Product Description

Something's out there...

Reed Shelton organized this survival weekend. Hired the best guide in the region. Meticulously trained, studied, and packed while enouraging his wife, Beck, to do the same. But little did they know that surviving the elements would become the least of their worries. During thier first night of camping, an unearthly wail pierces the calm of the forest. Then someone--no, something--emerges from the dense woods and begins pursuing them. Everything that follows is a blur to Reed--except for the unforgettable image of a huge creature carrying his wife into the darkness. Dependant on the efforts of a small town and a band of friends, Reed knows they have little time to find Beck. Even more important, he soon realizes that they aren't the only ones doing the hunting. Something much faster, more relentless--and definately not human--has begun to hunt them.

Frank Peretti is at the top of his game in this New York Times best-selling novel of "survival of the fittest." Nothing is as it first appears in this thriller where things that go bump in the night are only a heartbeat away.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #234462 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 512 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this long-awaited novel, Peretti (This Present Darkness; The Visitation) tells the story of a young woman who disappears in the Idaho wilderness and the ensuing search for her. The author's prose is clear and crisp, with only a few lapses into Lovecraftian hyperbole: his description of the novel's almost mythical setting is rich and detailed without being overwritten and his characterization of the woman, Beck, and the very unusual creatures she encounters is compelling. Peretti successfully incorporates several contemporary detective drama/suspense thriller tropes; one of his main characters, for example, is a crime scene investigator, and welcome doses of forensic evidence and DNA analysis are thrown into the mix. But the novel suffers from too many supporting characters, and Peretti's failure to develop them greatly compromises the conclusion. More problematic, though, is the novel's agenda with regard to the theory of evolution. Not raised overtly until the middle of the book, Peretti's critique of certain aspects of Darwinism eclipses the story and leads it to an unsatisfying and somewhat confusing end. As in Peretti's previous novels, those who hold conservative views are portrayed as heroic and those who disagree as evil. The novel's devolution into this simplistic moralism, however, will not keep Peretti fans away, and its many merits may attract other readers as well. 400,000 first printing. (Apr. 12)

From AudioFile
During survival training in the wilderness, policeman Reed Shelton and his wife, Beck, are attacked and separated by unidentified creatures. Reed's voice is tremulous as he describes what happened. Peretti narrates his own imaginative story of Sasquatch, DNA mutations, cruel experiments, and cold-blooded murder. But his delivery is dry and raspy, with an unpleasant pitch and tone, even though he depicts realistic shouts, shots, and screams. His portrayal of Sasquatch's speech--grunts, tongue clicks, and a variety of growls--borders on the comical. Furthermore, Beck's vocalizations as she assimilates into the tribe bends credulity. Peretti fans will like this, but less imagination and an abridgment would make this more enjoyable for others. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Policeman Reed Shelton is guiding his wife, Rebecca ("Beck"), on a no-frills wilderness hike when a strange being attacks them, and they are separated. Bloodied and shaken, Reed crawls back for help, thinking Beck is probably dead. But she's been kidnapped by a band of apelike creatures that may embody what the people of backcountry Idaho tell their tall tales about: Bigfoot, aka Sasquatch. Or there may be another explanation: renegade researchers have been fiddling with DNA and have altered the offspring of chimpanzees into "monster" form. The monsters have escaped. This kind of thing--trying to improve upon God's creation--is red meat to Peretti's evangelical readers, but he doesn't develop the issue. Instead, he pumps up the suspense as a hunt is mounted to find Beck, but since the reader pretty much knows her fate, the suspense seems mechanical. When the true "monster" is revealed, he (or she) has little time on stage, and Peretti's argument about DNA more or less falls away. Peretti has so many readers that his new novel belongs in every library, but he was better off writing about the weight of sin, as he did in The Oath (1995). As for the evangelical take on DNA research, try Sigmund Brouwer's The Double Helix (1995). It's better informed and more suspenseful. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Fast paced Bio-Science fiction adventure
This book is purely a novel with little of the spiritual message that have characterized Perettis books before. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, the writing is fast paced and keeps you interested. Those who love the outdoors will enjoy the Idaho setting and how Peretti makes the forest alive with good descriptions. Hunted and hunters are casted perfectly without too much of the easy clichés that often plagued bio-science fiction books.

One wild ride!
I ordered this book for the horror section in our bookstore, having never read it previously. I though I should pick it up and give it a once over so I would know whether or not to keep it in stock. After reading it in less then 2 days, I can tell everyone that I'm going to keep as many on hand as I can!

Reed and Beck are going on a week long survival trip in the Idaho forests with their friends Cap and Sing. Reed and Beck are going to be heading to the rendezvous point, a small cabin in the middle of the wilderness, a good day ahead of their friends in order to get some quality alone time. After trekking for hours up and down mountainsides, they arrive at the cabin. Problem is, the cabin has been completely destroyed, and their guide is missing. Being to dark to risk going back to civilization, they decide to camp on top of a ridge overlooking the wrecked campsite, hoping that their friends will arrive in the morning, and they can all leave safely.
During the night Beck and Reed are awoken by a terrible, gut-wrenching scream coming from deep in the woods. It sounds to them like a mix between a woman being mutilated and an animal being burned alive. After a few terrifying minutes of hearing twigs snap, and bushes rustling beside their camp site, the couple takes off running through the woods with the sound of heavy feet in hot pursuit; the screaming of the banshee getting closer every moment. While hurriedly crossing a small waterfall, Beck stumbles and falls a good 30 feet, only to land on a patch of rocks, and slip into unconsciousness. As Reed shines his light down on Beck, and desperately tries to find a way to get to Beck, he spots a pair of HUGE green eyes staring right back at him. A suddenly as he spotted it, this unknown creature disappears from view, taking Beck along with it.
Now Reed, his friends and the county sheriff's department have to track down Beck and the monster that has taken her prisoner. Something they don't realize is that there is something far worse, and far more deadly lurking in the woods then the creature that has Beck, and it's hunting them down.
This story has everything: terror, suspense, and even debates on moral issues regarding humans tampering with the laws of nature. It's an interesting read, with some plot twists that will have you reeling for more.