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Tiburon
What unknown evil lurks beneath the depths of our ocean?
- GenresHorror
232 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 2, 2019
When an inexplicably slaughtered pod of killer whales washes up on the beach, a pair of oceanic researchers find themselves drawn into a reign of terror that threatens to engulf the entire sea. What new horror has the ocean spawned, and can anything stop it?
TIBURON is an energetic, fast-moving novel that introduces a fresh variation on the "killer shark" genre. Writer Edward Holsclaw keeps the story running with plenty of gory action and a strong sense of foreboding and mystery. The two protagonists are likable and every time they sally forth into the ocean the reader knows something terrible is waiting for them. And unlike many contemporary novelists, Holsclaw doesn't let his story get away from either himself or the reader, and the adventure rushes along to its explosive climax in just over 100 pages without ever losing steam.
So why only three stars? Despite its exciting plot, TIBURON suffers from inconsistent writing and sloppy editing. Choppy spacing, inappropriate quotation marks, and comma splices were common throughout my Kindle edition. Moreover, while Holsclaw has come up with a page-burning plot, his prose style is hit or miss. Though at times the writer conjures some truly ethereal word images, there are just as many passages that are nearly painful to read. As for dialog, Holsclaw seems to think most people are incapable of putting together a complete sentence without stuffing in one childish vulgarity after another, and that gets tiresome pretty quickly. A little editing could have cleared up many of these issues and made TIBURON a much better reading experience. Finally, the story leaves a lot unexplained. Not only do we never learn much of anything about the story's monsters, such as where they come from or how they accomplish some of the nearly preternatural things they do, but there are hints that the Bermuda Triangle, where some of the story takes place, is somehow involved and that it is exerting its haunted influence upon our characters. Sadly, this is only briefly touched on, and it's never clear what the Triangle really has to do with the story, or if it actually has anything at all to do with it.
Despite its stylistic issues, TIBURON is a very entertaining book that kept this reader turning the pages at a rapid clip. The author packs a powerful story into a short novel, and in so doing gives us a lean, engaging tale that never loses inertia. The unfortunate editing and lapses in writing do keep TIBURON from being first-rate, but even so I would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories of man-eating monsters from the deep.
TIBURON is an energetic, fast-moving novel that introduces a fresh variation on the "killer shark" genre. Writer Edward Holsclaw keeps the story running with plenty of gory action and a strong sense of foreboding and mystery. The two protagonists are likable and every time they sally forth into the ocean the reader knows something terrible is waiting for them. And unlike many contemporary novelists, Holsclaw doesn't let his story get away from either himself or the reader, and the adventure rushes along to its explosive climax in just over 100 pages without ever losing steam.
So why only three stars? Despite its exciting plot, TIBURON suffers from inconsistent writing and sloppy editing. Choppy spacing, inappropriate quotation marks, and comma splices were common throughout my Kindle edition. Moreover, while Holsclaw has come up with a page-burning plot, his prose style is hit or miss. Though at times the writer conjures some truly ethereal word images, there are just as many passages that are nearly painful to read. As for dialog, Holsclaw seems to think most people are incapable of putting together a complete sentence without stuffing in one childish vulgarity after another, and that gets tiresome pretty quickly. A little editing could have cleared up many of these issues and made TIBURON a much better reading experience. Finally, the story leaves a lot unexplained. Not only do we never learn much of anything about the story's monsters, such as where they come from or how they accomplish some of the nearly preternatural things they do, but there are hints that the Bermuda Triangle, where some of the story takes place, is somehow involved and that it is exerting its haunted influence upon our characters. Sadly, this is only briefly touched on, and it's never clear what the Triangle really has to do with the story, or if it actually has anything at all to do with it.
Despite its stylistic issues, TIBURON is a very entertaining book that kept this reader turning the pages at a rapid clip. The author packs a powerful story into a short novel, and in so doing gives us a lean, engaging tale that never loses inertia. The unfortunate editing and lapses in writing do keep TIBURON from being first-rate, but even so I would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories of man-eating monsters from the deep.
July 5, 2021
Nope. Couldn’t read this one. Childish writing style. Just couldn’t make myself churn through it.
