Thursday, May 15, 2014

Book Review – Shark Station Nyet by Carolyn McCray

I will start off with a piece of information and a warning combined.  Shark Station Nyet is the second book of the Apex Predator Thriller Series by Carolyn McCray.  If you have not read Salechii, the first book of the series, you may not want to read this review.  While I strive to keep my reviews spoiler free, it is almost impossible to review a well-done sequel without giving away spoilers from the first.  That being said, Shark Station Nyet is an extremely well-done sequel that does what few sequels are able to do.  The second book in the Apex Predator Thriller Series surpasses the original in every way!

You might think to yourself, “King Salazar the Third (hey if you’re going to talk to yourself, you might as well have some fun with it), what could possibly be better than a book about an underwater shark park written with great attention to the details about the sharks where they all get loose and terrorize a park full of guests?”  I am here to tell you that the answer to that question is Shark Station Nyet.

While not necessary, I would highly recommend reading the short bridge story Open Water, which comes as part of the Apex Predator Thriller Series box set on Amazon.  In this story, we are shown what happens immediately following the rescue of the protagonists from the Shark Park.  We are also reunited with a character we thought dead from Salechii (but I won’t tell you who).  Following this incident is where Shark Station Nyet picks up seamlessly.

“Putin wanted weaponized sharks to help guard Russia's coastline. And what Putin wants, he gets, however he also got far more than he expected!

Join our heroes as they battle the biggest and smartest sharks they have ever encountered!” (Amazon.com).

Our remaining heroes from the first book travel to an underwater shark station in the frozen wastelands of Russia in order to assist with a search and rescue mission.  Callum is recruited by the secretary of the Navy due to his shark expertise and his experiences at the shark park.  He, in turn, demands that he be allowed to bring his allies from the shark park with him to assist.  This is perhaps the weakest story aspect of the book, but I challenge you to come up with a better way to get the protagonists involved.  Unlike her story telling in Salechii, McCray does not bother with the rhythmic increasing and releasing of tension in this story.  Once the peril starts to build, it never loosens up!

Shark Station Nyet contains all of the shark action from Salechii, but with the added suspense and thrill of a more direct human threat this time.  From early in the story the characters learn that they are facing not only the elements and weaponized sharks, but a saboteur as well.  They do not know who they can trust, but do know that death may wait around any corner.  The knowledge brings out both the best and the worst in some of the characters.

McCray dives much deeper into the personality of her characters in this book.  You really get to see the impact of the first life-and-death situation they faced in Salechii and how it has impacted each of them personally.  Their decisions in this book are very much formed by the experiences of their past.  Knowing that there is a traitor in the midst of the cast of characters makes you examine each of them more closely.  McCray seems to anticipate this and provides us with less definitively “good” or “bad” characters, adding more depth than she did in Salechii.

Overall, Carolyn McCray does an excellent job in taking all the things that made Salechii great and making them better.  McCray’s use of descriptive language is amazing and makes it easy to see the action in your head as you read.  For any fan of shark horror and thriller, this book is a must read. 

So, let’s take a look at the Rage Circus breakdown:
Story Concept – 4.5/5
Story Execution - 5/5
Story Flow – 5/5
Character Development (give-a-damn factor) – 5/5
Gripping visuals/details - 5/5
Entertainment Value/Story Engagement - 5/5
Editing (including grammar and spelling) – 4.5/5
Overall –4.86/5 – Read this book now, but prepare to have to pry it from your hands every time you need to put it down!

Shark Station Nyet by Carolyn McCray is available through Amazon.com in several formats:


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