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Finding the beast who seems to thrive on consuming high levels of radioactivity, proves to be highly dangerous. The writing is good, the story interesting, I read this in one sitting.
Usually not my type of book, but it is good to periodically try something different. Jul 15, Claire Fun rated it it was amazing Shelves: I really enjoyed this. It was generally well written , with believable characters, and was a fun, quick, and exciting scary romp in the dark.
Setting it in Pripyat was a great idea - I've long been fascinated by the thought of this abandoned ghost town, and the writer has clearly done his homework and knows his subject.
I've spent a lot of time on their version of Google street view 'walking around' pripyat and have followed all the tour photos from visitors, and this book covered a Ooh, creepy! I've spent a lot of time on their version of Google street view 'walking around' pripyat and have followed all the tour photos from visitors, and this book covered all the main 'sights' and the feel of the place really well.
Basic plot is that two local-ish lads sneak of to explore the city the same night two Spetznat black ops style have been sent in to investigate reports of suspicious activity. Without spoilers, I'll just say that what they all find is not what they expected The plot was exciting and I felt the tenseness of the situation, the descriptions of walking round this dead city - mostly in the dark, no less - not knowing who or what was in here with you was deliciously creepy and the factual stuff - explaining what happened to Pripyat, both 'then' and since - didn't jar with or interrupt the story at all, and was very well done.
I very much enjoyed having two Russian military characters as heroes instead of the bad guys which happens in so many books. While young at the time I still vividly remember. The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe. Well damn I hope Yuri is still out their righting the wrongs of the government! This is the kind of monstrous secret which kills, violently and implacably.
Admittedly, it was all stuff I knew already, but then Most people don't seem to have heard much about it other than the basics, so I'd imagine this book could spark interest in the place and hey, if it spurs a few more people on to help the Chernobyl charities, then brilliant! I mainly read it for the setting, but I would happily read more by this author, as I definitely like what he's done here.
Great read and will stick with me. I loved the use of Chernobyl as a setting and getting glimpses of what the city was like before and after the fallout. I wish the story would have expanded a little more though on some areas i. Exactly why I've never been a huge fan of short stories and novellas. This one is worth checking out though.
Jun 15, chucklesthescot rated it really liked it Shelves: Dimitri and Yuri have been fascinated by the strange tales of Prip'Yat, abandoned in the wake of the Chernobyl explosion. Rumours of hauntings and monsters intrigue the boys who decide on an overnight trip into the forbidden zone to explore for themselves rather than the official guided tours.
The Ukraine government have become concerned about something strange happening in Prip'Yat and ask the Russian government for help. The Russians decide to send a two man special forces Spetsnaz team in th Dimitri and Yuri have been fascinated by the strange tales of Prip'Yat, abandoned in the wake of the Chernobyl explosion. The Russians decide to send a two man special forces Spetsnaz team in that night to investigate and report back. The boys are exploring an apartment building when they find a strange gel like substance which has been secreted by something but no footsteps to indicate anything human or animal.
The freaked out boys leave the building but become convinced that they are being watched. Strange noises occur and they run for the nearby children's hospital with something in pursuit of them The men start exploring near the hospital and notice a shadow moving at speed and decide to follow it. Finding nothing, they then stumble across the same gel substance, which frightens Iosif as he recognises it but refuses to tell Lucas what is bothering him.
Lucas knows his partner is hiding something important and realises that he knows what it is they are looking for in the dark town. What exactly are they chasing and who is the hunter and the hunted? It is difficult to say more about this without giving away the best of the plot. There is a ton of tension as the two boys explore the town, gradually becoming scared by strange noises and shadows. By the time they hide in the basement of the children's hospital, they know that there is something true in the horror stories that they have heard because they can hear it searching for them.
Now they have to find some way of getting out of the basement without it catching them. It is pretty creepy being with the boys in the basement as the creature closes in on them. It is the same with the military men. They are well trained and unsure of exactly what the mission is until he sees the gel substance. Now he knows what they are looking for and he is scared, forced to break confidentiality to tell his partner what they are dealing with.
They also become aware that the boys are in the area and now have two things to find. If the special forces guy is scared, you know that this monster is going to be something bad and hard to kill, and boy does it live up to expectations! The monster is different from anything that I was expecting which added to my enjoyment of the book. I liked the use of Chernobyl and the radiation as important roles in the story, and the author tells a very gripping story to entice the reader into this shadowy world.
It is well written and makes you care what happens to the characters. I very much enjoyed having two Russian military characters as heroes instead of the bad guys which happens in so many books. I liked seeing Russian and Ukrainian characters working together as well. There is just so much to like about this creepy horror thriller. It was my first book by the author and will certainly not be the last.
I now look forward to reading his apocalypse books! May 08, Angela Crawford added it. From the book description: From author Mike Kraus, creator of the bestselling Final Dawn series, comes a new book: The Beast of Chernobyl Two Spetsnaz officers are dropped into the ghost city of Prip'Yat and tasked with investigating mysterious disturbances around the city and the nearby Chernobyl power plant Unaware of the special forces operation, two cousins from Kiev sneak away and travel to Prip'Yat under the cover of night, excited to finally explore and experience the forbidd From the book description: The beginning of this novel was really good.
