2 Bloggers 1 Books - Hunter Shea May #2 (Ghost Mine)

So as we've said, this month Stormi and I decided to buddy read two books by Hunter Shea since he has already had a couple of new releases this month.  This week we are looking at his newest "Ghost Mine."  So read on to see what I thought and then make sure to visit Stormi's blog  at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: Ghost Mine

AUTHOR: Hunter Shea

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: May 9, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Former cattle driver, Rough Rider and current New York City cop Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla, in the Deep Rock Hills, abound. The only problem-those who go seeking their fortune never return. Roosevelt's own troops are among the missing, and the President wants to know their fate - and find the gold. Along with his constant companion, Teta, a hired gun with a thirst for adventure, Nat travels to a barren land where even animals dare not tread. 

MY THOUGHTS: So I wasn't quite sure what to expect with "Ghost Mine" and I went into it fairly blind, which I think is a good thing.  Also, the Goodreads synopsis is much longer that what I featured but I think it gave too much away so I shortened it.  So if you want to know more, don't hop over and read the rest.

As mentioned above, "Ghost Mine" opens with President Roosevelt sending two of his previous trusted soldiers to Wyoming to find out what happened to a troop sent to examine a gold mine and see how beneficial it will be the the US.  We are introduced to Nat and Teta and I have to admit, I really loved them both.  Although both characters are somewhat different, they have a wonderful camaraderie and play off of each other well.  Plus Teta is a reader and never goes anywhere without something to read and during the trip out West, was fascinated by martian tales which I just found awesome.

So when the two arrive to to Hecla, weird things start to happen.  And by weird, I mean really freakin' weird.  The two run into all kinds of obstacles and strange entities as well as a few individuals who they can't decide if they are friend or foe.  I have to admit, at first I was overwhelmed by all the "things" Shea introduces the reader too and I was quite confused about what was going on.  However, all I could say is he did a great job of pulling everything together in the end and I couldn't have asked for a better explanation and conclusion.

"Ghost Mine" is a wonderfully horrific Wild West tale.  I will definitely book looking for more western horror in the future.  It is full of action as well as great characters and I think any fan of the horror genre will enjoy reading this one. 

I received an arc of "Ghost Mine" from Flame Tree Press in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4 PAWS

An Exciting Guest Post!

So most of you know Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews, Oh My! have declared this month "Hunter Shea May" on our blog.  We've already reviewed "Antarctic Ice Beasts" and look for our thoughts on Shea's newest release from Flame Tree Press, "Ghost Mine" later this month.  So I reached out to Hunter and he graciously provided us with a guest post so read on to find out why Hunter Shea is the writer he is today.

WHY AM I LIKE THIS???

By Hunter Shea

It’s the kind of question that fills the couches of therapists all over the world. Nine times out of ten, unfairly or not, mom and dad get the blame. It only takes years of head shrinking and tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to get there. Which begs the question, why don’t therapists just ask, “So, what the fuck did mommy and daddy do to you?” right from the jump.

Now, I’ve been to therapy, but for very different reasons. At least I thought at first. But it essentially boiled down to ‘why am I like this’? I was a rare case in that the root of my issue at the time didn’t come from the parentals.

However, when most people meet me and learn that not only am I obsessed with horror, but I also write ‘scary books’, they inevitably ask, “Why?” That’s shorthand for ‘what the hell went so wrong that you’ve dedicated your life to such trash’? Well, horror ain’t trash you uptight mother effer! But wait, let’s not go there.

Guess what? I can say with confidence and without paying a dime to Freud Jr. that my parents are to blame – I mean, thank. First, dad gets top billing for being a horror fan himself, though not to my geeky degree. The man took me to see a ton of horror and sci fi movies when I was just starting to walk. We sat side by side on the couch watching Chiller Theatre, Creature Feature, Kolchak The Night Stalker, Universal Monsters when they appeared on PBS and The Twilight Zone on our black and white console TV. When he came home from NYC, he’d pick me up comic books like Eerie and Conan the Barbarian, or the latest copy of Famous Monsters. We listened to reruns of horror radio plays and put together glow in the dark Aurora monster model kits. When I was big enough to read adult books, Stephen King’s Night Shift was placed before me. And then there were boxes of paperbacks of Lovecraft, Poe, Koontz and other lesser known and one-and-done horror authors. I especially loved his Doc Savage books, which is why I tend to add a lot of action and adventure in my monster novels.

