeuthis dux). Many times during the novel he expresses and shows what and how the squid thinks and how it feels, making the story more interesting on both antagonist AND protagonist sides (the best example being when the giant squid tries to defend itself as it is attacked by a pair of sperm whales).
What's also interesting is how well Benchley depicts the characters. For example, Whip Darling, the main character and hero of the story, is, as one would assume, quite a good man. Perhaps too good. Now, one would probably think, "No one's THAT good or THAT caring." However, Whip Darling is. He is a true "good - guy." Usually, when a hero is too much of a goody-two shoes, it kind of brings a somewhat fairy tale presence upon the story, making it a little, if not completely, corny at times. However, this is not the case with Beast. It is written so well, that you find yourself really loving Whip, rather than saying, "Oh please!" at whatever he does. I think it's just that Whip is very human. He loves his family, he loves his friends, and he tries to prevent danger from coming across anyone and anything (even the squid) by doing all he can.
Beast is out of print (I don't know why...it's sooooo good), so I would recommend going to a library and checking out a copy, or buy a used edition online, but whatever you do, find Beast...and find it fast. IT'S A MUST READ.

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Summary: Beast
Review: The Beast is a good book I thought. It is a story about a huge squid from prehistoric days. The squid takes down a fishing boat and kills every one in the boat. This causes people to panic in the small fishing town. Time passes and they figure out what it might be they decide to send out a team of hunter to bring the creature in. The hunters succeed and bring in the giagantic squid. Later they find out it was just a young squid. (Similar to Jaws) The fisherman hang the squid on one of the docks in the channel. Later that night the oldest squid and take the dead body. After this the towns is very scared and sends out a hunting crew after the man eating squid. That is where I will stop telling you the story. I thought the book was very descriptive and well written, but it was kind of long and predictable. It reminds me of Jaws by Peter Benchley.

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Summary: An interesting novel
Review: The book starts the same way as "Jaws," and several other sections of the book could come directly from "Jaws" with slight alterations. So, we know from the beginning that some people will get killed, others be spared, and all of it randomly - which did lessen some of the suspense. In fact, I never was at the point where I could not have put the book down and interrupted reading.

Unlike "Jaws", however, "Beast" familiarizes us more with the victims, their thoughts, their fears, their lives. They become part of the story and we want them to survive. In one case, the reader is the only one who knows that the person was spared a tragedy because the person never realized how close she was to death.

I really enjoyed how Benchley developed the characters of the Bermuda islanders, their economic problems, and their problems with each other. Unfortunately, he always goes overboard with vulgarity, which takes away some of the likability of his protagonists. But his story is interesting and well written. As usual, he subtly weaves in an important environmental message that is rounded off in the last chapter.

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Summary: Beast should have gone big screen!
Review: The TV version dosn't do the book justest!
Very scary book Benchely is truly the best.
I truly hope he writes more stories about monsters of the deep!

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Summary: Better than Jaws!!
Review: This book contained enough action to make it enjoyable, and enough scientific info to make it understandable. I really loved it.

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Summary: Architeuthis Dux Rules! (literally)
Review: This book is for anyone who loves suspense and excitement. Enter Whip Darling, a middle-aged Bermudian on a quest to earn enough money to keep his family going. Meet Marcus Sharp, Navy lieutenant, Osborn Manning, rich-rich-rich guy, and Dr. Talley, a Canadian malacologist who thinks the invasion of the squid is his big break. Together they form one common purpose- Destroy Architeuthis! I liked this book becuase it kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me guessing about who's going to get eaten next. I think twice now before getting in the water, do you?

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Summary: This Beast lacks bite
Review: This book is the forth on Benchley's that I have read, and it just seemed like a re-right of the others. Creature was much more exciting and suspenseful. I liked the character of Whip Darling, but thought he and his mate, Mike, could have been fleshed out better. Most of the plot was predictable and seemed to follow Jaws closely. I also thought the ending was weak and just did not have that "got to read" to find out what is going to happen. The story would have been much better if the secondary characters were more exciting. I recommend skipping this one and reading The Deep instead; both stories take place in Bermuda and The Deep is much better. However, if you are a Benchley fan, I would give it a go. Luckily, the book was much better than the TV movie that was out a few years ago.