Bigfoot Hunters by Rick Gualtieri

5/5

I will be honest. I did not read the description of this book before I dove in. It was by Gualtieri, who I had previously reviewed with Bill the Vampire, which was hilarious. I probably was expecting similar hilarity in this novel, and while a few good parts did make me laugh (anything involving Paula) this book was not meant for hilarity. It is first, and foremost, a horror. I hate the horror genre! Why am I reading this novel? Besides the aforementioned, it was by Rick Gualtieri. Well then…

Plot: Six teenagers go camping in the woods. Within the woods they encounter something that wants to destroy them apart. Sound like a campy horror movie plot? Sure, it is, but it’s also done in a way that is not redundant. Enter the actual Bigfoot Hunters, a group of men that know the secret of these elusive creatures. Saying too much more gives away a few of the plot twists, which we know I’m not about doing. I despise spoilers. However, about 30% through I was wondering where the novel could possibly go from there and found that the six teenagers camping in the woods was just the prelude to the true horror.

Characters: There were quite a few characters in this novel, from the six teenagers, the four Hunters, and the townspeople surrounding the forest. Gualtieri surprised me with a few characters because they were not what I was expecting and the ending was not where I expected it to go. Every character has a unique quality, which is amazing considering that this is not a long novel.

Only complaints about this novel is what I normally would complain about in horror movies: body count. I have a bleeding heart at times during novels so it is rough for me to see a character I was rooting for die. Horribly. But Gualtieri does what needs to be done while covering the destruction it all leaves in the wake. Excellent writing style that has improved since the last novel I’ve read by him and great for any fans of horror, or people who want to read horror that has actual character development.

Reasons to read:

4. Beautifully written for such horrible destruction

3. Bigfoot

2. Compelling story while following horror cliché

1. Paula is just ridiculous enough to at least lighten the mood

Reasons not to read:

3. You absolutely hate the horror genre

2. You think Bigfoot should act like Harry

1. You don’t like descriptions of blood and gore

 

Love,

 

Solace Winter

Top 4 Reasons to Watch FCW 10/22/11

I was only going to do my four favorite things about FCW. FCW decided to make it very hard on me. Because four almost seems like a small number. This was a show filled with names you might recognize and names you need to look into. The Fink is your ring announcer for the evening and the first person he introduces is Ricardo Rodriguez, who insists he should introduce himself. The show only goes up from there.

4. The Ascension

There are two Ascension promos during this week’s episode of FCW. Two! I get shivers as this group shows their video promos. There is no one in this group not right for the part. I could watch them every moment of FCW. I could watch a television show just based off of this group. Hell, make this group a movie. They have personality, the look, and the moves. Unfortunately we don’t get to see the moves during this particular episode of FCW, but the promos are enough to keep you wondering and hoping for the next time.

3. Erik Rowan vs. Big E Langston

Erik Rowan came out and I can’t say I was ready to take this man seriously. Tall, bald, with a bushy red beard that was verging on Knoxian territory. I cringed and wondered how this man was going to work in the ring. Out came his opponent Big E Langston who I did not have much faith in either at first glance. Another large black man with Zeke like proportions. I was ready for a slow bout. I was wrong. This was an entertaining match between two large, strong men who were moving quicker through the ring than they had any right to. Watching Rowan pick up Langston had my mouth dropping and watching Langston turn much of it around on Rowan was awing. They had the moves and I now want to see them again.

2. Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Leakee

I have only started watching FCW in the last few weeks, so despite knowing Rodriguez was on FCW I had yet to see his moves. Being the opening match I did not have a build to his match but that was not needed. Rodriguez took center stage, introduced himself, and then out came Laekee, another member of the Anoa’I family. These two had chemistry and practice and were entertaining to watch together. I would have liked to have heard more from Leakee because then I might have been more excited when he won.

1. Leo Kruger vs. Husky Harris

I am not a big fan of Husky Harris. In fact I am not a fan at all. I did not like him on NXT and I do not like him at FCW. Why, then, does he rate as the partial number one on my list? Leo. Kruger. I would have made number one Leo Kruger to begin with if the match had not been solid and kept my interest the entire time. I enjoy Leo Kruger. He speaks well, he has smarmy down, and I do so enjoy smarmy, and the title looks good on him. Leo Kruger keeping his title had me jumping in my seat. I could have watched the entire show just for him and been happy, but luckily FCW provides entertainment consistently.

Other great things about this episode that did not make my top four was Kaitlyn and Caylee Turner (Alicia Fox’s little sister). Kaitlyn continues to show improvement in the ring and that she is the dominant strong woman of FCW and is at least in the running for number two on the WWE main roster. Caylee, while looking like her sister seems to have a softer appearance but moves that could still be just as strong.

William Regal is part of the announce team of FCW and is always entertaining. As he showed with his comment about Antonio Cesaro, “About the only thing to ever come out of Switzerland with any aggression about it.”

Speaking of Antonio Cesaro, this was his first match on FCW televised. Unfortunately he did not make it into my top four, and there is a reason for it. While Mr. Antonio Cesaro (as The Fink announced him) was entertaining and seemed to be enjoying himself in the ring it was the most predictable match of the night. He went up against Mike Dalton, who I had no idea who he was, and all we could think was this was the FCW guy who loses. We were right. Still, Cesaro made a good first showing and I look forward to seeing him again.

Other appearances of the night were Briley Pierce, Richie Steamboat, Naomi, Cameron Lynn, Byron Saxton, Percy Watson, Titus O’Neil, Maxine, Aksana, and Brad Maddox. FCW