Snow Shark

VHS Trash #1

by Brian G. Berry

It was supposed to be a family vacation. The celebration of a birthday. A weekend of skiing and smiles. But something haunts the slopes, hunts beneath the snow. No longer does it require the sea, no longer the depths of dark waves. Conditioned for land, a winter terror is unleashed upon the guests who inhabit the resort of White Cap Lodge. Slopes will run red, people will scream, and out there in the snow, no man, no woman, nor child, is safe from the jaws of:
SNOW SHARK!

It is no longer the sea you have to fear.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Splatterpunk

196 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2022

About the author

a.k.a Brian Berry

Brian G Berry is new to the world of writing. He writes everything from 1980s inspired horror, SCIFI/Action-horror, to the strange. His biggest influences are the writers of the weird including Lovecraft, Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, to the pulp horror authors of the golden age 70s/80s- and a splattering of others. Author of The Pail, A Bloody Christmas, Splatter Fiend Series, Slasherback Series, Campfire Tales Beneath a Pallid Moon, Accursed Ground, Blood Lanes, The Night Mutilator, Thanksgiving Day Massacre, and his newest: SNOW SHARK.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not since the likes of Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman, have I seen so much blood in the snow...or mutated snowballs being destroyed by an allergy to bananas. God that movie was so stupid, lol. Ok, back to the book... we have a standard premise in which a government experiment goes awry. Those crazy, outlandish government experiments. You know them, right? And sure enough, this snow shark gets dropped onto a fancy ski resort and lo and behold, you have a situation on your hands. A violent, teeth-filled situation. With a fin. You get it. Now the story is a ton of action and gore and is basically like an amped up version of Jaws, but in the snow. Just fun and silly, purely meant for entertainment purposes. And Brian Berry keeps this one relatively short, which was nice, as to not overstay its welcome and get charged for a late checkout (Resort reference!). I kind of felt like the Hennings were unnecessary, and didn't serve much purpose in the story. There was focus on them, but it was all rather superficial. So when we learn of each of their fates, none of it necessarily felt like it accomplished anything or held any type of significance. And their part of the book felt really unfinished, rushed, and incomplete, too. I feel like if the author even removed the family here and just had us follow the local law enforcement, soldiers, and creators of this monstrous predator, it would have kept the story with a better flow and resolution. Give all these guys some solid background stories, character progression, and keep the attention on the people on the ground, mixing it up with Santa Jaws out there. But overall it's a delightful, made-for-Syfy Channel style feature written out for all to enjoy.

[TheNeverendingTBR · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one rambled on too much with unnecessary descriptions and information.

I think I know why the author did that though, for filler.

Instead, he should have just written clever dialogue or just made it shorter.

All that stuff aside though, there were some entertaining and gory parts.

The shark was f#cking terrifying, so savage!

Overall, it could have used better editing.

[Brandon Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay but this was so fun 😂 B Scifi Original creature-feature horror movie in book form!!

Definitely don’t take it too seriously!! 😂

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read and a surprisingly intense book. The action starts right away and never really stops. There is a lot of gore in this book and no one is off the table to be murdered.

There were a few typo/grammar errors in the version I read but anyone who has ever read any of my reviews know, I need to read my reviews before I post them. There always seems to be at least one error, so I don't hold that thing against indie writers.

[P.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted: Z-movie Tacky-O Sharko

Part of the 'VHS Trash' series of stories designed by Brian G. Berry, Snow Shark does not usurp its title! The story recounts the escape of a bioengineered shark, laying waste in a ski resort in WA, USA, during Christmas 1988. Nasty, gruesome, brutal and short encounters with the beast set the pace of this one-sitter, bringing to mind the most iconic moments of The Seventh Passenger or The Thing, while the spirit of goofiness is never floating far off either! The uproarious premise and the aesthetics of the nanar were too much for me, once again :D

3.5/5
Cordial thanks for this monstrously fun ride, Emphatically Tacky Sharko :D


See also:
Gyo
The Bone Factory
The Abominations of Yondo
(The Ice-Demon, The Abominations of Yondo, The Master of the Crabs)


OATS shorts
The Shining
The Thing

[Damien Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wouldn’t the movie Tremors just be a ton cooler if the grabboids were sharks and it took place at an overpopulated ski resort? Yah, prolly. Brian G. Berry decided to make that idea times ten and double down on the ooey gooey snow cones in this one. If Brian has a book coming out, I leave space in my tbr to get to it instantly, and an evening off to read it in one sitting. I did this one with Mountain Dew and gummy sharks, I felt like a ten year old on a sugar rush playing with a toy shark outside in the snow. This book feels like Adam Green and Troma teamed up to make one of those crummy SyFy channel movies but absolutely nailed it. It has gore, deaths that make your jaw drop, a general named Coy Hall, a scene involving a porta-potty, and the honest truth about how much harder Ghosts and Goblins is than Contra. If you haven’t read Berry yet, pick up this novelization of the best 80’s Monster movie that never existed and have the time of your life. K thx.

