Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a little boy, I’ve been fascinated by all things ‘creatures’–from massive Grizzly bears that roam the mountains to Kraken that swim in the depths of the oceans to massive Anaconda that are worshiped in the Amazon rainforest. Having discovered The Weekly World News tabloids at my grandma’s, I couldn’t get enough of what makes us question what lurks in the trees or swim in the waters around us. I’ve taken that love of all things cryptid and used those moments of awe and fear that I had while discovering these creatures all those years ago and placed them into the novels I write.


I wrote

Mastodon

By Steve Stred,

Book cover of Mastodon

What is my book about?

17 years ago, Tyler Barton was born in the Rocky Mountains while his parents were on a hike. On that…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Forgotten Island

Steve Stred Why did I love this book?

This book gives us a non-typical main character thrust into a horrible situation–lost on an island the locals refuse to visit.

There, she finds horrendous creatures have inhabited a subterranean area. Told with frantic pacing, this book is hard to put down.

By David Sodergren,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Forgotten Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Ana Logan agrees to go on holiday to Thailand with her estranged sister Rachel, she hopes it will be a way for them to reconnect after years of drifting apart.

But now, stranded on a seemingly deserted island paradise with no radio and no food, reconciliation becomes a desperate fight for survival.

For when night falls on The Forgotten Island, the dark secrets of the jungle reveal themselves. Something is watching them from the trees.

Something ancient.

Something evil.

Combining the cosmic horrors of HP Lovecraft with the grimy sensibilities of the Video Nasties, The Forgotten Island is an…


Book cover of Return to Dyatlov Pass

Steve Stred Why did I love this book?

Many people are aware of the story of Dyatlov Pass, where a group of Russian hikers were found frozen to death in mysterious circumstances, but Moncrieff takes it a step further and introduces a creature that very well might be the reason behind everything.

Told with whip-cracking prose, this novel is impossible not to finish in a single sitting.

By J.H. Moncrieff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Return to Dyatlov Pass as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1959, nine Russian students set off on a skiing expedition in the Ural Mountains. Their mutilated bodies were discovered weeks later. Their bizarre and unexplained deaths are one of the most enduring true mysteries of our time. Nearly sixty years later, podcast host Nat McPherson ventures into the same mountains with her team, determined to finally solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident. Her plans are thwarted on the first night, when two trackers from her group are brutally slaughtered. The team’s guide, a superstitious man from a neighboring village, blames the killings on yetis, but no one…


Book cover of Creature

Steve Stred Why did I love this book?

While this book is a work of fiction, Shea infused a significant amount of non-fiction elements into the novel from his own life.

The story rampages along, starting out creepy at first–odd things happening around the lake cabin–but soon blossoms into a full-scale creature assault on the people within.

Heartstopping and heartbreaking, this is Shea’s best work to date.

By Hunter Shea,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Creature as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'It's much more than most creature features, it has heart and thought, and a superb, head-on horror conclusion. The best Hunter Shea I've read so far and by more than a little.' - Eddie Generous (Unnerving Magazine)
The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew's surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It's beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal. But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the…


Book cover of The Curse of the Viper King

Steve Stred Why did I love this book?

While this is technically book three in the Grant Coleman series, it was my first book by James, and I had no issues diving into it without knowing what happened in the first two books.

Coleman is a paleontologist who ends up in crazy situations, and this one had everything I love in creature feature books–huge snakes, the Amazon jungle, and next-to-no odds of survival.

By Russell James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Curse of the Viper King as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Paleontologist Grant Coleman and environmentalist Janaina Silva, lost in the Amazon rain forest, discover an isolated logging camp, and the chance to hitch a ride back to civilization. But the workers uncover a fossil of a giant snake, almost fifteen meters long. Grant is thrilled, but the superstitious workers believe they have let loose a demon. That night, the world begins to unravel. A mysterious creature attacks the camp, kills several men, and sinks the only boat that can get them home. Soon Grant and the others are in a battle against colossal spiders and a descendant of that great…


Book cover of False Bodies

Steve Stred Why did I love this book?

McConvey does a remarkable job of giving us a detective novel masquerading as a horror novel. I loved the main character, Eddie ‘The Yeti’ Gesner, a deeply flawed and grief-stricken man who is a cryptozoologist. 

Having this novel take place in Newfoundland, Canada, worked perfectly to allow McConvey to fill the story with squid-based events and profound historical elements, and with the addition of the corporate greed angle, it felt timely and topical.

By J.R. McConvey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked False Bodies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A genre-bending noir, and perhaps the squiddiest novel ever written, False Bodies creates a horror/thriller blend of the renowned Newfoundland culture seen in shows like Come From Away with the heart-pounding tension and creeping fear of Alien.

False Bodies follows monster hunter Eddie “The Yeti” Gesner to Newfoundland, to investigate a mass death on an offshore oil rig—which some say is the work of a kraken. A mysterious incident in Eddie’s life has made him obsessed with chasing unfathomable things, but when an antique diary plunges him into a watery world of squid cults, tentacled beasts and corporate greed, Eddie…


Explore my book 😀

Mastodon

By Steve Stred,

Book cover of Mastodon

What is my book about?

17 years ago, Tyler Barton was born in the Rocky Mountains while his parents were on a hike. On that day, his mother disappeared, never to be seen again. Now, history repeats itself. On the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, Tyler’s father is flying home when the plane he’s on disappears–in the same area where his mother was last seen.

Undeterred by officials, Tyler decides to hike into the area in search of his father, hoping to find him alive and bring him back to safety. But there’s a reason that the area is prohibited from entering, and even though Tyler doesn’t care, he’ll soon find out that the wilderness can hide some of the deepest, darkest fears known to man.

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The Yamanaka Factors

By Jed Henson,

Book cover of The Yamanaka Factors

Jed Henson Author Of All In

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Reader Dad Outdoorsman Space cowboy Curious

Jed's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Fall 2028. Mickey Cooper, an elderly homeless man, receives an incredible proposition from a rogue pharmaceutical company: “Be our secret guinea pig for our new drug, and we’ll pay you life-changing money, which you’ll be able to enjoy because if (cough) when the treatment works, two months from now your body will be youthened to twenty-three years old.”

When his treatment proves more difficult than expected, and corporate espionage turns deadly, Mickey finds himself flanked by internal corruption and powerful external enemies, including Chinese operatives desperate to reverse their country’s aging demographics and amoral U.S. government officials who fear the…

The Yamanaka Factors

By Jed Henson,

What is this book about?

Fall 2028. Mickey Cooper, an elderly homeless man, receives an incredible proposition from a rogue pharmaceutical company: “Be our secret guinea pig for our new drug and we’ll pay you life-changing money, which you’ll be able to enjoy because if (cough) when the treatment works, two months from now your body will be youthened to twenty-three years old.”

When his treatment proves more difficult than expected and corporate espionage turns deadly, Mickey finds himself flanked by internal corruption and powerful external enemies, including Chinese operatives desperate to reverse their country’s aging demographics and amoral U.S. government officials who fear the…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Amazon rainforest, Thailand, and bigfoot?

Thailand 44 books
Bigfoot 28 books