Savage Jungle: Lair of the Orang Pendek by Hunter Shea

The very first book that I reviewed for the Horror Dude blog was Hunter Shea’s Loch Ness Revenge. That one introduced the characters of Natalie and her brother Austin. Together with a new friend name Henrik they did battle with the Loch Ness monster(s) that killed their parents in exchange for helping Henrik get some revenge of his own. This book is the story of them helping Henrik as the three of them head off to Sumatra to find the Orang Pendek. What is an Orang Pendek? Basically, a smaller version of Bigfoot. Though just as dangerous.

Our returning characters are joined by some heavily armed friends as they head deep into the jungle looking for the creatures that killed Henrik’s father. His father was a famous hunter and he and his mother watched as the powerful creatures tore him apart. She never recovered and he spent his life preparing to go back and kill them all. But when they arrive at the home of the Orang Pendek things go sideways quickly. The creatures are much smarter than they anticipated and lay an ambush. Some of the group die, some are captured, and others find surprising allies. And there are dinosaurs! Henrik comes face to face with the monster that robbed him of his family and gets some payback. But that is only part of the story. So many fun things are happening that I want to be careful not to spoil the fun.

The book is solidly written, much like Loch Ness Revenge. Shea does an excellent job further developing our main characters while establishing some new ones. They all have unique personalities which brings emotional impact when some of them don’t make it home. I also loved how the author upped the ante with this book. We knew that there were going to be some Bigfoot encounters, but then he adds in other prehistoric beasts to the isolated setting. He seems especially fond of the Pterodactyls and uses them to gruesome effect. This one gets rather bloody and as a horror fan I approve. Much human and creature viscera is splattered about in the ensuing mayhem.

In addition to being an excellent follow up Savage Jungle also moves the world building further along. At the end of the book the characters mention that several Bigfoot creatures and at least one lake monster have made an appearance. It seems that between Loch Ness and Sumatra that their actions have “lifted the veil” and that more cryptids are showing themselves to the world. What does that mean? Well personally I hope that means we get more books featuring Natalie and her brother doing battle with creatures unknown. I’m so hoping for a Chupacabra!

I recommend Savage Jungle: Lair of the Orang Pendek. It is an entertaining read that will keep you engaged from the first page to the last. Even if you aren’t a fan of cryptids like Bigfoot the action is enough to make it worth a look.

© Copyright 2017 John Shatzer