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Dead Bait #2
Dead Bait 2
Dead Bait 2 We're gonna need a bigger boat! Following on from the abomination that was "Dead Bait" Severed Press bring you more horror tales of the deep including a haunted Ice fishing trip, viscious Mer-monkeys, sickening shark attacks, deranged walruses and many more terrors from beneath the surface. Praise for Dead Bait Amazingly and wonderfully horrific collection of short stories- Dread Central These graphic and shocking stories will definitely make you think twice about going fishing -Fangoria The most ingeniously revolting stories that I have ever read. Horrorweb
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 23, 2011
28 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
Steve Alten
62 books1,364 followersSteve Alten grew up in Philadelphia, earning his Bachelors degree in Physical Education at Penn State University, a Masters Degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate of Education at Temple University. Struggling to support his family of five, he decided to pen a novel he had been thinking about for years. Working late nights and on weekends, he eventually finished MEG; A Novel of Deep Terror. Steve sold his car to pay for editing fees. On September (Friday) the 13th, 1996, Steve lost his general manager’s job at a wholesale meat plant. Four days later his agent had a two-book, seven figure deal with Bantam Doubleday.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 11, 2023
Creepy things in the water…
Standout story: The Worst Thing Ever - Anthony Weed
This was another great compilation. I enjoyed it a lot, nice mix of different kinds of water horror. If you’re looking for water horror then definitely pick this up!
Standout story: The Worst Thing Ever - Anthony Weed
This was another great compilation. I enjoyed it a lot, nice mix of different kinds of water horror. If you’re looking for water horror then definitely pick this up!
February 15, 2020
I fell in love with the cover, and then I found the story to go with it. Lots of really good stories, lots of fun. I'll be reading the rest of the series.
February 1, 2025
The first book in this series was absolutely amazing, what a great time if you love creature features involving bodies of water.
This sequel is shorter, with 19 stories now cut down to 13. So how did it fair?
Well not as good as the first, but still had some fun things in it.
Stories That Impressed Me:
“Lonely After Dark”: Tim Curran has become one of my new favorite horror authors, and his contributions to these books says why. This story is about a group of guys who ice fishing out on a lake said to be haunted during the winter, called Spider Lake. A man runs into their camp after dark, covered in blood and claiming something grabbed his friend through an ice hole. Are the urban legends true about the lake, and can they get out before somebody is next on the chopping block?
(Fun Fact: Spider Lake is the same name of the location in the first story from the first book by a different author, but this is not related. Just a fun name drop)
“Lost in Time”: This one is about a guy who had a roadside attraction of fossils and paleontological items. His ex visits him where he explains his recent discovery about an ancient ocean predator that existed millions of years ago, a 40-foot long VIPERFISH! (Look up the fish, its nightmare fuel). He then presents a treasure hunt mission at a florida natural spring where gold is lurking inside of a deep water cavern connected to the ocean. He invites his ex and her boyfriend to come help him.
Remember that thing I mentioned in the first half. Yeah, buddy might be hiding some info about this spring…
Both those are stories are great, especially Lost In Time which is by Steve Alton (same guy who writes The Meg books adapted into blockbuster films). Rest of the books has stuff like brutal isopod carnage, creepy things at a cottage, deranged walruses, and a fun Goosebumps-like story about Mermonkeys. But the book has duds and stinkers too, so ends up only pretty good.
This sequel is shorter, with 19 stories now cut down to 13. So how did it fair?
Well not as good as the first, but still had some fun things in it.
Stories That Impressed Me:
“Lonely After Dark”: Tim Curran has become one of my new favorite horror authors, and his contributions to these books says why. This story is about a group of guys who ice fishing out on a lake said to be haunted during the winter, called Spider Lake. A man runs into their camp after dark, covered in blood and claiming something grabbed his friend through an ice hole. Are the urban legends true about the lake, and can they get out before somebody is next on the chopping block?
(Fun Fact: Spider Lake is the same name of the location in the first story from the first book by a different author, but this is not related. Just a fun name drop)
“Lost in Time”: This one is about a guy who had a roadside attraction of fossils and paleontological items. His ex visits him where he explains his recent discovery about an ancient ocean predator that existed millions of years ago, a 40-foot long VIPERFISH! (Look up the fish, its nightmare fuel). He then presents a treasure hunt mission at a florida natural spring where gold is lurking inside of a deep water cavern connected to the ocean. He invites his ex and her boyfriend to come help him.
Remember that thing I mentioned in the first half. Yeah, buddy might be hiding some info about this spring…
Both those are stories are great, especially Lost In Time which is by Steve Alton (same guy who writes The Meg books adapted into blockbuster films). Rest of the books has stuff like brutal isopod carnage, creepy things at a cottage, deranged walruses, and a fun Goosebumps-like story about Mermonkeys. But the book has duds and stinkers too, so ends up only pretty good.