[D.W. Hitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharks, blood, gore, and a family caught between it all. What more could you ask for? Great story.

[John Durgin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Snakes On A Plane, all you have to do is read the title to know your signing up for a wild ride. Snow Shark is my first Berry book, and I’ll definitely be back for more. Berry’s love for B horror is written into the pages with ease, bringing us one crazy ass scene after another. Anyone looking for a bloody, B movie popcorn flick of a book should look no further. Sean Duregger provides the perfect narration to match the tone of this story. I swear he’s made for these types of horror novels, and I mean that as a huge complement. He makes a crazy story even more fun. Definitely check this one out!

[DA · Rating 5 out of 5]

You would think with a title of Snow Shark, that this book would be a horror comedy, but it's not. It's action packed from the start. Full of blood and guts and a man made creature that hunts in the snow. I really enjoyed this creature feature. I would definitely recommend.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

First we had Jaws, mega shark, sharktopus, then sharknado, and now someone finally perfected the ultimate shark disaster! This was absolutely a great book with a lot of gore, blood, and carnage. Brain Berry is a master slasher writer! Anxiously awaiting Snowshark 2 - In Space!

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

TAKE THE INSANITY OF A SYFY CHANNEL ORIGINAL FILM, THROW IT IN WITH THE UNDERRATED WRITING STYLE OF TIM CURRAN AND YOU PRETTY MUCH HAVE AN IDEA OF JUST HOW RIDICULOUS “SNOW SHARK” IS. BUT BELIEVE ME, IT’S A GOOD RIDICULOUS. I MEAN YOU CAN’T GET ANYMORE OUT OF CONTROL THAN A MUTANT SHARK THAT LIVES IN THE SNOW AND CHEWS THE HELL OUT OF SKIERS! HOW CAN ANYONE NOT ENJOY THIS PULPY, CAMPY GORE-FEST????

[Corrina Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, what an absolute load of fun that was! Once I started, that was it, I was hooked and reeled in for the entire trip! 🦈

I was also honoured to be made into a character in this book, even though I might not have survived, I had a blast while it lasted. My character was pretty cool and I was blessed with a lovely family too! 😉 Thank you so much Brian!! 😁

Brian has a real knack for building atmosphere and descriptions that make you feel as though you're there, that you're physically a part of the story. His writing always flows really well, he's a fantastic story teller. His personality shines through in his narration and this always makes for a thoroughly enjoyable, fun and entertaining read!

Back to the story.... what an action packed, horrific and brutal opening chapter!! 😲 Entices you in and builds your curiosity so you can't help but keep those pages turning! Plenty more action throughout, along with blood, guts and lots of body parts!
I felt the fear and emotion of the soldiers, apart from Heywood! - what a horrible jerk! This guy made me so angry, and I actually cheered out loud during the scene with him and Trent!! 😉
I loved the evil revelation at the end too! 😁

As if a man eating shark, in the snow, wasn't bad enough....what happens when your only refuge is no longer the safe haven you thought it was, and the safest place is now actually the snow!?!?

I'm really hoping for more snow sharks in the not too distant future! And a movie! A movie would be awesome! This needs to be on the big screen!

Absolutely 10/5 snow sharks 🌨🦈🌨🦈🌨🦈🌨🦈🌨🦈

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK: It's still snow shark season! This book is a total blast and it pulls together all the things I love about B-Movie monster horror films. It's action packed and absurd and just never slows down. You can really tell the author has fun writing this as well as knows all the tropes and tricks to keep fans of the subgenre engaged. Sean Duregger catapults the story to an entirely different plane of existence with his enthusiasm, voices, and accents. There's never a dull moment! I look forward to the possibility of this author and narrator collaborating again because it was a mighty fun time!

PRIOR REVIEW FROM READING THE PHYSICAL BOOK: Oh, wow, that was so much fun! A family heads out for a ski trip vacation and it just so happens there's a government created "snow shark" that gets loose and starts wreaking havoc and bloody mayhem wherever it goes. It's giving Jaws (or Santa Jaws if that floats your boat) meets Predator meets Jack Frost (no, NOT the one with Michael Keaton) and I am here for all of that. The pages are loaded with action and brutal gore and any fan of those will be delighted from cover to cover. And speaking of cover, have you seen how incredible the art is on Snow Shark?! I mean the book had me at killer shark if I am being honest, but Brian Berry knows how to make an interesting premise even better with his own flare and spin on the plot, characters, and scenes.

