Thursday, March 19, 2020

A Bouncing Good Time - Roo Review

When this book came out, I knew I'd have to read it. And I also knew how much Stormi was wanting it as well so I couldn't resist buying us both a copy. Great way to support indie horror and also I knew if we slated it as a buddy read, I'd be more likely to get to it sooner rather than later. So read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's  @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!


TITLE: Roo
AUTHOR: Alan Baxter
PUBLISHER: Amazon Media
PUBLISHING DATE: January 28, 2020


FROM GOODREADS: 

Something is wrong in the small outback town of Morgan Creek. 

A farmer goes missing after a blue in the pub. A teenage couple fail to show up for work. When Patrick and Sheila McDonough investigate, they discover the missing persons list is growing. Before they realise what’s happening, the residents of the remote town find themselves in a fight for their lives against a foe they would never have suspected. 

And the dry red earth will run with blood. 

MY THOUGHTS:
I just have to admit to myself and everyone else that I love what I call creature-feature horror.  So when I saw talk of Roo being released, buying a copy was a no-brainer. Plus I have read a previous book from Baxter and really enjoyed it as well.

Roo is about what happens when a giant teeth-filled kangaroo starts terrorizing the small town of Morgan Creek.  After a rowdy night at a bar, a lone town member falls prey and by the time people figure out he is gone, the roo has already done some damage.  The town bands together to stop the killer and better yet, find out why there is a giant roo running around killing everyone in sight.

So Roo was kind of just what I was expected which was a good thing -  Blood, gore and kangaroo created carnage.  I liked the townspeople well enough and I can definitely say the book was action packed.  I also want to add that this book came about due to a twitter conversation between the author and some of his friends/fans.  There is a preface in the beginning which explains it all and I just found the whole inception so intriguing.  That being said, the author chose to use real individual's names, who had participated in the conversation, as the character names and while I appreciate that, I also found it extremely annoying.  I was constantly recognizing names in the horror world and it seemed to pull me out of the story.

Finally, I must address the swearing.  I love snarky, foul-mouthed characters.  In a past life, I even cursed like a sailor.  Yet even I was amazed at the amount of times "f**k" or some form of it was used in this novella.  If I had a physical copy, I might have even been tempted to do a physical count.  It was used THAT much.

So overall, if you want some gruesome gore at the hands of a giant kangaroo, then definitely pick this up.  I definitely did enjoy seeing all the stupid people a roo could wipe off the Australian map.

RATING: 3 PAWS

22 comments:

  1. Blood, gore and kangaroo carnage -- Is it weird that made me laugh a little? I had creature features on the background today while i worked from home. Don't even ask me why, but screams of horror are actually easy to tune out so I can focus *shrugs*

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    1. I think we all need some giggles and laughs so I'm glad you did. I love that you can put on horror for background noise :)

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  2. I certainly want to read this at some point...if I ever remember what reading is!!! Maybe twelve weeks of isolation will get me going again!

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    1. You'll get there. These are trying times. Sometimes we think all that time on our hands will help us get so much accomplished. I am finding it hit or miss on concentration.

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  3. This sounds like it could have been written by Hunter Shea, lol. Who would think kangaroos would be scary?

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    1. You are right, it does sound like something Hunter would write!

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  4. I don't mind some swearing in a book, but overuse of the f-word does get old fast. Still the premise of this one is pretty funny.

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    1. That was kind of the case. It doesn't really bother me either but it was A LOT in this one.

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  5. has everything i look for in a creature feature
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  6. I really did love the Kangaroo carnage! :)

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  7. Mmm, this sounds like a crazy idea, the swearing, doesn't usually bother me too much unless it's too overdone - which sounds like it might be the case here. Probably not one for me but glad you enjoyed it, even if it didn't blow you away.
    Lynn :D

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  8. Stormi mentioned the swearing too. If I decide to try this one, I'll go into trying not to count them. LOL

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    1. That's good but you know, I really want someone to do so!

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  9. Aww look at the cute rooooo! But see? I've always said Australia, as a whole, is just trying to rid itself of the human menace. It's a whole continent united in one deadly purpose LOL. Kangaroo-created carnage, though ... I don't know. I mean, I KNOW they actually can be pretty fierce, but ... not the animal I picture going on a killing spree. xD

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    1. I know, even with the glowing eyes it's cute.

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  10. This sounds interesting and I like the backstory about how this story came about. I don't mind swear words but it can be annoying if there are so many it becomes distracting. Great review!

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    1. That was me. They don't bother me either so you know it was a lot if I even mentioned it.

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  11. I need to give this one a read!! :)

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  12. This was one of my outright favorite ARC covers from last year, too bad the story wasn't as captivating. Ha ha. 😁

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