Hyenas: Michael Sellars
Reviewed By Simon Paul Wilson
What’s your favorite Beatles song?
Mine is either the anthemic Hey Jude, or Something. Both of them are rather brilliant and bring back many happy memories.
They also remind me of my visit to Liverpool. It’s a wonderful place and definitely somewhere I want to go to again.
So long as I don’t run into a pack of hyenas, I’m sure I’ll have a great time.
I’m a big fan of zombie books and films. I particularly like the non-zombie kind of stuff, such as 28 Days Later and Cell. The titular hyenas of this post-apocalyptic story fall into that category, and I thought the idea behind them was brilliant, as well as very scary.
As always, I’m going to keep this review free of spoilers. I’m just going to mention maniacal laughter and book devouring. You’ll know what I mean when you read the book for yourself.
I really enjoyed Hyenas. Mr. Sellars has come up with a unique spin on the post-apocalyptic zombie genre, and I hope that he does a sequel. I’d be up for another tale set in this world for sure!
The story starts with our hero, Jay, hiding in a bookshop. Five months previous, an incident called ‘The Jolt’ turned most of the populace into psychotic flesh-eaters, dubbed ‘Hyenas’.
The book rattles along at a fast pace, as Jay and his fellow survivors fight for survival and try to flee Liverpool.
Thing is, hyenas are not Jay’s only problem. He also has to worry about Sergeant Pepper and his militia.
As well as being a relentless and scary read, Hyenas also has a lot of humour and heart, which I really enjoyed. If anything, these lighter moments only made the terror more terrifying. Great stuff, indeed.
Yep, Hyenas was definitely a hit for me, and as I said earlier, I’m 100% in for a sequel or two. I’d also be interested in a Hyenas guided tour of Liverpool. That would be a lot of fun, so long as folk don’t need to run for their lives while doing it!
This book gets a thumbs up from me. Go grab a copy and devour it.
Hyenas
What Lurks Amongst the Shelves?
Five months ago, the apocalyptic Jolt turned the majority of mankind into the atavistic savages Jay Garvey calls Hyenas, on account of their insane, shrieking laughter.
A terrified Jay is tempted from his bolt-hole in a Liverpool bookshop when he learns the whereabouts of the only boat that hasn’t been scuttled by the deranged militia leader known as Sergeant Pepper.
As a brutal winter closes in, Jay and the small band of survivors he encounters along the way, the Book Club, must avoid death and capture to take advantage of this single, slim window of escape.
You can buy Hyenas from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Simon Paul Wilson
Simon Paul Wilson is a U.K. based writer of horror and science fiction.
He is currently writing a cyberpunk horror trilogy, the first of which is GhostCityGirl and was published by Not A Pipe publishing in 2020.
Click this link for more info: Ghost City Girl
There now follows a list of writers who have influenced his reading tastes and writing style:
James Herbert. Stephen King, Shaun Hutson, Clive Barker, China Mieville, Haruki Murakami, Carlton Mellick III, Brian Keene, and Adam Nevill.
Simon lives somewhere in the middle of England with his wonderful family. He likes to listen to post-rock and progressive rock at loud volumes. He also plays a mean air bass.
Follow him on Twitter: @spwzen
I didn’t realize Hyenas was a post-apocalypse, zombie-like story. Cool. Good review!