The Roo Review - Massive. Killer. Kangaroo.
I’ve said it before but it bears repeating I think, some writers just continually put out stuff that I, as a reader, like to read. Though not all of Alan Baxter’s stuff is the same, it’s all the kind of stuff I like to read and he hits a home run with his self published novella The Roo.
Before getting into the book itself I have to mention a few things I don’t always talk about. First, the origin of the book. Baxter talks about in the forward, and he’s mentioned it a few times on twitter as well, that this book started as a discussion on twitter following a post about a real kangaroo attacking people. From that discussion, this book was created.
Second, is the cover of the book. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but you can certainly enjoy the cover and this one is fantastic. It’s meant to look like an old horror paperback with its creased corners, and the Roo itself, poised for an attack, is just perfect, glowing red eyes and everything.
As for the story itself, it’s about a massive killer kangaroo. Massive. Killer. Kangaroo. There isn’t much more needed than that. The book is as awesome and ridiculous as you would imagine it to be. It is a creature feature novella written perfectly. The kills are bloody and gory and the best part of the whole thing. The book opens as you would expect a book like this to open, with a few scenes that display the power and aggressiveness of the killer roo. The deaths caused by the kangaroo continue to pile up and each one is more gruesome and more bloody than the last. In a small town such as this, when one or two people go missing, or are killed by a kangaroo, it doesn’t go unnoticed for long. The surviving members of the town gather together and join up to fight the monster roo and hopefully end the rampage. It isn’t long until we find out just how strong and indestructible the roo is.
For a book with a premise such as this, you think the story would be all fun and games but there is a message contained within the pages as well. One of the main plot lines that carries the story from beginning to end is the physical abuse of one of the characters against his wife. While we don’t see abuse first hand, it is hinted at throughout the book and only at the end so we find out the results that abuse had on the man’s wife and on the rest of the town. Baxter’s message is simple and clear by the end.
I always love small town horror stories because you get a cast of characters that come together to fight a common cause and The Roo hits all the right notes. Some horror is of the slow burn variety, the author takes some time and builds tension while drawing the reader further into the story. This kind of horror can be great, but it’s not always needed. The Roo is not a slow burn. This is a pure, in-your-face horror gore-fest and is as entertaining as any horror book you will pick up this year.
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