Of Men and Monsters by Tom Deady

​      I’ve read Deady before. Backwater. Just revisited that review and it mentioned his stories being thoroughly decent takes on popular genre motifs. And sure enough, this novella definitely fits that bill. It may not be the most original of premises, in fact it is reminiscent of not one but two stories from the first season of Creepshow, but it’s well done and the premise is nostalgia steeped comic book flavored to perfection.
    It’s the summer of 1975. Two young brothers and their mom have fled their abusive father and are all set for a fresh start in a small quaint beach town. Life holds every promise…sun soaked days and warm starlit nights by the ocean, girls, comic books conveniently left behind by the former tenants. Perfect…with sinister undertones, such as the looming threat of being found by their father or corpses washing up on the shore. And then there are sea monsters, ordered on a whim off the back of a comic and, unlike other cheap merch of the same providence, these guys live up to their name.
    With consistently decent writing, engaging characters and genuinely entertaining story, it’s fairly easy to ignore the story’s intense predictability. It’s what you might refer to as light on surprises, heavy on tentacles sort of thing. Overall a pretty fun quick read. Would fit right in Creepshow. Many thanks to the publishers for providing a free copy for review purposes.