PREHISTORIC is an action-packed collection of stories featuring terrifying creatures that once ruled the Earth. Lost worlds where T-Rex and Velociraptors still roam and man is now on the menu. Laboratories at the forefront of cloning technology experiment with dinosaurs they do not understand or are able to contain. The deepest parts of the ocean where Megalodon, the largest and most ferocious predator to have ever existed is stalking new prey. Plus many more thrillers filled with extinct prehistoric monsters written by some of the best creature feature authors this side of the Jurassic period.
Title: Prehistoric | Editor: S.J. Larson | Authors: William Meikle, Hunter Shea, Alan Baxter, et al | Publisher: Severed Press | Pub. Date: 2019-July-5 | Pages: 254 | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 3 out of 5 | Source: I received a copy from one of the authors for review consideration
Prehistoric Review
Prehistoric has some great stories in it. It also has some staggeringly bad ones. So bad, in fact, that my note at the end of one particular one was a simple “Holy fuck, that was bad.” I cringed so hard that all desire to continue reading the book actually left me for quite some time. Luckily, the allure of dinos nomming humans pulled me back in, and I discovered better things that lay within.
My favorite stories were Extinction by Rich Restucci (an author new to me), and The First Man on Earth by Geoff Jones. (I had previously read Jones’ Dinosaur Four book and loved it. ) Extinction I loved because I’d only seen the idea played with once before (and it was great then, too!) and The First Man on Earth just because it got me solidly in the feels with the main character’s backstory and the way it ended.
I also liked No Tears Left in the Flipside by Jake Bible, Operation: Severn by William Meikle, Sauria by Tim Curran, and Lost Island by David Wood. Bible has long been a favorite author for sheer balls-to-the-walls and even though the first Flipside book wasn’t for me, I enjoyed this snapshot into the series. Meikle is a dependable deliverer of freaky shit (gigantic sea louse, anyone?) so I knew he was going to come through. Curran’s idea in Sauria was an intriguing one, and Lost Island was just an outright entertaining read.
Though not a story I particularly enjoyed, I will note that for fans of a certain horror movie series, Baxter delivers some puzzle box fun. And if you’re a fan of a good revenge story, Tim Waggoner’s Closure will certainly delight you.
Overall, Prehistoric delivered a very satisfactory amount of chomp-and-stomp and I loved seeing how the different authors ran with the idea of humans vs dinos. There are only so many ways to get the two to go head-to-head, but no two stories felt the same, so I was happy with the range delivered.
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Lilyn G is the founder of Sci-Fi & Scary, and leader of the Coolthulhu Crew. She does book and film reviews for both genres the site focuses on. Her tastes run towards creature features, hard science fiction, and lots and lots of action. She also has a soft spot for middle-grade fiction that rears its head frequently.
Though no longer involved with Ladies of Horror Fiction due to other responsibilities and a too-full plate, she was one of the original 4 co-founders.
Feel free to chat her up on Twitter as long as you aren’t hitting her up to review your book.