So, aside from veal cutlet TV dinners and corn on the cob, that was my steady diet. I mean, did I even have a chance? As I got older, Fangoria was added to my reading list. Of the four walls in my room, two were dedicated to posters and cut outs of hot babes, and the other two to horrific, bloody stills carefully excised from the pages of Fangoria. My father used to sit on my bed and stare in wide wonder at Morgan Fairchild in her leopard bathing suit just inches away from the Nazi werewolves in An American Werewolf in London. Or Victoria Principle giving some side-eye to a blood-soaked Ash in Evil Dead. (On a side note, I had to give away a TON of comic books to Jimmy across the street in trade for three nude pics he’d gotten of Victoria. Nowadays, it’s all free and right there on the Internet. You horny kids don’t know how good you have it.)

My favorite double feature of all time was when we walked three blocks to the movie theater in our neighborhood to see The Kentucky Fried Movie and Dawn of the Dead. My ten-year old mind was blown and forever rewired. Comedy, sex and gore! I desperately wanted there to be a zombie invasion so I could take over a mall and live the life of Riley. That is, until the bikers came and ruined it all.

Mom is also at fault here – for being complicit! She allowed this sensory overload into an impressionable young mind. Never said no. Never asked if it was too much for me. And I love her for it. She saw how much I dug it all, and when you have a hyper boy in the house, you’ll grasp for anything that will keep him quiet for hours on end. When I started writing and publishing horror, mom and dad were my biggest fans. I’m sure they would occasionally look to one another and say, “Yep, we did this.” Dad has been gone six years now, but mom is still here, reading my madness, and proud as hell.

I’m glad as all get out that I’m like this. Thank you mom and dad. Who knew that loving parents could lead to this? Huh, I guess they did.

THANKS HUNTER!

2 Bloggers 1 Book - Hunter Shea May Book #1 (Antarctic Ice Beasts)

Stormi and I both had several Hunter Shea books we wanted to get to so several months back we slated both of them for this month so look for another "2 Bloggers 1 Book" feature next Thursday as well.  First up is "Antarctic Ice Beasts."  After reading my thoughts, make sure you check out Stormi's at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: Antarctic Ice Beasts

AUTHOR: Hunter Shea

PUBLISHER: Severed Press

PUBLISHING DATE: February 14, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: The South Pole in winter is one of the deadliest places on Earth. The seven person crew of the US Freedom Base lives alone in months of utter darkness with no hope of help or rescue. A freak storm batters the walls and threatens to expose them to the deadly cold. All they can do is wait…and pray. 

The ground quakes.  An alien screech rips through the night.  There's something, or someone, lurking outside.  Fists bang on the walls.  Each tiny crack in the base spells death by hypothermia.

Untold horrors have come to Freedom Base...and they want in!

MY THOUGHTS: I love Hunter Shea and I've read quite a few of his books.  Now I have to admit that "Antarctic Ice Beasts" isn't my favorite, but it's still a strong book with lots of positives. 

Shea has a wonderful way of making the settings of his plots characters themselves and it's not different here.  Not only are the crew battling some unknown forces/creatures, they are also battling the environment and living conditions and it's a tossup which is more dangerous. I've always loved wintry, cold settings in books, just not in real life, and "Antarctic Ice Beasts" really delivers.  I also liked a lot of the crew.  Yes, I had a few favorites but on the whole, they were all pretty tolerable.  At least I wasn't immediately cheering on any deaths.  And if you've read Shea's books before you know he isn't afraid to kill off characters but I couldn't help but feel that he intentionally made me love two in particular just to torment me later.

Finally, the "creatures" themselves. It took me a while to get the full picture of what was going on with them and I have to admit they were an interesting concepts.  And it's not just one type of creature, there are many.  Let's just say I'll never look at penguins the same way again.

Despite all of this, I felt things were a little disjointed between the first half of the book and the second.  If you love creature features and wintry settings, this book is worth a read.  And Shea will always be an auto-read author for me.  I just enjoy some of his other books better.

RATING: 3 PAWS

Hunter Shea May!

So anyone who regularly visits knows that Stormi and I love to buddy read Hunter Shea books.  In fact, I think we've buddy read more of his books than any other author so far.  So when we both ended up with copies of his newest two, we decided to make it a May-long event.  During the month, you can anticipate seeing buddy reads of "Antarctic Ice Beasts" and "Ghost Mine" as well as some other special posts - including a guest post from Hunter himself.  This will be the second time Hunter has appeared on our blogs and we're very excited.

We are also working with Flame Tree Press to host a giveaway.  About mid-month, we will post the details.  So we're challenging you to chose a book from Hunter's mass collection and we will provide a link-up.  Then at the end of the month, we'll randomly chose a giveaway winner.  We hope this will help spread the word about all of the Shea books out there that people are enjoying, and maybe encourage some new readers to give him a try.

Many thanks go out to Hunter himself as well as Flame Tree Press.  So feel free to join us in our celebration.