[John Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it looks like, and exactly what the back cover describes it is. This is my first book by the author. I will definitely be back for more.

The authors note says his intent was to write a “trashy shark book” his take on the “trashy shark movie”, however, there is nothing trash about this. The author took care to give just enough info and explanation for the absurdity that a snow shark is, and he has fun with the idea. There is a whole aspect of it, that is revealed very early on, but I’m not going to say here. Just read it, it adds another layer to the book.

The action scenes in here are varied and brutal, Berry does a good job of making the kills feel different.

If you’re looking for an absurd, fun book about a killer shark, this one is a must read.

[Spike Creamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one started off a bit slow for me. I just couldn't seem to get into the first half, but by the second act I couldn't put it down. I thought by the title and cover art it would be campy and silly. None of those things were true. This book was a blood soaked romp through an unexpecting ski resort. A perfect winter read on those chilly nights.

[Stephen Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool concept, surprising played straight. Snow Shark is a vicious brutal merciless creature feature and a good read.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow even better than DEATH COMMANDO and COMMANDO NINJA! Brian Berry’s descriptions of gore are fucking priceless, and the whole 80s creature feature/action movie on steroids deal is exactly my thing as well. Anyway, here are some of my favorite descriptions of his:

“It chopped his body down into a steaming hot pile.”

“Something hot buried itself into his waist. Bones cracked to brittle chips in his backside as his legs were separated from his body in yawning red ribbons tethered to his waist. Blood dumped, loops of intestines uncoiled, lumps of meat hit the snow, emptying Ray of all those vital things he would need to continue living a good life. Instead, each piece sank into the snow, heat coming off the pile as blood poured over all that meat.”

“One moment she was carrying her baby, all bundled for the snow, headed back to the lodge. The next moment, mommy was a big red-clotted smear that stretched a good forty or fifty feet through the pines. […] What was left of her head, which wasn’t much-considering half of her face had been chewed through, sank beneath the white waves of snow, blood bubbling out thick gummy streams of brain and skull.”

“Blood blew out of Chris like a child squeezing a juice packet empty.”

“Lynch watched that young man in his bright green parka crushed into something no longer resembling humanity; something more like you would see on some sun-beaten road, pasted to a fine sauce by a hundred tires. The shark took its time, rendering the man down into clumps and pools.”

“It continued to chomp, grind, and obliterate that young clerk into a fine and unrecognizable stain.”

“They saw what happened to Chris outside, saw that thing in the snow chopping him down into a sloppy, beefy porridge that dripped from its snapping bloody jaw in long wet ribbons.”

“Its teeth dripped in ribbons and bands and flaps of flesh and hair, and chips of bone struck into its gums.”

“The shark macerated the boy into lumps and syrupy tumescent fragments.”

And let’s not forget the best dying line ever:

“Webber looked into the shark’s face. Come and get your meal you fucking fish stick.”

Classic Webber.


And many thanks to P.E. for agreeing to this buddy read even though this is not at all his preferred genre :)

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

SNOW SHARK (VHS Trash #1) lives up to its parenthetical subtitle. Author Brian Berry delivers pure 80s trash overloaded with ridiculous monster, an astronomical body count and blood. Lots of blood.

It's hard to shake The Thing vibes this book throws off. It takes place in the cold of winter (but not the artic). There is a group, isolated by weather conditions, that must face a supernatural creature of horror. Add to that the schlockiness of low-budget, direct to video movies that littered mom and pop movie rental shops and you have the perfect Friday night popcorn and soda read.

While SNOW SHARK is meant to be over-the-top dark fun, I thought there may have been some bloat in the story as well. There are several characters that are introduced only as meat fodder forthe shark but do nothing to move the story further. In that way, there are a few missing opportunities to tell a better, more clever story. And the end felt a bit like empty. I thought it could have wrapped up better, provided a bit more resolution, even if there's an open end.

All in all, the faults I find don't detract from what is, overall, raw, campy fun. This reads like an 80s B-movie and if you don't expect anything more from it, you'll put down the book reveling in the blood soaked snow that's left in its wake.

Jaws had nothing on Snow Shark!

[Coy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Berry continues to perfect his craft with Snow Shark. This is the fifth book I've read by the author, and his ability to underpin narrative, characters, dialogue, set-pieces with pulp poetry and pulp energy never ceases to entertain. That energy is the central mark of his style, and it's so infectious that you find yourself speaking like a Berry character after each reading. There's an edge of elegance, coolness--almost a beat poetry intuitiveness--to the verbs. His feel for rhythmic dialogue would translate perfectly to film.

