"To The Devil, A Cryptid" Book Review

Written by Tony Jones

Published by Severed Press

to the devil a cryptid hunter shea poster large

Written by Hunter Shea
2022, 156 pages, Fiction
Released on 13th May 2022

Review:

Brian Keene said that “Hunter Shea is to monsters what George Romero was to zombies” and I am not for a second going to argue with that bold statement. Shea is incredibly prolific and over the last decade has written in the region of forty novels and novellas, many featuring creatures of some persuasion or another. That is a whole lot of monsters, which leads to gallons of spilt blood and spectacularly high body counts. I am a huge fan and have read a fair number of these books but cannot keep up with the speed of his output and always enjoy jumping into his fiction given the opportunity. In recent times Hunter has been on a great run of form and in particular, I would happily recommend Creature (2018), Slash (2019), Misfits (2020) and Faithless (2021). These four books are all published by Flame Tree Press and are best described as ‘meatier’ reads, in that they have more depth and significantly more complex storylines than his speedier and shorter monster novels.

To The Devil, A Cryptid is one of Shea’s ‘throwaway’ novels, but the use of that term is not meant to imply negativity. His monster or creature features are pure bubble-gum escapism and are not meant to be taken seriously; most are short novel or novella length and are designed to be devoured quickly with a beer, loud music pumping in the background or with popcorn and junk food on the side-table. These are not deep reads, character-driven, feature complex relationships or have thoughtful conversations on the meaning of life. In fact, they go out of their way to avoid these traits and are better described as the literary equivalent of trashy drive-in movies. Shea has written a bunch in this style and I enjoyed these the most: The Jersey Devil (2016), Rattus New Yorkus (2018), The Devil’s Fingers (2018), Ghost Mine (2019), Loch Ness Revenge (2016) and Big Foot in the Bronx (2021). But take your pick, if there is a monster out there, chances are Hunter Shea has authored a book about it.

If you have a winning formula, then stick to it is a motto Hunter must surely adhere to. So instead of having Big Foot terrorising the Bronx, we have the Goat Man destroying a small Texan city. To the Devil, A Cryptid is set over a brief, around twelve-hour period, involves an astonishing body count, totally wild killings and as this is Texas, a whole pile of guns. The citizens who do not have guns are in the minority! This is a bonkers book, but if you are reading this review, then I will presume this style of hokum is exactly your thing and you know precisely what boxes it is going to tick. It is also very funny and there are a few scenes that had me chuckling aloud. According to the local legend, if you visit the Goat Man Bridge (tourists and drunk horny teenagers love it) and bash the bridge three times and call upon the Goat Man, the big dude appears. And this is exactly what happens, with the beast stomping the dumb caller’s head into paste a few seconds later. The killing is presented in such a savage, blink-of-an-eye manner, I had to do a double-take as what looked like a major character is dispatched in such a brutal manner.

The plot is as old as the hills, but sometimes it is all about the way it is told and repackaged, which Hunter Shea has fine-tuned into a trashy form of art. A group of amateur Satanists are messing around with a ritual near Goat Man’s Bridge and a guy who believes them to be stealing and killing local cats interrupts their sacrifice and everything goes wildly wrong. The Goat Man is no longer an old folk tale and a huge unkillable living (and very hungry) monster is born with an appetite for human flesh, brains and just about everything else which can be shoved down his throat. On top of that, the book also tracks the creature’s thought processes (and origins), which really enjoys killing and inflicting pain.

It is easy to see where the story is heading and it does not disappoint, moving at the same hair-raising speed as the best b-movies which undoubtedly inspired it. The story is developed around a group of characters who first meet the Goat Man and survive, whilst he picks up their scent, including an ex-con, a pastry chef, a paranormal podcaster and a terrified teen who has just seen her boyfriend murdered. Although the four do not get on (blame a crashed car), coincidence throws them together as the foul beast starts culling the local population. If you are looking for a fun, incredibly gory creature feature, then Hunter Shea really is your man. I’m sure the Goat Man exists in various legends across the globe, but Shea really grabs the goat by the horns (and the short and curlies), making the monstrosity all his. Loud, fast, funny, violent and with enough guns to sink a battleship.

Grades:

Overall: 4 Star Rating Cover
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Tony Jones
Staff Reviewer
Such is Tony’s love of books, he has spent well over twenty years working as a school librarian where he is paid to talk to kids about horror. He is a Scotsman in exile who has lived in London for over two decades and credits discovering SE Hinton and Robert Cormier as a 13-year-old for his huge appetite for books. Tony previously spent five years writing The Greatest Scrum That Ever Was, a history book very few people bought. In the past he has written for Horror Novel Reviews and is a regular contributor to The Ginger Nuts of Horror website, often specialising in YA horror.
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