January 24, 2013
Okay, so I admit I was a little biased picking this book up. C’mon, we’ve all seen Jaws. Going into a shark novel and pretending you have no expectations is idiotic. I anticipated buckets of blood, unrestricted tension and absolute fear. Forget the writing and the character development; today was all about my lust for gore. Now, let’s all put our hands together and thank the almighty I hadn’t expected more. Another rage relapse and I might have developed an embolism.
Today we’re going to do something different, today we’re going to dissect the plot. The basic sketch of the story is enticing, although not original it is a new take on an old idea. The very thought of a new species of shark, with an intellect that matches a human is frightening. How would the world respond? That is what drew me to the book, the fascination. While the idea is good, the execution of the complete story is choppy and undeveloped. Too much in a rush, Holsclaw never truly explains the origin of the shark or their purpose. Add to that the highly unlikely, completely absurd solution to the shark’s visit.
The pace in the book is swift, too swift in fact. Through the entire book you feel like your playing catch-up, the action rarely slowing down. Mr. Holsclaw, even the most numbed reader needs a pause. The atmosphere in the book is chaotic and disorienting. I’m still not sure if that result was intended or just a side effect. Being that this is Holsclaw’s first book I’m not going to judge his style of writing too harshly. Having read Laid to Rest previously, let’s just say his style has improved. Just one tiny tidbit, if I may. Mr. Holsclaw, it’s okay to say someone knocked on the door, you heard a beep or the phone rang. We really don’t need to read, “Brrrrring” every time. We get it, no need to describe each and every noise.
The characters are your basic shallow, stereotypical cutouts. Not one person is authentic. The two main players, Dr. Wyatt and Dr. Paige, are more involved with each other than the sharks. Which, by the way, was completely gratuitous. The secondary characters play out there roles predictably, lacking both brains and emotion. With more one-liners than your local lounge lizard, the characters proved amusing only when they were getting eaten. Which leads me to the only plus in this book – the gore. With every turn of the page, someone is dying and they don’t go easy into that peaceful sleep. I’m talking rip, shred, and devoured; it was beautiful.
My rating? I give it a 2. The next time your looking for graphic carnage and you’re willing to throw logic out the door, get this book at your local library.
-As reviewed for Horror-Web.com
Today we’re going to do something different, today we’re going to dissect the plot. The basic sketch of the story is enticing, although not original it is a new take on an old idea. The very thought of a new species of shark, with an intellect that matches a human is frightening. How would the world respond? That is what drew me to the book, the fascination. While the idea is good, the execution of the complete story is choppy and undeveloped. Too much in a rush, Holsclaw never truly explains the origin of the shark or their purpose. Add to that the highly unlikely, completely absurd solution to the shark’s visit.
The pace in the book is swift, too swift in fact. Through the entire book you feel like your playing catch-up, the action rarely slowing down. Mr. Holsclaw, even the most numbed reader needs a pause. The atmosphere in the book is chaotic and disorienting. I’m still not sure if that result was intended or just a side effect. Being that this is Holsclaw’s first book I’m not going to judge his style of writing too harshly. Having read Laid to Rest previously, let’s just say his style has improved. Just one tiny tidbit, if I may. Mr. Holsclaw, it’s okay to say someone knocked on the door, you heard a beep or the phone rang. We really don’t need to read, “Brrrrring” every time. We get it, no need to describe each and every noise.
The characters are your basic shallow, stereotypical cutouts. Not one person is authentic. The two main players, Dr. Wyatt and Dr. Paige, are more involved with each other than the sharks. Which, by the way, was completely gratuitous. The secondary characters play out there roles predictably, lacking both brains and emotion. With more one-liners than your local lounge lizard, the characters proved amusing only when they were getting eaten. Which leads me to the only plus in this book – the gore. With every turn of the page, someone is dying and they don’t go easy into that peaceful sleep. I’m talking rip, shred, and devoured; it was beautiful.
My rating? I give it a 2. The next time your looking for graphic carnage and you’re willing to throw logic out the door, get this book at your local library.
-As reviewed for Horror-Web.com
August 16, 2012
The story here could have been better than it was. Mr. Holsclaw could have done more research on sharks than he did, because he got a lot of misinformation into the story. No sharks would ever exclusively attack humans and boats!! He also portrayed them as inherently evil. Sharks are NOT evil!!! As for the rest of the story, the characters are shallow, and the ending was downright lame. They wanted to kill the sharks with atomic warheads?!! Be serious!!!! The story ending was left open allowing for a sequel, but fortunately none has surfaced, at least yet.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews