The WIP Report: Creature Features
- Dan
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Another missive from the edges of sanity—it's WIP Report time! In my quest to find comps for the Vampire Dragon WIP, I've read a few creature features. While most probably won't work as comparable titles, these unnerving yarns of unfathomable aliens, unethical genetic experimentation, and eldritch horrors are fun reads.
Previous entires:
The WIP Report: Creature Features
The Scourge Between Stars is the first creature feature I tackled. I don't think it will work as a comp, but it was quick and mildly entertaining. Despite being only a novella, scads of conflict are packed onto the pages: creepy robots, an AWOL starship captain, an unknown entity attacking the starships, hostile extraterrestrials aboard the starships, low fuel, and a door that must not be opened. Phew! Brown really packs in the action. Overall, the tale feels like an updated mashup of the movies Alien and Aliens.
Maximum Ride is the first James Patterson book I have ever read, and honestly, I'm surprised how much I enjoyed it. Admittedly, going into this one, I was biased against Patterson's writing because some folks in my critique group are not fans, to say the least. I decided to read this one to discover what makes this series so popular, but didn't expect to enjoy the yarn.
Well, I enjoyed this one very much. It's a quick, almost breezy tale about a group of teens and preteens who have undergone unethical genetic experimentation. They literally have wings! And can fly! The story features a strong sense of found family and nonstop action as the kids try to avoid being captured by the scientists who created them while trying to uncover their pasts.
This one will work as a comp, so reading it was a win on all fronts.
This is an entertaining and short offering from the King of Horror. The setup and tone feel very similar to Stranger Things: something goes wrong at a government lab outside a small, isolated town. Whatever you do, don't go into the fog!
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories by H.P. Lovecraft is a collection of stories I had been planning to read for quite some time, as they are considered classics of horror. What I discovered are fantastic mash-ups of sci-fi and horror. Lovecraft envisioned immortal entities that are either monsters or gods, depending on your perspective. But regardless, anyone who saw or even heard the ravaging speech of these cosmic horrors was driven mad.
All the stories in this collection will pique the interest of any horror aficionado. Anyone well-read in the genre will recognize many of the tropes writers of today borrow from these Lovecraftian tales.
I won't be using these tales as comps, but like many writers before me, I found Lovecraft's cosmic horrors inspiring!
I won't be able to use The Last Astronaut as a comp, but for pure entertainment value it was my favorite. An alien vessel approaches Earth, and the race is on to make first contact. The astronauts and mission control back on Earth are not prepared for what they discover. Wellington mixes sci-fi with a good dose of horror in this story that is mildly reminiscent of Rendezvous with Rama.
I am currently reading Blindsight. It scores an 11 out of 10 on the weird meter, but it is endlessly interesting. It's another tale of first contact. Humanity has technology that far outstrips contemporary tech, but nevertheless, humans are unprepared for their first close encounter.
Comments