Hard-hitting thriller.
Makes you wish Jaws was chasing you instead.
There are many novels about prehistoric
creatures surviving into the present and traumatizing the human characters.
But few of them are done with the level of realism, detail, and quality
storytelling that Max Hawthorne brings to Kronos Rising. His first novel
is a brutal locomotive of a book, with blood and seawater staining nearly
every page.
In terms of suspending disbelief,
he fully justifies the scenario of an almost invincible prehistoric monster
wreaking havoc on humanity, given a carnivorous marine reptile nearly the
size of a blue whale. This beast poses a credible threat to the entire
ocean's ecosystem, since it chases sharks out of their normal feeding grounds
and shoves whales even closer to extinction every time it feeds. Hawthorne's
protagonists are well-developed and relatable. Many of their flashbacks
are, from an emotional standpoint, very hard to read. Any rereads will
probably mean I'll skip over those parts, but that's a testament to their
effectiveness. The action is written in a riveting style, and he takes
his time to set up the spectacular climax. In a lot of good ways, it reminds
me of the huge action climaxes from 80s and 90s movies.
If there were any issues, it's a
few instances of dialogue where the characters get very verbose, even in
split-second life or death situations, and one of the antagonists goes
overboard with the "crazy man quoting the Bible" routine towards the end
(it's always the Bible; just once, I'd like to see a villain go insane
and quote the Vedas, or Beowulf, or something).
If you want to see a novel that
is intelligent, hard-hitting, and shows you an oceanic killer that makes
Jaws look like your aunt's goldfish, Kronos Rising is exactly what you're
looking for. Enjoy!
A Refreshing Masterpiece
I purchased Kronos Rising based
on other Amazon reviews and comments made by Max Hawthorne's readers on
social media. I was skeptical at first, but once I began to read the book,
I was blown away! Max displays his knowledge of the sea while weaving a
masterful tale of pure terror. Once you get started on the book, it gets
harder to put down! It's a quick read filled with surprises at every turn.
You'll never be able to look at or swim in the ocean the same way again.
If you're a fan of dinosaurs, or movies and books like Jaws, you do not
want to pass this up! If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself
quickly ordering Kronos Rising: Kraken once you finish this book.
Great characterization, and what
an awesome "monster"
Wow! Enjoyable and nail-biting!
Great characterization, and what an awesome "monster"...I can only hope
we see more of the caldera's legacy as the series unfolds. Oh yes, the
tongue in cheek humour was a nice nod to the presumed intelligence of his
readers...thanks Max!
A Refreshing Masterpiece
I purchased Kronos Rising based
on other Amazon reviews and comments made by Max Hawthorne's readers on
social media. I was skeptical at first, but once I began to read the book,
I was blown away! Max displays his knowledge of the sea while weaving a
masterful tale of pure terror. Once you get started on the book, it gets
harder to put down! It's a quick read filled with surprises at every turn.
You'll never be able to look at or swim in the ocean the same way again.
If you're a fan of dinosaurs, or movies and books like Jaws, you do not
want to pass this up! If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself
quickly ordering Kronos Rising: Kraken once you finish this book.
K.R.O.N.O.S: King Rinses Out Now
Overused Sharks
If someone asked me ten years ago
to read a book about a giant aquatic reptile that is five hundred and forty
two pages, I would’ve said no right then and there. I had read Meg those
ten years ago and loved it. But I was unaware that all these years later
a story was being told that just so happened to be five hundred and forty
two pages and that could breach Meg out of the ocean and snap it in two
with its mighty Jaws.
Plot: Something is very wrong
in the ocean and it isn’t global warming. An alpha predator has taken the
lives of many creatures of the sea and is now hungry for defenseless human
prey. It stalks them with patience and a voracious appetite, just waiting
to make its move. While Sheriff Jake Braddock suffers with his own inner
demons, he can’t help but defend his town that he’s grown to love and respect
from this awesome force of destructive terror. A new demon has come into
Jake’s life and it is in the form of god’s perfect prehistoric creation.