In Snow Shark, set in the late 80s, the reader follows two trajectories (Alex and his family & Heywood and his commandos) to the ski slopes where a shark, developed as a military weapon, hunts the forest. Carnage flows, blood spews, limbs fly. In addition to the tone and trappings of shark films, I was reminded of the classic Snowbeast (1977) with Bo Svenson and Clint Walker. Berry captures a tone that makes you want to reread the novel like you'd rewatch a movie.

Things I loved: NES playing and talk of Contra, military intrigue, blood 'pisses' from someone's neck, spraying pines, a shark that tunnels through snow, and a General named Coy Hall who uses the word 'Mayhap.' Hall's name seemed oddly familiar to me.

[Tara Losacano · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesomely suspenseful creature feature!! When I first saw the title Snow Shark I thought it might be a kitschy, satirical read but it was anything but. In true Brian Berry fashion, it was balls to the wall, full of brutal kills, and an all around badass read! This chomp fest had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and gave me a new fear of deep snow, thanks a lot Berry! 5/5 shark skulls 💀

[D.M. Guay]

Hey all. I noticed this book is free today on Amazon, so if it's on your TBR pile, grab it now!

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good character work and pacing lift this deliberately silly monster tale and make it a really fun read.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title says it all.

Part of the VHS Horror series, this tale of a scientifically engineered snow shark that gets loose at a ski lodge is exploitation fun. Don't worry about the yellow snow, all the snow around here is red!

[L.M. Kaplin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you live in an area covered in white powder, Snow Shark by Brian G Berry will have you moving to the tropics.

When a weaponized military shark gets loose at a popular ski resort, no one is going to have a good weekend. With the shark leaving death and destruction in its wake, Brian’s vivid descriptions paint a picture of blood throughout the slopes.

Written in the vein of cheesy 80’s monster movies, make sure to bring your own popcorn on this wild ride of mayhem and body parts.

[Amanda McGehee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun read! Amazing writing and brings you into an original sci-fi movie from the 90's.

[Jason Nickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think any author out there is capable of recapturing the feel of pulpy 80s horror like Brian Berry. This story was a fucking blast

[Ayralea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beneath the pristine snow something swims effortlessly and stalks the unwary. It’s a… Shark? Yes, it is, and this is no light, comedic read either. Snow Shark is a serious story about a modified Shark that the military is using as a weapon. When it gets loose at a mountain resort, all hell breaks loose.

Gory, fun, and packed with action this creature feature brings the toothy terror of the deep blue sea to the slopes.

Five shark rating for sure, Berry knows how to make the unbelievable very real and scary. I’ll never look at a snow drift the same again.

[Chris St.Pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off Brian Berry wrote a great story and the narrator did a great job telling the tale. Now as I listened to this I kept visualizing this a small budget film studio would release. You have a military experiment " that got loose", shady military personnel, a ski lodge, lots of vicious deaths, gallons of blood. All in all this was very enjoyable and definitely worth the time.

[Nick Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

{2022} Snow Shark by Brian G Berry. So much yes here. First off it takes place in the late 80's. Yes. There is skiing. Yes. Lots of Nintendo talk. Yes. Sharks. Yes. Snow. Yes. Basically all things I enjoy in a story. We start in Siberia for a little Cold War action. Some Russians are getting massacred by some beast in the snow. GI Joe's are watching on. It seems the US military's new snow shark works well. Scientist neutralizes it with some science shit and they collect it to head back to the states. In other news dad, mom, brother and sister are headed up to snow mountain lodge for a skiing vacation. A little Clark Griswald action. Brother is hoping for a Nintendo for his bday. At the lodge we're skiing, boning, and playing Nintendo. Fun had by all. Back in the air there is some issues with snow shark plane. Oh shit, snow shark just fell out da hatch. No bueno. Two Porta potty cleaner guys are halfway up the mountain cleaning shit when suddenly they are attacked by snow shark. It's a big ol mess of poo and blood and guts. Nice. Army guys figure the sharks location but science stuff isn't working to neutralize it. To the ski lodge they go, guns a blazing. Oh man. Lots of brutality. Snow Shark takes no prisoners! Hefty body count. There was a couple times where I was like, oh damn, he went there. The book moves fast. Lots of snow shark action. Totally ridiculous fun. At times my brain would try and figure the logistics of how said shark could navigate in a couple feet of snow but then I'd have to remind it to just let go. Ha!. Snow Shark reminded me of Norman Bogner's 70s yeti book, Snowman. But better

[Matthew Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've known Brian for a little while on social media but this was the first book of his books that I read, and I'm already looking forward to reading another one.

The premise is borderline bizarro, a shark in the snow? I told him that if I had written this I would have made the story ridiculous and over the top. But Brian played it straight, and with that made a great action horror book. The writing was stellar, the characters were great and felt really real. The best, though, were the scenes where the shark painted the snow-capped mountain in blood!
I really enjoyed reading Sonw Shark, and I think you guys would too!