Book Review: Snowblind 1 and 2 by Michael McBride

They come at night. Forward.

A stranger staggers out of the wilderness under the cover of a blizzard and stumbles into a diner full of people. He collapses in the entryway, unzips his jacket, and allows the object hidden inside to fall out. Screaming commences.

Down.

Four old college buddies embark upon their annual elk hunting trip into the Rocky Mountains. This promises to be their last, for the passage of time is as merciless and unpredictable as the Colorado weather. And they’re not alone.

Help.

There are other hunters in the mountains, stalking game of a different breed. They know exactly what they’re doing, because they’ve been hunting in these woods for a long, long time. And no one ever survives to betray their existence.

My Review: 
A desperate man staggers down the mountain seeking help and the only thing that keeps him going is the mantra playing inside his head. Forward. Down. Help. He is part of a group of friends who gather each year for a reunion, hunting in the woods. But this time the hunters become the hunted and there are creatures of near human intelligence, watching, waiting, baiting their trap for a chance to feast on human flesh. The beasts watch the hunters and prepare their own hunt as they have done many times before.

The four men have no idea of the danger they are in on this trip. It starts in the usual manner but then a harsh blizzard descends causing one of the party to have an unexpected fall. It becomes necessary to find immediate shelter and it seems that their prayers are answered when they find a run down cabin in a clearing, where others have rested before them. But as they look around the cabin it soon becomes clear that those there before them have fell victim to the same creatures that now lurk just out of sight in the woods, waiting for night to come. Can the men outwit the beasts and survive the night? And should they try to escape and find help or risk becoming sitting ducks?

I can't say a lot about the plot of this short novella without spoiling the entire story. What I can say is that it was very well written. The description of the exposed locations, the bleak outlook, the deadly blizzard and the looming menace that nobody can see but we know is there. The tension gradually ramps up as the men watch the treeline and wait for something to happen, trying to work out what to do. I loved the dilemma-stay and run out of ammunition before you can deal with the beasts, or go outside into their environment in a blizzard in unfamiliar surroundings and hope you can find a way down the mountain to help before they catch you.

The beasts are scary! The fact that they don't appear but you know they are there makes them very menacing and the waiting for them to make a move does get the heart racing just a little! I very much enjoyed this story, my first from the author who I stumbled across recently. I'm very glad I did and I intend to be reading more of his work. In fact I already have other short stories and full length novels by the author on my e-reader. I certainly recommend this to fans of creature feature books.

Read July 2020
4 stars.

There are some places man was never meant to go.

For the past seven years, John Avery has been combing the wilderness for any sign of his missing girlfriend, who set out upon the ski trip of a lifetime and was never seen again.

Regions utterly isolated by geography and time.

The discovery of a video camera prompts Sheriff Wayne Dayton to dispatch a search party into one of the most remote areas of the Rockies in hopes of learning her fate.

Where few species can survive.

When a freak blizzard strikes, they find themselves wandering blindly into the killing grounds of a predator they can’t even see.  

My Review:
John was unable to go on a ski trip with his friends and they, including his girlfriend, go missing without a trace. It is seven years later that a video camera is found that finally gives a clue to their location, footage that includes a run down cabin. For the Sheriff it brings back bad memories of an incident connected to the mountain that still haunts him and he is unaware that he is going to find out what happened first hand. Also with them is the conservation man who found the camera while searching for his missing sheep, and he is able to guide John, Sheriff Dayton, a tracking expert with her dog, and a tech expert to where he made the disturbing discovery. Instantly, things start to go badly wrong.

As the group try to come up with a plan, a blizzard is forming and night is drawing near. It isn't long before they realise that they are being hunted by whatever got the missing group and now it is going to be a matter of trying to survive the night and get off the mountain to find help. At first they are relieved to find the run down cabin from the photos but it will take them time to realise the significance of their discovery. Sheriff Dayton soon realises the connection to the incident that haunts him and he realises what kind of trouble they are really in. It comes down to the same dilemma that faced others before the. Stay and wait for the beasts to come or take the dangerous route out into the storm and try to get to help?

This sequel gets off to a slightly slower start than the other one, as it sets the scene for John's seven years of waiting, the tracking of the sheep and the guilt that the Sheriff is feeling over his own troubles. It is not slow, just slower to get to the action compared to the first book, and if you have read the first book, the anticipation is building as you wait for the beasts to appear. The book has the same level of gore as the first and again is mixed nicely with the building tension. 

My bugbear is the ending which had me yelling in fury at the book! It was an excellent twist, one that I never saw coming, but it doesn't stop me from not wanting it to happen!

Read July 2020
3.5 stars.