They Hunger by Scott Nicholson (2007)

Started:01/07/2008

Ended: 01/19/2008

Synopsis:

In a wilderness gorge deep in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the worst of the natural and supernatural worlds collide.
A crack adventure team is testing two experimental rafts, sponsored by an outdoor gear corporation. Led by Bowie Whitlock, the group plans a three-day run down 13 miles of the most treacherous whitewater in the eastern United States.
An FBI manhunt is underway in the gorge for Ace Goodall, a religious zealot wanted for a series of deadly abortion clinic bombings. Two agents, cut off from outside communication, stumble onto Ace's camp, triggering an explosive trip wire. The blast opens an underground cavern, exposing a long-buried subterranean species to the surface world.
A freak storm floods the river as the creatures swoop down from the cliffs. Cut off from the outside world, at the mercy of the harsh wilderness, the group's only avenue of escape is almost as deadly as the creatures that attack them.
The group must ride the deadly rapids, but not everyone is interested in mutual survival.
Ace has one bomb left.God is talking to him.It's raining again.The dead won't stay dead.
And the creatures...they hunger.

>>>>>>>>>>>>WARNING-SPOILERS AHEAD<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Characters:

Robert Wayne "Ace" Goodall (aka Bama Bomber): DEAD: Wanted terrorist by the FBI; religious fanatic; would blow-up abortion clinics with homemade bombs; 30 years old, 5'6'' with 3 missing teeth; armed w/Colt Python and several bombs in his knapsack; has been wandering the Unegama Gorge Wilderness Area for a couple of weeks with Clara; paranoid about being captured - he booby traps the perimeter of his camp; sacrificed himself by setting-off one of his home-made bombs as a group of vampires descended upon him

Clara Bannister: Ace's accomplice; also wanted in connection with the bombings; 5'5'' and about 100 lbs; no ass-small tits with black stringy hair; raised in a trailer park but educated; father was a preacher and auto mechanic;pregnant; met Ace when he picked her up hitchhiking; enjoys pain and the thrill of danger; was captured by the vampires, but rescued by Bowie

Bowie Whitlock: Tour guide for ProVentures; vegetarian; obsessive about his workout routines; lives in the remote wilderness of Montana in self-imposed exile; wife (Connie) killed by an avalanche while they were cross-country skiing; haunted by her death in his dreams; AA member; getting older and starting to notice it; about 8-10 years older than the others on the trip; had a past relationship with Dove, but still fucking her on the down low

Vincent Stefano Farrengalli: Loudmouthed Italian from the Bronx; dark looks & brash in manner; very competitive; muscular and hairy; feels he is God's gift to women

C.A. McKay: DEAD: Professional bicyclist; heralded to be the next Lance Armstrong; first of the ProVentures group to be attacked and killed; while rafting, creature swooped down and attached itself to his back, biting his neck; later-came back as a vampire

Travis Lane: DEAD: ProVentures rep; business executive; attacked and killed by one of the creatures; later-came back as a vampire

Jim Castle: DEAD: FBI agent; ex-Navy SEALs; had 3 bad marriages, ex-HRT; 35 y/o; had a bout with testicular cancer and won; does not have a great record with the FBI and fears being pulled to a desk job; attacked and killed by The Rook who had come back as a vampire; later-came back as a vampire himself

Dereck Samford (aka The Rook): DEAD:Castle's partner; FBI agent/behavioral profiler; Stanford educated Behavorial Psychologist

Robert Raintree: DEAD: Cherokee Indian that runs a chain of gyms (6 total); partnered with ProVentures in developing a line of personal workout equipment; raven black hair with piercing dark eyes; extremely built and actually won the bronze in the 2000 Olympics, wrestling in the middleweight class; carrying one of the 2 inflatable rafts (The Muskrat); carries a "medicine pouch" that contains hallucinogenic prescriptions that he takes to aid him on his sacred vision quest

Dove Krueger: DEAD: ProVentures photographer; only female on the team; highly regarded journalist known for her coverage of extreme sports and outdoor adventures; had a past relationship with Bowie (i.e. fucking on the down low)

Pete & Jenny: DEAD & DEAD: Married couple that Ace & Clara run into and steals their canoe; eventually Castle runs into them in his pursuit of Ace & Clara; Castle gives them a map and points them in the direction of civilization

My Review: This was my first Scott Nicholson book and probably my last. When I read the back of the book, I was hoping for some of The Descent -style of fun, featuring monsters/ freaks of nature hidden from the world discovered at long last. But NO-that is not what you get here. You get vampires, which is not that bad-but Nicholson just did not make the story scary, in fact not even creepy or foreboding. The vampires were often downplayed and really had little action on the overall story. The characters (and I mean every single fucking one of them) were annoying and I was hoping they would have been killed off earlier in the book to just shut them up (the first actual death scene is not until page 200 and believe me-it was not all that). I actually almost stopped reading this book but picked it up again in anticipation it would rock and make-up for the shitty first half. But sadly it did not. I actually resorted to skimming the last 10 chapters. For some reason I had it set in my mind to finish this fucker. This book was a complete waste of time and I would not recommend to my fellow readers. I should have never picked it back up!I actually have a few other unread Scott Nicholson books I had acquired but after reading comments on Amazon where people were saying this was Nicholson's best work yet- I think it's time to take these potential stink-bombs in to Half-Price Books and trade up for something more interesting. I'm just not hungry for anything more by Scott Nicholson!

My Score: 4/10