December 11, 2015
2 stars means this was just "ok", and for the most part, that is exactly what this anthology was...just ok.
There's nothing new or incredibly exciting offered in DB2. It's the same old kind of stories that were in the first collection. Unfortunately, I read that one so long ago (and my copy is packed away in storage somewhere), that I can't honestly remember how good it was.
What I can say, however, is that DB2 isn't all that great. Yes, it has some relatively decent stories like Curran's "Lonely After Dark" and the one by Steve Alten, but that's to be expected since both of those guys are established (at least in Alten's case) authors who've already penned pretty good stuff beforehand.
I always read anthologies as a way to find possible new authors to read. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. This time it happened to be the latter. If anything, this made me hate some authors even more. Having already read the more famous works of Cody Goodfellow and Ramsey Campbell, I wasn't expecting much from either. I got worse. Both of their stories are among the 2 weakest offerings here and I found myself slogging my way through, just to get to the next short. And of course they were back-to-back which made for a ridiculously long 40 minutes or so.
Most of the stories here are just ho-hum. They aren't especially "bad" (well, except for the 2 I just mentioned). They just failed to grab me or excite me in any way. I guess if you don't go in expecting much, you'll be ok, but don't get your hopes up, because you'll be disappointed.
There's nothing new or incredibly exciting offered in DB2. It's the same old kind of stories that were in the first collection. Unfortunately, I read that one so long ago (and my copy is packed away in storage somewhere), that I can't honestly remember how good it was.
What I can say, however, is that DB2 isn't all that great. Yes, it has some relatively decent stories like Curran's "Lonely After Dark" and the one by Steve Alten, but that's to be expected since both of those guys are established (at least in Alten's case) authors who've already penned pretty good stuff beforehand.
I always read anthologies as a way to find possible new authors to read. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. This time it happened to be the latter. If anything, this made me hate some authors even more. Having already read the more famous works of Cody Goodfellow and Ramsey Campbell, I wasn't expecting much from either. I got worse. Both of their stories are among the 2 weakest offerings here and I found myself slogging my way through, just to get to the next short. And of course they were back-to-back which made for a ridiculously long 40 minutes or so.
Most of the stories here are just ho-hum. They aren't especially "bad" (well, except for the 2 I just mentioned). They just failed to grab me or excite me in any way. I guess if you don't go in expecting much, you'll be ok, but don't get your hopes up, because you'll be disappointed.
July 6, 2014
For me, this was better than the first Dead Bait anthology. Tim Curran's contribution to both books was one of the highlights although his short story in the first anthology was better - his was about the only story in the first anthology that I really liked.
I'm not a fan of Ramsay Campbell and his contribution to this compilation did nothing for me - I don't enjoy understated, high literature horror at all. The slow creep puts me to sleep. Steve Alten's contribution here could have been better.
The shark attack story was very good.
A mixed bag but it involved more fish than the first Dead Bait compilation did.
I'm not a fan of Ramsay Campbell and his contribution to this compilation did nothing for me - I don't enjoy understated, high literature horror at all. The slow creep puts me to sleep. Steve Alten's contribution here could have been better.
The shark attack story was very good.
A mixed bag but it involved more fish than the first Dead Bait compilation did.
December 1, 2016
A wonderful collection of nautical tales all with a creepy and horrifying twist.
Ancient sea creatures, sharks, old curses, supernatural yarns.
Everything an old sea salt (or even us land lubbers) could wish for.
Big name authors and also lesser known talent make an appearance.
Good quality writing makes this a little gem of a short story collection.
Well worth a read as there is such diversity in the stories.
Ancient sea creatures, sharks, old curses, supernatural yarns.
Everything an old sea salt (or even us land lubbers) could wish for.
Big name authors and also lesser known talent make an appearance.
Good quality writing makes this a little gem of a short story collection.
Well worth a read as there is such diversity in the stories.
October 23, 2012
A very rare rating for me but couldn't help it. Then only reason it got the one star was because of one story by Steve Alten. The rest were either book filler stories, boring or badly written. The first book was more interesting, and i'm not sure I'm going to bother reading the third book. Shame - though it does prove that Steve Alten is good.
December 6, 2014
I really only got this for the Steve Alten story (which thankfully was good), and the Guy N Smith story, for old times' sake. Guy N Smith hasn't changed; I was hoping for crabs as big as cars (!) but had to settle for what was offered. There were a couple more gems, but on the whole this was rather abyssmal.
October 12, 2012
The sequel to "Dead Bait" a collection of horror shorts based around fish and the water. Not nearly as scary or as developed as the original, this work too needed some editorial help.
June 21, 2014
I liked the stories in this book except for Steve Alton's. I realise these were short stories but his seemed very amateurish. I guess I had higher standards for him. Best story, "Worst Thing Ever."
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews