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The Animal
An incredible story that has everything from raw action, science fiction twists, romance elements, and contains psychological suspense throughout. Terry Jones was living what seemed to be a normal life. With a steady job at a oil company that promised huge career advancemnets. Everything changes for him in an instant when he starts having regular periods of blackness. Time that is being lost and he starts wondering if this could mean a split personality disorder. Terry is sent of an amazing journey through terror, danger, and eventually love to discover the truth. Not only about his past but also discovering who he really is as a person.
276 pages, Paperback
First published May 14, 2010
352 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Want to read
March 1, 2012I won this book from first reads! I know that I will enjoy it and can't wait to get it and read it!
June 6, 2010
At the same time as being very extrospective, Beck's unique and unconventional style exhibits the passion put behind the characters he brought to life in this intense tale of memory and deceipt. Very few events take place for a 268 page novel that oversees a mere few days. The introspective detailing is the unsettling method the author prides himself on telling the tale while harvesting the slow drip of suspense. The venture into their minds is incredibly deep and almost makes you feel the guilt a mind reader might feel in waking life. Not a single detail is spared in this novel. I mean it. Not one. That may be unappealing for some and golden text for others. For instance, there is a twenty page section describing the transportation on foot from a police station to an apartment. An action/thriller this is not. Psychological thrill ride? You bet.
A cat and mouse chase between a man bestowed with animal instinct and a detective whose compassion lends him inhuman precision at what he does. The build up is very extensive (at times excessive) leading these two men in an ant trail to a foreboding premises underground. Beck's lengthy descriptions will distract you while he toys with whatever predictions you might have manifested in reading the story...which has painfully cliche names like Jones, Smith and even the name of a legendary NBA player. But it seems rather obvious to me that a lot of authors often retell themselves inside jokes with the names they choose in their stories. That is their freedom. But Jones? Smith?
Nevertheless the author will manipulate your predictions to his liking so he can retie them into a knot of surprise that will keep you guessing until the end, and leave you thinking about The Animal long after you've finished it.
The end is very rewarding with a trifecta of tragedy, conflict and hope stewed together to part with you on a backwardly positive note.
Aside from the character names, the only real gripe I have about this book is that it reads more like a screenplay than a novel. That could be a spectacular thing for the author should he ever select that media in his future career.
A cat and mouse chase between a man bestowed with animal instinct and a detective whose compassion lends him inhuman precision at what he does. The build up is very extensive (at times excessive) leading these two men in an ant trail to a foreboding premises underground. Beck's lengthy descriptions will distract you while he toys with whatever predictions you might have manifested in reading the story...which has painfully cliche names like Jones, Smith and even the name of a legendary NBA player. But it seems rather obvious to me that a lot of authors often retell themselves inside jokes with the names they choose in their stories. That is their freedom. But Jones? Smith?
Nevertheless the author will manipulate your predictions to his liking so he can retie them into a knot of surprise that will keep you guessing until the end, and leave you thinking about The Animal long after you've finished it.
The end is very rewarding with a trifecta of tragedy, conflict and hope stewed together to part with you on a backwardly positive note.
Aside from the character names, the only real gripe I have about this book is that it reads more like a screenplay than a novel. That could be a spectacular thing for the author should he ever select that media in his future career.
Read
November 23, 2010I could not continue reading it. All of the mistakes really got to me. The story was interesting, but before you publish, proofread, proofread proofread! Then have 10 friends proofread.
I'm having a hard time reading this. The grammar, misuse of words (women's when he is only talking about 1 woman), and sentence fragments are very distracting. Also, the repeating of things in 2 consecutive sentences is trying. Im giving it the benefit of the doubt and waiting until I finish it to make a complete judgement.
I won this book from first reads and I am very excited to get it and start reading it!
I'm having a hard time reading this. The grammar, misuse of words (women's when he is only talking about 1 woman), and sentence fragments are very distracting. Also, the repeating of things in 2 consecutive sentences is trying. Im giving it the benefit of the doubt and waiting until I finish it to make a complete judgement.
I won this book from first reads and I am very excited to get it and start reading it!
October 14, 2010
The story was fine, it reminded me of Wolverine from X men, but the editing was atrocious. I don't know if it is because it was a first reads book and the editing process is not complete, but it was bad. There were an amazing number of misspelled words, words that didn't belong, words that were missing that should've been included, fragments, and run ons. All of these problems really annoyed me and probably effected my whole opinion of the book. I also felt like the end was rushed. It was kind of like.....oh by the way everyone lived happily ever after.
June 26, 2011
I abandoned this book due to too many grammatical erroors which distracted from the story; even if this is an ARC, the grammar still needs to be fixed before sending it out for review
February 3, 2019
This was so good. I didn't expect the ending.
November 3, 2010
The Animal begins with a shocking sequence of dreams/nightmares. As the story unfolds it becomes hard to read and not because of the storyline. It is the grammar, editing, spelling, etc. that detract from the the tale. I liked the surprise ending but must say it was not easy getting to it.
September 12, 2010
Really enjoyed this book. Didn,t want to put it down.
Enjoyed the way you thought the father died, but at the end he came back in the picture. can't wait for the next book.
Enjoyed the way you thought the father died, but at the end he came back in the picture. can't wait for the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
October 9, 2010I won The Animal from First Reads. I'm looking forward to reading it now that it has arrived. I gave it a quick glance, it looks interesting. It's in my queue.
January 27, 2011
The story is good but it has too much going on. The talking animal that was way too much for my taste. the ending was very predictable.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews