Breed

Rating:
Summary: Generic
Review: Okay if you have a lot of time to waste. But there are a lot better books out there.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but worth reading
Review: Owl Goingback has a certain formula down cold, and it is 'B' movie stuff all the way. If you read his work with sense of humor intact and a warm heart, he is always entertaining. 'Breed' lacks the intensity of some of his earlier stuff, but he never has been a go-for-the-throat, nonstop kind of writer. If you want that, get 'Night of the Beast' by Harry Shannon or buy Brian Keene's 'The Rising' maybe. But when you're in a mellower mood, Goingback delivers.

Rating:
Summary: Not the worst novel I've ever read, but not the best, either
Review: Owl Goingback has a couple of bad habits in his writing that really stand out in this book as they haven't in some of his previous novels. The first is his shallow characterization; while Jack Colvin and Ssabra Onih are both well-developed, they have been placed in a world full of cardboard cutouts. All of Goingback's secondary characters seem to be taken from B movies.

On the plus side, Goingback has obviously done thorough research for this novel. However, this is obvious because he uses every opening to put a few facts about St. Augustine, many of which only serve to jar the reader out of the story. In the first few pages of the second chapter, for example, Goingback has Jack Colvin looking for a sketch subject. Instead of describing some of the sights around St. Augustine, which would have added to the scene, he sticks in historical facts that don't weigh very heavily on the story.

While taken separately, each annoyance could have been overlooked, together they proved to keep me from enjoying the story very much.

This isn't to say that the story wasn't enjoyable; to a reader who isn't as nit-picky as I am, it would be a wonderful read. The story is exciting, the two main characters are well-developed, and Goingback has a knack for suspense. Even though the plot is pure fantasy, Goingback makes it believable. If not for his shallow characters and penchant for breaking up a good scene with a history lesson, I probably would have loved this novel. Even so, I liked it; I just had trouble involving myself in the storyline.

Rating:
Summary: A fun read.
Review: Owl Goingback loves horror and his passion shows in his work. I've read nearly all of his novels and I have enjoyed each and every one of them. He has a few weaknesses that I hope he outgrows-- he relies too heavily on cliches and his plots lack sufficient depth sometimes-- but he is an exceptional storyteller and a relatively new writer who is still developing. He also understands the elements that make a good horror novel and BREED is no exception. It has a creepy monster (almost Lovecraftian with it's netherworld roots), likeable characters, and the kind of suspense that makes you turn the pages as fast as you can. All in all, Goingback is a writer that all horror fans can appreciate and BREED is a fun, quick read. To my mind, he has established himself as an author you can trust for a solid horror yarn.

Rating:
Summary: Creepy and Effective
Review: Owl Goingback's novel "Breed" whisks the reader away to the sunny city of St. Augustine, Florida where an ancient evil is about to wake up and stalk the citizens of the town. Three women devoted to all things spiritual decide to go to the old Tolomato cemetery in town, which stands on the site of an ancient Indian village, in order to call forth spirit guides and therefore increase their power. Instead, the three accidentally summon a Shiru, a mystical creature from an old race who once roamed the earth attempting to mate with the local Indian tribes. These tribes recognized the danger of the Shiru and hunted them down about the time the Spanish conquistadors appeared on the scene. Almost no one living in St. Augustine knows anything about the once powerful Shiru or the grim powers the creatures possess. And now with one on the loose in modern day St. Augustine the citizens of the city are absolutely helpless against this mysterious creature.

Fortunately for the human race, friendly Indian spirits on the other side are aware that this thing is loose in the world. When Ssabra Onih, a half Indian woman who works as a tour guide for the city suffers a haunting from one of these friendly spirits, she soon learns about the Shiru. This spirit, none other than Chief Tolomato, enlistments her to help hunt down the Shiru and return it to its rightful place. At the same time, Detective Jack Colvin of the city's police department works hard to track down the cause of a spate of grisly killings, all seemingly centered on the foreboding Tolomato cemetery. The victims' remains, what little there is to discover, points to either a very sick murderer or to something not of this world. As the killings increase, Colvin must work harder to find out who is responsible and put them out of business for good. Colvin soon meets up with Ssabra and the two pit their meager forces against a seemingly undefeatable evil from another time and place.

Owl Goingback is a Native American of Choctaw/Cherokee descent, something that appears to be a novelty in the horror genre. All I can say is that it is about time an Indian started writing horror stories. Native American belief systems are full of great stories and ideas that would naturally lend themselves to equally great stories of supernatural terror. Apparently, I am not the only reader to feel this way: Goingback won a Bram Stoker Award in 1996 for his novel "Crota." It does not take too long to realize that "Breed" is an Indian story written by an Indian. The language and structure of the story has much in common with an Indian oral story. For those unfamiliar with Indian ways of storytelling, the language might appear stilted, redundant, and at times banal. But oral stories are different from written stories. They often involve formula and repetition because it makes it easier to remember and tell the story. I found "Breed" well written and generally well executed, especially with the many stories about the history and hauntings in the St. Augustine area. Goingback knows his history and it translates well in this horror tale. Additionally, the great amount of funny situations and dialogue in "Breed" should blow holes in the myth, a myth still surprisingly powerful today, that Indians do not have a sense of humor.

