David F. Shultz

The odd title is the name of the monster. This is military SF or perhaps military fantasy as I’m not quite sure if the enemy is an alien or a demon. Maybe it’s military horror.

Anyway, a group of Navy SEALS in Viet-Nam are cooling their heels, not allowed to go into action because the army general in charge doesn’t want them. However, when one of their trained dolphins goes missing it’s a good enough excuse to head into the jungle to find it. In the river, obviously.

They encounter a local chap in a small boat with a lot of heroin who claims to be hunting river demons. The yanks are sceptical until the monsters attack, monsters that are almost invisible in the jungle and very hard to kill even if you spot them.

A pretty routine adventure yarn then but well done. The writing is smooth with detailed and presumably accurate descriptions of the guns, grenades and other action man toys. The true nature of the monsters is only slowly revealed and there are a few surprises along the way.

This passed a pleasant hour while I was waiting to see an Optimist at Bristol Eye Hospital one wet Monday and will entertain many another SF/fantasy/horror fan, I’m sure. Worth a look and it would make a fun straight to DVD B-Movie.

Eamonn Murphy… (more)