Breed

Rating:
Summary: "Breed" delivers some chilling and horrific moments
Review: "Breed", the 3rd Owl Goingback novel that I have read, is an exciting and quick-reading book. Written in a similar vein to "Evil Whispers", ("evil Indian spirit comes back to "life" to terrorize local populace") Goingback does his usual good job of establishing believable characters involved in an unbelievable plot.

This is not to say that you won't thoroughly enjoy "Breed", however. Just suspend your powers of disbelief for a while and dig in.

The story begins when local mystics break into St. Augustine's Tolomato Cemetary and through their incantations, unlease an ancient Indian demon known as the "Shiru". As the Shiru prepares to cross over into the world of the living, numerous deaths and mutilations occur. When Detective Jack Colvin begins to investigate these strange deaths, he realizes that things may not be as they appear. He becomes even more confused about the deaths when local tour guide, Ssabra Onih, reports to him that she believes that the murders are being committed by an ancient evil Indian spirit. Ssabra loses credibility with Colvin when she explains that her knowledge of these events comes from the spirit of Indian Chief Tolomato (also a resident of Tolomato Cemetary) who has visited her on a number of occasions to warn the living world of the evil Shiru.

Now I know all of this sounds too fantastic to make a good yarn, but Goingback pulls it all together. Fortunately for the reader, he spends most of the book's time in the present and creates a pretty good murder mystery. Goingback also injected some humor into the book by making Chief Tolomato a relatively cynical and "hip" character. The interaction between the Chief and Ssabra are some of the stronger parts of the book. Even the ending was a little out of the ordinary for this type of story. Not unsatisfying, just different than what I expected.

I was particularly impressed with Goingback's "on-the-money" descriptions of the St. Augustine area. As a frequent visitor to this part of Florida, it was very rewarding to see the area so accurately depicted. I appreciate his efforts and the time that he spent researching the St. Augustine area.

If this is the first book you've read by Goingback, be sure to give his other novels a look. Especially recommended is his first book, "Crota", a Bram Stoker Award winner. Goingback is a very promising author who will continue to thrill his growing legion of fans for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: "Breed" delivers some chilling and horrific moments
Review: "Breed", the 3rd Owl Goingback novel that I have read, is an exciting and quick-reading book. Written in a similar vein to "Evil Whispers", ("evil Indian spirit comes back to "life" to terrorize local populace") Goingback does his usual good job of establishing believable characters involved in an unbelievable plot.

This is not to say that you won't thoroughly enjoy "Breed", however. Just suspend your powers of disbelief for a while and dig in.

The story begins when local mystics break into St. Augustine's Tolomato Cemetary and through their incantations, unlease an ancient Indian demon known as the "Shiru". As the Shiru prepares to cross over into the world of the living, numerous deaths and mutilations occur. When Detective Jack Colvin begins to investigate these strange deaths, he realizes that things may not be as they appear. He becomes even more confused about the deaths when local tour guide, Ssabra Onih, reports to him that she believes that the murders are being committed by an ancient evil Indian spirit. Ssabra loses credibility with Colvin when she explains that her knowledge of these events comes from the spirit of Indian Chief Tolomato (also a resident of Tolomato Cemetary) who has visited her on a number of occasions to warn the living world of the evil Shiru.

Now I know all of this sounds too fantastic to make a good yarn, but Goingback pulls it all together. Fortunately for the reader, he spends most of the book's time in the present and creates a pretty good murder mystery. Goingback also injected some humor into the book by making Chief Tolomato a relatively cynical and "hip" character. The interaction between the Chief and Ssabra are some of the stronger parts of the book. Even the ending was a little out of the ordinary for this type of story. Not unsatisfying, just different than what I expected.

I was particularly impressed with Goingback's "on-the-money" descriptions of the St. Augustine area. As a frequent visitor to this part of Florida, it was very rewarding to see the area so accurately depicted. I appreciate his efforts and the time that he spent researching the St. Augustine area.