The Shiru is an interesting creature, a bleak presence that possesses the ability to assume the form of any of its victims. Therefore, the Shiru may appear as an old Spanish priest, various Indians, a man or a woman, or a Spanish soldier with equal ease. Goingback describes the real form of the beast as beyond madness, a tentacled creature of great power whose true form always shows itself in a mirror. Regrettably, we have to wait until the very end of the story before we see the Shiru in all of its disgusting glory, but when we do the payoff is great. The goal of this weird creature is to come back into the world and breed, to reproduce itself among the living. How a spirit can do this while Ssabra's spirit guide cannot is probably the greatest problem in the book. Regardless, the Shiru is a good villain and adequately nauseating.

I liked "Breed." Goingback has an almost clinical writing style, a great sense of humor, and a scary monster all rolled into an entertaining story. While this tale certainly cannot compare with the great masters of the horror genre, it stands on its own as a creepy little yarn that gets under your skin and stays there.

Rating:
Summary: Treads familiar ground.
Review: Seeking "spiritual entities" to act as their guides, Wiccan Maria Sanchez and two disciples break into Tolomato Cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida to perform a ritual designed to summon the spirits of the dead. Expecting a benign reception, the trio is shocked to learn that they've summoned a demon, an ancient being intent on perpetuating its evil by impregnating human hosts. Although the two disciples escape, Maria is raped by the demon, who, discovering she is to weak to serve as a vessel for his offspring, kills her, leaving her tattered corpse among the tombstones.

Her remains are discovered by Jack Colvin, a Detective working on the St. Augustine police force. Stunned by the violence done to Maria Sanchez, Colvin believes it to be an isolated incident. Then, other bodies turn up, all torn to shreds. His investigations lead him to the conclusion that he is dealing with something out of the ordinary. He becomes even more convinced of this when he meets tour guide Ssabra Onih, who tells him she has been drafted by the spirit of Indian Chief Tolomato to combat the demon. At first dismissive, he begins to see that Onih does indeed have unique insight into recent events, later teaming with her in an effort to destroy the demon.

Horror aficionados will no doubt recognize the plot, as it has been used many times over the decades, most recently, for example, in Edo Van Belkom's Martyrs. As with that novel, readers' enjoyment of Breed will vary according to just how many ancient burial ground stories they've read over the years. For those with little exposure to this type of material, Breed will provide a pleasant diversion. For those with a bit more familiarity with this sub genre, Breed might seem a bit tired, a reworking of overused plot elements with a predictable (but still satisfying) ending.

A writer of considerable gifts, Goingback delivers a well-crafted, highly readable tale, featuring characters that most readers will come to care about. He also displays a sly sense of humor, as demonstrated by the witty repartee between Ssabra and Chief Tolomato, who seems pretty hip for someone who's been dead for a couple of centuries. If there's any knock on his writing, it's his habit of telling rather than showing. Sometimes, this works to his advantage, as when he is describing St. Augustine, a town on which he's obviously done extensive research. Most of the time, however, readers will get the odd sense that Goingback doesn't really believe they are capable of filling in any blanks (one glaring example is that he's still referring to his hero as "Detective Jim Colvin" late in the book, at a point where "Jim" or even "Colvin" would do). In the end, though, this is a relatively minor flaw in an otherwise competent horror novel.

Rating:
Summary: Owl Demands to be Read
Review: This is the first book I have read from this author and I look forward to reading his past and future endevears into the literary world. Though I felt some of the dialogue was off, overall I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to everyone.
I also recommend Sins of Blood and Stone and The Eternal Battle.
Pleasant Dreams.

Rating:
Summary: Ghost in the graveyard
Review: When some Wiccans accidently open the psychic doorway in an old Florida cemetary the blood starts to flow freely. The killer is not human, nor a simple ghost, but a shape shifting monstrosity that tears humans to shreads.

The newest novel by Goingback contains a well fleshed out, unwilling herione who is contacted by the spirit of a dead indian chief. Many of the scenes between these two characters are somewhat tongue in cheek, and you may get as many giggles as chills. The hero, a burnt out workaholic cop, is less interesting and more formulaic. Also, there are some chills but not many suprises in store for seasoned horror readers. Still, if you are looking for an easy reading, fast paced horror yarn BREED will satisfy.