The story drew me in and made me want to know more. But then we got to the part with the beast,,, scary until it was described. After that point it just didn't work, sort of like the methods of fighting it. Then the end just kind of fizzled out without letting you know what happened. I learned a lot about the Chernobyl explosion and its aftermath, including how it affected the nearest community, PripYat.
I think everyone who supports the use of nuclear energy needs to read this. But the book is not a polemic: Meanwhile, two soldiers of a very covert special operations team are sent in to PripYat to find—something. What the two pairs find is not just each other, but something so horrible it must be experienced to be believed; but experiencing it means dying because of it.
This is the kind of monstrous secret which kills, violently and implacably. Can it ever be halted? May 14, Romulo Reyes rated it really liked it. This is what I usually refer to as bite-sized reading, checking in at pages. I liked the setting and it was well paced. The author also gives a decent amount of Chernobyl history so readers unfamiliar with the setting can quickly get accustomed to it. I like that not too many authors have used Chernobyl as a setting so that was neat. This prob This is what I usually refer to as bite-sized reading, checking in at pages.
This probably would have made for a better movie than Chernobyl Diaries! Apr 24, Andrew rated it liked it. This was a free ebook I cannot remember where I found however I decided to give it a go since I have found some truly amazing books this way.. I must admit I was quite surprised at how good it was - ok its not a ground breaking or trend setting book but its fast paced and tense and you really do want to read what happens next simply for the thrill of it. SO what can I say about this - well the title and description pretty much covers it, however the writing is tense, face and interesting making This was a free ebook I cannot remember where I found however I decided to give it a go since I have found some truly amazing books this way..
SO what can I say about this - well the title and description pretty much covers it, however the writing is tense, face and interesting making it at least in ebook terms a page turner. I enjoyed the descriptions surrounding the Nuclear Fall-out zone and the process of navigating through the lethal, and decaying infrastructure.
However, I found the storyline to be predictable and the conclusion to be a disappointment. The book is ideal for those looking for a quick, non-committal read or those with a passing interest in the fallout caused by Chernobyl. Apr 26, Michelle rated it it was amazing Shelves: Fast-paced and interesting story.
Makes you really think about nuclear energy in a different light. I loved the historical background. Great book for anyone interested in historical fiction or horror. Jan 31, David Dalton rated it really liked it Shelves: I picked this up back in Jan of Just now got to reading it. I really liked it. Gave me a Predator 1st movie type of feel set in Chernobyl. Pretty good monster action. Are there any more related titles? If so, count me in. Very moody and isolated feel to it. Jul 15, Linc Park rated it it was ok.
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One of the hallmarks of a bad story is when a character has to explain a major plot point. In this story it is made worse by the fact that it comes in the form of a diary. Regardless of the necessary exposition it provides, you still have to ask why a seasoned soldier on a deadly top secret mission is carrying a diary in the first place. His partner, Lucas, has been entrusted with the diary.
Did you get that! It makes me think that author gets his ridiculous concept of how military missions are planned from playing the Call of Duty games. Add all three to Cart Add all three to List. One of these items ships sooner than the other. Buy the selected items together This item: Ships from and sold by Amazon. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe.
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From the beginning to the end, the unique story keeps you on your toes, along with the characters. In some books, description may make me bored, but not in this case. It enhances it by allowing you to envision the surroundings vividly, to picture exactly what the characters 'see. One person found this helpful. Is it of this world? Is the beast of organic material, or maybe it was something of another origin than Earth.
None of these questions touched on by the author, but the description of the beast's workings make you wonder. I enjoyed this book a lot. The author followed the layout of the town and reactor site very well, and after doing some research on them online, I could imagine the story almost as a cinematic in my mind's eye. I found myself reading this with the lights off at night and getting spooked from the very beginning. Icould almost feel the dust particles, smell the abandonment of the city, and taste the radiation.
This was very easy to follow, and based on many facts.
Not the beast part, obviously, but the history of the explosions and of Pryp'Yat. The way this was written, it moved quickly due to the author not using four pages to describe just one thing. It reminds me of how someone would tell a ghost story if they were telling their friend. Unlike some previous reviews, I enjoyed the description of the beast as it allowed me to get, most likely overly so, creative with wondering about its origins. Also, I did not see an excessive use of short sentences; they were no shorter than the sentences I'm using to write this review.
There are some mistakes in the book that remind me of perhaps someone in the beginning stages of learning how to write published work, but nothing worth ripping him apart over. I gave it four stars instead of five because in some areas the author was too repetitive I don't need to be told 6 or 8 times within a few pages apart that Dimitri talked Yuri into going, or that the red eyes glow , and there were several times it seemed there was perhaps no editor for the book and thus several mistakes were made regarding missing words and incoherent sentences. These are all things easily fixed, though, and the hardest part is having a talent for story telling, which Mr Kraus clearly does.
Concise and fairly short, it drew me in and wouldn't let me go. A great example of the "monster in the place urban myths say there should be a monster". Very good but too short in my opinion: This is actually the 2nd radioactive monster the Spetnazs leader has faced. They think they killed it in China. Bloodshed ensues as they fight it to its lair and in order to use a special bomb on it For those of us old enough to remember Chernobyl, this may be an even darker read than for people too young or not born yet.
While young at the time I still vividly remember. First it was nothing, then a fire- but contained. Then came reports of radioactive dust falling on other countries.