If this is the first book you've read by Goingback, be sure to give his other novels a look. Especially recommended is his first book, "Crota", a Bram Stoker Award winner. Goingback is a very promising author who will continue to thrill his growing legion of fans for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Monster Mystery
Review: A Review by Matt

Ssabra Onih and Jack Colvin are the two main characters. Ssabra is a tour guide in St. Augustine who gives tours of graveyards and historic buildings. Jack Colvin is a detective living in the same town. Around the time that Jack finds a mysterious murder, SSabra begins hearing a ghost speaking to her. The ghost is giving her clues as to what is killing people, and how she must get assistance and stop it.

This book as to be one of my favorites of all time. The ending of it is a bit pornographic and disturbing, but I believe it was necessary to describe how horrific the monster truly was. The dialogue was very well done, making the characters very true to their heritage. While how she spoke didn't show it, it was mentioned several times that Ssabra had a Native American lit to her voice, which I found an interesting detail to include. Jack Colvin and Ssabra were very well developed, and while some details and characters were not very well developed, since they didn't tend to live long, they truly didn't need to be. The book gave a brief view into their life and goings on, and then something happened to them, and there wasn't much more to say about them, as the author's goal was to get you to feel for the characters who died, not love them.

This book has a very interesting plot, and exciting mystery. While some of it is a bit horrific and pornographic, it is still a book worth reading. I believe that mo matter what your interest, sci-fi or romance, you will enjoy this book, as it has beautiful details of the city, an intense mystery, and some very odd romance.

Rating:
Summary: Been there, Done that
Review: Average read until the last third. The monster is a cliche, but that's not all. The storytelling is stilted and the characters relatively shallow. What really bothered me, though, was the ending. The description of the monster was unnecessarily and crudely pornographic. I mean, to the point of nausea. This description wasn't necessary to enhance the mood or setting either. Nothing really added up in the end, and the demise of the monster was laughable. I bought this after reading the other reviews, which were mostly favorable. I regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Been there, Done that
Review: Average read until the last third. The monster is a cliche, but that's not all. The storytelling is stilted and the characters relatively shallow. What really bothered me, though, was the ending. The description of the monster was unnecessarily and crudely pornographic. I mean, to the point of nausea. This description wasn't necessary to enhance the mood or setting either. Nothing really added up in the end, and the demise of the monster was laughable. I bought this after reading the other reviews, which were mostly favorable. I regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Read Breed!
Review: Breed features one of the best things about classic old horror (particularly Lovecraft-type horror), in that Owl allows your imagination to portray the monster by offering only little hints as to what it looks like. As you follow a handful of characters through snippets of their daily lives, not only is he able to portray a great sense of reality through dialogue and reaction, but there is always a lingering sense of giddy anticipation and fear whether he is unleashing the terror in that particular chapter or not. The story feels familiar, but Owl is creative enough to keep throwing unexpected events abruptly in the way, constantly changing what you thought was coming up next, never letting you completely second-guess him. It's his sense of reality and his sense of humor which really keep the pace fast and fresh. I hope to see a lot more out of this talented young author.

Rating:
Summary: Breed
Review: I did enjoy reading this book.The starts out mysterious and the plot is then exposed.This book can be best read during a dark and stormy night.Owl Goingback keeps you turing the pages and you may not think about going to sleep.I would suggest this book for people who like good horror reading.

Rating:
Summary: Best of BREED
Review: I have read all of Goingback's novels - loved them - but this is definitely the best. His characters, Ssabra and the ghost, Tolomato, are simply delightful. For those of you who like a woman with an attitude, Ssabra is the broad. In a way, very much like the Anita Blake character in the early Hamilton books, but even fresher. It's a great story and deserves to be a best seller.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Mr.Goingback's books have been anything but boring! This new book of his is entertaining and a good read. It was a page turner and I would recommend this book and all of his other books to readers who want a good scare!

Rating:
Summary: Breed
Review: Ok! This is not Mr. Goingback's best book. But it is still a cut above the average horror novel. This book is a little different in the fact he tries his hand at a little humor in the ghost or
spirit of Tolomato. I know this has all been done before, but it is still a good novel. Mr. Goingback deserves a large following.