Deadly Harvest

Rating:
Summary: Deadly Harvest Not A Deadly Bore
Review: Morgan Fields' Deadly Harvest (Zebra Books: 1989) is not one of the better horror novels I've read, but certainly not one of the worst. At best, it's a uniquely crafted tale that covers ground somewhat new to the genre. At its worst, it has logic holes big enough to drive a Sherman Tank through them.

The story seamlessly bounces between and eventually intertwines two separate stories. The back story concerns the area of Texas, fifty thousand years ago during the Pleistocene epoch, and a tribe of hunters dealing with a Megistotherium--the largest known carnivore to walk the Earth and one that happens to be possessed by an ancient, evil force. The result is a monster given a rudimentary intelligence as well as immortality.

The main story is about three ten-year-old girls: Jodie McCullough, Audra Jean Farrell, and Cariann Collier, living in Hobart, Texas who unwittingly stumble upon the lair of the Megistotherium after it has finally broken free of the ancient magical seals put over its pit. After fifty thousand years of imprisonment, the critter is quite hungry. The novel tells the story mostly through the eyes of Jodie and her father, Rad McCullough, Hobart's resident sheriff who struggle to identify and then combat the beast.

Unique to this horror story is the subplot that tells the individual stories of each of the girls and their relationships with their fathers, the girls' transition into a forced adulthood as they face their fears, and the sacrifices the men are willing, or not so willing to make for the safety of their children.

One note of trivia: a Megistotherium is an interesting choice for a Pleistocene monster, but the creature never lived in North America.

Rating:
Summary: Spine Chilling, a plot turn every page
Review: The setting of a small town holds intrest and innocence. After this book was written I sure they would have had to redefine the meaning of horror. Through dreams Jodie McCullough is drawn to an ancient burial ground and is consumed by its immaculate powers. Recomemded for anyone who loves absolute terror.