Character Development: Superb
story telling is one thing but having such believable and well fleshed
out characters is quite another. Pretty much each individual no matter
how small the roll in the overall scheme of things had a bit of development
to make their part memorable. There are some characters that received very
little attention (such as the soldier-boys) that made me wish I wanted
more. This could’ve been bad but much like Aliens (1986), it made their
characters all the more interesting. If there were one character I had
to choose that I cared about the most it’d have to be Amara. She is the
whale-expert in this story and even though she is made up to be as tough
as a scaly hide there was a side of her that showed that no matter how
much she fought back she could still be overpowered. Jake’s character is
fun to read into. His backstory is rich with vivid descriptions of his
past. I really appreciate how the awesome author (Max Hawthorne) incorporated
that Jake is anti-domestic violence and gets a spark of rage whenever he
encounters brutal beatings upon anyone. It makes his character all the
stronger.
Gore: Not too much but enough
to satisfy. If you are looking for a story that describes the deaths in
graphic detail, still give this book a chance. What it doesn’t have in
gore it excitingly makes up for in entertaining action.
Review: I adore this book,
plain and simple. I can’t describe the feelings I have toward it. Mainly
because I feel an unknown emotion that not even I can understand. When
I finished the book I felt that an adventure had just ended. It made me
crave for more. This behemoth of a book is such a fast read and I highly
anticipate Max Hawthorne’s new upcoming book, Kraken. I cannot recommend
this story enough.
Bottom Line: With all the
shark books and films it is a nice treat to see a new king of the ocean
rise.... I read this book in a week (which is the shortest amount of time
I’ve ever read any book in) and I couldn’t put it down. The tension, the
characters, the action and the story kept me so invested that I never wanted
it to end.
A 5 star thrilling page turner and
a great find…
I rarely provide a 5 star rating
but “Kronos Rising” definitely deserves one from my perspective. Occasionally,
a thrill ride book deserving a Hollywood treatment comes along. “Kronos
Rising” is one of those and combines all the great elements of the Benchley
(Jaws, Beast), Crichton (Jurassic Park) or Alten (Meg) novels. While similar
to those great stories, “Kronos Rising” is an original concept 66 million
years in the making with an apex predator rarely considered as a center
piece. This book possesses well developed story arcs with multiple intertwined
subplots, very credible characters all held together with easily flowing
and natural dialog. Mr. Hawthorne skillfully weaves marine biology, zoology,
maritime and various natural sciences together without being pretentious
or overwhelming the story telling. “Kronos Rising” is a page turner and
a great, if at times an exhausting, read. Be prepared for a thrill ride
punctuated with slowly building but escalating suspense and terror. While
“Kronos Rising” excels based upon its own merits, if you enjoy the aforementioned
authors, you’ll love this too.
Just when you thought it was safe
to go fishing...
Along comes this book to keep you
out of the water permanently. Max Hawthorne has created a gripping, spine-tingling
scary tale using a creature that supposedly has been extinct for 65 million
years. To fight the beast, he has created several multi-faceted and complex
characters and then places them in the path of this behemoth. The marina
scene was so vivid, I could almost see the destruction and carnage. Be
careful when you read this book, for this is one adventure that you will
not want to miss, right up to the climax.
Dino-jaws of the deep
As a lifelong fan of paleontology,
and an avid reader of ‘monsters of the deep’ books, I thoroughly enjoyed
this first in the Max Hawthorne ‘Kronos’ series. Since i first saw ‘Jaws’
as a kid, I’ve always been frightened and fascinated by what dangers lie
'beneath the waves'. I read all the ‘Meg’ books. Liked those as well, but
the ‘Kronos’ series offers a departure from the now-routine giant shark
saga by making the key villain a prehistoric reptile, a pliosaur, no less,
that can actually rise above the waves and pluck a hapless victim from
off the deck of a ship. Hawthorne does a good job providing an adequate
amount of science to make it plausible. He also gives us interesting characters
with wounded pasts that allow us to care for them in their plight. And
those action scenes: killer whales vs. sea-monster, sea-monster vs. mercenaries.
It makes the threat very real. I’ll be reading book two very shortly.
Fantastic Read!!!
Throughout KRONOS RISING, I found
myself holding my breath without even realizing it- until the scene was
over, and then taking a deep cleansing breath!! I enjoyed every word, character
description, the reality of the "monster", the conflict of good vs evil...
the length of the book allowed the author and the reader to savor the chapters,
and not miss one important detail. The reader never feels cheated, and
is given such rich descriptions through the characters experiences!!
I love ocean thrillers (I was attacked
by a shark at the age of 14), and I this is among the absolute very best
I have read. And now I am on to the sequel!!
PS...KRONOS RISING was a thrill
ride and would make the most AMAZING movie!
